Gaither (Church in the wildwood) - The Peasall sisters

I heard this song a few days ago and found it a wonderful comfort. "Father along, we'll understand it. Farther along, we'll understand why." These lines resonated with me for a couple different reasons; the first being that at the beginning of this semester I was crying to the Lord "What have You let me do?!" I had registered for what I thought was the pediatrics floor of a hospital but was in reality was a "rehab" facility. It was a facility full of children in varying states of mental awareness, tracheostomies, and wheel chairs. In essence a unit full of heart-breaker children. I could not understand how God could permit me to sign up for a facility I was sure I could not work at because I was certain I would have a breakdown each day. The beautiful thing was that once I started work there I loved it: the children, the staff, my instructor, and the tasks. I loved them all. God used that time to teach me that He had wired me to do things I had never dreamed myself capable of.

On the other hand I am still waiting to see why He had me fired. It was a job I held for four years and now I must start the search again without a reference to aid me. I do not understand it. However, I have learned through many things that often God shows me why He had me do one thing or another; yet I also realize that I may not ever understand it on this side of the veil.

Awesome Autumn Giveaway!!

Two lovely giveaways to be found at A Corner Pillar from September 22-30

Here's giveaway number one

Here's giveaway number two:

Homemaker's Journal: Long-Suffering

The hardest part of showing long-suffering is …………. actually having it

The most rewarding part of showing long-suffering is ……….. the knowledge that I was for a moment able to be a positive representative of Christ

The one kind situation that I have the most trouble showing long-suffering in is ……… when people are being what I consider to be stupid/foolish - at work when I have already explained something fully yet the person still gets upset when given what they asked for or ask about what I just told them

I see how kindness goes hand in hand with long-suffering because ………. I generally show kindness to the person/people that are requiring long-suffering from me

I want others to show long-suffering to me when ……… I'm confused/lost in regards to how something is done, particularly when there is no way for me to easily find out on my own

God shows long-suffering to me in these ways ……….. every element of my life - no matter what I do and how good I may think it is at first, in comparison to Him it is nothing.  Yet He loves me.

Ephesians 4:1-4 says ….. 

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—

This week I will begin to ask God to ……….. soften my heart so that I will have love for the person which will help me have long-suffering

Daughters of His Story

If only there were models out there to show young girls about Biblical femininity, modesty, and wet an appetite for learning history... THERE IS!!!  Daughters of His Story is a line of paper dolls that are of wonderful historical women (Abigail Adams, Sarah Edwards, Katharina von Bora, Idelette Calvin, Pocahontas, and Priscilla Mullins) that will encourage use of the imagination in minds of the little ones.  To make a good thing better, through August 27th, Simply Vintage Girl is having a giveaway which you can enter for the opportunity to win the first copy of the new project and Bundle One, which is the entire collection of dolls.

You can enter here

Surprise! Doubt you knew this about Islam

Part of me would like to recommend watching the whole clip on Youtube. However, some comments about the Bible and Torah make me slightly hesitant. So instead, I'd recommend listening to the whole thing August 12 - it's just that Todd rambles a bit but if you have a moment be sure to listen to the whole 15 minute clip from Wretched.  Last resort would be to watch the full video here.

Bye-bye civil rights!

If this was a one time thing, it would be scary but at least unprecedented. Unfortunately it seems to be increasingly popular to arrest Christians proclaiming the Truth.

VBS 2011.... ALREADY?! part 2

More have released preview info, remember to check the teachings before cooing over the sparkley themes

