We decided several years ago while evaluating our worship experience that we would be a local church which worships as a family. We plan nothing else and no other programming takes place during the two worship experiences. This way our kids can see their parents sing, give, pray, learn to engage and participate in the worship experiences of our faith tradition. This meant we would bring back the order of worship in the front of our hymnal which puts the sermon in the middle, add more visual elements through art, video, and space, and offer more music/liturgy with repetition. This was fine as our Ministry Insights reported we had no little-littles, and most of our kids were 2nd-5th graders.

Today there are more families moving into the area with little-littles. To offer a Sunday morning worship experience where the littles (and mamas) aren’t experiencing separation anxiety, when their little is too heavy to ‘wear’ anymore, and guest parents wish to get to know the congregation better through worship, we started talking.

We talked at Worship committee. We talked with our current mamas of littles. We talked with trustees. We talked with grandparents who wanted to worship with their adult children and grandchildren. We talked with the Lord in prayer.

The name “prayground” comes from Rev. Catherine Renken, pastor of Kirkwood Presbyterian Church in Kennesaw, GA who brainstormed with others when the prayground at Grace in Apple Valley, MN was being built. The name has caught on.

Though different churches have put it into practice in different ways, a prayground is a place in the front of the sanctuary where young children can experience worship through age-appropriate worship materials and tools that will help keep them engaged in worship. (Traci Smith)

We put together a packet of colored photos of what praygrounds looked like in other churches. We talked in every small group gathering. Even with the small group of ladies who prepare the Sanctuary and fold bulletins each Thursday afternoon. I wore it like a sandwich board and made it a topic of every single conversation at every table. We posted on social media every blog post or article we could find that would keep it at the forefront of our family’s minds and hearts.

A grandparent proposed preparing a prayground at the Administrative Council. Lots of discussion took place. A motion was made and approved unanimously for us to give it a try and re-evaluate come September. There are several intentional preschool entry events happening this summer so trying it out now would be a great next step to invite our community to worship as a family. Though the Ad Council meeting closed in prayer in the meeting room, everyone gathered for more conversation at the proposed space to get a ‘picture’ of what it might look like before heading home. The Staff-Parish Relations Committee Chairperson took the point of public champion and spoke about it at every service fielding all the questions for three weeks.

Promoted in person, bulletin and newsletter announcements, social media posts, and a sermon series on attitudes including the attitudes of gratitude and compassion kept the conversations going. Our pastor and trustees removed the pews, grandparents steam cleaned the floor space, rugs were ordered from Amazon, the senior pastor painted the wall, a trustee performed a safety inventory and made adjustments, other grandparents provided board books, foam blocks, receiving blankets, a bouncy seat, and a few small machine-washable stuffed animals.

We opened on the best day possible: Mother’s Day. The prayground space was used in both services, by two families, three generations each. A daughter-in-law led the first family when 20 minutes in, her preschooler was stacking foam blocks with his suited-up grandfather. A grandmother led the second family to the prayground when 20 minutes in, a toddler was engaged with his daddy in the front row and his grandfather in the pew behind. He bolted at one point and the youth corralled him before he ran up the steps of the chancel area. No one missed a beat. This endeavor was and is so worth the tension. We are worshiping as a family of faith. Prayers and praises for the champions who waved the banner!

“Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” Mark 10:14

Christy Wright is a speaker/coach and the face of Business Boutique, a part of the Dave Ramsey brand. Though I listen to other leadership podcasts, her’s is the one that I relate to the most as it speaks to women in business. She acknowledges that as a woman in business, I don’t do all my best work behind a desk, but typically at the dining room table with the dog needing to be let out, the laundry on the other side of the table, a toddler’s mac-n-cheese on the chair to my left, a teenager’s forgotten gym bag at my feet, and the most up-to-date family calendar on my fridge. I lead a business…ministry with children in a local church…with a personal mission to know God and make Him known in every area of my life.

She shared last week on her podcast five qualities necessary for running a small business. She spoke truth. These same five qualities are exactly what I have experienced are necessary to lead effectively in ministry with children in the local church over the long haul.

1. Be resourceful – Use what you already have. It may appear that someone else has more money, more land, more space, more supplies, more volunteers, more kids, yet God has called YOU to this community to be His shining light. Christy says, “When you shine in your gifts, people see God.” Shine on!

