Can't Buy Me Love

Tomorrow is the day before Valentine's Day, so the image you see above is what my class, and two others will be making for the ladies at church. Cute, no? I thought so too.

I got the idea from a customer that was in my line one day, only she was using doilies instead of construction paper. I figured for a group of 2-11 year old kids, construction paper would be much better. I thought that while the older kids helped hot glue the candy canes to the paper, the younger ones could decorate. I'm not entirely sure yet.

That isn't all.

There are going to be "pigs in a blanket" and mini brownie cupcakes for the kids to snack on.

It is going to so fun!

Feel free to steal the idea, I know it's pretty cool.

We Are Called

This greeted me Thursday morning. It is remarkable the way God uses nature to remind me how faithful, loving and beautiful He truly is.

Sometimes, I forget just how much he does love me with a passionate, burning love. It is probably a little weird to read a statement like that, but it is so true. God's love isn't like the phrase we use to describe how we feel about a song or book, it is a deep, unfailing love. Believe me, it has taken me some time to really realize this. I never thought about how God loves us. I just knew that he did and that I love him. I also never knew why I loved him. I learn everyday, new reasons why I love God. It would probably be a list as long as the world is around.

If you ever get a chance, there is a book called "His Princess Bride: Love Letters from Your Prince," that I think everyone should read. It's by Sheri Rose Shepherd, and it's basically letters of things that Jesus says and promises in the Bible, only put in letter format. Believe me, it will blow your mind to even think about that kind of love. I wish that every person in the world would know the kind of love that God has for us.

This leads me into what I am teaching in Sunday school tomorrow. I am teaching about how God has called us to serve, love, teach, and what ever else the unfortunates of this country and world. I almost think I am going to take my scrapbook from my trips to Honduras, and maybe some pictures from a mission to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina hit. I know that centers more around service, but we could have a million lessons on service and love and still not cover it all.

I feel that it is important to instill into young minds the love of Christ and help them get ready to serve.

Victorious

This week, our church is hosting a revival, and God has been on the move, and people have been healed, set free, and walls have crumbled beneath us. It has been a few months since our last revival, and I (along with many others) was in need of a serious refurbishing of the fire inside of me. Not that it ever completely died out, but I needed a fresh spark

It has been fantastic.

Now, the real reason I came to write, is Sunday school. Sunday, I only had two kids, and both happen to be related to me. So, we spend the forty-five minutes discussing miracles that Jesus performed, and how awesome and big he is. We put our requests into the prayer box and left. It seems that when you do not have a room full of boisterous children, time can pass pretty slowly. So, when it was almost time to leave, we were discussing fall festivals and pin ball toys. Yes, a small diversion away from the glory of Christ, but the bell was ringing, so it's okay, right?

Church and Food

Today, I made homemade pumpkin-raisin scones AND black and white brownies; which means there is cheesecake batter dropped into the pan of uncooked brownies. Let e just say that it smell REALLY good in my house right now.

Why are you making all those wonderfully delicious sweets, you may ask? Well, tomorrow is my church's homecoming. I figure I should make something to go along with all of the yummy food that will be involved tomorrow. I mean, chicken n' dumplings, fried chicken, turkey and dressing, macaroni and cheese, and many, many more dishes.

I am so very thankful that I live in the great south. People sure know how to cook some great southern traditions when it comes to church get together's.

Needless to say, I am looking forward to all the good food tomorrow. Oh, I cannot wait!!!!

I May Need a Therapist After This

For the record, yesterday was one big test on my patience as a new Sunday school teacher.

First thing, my class got in trouble for not quieting down and listening to the great story/lesson I was about to begin. Also, how to you keep kids from giggling during prayer time? Really kids, prayer is important, I promise!

Second, one of the girls fell out of her chair, not once but twice. This one is going to be trouble. I would compare her to a hurricane because no matter where she goes, there is some destruction. Also, falling out of a chair in a dress that isn't long is very unlady-like, especially when there are boys in the room.

Third, I did get them to participate, but I couldn't keep them quiet, so we disturbed the teen class in the other room. I felt bad, I have no idea what was wrong with these children.

I ended up telling them that if they came in that way next week, I would cancel Sunday school and they would have to go sit with their parents in the adult SS classes. That maybe a little unfair, but I didn't sign up to teach wild banchees about Jesus and God's love.

Next, my assistant and I did Children's Church during the service. Let me say this, I am taking my name off the rotation list.

First of all, Children's church is for children, not 11 and 12 year old tweens. This caused a big distraction and one of the girls (the same one who fell out of her chair twice) got in trouble for giving me attitude, like a bad one.

Second, the kids under the age of like eight were the best behaved, which you wouldn't expect. This could be a problem.

I then told me assistant that I was taking my name off the list.

As we played with Play-Doh, I helped the babies make creations of "ginger mans" and the letter "Z."

Snack time rolled around and we passed out Cheez-its and nasty fruit punch stuff...

I turned my back for 0.5 seconds, and the youngest girl had a red trail all the way down the front of her shirt, and into the floor. This wasn't a huge problem because of the advent of Shout (it out!!). So, she and I went to the bathroom to get as much out as possible, all the while, learning the words "purple" and "rug."

Then, story time. But, in between all the fruit punch mess, all the older kids finished and began wrecking havoc on the teen room and each other. (This is beginning to be an EPIC FAIL)

After we got everyone settled, we read them three stories that all went together, then we played music and stuff.

All the while, I kept repeating to myself, "I'm taking my name off the list."

Finally, it was over. Fin. Finito. DONE! FINISHED!!!

I felt like I should go home and find some kind of nerve pill, but instead I cooked a feast for seven and laid on my bed with my youngest niece.

Needless to say, I will not be doing Children's church again, and my SS class WILL obey classroom rules.

That is all folks. Maybe next week it will be a happier post!!

Love Never Fails Us

You will be very happy to know that my lesson in my NEW Sunday school class was a hit!! I believe that deep down, the kids enjoyed learning about love. Even though we had a few who couldn't seem to sit still for more than a few seconds. This, I am okay with because at least they were in church.

I explained to them that loving is very important, even if it is someone that they truly dislike, or if it is a kid in their class at school that smells and looks like they hadn't bathed in a while.

I passionately believe that we should love on "the least of these." They are most important in my eyes, and if I can convince my kids of this, then I will consider my life a success.

Love is everywhere, we just have to learn to bring it out in every situation. Love never fails us, therefore, we should never fail it.

I am very adamant that children learn to love each other and the world. I would call it my mission to love on people. Young people, older people, poor people, or rich people. They are all beautiful in God's eyes and deserve our love. ("our" being Christians)

Please, if you do nothing else, teach your kids to love. You can learn to love too.