This summer’s month of Thursdays in our parking lot will be a blended model of Fresh Expressions’ Dinner Church and family Vacation Bible School. How did we get here? It all started with learning last fall that Vanessa Myers was publishing a children’s devotional entitled The Bible Food Truck: Serving Up 75 Devotions for Kids About Food in the Bible.

Vanessa Myers is the creative Director of Children’s Ministry serving the families and community of the Dahlonega United Methodist Church located in Dahlonega, Georgia. She’s authored both Rise Up: Choosing Faith Over Fear in Christian Ministry which equips a ministry leader navigating the trenches of effective ministry through the Bible accounts we know and love, and Breakfast With Jesus: 100 Devotions For Kids About the Life of Jesus. Vanessa writes clearly for the middle to upper elementary reading level which is perfect for a Jesus gal like me who serves that demographic. 

Vanessa has a passion for bringing the Word of God to life for little people and their big people to know the Jesus of the Bible. She is a wife, mom, and a blogger offering printable tools to resource families (and local churches) to grow in their relationships with Jesus wherever they go and as they go through the rhythms and hectic schedules of life. 

When I discovered The Bible Food Truck would be in my hands this spring, our kidmin team knew it would be the perfect resource to help us take the last two summer’s drive-in services to the next level. Her book did not disappoint. The bonus is the book invites a child/family to exercise their entrepreneurial spirit by walking them through the development of their own food truck ministry and business. About every eight devotions, Vanessa walks through next steps for a food truck ministry with guidance for a menu, a truck name & logo, a mission statement, workers, a grocery list, and even a food truck prayer. This is not your typical kid’s devotional book!

Vanessa’s book has prompted my team to consider adding an entrepreneurial class this fall with a product fair for our students just before Advent. Think of a blend of Junior Achievement and a way for us to include our business leaders and owners on the Titus 2 leadership team for our students for the next school year for the community.

This is where we are in ideation for this summer’s Soul Food Summer: 

• each of the five Thursdays in June
• a scheduled food truck 5-7pm in the parking lot
• music
• trained intergenerational conversationalists for each table
• a VBS program for littles with bigs in the car beginning at 6pm
• ice cream truck arriving at 6:45pm
• we load up our Ambassadors and youth team at 7pm to escort the ice cream truck to pop into a nearby neighborhood offering free ice cream and chat with our neighbors
• return to church parking lot by 7:45pm to discuss two needs we heard that we could creatively meet (do for two what we wish we could do for everybody) before the next week’s Thursday’s VBS. 

Vanessa will be at the first Thursday’s event of the summer to sign books we’re giving to each family in attendance and take pictures-with-the-author. She made it super easy to order books in bulk directly from her!

We’re using five of her devotions specific to Jesus and the tables He set: (there are five Thursdays this June)

• Breaking Bread Together – Acts 2 (word of the day: Together)
• Zacchaeus – A Wee Little Man (miniature games; word of the day: Welcome)
• Feeding the 5,000 (word of the day: Multiply)
• Breakfast on the Beach (word of the day: Invite)
• Last Supper with Friends (word of the day: Remember)

Stay tuned for how the summer will roll out. In the meantime, pick up a copy (or two or more) of The Bible Food Truck and see how you could use it at home or at church to add a little surprise and delight to your summer programming. Grandparents, this would be a great ‘summer read’ to share and read alongside your grand!

Vanessa is generously offering a free copy of The Bible Food Truck to one of my blog families. Simply comment on this post on Facebook or Instagram with how you share Jesus with your family around your table, whatever that table may look like or wherever that table may be. I’ll announce the winner on my Facebook page before next Tuesday. The Bible Food Truck blog tour continues on April 11 with Mindy Jones who has some great Easter printables.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

Anyone else tweak every event after each time? Anyone else just can’t do the same thing even if you repeat an event? Just a few weeks ago, we spent 3-5pm with 3rd-5th graders teaching them how use THEIR Bibles at an event we call American Ninja Warrior: Bible Edition. Cut strips of white, twin, flat sheet became our name tags so students tied them on their foreheads ninja-style and we got started.

The most important areas we wished to address were: Genesis 1:1 & John 1:1, Creation, Torah, 10 Commandments, Gospels, Disciples, Greatest Commandment, Paul & Timothy (letters), Lord’s Prayer/23 Psalm, Parables, Revelation, Shema.  Check it out!

Using a Rainbow Bookmark – As followers of Jesus, we are people of THE BOOK…the Bible. 2 sections, 66 books. Testament – covenant – promise. Asking the question: What is the Bible? We pre-made 1/4 inch ribbon bookmarks knotted at the top to be placed in different places in their bibles as a large group:

• black=Table of Contents;
• red=Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament;
• orange=Joshua, the first history book in the Old Testament;
• yellow=Psalms, the 2nd poetry book in our Bible;
• green=Isaiah, the first prophet book in our Bible;
• blue=Matthew, the first Gospel book in our Bible;
• purple=to mark Romans, the first letter book in our Bible.