Day	Baptist Press: Rev It Up!	Concordia House: Big Jungle Adventure	Bogard Press: Treasure Quest	Standard Publishing: Inside out & Upside Down on Main Street
1	Welcome to the Team: Jesus Calls Disciples – Join Jesus	Baby Moses Rescued – God takes care of us through Christ	Treasure of Salvation: Lydia Found of the Savior – learn how to believe on the Christ	Gratitude – Parable of the Whiny Workers (workers in the vineyard)
2	Learn from the Best: Jesus Shows His Power – God’s power helps us run the race	Crossing the Red Sea – Jesus rescues us from our enemies (sin, death, & devil)	Treasure of Prayer: The Church Prayed for Peter – how to pray when in need	Compassion – Parable of the Roadside Rescue (Good Samaritan)
3	Run up the Caution Flag: Who is the Greatest? Jesus first place in your life	Sermon Mount -Jesus is the light of life that we share with others	Treasure of Fellowship: The Church Focused on Fellowship – learn importance of Church membership	Forgiveness – Parable of the Shocking Servant (unmerciful servant)
4	Jesus is in the Winner’s Circle: Jesus is the Victor – His victory over sin	Peter and John run to empty tomb - Jesus rose from the dead to save us	Treasure of Scripture: the Bereans Searched the Scriptures Daily – learn to read Bible daily	Grace – parable of the Warmest Welcome (prodigal son)
5	Full Speed Ahead: Peter and John Carry On – Serve God	Heaven – Jesus, our Savior, prepares our heavenly home	Treasure of Soul- Winning: Soul winning in Gadara – How to share the Gospel	Faithfulness – Parables of the Master’s Money (ten talents)

Rev It Up:  Wow, the Gospel on Day 1?!  There is a bit of a twist from the usual VBS timeline, but at least this promotes a proper understanding of good works and prayer (We do good works out of love for God and He answers the prayers of His children).  I would certainly hope that the Gospel is presented soundly considering who the publisher is... So it appears to be fine as far as programs go - certainly better than some of the big name publishers (Group and Standard Publishing).  Wouldn't it be nice if this VBS got many saved and revved up ^_~ for God, evangelism, and the Bible?

Big Jungle Adventure:  I am a touch confused at the moment... In some ways it appears that, as with Rev It Up, Big Jungle Adventure is presenting the Gospel with each day.  If so, WONDERFUL, assuming that it is properly given. On the other hand, with the Scriptures provided for each lesson it seems to be toeing the waters that PandaMania dove into - promising things only meant for Believers to all...  Hopefully their curriculum will be present at "VBS Day"...

Treasure Quest: Ok even I have to admit the theme's look leaves a lot to be desired.  But when it comes to lessons, it looks to be AMAZING!  The Gospel is presented on Day 1 with the rest of the week being Christianity 101; the basics that every lamb of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, needs to know.  So while the excitability factor may need work, the lessons appear solid - and ultimately that is what is important as well as a jewel among many rough VBS programs.

Inside Out and Upside Down:  I read that it received praise from 'Christianity Today', that Standard Publishing is known for their Biblical content, and for the final cherry on top: they produced Hero Headquarters; is it a bad thing that this caused me to gag?  Harsh? Maybe, but probably not.  Last VBS day I was appalled when I watched the preview clip for it and horrified when I looked through the lesson plan.  Did it pull out some lesser known Biblical accounts? Yep.  With moralism as the main course and a heaping helping of normal VBS silliness for better and worse... To make it worse, they produced "Studio Go", which left a bad taste in my mouth when my church did it.  Call me a pessimist if you wish, but when I look over the lessons and see "Kids will explore one of Jesus' parables in a variety of interactive ways and take a new look at what the Bible says about gratitude, compassion, forgiveness, grace, and faithfulness" coupled with the daily Bible passages it makes me quake with fear for all the churches that choose to use this program. Why? Because it SCREAMS moralism.  The company's motto is "VBS CHANGES LIVES!"  By the look of their programs, I would say it sure does - producing another generation of kids who see Christ as a merely man who taught others to be nice.  I guess it does not help that the theme reminds me of Sesame Street meets Animaniacs with a touch of acid...
In attempt to be fair to the lessons themselves: Day 1's parable really is a lesson in gratitude if you are in the twilight years of life... in the dawn it would seem more of an excuse to "live it up" and get saved later.  Compassion, it is a good thing to have and the Good Samaritan parable is a beautiful lesson in that everyone is the "neighbor" that we are to love as ourselves.  But without Christ this lesson is a moralistic tale to be compassionate to all around.  Day 3, forgiveness, my issue with it is pretty much the same as Day 2: good in and of itself but is pure moralism whenever Christ is taken out of the picture.    Someone dear to me reminded me that this is a beautiful parable illustrating salvation, it is true that the parable is.  My concern is that there will be abundant "ask Jesus into your heart" along with "so that Jesus will clean up your life and make it better".  Day 5, are they really gonna talk about staying strong in the faith and that there are no backsliders, only false converts?  I would be throughly stunned in a good way if that is the point.  For over half the week the VBS takes the plan of several others - moralism, moralism. moralism and then finish off with the Gospel - this is putting the cart before the horse.

