Friday's Fave Five... VBS style...

I'm a few hours early on my Friday post of my Friday's Fave Five...  I've got a few minutes tonight to do this.  Tomorrow VBS ends and I may be too wasted to think, so I thought I'd rather be a little early than too late on this post.


Here are my five favorite things from VBS this week...


1~the park where we hosted VBS... in one word... tranquil!  Absolutely beautiful wooded lot with stone cabins, outdoor ampitheatre and a great view of the lake!

2~the kids... at present count, we have had over 60 kids come to VBS this week!

3~ Silly Songs with Eric and Ridley... sometimes it's the spontaneous things that turn out to be the most memorable... the most talked about... the most fun!

4~ teaching Bible class... there is nothing that thrills my soul more than teaching kids about God from His Word.  We had a blast this week learning about the Children of Israel's exodus from Egypt.  I think the kids enjoyed the Sword Drills more than anything... (definitely not the most flattering pictures of me... but that isn't the point, is it?)

5~ there's always one... one child who steals your heart when you least expect it... one child who connects... who "gets it"....  

one child whom you hope you've made a difference in their life... or at least made their life memorable for five days...

This year... this VBS... this week... ... this is my one...

Silly Songs...

Silly Songs with Eric and Ridley....

This is the part of VBS when Eric and Ridley come out and sing a silly song...

"I'm singing in the rain,
Just singing in the rain,
What a glorious feeling of shsh, shsh, woosh! shsh, shsh, woosh!
Arms out... thumbs up... knees bent... butt out... head up...

I'm singing in the rain,
Just singing in the rain, What a glorious feeling of shsh, shsh, woosh! shsh, shsh, woosh!"






This was yesterday's song... today's song was "Herman, the Worm".  I'm remiss to mention that I do not have pictures of the silly song "Herman, the Worm."


I'm sure tomorrow's Silly Song will be equally spiritually stimulating...  


oh the fun of being a kid!

a little revved up...

Ok... so I get a little revved up from time to time... and today just happened to be time!

Our VBS lesson today was Passover and the Night Flight from Egypt.  I managed to teach the lesson three times without getting too riled but by the time we got to our morning "wrap-up" session... I could hold it in no longer!


You see... today's lesson was all about the tenth plague that God sent in judgment of Pharaoh.  In His love and because of His grace, He made a way that the children of Israel could avoid the plague... the death of their first born.  If the children of Israel obeyed Him and put the blood of a spotless lamb around the door posts and door frames of their homes, the angel of death would pass over their home and everyone inside... everyone covered by the blood of the lamb would be safe.  However, the angel of death took all the other first-borns who were not covered by the blood of the lamb... man and beast.


I told the kids that this is my favorite story of the Bible because it foretells God's plan of salvation for all of mankind (I also told them I would probably have another favorite story tomorrow....so this was my favorite Bible story for today because I LOVE all of the Word of God!!).  John the Baptist saw Jesus coming and said "Behold the Lamb of God who comes to take away the sin of the world".


This is where I got really riled up!  After teaching this lesson three times, we all met in the ampitheatre for our morning wrap-up session.  This is when I review the Bible lesson one more time for the day.  Today I did more than review.... Seriously, picture me clutching my Bible, tears streaming down my face, yelling talking in a loud voice so all could hear me"Jesus did this for us! He is our Passover Lamb!!"... I think I may have frightened one or two today.


I can't help it.  I hope I never tire of this story... am never not moved by it... am never callous toward it.  


When it comes to telling children about the blood of the Lamb that can cover their hearts and protect them from eternal separation from God... I get a little revved!

VBS...

It's VBS week here on the home front!

I have great memories of VBS as a kid.  Some times I went to the Vacation Bible School at the church we attended.  Other times, I went as a visitor to a friend's VBS.   For me, VBS was almost as good as camp.

Our church does not, yet, own our own building.  So, we rented one of our local parks to house VBS.  The park has a gorgeous lake view, suitable ampitheatre and great cabins to host Bible class and craft class.

We've been on a Journey To The Promised Land.  Thus far, we've learned about the sons of Israel who later became slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt.  We've met Moses and his blood brother, Aaron.  We've walked with them as they have approached Pharaoh over and over again asking him to release God's chosen people.  We've observed plagues... 9 of them to be exact....

Tomorrow the journey continues with the 10th and final plague and the night flight of the Hebrews as they left their lives of slavery in Egypt.


As it often is, as I have been writing and preparing these Bible lessons, God has taught me much more than I could possibly communicate to the kids. Today I was moved by how well they participated and answered the questions.  Praise HIM these children love Him and His WORD!!


All of these years later... I still love VBS!