Eight Hope Builders for College Corner Kids: #5 - Words

Hello folks,
We are getting closer to VBS time! In the mean time here is the fifth installment of an eight part series discussing what it takes to give hope to kids in CC.

Words

My job involves customer service so I get paid to talk nice and be patient with people. The other day at work a co-worker next to me overheard a phone conversation I had with one of my daughters. After I hung up he asked who I was talking to. I told him that it was my daughter to which he replied, "you talk a lot nicer to the people that come in here." Ouch! That hurt to hear but he was right! It is easy for parents to let their guard down and say things that hurt the very ones they love the most.

I have been in line at stores and fast food places and witnessed parents get really tense with their kids and talk very harsh to them because they are in a hurry. I have done the same thing and I want God to check me when I get snippy with my kids and wife. In our fast paced lives it is also easy to come home frazzled having very little patience for kids asking questions or trying to show you something they made that day.

One of the most devastating things we can do to kids is treat them with contempt. The rolling of the eyes or angry scowls communicate that they are an annoyance instead of a gift from God. When words are added that say to the child they are dumb, a pain, driving us nuts, etc., it leaves a child in a lurch because they want to know they are loved and they need affirming attention but the parent is perceived as unapproachable. Unfortunately, impatient contemptuous actions and words leave a child with a unfulfilled desire to be affirmed for just being themselves.

If this happens in Christian homes just imagine what it is like for non-
christian working single parents, blended families,and in homes where drugs and alcohol are abused. Words in emotionally stressed atmospheres can scar a child's soul very deeply.

This is where we come in! During VBS we have a chance to open our mouths and affirm children. For some it may be one of the few times in their short lives where they hear an encouraging word. It is a struggle when we volunteers are trying to deal with 5 or 6 rowdy kids at the Grove and it is hot and sticky too. Most volunteers have worked that day and are making a sacrifice to be there and that adds to the stress. Add in kids talking, running around and wrestling it is hard to say anything other than, "Sit down and be quite!"

But we are not alone as we minister to the kids. We have the Holy Spirit and we need to pray now for ourselves and other volunteers to be led of the Spirit:

Galatians 5

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants... 19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: ...hostility, quarreling,...outbursts of anger,...
22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Let us ask God to guide us and prepare us for VBS infused with His Spirit. Our words could be a catalyst that changes a child's life. I don't know the exact number, but I have heard it takes multiple times more kind/encouraging/affirming words to offset just one negative word. Let us prayerfully strive to have spirit filled words that give life and hope during VBS!:

Proverbs 16:24

24 Kind words are like honey—
sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

Eight Hope Builders for College Corner Kids: #4 - Prayer

Hello folks,
We are getting closer to VBS time! In the mean time here is the fourth installment of an eight part series discussing what it takes to give hope to kids in CC.

Prayer

I work with computers and the ones I see most are laptops. A couple of big reasons people like them is that they are portable and they can connect wirelessly to the Internet. No cables or cords keeping them bound. Prayer is like that, it allows us to connect to God on the go and not bound to rituals. Before Jesus you had to go to the temple and have someone intercede for you. Now because of Christ's sacrifice we can come to God no matter where we are. Jesus helped a woman of Samaria understand the difference he was going to make in approaching God:

John 4:19 “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. 20 So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”

21 Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way. 24 For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.”

We can talk to God anywhere and anytime! Children need to know this when they face problems that can seem overwhelming to them. Problems such as; a test at school, a bully, not being invited to a birthday party, death of a grandparent, a divorce, being forced to move, a domestic dispute between parents and even child abuse. All this stuff can be scary for a kid. The loss of a grandparent or a parent due to divorce or other extenuating circumstances can leave a little kid feeling hopeless. That is where we come in! We get to share with kids during VBS that God loves them and through prayer they can talk to him and he can even change their circumstance:

Matthew 7:7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.
9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

God is a loving God! He gives good gifts to meet their needs, so let us instill in children that in yucky situations they can trust him to hear and help:

Isaiah 591 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.

Kids need to know that prayer is a wireless connection to the ear and arm of a God who gives hope! So pray that his mighty arm of salvation sweeps through our upcoming VBS and give him praise that his listening ear is attuned to our prayers!

VBS Stuff is on its Way!

Hello VBS folks,

I spoke with Laura and she told me that our outdoor banner and posters are on their way and should arrive the first of next week. As soon as they are in I will make sure to get them to you for your congregations. Any other items that were ordered for your station will be passed on as well. Be praying for good weather and God's will to be done in VBS 2010!

Eight Hope Builders for College Corner Kids: #3 - People

Hello folks,
It will be VBS time before you know it! In the mean time here is the third installment of an eight part series discussing what it takes to give hope to kids in CC.

People

St Augustine made this profound comment..."Without God man cannot and without man God will not." What do kids need to give them the hope of Christ in College Corner? People. God's loves people and his plan was/is for there to be a lot of us:

Gen. 1:28 Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it.

God made all kinds of people - tall, skinny, weak, strong, smart, not so smart, homely, pretty, etc. With so many different kinds of people you logically have those who make their way in life and those who struggle making their way. God wants people to help each other along the way, especially those who "have" to help those who "have not.":

Leviticus 25:35 “If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident and allow him to live with you.

Deuteronomy 15:4 “There should be no poor among you, for the Lord your God will greatly bless you in the land he is giving you as a special possession.