2. Be scrappy – Be willing to do whatever it takes to get it done.
When you run out of something, you improvise because we don’t have to be perfect in budget, attendance, or resources to get the job done of expressing the love of God, pointing little people to Jesus, or equipping Mamas to be the spiritual champions for their littles. Our battle is real. Our adversary is formidable. Our prayers are powerful. His Word is armor. Be scrappy. Not because of who YOU are, but because of who HE is! I’m in the middle of the bible study of Geri Scazzero’s The Emotionally Healthy Woman. It’s helping me to be scrappy well.

3. Be persistent – Don’t give up.
I can’t count the number of ideas that were complete failures in my house (my local church), but because I shared it on my blog or at a workshop, someone else pulled it off with great success and that leader was kind enough to give testimony. Keep trying. 60% of sales transactions come after four interactions. We are all salespeople and we are all in business, so learn the best practices of marketing and communicating to build relationships. I’m reading Gail Z. Martin’s 30 Days To Social Media Success to keep my skills sharp. If anyone’s in the business of building relationships, it’s those who dedicate their lives to ministry with children and introducing them to a sold-out relationship with Jesus. So don’t give up.

4.  Be creative – Surround yourself with creative people who want to be creative with you. I’ve learned that just because someone’s expertise is graphic arts, set decoration, or kids with special needs doesn’t mean they want to share their gift in the local church. I don’t get it, but it happens. Release them, forgive them, and move on. I’ll take faithfulness and enthusiasm any day over giftedness. Our monthly kidmin network lunch is filled with the most creative people on the planet and thankfully they take my calls.

5. Be willing to try – Risk is always involved in advancing the cause of Christ, so don’t stay in the dreaming phase. Talk about your dreams for your ministry a lot. All the time. Bring it up in every conversation. Wear it like a sandwich-board sign. I’m in the middle of reading Crucial Conversations: Tools For Talking When Stakes Are High. This may not be their lives, but it’s God’s call on yours. Everyone is consumed with something happening in their own lives, so you have to wave your flag, banner, sign all. the. time. Champions come not from the words written in a bulletin or an occasional announcement at the beginning of Sunday services. It’s only face-to-face when folk can see your energy, the tone in your voice, and you can make the ask.

“For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for God’s people will arise from another place, but you and your family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14

The insight reports share that most of the students in my immediate community are 2nd grade and older which inspired us to begin CLUB345 for 3rd-5th graders six years ago. The 2017 CLUB345 theme came from Children’s Ministry Deals presenting the life of King David in colors. Each night we gathered with a color theme matching the life of David. We’ve been waiting all year for this very night to close out the 2016-2017 school season with our CLUB345 families.

We were blown away at the generosity of Team Smith who provided a taco bar with lots of color for family dinner for us all. Each fifth grader was presented with our traditional parting gift of their first names in scriptures that are timely for wisdom and continuing to grow in the knowledge of our great God. 5×7 frames come from Amazon, decorated lunch bags serve as the background, and a long list of scriptures collected over the years make for an inexpensive yet personal gift for each fifth grader. If you’d like the list of scriptures, send me an email at dedereilly@comcast.net.

Families went on a color scavenger hunt – gotta fit in the white lunch bag and can only collect from the children’s hallway. THEN, 20 seconds to return it all! Afterwards, it’s outside to play our two favorite games: the shoe game and a pool noodle sword game.

Amazon offers a Color Powder Party Box we ordered in January for around $50 for fun beyond belief, then continued the messiness with kiddy pools filled with water and Dollar Tree water shooters. Our BEST idea was to put out on social media a request for a free, amateur photographer to take the photos. Mamas weren’t getting anywhere near the color powders and we wanted colorful photos to use for the remainder of the summer for various purposes. Ms. Martha took AMAZING photos and had a dvd dropped off at my office door before I arrived with keys at 9am on Monday.

The littles in the family got a chance to play with ‘the big kids’ and it is the best thing we do to build their excitement for when they start third grade.

“The end of a thing is better than it’s beginning.” Ecclesiastes 7:8 KJV

We are discovering a variety of skills are appealing to both parents and kids with the Wesley Chapel Academy. Even though some of the boys who signed up for sewing basics were concerned there wouldn’t be other boys, we found there were an equal number of boys to girls at the third Wesley Chapel Academy class.

