July is one of my favorite months—not because of the Georgia heat (definitely not!), but because it kicks off weekday preschool training season.

Across our state of Georgia, the Georgia Preschool Association co-sponsors district training events where early childhood educators gather to learn, encourage one another, and sharpen their skills. Today I’m headed to Griffin First Baptist Church to teach two workshops for District 6 under the leadership of my friend and colleague, the fabulous Diane Lamb.

But here’s something I wish more churches knew: These trainings aren’t just for weekday preschool teachers.

Maybe you rock babies in the nursery once a month.

Maybe you teach three-year-olds on Sunday mornings.

Maybe you’re Mimi, Nana, or Papa and spend a couple of days each week with your grandchildren.

These trainings are for you, too.

You’ll learn what is developmentally appropriate, discover how God wonderfully designed little brains to learn, and walk away with practical ideas you can use immediately. Understanding why children do what they do often changes the way we respond to them.

In short, these trainings make the work of loving and leading littles both easier and more meaningful. And that makes ministry—and parenting and grandparenting—a whole lot more joyful.

One challenge I’ve noticed over the years is that each ministry often stays in its own lane.

Churches tend to use church curriculum and church-based training. Weekday preschools tend to use preschool curriculum, if they can find it, and preschool training. Homeschool families often use homeschool curriculum and homeschool conferences.

There’s certainly value in each of those.

But I’ve found that some of the richest ideas happen when we cross those ministry lines.

Throughout my years in family ministry, I intentionally borrowed from each world.

On Sundays we used a traditional Sunday school curriculum. For our midweek Bible study, I often chose Not Consumed, a homeschool curriculum that functions beautifully as a discussion-based Bible study, just like their parents in small group study down the hall. Other midweek programming would include Mark Burrow’s Bible Black Belts.

Likewise, nursery teams, church preschool volunteers, and family caregivers can benefit tremendously from weekday preschool training. Many of the free resources, including Faithful Beginnings, are easily adapted for church settings. It’s incredibly affordable and it’s geographically close.

We’re all helping children know and follow Jesus.

If you live in Georgia, I’d love to encourage church nursery volunteers, preschool teachers, grandparents, and family caregivers to look at the Georgia Preschool Association’s district training opportunities this year. They also offer a fantastic annual conference in the spring.

One date to put on your calendar is Saturday, October 3, 2026. Georgia Preschool Association will host an online training event created specifically for those serving young children and their families in faith-based settings. You can participate right from your own home.

Whether you’re changing diapers, leading circle time, reading Bible stories, or rocking a sleepy toddler in the church nursery, your investment matters.

The younger we begin nurturing faith, the longer we have to watch God grow it.

So let’s keep learning.

Let’s keep growing.

And let’s keep loving our littlest littles to Jesus—together.

“Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways.” Proverbs 8:32

Retiring from a long commute has made room for one of life’s greatest gifts—more time with our grandchildren and their parents, our favorite people on the planet.

We’ve shared meals, played countless games of checkers, wandered through the Croc store, and made plenty of trips to Tropical Smoothie—or as our youngest grand lovingly calls it, “Tropical Smoovie.” I hope he never outgrows that.

If I’m being truthful, the adjustment has been just that—an adjustment.

For the first time in decades, I haven’t had a color-coded calendar telling me where to be every hour of every day through the next calendar year. As someone who loves planning and scheduling, that has made my eye twitch a little! I’ve had to give myself permission to sleep until I wake up and even enjoy an afternoon nap. For the first three weeks, I slept ten hours a night with a daily nap. Apparently, I was more tired than I realized.

In The Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith writes, “Sleep is a perfect example of the combination of discipline and grace. Sleep is an act of surrender.” I’m learning that surrender isn’t laziness—it’s trust.

I’ve also wrestled with a little FOMO. I miss the day-to-day rhythm of serving the church families I’ve loved so dearly. I’m thankful for Monday morning phone calls with my prayer partner, daily texts from ministry friends, and seafood dinners shared with our husbands. Those friendships remain precious gifts.

And yet…

The wins have been abundant.

Summer has given us longer days, time to read good books, and lunches of Uncrustables, watermelon, and strawberries by the neighborhood pool.

One of my greatest joys has been sitting beside Mr. Bob in worship every Sunday. Singing together. Praying together. Listening to God’s Word together. Grinning at each other when the sermon hits just a little too close to home. After decades of incredible ministry schedules, worshiping side by side feels like a sweet gift from the Lord.

