T: What was Cain's punishment?
C: He wouldn't have a home and when he planted a seed it would have less on it.
C: Sin is when you do something not respecting God.
T: How can you help teachers in India?
C (who wasn't paying attention): By listening very carefully.
C: Deceiving means not doing something you're supposed to do.
C (after hearing how Jesus died): Hey, that reminds me of Narnia, when Aslan died for that boy Edmund.
(Later we realized that an altar - like in our Bible story - was like the Stone Table. So cool how the kids put it together.)
T: You know what a quiet time is?
C: When you're asleep.
One boy's prayer request: "That we'll see each other again"
T: What's heaven like?
C: A big place with lots of angels in it!
T: What did Hannah name her baby?
C: Jesus?
************************************************************************
Tuesday, August 24
STOP a second
It was a Monday, I believe, when Sammi was at club.
She was almost junior high age, so she was a little older than some of the other kids. But she and her siblings had a lot of fun playing games with us. For one game I had all the kids line up and as I read a "right heart attitude", they could take a giant step forward. For each "wrong heart attitude", they had to stay where they were. If someone moved when they weren't supposed to, we would send them back to the starting line.
The game may not sound very exciting, but the kids liked it - maybe because it was easy to tell which was a right attitude and which was a wrong one!
But Sammi surprised me when the group of kids got close to the finish line.
I read, "I talk to God every day, every chance I get," and all the other kids took a big step forward.
But Sammi stayed back.
"Sammi," I said in surprise. "Why didn't you take a big step?"
"Because," said Sammi, "I don't do that all the time."
I explained that, while the attitudes I was reading were good, the kids didn't have to step forward only if they had those attitudes. Sammi said, "Ohh," and stepped up to the other kids.
That was all.
But Sammi's attitude got me thinking.
It took guts to stop when everyone else kept moving forward. It took even more guts to speak up and say, "I don't do that all the time." So I think maybe we had it backwards all summer. The kids are the teachers... and we teenagers just show up to learn from them.
Sammi's actions taught me to stop and think about the true nature of my relationship with God; not to just move forward with things. Sometimes I assume everyone else must have a word from God I don't; surely they're all moving in the right direction!
But maybe God just wants me to stop.
The college I'm attending this fall has a motto based on what Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10; "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Everyone else may be "worried... about many things", but you and I need to stop and say "there is something I'm not doing, and it's what I need to do. I need to get closer to God."
That's what won't be taken away from us at the finish line.
She was almost junior high age, so she was a little older than some of the other kids. But she and her siblings had a lot of fun playing games with us. For one game I had all the kids line up and as I read a "right heart attitude", they could take a giant step forward. For each "wrong heart attitude", they had to stay where they were. If someone moved when they weren't supposed to, we would send them back to the starting line.
The game may not sound very exciting, but the kids liked it - maybe because it was easy to tell which was a right attitude and which was a wrong one!
But Sammi surprised me when the group of kids got close to the finish line.
I read, "I talk to God every day, every chance I get," and all the other kids took a big step forward.
But Sammi stayed back.
"Sammi," I said in surprise. "Why didn't you take a big step?"
"Because," said Sammi, "I don't do that all the time."
I explained that, while the attitudes I was reading were good, the kids didn't have to step forward only if they had those attitudes. Sammi said, "Ohh," and stepped up to the other kids.
That was all.
But Sammi's attitude got me thinking.
It took guts to stop when everyone else kept moving forward. It took even more guts to speak up and say, "I don't do that all the time." So I think maybe we had it backwards all summer. The kids are the teachers... and we teenagers just show up to learn from them.
Sammi's actions taught me to stop and think about the true nature of my relationship with God; not to just move forward with things. Sometimes I assume everyone else must have a word from God I don't; surely they're all moving in the right direction!
But maybe God just wants me to stop.
The college I'm attending this fall has a motto based on what Jesus said to Martha in Luke 10; "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
Everyone else may be "worried... about many things", but you and I need to stop and say "there is something I'm not doing, and it's what I need to do. I need to get closer to God."
That's what won't be taken away from us at the finish line.
Friday, August 13
MORE Kids Quotes
This blog has become all about the kids quotes! But uh, I'm not sure I can remember anything else from this week. :) It went by so fast! We taught 3 clubs a day so the days were full and sticky (juice on the parachute in 90-degree weather, anyone?).
The quotes might be the most telling...
________________________________________________________
"Jesus is the way, Jesus is the way. Jesus is the only way at club today!"
- a kid at our park club who loved rhymes.
Teacher:"Why where the Christians praying? Maybe something bad had happened..."
Child:"Maybe hamburgers fell from the sky!"
Teacher:"What has God given to you?"
Child:"My Star Wars video games and lightsaber!"
Teacher:"How can you come to God with a right heart attitude?"
Child:"Talk to him nicely."
Teacher:"What is a missionary?"
Child:"Someone who tells anybody about Jesus!"
Host's child when his dad came in: "Daddy, this is 5-day club!"
T:"What do you think they had at the feast?"
C:"Chicken!"
C:"Ribs!"
C:"Cow tongue!"
Teachers:"Cow tongue?!"
Sometimes it's the teachers that get a little... odd.
Teacher:"He probably had a lot of doctors but none of them knew anything! So..."
Teacher:"Wow! That was awesome! Style points!"
Kid:"Yay! We get more points!"
Teacher:"...Oops."
An amazing joke from this week's teacher:
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Broken pencil!
Broken pencil who?
Never mind; it's pointless. :D
The quotes might be the most telling...
________________________________________________________
"Jesus is the way, Jesus is the way. Jesus is the only way at club today!"
- a kid at our park club who loved rhymes.
Teacher:"Why where the Christians praying? Maybe something bad had happened..."
Child:"Maybe hamburgers fell from the sky!"
Teacher:"What has God given to you?"
Child:"My Star Wars video games and lightsaber!"
Teacher:"How can you come to God with a right heart attitude?"
Child:"Talk to him nicely."
Teacher:"What is a missionary?"
Child:"Someone who tells anybody about Jesus!"
Host's child when his dad came in: "Daddy, this is 5-day club!"
T:"What do you think they had at the feast?"
C:"Chicken!"
C:"Ribs!"
C:"Cow tongue!"
Teachers:"Cow tongue?!"
Sometimes it's the teachers that get a little... odd.
Teacher:"He probably had a lot of doctors but none of them knew anything! So..."
Teacher:"Wow! That was awesome! Style points!"
Kid:"Yay! We get more points!"
Teacher:"...Oops."
An amazing joke from this week's teacher:
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Broken pencil!
Broken pencil who?
Never mind; it's pointless. :D
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