Yes, some more amazing Godspots! Actually, I should never be amazed at God because that is who He is - just amazing! I just had to blog today about the 2nd grade girls. I talked with Stephanye Johnson, the Guide of the 2nd grade girls, for an update on how the 2nd grade girl's small group went today. She shared this story:
Two girls found this week's Message of the King (a.k.a Bible verse) of Philippians 3:13b-14 on their own in their personal Bibles (the Bibles are NIrV Versions of the Zondervan Adventure Bible donated by McHenry EFC). They excitedly told Ms. Johnson, "We found the verses in our Bible and we are meditating on it!" Pressing on towards the goal to win the prize is a great verse to meditate on!! The girls in the group then went on to discuss tough situations in their life and how the King helps them to press on through it. Donnisia chimed in some encouragement, "Yeah, you know how the King helped Christian..." and began to retell the story so far of how the King was with Christian even in his difficult moments. During their prayer time to the King asking for His help, they were so overcome with emotion that they started crying!
Another 2nd grade girl story: During free choice time (when all of the rest of the girls in her after-school class were dancing) Kaniyah eagerly sat down in front of one of our bulletin boards with all the past Messages from the King on it. She wanted to copy down all the Bible references and after writing them down, she looked them up one-by-one in her personal Bible. She was SO excited when she would find the verse all by herself - written exactly as she had learned it!
And yet another 2nd grade girl story (since I'm at it): One big struggle of Janae (not her real name) is calming herself down appropriately once she gets angry or frustrated. She and I have talked together on several different occasions and brainstormed helpful ideas. One of those ideas was to sing one of her favorite songs ("Jesus, You're My Firm Foundation")that she learned at C4S to help her calm down. Today when I briefly stopped by her room, I saw that she was clearly agitated. Then I heard her softly sing, "Jesus, You're my firm foundation. I know I can stand secure...." I smiled to myself, my heart bursting with pride for her, and thankfulness to our King for calming her down. (P.S. The song worked!).
It is SO encouraging to see our King's Kids happily embracing their King and finding His Word and praise so comforting and helpful! It's such a joy to lead our King's Kids to the One who loves them even more than I do!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
The Cross Through the Eyes of Our King's Kids
In our journey along with Christian, he finally came to the cross where his burden was lost forever! During our dramatic skit, our King's Kids had HUGE smiles on their faces when they discovered that Christian's burden was gone! Below are excerpts (typed exactly as they are written) from some King's Kids' journals as they reflected on what the cross meant to them personally.
"The cross means to me no sins are left." -1st grade boy
"What the cross means to me forgiven and set free and the burden is burning off our backs." -2nd grade boy
"What the cross means to me is a symbol of Jesus. It is a symbol of Jesus because he died on it for us he shed his blood on it for us, and he freed us from our sin on it." -8th grade boy
"It inspires me to be a better person and to be successful. I want to be a Christian." -5th grade boy
"The cross means to me I am forgiven and set free. It means everything to me." -2nd grade girl
"It means to me that the Lord died for our sins. He took all our sins aways. These are some sin that I do. I talk back to my teacher and I lie and hit peoples." -4th grade girl
"The cross means that our sins are gone. We don't have to live with any more guilt." -5th grade boy
"I am forgiven and set free. I will never hate the cross." - 1st grade girl
"What it means to me is that it means that people should listen. Some people say forget God. But I say let's start thinking about God. If people don't care then I will." -6th grade girl
"The cross means to me no sins are left." -1st grade boy
"What the cross means to me forgiven and set free and the burden is burning off our backs." -2nd grade boy
"What the cross means to me is a symbol of Jesus. It is a symbol of Jesus because he died on it for us he shed his blood on it for us, and he freed us from our sin on it." -8th grade boy
"It inspires me to be a better person and to be successful. I want to be a Christian." -5th grade boy
"The cross means to me I am forgiven and set free. It means everything to me." -2nd grade girl
"It means to me that the Lord died for our sins. He took all our sins aways. These are some sin that I do. I talk back to my teacher and I lie and hit peoples." -4th grade girl
"The cross means that our sins are gone. We don't have to live with any more guilt." -5th grade boy
"I am forgiven and set free. I will never hate the cross." - 1st grade girl
"What it means to me is that it means that people should listen. Some people say forget God. But I say let's start thinking about God. If people don't care then I will." -6th grade girl
Friday, January 15, 2010
From the Mouth of Babes
During God Time, one of our 3rd Grade King's Kids asked, "How do I get to heaven - the Celestial City?" Another King's Kid (a 2nd grader) raised his hand excitedly and when called on confidently said (remembering our ABC lesson), "Admit you are a sinner, Believe in Jesus, and Choose to follow Him." Praise God for the minds that are exploring the great depths of our loving Savior and the seeds of truth that are being planted in young hearts!