So what will installment 3 hold?  Lord willing: Go Fish, David Cook, Apostle's Publishing,  Augsburg Fortress, VBS Reachout Ministries, and Word Action.  Until then, go serve your King!

VBS 2011.... ALREADY?!

 Yes, yes, I know, IT'S STILL SUMMER 2010!! However, these companies have already released their previews.  I have compiled the title/theme for each day along with the lesson to be taught for each program.  By clicking on the name of each program you will be taken to the info page and be able to see the Bible verse/story for the day and with some the crafts, snacks, and games.  Unfortunately Go Fish has not published the information on their VBS for 2011, but everyone else should be present in this chart.  PLEASE EXAMINE THE CHART BEFORE CLICKING TO THE MAIN PAGE!!  This way you can examine the lessons without the distraction of music buzzing in the background, the nice graphics or lack thereof, cute characters (for some truly are adorable) and other things that would prevent you from being able to clearly examine the days.

	Group: PandaMania	Group: Hometown Nazareth	Gospel Light: Son Surf Beach	Cokesbury: Shake it Up Café	LifeWay: Big Apple Adventure	AiG: Gold Rush – Rock of Ages
Day 1	God made you – God creates the world	Jesus had a family… we do too	Meet Up with Jesus – Who is Jesus	Israelites Celebrate Passover – Be ready for God	Connect with Faith – I can have faith in Jesus	Don’t Be fooled by counterfeits – meet Jesus discover His bold claims
Day 2	God listens to you – Elijah confronts prophets of Baal	Jesus had a name… we do too	Look Up to Jesus – why can I trust Jesus	Festival Celebrations for the Israelites – Give happily to God	Connect with Love – I can love Jesus	Treat Him like a King – Discover His miraculous birth
Day 3	God watches over you – Jonah tries to run from God	Jesus had a home… we do too	Join Up with Jesus – why do I need Jesus	Jesus Celebrates the Festival of Booths – Believe in Jesus Fully	Connect with Trust – I can trust Jesus as my Savior	Let Him be your guide – discover His radical Life
Day 4	God loves you no matter what – Christ death and resurrection	Jesus went to church… we do too	Open Up to Jesus – how can Jesus help me when I mess up?	Jesus Celebrates Passover – Remember Jesus often	Connect with others – I can tell others about Jesus	Claim the name Christian  - death and resurrection
Day 5	God gives good gifts – Hannah is given a baby	Jesus served others… we do too	Fire up for Jesus – what does Jesus want me to do	Celebrating the Festival of Weeks and Pentecost – Celebrate God forever	Connect with Life – I can live for Jesus	Spread the good news like wildfire

I take issue with PandaMania for a few reasons.  The first being that according to Tony Kummer, the theology was vague with little reference to sin - the very reason we need a Savior.  VBS should revolve foremost around the Gospel and presenting it accurately to the children, second would be a high view of Scripture.  I have heard it argued in regards to the former that it is simple enough for the church to fix; true... but if the curriculum cannot get something as crucial as the Gospel correct then why trust the rest of the lessons?  As for the latter, American culture today screams not to trust the Bible.  From the first book of Genesis, and America's love affair with Darwin, to the last book and the obsession with every end-of-the-world myth under the sun, American culture berates those who trust the Bible.  Insisting it is little more than fantasy - Jesus was a nice man who taught us to love (along with Buddha and Gandhi)...  read the Bible and get good morals from it.  That is the message of the culture and shame on the church as a whole for doing nothing to challenge this view, and instead encouraging it.  We tell Bible "stories" which translates to "fables" with pretty doodles cementing the thought of "fable".  The PandaMania has beautiful graphics and adorable characters.  In fact, I intend to "borrow" them for future posters.  But the blatant rip-off of Kung Fu Panda seems to only get day one fully right...  God listens to His children, but has no obligation or reason to listen to the unregenerate (2).  God is watching over you because He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent (3).  God has a love for the world, but that doesn't guarantee heaven for the world (4) - God may love that child, but that doesn't mean the kid is going to heaven.  God works for the good of those who love Him... but what that child sees as a good gift and what God sees as a good gift are often two very separate things (5).  This lesson appears to set up that if we only ask God will give us nice things, and He may... but the ultimate good for a Child of God is to be drawn closer to Him.  Which sometimes means that Fido dies from sickness instead of getting better or one doesn't get the new game station.  That is a lesson many adults today struggle with, much less young children.  PandaMania at a glance, and from Tony's caution, sounds more like an exciting new way to make bitter false converts rather than new lambs of the Good Shepherd.