Those who are blessed with enough resources should bless those who do not have enough resources. When we bless people who are in need, and those stuck in the bleak cycle of poverty, we point them to God and help to build their hope in him:

Psalm 42:5 Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and 6 my God!

When we point people to God guess what happens? ...He points them to us!

Colossians 1:27 And this is the secret: Christ lives in you.

Christ is in us! We work with him to give hope - is that cool or what! As we live out our faith the reality of the living Christ becomes visible and tangible to those who need hope:

2 Corinthians 5:19 And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.

During this summer's VBS we share the message of Christ and the hope he gives - but not just hope for 3 days, or 3 weeks or 3 years but eternal hope! kids see hope through people in the community - us - we encourage and show the kindness of Christ every day so that their hope builds that they can indeed be all that God intended for them to be in this life and in the life to come!

Eight Hope Builders for College Corner Kids: #2- A Hearts Desire

Hello folks,

It will be VBS time before you know it! In the mean time here is the second installment of an eight part series to give hope to kids in CC

A Hearts Desire.

What did you want to grow up to be when you were a little kid? Did you want to be a doctor, a singer, a movie star,a nurse, a pilot, a professional football player, a fireman? I wanted to be a cartoonist at Disney. I hope yours worked out - mine didn't - because I made decisions that lead me down another road to where I am today.

I wonder how many kids in CC desire to be something cool when they grow up but may not get the support to see their dreams come true. Or, the environment they are living in may not be conducive to be anything outside the reality that surrounds them. Some kids may have a dream but have no one to dream with them or point them in the direction that they should seek to achieve it. Some may have the grit and determination to make their dream a reality.That is Good for the later but what about the former? What about the majority that need help to become all that God created them to be. How can we (VBS and the local body of Christ) help a kid become all he or she was created to be? That is where we come in! We point kids to the creator! Who else knows the plans for the kids futures and how to get them there. We teach, preach and exhort kids to come to our awesome God, make him #1 and he will take care of the rest. Listen to the Psalmist says:

Psalm 37:4 (New Living Translation)

4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.

This summer we will share with kids about how much God loves and cares for them. When they experience God's love the delight in him will come naturally because God is delightful! Next, God gives them the desire, dream, wish, the things their heart longs for. When a kid (or an adult for that matter!) is in a delightful relationship in God's family their heart will be right and the desire will be right and then God will make it all turn out all right!

Jesus said it simply works like this:

Matthew 6

33 Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

We the body work together to make disciples of children who seek God first and then God will give them a life with everything they need. As kids grow they begin to see hope that they can be all the God made them to be. We are hope builders for the kids in CC. Pray that his Spirit leads VBS and that we keep him first so that the heart's desire of Community VBS - kids receive Christ as Lord and saviour - will be given to us by our awesome heavenly father!

Eight Hope Builders for College Corner Kids: #1- A Promise

Hello VBS folks,
Over the next few weeks I will be blogging about 8 things God gives us to build hope. These are important hope builders that children, their families, VBS shepherds and the VBS leadership team need to hide away in our hearts to fuel our faith.

An important promise given to us in God's word for a foundation of hope is found in the Old Testament:

Jeremiah 29:11 (New Living Translation)
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

God has plans for everyone no matter where they are or how old they are:
If they are not saved God has a plan of salvation - John 3:16
If they are saved God has a plan for them to grow as a Christian - John 15:5
If they are a growing Christian God has a plan for them to spread the Gospel - Matthew 28:18-20

God also gives us a future! Jesus came to give life and that in the fullest. Not only eternal life but an understanding about life-in-the-here-and-now. A future where one can know who they are( a child of the living God),and what they were made to do(discover/use their abilities to serve God and others), all the while knowing that God will guide them along the path of life! As they experience His provision and protection along the way they will learn not to expect disaster and hopelessness from God, but good things from their heavenly Father. That is the Biblical definition of hope; expecting good things from God in the face of life's challenges.

Our eternal future begins with the return of Christ to this earth when He will bring an end to poverty, absentee fathers, addicted parents, child neglect and abuse forever! John the revelator saw the great hope of the eternal future:
Revelation 21 (New Living Translation)

The New Jerusalem
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.
3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.[a] 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

Well, there you have it. A great place to start talking about hope for kids in College Corner. God has a plan for them and a future beyond what they see around them in their daily life. God's plan for Community VBS is to communicate this good news to the kids this summer! Pray we are successful and that the Holy Spirit takes the hope home to their hearts!

Meeting One is Done

Hello everyone,

Meeting number one is under the belt. We had a great conversation and prayer about our community and the kids. There is a need for hope, goals and vision - hope that there is something beyond the day-to-day, paycheck-to-paycheck existence. The good news of Jesus Christ has an answer for sin that chains us to hopelessness and a mission that can take us beyond "this is the only thing I know" routine!

Based upon that discussion here is what lessons we decided matched up best with what God wants to speak into the life of the children this summer(please visit the "High Seas Expedition" link for more info):

* God's word is comforting (day two)
* God's word is life changing (day four)
* God's word is for everyone (day five)

The 3 day dates for VBS are: Monday August 2nd through Wednesday August 4th, with the Unity Service on Sunday August 8th(the exact times will be announced after the next meeting in June).

Please pray for leaders in the following areas:

* Snack leader
* teen leader
* Bible leader

There will be no crafts this year due to the costs and our desire to experiment with other options.

We also limited the number of teenage helpers to 15 to insure we have a group we can manage and depend on to be there each night.

Thank you all for your help and prayerful support! (Next meeting TBA)
God bless!