Taught by Toddlers

It was diaper changing time. Which in my class is the most chaotic and stressful time of the day ( and it happens 4 times a day.) For some of my older kids ( 18-24 months) I ask them if they are ready to be changed. This helps reduce water works when I remove them from playing or reading. I asked one particular child and he replied ” No, E goes first” so I changed E.. then the twins, the girls, the other boys and that left A. I asked A again, he said no. I told him I had changed everyone else, now he had to be changed. As I walked towards him to pick him up, he began to ran away from me, and to the corner. I smelt him before I was able to pick him up. ” How long had he been sitting in this mess?” Surely not long by why would he just want to sit in it and then run from me when I offered to clean him? In that moment God taught me something- often in my own life, I wanted to sit in my mess longer and even ran from God when He offered cleansing.

How many of us look at our mess and let it build. We let the mess to get bigger, harder to clean, and painful before we are willing to get clean. What if we asked God to clean us up when we first got in the mess, how different would our lives be? How much heartache are we putting on our lives simply because we don’t accept God’s offer for cleansing.

What mess do you need to take to God and have him wash away?

Lunchtime Learning

It’s been a stressful morning. I got caught waiting for 2 trains, was stuck in behind a bus, waited in 3 different traffic lines due to schools, and then was half a mile from work and stuck in traffic from an accident. All morning I’ve been running around crazy trying to control my class. I’ve had to correct them on the same thing over a hundred times. As I took a deep breath I muttered to God ” Why can they just not get it?” as if I was pleading for an ounce of sanity.

As I exhaled I heard Him speak. ” My child, these children are much like you. How many times must I teach you a lesson before you truly get it? How many times must I discipline you before you change your ways? Have patience. Sit and teach and love. Do as I do with you. Offer grace to these children because they are learning. Remember what I say in Proverbs -Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

I sat there stunned. I have to train these children. Now I can’t really teach them the word of God, but I can teach them to obey rules, to be respectful, and to control themselves. This training though will not be an overnight thing and require repetition, but have faith, with more training comes less departure.

 

A New Journey

5.5 years ago I walked into a church that met in a movie theater. I didn’t know what the next years would look like or what God was about to do in my life. In those 5.5 years God taught me a lot about ministry. As I learned, God brought me back to a hot summer day in 2003 when He told me that one day I’d be in ministry full time. As with all things, God’s timing is different than our own. As a 7th grader I thought ” cool, can’t wait. I’m sure I’ll be 30 by then.”

That summer I started volunteering in kids ministry. I started with the classic VBS. I began helping in the nursery, teaching sunday school, and helping with any other kids stuff. When I moved to Oak Leaf, I started doing more. Volunteering on a regular basis, set up, tear down, curriculum, music, you name it- I probably did it. The passion for kids ministry just took off. I loved teaching kids about Jesus and showing them how to live a Godly life.

Fast forward 4 years. A pastor moves to Dallas to start a church. God waters that seed of doing kids ministry. I mention it, but don’t act. Fast forward again to now. That seed is bloomed into a huge tree and it’s ready to bear fruit. And this is where the journey begins.

I have prayerfully considered and accepted an internship as a children’s director at Home Town Church in Dallas GA. Many of you know Jody May and have even visited the church. I’m excited to partner with them and help advance the Kingdom of God in Dallas. This is a great step into full time ministry for me. I have been very blessed over the past 5 years to have good leaders and role models in my life that have helped shape me into the person I am today. For that I’m thankful.

While I am going to miss the interactions of those I’m close with at West Ridge, I know that the church is not a building, it is a community of believers. I’m not leaving the church, just relocating my self to serve another area to build that community.

So here’s to the turning of the page, a new journey is unfolding.

Shattered

Shattered

by Kaela Bostic

There I was, on the floor,

Shattered, broken,

Beaten, poor.

In my despair, I cried for mercy,

Strength, and healing,

There he was, on the cross,

Bloody, broken,

Beaten, scarred.

In his despair, he cried for passing,

Change, and forgiving.

There we were, on this Earth,

Broken, battered,

Forgotten, torn,

In our despair, we did cry,

Look to God,

And see the light.

 

Elizabeth Thomas Photography

 

I met Elizabeth Thomas when I was a student in Kentucky. When I found out she was a photographer, we got closer. As an aspiring photographer myself, I always look to her for inspiration and ideas. I never had a session done with her but her photos show that her sessions are unique. 

Elizabeth just posted that she is having a contest. There are a lot of things to win, and it’s a fairly simple contest. Go to http://lizthomasphotography.com/threeboysandathousandhills/index.php/2011/11/26/get-the-word-out-and-win-big/ to see the rules and description. For any of my followers in Kentucky- you don’t want to miss this. For any photographer followers- she has prizes that could be cute props. For people who like prizes- go check it out. Here’s her facebook- go like it. Seriously this is an awesome contest.

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden. It was a childhood novel and movie that was on repeat in my house growing up. It took a new meaning today.

Today as I sat with eight sleeping children sweetly snoring around me, God began to show me how I am like the secret garden.

See, my heart, holds the garden. I have been seeking for years to find the door to find what my hearts true desires and beauties are, but until now have only fallen among shrubs or just didn’t care to venture deep within.

Once my heart looked like this. Dead, decaying, and void of light and life. A simple memory of childhood hung in the middle, reminding me of what life was like. But then. Life began to grow.

I allowed God to work on my heart. As He worked, life grew within me.  I saw my beauty for what God had created me to me. I saw my capability and my hearts desires. I watched as He poured living water into me, so that I would never die. I sat quietly as He pulled the darkness away and shone light into the areas that needed it most. I cried as I watched Him pour His son into me so that I could be free. I loved Him, as He created a place for us to just be.

