Last year was our first day away retreat for rising 4th-6th graders and that info is here. Our first retreat is a faith milestone and this we do once a year for rising 4th-6th graders.  This year offered several movie themes to jump from and the BFG (Big Friendly Giant) proved to be the most applicable to our group in attendance with the theme of “A True Blue Friend.” This is the rundown:

Location: At my house along with other CLUB345 adults, 10am-9pm….I live so far away from the church, it’s a very special treat to come and spend the day at my house for my students.

What the kids bring: A bag to carry everything in, swim suit, sunscreen, refillable water bottle, towel, pen, Bible, walking shoes (for the hike to the reservoir), flipflops (shoes for the pool), bag of favorite candy for popcorn bar.

Lesson 1: A Heart That Chooses Friends Wisely (Jonathan & David)…Spiritual Gifts Inventory from Credo …A True Blue Friend (Naomi & Ruth). This spiritual gifts inventory relates to body parts and makes the ‘gifts’ more relative to students. It was a great encouragement for the students to hear about the best parts of them which are gifts of the Holy Spirit truly from the Lord.

Students made sub sandwiches and we hiked to the local reservoir for a picnic lunch.

To the neighborhood pool! Then to the movies. Debriefed the movie and lesson #2 which is a trifold I prepared years ago for a scout event on friendship. This is the info on the trifold:

Advice on selection of a friend

A. BE CAUTIOUS IN SELECTING YOUR FRIENDS

A righteous one is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. Proverbs 12:26

B. PEOPLE YOU DO NOT WANT AS YOUR CLOSEST FRIENDS

• Gossips (Proverbs 20:19)
• Short-tempered (Proverbs 22:24-25)
• Those given to obsession (Proverbs 23:20-21)
• The rebellious (Proverbs 24:2122)
• Liars and those untrustworthy (Proverbs 25:18-20)
• Those inconsiderate and those unfaithful
• The violent

C.  THE SORT OF CLOSE FRIENDS YOU WANT…

• Those who display wise choices (Proverbs 13:20)
• Those whose love is constant (Proverbs 17:17)
• Those who are loyal (Proverbs 18:24)
• Those who aren’t afraid to help you be the greatest YOU that you can be (Proverbs 27:6)

Solving problems with your friends

1. Be slow to anger. Proverbs 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension but a patient man calms a quarrel.
2. Be slow to respond by not interrupting Proverbs 18:13 She who answers before listening that is her folly and her shame.
3. Avoid quarreling. Proverbs 20:3 It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
4. Speak gently. Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up more anger.
5. Speak briefly. Proverbs 10:19 When words are many, sin is not absent, but she who holds her tongue is wise.
6. Be quick to show love. Proverbs 10:12 Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.
7. But if necessary, rebuke rather than flatter. Proverbs 28:23 He who rebukes a man will in the end gain more favor than he who has a flattering tongue.

10 Commandments of Friendship

1. Speak to people
2. Smile at people
3. Call people by name
4. Be friendly and helpful
5. Be cordial (speak and act as if everything you do is a real pleasure)
6. Be genuinely interested in people – you can like everyone if you try
7. Be generous with praise and cautious with criticism
8. Be considerate of the feelings of others
9. Be thoughtful of the opinions of others
10. Be alert to give service – what counts most is what we do for others!

Things to avoid, which can disrupt a good friendship

1. Don’t repeat everything you hear (Proverbs 17:9)
2. Avoid senseless arguments (Proverbs 17:14)
3. Don’t overstay your welcome (Proverbs 25:17)
4. Don’t meddle in affairs not your own (Proverbs 26:17)
5. Don’t play bad jokes (Proverbs 26:18-19)
6. Don’t be contentious (Proverbs 26:21)

And if you get lonely, God has provided friendships for you:

First, you have a friend in _____JESUS_________

Jesus said in John 15:15, “I have called you friends.”

Second, you have friends in your __PARENTS_____

They are God’s gift to you and believe me, no one loves you more or cares for you more deeply and genuinely than your very own mother and father.

And third, you have friends in your  ___FAMILY__& CHURCH___ (This was especially important for us to cover since all of our students who attended the retreat go to different schools.)

We prepared dinner of fruit salad and deep dish pizza and enjoyed fruit sorbet for dessert. After several heated games of Pit, laughter, sharks & minnows, line tag, and popcorn fun, we are already planning next year’s event. Of course we wear our tshirts to church the following Sunday.

“Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of Christ.” Romans 8:39

It seems I’ve attended more funerals in the last 90 days than in my whole life combined. Celebrating the life of my own precious Mother-In-Law with little people in my lap opened my eyes to an area of service I had not considered before. Isn’t that how it goes?