Getting Out of the Way
Here's a really cool story of how God is working through His Word.
One of the Guides brought three upper elementary boys to my office that were misbehaving and not acting like the King’s Kids they are. One of the boys quickly apologized and seemed very genuine for his actions. The other two boys started quickly talking with excuses and blaming. I asked them to sit down on the chairs in my office and I continued the work I had to do on the computer. We worked in silence. They worked on homework. I worked on administrative work. I think they were wondering what would happen. I was wondering what would happen. No one said a word, but I was praying for guidance. These two boys were repeat misbehaving King's Kids. Lectures and consequences did little to correct behavior, and so as I was working on my various tasks, I also had been praying for a different approach to use with these boys.
After awhile, I asked the boys if they were ready to talk. I opened up the Bible and told the boys that we were going to see what the King had to say about their situation. The King directed me to various Proverbs and as I read them, the boys listened. We talked about Proverbs 12:1 – anyone who hates correction is stupid (that’s what the King says!) and Proverbs 12:22, 13:20, 14:9 – all dealing with the importance of honesty, trying to do the right thing and surrounding yourself with wise and good people. I hardly talked – I just kept reading various verses about what the King says about the situation. One of the boys raised his hand and said, “Honestly (saying it very slowly as if trying out the work on his tongue and as if he was walking into totally unfamiliar territory), I haven’t forgiven (my Guide) for what he did to me in the past and I just don’t do anything he asks.“ I again read Proverbs 12:22 and told him that he pleased the King with his honesty. I could tell he was proud of pleasing the King. Then the other boy had something honest to say. Honesty suddenly became contagious!
I then went to Matthew 6:14-15 about forgiveness. The boy looked very solemn about the King’s message that if he doesn’t forgive, then the King won’t forgive him and then said, “I need to apologize to (my Guide) and do what he tells me.” What a moment! Because I had waited to respond and waited for the King’s direction (yes, I even need this story!) and let the King do the talking, I found out much more about these boys’ hearts and thoughts then I could’ve found by a 10-minute discussion – or lecture – and the boys got so much more out of it. It was such a powerful moment. The boy went right to his Guide and apologized very genuinely. I could tell a change took place in that boy’s heart – even if for an instant. I pray that this is just the beginning of great change in this boy’s life.
Just wanted to share it with you!!
One of the Guides brought three upper elementary boys to my office that were misbehaving and not acting like the King’s Kids they are. One of the boys quickly apologized and seemed very genuine for his actions. The other two boys started quickly talking with excuses and blaming. I asked them to sit down on the chairs in my office and I continued the work I had to do on the computer. We worked in silence. They worked on homework. I worked on administrative work. I think they were wondering what would happen. I was wondering what would happen. No one said a word, but I was praying for guidance. These two boys were repeat misbehaving King's Kids. Lectures and consequences did little to correct behavior, and so as I was working on my various tasks, I also had been praying for a different approach to use with these boys.
After awhile, I asked the boys if they were ready to talk. I opened up the Bible and told the boys that we were going to see what the King had to say about their situation. The King directed me to various Proverbs and as I read them, the boys listened. We talked about Proverbs 12:1 – anyone who hates correction is stupid (that’s what the King says!) and Proverbs 12:22, 13:20, 14:9 – all dealing with the importance of honesty, trying to do the right thing and surrounding yourself with wise and good people. I hardly talked – I just kept reading various verses about what the King says about the situation. One of the boys raised his hand and said, “Honestly (saying it very slowly as if trying out the work on his tongue and as if he was walking into totally unfamiliar territory), I haven’t forgiven (my Guide) for what he did to me in the past and I just don’t do anything he asks.“ I again read Proverbs 12:22 and told him that he pleased the King with his honesty. I could tell he was proud of pleasing the King. Then the other boy had something honest to say. Honesty suddenly became contagious!
I then went to Matthew 6:14-15 about forgiveness. The boy looked very solemn about the King’s message that if he doesn’t forgive, then the King won’t forgive him and then said, “I need to apologize to (my Guide) and do what he tells me.” What a moment! Because I had waited to respond and waited for the King’s direction (yes, I even need this story!) and let the King do the talking, I found out much more about these boys’ hearts and thoughts then I could’ve found by a 10-minute discussion – or lecture – and the boys got so much more out of it. It was such a powerful moment. The boy went right to his Guide and apologized very genuinely. I could tell a change took place in that boy’s heart – even if for an instant. I pray that this is just the beginning of great change in this boy’s life.
Just wanted to share it with you!!
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