1. Quintuple Steps

SAY – “How did the Bible come to be?”

PLAY – the Telephone Game = an example of the ‘oral tradition’

“The Bible is divided into 2 sections:  the Old and New Testaments.  It was written over a period of over 1600 years.  The word “Bible” comes from the Greek word biblia, which means “little books.” In all there are sixty-six “little books” in the Bible, 39 in the Old Testament (old promise/covenant) and 27 in the New Testament (new promise/covenant).”

• Have one student look up Genesis 1:1 and read it aloud.
• In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
• Ask another student to look up John 1:1 and read it aloud.
• In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

“We are SO fortunate to have the Bible and the words written down for us.  The early people had to memorize it.  Those who were young, memorized the Torah, the first five books of the Bible (show them).  Once they got to High School, they memorized up through the Psalms and if they were going to be a Spiritual leader or Rabbi, they had to memorize the entire Old Testament!”

Activity:

Have the students jump from one platform to the other, saying the Scriptures. Each student should go through twice so that they can recite each verse.  (It is probably best if the whole group says it together as each student goes through.  That way, they will memorize both verses.  Help be loud and lead the way, especially for the first few times.)

2. Agility Ladder– Creation – Have students find and mark Genesis 1:1

This verse tells us who the Bible is about.

We serve a God of order & systems. (solar system, patterns in pine cones, spring/summer/fall/winter, day/night/day/night, birth/getting old, etc.) Ask kids “what else?”

Make a creation trail mix to save for later for snack and used an agility ladder to run through the 7 days of creation in order.

Day1         God created the light and the dark (oreo cereal)

Day 2        God separated the water on the top from the water on the bottom. The top was sky, and the bottom was ground (Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal for the clouds and the ground)

Day 3        God made the green grass, the trees, and the flowers (stick pretzels). God also made the fruit and berries (raisins.) “God made food before he made animals that would need the food. Our God is SO WISE.”

Day 4        God created the sun and the moon and the stars (yellow M&M candies; Cheerios)

Day 5        God made the birds and the fish (Goldfish)

Day 6        God made man and woman and all the animals that walk on the ground (animal cookies)

Day 7        God rested on the seventh day (marshmallow pillows)

Joke: Where does the Bible talk about baseball? Genesis 1:1 “In the big-inning.” Then back to the bible study tables.

3. Flip the Tires:

The first five books of the Old Testament are called the Penteteuch. “Pente” means “five” and “teuch” means “books”.  The first five books of the Old Testament are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.  This is also call THE TORAH.

Was originally written on scrolls (rolled up paper) that were found in jars.

Activity:

Have half of the students on one side and half on the other. Have them flip each of the five tires, while saying the first five books of the Old Testament.

4. Stepping Stones

“The Ten Commandments are found in both Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Today, we are going to learn the Ten Commandments as we jump from stone to stone on one foot. Say the commandment as you go.  Remember that you have 10 fingers so you can transfer this to everyday life by looking down at your hands and reciting the Ten Commandments later.”

#1       God first

#2       Don’t bow down to idols

#3       Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain (misuse the Lord’s name)

#4       Remember the Sabbath & keep it holy

#5       Honor your Father & Mother

#6       Don’t murder/kill

#7       Don’t commit adultery (keep your marriage promises)

#8       Don’t steal (don’t take what is not yours)

#9       Don’t bear false witness (don’t speak ugly about others)

#10     Don’t covet (don’t want what is not meant for you)

5. TIps: Share the Good News

The Gospels are the first 4 books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Gospel = good news

Ask, “What is the good news?” That Jesus came from heaven to save us and reconcile (make us right) with God.

Get in pairs and throw a ball back and forth. Do this four times, saying the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

6. Hula Hoops:

Have a student find & read: Matthew 10:2-4 (NIV)

^“ These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; ³ Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; ⁴ Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.”

Set up four hoola hoops and ask each student hula hoop to hula hoop while saying as many names as possible.

Ask: What did Jesus do before He called/decided on these guys? (He prayed)

Simon Peter

Andrew

James

John

Philip

Bartholomew

Thomas, the twin

Matthew

James, the lesser

Judas Iscariot

Thaddaeus

Simon, the zealot

Matthias (replaced Judas Iscariot)

7. Cornhole: The Great Commandment

Have the students look up:  Mathew 22:36-40

“You shall love the Lord with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. YOU shall love the Lord with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself, UMPH!” (We chant it like a cheer).

8. Pass the Torch: Paul and Timothy

Have the students look up and read aloud: 2 Timothy 3:16-17

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NIV)

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so ^so that the servant of God^[a]may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Create two lines and have a relay, carrying a pool noodle with a plastic cup taped to top of pool noodle filled with marshmallows.  If they spill it, they must pick up the marshmallows and start over from the starting line.

9. Balance Beams – Walk the Plank

Look up Luke 11:1-4  The Lord’s Prayer

Look up Psalm 23  A Prayer of David

Discuss the many aspects of prayer (music, journaling, WITH, breath prayers, hand prayers, and silence.)