It wasn’t a real plan, but this is how we set up the environment…

• Folded over construction paper, wrote “sticker book” on the cover and had a few sheets of stickers. We set a couple of these in the front pews ahead of time…didn’t want Mama to have to carry or keep up with not one more thing with a toddler.
• Several rubber bugs, animals, or non-battle characters in a beach bucket…quiet play poured out in the floor of the pew or in the aisle for a preschooler.
• Since Mama was playing the piano, we all sat toward that side of the pew/row rather than the center aisle so that having Mama in sight kept for a calm little one.
• Etch a sketches with a roller ball mover made for an easy win with very little hands and challenging fine motor skills.
• Several small bottles of water, already opened, with a little poured out to avoid opening spills.

Last week, one of our families lost their second, much-loved grandparent in two months. In the midst of this sweet Mama’s grief, she stopped by the church to pick up a bucket of items to keep little hands and hearts present and busy during the funeral service at her home church. I also handed three rolls of Mentos to the oldest to share with his younger siblings.  The middle one received her Mentos roll and immediately asked, “Do you have a bottle of Diet Coke?” Man, I love them!

An outside wedding filled with all ages and all stages. Little people dressed in comfortable clothes, shoes off, playing in the dirt on the side, but within sight of the ceremony of the beautiful couple which a 2 and 4 year old watched intently while their hands were busy. Be still my heart!

On Sunday, I danced and sang the closing song with a 5-month old in the service where he was dedicated to the Lord. He’s a talker and so am I. His kind Grandma handed him to me and so we danced and sang. His beautiful Mama was tending to the needs of his toddler older brother. Man, I love them!

A wise pastor once shared his four favorite sounds: folding chairs, the turn of a page in a bible, the tearing of a check from a checkbook, and the noise of little people while he preached. All four sounds reflect life in a living, loving church.

Remarkable moments of life. Births and deaths. Baptisms and funerals. Weddings and new babies. The smells, the sights, the sounds, the tastes (celebration food!), the touches that build the foundations and connections for little people to all of God’s people in the remarkable moments of life.  To be invited into these moments is a privilege. To share the journey is an honor…even if it’s with rubber bugs and cloth diapers embroidered with “We may not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51

I love Vacation Bible School for a whole host of reasons: training youth, sharing the gospel with little people, dancing before the Lord, and having amazing conversations with folks. You know those wonderful conversations with folks who probably don’t need new friends, but I want to be friends with.

• Conversations with those who might attend a different service.
• Conversations with those who I can’t get to know from a handshake and a ‘peace be with you’ before the Children’s Moment on Sunday mornings.
• Conversations with young people who see VBS as training and take instruction without offense.
• Conversations with little people who want access to me so I can tell each one he/she belongs here.
• Conversations with fifth graders who are invited to watch and learn everyone they meet this week so they know who’s job they want next year if they want to serve.

This is better than a survey.

From the conversations that took place this year…

• I discovered who is on the hospitality committee for the local neighborhoods.
• I discovered new families are moving in with younger and younger little people…..so we’re talking about planning a preschool club to get those relationships started.
• I discovered there will be a Cotillion offered for local 5th graders and since it’s happening in October, I can schedule accordingly.
• I discovered my 5th grade boys are already telling me what jobs they want next year in VBS leadership.
• I discovered our high school seniors were handing over the reins to their younger counterparts for a smooth baton hand-off for next year.
• I discovered our middle school girls can change the roadside sign in no time.
• I discovered our kids preferred fresh fruit for snacks.
• I discovered our kids are inviting other kids to come and see about Jesus and church.
• I discovered Friday nights are better nights for specials for elementary kiddos for when we start a new life skills series for children’s ministry outreach in 2017 called “Wesley Chapel Academy”.
• I discovered even folks who attend the traditional service want to, and do, dance before the Lord ‘in the Sanctuary.’
• I discovered who lost their jobs over the last several weeks and who got new ones.
• I discovered there are already calendars out there for 2016-2017 with dates for local organizations and I asked for copies so as not to overwhelm my families with the church calendar.
• I discovered who has been thinking about serving on the CLUB345 Team for next year.
• I discovered our theme for the Bible Late Night this year will be “American Ninja Warrior: Wesley Chapel style” in August and started talking with the graduating youth of how to pull it off…with their help.

What VBS conversations did you have this year? What are you going to do about it?

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim His name; make known among the nations what He has done, and proclaim that His name is exalted.” Isaiah 12:4