Day 156- A VBS Prayer First and a Son First

Today, I went to the Vacation Bible School Prayer Room and prayed for the leaders and children before VBS for my "first."

Admittedly, this is not a huge "first."  I have been to the VBS prayer room in years past when asked to pray about a specific request.  Today, I went there before VBS and attempted to pray for the leaders and children by name.  One reason I did this early is because I knew that tonight I would teach a class in VBS and then go to the funeral home to visit and then go to Joel's late ball game.  I was not going to have time to do a "first" at VBS and the prayer room was one I wanted to do.

Our prayer committee came up with the idea of having a prayer room at church during VBS several years ago.  We have people responsible for being in there at certain times during VBS to pray while VBS is going on.  If there are things that happen that need praying for while VBS is going on (sick child, stressed teacher, the Gospel being presented to someone, etc.) we can have someone praying immediately for that request.  I think this is a really cool idea that the prayer committee suggested. I'm very grateful that the church has responded by volunteering to be in the prayer room during our week of VBS.

Since I knew I would not be there with any time to be in the prayer room, I went in there early this afternoon and prayed. I thought it would be cool to be able to look at teachers, leaders, and children as they arrived this evening and know that I had already prayed for them.

Come on in the prayer room, Jesus invites you

We are praying for people to praise God; to make His name great!

It's really a cool thing to imagine these guys faces as you pray for them

It is Vacation Bible School 

Well, I said I attempted to pray for them all by name. The truth is that while I was praying I got a phone call and was called away. I did manage to pray for some like I wanted; I had to really rush through the rest.  I felt bad that I did not allow myself more time; I did not anticipate the interruptions.  Even if you don't have time to pray like you feel you need to, go ahead and spend what time you have.  You won't regret it. The thing I would have regretted more than getting the prayer time cut short would have been not praying there at all.

Last night I mentioned that the nursery workers were some unsung heroes of the church. The same could be said for those who pray.  I thank God that we have some folks who will drive from their homes, usually after a full day of work, and spend time alone or with one or two other people praying for VBS.  To some that may seem like a waste of an evening. To others, it would be hard to imagine that an evening in front of the TV would be more important.

I mentioned I also had a son "first."  Tonight, Joel had his last baseball game.  Their team did not have a good game and were getting beat by a large margin.  The coach brought Joel in to pitch with 2 out and the bases loaded in the opposing team's last at bat.  He has never pitched before; not even in the yard.  He said he was pretty scared.  He worked the batter to a full count and then struck him out on a called third strike.  I watched my son pitch in his first baseball game as a "first" tonight (thanks Coach).

Praying for the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Joel got to pitch in his first game
2. Prayer rooms at VBS
3. People willing to come to church to pray in prayer rooms at VBS

Day 155- A VBS Nursery First

Today at Vacation Bible School I worked in the nursery as a "first."

As a pastor, I don't work in the nursery much.  OK, I can't ever remember working in the nursery at church.  I'm usually preaching or teaching when the nursery work is going on. This is not complaining on my part. There have been a couple of times years and years ago when a church would have trouble getting people to work in the nursery. I thought several times about just going to work in the nursery one Sunday morning and when people wondered where I was at preaching time I would say, "I'm in the nursery; if nobody else wants to do it, I guess I will."  In my mind, this would make a great point.  I've never actually done that.  It did not seem to be the wise thing to do. There is the distinct possibility that worked better in my mind than it would in real life. Lest you think poorly of me, I know several pastor friends who have entertained similar thoughts.

When I was told a nursery worker was not able to come tonight and that would be a "first" for me I was a bit hesitant.  Then they said that Mrs. Tina and Mrs. Carrie were both present.  That was good enough for me.  Those two ladies are professionals.  They are also very sweet and kind so if I was going to do a nursery shift, this was the time.  I was fairly confident they would not be hard on me. We also had Sheridan as our teenager helper.  Wow, she was a professional as well.  This was a great night to do nursery work.

We had fun (I think; I did and the ladies did most of the hard work). We had some very sweet babies. We had 5 boys. I actually don't remember any real crying.  There was some loud expressions of joy, anger, excitement, and other unidentified emotions, but just for a second or two. We read books, pushed trucks, made silly baby sounds, asked them not to throw the toys, ate snacks, and picked up toys.  There were other things as well, but you get the idea. 

 

These gals are pros at nursery work!!

Nursery workers are the unsung heroes of church life (among others).  If these people (we have men that work in the nursery as well) don't work in the nursery, then the Moms and Dads can't teach VBS. They would have to take care of their babies.  We sure don't want neglected babies!  If people don't work in the nursery on Sundays, then worship would be very difficult for some parents. It's hard to worship while tending to a 1 or 2 year old; not to mention the trips outside to do feedings or diaper changes.  If you sat near the little ones, you'd want regular diaper changes.  Of course, if the preacher was preaching on Isaiah 64:6 which says our righteousness is as filthy rags the dirty diaper might set an appropriate ambience.  Unpleasant perhaps, but appropriate.  We thank God for nursery workers who give up their time to worship so that someone else might be able to worship in a more effective and concentrated way.

