Making a Decision, What to Do? What to Do?

Once again, I wish I could be in two places at once.  Wouldn't that be nice?  My husband and I both work full-time so through the week we do not have much time at all together.  Even when we are both home in the evenings, usually we are doing different things.  Wednesday, I added up our waking time together and got a grand total of one hour!  I felt so disconnected from him and just got to thinking, this isn't right!   Obviously, we see the people we work with through the week more than we do each other.  (Another reason we look forward to retirement!)

Fall Festival

Tomorrow from noon to 3:00 I planned on helping run games at the Fall Festival and let him go to the nursing home with Abby without me which he even suggested.  This is something we do together every Saturday, but the Fall Festival only happens once a year and they need lots of people to run the games for the kids.  I figured that this is one of the pluses to being married--as a couple we can get more accomplished by each of us being in a different place at the same time! 

Visiting Nursing Home

We really look forward to the weekend, but then I found out my hubby has to work tomorrow morning!  This changes everything.  I will go ahead and do our grocery shopping without him in the morning, drop off more candy for the Fall Festival, but at least want to spend the afternoon and evening with him so I'll be picking him up from work so I can see his new place that he wants me to see, then joining him and Abby on the nursing home visit and checking out the new library together.

As I prayed about what God would want me to do, He gave me peace about this decision.  Apparently, this year he doesn't need me to help at the Fall Festival.  I'll leave that in His hands and focus on keeping our marriage strong by making the most of the little time I have with my husband.  I'll pray He provides enough workers.

What do you think of my decision.  Do you find it hard to prioritize things to?  What is your biggest dilemma at the moment?

Related posts:  Church's Fall Festival Brings Back Memories of Dad & A Beautiful Day by Abby

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Being Flexible

Sometimes it does no good to plan ahead.  Sometimes what we think is going to happen doesn't, so we need to be flexible.  This is what we are told when we sign up to work in Sports Camp at our church.  Our best laid plans are always subject to change because we o not always know what God has in mind.

I was originally told I would be coaching first grade girls basketball so planned some games to play at the beginning during registration geared to that age level, such as Johnny Can't Cross My Ocean, Mother May I, Mr. Fox, Red Light, Green Light and Spud.  I touched base with my assistant coach and felt ready.

First thing I was told when I arrived was surprise--there's been a change.  I would now be coaching 5th grade boys instead of 1st grade girls.  OK.  We are short on men coaches this year but I assisted with 5th grade boys last year and have taught that age in Sunday School so felt comfortable with the new assignment.  Quickly, my mind is thinking of new presession games because what I had planned clearly would not be good now.

Monday went very well, better than I even expected as far as my morning session.  One even prayed for forgiveness and asked Jesus to be his Savior!

I volunteered as a blue shirt worker in the afternoon which is basically just to be available to assist coaches if needed, taking kids to first aid or the restroom.  I was assigned to 1st gr. boys soccer and had the pleasure to assist two of my former 5th grade boys I had in Sunday School and watch them coach soccer.  They even invited me to play to balance out teams for a little time, it was fun! 

We had a record attendance of children this year and for the first time had to close out some sports.  This outreach ministry into our community takes the whole church working together to make it happen. 

I look forward to another great day today and am excited to see what happens!  This is my idea of a fun vacation--I LOVE it!  What is your idea of a great vacation?

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Fantastic VBS Vacation Week

Marmot (image source:  Wikipedia)

Last week I took a vacation week to help in our Vacation Bible School ("VBS") and had a fantastic week!  It is such a blessing to be a part of this ministry outreach into our community!  We had around 750 children attend and 77% were from outside of our church.  I helped in grades 5 and 6 again this year just because I like working with that age group best. Personally, I think the older kids are easier than the younger ones and like the competition.  We used Gospel Light's Sonrise National Park material which featured a different animal to go with each day's verse.  The children each got laminated verse cards with the animal of the day and verse on one side and the lesson connection on the other.

Each age group was a different animal for their name tags.  The 5th and 6th graders were Marmots which are like a big ground squirrel.  They live in mountains and burrow among the rocks during the winter when they hibernate.  Each day, the 5th and 6th graders were challenged to bring in facts about the animal of the day.  Very few knew what a Marmot was.

I chose to be the green team this year because it is a color easy to spot and gave my group tickets each day they wore green which promoted a bit of team unity and also helped me find them easier.  The tickets were given to the kids by their group leader and had prize drawings at the end of each day. 