Nazareth looks like it's purely for preschool... that is my hope anyway.

Son Surf... looks to be alright.  I have gotten other items by Gospel Light that have been acceptable.  Most of my thoughts for this are the same as for Big Apple by LifeWay below.

Big Apple Adventure: As LifeWay is of the Southern Baptist Convention I would certainly hope the Gospel message is sound... but I would want a closer look at it when everything is officially released.  The lessons... would probably be fine.  They just seem to be very vanilla; a dull theme is easy enough to liven up, a dull lesson plan that gives no credibility to its name, why bother?  Is it possible that the lessons will be in-depth and wonderful? Of course, but I have been playing the VBS game long enough that have I become a cynic when it comes to such matters.

As for the Cafe, what can I say? I'm intrigued by it.  Most evangelicals do not seem to realize just how much foreshadowing is in the festivals of the Old Testament, I would be surprised if any could tell me even one other festival than Passover.  A bigger surprise still would be for them to explain the foreshadowing of the Passover.  So a curriculum that examines something other than the vanilla (and misguiding) Touched By An Angel's "God Loves You" is WONDERFUL in my book.  The overview presents a lovely curriculum along with crafts, snacks, games, and missions.  The overall idea is that when you become a believer God "shakes up" your life and you do things for Him because you love Him.  Plus by showing how connected the Bible is (which was written over hundreds of years) it points to the Bible's uniqueness from all other writings - in a world where "all are the same in the end" that is a good thing to be able to claim.

Gold Rush.... I would rush to do it ^_~ Seriously, I love AiG on the whole and the overview looks very promising.  Day One in particular is something that is becoming more prominent among scoffers, "well what about __ myth which talks about ___ being (part)deity born of a human who was to save the world" the other day there was a rerun of a "documentary" on someone who was born shortly before Jesus and supposedly made similar claims... I did not watch it, I was not in the mood for a migraine.  AiG also has a marvelously clear Gospel presentation for the leaders to use that specifically forbids confusing and vague language like "asking Jesus into your heart" (when a child is honestly confused as to why she couldn't see Jesus on the X-ray of an ill sibling's chest this is NOT CUTE!! It shows a damnable lack of an understanding of salvation!  Another false convert walks about thinking she's in the clear when Hell is currently knocking at her door...).  Instead, ensuring the child understands what sin is (not just the Sunday school answer either) and discussing REPENTANCE and FAITH!!! WOOT!!

Look forward to being able to post up what Go Fish has in store for 2011.  Until then, go serve your King.

Christian, Start Your Family

Ladies Against Feminism (LAF) has placed a wonderful review of the book "Start Your Family" by Steve and Candice Watters. The review can be read here. The book is both an encouragement for those who have already committed to allowing the Lord to determine the size of their family. While encouraging Biblically all believers to trust the Lord with their family size and to go about actually having a family.
I encourage all to read this book, which is available at amazon as a bound book and kindle format. Also be sure to check out LAF's review of another book by Candice Watters, "Get Married"

Looking Back on VBS

Vacation Bible School... VBS... the road to Egypt Files was a frustrating one; on more than one occasion it seemed that VBS this year would once again be little more than silliness with a poorly done Gospel message tacked on the end. However, the Lord was VERY KIND to me this year and we made use of Answers In Genesis' Egypt Files. I was keen on using it after reading the book "Already Gone" and watching Ken Ham's State of the Nation 2009 - when it was examined just how many are leaving the Church, why they are doing such, and the horrifically young ages that they set their minds to do so (elementary school). Egypt Files was written with this data in mind.

