As usual, I always arrive early for church. This Sunday I was delighted to see a little girl, her mom, and her grandpa on the playground. Mom was pushing the little girl on the swing. I just sat and watched them for some time, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to say hello. As I walked toward them, Audrey, the little 23-month-old girl, ran toward me! She was so happy, I invited her to Sunday school to also play inside, but mom had to leave. I am sure they will be back!

We have been traveling with Abraham and Sarah as they journey to a new home. Sarah is 90 and Abraham is 100. These are hardly the ages you would expect to become parents. Sarah laughs as she did when she learned that she would be a mother; this time, her laughter was from joy as she learned she would be a mother. Sarah names her son “Isaac”, which means “laughter”. Through this story, we realize that God is faithful, and God keeps his promises. God wants us to be faithful and keep our promises.

Noah and I were busy in Children’s church as we painted artwork to take home to Mom. After church, Noah was checking out the playground before going home. Grandma Liz was very patiently waiting!

We will continue our journey with Abraham this week; will you join us?

Blessings

We were missing our kids on Sunday; it must have been Fair Day! We had a wonderful lesson as we continued to travel with Abraham and Sarah. They had moved from their home in Haran and traveled to a new land.

They must have wondered how God was going to make a great nation of them since they had no children. God appeared to them again when Abraham was at least 100 years old. Only this time, Abraham was not aware God was visiting. Three guests appeared near his tent. Abraham extended hospitality to them. Their identity was unclear; but Abraham invited them to stay, provided water to wash their feet, and served them a meal.

In the Bible, hospitality to travelers and strangers was very important. The guests told Abraham that in a year’s time, when they returned, he and Sarah would have a son.

Sarah was listening inside the tent and laughed to herself. After all, Sarah was well past the age to have children. Sarah had faith in God, but must have wondered how God would keep this promise. The Lord’s response to her laughter is, “Is anything too difficult for the Lord?”

Hopefully we will see you in church Sunday so we can learn the name of Sarah’s son.

Blessings

This week we were all so excited that the playground had been constructed and we just had to go outside and “test drive” it.

Everything seemed to meet their approval. Jade and Remy really enjoyed the swings, while Alec loved the slides. They decided that the playground passed inspection for you to bring your kids and grandkids to church so they can enjoy our playground as well!

Our lesson this week was about Abraham as he journeyed to a new land. God told him not to be afraid because He would protect them on their journey.

Abraham was confused that God would be protecting all of his descendants on this journey. He asked God, “What can You possibly give me since I have no children?“

God patiently replied that Abraham should count the stars in the night sky if he thought he could. God told him that is how many descendants he would have. Abraham has questions, but he remains faithful to God.

We learned that there are always questions about God’s desires in our lives, but we also learned in this story that God always keeps His promises, even when these promises are different from anything we could have imagined. We have a lot more to learn about this journey.

Be with us Sunday as we travel further with Abraham and Sarah.

Blessings

The last few weeks we have been discussing God’s creations. He created the earth and all that was in it including Adam and Eve, Adam’s helper in the garden. After that, God created the idea of the world and then, like an artist, made the creation come alive. God saw that all that was created was beautiful. God gives a blessing to all living things to reproduce. God sees that all living things are good and wants to continue creation. God imagined a diverse world where each and every living thing was important. Encourage your children to create a world of beauty and to always look for beauty in the world around them.

God made many promises in the Bible; for the next few weeks, we will journey with Abraham and Sarah. One day God spoke to Abraham and told him to leave Haran where he lived with his family. He wanted him to take his wife Sarah. They were both quite old at this time and had no children. God promised Abraham three things: 1. God would provide Abraham with new land, 2. God would give Abraham many descendants, and 3. Abraham’s family would be a blessing to other people. God’s promises alone are blessings. Abraham and Sarah traveled through areas in the Canaanite mountains; this area would be the homeland of their descendants. This journey was very hard for Abraham and Sarah, due to their age, but their willingness to follow God demonstrates their great faith and hope in the future that God promised them. We will continue our travel next week; see you in church! Blessings,

ANOTHER NOTE—Several have asked me if I have talked with Robert and Kaylee Rushing and Julie Ann since their move. I was home alone last Sunday when Robert gave me a call and brought me up to date. I was delighted to learn that on his last grade card, he received all A’s. Kaylee received A’s as well. Julie Ann is doing well in second grade. They all seem to be doing well, but they still miss our church and all you people. Robert says he misses you. I gave him our love and hope to see him soon!

We discussed the wonderful creation of God. We have discussed the creation of different plants and animals that inhabit the earth. In Sunday school, the kids were sure He was happy with His creations; then he created man to care for the earth. What if we took time to really appreciate God’s creations and care for and appreciate the wonders of creation through the eyes of a child? God created people to be different and unique, just like God created the rest of the world. After God had created the garden full of beautiful plants and trees, God realized the garden needed a caretaker, so He created a person named Adam. The animals in the garden were helpful to Adam but God became aware that the garden required more work than Adam could maintain. The next person God created was called “helper.” This reiterates God’s divinity within humanity, and our call to work together, side by side, to care for all of creation. God created another person who could work side by side with Adam. Adam named that person Eve. Eve was created to be a partner to Adam, to be in relationship with him and share equally in caring for the garden and the earth.

God used creativity to create beauty and a world of wonder. Help your children know that they are God’s children and help them to create beauty in the world around them. None of us can do this alone; by working together, we can be creative helpers of God. See you in church Sunday.

Blessings