Running Scared

This past Sunday's theme from pre-K through 5th grade was running away.

For Pre-k and kindergarten, it was all about running from God. They read Runaway Bunny and Psalm 139. They ate carrots and talked about trying to run from your parents and trying to run from God.

Grades 1-5 read Dr. Seuss's "What Was I Scared Of?" and Matthew 26: 39-46. They talked about how Jesus prayed when he was afraid and they made prayer journals to write about their own fears.

The King of All I Survey

Sunday brought a few great lessons to the elementary gang this week. Class began with a reading from Matthew 7:24-29 and then the reading of Dr. Seuss' Yertle the Turtle. It was clear that building a kingdom on the backs of your friends and family made for a very shaky foundation! The kids had some wonderful insight into how we sometimes use others to get ahead and look better. They were also very open in discussing times when they, like Yertle, wanted much more than they needed or was rightfully theirs. They talked about people who were less fortunate than they are and made stuffed turtles to be sent to Operation Kid-2-Kid. The turtles will be handed out to children who lose their homes due to natural disasters. Each student also kept a turtle for themselves as a reminder of the many blessings they have in their own lives and to remember to not be a Yertle!

Remembering

In pre-k and kinder Sunday school this week, we talked about memories and the power of being a child. We read the verses in Mark about Jesus and the children (Mark 10:13-16) and talked about how important children were to Jesus and what it meant when he said "Do not hinder them." Then we read Mem Fox's Wilfred Gordon McDonald Partridge. Like Wilfred Gordon, the kids all knew someone who had misplaced their memories. There was some lively discussion of the memories they would be sad to lose, everything from a trip to Sea World or watching Granddaddy ride his horse to how it felt to get a hug from Mom when you hurt your knee. The kids made Memory Boxes for our elderly friends that come every month to the Gathering Place. I pray the work of our children can spark a few memories for the "Miss Nancys" in our church family. If you missed out on this weeks lesson and want to know more about making a Memory Box for someone special in your own life, contact me for instructions.

First Day of Summer.....

Summer Sunday school that is.
Pre-K and Kindergarten read The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant and talked about visiting family. They looked at the story in Matthew 13:54-56 of Jesus' family and had some great and creative speculation about what it was like for Jesus to visit with his family.  They finished up by drawing pictures of their own families. 
Grades 1-5 read Horton Hatches the Egg and decided that God, like Horton, is faithful 100%.  We looked at Exodus 3:12 and God's promise to always be with us.  We talked about the people in our lives that always keep their promises.  Parents can rest assured they made the list of the faithful.  The kids then decorated plastic eggs and filled them with all the promises they want to remember to keep.

Goodbye Croc-dock

The posters are down, the kids have gone home, and the dock has been sent on loan to another church. Vacation Bible School is officially over. If you had asked me last week if I would miss it, I would have thought there was no way. Today I find myself a little bit sad that I won't be spending another week with the Ducks, Frogs, Toads, and Swamp Rats that made up this year's VBS crews. The message on the last night was that God cares for us. I saw God's love in the faces of every child, youth, parent, and volunteer that made this week possible. There is no way to truly thank everyone for all the effort it took to create and execute an incredible week.

God is Powerful

One more day left in VBS this year. So far we have learned that God is with us, God is powerful, God keeps his promises, and God gives us life. I am reminded every evening just how powerful God really is as I watch our children dance and sing and praise God together. God has shown his power as our Youth are attacked with hugs when they walk through the door and as our adult volunteers share their love and patience throughout the evenings events. God is moving through the room as a little voice asks if tomorrow has to be the last night. "Couldn't we do this all summer?" And I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that my prayers from Monday have been answered. God kept his promise and has been with us every day. Because we have gathered together in his name, our lives are forever changed. God is Powerful!

Crocodile Dock

I ask for your prayers as we get ready for Vacation Bible School this evening. The instructions written on my calendar say "Don't Panic!". It is so easy for me to do as I make lists of all the things left undone and I ponder all the things that could possibly go wrong. Given enough time I can visualize everything from me sitting in a room with a hundred kids and no help in sight to forty adults staring blankly at a dozen kids. The possibilities are endless! The theme for tonight "God is always with me". And so I pray that I am ever mindful of His presence; in the faces of the children who attend, in the minds of those who volunteer, and in the hearts of the parents who entrust their kids to our care. Help me to remember that God is with us in everything we do, tonight and always.