I’ve also been actively purging my ministry library. Two road trips (so far!) with dear friends to McKay’s Used Bookstore in Chattanooga have transformed eight overflowing laundry baskets of books into a manageable church library collection, a few wonderful new fiction authors, and a home that feels a hundred pounds lighter.

Meanwhile, ministry opportunities continue to unfold.

I sponsored an amazing young lady on her Chrysalis Flight last weekend. Chrysalis is part of the Walk to Emmaus community.

Lingering in daily Bible reading, study, and prayer is a time of His tender presence.

Planning for Lifewise Academy is underway, including a meeting with a local principal this week and an August “Lifewise Academy in the Park” gathering for students and families. Georgia currently has 16 Lifewise schools, and we’re praying for 100 over the next three years as we seek to bring Bible education to students during the school day off school property.

Weekday Preschool district workshops begin next week, and our North and South Georgia Global Methodist Church R3 Gathering is already on the calendar for November 5–6, 2026. It’s exciting to continue investing in churches and leaders in this new season.

I’ve read that retirement comes in three stages: Go-Go, Slow-Go, and No-Go. Mr. Bob and I are definitely in the Go-Go stage. A Planet Fitness membership has helped us stay moving, especially through the sweltering “Hot-lanta” summer.

This season looks different than any before it. The Lord is simply giving us new places to serve, new people to love, and new rhythms in which to walk with Him.

So today, I tip my glass of lemonade to friends and colleagues near and far. Now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to pick tomatoes from the back porch for dinner.

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

By the time Baby Girl and #1 Son were walking and talking, our home had developed some simple, sacred rhythms.

“God bless you,” after every sneeze.

Prayers before every meal—even when we were eating at our favorite local Shoney’s as loyal Shoney’s Shoppers.

And praying out loud together.

That last one stretched me the most. Speaking prayers aloud didn’t come naturally, but I wanted my children to hear someone they loved talking outloud with Jesus. If they were going to learn what a life of faith looked like, they needed someone to mirror. I did not want to pass along my fear of praying outloud to my littles.

We weren’t ready to become missionaries to Africa…yet.

But God was already preparing us to be missionaries in our own home, in our families, and in the marketplace.

It was the 1980s. Mr. Bob traveled Monday through Friday for work while I served full-time as an assistant vice president of investments at Capital Bank, which later became Sunburst Bank in Baton Rouge. I didn’t want my children to know me only as the mom who rushed home to feed them, bathe them, and put them to bed.

So we made a plan.

We paid off our debt, lived on plenty of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and macaroni and cheese for a season, and I left my full-time banking career to teach part-time in our church preschool.

Looking back, I can see how God was preparing me not only to raise my own children to love the Lord with their whole hearts for their whole lives, but also to spend a lifetime helping other families do the same.

Author James Fowler describes the faith of children between about 2 years old and 7 years old as the Intuitive-Projective stage of faith. During these years, children begin to understand God through the adults they know and trust. Their earliest picture of God is shaped by the people who love them. Children develop language and imagination. Faith is magical, fluid, and heavily influenced by stories, images, and the examples of adults.

They hear simple Bible stories. They learn songs. They celebrate holidays. They pray familiar prayers. Through repetition and routine, they begin to understand that God is real, loving, and present.

They watch us.

They notice how we treat neighbors, how we respond when we’re frustrated, how we share, forgive, be generous, tell the truth, and show kindness. Faith at this age is more caught than taught, but teaching is still of great importance.

Even everyday lessons—sharing toys, using kind words, waiting patiently, obeying promptly, and treating others with respect—become building blocks for practicing Christlike character.

As I’m spending time with the grands and other littles today, one of my favorite resources for those who lead this age is the free Faithful Beginnings Library from the Georgia Preschool Association. One lesson, “Be Kind to One Another,” gives those who lead and influence toddlers and preschoolers simple, hands-on ways to practice sharing and kindness. For older preschoolers and early elementary children, I also recommend Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson, a delightful story that reinforces how one act of kindness can spread farther than we imagine.

The Faithful Beginnings Library continues to grow thanks to teachers, childcare professionals, churches, grandparents, and families who are serving little ones every day. If you serve in a church nursery, operate an in-home daycare, are a first-year or ten-year classroom teacher in a church preschool, this library of fun activities can provide support to loving littles to Jesus. check it out here.

The resources are free, practical, and designed for the places where faith grows best—at home, at church, and in everyday moments.

After all, the greatest mission training field may just be around your own kitchen table.

“They were to be trained for three years, and after that they were to enter the king’s service.” Daniel 1:5b