Activity: Walk the Plank in silence….everyone is silent…silent prayer walk.

Examples of how to pray…

WITH = What makes you want to tell God, “WOW!”

What do you wish to tell God, “I’m sorry.”

What do you want to THANK God for?

What do you need HELP with?

In between each one, repeat, “Thank you, Lord, that you are with me.”

Take a deep breath before each one.

Breath Prayer = Jesus, Be My Rock

Jesus (breathe in), Be my rock (breathe out)

Hand Prayers for Intercession (prayer for people)

Thumb – Those closest to me

Index  finger – those who teach me

Middle finger – those who are “over’ me (in authority)

Ring finger – those who are sick (weakest finger that can’t stay up on it’s own.)

Pinkie – yourself

10. Drag a Tire – Parables

Parables=stories that did not really happen, but that best tell a point Jesus wants us to know.

Have students look up Luke 10:25-37: Parable of the Good Samaritan

Discussion:   Who is your neighbor?

God wants us to help others, even if it’s a heavy load.

Pull the heavy tires across a long space.

11. Stack the tires – How does it end? With a new beginning!

Have the students look up Revelation 22:1-5

Say, “Jesus is coming back.”

Ask, “What would Jesus find you doing?” “Where would Jesus find you?”

Discuss: We are supposed to be growing in our knowledge of God and more and more like Jesus, though in this world. Once we learn one thing, we learn the next, and the next. Our growing in wisdom and knowledge of God stacks like these tires.

Ask, “How do we do we grow in the knowledge of god and more like Jesus?”

Stack the remaining tires one on top of another.

12. Medals: The Shema and Spiritual Discipline of taking 5 minutes each day to read the Bible and 5 minutes in prayer every day (even Sundays!) TAKE 5

Have everyone find and read:

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 (NIV)

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.^[a] 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Ask: How will you plan to Take 5 every day? 5 minutes reading the Bible and 5 minutes in silent prayer.

The first event looked like this. Each time, we tweak to make the experience better for the students and better for the leaders. And each time we offer this event I remember why I LOVE it!

“All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” 2 Timothy 3:16

What’s your Bible story? It’s a question I ask often when I speak to Christian educators or lead a Ladies Retreat. It’s a beautiful thing to watch someone’s countenance change from ‘here’ to ‘then’ as he or she tells the story of their Bible. It’s a stroll down their spiritual memory lane. Listening to the ‘who’, the ‘where’, the ‘when’ and your heart can jump straight into your throat.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I broke down and bought a new bible. I wrestled with letting go of the current one, but when chunks of Genesis rested in 2 Kings, and pages from Matthew are folded into the creases of Mark, it had to be done.

In 1968, I was 7 years old and my world was round. My parents gave me a Bible that fit perfectly under my arm as I rushed to Sunday School. It was a red-letter King James Bible with a zipper closure. This was my Starter Bible. Every name was marked and spaced phonetically so even this first-born-overachiever wouldn’t stumble if she read aloud the story of Melchizedec. In those days we could earn star stickers on a huge chart for memorizing Bible verses. So all the SHORT bible verses are underlined throughout. Think: “Jesus wept.” This little, black Bible is all that I have of my childhood. As a junior in high school, our home burned down. To the ground. Everything was lost. Everything except our Corning Ware dishes and our Bibles. In every one of my siblings’ bedrooms and my own, the only things rescued…the only things recovered…the only items with no ash…were each of our Bibles. I can still turn the pages at times and the smells of that day return.

In 1991, after resigning from serving as the Assistant Vice President of Investments at a bank in south Louisiana, I found myself standing on the stage of our local church being introduced as the new Kindergarten teacher and Teaching Supervisor at Comite Christian Academy celebrating with God for providing a way that I could earn a living and do more than just feed and clothe my kids at night. As I was being introduced, I prayed, “Lord! It doesn’t get any better than this. I am so excited about what you are going to do in our lives.” When Bob called home that night, he shared we’d been transferred to Connecticut. The memory is so vivid even today.

We moved to New England in November. I couldn’t find red beans, Rotel tomatoes, Duke’s mayonnaise, nor grits. No one spoke like me. My neighbors were polite, but hardly friendly. It snowed our second day and didn’t melt until the following April. I’d never been so cold in all my life. I was lost, and lonely. Bob and the kids gave to me a hardback, red-letter New International Version Life Application Bible for my 31st birthday. This is my Young Mom & Wife Bible. The black print was God’s history with His people. If the print was red, “Jesus said.” And if the print was blue, it was God’s history with me. There is a lot of blue print. Marked up especially around Proverbs 31, 23rd Psalm, Ephesians and everywhere else a young mom and wife would go for comfort, help, encouragement, joy, and vocabulary of love and purpose. On the inside cover is a picture of #1 Son and Baby Girl just after they were baptized.