I was encouraged when several of the boys I had last year signed up for my group again this year.  Our whole group was cooperative and fun.  My small group memorized the five verses without much nagging encouragement from me and we had a come-from-behind 1st place finish!  We had rec time outside, snacks, crafts, skit presenting the lesson each day and small group time to take care of points, review the lesson, verses and play some games.

In our small group, we played the following fun games:

Match game--in groups of three they talked to find out what things they all liked and the point went to the group that came up with what I liked best such as TV show, sport to play, etc.

Fact or fiction. Each one gives three facts about yourself--two true ones and one false one.  The others tried to guess which one was false.  The one guessing most right got a ticket and if they could fool everyone, they got a point.  My facts were as follows--see if you can pick the false one:

I like animals and have 2 cats, 1 dog, a rabbit and a bird..

I never liked reading when I was in school but read a lot now.

I don't have a stove.

I fooled them all! I don't have a rabbit or bird. The last day I offered the kids in my group a copy of My Funny Dad, Harry, the book I wrote and was pleasantly surprised that most of them actually wanted a copy! I only had four though so told them I'd order more and mail it to them if they sent me an email.

Basketball review using a small ball and a wastebasket with review questions.

Animal charades giving a point to both the correct guesser and the actor if someone could guess what animal they were acting out.

It was also a blessing to see boys I taught in Sunday School when they were in 5th grade be helpers in VBS. They are in Jr. High and High School now and my heart rejoices when I see them serving our Lord Jesus Christ with me.

It was hot every day except Friday and rained Thursday so had to have most of the rec time indoors.  The kids and staff were flexible and no one complained.  Here is a picture of some of the kids enjoying the big puddle in the parking lot as they were leaving to go home.

Wading in church parking lot after VBS on Thursday.

Over $2400 was received in offering during the week that will be used to provide milk to kids at the Chain of Love orphanage in Brazil.  The video below gives a brief overview of the whole Bible School. 

Did your church have VBS yet?  Do you remember going as a kid?  Do you help in yours now?  Although none of the kids in my small group received Jesus as their Savior last week as far as I know, I did give them each a personal Bible Reading Record to encourage them to start reading their Bible.  Hope they use it!

(We are donating 50 cents for each legitimate comment we receive on all our blogs during June and July to The Wounded Warrior Project which helps wounded warriors and their families returning from current conflicts.)

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Craft Time: Making a Baby Blanket Without Sewing

She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy.--Proverbs 31:20 
This was the key verse for our W.O.W. (Women of Wonder) meeting at Parma Heights Baptist Church this month. So, for our craft using our hands, we made baby blankets to donate to the Cleveland Pregnancy Center which were very easy to make—no sewing involved which is the best part! I think it would make a nice baby shower gift so I tried making one on my own. I guess this has been around for a long time but it is new to me. I bet I'm not the only one who didn't know about this great craft! Watch the video to see how easy it is (our pets all made an appearance but did not steal the show--they were very good!):

Instructions:

You need two pieces of soft material, preferably one print and one solid color.
Pin them together in the middle.
Mark a chalk line 4 ½” all around the edges.
Cut 1” strips up to the chalk line all around.
Cut out 4 1/2" squares from all four corners (I forgot to mention this step in the video), sorry.
Tie a knot with the top strip and the bottom strip directly under it and pull tight. Do every other one and then go back and do the rest.
Remove the pins without poking yourself, being careful not to leave any out where your pets or children could step on them!
Pull the sides of the blanket to stretch it out.

They also told us how to make cake pops but that involved baking so I wasn’t interested in that. Sorry, I should have paid attention just so I could have shared it with you.

What do you think of this craft? Have you made any crafts lately?

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Serving a Meal To The Homeless at the City Mission

They all enjoyed the meal very much and were very polite and grateful!

Every month, Tim and his dad from our church go to prepare a nice meal at the City Mission for the homeless and I’ve wanted to go with them for a long time. The thing is that they go before I get home from work and I don’t want to drive there myself. Last Wednesday, our Bible study group went to the City Mission to help serve a meal to the homeless which was the perfect opportunity for me to go with others. I’m so glad I did and would love to go do it again!

When we got there, we saw several tiny kittens outside the door who greeted us. By the time we arrived, Tim and his dad and a couple others had everything prepared so all we had to do was serve it. By the way, Tim is a very good cook who often puts together great meals for large groups. At the City Mission in Cleveland, the homeless sit in a service first, eat and then those who want can spend the night. Each night a different church is responsible for providing the meal.

I got to deliver the food!

