my hat’s off to…
a wonderful blogger friend. not only is she a kind friend always willing to lend a helping hand or give a word of encouragement or a bit of advice, but she posts some thoughtful entries on being a mom, raising kids creatively and purposefully. she’s also very crafty- which I am not.
http://thetraintocrazy.typepad.com/the_train_to_crazy/
check her out, especially her “50 ways to give”…
clutter and me = list mania
People that know me well, know that I have a small obsession with organizing things. I love my to-do lists. I love to take a cluttered closet or office drawer and bring order to it. So you can imagine that I am SUPER excited to help quest kids ministry get a little more organized and help distribute some of our many resources a little better. Now, though I like to be organized I am not perfect and many times I forget what’s “neatly” hidden in the back of my cabinets. Just this past year I had 6 large bottles of ketchup in my cupboards- compliments of costco packaging. argh. don’t you hate it when you buy something that you already have. I just did that this christmas when I bought a certain type of wrapping paper I thought I was out of and found a whole roll of it- in the wrapping paper bin no less.
the kids ministry has fallen victim to this tragedy as well. there are more crayons stored in the resource room that we could use in 10 years! There are stashes of paper clips and push pins in every corner.
And of course there is no one to blame, this stuff just happens. But here I come, to-do list in hand. Anxious to de-clutter a little. Now, if only I could de-clutter the contents of my brain…information overload at the moment!
reprise to “meeting God at…”
Well after thinking more about what I wrote the other day, specifically the phrase, “meeting God at unexpected places”, I had to laugh at myself for my foolishness. If there was ever a time that God might meet with me, wouldn’t it be while I was reading His holy word???! What was I thinking?
In my frustration, or feeling lack of connection, I was surprised by the closeness I felt to God in that moment, but why should I have been surprised? I suppose I am out of practice in the art of LISTENING to Him.
A more unexpected place to meet God, at least in my life, would probably be:
- seeing him in the pages and words of a curious george or clifford story.
- meeting him while washing the 5 billionth load of laundry for the week
- while cleaning up a dirty diaper.
God- I’m waiting! Surprise me!
meeting God at unexpected times
I’m doing a bible study right now with my moms group. Even though I am a leader in the group, I feel free to admit that this bible study has been hard to get into and really learn from. Maybe it’s because we’ve spread it out across too many weeks, or because we took a break for Christmas, or maybe it’s my own lack of investment, but today God reminded me that know matter how disconnected I may feel from the things I do to be near Him- He is near me. While finishing todays bible lesson, I was disappointedly writing a journal entry, mere words that had no energy behind them. I was about to stop writing, but something in me felt the need to keep writing. In a matter of moments I met God in that journal entry. He was reminding me that He was there, just when I was feeling disconnected from Him. It was a simple two sentences. But it was enough.
When do you feel disconnected to God and what do you do to keep the faith and keep believing in Him? Because he will show up in unexpected places at unexpected times.
oh be careful little eyes
The other day, as I was playing with Ezra, I thought of a song that I should teach him. A sunday school classic, “oh be careful little eyes what you see”. As I started to sing the song, he quickly caught on. Before the first verse was over, he was saying “feet”, “ears”, “hands”, and I realized that he already knew the song! It didn’t come from Corey and there is no daycare involved so it meant only one other place- Sunday School! Now that shouldn’t surprise me. But it does excite me in several ways.
First, it just goes to show that Sunday School can have a lasting impact. A song like Oh be Careful, is a wonderful teaching tool for parents and sunday school leaders on so many different levels. From it we can teach messages of obedience, of God’s amazing plan for uniqueness in humanity (every person is different), and respect for our bodies, and that what we say and do has an impact on us and the people around us. For all those people who have said to me, oh you do CHILDCARE at church?! I want to say- in your face! it is so much more. Even my 21 month old can learn about God!
Secondly, this is an example to parents how simple it is to teach God’s truth. Sing a simple song (and if you don’t know any, parents, I will give you a list!). Kids LOVE music. Right now Ezra has a guitar made out of cardboard and two drums made from oatmeal boxes that he plays everyday. We can worship God with music any time of day. And we can teach life lessons through music too.
And lastly (as I take a breath and breathe in dirty diaper smell- my time on the computer needs to end), for all those kids ministry leaders who volunteer in the church nursery, don’t take your role lightly. Even if it is only once a week, or once a month- give it everything you have. What you share with those babies and toddlers may just stick, and stick in greater ways than you realize.
Thank God for Sunday school songs like:
oh be careful little [eyes] what you [see], oh be careful little eyes what you see. for the Father up above is looking down with love. oh be careful little eyes what you see…(hands, feet, mouth/lips, ears)