By 2001, we had been moved by Bob’s company to the Atlanta area. Our kids were in upper elementary school. We bought a home, and began serving in a church just around the corner. We’d both gone on our Emmaus Walks the year before and Bible study was part of the rhythm of our lives. I was teaching weekday preschool, beginning to present trainings and workshops all over North Georgia. My hardback Bible was in pieces and I eagerly saved my coupons and picked up a thumb-indexed, red-letter, NIV, Life Application Bible from the local Christian bookstore. One of my students gave to me a Bible cover that I still use to this day reminding me of my calling and the huge responsibility to consider myself a teacher. This is my Warrior’s Bible. There is more written in blue ink here than any other. My faith files are clear with post it notes and added material to help me bring God’s story to life for me and mine and others.

This is the Bible I soaked in tears as the Lord and I fought through spiritual warfare, when He resurrected dead places in my heart and taught me to forgive. We endured seasons of sifting and wrestling, I claimed my call, I prayed, I taught, I fought, I hid, empty nested, and our children chose their partners for life.

Baby Girl tells me this new Bible is my New Beginnings Bible. Only time will tell of the season to come. A red-letter, NIV (1984), Life Application Bible because it’s the Bible that is the same translation as our student Bibles at our church. It’s hard enough to learn God’s vocabulary when the congruency is off in teaching.  My Warrior’s Bible was filled with years of Bible study teachings from a whole host of teachers, commentators, and personal experiences. It is so familiar. I can picture certain scriptures on the left top corner, or ‘in the middle of the page somewhere in John.’ As much as I miss turning the page to find familiarity, I am touched by a fresh word impressed upon me from a clean page with only His words and not my own. At least for now. When I turn the page I can be sure that Genesis is in the beginning and Revelation ends in the back of the book with “Amen.” And that’s a good thing.

What’s your Bible Story? Do your students know your Bible Story? When’s the last time you shared your Bible Story?

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.” Psalm 119:18
(This post was originally published in December 2015)

Chantal and I became quick friends during my family’s time in New England. I had accepted Christ as my savior at 10 years old at VBS, but she made Him Lord of her life as an adult. She was on the disciple-of-Jesus express train and I jumped on with all I had. We sharpened one another as iron sharpens iron in the Lord’s army as wives, mothers of little people, and weekday preschool teachers. One evening a week from 8-9pm we would call one another to share prayer requests and then pray our hearts out over the phone. At the top of our prayer lists were to become the Godly wives our Creator called us to be and that our children, all under 7 years old at the time, would love the Lord with all their hearts, souls, and minds at an early age. We fasted one day each week for God’s call on the lives of our children, even to pray for their future spouses. Yet even with all of our intentionality I felt limited in my prayer vocabulary, until I picked up a copy of Stormie Omartian’s The Power of a Praying Parent. Thirty chapters with thirty prayers at the end of each chapter along with scripture. Whatever day of the calendar month, that’s the chapter I would pray for my children. That was 1993.

Godly parents desire to be faithful to pray for their children. I’m thinking today’s parents are just as challenged as I was in prayer vocabulary. I have always encouraged parental prayers as part of a parent’s spiritual discipline, and The Power of a Praying Parent was the best resource I’ve ever used. Though I started this prayer practice when my littles were under the age of 7, it was when they were in middle and high school these chapters were especially helpful: Praying Through A Child’s Room, Learning To Speak Life, and Avoiding Addictions. A fruitful resource indeed and in paperback still available today.

“Having raised children from birth to adulthood, I’ve come to realize that one of the main things our children will take with them when they leave our realm of influence is their faith. If we can be sure they have strong faith in God and His Word, and the love of God in their hearts, then we can know they are set for eternity. Our prayers can play a big part in helping them achieve that.” Stormie Omartian, The Power of a Praying Parent (p. 204)

While listening to the podcast , The Kid’s Ministry Collective I heard of a new book Bible Praying For Parents and immediately ordered two copies. Keith Ferrin and Judy Fetzer collaborated to publish a book of prayers straight from the Holy Bible. Mrs. Fetzer collected these 365 prayers and sent them to herself and others through her blog www.mamahenprays.wordpress.com. Y’all this book provides more than just a book of prayers.

Bible Praying For Parents is a great tool for brief, breath prayers for our kids for every day of the year. The book also includes a section for Bible praying by categories such as anger, anxiety, family relationships, temptation, and more. And if that wasn’t worth the $14.99 price of the book, the back section is entitled: Bible Blessings.

Forty-three blessings are listed in the order they are found in the Bible. Blessings to speak over your children at night, as they head out the door, while eating a meal, or wherever you wish to speak God’s Word and truth so they know the power and mystery of the One who loves them even more than you.

“From 2 Thessalonians 3:5 Blessing: ____________, may the Lord direct your heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” (p 293)

When we read the Bible we learn God’s vocabulary and of His history and plan for His people. When we pray God’s vocabulary over our children, we hear His heart for our own, and our children hear His voice. This new resource should be beside every prayer chair on the planet because this I know: No one will pray for our kids like we will. Lord, may we be found faithful to do so regularly and well.