I was responsible for crafts this year. I have never led any group in VBS before yet the Egypt Files made it as simple as possible for me. Granted, I being the nut that I am always made sure to have a back up craft (most of which were provided by the craft book) on hand in the event of finishing early as well as a lesson to help drive home the teaching of the day.

Day 1: Slithering Snake Game and Backpacks: the snakes were clay the children molded with instructions how to play the old Egyptian game along with popsicle sticks to decorate. The snakes took longer than I thought (honestly all the crafts took longer than I imagined them too - I had practiced and thought I took into account their young ages). Many decided to try to mimic my,last minute, hair-brained thought to make the snake in a striking pose... resulting in an extra five or so minutes to make the snakes "just-right". The director and I thought that it would be neat to give the kids backpacks to decorate and store goodies from VBS. Only the blindingly white bags ordered didn't fit in my mind, so I dyed them with old coffee I had brought home from my shop ages ago and never got around to actually brewing. The dried result were bags varying from sandy-white to chocolate, depending on the way I wrung them - not quite what I intended but they looked like they survived a sandstorm and the kids loved them. The kids used markers to write hieroglyphics (an alphabet chart was given in the craft book) and whatever else they wanted to personalize their bags.

Day 2: Phantastic Photo Frames and Door hangers: craft foam frames, a foam piece with the day's Bible verse along with self adhesive foam pieces made up the lovely little frames. After the first group (which was made up primarily of kids that were five and six years old) we gave them scissors to cut apart the pieces to their liking.

Day 3: 4-Given Crosses: these sweet cross key-chains were a thorn in my side to teach. It's a good thing I was unaware of how big a problem they would be because I would have had all do the pre-school craft otherwise. The pre-schoolers did "Magic Scratch Crosses" and loved them along with my first group (the handful of older kids in the group enjoyed them as well). The beaded key chains were done almost entirely by myself and the helpers even with the ten year olds and older... This day left me no time for the mini-lesson I had planned as I had done the days before. On prior days and Day 4 the children were able to work and listen at the same time.

Day 4: Braided Basket with Love Cards: the heart cards were for the children to write the names of those precious to them and decorate then place in the woven baskets they made. The boys did exceedingly well with this craft and had almost all the girls crushed when it came to completion time - which simply meant that the boys actually finished on time and were able to choose from the special beads to finish their baskets.

Day 5: Snappy Sandals and Concentration Game: I thought the kids would finish in a "snap"... lame as the joke was the kids were slower. I had planned on having the kids cut the sandals out themselves and then I would punch the holes and we would move on to the sandal designing... after the first group whose sandals I had precut and punched due to their young age took so long I realized I needed to change plans and fast. The paper-cuter is my friend. Seriously, that heavy duty straight blade was the only reason I was able to get so many foam sandals cut in the moment of change-over time that I had. I had copied the Concentration Game as a last minute thing because I thought the sandals would be completed in only a moment... it wound up being a take home craft.

The Egypt File crafts were wonderful and diverse. My helpers were ecstatic with the selection - the only ones not from the book being the crosses and backpacks - and the kids seemed to enjoy them as well.

The skit was also wonderful, with lesson reminders and humor for all. I had adults and children alike saying how they enjoyed the skit - and as the character Claire I loved participating.
As for the lessons, I'm not sure, I never looked over the lesson book. I've used AiG curriculum in my Sunday School class, while I supplemented it at times with extra bits from their own books and things I learned, I was content.  However Egypt File lessons did not please the lesson leader. She claimed that it mocked evolution more than give evidence for creation, I cannot argue the contrary. So she decided to change it to be more Intelligent Design oriented and brought in experts from their various fields to give various lessons.

I heard that ordering and general help from AiG was slow - due to the speed with which things have occurred between me and them in the past - my guess would be that they were overwhelmed by the number of orders of their curriculum. Then again, it could also be that the VBS companies (whose focus is VBS) were simply faster due to VBS being the primary nature of their work.

In closing: the Lord was very gracious to me this year in many ways. My church actually did the Egypt Files for one thing and focused on evidences of a creator (instead of story time). Also, last year we maxed out at 70 kids (preschool and elementary combined), this year we had 106 kids total with 28 being in the preschool!!! I pray that the Lord Jesus would continue to show such kindness to my church and would do the same for others.