One day though. He’ll hand me the key. Only when I’m ready though. He’ll hand me the key to allow me to open the door.

My heart will be ready for the presence of another. However he must be willing to seek, because the garden door, though unlocked. will still be hidden.

 

I am a secret garden. Filling with life, waiting to allow another to come in. For now though, I’m quite content with just my Father and me in my secret garden.

 

 

Life Long Leaders

I can remember my first year at IMPACT. I remember meeting my close friend Katie Mitchell. I remember falling in love with Will Goodwin.

I also remember Becca Bradford. Becca wasn’t even my leader, yet we became very close. After that week we saw each other one more time, and since 2005  I haven’t seen her again. Even though distance has kept us from seeing each other, our friendship stayed strong. Becca has been there through different parts of my life and always shows up when I need her. She’s an inspiration, an encouragement, and a warm ray of sunshine in my life. We may never see each other in this life again. But I know that we’re only a text, letter, or tweet away from each other. That summer in 2005 I also met another beautiful person in my life. Jessie Pollett. Jessie has always been a beam of support. From the first time we chatted I knew we’d stay in touch. Once, Jessie drove from Athens to Cartersville just to spend 2 hours with me. She also let me stay with her when I came to tour UGA. Jessie invested in me. She laughed, cried, and smiled with me. Through many trials, she pushed me on. Through heart ache, she showed me the true comforter. Through confusion, she reminded me of truth. Even though we haven’t seen each other in a few years, she’s still only a call away. FCA camp- St.Simmons Island brought another leader in my life. I had just left IMPACT and was now at FCA camp. My leader- Erin Brookerd ( now Smeltzer) was the only other person from GA.Funny thing was my leader in the previous camp had been Erin’s friend.

We spent the week sharing stories. Erin was also a person who encouraged me to write. A lot of what she said to me, helped in the creation of this blog. While Erin and I haven’t been the closest, there’s still a lot of her inspiration in my life.

The last leader I’d like to shed light on is Jessie Marshall ( now Kilpatrick).

My last year of FCA camp was spent in KY. I met this amazing woman of God who didnt mind if I sat in the hall with her at 3 am and poured my heart out to her. She was there to cheer me on, to push me to be greater, to be a woman of God, and to live a life pleasing to Him. She reminded me I was a child of God, his precious daughter. She and I still occasionally check in with each other.

These 4 women came into my life and haven’t left. God works like that. He knows the people we need and know’s how long we’ll need them. Each of these women have inspired me to be great, have challenged me to new things, and pushed me beyond what I thought I was capable of. I’m thankful for their influence in my life, because I know without them, I wouldn’t be who I am today.

My week

It’s been a while since I posted. A dear friend of mine weekly posts what made her week good. This is what last week looked like.

…having a great Parent Curriculum night

…meeting Vince Dooley

…maple bacon doughnut froyo at menchies

…having children run to me with their arms open and smiles

…parents informing me that their children love me as their teacher

…making a homemade peach cobbler for the first time

…buying Cheerwine and Ale8 in GA

… an empty inbox

…owning three pairs of pearls

…cute outfits

…wonderful women’s nights

…cartersville breakfast

…scuppernogs with old men

…kiddie day parade

…Sam Jones history

…beautiful ballet

…wonderful lunch with people who are dear to me

…new series at church

…worship that brings tears

…football ( Georgia Victory and hoping for an Atlanta victory)

100%

This past month in Kid’s ministry, I’ve seen myself perform at less than 100%, in fact it was close to 50 if not lower. When I look back, I see missed opportunities, I see times when I could have been a little more clearer and when I could have been a little more on my A game.

See, often in kids ministry, we wait to the last minute to get things ready for Sunday. We don’t mind reading from the script, skipping parts, or just breezing through things. But let’s imagine for a second that we were talking about main service. We expect those who teach main service to spend a large amount of time preparing for Sunday. We expect them to rarely glance at their notes, to not skip a beat, and to be on their A game. We expect them to be thorough, precise, to captivate us, to empower us, and to challenge us. We want to leave knowing we learned something. We should do the same for the kids.

I know I’ve slacked off and after this reality check, I’ve made the commitment to give it all or nothing. If I can’t devote 100% to the morning I lead, then I don’t need to be there. I know that’s harsh but it’s true. Sure, most of the kids don’t come in expecting specific things, but their parents do. And just because the kids don’t, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t give them something that really applies to their life.

For the longest time in my life, I’ve desired to serve children so that they can accept Christ and grow to live an amazing life with Him. I have seen many children accept Christ and now, I am helping teach them the truth about God. These children are the reason I serve. Every Sunday, I go upstairs and I have kids who want me to listen to them. They value me. If I’m not willing to show them that I value them by giving them the best service every Sunday, then I am failing them.

Kid Ministry Challenges

I love leading children. I love standing on the stage or sitting in the small group in an intimate setting. But this morning as I was getting ready to take the stage, God decided to teach me a lesson.

Every week in children’s ministry all around, we challenge kids to memorize bible verses, to bring friends to church, and to tote their bibles. But every week, we jot down a reference and leave it for later rarely looking back. We rarely open our mouths about the gospel and the Sunday Service and we often rely on the screens to provide the scriptures for us.

We set up false standards for kids. We encourage them to memorize the scripture but how many of us really are committed to learning the word of God? I know I’ve failed at this. Recently I have decided to work more on learning the scriptures but not as hard as I should. I do still bring my Bible to church but I haven’t invited someone to church in months.

Kids Ministry challenges me to be better, to be greater, to practice what I preach. I have a lot of children who look up to me, I also have a God who looks upon me and wants me to live according to His way.

God says to “hide his word in our heart” “to mediate on it daily” and “to go spread the good news of Christ that all may know”. That’s our mission.