About 50 men came the night I went, mostly black. Their faces lit up when we brought them the food and many expressed their appreciation. Some of us filled the plates while others carried them to the men at the tables. We served a bowl of mixed fruit, mixed vegetables, mashed potatoes, a veal patty, a brownie with whipped cream on top and punch. They could have more as long it there was food left. Some had three helpings! There were just enough brownies for each to get only one. Some of the comments I overheard were:

“This is an all-you-can-eat buffet for free!”

“This is very good! “

Could I have another brownie?

I felt bad when I had to tell him they were all gone. I really would have liked to been able to chat with them more, but we were in a hurry to get back to the church on time. I suggested our driver bring her GPS in with here but she didn’t. I was relieved that it was still there when we got out!; I had prayed it would be. It certainly was different from my usual evenings!

Homelessness is a problem that tugs at my heart. After reading Breakfast at Sally’s by Richard LeMeux, a homeless man’s memoir, I realize homelessness can happen to anyone, especially in hard economic times.  I am so thankful for our home! Two more good books about homelessness I recommend are: Can’t Get There From Here by Todd Strasser (YA), Gideon's Gift by Karen Kingsbury and Breaking Night From Homeless to Harvard  by Liz Murray (non-fiction). All these give good insight into the real problems the homeless have and are very interesting books.

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Sonsurf Beach Blast VBS

Last week I took vacation to help in VBS at our church and had a great time, even though it was extremely hot. We used Gospel Light’s Sonsurf Beach Bash material. I always enjoy helping in this because it’s quite fun with so many kids attending (roughly 700 each day, most from the community!). The offering of $2400 for the week went to the Chain of Love orphanage in Brazil.

When I asked the boys in my 5th-6th grade group what part about VBS they liked best, I got a variety of answers that included recreation, crafts, and everything. For me, other than developing team spirit and a sense of belonging for my team (who came in 1st place), I enjoyed the skits done by our Pastor and his wife each day that taught the lesson. They write their own material and play well off each other while making the point of the lesson memorable with humor.

I wish I had videotaped them each day, but I plan to next year if they do skits again. I did get the last day taped with my camcorder and an edited version of Thursday’s with my digital camera. I was disappointed that I didn’t take the video right from the beginning on Thursday, because the beginning was really the funniest part when “Shark” didn’t follow directions and got the kids playing instead of teaching the lesson.  This is the shortened video that I did by inserting titles and still shots at the beginning:






Lessons for the week were:

Monday: Meet Up: Jesus is God’s Son and loves everyone!

I Jn. 4:9—This is how God showed his love for us. He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through him.

Tuesday: Look Up: You can trust Jesus all the time because He does what He says.
Psalm 56:3—When I am afraid, I will trust in you.

Wednesday: Join Up: We need Jesus because he is the only way to God the Father in heaven.

John 14:6—Jesus answered, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through me.

Thursday: Open Up: Confess our sin and be forgiven.

Daniel 9:9--The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.

Friday: Fire Up: Tell others about Jesus.

Matthew 28:19-20—Go into all nations and make disciples, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, and surely I am with you always. 

What do you think of our VBS?  Does your church have a VBS week?      

You can see more pictures at 2011 Vacation Bible School Sunsurf Beach Bash and VBS 2011--More Great Pics on the Parma Heights Baptist Church blog.

(I tried posting this on our Always Looking Up blog but I couldn't get to the new post section so finally posted it over here.) 
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Monday at Sports Camp at Parma Heights Baptist Church

Yesterday I only helped coach in the morning session of flag football and was stressed out by the end of that between being in the hot sun all morning, trying to get first and second graders involved and the last minute preparations that should have been taken care of earlier such as scrambling for the playbook, hunting for the yellow flags for flag football, and not having our little rocks for the devotional time and not getting our game in at all. These are all little things to most people, but to me who is organized and a detail person, it stressed me out. I was glad I could shower and relax after the morning session--I even took a little cat nap because I didn't sleep very well the night before. (Picture of part of our football group practicing a backpedaling drill.)

I am assigned to the first and second graders which is not the age group I like and enjoy working with. They are whiny, restless and I couldn't believe the boys were complaining about the ants in the grass! Yup, we are sitting on the ground having our devotions and the boys are complaining about the ants crawling on them. I don't like the ants crawling on me either, just because I don't want to be bringing them into the house but these are boys. It was just surprising to me.