You can probably think of some unsung heroes in your life. People who are not in the spotlight but play a very important role.  Why not say thank you to them tomorrow?  Why not look for those who make life so much easier and get so little thanks. You can probably find a few.  Of course, we all need to be that unsung hero for someone else. Is there some thankless and dirty task that you can do to help someone else connect with Jesus in a deeper way?  2 Corinthians 4:5 says, "For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake."

Thanking God for the unsung heroes that help us in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Nursery workers
2. A baby's smile
3. Jesus loves the little children

Day 154- A Vacation Bible School Recreation First

I helped with the games and recreation tonight in  Vacation Bible School as my "first."

As I wrote yesterday, as the pastor I usually float around during VBS making sure everyone is doing well and doesn't need anything. I asked if I could help with the recreation and games tonight for my "first."  In previous years, I was doing things way too spiritual to do recreation; OK, it is really hot outside doing recreation and that may have had something to do with it but don't tell anybody.  I mean it is summer time in south Alabama and you are chasing children around for 2 hours.  Somehow, I always had things way more "spiritual" (and cooler) to do.

I enjoyed recreation a lot tonight.  We had a chance to interact with most of the children at VBS tonight.  It was fun to watch them laugh and play and run around.  The sounds of laughter mixed in with the adults saying "You have to play fair" was pretty entertaining.  I got to see some of the cutest smiles in the whole world.

We played two games tonight. Both of the games were not fair. Certain people or teams had a distinct advantage over the others.  The point of the game was to show that life is not always fair but Jesus still loves  you. It is pretty clever how they tie the main points of the lesson into the games we played.  Thanks to the recreation crew for letting me be a part of recreation tonight. The recreation crew is pretty awesome.

Me explaining games at recreation

 

Handsome young man

Thanks to the great recreation crew



 

Cute girls

 What happened to my children?

So recreation was a lot of fun. There was a really good point to the games. Life is not fair. Many people have some serious disadvantages in life.  The disadvantages may be linked to their family background, chemical makeup, mental or physical abilities, financial situation, medical conditions and the list could go on and on.  Some disadvantages happen because of bad choices that a person makes or the people around them make. There are some disadvantages that we don't know why they happen.  Why is one person predisposed toward depression when another has a very sunny disposition? Why is one person born in the USA with plenty of water and food when another is born into a third world country with very little to eat or drink?  These are questions that are very hard to answer.  Jesus still loves each one of us enough to die for us and be raised from the dead.  I have found that asking the why question has not helped me very much at all.  Of course, I've still asked it and probably will some more.  A more helpful question that I have found is what.  What can I do to glorify God in the midst of this situation?  What can I do to help someone else come to know the Lord Jesus in this situation.  These are two of the most helpful questions I've learned to ask in times that seem unfair.  Even if I know the answer to the "why" question, I would still be stuck with the adversity of the unfair situation. When asking "what" question, I can find ways to cooperate with God to bring redemption (God's good purpose) out of that situation. 

Looking for redemption in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. The game of tag
2. God works all things together for His glory and the good of His people
3. Coffee cups

Day 153- A VBS Crew First

We started our Vacation Bible School at church tonight. This is where we have a special time for the children to come to church each night from 6-8:30 to do Bible study, recreation, crafts, learn about missions, worship and those kinds of things.  As a pastor, I've typically sort of floated (OK, walked) around and tried to encourage people and been available to help where help was needed in VBS.  Tonight, I was a crew leader at VBS for my "first."

A crew leader is someone who leads a group of children to their different places in VBS.  The crew leaders don't actually teach the Bible lesson or make the crafts, etc.  They lead the children from place to place and assist where necessary.  So, I spend the evening with 5 boys at VBS instead of floating around to see where I might be needed.

I really enjoyed being a crew leader.  The boys were fun to be around.  It was pretty cool to spend the whole evening with the 5 boys and kind of get to know them.  They were an interesting bunch. At our snack, we were to talk with the boys about "God-sightings."  We explained that we wanted them to watch for places where they saw God at work during this week.  It might be something in nature that reminded them of God.  It could be something that it seemed that God did in their life or someone else's.  One of the boys said he had a God-sighting from today. He went fishing today and before he went he prayed that he would be able to catch a lot of fish.  He did; he caught 11 and his brother only caught one or two.  So, I'm going to enlist this young man as my prayer partner the next time I go fishing; I thought about taking him along but then I might get out-fished.  I was also reminded several times through the evening of the important of taking turns.  It seems I heard the phrase, "It's my turn, it's my turn a time or two or 50."

Another "first" was that I heard someone in our church pray in an Australian accent and no, they were not Australian.

My crew; the kid with the beard looked a little old to me

Look who's taking up the offering for the girls

Bible guy or someone who was late and showed up in his bathrobe?