Ordering Sewing School: 21 Sewing Projects Kids Will Love To Make with kid-friendly graphics from Amazon, we chose two projects we thought the kids could accomplish in the time frame of 6-7:30 with tutor introductions at the beginning, a small break mid-way for a story about the sick woman healed by the power of even the touch of the fabric of Jesus’ cloak, and certificates with summer fun registration information attached.

Supplies included: 2 needles per student, scrap fabric for the pillow, batting for stuffing the pillow, 2 small sewing kits with small spools of thread, crayons/chalk for outlining patterns, large 2-hole buttons, dark colored felt (the darker colors make for a stiffer fabric), scissors, paper bags for carrying finished projects or storing unfinished projects, ice water in the large dispenser with small cups for the water-story break.

6:05-6:15 Introductions and housekeeping

6:15-6:45 Station #1

6:45-6:55 Water and story break

6:55-7:25 Station #2

7:25-7:30 Certificates earned and class photo

Two seamstresses in the church (Titus 2 women!) and two young people who could take instruction AND keep the littles on task along with keeping their needles threaded/knotted (we did have some 1st & 2nd graders) were wonderful tutors. They spoke, they displayed, then encouraged the students to keep trying to do it themselves.

One brother and sister team drove over an hour to attend the class. They heard about the class through our registration tool Eventbrite. Twenty registered, fifteen attended, three students were new faces!

The next Wesley Chapel Academy is next month and we’re breaking out the power tools!

“When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”” Mark 5:27-28

Tossing out the photos onto the table, the workshop participants were invited to choose a photo that best represented ‘How well is your soul?’.  At each table everyone shared their photo and why they chose it. I had no idea that the community had suffered through a suicide at the local high school and two had just been diagnosed with the terrible-awful. We prayed with. We prayed over. We prayer through. Then we were able to carry on the scheduled training having addressed the many elephants in the room and the heavy baggage most of us didn’t even know about.

Tossing photos onto the floor, the children were invited to choose a photo that best represented sadness. Photos were chosen that were black and white, a colorful clown, and others. They were asked to show the photo each one chose and why it made them feel sad. Then I began teaching about how Jesus might have felt when praying in the Garden of Gethsemane as he kept coming back to ask his friends to “watch and pray, watch and pray”. Bringing scripture to a heart and mind ready with a visual image made for a swift application of the Jesus moment as best a 1st grader could understand.

Third through fifth graders chose from a group of photos one picture that represented ‘waiting’. After sharing each photo chosen and why it represented waiting with the great silliness and laughter that only comes from third-fifth graders, we began to learn how long David waited and persevered in God’s big adventure for him from being a shepherd boy to king of Israel. God has a big adventure for each of them and it’ll be worth the wait. Spiritual conversations began as soon as we searched the scriptures in 2 Samuel when we each brought our idea of waiting to the table.

A colleague from Discipleship Ministries shared The Visual Faith Project with me a few months ago. I ordered the kid pack of images and another pack of images. There are several to choose from on the website.  I’ve been playing with the images in the settings above and I don’t even know what I’m doing. What I do know is I’ve already found several ways to use them to begin spiritual conversations with adults and children.

Images provide vocabulary, prompt memories, initiate conversation, and allow connection quickly in a small group. So we’ve set up a training sponsored by North Georgia’s CEF team for using images and The Visual Faith Project.

We are wired for imagery. Exploring scripture through the use of images creates a connection in our biology and our souls that allows us to experience God’s Word in new and transformative ways. Rev. Dr. Scott Hughes, Director of Adult Ministries of United Methodist Discipleship team will lead training to use these and other images for faith formation.  Will you join me?  I stand in wonder for how I can be better equipped when I know what I’m actually doing. I’m always looking for new tools in my toolbox to be a better teacher, a better coach, and a better disciple. Aren’t you? Register here.

“Ears that hear and eyes that see – the LORD has made them both.” Proverbs 20:12

Palm Sunday is one of only a few Sundays I can wear a dress or skirt to church because coming off the floor after the Children’s Moment in anything other than pants can easily turn ugly. So when a service has so much going on and a Sunday is so big there isn’t time for a Children’s Moment, I wear a dress or skirt and work the room.

