Faithful Friday: Cookies & Lemonade

Though there is still one night left of VBS, being that it's Friday, this had to be the theme of today's post;  because Bible School has been all I've eaten, slept and breathed for the past few weeks!

And although it has required months of planning, dozens of texts and phone calls, collecting gads of cardboard boxes, late nights of decorating, batch cooking for a week, lots and lots of changing of plans, and juggling a schedule crazier than normal, it has been worth every  chaotic  moment.

It's been a good tired.

For in between the trying moments,

there have been laughs...


- from watching my son attempt to sit in a "dress" (or rather royal smock) as King David, to the pastor's surprised face at the "trashing" of the sanctuary when the walls of Jerusalem came down, to trying to keep balloons under a sheet AND arrange them to look like a body in record time.

there have been spiritual lifts...

 - from the many sweet/sticky/sweaty hugs of little kids, excited to hear another story from the Bible, to watching growth within my team as they stretched themselves, sometimes going outside their comfort zones, to bring those stories alive and transport the children back in time, to soft prayers from little ones, heads bowed.

there have been tears...



 - from physically hammering the nails in the cross and feeling the sacrifice of my saviour, to later holding the weight of that cross as children pushed paper hands onto those nails symbolizing the sin He took.  With each puncture of the paper, I reflected on the many sins Jesus took for each of us and what a gift salvation is.



there has been JOY...
- from hearing of children coming forward and being saved - Hallelujah!  to dancing in celebration at the rebuilding of the wall and learning that He is Risen!  to knowing we've made an eternal difference this week through three little words...VBS.

But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Luke 18:16

I ♥ VBS

Noah is attending Vacation Bible School this week at our church.  He's been going since he was big enough to walk up the tall steps leading into the front doors.  In those days, I'd park and walk him all the way in, his little hand tucked in mine.  I always left in comfort knowing his big brother, Austin, would be there, just a few rows back keeping an eye on him.  Seems unreal now that Noah's so grown, more than able to go into the church on his own.  In fact, this year will be his last as a VBS student at Beaver Dam Baptist.

Sending him off yesterday brought back memories of my own childhood and summers spent at VBS.  As we spent much of our summer between our grandparent's houses anyway, the week of VBS we would "move in" to Grandma and Grandpa Coons' house.  Grandpa was pastor of Garden Green Baptist and since church was a family affair there we were not only students, but assistants, teachers, helpers and anything else they needed!  I literally grew up through the years at VBS, from being the cute little youngster singing "This little light of mine" to teaching a teen class (as a teenager myself), to coming back as an adult leader all those years later. 

My fondest memories include the hours spent preparing with my Aunt Becky, Grandma, and Grandpa in the weeks leading up to Bible school...coloring and designing posters....the annual parade we'd walk as a group in the neighborhood by the church...the smell of the Baptist Bookstore where we'd pick up supplies...the sharp contrast of lemonade and cookies in my mouth...how proud I was the year I learned all our pledges without reading the overhead projector...(overhead projectors!)...ARTS & CRAFTS!!!...glue on my fingers...feeling Jesus in my heart! 

And then as an adult...feeding my childhood fantasy of becoming a teacher, if only for one week a year...lesson plans...school supply shopping...organizing and planning...and greatest of all, sharing Jesus with the children, seeing it click, and watching them come forward later in the week.  There is no greater honor than helping a child become a Christian and being there for those first steps.

Thinking back to all those moments makes me realize how much I miss it.  Unfortunately, our church holds VBS during the day so I've never been able to volunteer.  But, maybe someday soon.  Until then, I'll live vicariously through Noah, as he excitedly tells me about his day and the fun he had at Vacation Bible School!