Happy To Be A Cracked Pot

Do you have a favorite super hero? 

 I have to admit, I'm a superman fan!  

I mean, super speed, super strength, super hearing, super sight, the dude can fly and he never seems to age...what's not to like??!   

I think as Moms, Dads and ministry leaders, we fluctuate between wishing we had super powers and truly believing we actually DO have super powers!  I mean, how else can you tame a room full of 4 and 5 year olds for an hour or answer the questions that 5th and 6th graders throw at you?  How else can you keep up with soccer schedules, PTO meetings, dance recitals, church ministry, grocery shopping and cleaning the house??  It's got to be super powers!

As much as I like to joke about being "super", when it comes down to it, more often than not I feel pretty inadequate.  Which is why, I love a verse that a friend shared with me a while ago...I love it so much, that it made it to my office wall!(**see below)

     "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all surpassing power is from God 

and not from us." 

 2 Corinthians 4:7

We are purposely made with cracks and inperfections so that when we are "super", the cracks can show that the super power is from God alone and not ourselves.  Isn't that a relief?!  We don't have to be super, we just need to be connected to our super God and allow Him to shine 

through our cracks and crevices.  

So, this fall when we begin Kidz Club (or your church's midweek school year program), keep in mind that as awesome as you already are...lean on God's strength and power, He wants to shine through your cracks and be glorified through you!  

Want to read more about my crazy office wall??  

Click here>> http://kidzthisnthat.blogspot.com/2015/11/this-wall.html

They Raised Their Hand AGAIN...Are They Saved?

My desire on this blog is to be able to encourage 

Kids Ministry volunteers and parents as

 they walk through and "do" life with their children. 

 One of the greatest moments in a parent's life or in a volunteer's life of ministry, is being able to lead a child to accepting Jesus.  It's exhilarating!  It's life changing for both the child and you!  After all...THIS is our goal, leading kids to Jesus!  

So, we teach God's forgiveness, we teach God's love, we teach the only way to Heaven is through Jesus.  And then, we ask who would like to accept Jesus. As we are looking out over the group of kids, praying for a child to make a decision, those little hands raise as the 

Holy Spirit is working.  

 And I'm chuckling as I write this because, there's always those few kids that raise their hand or come and talk/pray EVERY time we ask, right!!??  Be honest...isn't there just a little bit of an unseen eye roll and sighing under your breath?  Mmmmhmmm....sigh. 

So, are they saved?  They come every time...they say every time that they want this and believe.  They are genuine.  

They pray earnestly each time.  

Have you ever noticed how nothing lasts today?  Marriages don't last, friendships don't last, families don't last....everything around kids seem to come to an end.  It's hard for a child to understand in today's world that Jesus love lasts forever.  That Jesus doesn't just forget us, that He holds us so tenderly in His hand, forever.  Forever is hard to fathom!

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  I and my Father are one. " John 10:27-30

Isn't that beautifully said?!  No one can "snatch" us away!  So many things are taken/snatched away or just don't last today.

  Jesus' love is forever.  

Acts 16:31 says "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved".  Believe and be saved.  You and I cannot see a child's heart, but the Bible is very clear, believe and be saved.  If a child has prayed and accepted and believes, who are we to question how many times they come to us?  In a world that FOREVER is non-existent, it's hard for kids to understand once and done, forever is forever.  

So, that same child comes again and again...to me, that's precious...their heart is so tender, they want to please God.  Usually a child that comes to us multiple times is learning something new each time.  Maybe they were completely sincere the very first time they came to us, but maybe they didn't completely understand.  Now is the time for discipleship!  This child is ready to learn how to be a follower of Jesus, how to live like Jesus wants, 

how to have a full relationship with Jesus.  

So, the next time that same child raises their hand for the 4th time....take time with them, show them how to begin growing, don't make light of the fact that they came to you again.  Remember, we are all growing and learning.

...And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  Ephesians 3:17b-19

Want to know more about discipleship?   Comment below and I would be happy to help!

Why Does God Let Things Happen?

I think one of the scariest things to hear a child say to you is "Why did God let that happen?".   It's a question that makes parents and kids ministry leaders nervous.  And, I think some of that nervousness, if we were really honest, comes from us deep down thinking and wondering the same thing ourselves.  Why...why, did God let this happen. 

In our little Pennsylvania area, we are asking that question a lot in the past 2 weeks.  Several situations have hit our church and community rather hard.  Things that make us grieve deeply and ask hard questions.  Things that make us hug our children 

a little closer tonight before bedtimes.  

So, how do we as parents and kids ministry leaders answer this question?  How do we help kids deal with grief and loss?  How do we help them to understand and work through their feelings?  

I think the first place to begin is we, ourselves, being in close contact with God.  Being in prayer and searching the Bible for comfort from Him.  I don't think we can answer kid's questions about such a deep emotional subject without God's help.  

Kids need to feel safe when they are grieving.  They need to understand that it's ok to feel angry and sad- that these are  normal emotions to go through.  And, I think they need to understand that questioning is not wrong.  So many times people think that questioning God is wrong, when in the Bible, many of who we think of as heroes of the faith, questioned God!  There is a difference between questioning and blaming or accusing God of wrongdoing.  Questioning God opens us up to answers that God long to give, comfort that He wants us to have.  

Questioning opens the communication lines with God.  

So, why did God do this? How do we answer that?

First, it's important to understand that God didn't "do" this to someone.  Bad things happen in our world because this world is not perfect-sin entered our world many years ago.  Therefore, bad things will happen.  Second, God loves us so very much and does not seek to harm us.  Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  God loves us and has a plan for our lives.  And that's the hard thing to understand-we don't get to see the ultimate plan.  We only see a little section of what's happening....what's right in front of us.  God sees the whole picture.  When bad things happen, we don't always get to see the "good" right away, we are too much in the middle of the hurting.  But, God promises in Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  And third, remind that child that if the person they are grieving loved Jesus, that they are with Him right now!  This concept is hard enough for us as adults to understand and it's difficult for kids to grasp Heaven.  Heaven is a place we've never seen, that the Bible says is better than anything we know, which makes it so "out there" that it's difficult to understand just how amazing being there will be.  

That being in Heaven, for the person who has gone, is the best, 

most amazingly fabulous thing that has EVER happened to them! 

 They are with JESUS.  

So, maybe when a child asks "Why did God let this happen?", maybe the best thing is to turn this around to them..."What kind of good do you think God could bring out of this?" Let them think about that, help them to think about the situation from a broader view.  And, point kids to God.  I started this "thought" this morning with the understanding that we need to  be connected to God.  Point kids back to that, ask them who they would like to pray for, and let them know that praying for their own understanding and their own hurting heart, is ok.  God loves them and understands their feelings of hurt.  Pray with them, pray for them.  Keep the lines of communication open.  Let them talk, let them be angry and hurt, remind them that God loves them.  

I don't think there's a magical answer to the "why things happen" question.  But, I do believe there is a God who cares beyond what we can even understand, cares about our grief, cares about our hurt. 

1 Corinthians 1:3-4  "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.