It’s on the Sundays I wear a dress, we typically have lots of guests because the choir is singing, the youth are playing, the puppets are puppeting, the children are signing, the services are combined and there’s usually a lunch or meal to follow the service. Lunch after church is a guarantee that it’s a big Sunday. It’s a big Sunday with critical mass and I work the room.

Waving to people I know, but giving face-time to all the little people and their people is priority #1. Keeping aware for who is watching me, I head in their direction with hands to shake, side hugs ready, and high fives moving into position.

By the time I reach the food line, the kitchen team is usually packing up or dishing out seconds, but it gives me a chance to linger saying, “Thanks!” to each one on the other side of serving spoon. I notice the tables full with friends already made. I notice the tables with one or two sitting and lots of empty chairs. I head in that direction and sit-a-spell to ask, “How you doin?” and let them know the next KidMin thing that’s coming up that I’m excited about. “Hey! Did you know that we ….?” This is foot marketing….and I’ve learned these conversations are investments for KidMin champions.

This last big Sunday a new family was sitting by themselves, so I asked if I could join them and engaged in fabulous conversation with the oldest a 3rd grader, the kindergartner who told me all the family news in typical middle child fashion, and their just-turned-three-year-old little brother. It was Dad’s first time on campus and Mom had been coming for the last month with the oldest. Within the last month, they’d gotten an email, a postcard, and a handwritten letter from me. Now we get some table life. By the end of the meal, which I didn’t eat because big Sundays are not for eating, we were laughing and making plans for tea in the next two weeks.

This next Sunday is a big Sunday, too…Resurrection Sunday! I’ll be back to wearing pants and pouring out hot chocolate at the sunrise service. Did you know that you can fill a huge coffee canister with hot chocolate from RaceTrac or QuickTrip for around $1.50?

Hospitality should be at it’s best on big Sundays. How do you do big Sundays?

“We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.” 3 John 1:8

According to HGTV.com, a house can be whipped into shape for guests in less than an hour if we have a plan. “Focus your efforts where they’re really going to show,” advises interior designer Paula Jhung.

Start in the foyer by decluttering. Your entrance should look inviting with fresh flowers, rid of spider webs, and debris. It’s the entrance that gives folks a first impression of who you are, how you take care of things, and will our guests want to linger there. “You want to make sure that you get things clean that are closer to eye-level,” she adds. ‘Dust horizontal surfaces, check the floor for dust bunnies, then move on to the bathrooms.’

“Ironically, this area — not the kitchen or the living room — is where you want to be the most fastidious,” says Jhung. “People are in there with blaring light, with no one else around and they can see everything,” she says. Focus instead on the things most people will actually use — the toilet, mirror, sink and counter. Spray bleach/whitening cleaner in, around, and on the front of the toilet AND the sink especially if your facilities are a tad…how do I say this….aged. Remembering that eyes go up and then down, sweep the dust away from the intake vents and for goodness sake, put some clean smelling (not fruity) air fresheners behind the doors in every bathroom in the house. Wipe down the doorknobs, and make sure it’s stocked with napkins, toilet paper, and have a place for a lady to put down or hang up her purse.

I remember cleaning Baby Girl’s room all night long while she slept.  The mess didn’t bother her, but it made me nuts. I was sick and tired of her bedroom being the topic of every conversation. Honestly, it was more like a monologue….me fussing, her listening. Though she felt she had done her part, it was not up to Mama’s code. Since it was bothering only me, I served her and me by taking it on. I love this girl like nobody’s business, so I put on the headphones of my Walkman (now I’ve dated myself!) and cleaned all around her while she slept. Everything but the vacuuming.  The next morning, she was delighted to do the vacuuming and my brain was no longer distracted by the hot mess of a middle schooler’s bedroom. We certainly had better things to talk about and now I could.

This Sunday is Palm Sunday with little people parading with palm branches and our music department presenting an Easter program followed by Resurrection Sunday and all that goes along with that. Company’s coming! Yesterday, I picked up a slew of fresh rain air fresheners at Dollar Tree and Publix had bleach cleaners on sale at three for five dollars. Wearing the gloves of hospitality, I spent some time this morning getting ‘our house’ ready for company.

Yes, there may be a custodian, but I put on fresh eyes, rubber gloves, and instead of wishing someone else would ‘take care of that’, I did what it took to make ‘our home’ ready for guests and company….up to Mama’s code.

