Saddle Up for VBS

Howdy, Partners! Mommy and Kendall have not been MIA, we've been gearing up our saddles for a great adventure in the wild, wild VBS land. Last week was crazy with all the preparations, and this week has been wild with all the fun. Kendall has had a blast so far.

Not sure why these pictures came out so small, but I'm not sure how to fix 'em. I copied them from our church's fb page. Here's Cowpoke Kendall and another little ranch hand getting a wagon ride.

I just love VBS every year. I can scratch my teacher itch for five-year-olds. I can never muster up the enthusiasm for it until the week before when I really dive in to all my preparations and lesson plans. I miss teaching kindergarten, and I just get a rush from planning writing centers, art activities and all the other fun stuff that comes along with kindergarteners. Honestly, it was therapeutic for me to sit-alone-in a quiet classroom and just cut, glue and make activities for our week.

But most importantly, I love teaching these children about Jesus and His love for them. I have a much smaller class this year, so I have found more opportunity to pour in to each child with one on one attention instead of merely refereeing and providing crowd control. I am amazed by the Bible knowledge of these kids this year. Our sharing time lasts longer than I had planned because they have gotten so into the lessons. Their eyes are just locked on my as I teach them about how God loves them. God made them for a special purpose, and God will always be with them no matter what they face in life. I can just see God's Word, which never returns void, seeping down into their hearts.

I'm purposely going beyond the story to the truth God reveals of Himself. WHY did Jesus feed the crowd with just the five loaves and two fish? WHY did Jesus dine with Zaccheus? WHY did Joseph treat his brothers with love despite what they had done to him? Because God loves and cares for each of us beyond what we can even imagine. And He has plans for our life no matter if good stuff or bad stuff happens to us. (It sounds so simple when phrased in five-year-old language. So why do we as adults sometimes struggle believing?)

One sentence from the daily teacher devotion has stuck with me. VBS is high energy and fun, and you just can't help but get pumped up and excited to teach these kiddos. And honestly, I'm glad it's only for one week because my energy gets absolutely drained by Friday. Most of these kids only know me as their VBS teacher who teaches them one week and provides alot of fun stuff to do in addition to learning God's truths. So here's the question that was posed for me: If the children saw me outside of VBS with my family, in my workplace, or in my other personal relationships, would they still see Christ in me? May it be so. Long after the week is done, the crafts have been made, the Bible verses memorized, the paint has dried, the glue sticks have been recapped (and hopefully the markers too!) and all those fabulous decorations taken down from the walls, will my life still reflect the truths I am teaching to our next generation? Will I pour the same truths into Kendall the other 51 weeks of the year that I have tirelessly done this week? Basically, will I walk the walk and not merely talk the talk? I want to be just as good a mother and wife as I am a VBS teacher.

Here are the pictures that I pulled up from my sweet class...