The first day is always hectic and a bit rough because they aren't grouped into teams yet and no one knows exactly where to go for the certain drills yet, but all this works out and the next few days runs much smoother. This morning though, the forecast is not good so we very well may have another confusing day. It's raining and was storming early this morning with a 50% chance of rain predicted for morning and 60% chance of rain this afternoon. We do have a rain plan in place; however, this will greatly limit what drills we'll be able to do.

Please pray for me that I'll be patient and have fun with the kids, that it won't rain and that things will run smoothly. If it does rain, we'll be inside and hopefully will still be able to do at least some skills and drills. Today the kids get their free t-shirts.  

Chick-fil-a donated chicken sandwiches for all the kids to get one--about 749.  Video and pictures are posted each day on the church blog at www.phbaptist.blogspot.com.  What ministry or non-profit organization are you involved with?  Does your church have any outreach ministry during the summer?

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Puppets Come To Life With Helping Hands

One unique activity Gerard and I are involved in at church is the puppet team. We use scripts that are on tape and Jim runs the sound and does the lighting. Different scenes are painted on sheets for background and the stage is made of a wood frame with sections on hinges for easy storage with material stapled to it.

We use a double stage with a front and back row. Puppeteers in the front kneel on old sofa cushions for foam rubber to protect their knees and the puppeteers in the back row can stand. This enable elderly people to still be able to do it.

The youngest member of our team is 5th grade. We have several 6th graders and then it jumps to an 18 yr. old, then people in their 30s, 50s, and 70s. A very wide range makes this a unique group. Pam, the children's minister at Parma Heights Baptist Church is our director who has been doing it for years and years. She is a visual thinker, well organized and easy to work with. She is very patient and always has a picnic for the puppet team at her house in the fall and a party at her house in January.

Here are the basic rules of our puppet team:
1) Always wear gloves when working the puppet.
2) Never let kids see a "dead" puppet (one that is laying around).
3) Do not let anyone know what puppet you have so that if someone goofs up, no one knows who it is and so that the audience will watch the whole production and not focus on one certain puppet.
4) Everyone helps set up and tear down.
5) Attendance at practices is mandatory (unless sickness or death).



Last Sunday we performed a Christmas presentation for the children in grades 1-6 during the 11:00 service. At the end an invitation was given to trust Jesus as their personal Savior and be forgiven. About 10-12 children prayed for forgiveness and accepted Jesus as their personal Savior! God has used this particular ministry to speak to children's hearts. Even some parents hang around to watch and are usually impressed by what an elaborate production it is.

A Fun Christmas Project To Give Children A Thrill

Many churches participate in what is called "Operation Christmas Child" sponsored by Samaritan's Purse. I have participated in this project by getting a shoe box and filling it with lots of little things for some child in a foreign country. You can mark your box as for a girl or boy and what age range: 2-4, 5-9 or 10-14. You also enclose a check for $7 to cover shipping (I'm surprised it's only $7--used to be $5). The idea is to pray for the child who will receive your gift and when Samaritan's Purse distributes the gifts, they will also share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the children. It's fun to fill up a shoe box with stuff. I was surprised at how much can actually fit into a shoe box the first time I did this.

THINGS NOT TO INCLUDE: Liquids or lotions, food, chocolate, vitamins, aerosol cans, old/used items, breakable items, war related items.

Check out their website for more information and how you can participate at www.samaritanspurse.org.

Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son, is President of Samaritan's purse and has a burden for helping hurting people around the world. I read his autobiography, "Rebel With a Cause" that I found to be both interesting and inspiring.

Collection week is November 17-24. I'll have to start shopping for my box pretty soon!

On Vacation--Sports Camp

I am on vacation this week to help with Sports Camp at Parma Heights Baptist church. A youth group from Kentucky has come to do the actual instructing and our church people assist them by keeping the records, registering kids, distributing the free gifts each day, providing water while they play and setting out snacks for them. There are two sessions for grades 1-6, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The kids get to choose which sport to do from soccer, basketball or cheer leading. Thursday evening, we have a picnic and special program for the kids and their families. It's a lot of fun and many come from the community.

Along with the skills training and personal instruction, the kids get to scrimmage and the cheerleaders get to do their cheers for the players. About halfway through the session, kids break out into small groups for a short devotional and gospel presentation. Each day they receive a free gift--water bottles, wrist bands, t-shirts and the final picnic night they get a ball or pom poms that go with the sport they chose. The focus is on skill fundamentals and sportsmanship.

Last year my husband and I were the water carriers and it was extremely hot all week so it was very much needed. This year, my husband didn't take off work and I am on main registration.