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 1 Peter 4:9

I didn’t know praise band practice had been cancelled last Thursday, so the nursery caregiver I had arranged arrived early rather than going home only to wait for several hours before realizing what was happening…er, not happening. In my other role, I’m responsible for the church calendar and space reservations.

The children’s moment is presented each week in both services. But I didn’t know something else would be happening at that part of the service. Something else absolutely awesome, and I mean awesome, but I didn’t know. Somehow it didn’t get to me that I’d not be presenting the children’s moment. So I stood prepared with props in hand to come down at that point in the service, just to sit back down in my seat. In my other role, I am responsible for communications and preparing the printed order of worship.

And only one student came to Sunday school. I and our faithful Sunday school team prayed and prepared and only one student was present. Our faithful Sunday school team is made up of grandparents…active, dancing, Lego-building-on-the-floor, faithful, Jesus-following grandparents. Our kid’s parents are amazing people. They’re busy, weary, and committed to so many other amazing and wonderful things. I don’t even know when they have time to do laundry. Sometimes it’s just life.

It is our human tendency to focus on what we don’t have rather than what we do. This is when I realize I don’t spend enough time thinking about how good God is. This is when it’s better to go with what I know rather than how I feel.

This I know:

(1)  God made me and Jesus loves me.

(2)  When I am called to keep pushing the boulder, it isn’t just so the boulder moves, but rather that I will be obedient in the boulder-pushing.

(3)  In the opening words of The Purpose-Driven Life, “It’s not about me.”

(4)  Preparing for one as I’d do if there were 300 is a sign of my trust in a very great God. Jesus did…Nicodemus, the Woman at the well, etc.

(5) According to Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, “Some days are just like that.”

Before you think this is a Debby Downer blogpost, it’s far from it. That evening at CLUB345’s orange night, kids and their families brought bags of fresh orange fruit to share with the residents of Elizabeth Inn Homeless Shelter which operates under the guidance of MUST Ministries.

It’s times like these that cause me to pause…to pray…to love…to rest. The freight train has been running fast and furious. It’s time for a DAWG Day…Day Alone With God. A Day dedicated to the Lord of the Dance and a VBS can in my house clothes. Watching music videos of kids singing and dancing before the Lord. Reading leader guides with fabulous ideas to impress God’s Word upon His children. And that will be today. This is the best part: It’s been scheduled and on the calendar for three weeks.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26

Last September the North Georgia Annual Conference received a new Bishop, as did several other United Methodist conferences all around the country. Since our new Bishop’s appointment, she has given folks a chance to share their hearts and hear her heart’s message in meet and greet receptions for the laity in each district. Last weekend, she was in our district.

In our district she preached at two churches on Sunday morning, held the meet and greet laity reception on Sunday afternoon, and met with the clergy of our district on Monday afternoon. Attending the laity reception, she gave a message and then essentially opened the floor to anyone who wished to speak. As the host church provided microphones, folks asked questions and shared celebrations as well as challenges in our district and in the global church.

I stood up to make a comment about my heart for children in our community, especially for those who serve the children in our local churches. I shared about the gatherings in every district of our conference of those who serve children in ministry to resource and offer training to engage children in worship, in Sunday school, and in mission at what we called “Done In A Day.” Then I asked about her thoughts and dreams about engaging children in the faith. The Bishop shared about her grandmother and her desire to see more intergenerational faith experiences.

Others asked and spoke about the homeless, the lonely, and how to share Jesus in their workplace. One fellow stood and asked if there were any 20-somethings in the room. One man stood. He was sitting in the back row. He was sitting among several students. This young man had brought his confirmation class. Two of his students were also given the microphone to comment and ask a question of the Bishop.

I had been running invites in the bulletin for six weeks. We made announcements from the pulpit for a month. For the last three weeks, our pastor spoke to say, “DeDe will treat you to lunch or you can meet her here to carpool to gather to meet our Bishop.” No one took me up on it.

Yet, this guy brought his confirmation class. How often will a group of kids get to hear a message from a great communicator like a Bishop? How often do kids get to ask questions of a conference leader? What a great idea!

The guy left before I could speak with him or get his name. He left before I could tell him that his presence and his gesture to invite the young people in his spiritual charge had an impact not just on his kids, but on me. Next time. Next time my invites will be different. I sure hope there is a next time.

“Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.” Exodus 4:12

Every kid wants to be in the kitchen…using the coolest tools…making a huge mess…listening in on the family stories…because it’s in the kitchen where the action of family and food happen. Giving kids a chance to practice life skills that are yummy and easy was the goal for our second WC Academy Class. Housekeeping Basics was our first and we continue to hear from parents how the help at their homes has greatly improved since their kids took the class.

We ordered aprons to use another day and gave them chef hats to take home. No need for name tags since we used a food container to take from station to station with names.

We set up five stations, each with a different skill and different kind of food:

Item: Chocolate covered strawberries & pretzel sticks
Supplies: Microwave, glass bowls, wooden and metal spoons, wax paper
Shopping List: White and brown chocolate bark, strawberries, large pretzel sticks
Tips: Even a drop of water will mess up melted chocolate (which we had an example of).

Item: Punch & Peach Salsa
Supplies: Glass bowls, spoons, ladle, beverage dispenser, ice
Shopping List: Ginger Ale, cranberry juice, salsa, peach fruit cups, tortilla chips (different colors)
Tips: Ginger ale will lose it’s bubble if poured too fast; straining the peaches makes for a better, thicker salsa so let the kids pull back only a little on the fruit cups to strain the juice; using blue and brown chips makes for a more visually appealing plate; most had never seen a ladle before nor knew what it was called; dropping in orange slices or strawberries makes punch look pretty; we used a Styrofoam cup we tore down half-way to make for a dipping cup in the food carrier to keep the salsa from touching everything else.

Item: Fruit kabobs
Supplies: long toothpicks, plastic knives, paper plates
Shopping List: String cheese, green grapes
Tips: Teach to ‘saw’ rather than ‘chop’ food with a plastic knife to cut string cheese into cubes; pre-cut small bunches of grapes for students to wash and dry.

Item: Grilled Cheese Sandwich (gotta have an element of danger, right?!)
Supplies: Electric frying pan, egg turner/pancake flipper, paper plates, metal spoon to spread butter
Shopping List: tub/soft butter, bread, sliced cheese
Tips: Kids were taught altogether at the beginning of class how to make a grilled cheese because of the heat and the time constraints; a lot of my kids couldn’t spread the butter even though the back of a spoon makes it easier, so the ‘beautiful golden bread’ happened for some and not for others (They LOVED it anyway! Who doesn’t like butter and a lot of it?); leave the butter out of the fridge for a bit to get softer and make it easier to spread. Station signs were paper bags in the center of the tables to keep the trash and wrappers at bay. Cleaning up as you go is a life skill in itself, yes?

Item: Pinwheel Sandwich
Supplies: Toothpicks, paper plates, knives to slice roasted peppers, metal teaspoons for spreading cream cheese, vegetable peelers (got from the dollar store for half price after Christmas)
Shopping List: Large head of romaine lettuce, whipped cream cheese, baby spinach leaves, small flour tortillas, slices of oven-roasted deli turkey, provolone cheese, roasted pepper from a jar, carrots, toothpicks
Tips: Using whipped cream cheese (much easier to spread than original cream cheese) instead of mayo keeps the items in the tortillas rather than sliding so cutting the roll-up into pinwheels is much easier; the colors are beautiful from the side of a pinwheel; cut the hard center from a romaine lettuce leaf with a veggie peeler so it’ll roll smoothly; thankfully huge carrots are inexpensive so they could peel to their heart’s content over their own tall garbage can; when ordering the turkey and cheese, ask the deli to place a piece of paper between each slice; plan for 1 slice of turkey and a half slice of cheese for each pinwheel.

In between the 3rd and 4th rotation, we stopped for a beverage (punch) break as I shared the story of how Jesus fed the 5,000: he uses what kids have to offer, he blesses, he multiplies, we gather together, and leftovers. Jesus can and will do mighty things with what a kid brings to Him. Jesus can do anything!

Some students ate as they traveled from station to station. Some students snacked as they went. One student waited until she got home so she could show her parents everything she had made. This same student had her Mom send me a pic last weekend showing a beautifully grilled cheese sandwich she made on her own at home. Certificates were handed out at the end with testimony time with the items, supply and shopping lists printed on the back.

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8