“A Godly Mother guides our steps…nurtures our growth, encourages our Spirit, molds our character, commits our lives to the One she’s been raising us for.” Julee Lynn Boren 1971-1998

There is something really special about being invited to join the launch team for books written and published by friends and colleagues. When it’s a children’s book (my favorite people)…from the bible (my favorite book)….about chicks in the bible (my bucket list for tea times when I enter the pearly gates)….well, I just put on the tea pot and pull out my favorite cup and saucer, ready to enjoy a treat.

Glenys Nellist, an English gal engaged in fabulous ministry in Michigan, is a grandmother, a mom to four young men, and Coordinator of Children’s Ministry for the West Michigan Conference of the United Methodist Church. Oh, and she writes poetry for little people wired for story and rhyme. Because of her deep passion for bringing the Bible to life for little people, I have copies of all her books on my shelf, on my bedside, and in my grandkids’ box of books. I have given multiple copies of her books as gifts to mamas who seek to be the spiritual champions for their littles because each one is filled with biblical truth, lovely rhyming text, and some have delightful lift-the-flaps with love letters from God, our Creator. The beautiful illustrations by Rachel Clowes from her Love Letter series have a gravity all their own and are utterly gorgeous. My daughter and I just gave copies of her Snuggle Times Prayers and Snuggle Times Psalms to my daughter-in-law who is expecting her first little one next month.

Glenys has added to her series of “Love Letters From God” a new book “Love Letters From God: Bible Stories For A Girl’s Heart.” As Glenys writes each girl’s story in kid-friendly language, she uses adjectives that could describe children of all ages and all stages: the first girl, the brave girl, the thirsty girl, and the generous girl. She includes a few you’d expect: Hannah, Esther, and Martha. I was thrilled she also included Eve (one who makes mistakes), Naaman’s servant girl (what’s a little girl’s book without the story of a little girl), and Rahab (one of the bravest women in the book.)

From Rahab: The Brave Girl from Joshua 2, “Rahab wanted to know a God like that. If he could take care of his people in such a wonderful way, maybe he would take care of her, too. Rahab was ready for a new start. She had made some bad choices. Was it too late for her to change, or could this God save her?” The lift-the-flap love letter  addressed to “Dear _____” reads at the end, “How amazing that Jesus would come from Rahab’s own family! But that’s what happens when you are brave and choose to follow me. I will take care of you in the most wonderful and amazing ways. Your caring friend, God.”

I’ve been thinking of a princess tea with my girls for next spring. This book will be part of the planning. This book will be part of my storytelling in Vacation Bible School this year since we’re covering Rahab and the Resurrection of Jesus. This book won’t stay on my shelf long. I probably ought to go ahead and order a box of copies. Love Letters From God: Bible Stories For A Girl’s Heart is a precious gift indeed.

“You are in my hand.” – Jeremiah 18:6 as noted from the pages 18-19 of “Love Letters From God: Bible Stories For A Girl’s Heart”

Over the years of serving children in the local church, you would think I’d become more mature in the things that make me chuckle. Not so much. Maybe because I grew up with 4 brothers, bodily functions remain a top laugh-getter.
Anyway, I have collected over the years some bible passages that have caused me to fall in the floor laughing:

• Luke 12:35 “Be dressed and ready for service.” (a permanent post-it-note on #1 son’s XBox during high school)
• John 12:7a “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. (my all-time personal favorite)
• Jeremiah 1:17 “Get yourself ready!  Stand up and say to them whatever I command you.  Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.”
• Proverbs 10:19 “Where there are many words, Sin is not absent.” (aka “shut thee up”)
• Leviticus 13:40 “When a man has lost his hair and is bald, he is clean.”
• Exodus 32:24 (Aaron speaking to Moses) “So I told them, ‘Whoever has any gold jewelry, take it off.’ Then they gave me the gold, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf!”
• Proverbs 26:17 “Like one who seizes a dog by its ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.”  (nothing like a bite in the face to keep you in your own business)
• Proverbs 25:24 “Better to live on a corner of the roof than to share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”  (self-explanatory, and said again in Proverbs 21:9)
• Nehemiah 6:3 “I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down.”  (a Mama’s mantra through middle school)
• 2 Timothy 4:11b “Take Mark, and bring him with thee:  for he is profitable to me for the ministry” (Baby Girl found this when she and Mark began getting serious)
• Psalm 119:139a “My zeal wears me out.”
• Ezekiel 44:18b “They must not wear anything that makes them sweat.” (Can I get an “AMEN!”?)

A clergy friend of mine has begun to get in on my collection and has added some of her own:

• Jeremiah 49:32 “Their camels shall become booty, their herds of cattle a spoil.”
• Ecclesiastes 10:1 “Dead flies make the perfumer’s ointment give off a foul odor.”
• Ecclesiastes 10:11 “If the snake bites before it is charmed, there is no advantage to the charmer.” (duh)
• Yep, “She is clothed in strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”  Proverbs 31:25

Got any you are willing to share?