Beautiful Bible teacher

 

What I loved about this "first" was how much time I was able to spend with the children. That is a huge part of VBS.  We want children to know and experience Jesus' love through us. I know they won't be able to retain the Bible knowledge forever.  They may not remember the stories that we taught next month.  I do believe when you plant the seed of God's word in someone's heart it has the possibility of bearing much fruit.  I do believe they will remember if they were loved or not.  Was church a place they enjoyed being and felt like they belonged?  VBS is like so many ministries; what we do is important but the love that we do it with is huge as well.  1 Corinthians 13: 1-3 says, "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."

 

Looking forward to more abundant life in VBS

Barry

 

3 things I thank God for today

1. Crew 6 in VBS

2. Parents that led their children come to VBS

3. Cute kids



Day 152- A Biblical Affirmation First

In our Bible study this morning, we were encouraged to read over 5 Biblical affirmations from Chip Ingram's book R12 daily for the next 6 weeks.  I read over them today for my "first."

The study was based on Romans 12:3 which says, "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you." The point of the study was that we need to think accurately about ourselves.  We need to see ourselves as God sees us.  There are two dangers in relation to this.  One is that we can think too highly of ourselves.  That is very unattractive and not a good witness for Jesus.  It's no fun to be around someone who is always thinking of themselves. The other danger is to think too lowly of yourself. It's no fun and not a very attractive witness for Jesus is we are always acting beat down and can't speak up because we feel we don't matter.

Chip said that we need to fill our minds with God's word and truth.  Part of that is filling our minds with what God says is true of us when we are "in Christ."  In fact, Paul's favorite term for believers is "in Christ."  We tend to use words like Christian, believers, or followers of Jesus and those are good words.  Paul used "in Christ" or some variation of that well over 100 times in his letters. Ephesians 1:3 says that  God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.  The 5 Biblical affirmations Chip encourages us to go over each day deal with appearance, worthiness, belongingness, security, and competence.  Here are the affirmations:

APPEARANCE

My physical appearance (in my unchangeable aspects) is beautiful in God’s sight. He is my designer and maker. Psalm 139:13–17 (NIV) {13} For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. {14} I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. {15} My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, {16} your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. {17} How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

BELONGINGNESS

I am wanted, appreciated and loved by God, the most important person in my life.

Romans 8:31–32 (NIV) {31} What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? {32} He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

WORTHINESS

I am now a righteous person in God’s sight since I have trusted Christ.

I am covered by the robe of His purity and goodness. Also, since I have a new nature, I am a good person in my general practice of life as I continue to grow in Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 61:10 (NASB) I will rejoice greatly in the LORD, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation, He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

 

SECURITY

I am secure in my relationship to Jesus Christ in my daily safety and well-being, and in my future outlook. Whether on earth or in Heaven. Romans 8:38–39 (NIV) {38} For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, {39} neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

COMPETENCE

I am a competent person, equipped by the Holy Spirit to carry out God’s will in my daily life in a way that pleases Him, regardless of what stage of growth I may be in at the present. My real importance in life is connected with way I am touching other people’s lives with the love of God and message of Christ.

Philippians 2:13 (NIV) for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

So, I decided to run these affirmations off on card stock and cut them out so I can have them to read over each day.  I know I'll forget and it will just be another good idea that I don't do if I don't make some effort to remind myself. So, I'll keep these near my bedside, on the counter where I get dressed, or near my computer. I might need to go run off another set.

My photographer; she always manages a few selfies when she's my photographer

One of the purposes of doing this is that we replace our self-centered thoughts with God's thoughts. Some of our old thought patterns need to be cut away. They are unproductive, contrary to God's purposes and simply not true.  Many of us have a tendency to think thoughts are self-condemning, reliving mistakes of the past, and serve only to weaken our desire to live for Christ. These thoughts simply must be cut away.

Instead, we can think God's thoughts. God says certain truths about who we are in Him.  He gets the glory.  We get to honor Him by living according to what He says about us.  Instead of thinking I'm no good at anything and just a failure, I can think that I'm fearfully and wonderfully made.  Instead of worrying about my future and what's going to happen, I can praise God for the security I have in Christ. We can't simply stop the negative and untrue thoughts. We must replace them with God's truth.

When we start believing what God says about us, we can start living the way God intended.  Our thinking about who we are needs to match what God says about us.  When we can match our thinking with God's word, we can live a life of security, not needing other people's affirmations to feel good about ourselves, and not needing to be the center of attention (or afraid to be). We can just be who God made us to be.

The color of the cards match my shirt

 

 

Well, will I keep this up for the next 6 weeks like Chip suggested? I'm not sure, but I'm glad I did today.  Feel free to join in and read the affirmations each day (if you are "in Christ") and believe what God says about you. The truth will set you free.

 

Glad for the truth about the abundant life

Barry

 

3 things I thank God for today

1. Truth

2. Chip Ingram's book R12

3. Teenagers who shared about what God is doing in their lives at church tonight