What do we do after handing out a slew of new Bibles to 3rd-5th graders? We schedule a late night (6:30-9:30pm) on the following Friday for 3rd-5th graders to learn to use this new gift. Using the hugely popular tv show American Ninja Warrior as our theme, we set up bible and physical challenges that go together. Brainstorming for this event with another kidmin champion made for an awesome night.  The plan was to have it outside, but a rainstorm called for plan B – our gym.

Students were instructed to wear red, white, and blue, bring a towel (to lay on during the silence time), bring a bible (that’s why we’re here, but have some student bibles handy just in case someone forgets), bring a water bottle (the kids got thirsty quick), and use free Event Bright registration for signups (this made for quick notification emails of the change in venue and intake location).

Arrival activity: let students write names on headbands with a sharpie or a name tag for those who wore their own headbands, and lots of jump ropes.

Introduce the gathering attention chant with a leader saying, “The B-I-B-L-E” and the students respond “that’s the book for me.”

Using a Rainbow Bookmark – As followers of Jesus, we are people of THE BOOK…the Bible. 2 sections, 66 books. Testament – covenant – promise. Asking the question: What is the Bible? We pre-made 1/4 inch ribbon bookmarks knotted at the top to be placed in different places in their bibles as a large group:

• black=Table of Contents;
• red=Genesis, the first book in the Old Testament;
• orange=Joshua, the first history book in the Old Testament;
• yellow=Psalms, the 2nd poetry book in our Bible;
• green=Isaiah, the first prophet book in our Bible;
• blue=Matthew, the first Gospel book in our Bible;
• purple=to mark Romans, the first letter book in our Bible.

Quintuple Steps – Discussion and overview of the Bible. How did the Bible come to be? Play the telephone game (oral tradition).  The story of the Bible is about God and how God acted in people’s lives then and now.   Run the Quintuple side steps without touching the ground.

Agility Ladder – Creation – Genesis 1…We serve a God of order & systems. We made a creation trail mix to save for later for snack and used an agility ladder to run through the 7 days of creation in order. Joke: Where does the Bible talk about baseball? Genesis 1:1 “In the big-inning.” Then back to the bible study tables.

Flip the Tire – The Torah is the first 5 books of the Bible. Was originally written on scrolls (rolled up paper). Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Flip the tire 5 times and say the books that make up the Torah.

Over Under PVC Hurdles – God gave His people the 10 Commandments to live well with one another. Look up in Exodus 20 & Deuteronomy 5. Run under the pvc hurdles for the ‘do’ commandments and over the pvc hurdles for the ‘don’t’ commandments. Then speak loudly reading the commandments from a 10 commandment poster taped to the wall.

King of the Mountain – Look up the 4 gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Step from stump to stump without falling off.

Hula Hoops – Look up Matthew 10:2-4 and discover the 12 disciples. 4 stations of hula hoops. Jump through each hoop 3 times each saying the disciples/apostle’s names.

Bean Bag Toss – Look up Matthew 22:36-40 to discover The Greatest Commandment. Toss a bean bag into a Rubbermaid bin saying, “YOU shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,with all your soul, and with all your might. YOU shall love the Lord with all your mind and your neighbor as yourself, UMPH!”

Pass the Torch – Gotta have some water, right? Look up 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and discover the relationship between Paul and Timothy. Pass or carry a halved pool noodle with a cup taped to the end filled with water to another bucket. (We were not able to do this being inside, but the plan was there.)

Walking the Plank – Look up  Luke 11:1-4 The Lord’s Prayer. We’ll discuss the many aspects of prayer using a gift from Mark Burrows, the Children’s Ministry Lead at FUMC of Ft Worth, WITH (Wow, God….I’m sorry, God….Thank you, God…Help me/another, God), then a 10 minute period of silence. Walking raised lengths of wood for balance beams.

Silence – At some point on the course have a rest time for a period of silence (10-15 minutes, depending on time) to eat the trail mix and a cold Powerade on their towels spread throughout the space.

Drag A Tire – Look up the Parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37 and discuss who is my neighbor. Drag a tire with a rim by rope across a long space.

Perform Sword Drills for a whole host of things. (We did not have time for this, but we were ready just in case we did.)

Closed out the evening with awards of “Take 5” candy bars on 1/4 inch ribbons as we discuss taking 5 minutes each day to read the bible and pray.

My kidmin brainstorming partner’s husband came to pick up at night’s end. They have scheduled their American Ninja Warrior: Bible Edition late night at her local church in two weeks. With the help of parents and some gracious 5th grade boys, we had everything except the largest quad step packed in the van and ready to go within 20 minutes.  Most everything will be returned for next year’s event, because this turned out even better than I imagined. When parents arrived for pickup, they were able to watch their students ‘run the course.’

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1

What’s your Bible story? It’s a question I ask often when I speak to Christian educators or lead a Ladies Retreat. It’s a beautiful thing to watch someone’s countenance change from ‘here’ to ‘then’ as he or she tells the story of their Bible. It’s a stroll down their spiritual memory lane. Listening to the ‘who’, the ‘where’, the ‘when’ and your heart can jump straight into your throat.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I broke down and bought a new bible. I wrestled with letting go of the current one, but when chunks of Genesis rested among 2 Kings, and pages from Matthew are folded into the creases of Mark, it had to be done. The CLUB345 students gave to me a gift card to Barnes & Noble last Christmas, so what better way to use their gift than for me to get a new Bible where all the books are in the order intended.

In 1968, I was 7 years old and my world was round. My parents gave me a Bible that fit perfectly under my arm as I rushed to Sunday School. It was a red-letter King James Bible with a zipper closure. This is my Starter Bible. Every name was marked and spaced phonetically so even this first-born-overachiever wouldn’t stumble if she read aloud the story of Melchizedec. In those days we could earn star stickers on a huge chart for memorizing Bible verses. So innumerable SHORT bible verses are underlined throughout. This little black bible is all that I have of my childhood. As a junior in high school, our home burned down. To the ground. Everything was lost. Everything except our Corning Ware dishes and our Bibles. In every one of my siblings’ bedrooms and my own, the only things rescued…the only things recovered…the only items with no ash…were each of our Bibles. I can still turn the pages at times and the smells of that day return.

In 1991, after resigning from serving as the Assistant Vice President of Investments at a bank in south Louisiana, I found myself standing on the stage of our local church being introduced as the new Kindergarten teacher and Teaching Supervisor at Comite Christian Academy celebrating with God for providing a way that I could earn a living and do more than just feed and clothe my kids at night. As I was being introduced, I prayed, “Lord! It doesn’t get any better than this. I am so excited about what you are going to do in our lives.” When Bob called home that night, he shared we’d been transferred to Connecticut.

We moved to New England in November. I couldn’t find red beans, Rotel tomatoes, Duke’s mayonnaise, or grits. No one spoke like me. My neighbors were polite, but hardly friendly. It snowed our second day and didn’t melt until the following April. I’d never been so cold in all my life. I was lost, and lonely. Bob and the kids gave me a hardback, red-letter New International Version Life Application Bible for my 31st birthday. This is my Young Mom & Wife Bible. The black print was God’s history with His people. If the print was red, “Jesus said.” And if the print was blue, it was God’s history with me. There is a lot of blue print. Marked up especially around Proverbs 31, 23rd Psalm, Ephesians and everywhere else a young mom and wife would go for comfort, help, encouragement, joy, and vocabulary of love and purpose. On the inside cover is a picture of #1 Son and Baby Girl just after they were baptized.

By 2001, we had been moved by Bob’s company to the Atlanta area. Our kids were in upper elementary school. We bought a home, and began serving in a church just around the corner. We’d both gone on our Emmaus Walks the year before and Bible study was part of the rhythm of our lives. I was teaching weekday preschool, beginning to present trainings and workshops all over North Georgia. My hardback Bible was in pieces and I eagerly saved my coupons and picked up a thumb-indexed, red-letter, NIV, Life Application Bible from the local Christian bookstore. One of my students gave to me a Bible cover that I still use to this day reminding me of my calling and the huge responsibility to consider myself a teacher. This is my Warrior’s Bible. There is more written in blue ink here than any other. My faith files are clear with post it notes and added material to help me bring God’s story to life for me and mine and others.

This is the Bible I soaked in tears as the Lord and I fought through spiritual warfare, when He resurrected dead places in my heart and taught me to forgive. We endured seasons of sifting and wrestling, I claimed my call, I prayed, I taught, I fought, I hid, empty nestied, and our children chose their partners for life.

Baby Girl tells me this new Bible is my New Beginnings Bible. Only time will tell of the season to come. A red-letter, NIV (1984), Life Application Bible because it’s the bible that is the same translation as our student Bibles at our church. It’s hard enough to learn God’s vocabulary when the congruency is off in teaching.  My Warrior’s Bible was filled with years of Bible study teachings from a whole host of teachers, commentators, and personal experiences. It is so familiar. I can picture certain scriptures on the left top corner, or ‘in the middle of the page somewhere in John.’ As much as I miss turning the page to find familiarity, I am touched by a fresh word impressed upon me from a clean page with only His words and not my own. At least for now. When I turn the page I can be sure that Genesis is in the beginning and Revelation ends in the back of the book with “Amen.” And that’s a good thing.

What’s your Bible Story? Do your students know your Bible Story? When’s the last time you shared your Bible Story?

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.” Psalm 119:18

(This post was originally published in December 2015)

J. Ellsworth Kalas shares a story in What I Learned When I Was Ten of Gene Palmer, a revival preacher, who came to dinner on his last Sunday in town. In the course of dinner, Kalas’ mom shared with Palmer of Kalas’ call to ministry. Kalas was 10 years old. Palmer took this announcement seriously and asked to speak to young Kalas alone. Palmer asked, “Have you read the bible through yet?” Kalas replied, “Uh-huh, I read the bible.” Palmer pushes, “No. I asked if you’ve read it through?” “All the way?,” asked Kalas. Palmer pushes even more, “All the way! How can you hope to be a preacher if you haven’t read the bible through?”

In two weeks, 10 days to be specific, I will complete a journey that started on January 1, 2011: Reading through the bible…in community.  The community was within a closed Facebook group.

Our senior pastor sets a scripture to give clarity and a focus for our particular body of Christ for the upcoming season. On Christmas Eve 2010, He called us to ‘Let the Spirit of God grow in you” for 2011. Seemed easy enough: be a part of a bible study.

But I had some challenges:

1. I lived 50 minutes away from the church
2. I was on staff, so I could be seen as an ‘authority’, though FAR from it
3. Most of the congregation commuted to downtown Atlanta for work and had little time to carve out one more thing like a typical bible study
4. I had just started at this church the previous April, so I had no real credibility in being a part of a discipleship program…these folks didn’t know me from Adam’s house cat

So I opened a closed facebook group to begin January 1st.  The parameters were…

1. We’d promote it in the church and on facebook
2. Starting in Matthew, we’d follow a reading plan, reading several chapters in the New Testament, in order, each day
3. We’d post our train of thought in a comment each day, though we’d take weekends and holidays off
4. The first one to post started with a comment (November 10: Zephaniah 9: ‘comment’) and others would add their comments to the comment stream

We started with five commenters/members. We found after we read the New Testament that we wanted to continue, but with adjusted parameters:

1. Read one chapter each day beginning in Psalms and through Proverbs, taking the weekends and holidays off
2. Periodically promote it in the bulletin and on facebook allowing others to join if one of the originating members knew them.
3. We’d keep on reading and keep on commenting and if a fellow sojourner wanted to join in who was known by a member of the group, we’d add them in

After finishing the New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs, we completed the first year. But found we wanted to continue this new habit, this new spiritual discipline. So come January 2012, we started the Old Testament, one chapter each day, taking the weekend and holidays off. The first to comment started the stream for that day.

Today, we have thirty members, but typically have only three to five comment, or ‘like’, or view. We have members from all over the country and include both men and women. Members have come in and out in comment activity. Each one perhaps not able to carve hours out of their daily schedule to gather together and study the bible in a typical way. Rather, we have dedicated to start out each morning with reading one chapter each day and commenting what is on our hearts and minds, a simple prayer, keeping it clean of disunifying rants, and just sharing in our pajamas or work suits and over a cup of coffee or tea or Diet Coke.

The accountability has been fantastic. The habit has been transforming. There are now a few folks who know ALL the colors of my rainbow through the lens of scripture…and I remember a whole lot more of what I’ve read. For goodness sakes, just when I thought obeying God was the easiest thing in the world, I read in Isaiah 20 that God asked Isaiah to go around stripped and barefoot for 3 years….naked and barefoot for 3 years! And Isaiah did it! I don’t know how I missed that before.

We’ve decided to continue on through the New Testament again in two weeks. One chapter at a time so to be molded and challenged by the holy word of God as we did the Old Testament, Psalms and Proverbs rather than the chunks of scripture we started out with.  For just about everyone, they accomplished something rare, especially for Christians….American Christians:  They read the whole bible through.

Have you?

“The most frequent excuse for not growing in our spiritual lives is lack of time. Most of us live at the mercy of our schedule, instead of planning ahead and arranging our schedule around our apprenticeship to Jesus.” Rev James Bryan Smith, from The Good And Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ

 

When we swim on the swim team, we bring a towel. When we run for field day, we bring a water bottle. When we go to school, we bring our backpack. When we go to art camp, we are sure to wear something that can get messed up. These are all things we must have to be successful in what we’ve chosen to do. We want to be ready. We want to be equipped. We want to be prepared.

Bringing your Bible to church is exactly the same! Research tells us that we learn 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, but  65% of what we hear AND see.

When we come to church without our bibles, we come ready to only hear. We are coming prepared to walk away with only 20% of what is shared. But when we come to church with our bibles, ready to hear AND to see what is being read, we plan to walk away with so much more.

We are dealing with eternal things, life lessons, relationship tools, and a greater understanding of who God is and who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ when we bring our bibles to church.  We engage in a worship service ceremony each fall and give bibles to all our 1st graders (they are just learning to read, so we give them Early Reader’s Bibles), all our 3rd graders (they get a red-letter NIV to use at CLUB345,) and all our 6th graders (they get a study bible to use and learn going through Confirmation.)  Having access or getting bibles is not the issue….it’s bringing it, which is reflective of our using it…or not.

We join swim team to be a great swimmer. We run on field day to win the prize. We go to school to learn to be great citizens and learners. We go to art camp to get our greatest creativity on. When we come to church with our bibles, we come ready and prepared to be a great disciple of Jesus Christ. Let’s be great together!

“Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good.”  Job 34:4