We are having Vacation Bible School this week.  We have had small numbers like 9, 7, and 11 kids.  We have enjoyed the opportunity to really be with the kids and have conversations with them instead of just referee-ing or herding them. :-)  Our dear friend Mr. Tim is leading and doing a wonderful job as always.  The kids listen to him so well and he understands how to teach a full range of ages all at once.  Dear daughter's boyfriend is here for the week to help out, too.  So when the Preacher comes down and I come in with the older daycare kids there is a pretty sweet worker to kiddo ratio.

"Pray without kissing"    (the Bible word is ceasing so it was a good guess for a young reader!)

"Mr. Tim, can you come back and do VBS again before summer is over?"

"Mom,  I didn't want you to come back yet...."       (this little guy wanted to stay alot longer!)

One little girl was awfully bashful on Monday morning.  By Tuesday morning she ran into the opening rally and was happy to join in and smiled all day long.  She just needed to feel comfortable.

And my heart is full of love and joy as I see us having an impact on little hearts for eternity.  Well, GLORY!

As kids, my brother and sister and I used to look forward to the occasional opportunity to wrestle with our dad on the living room floor.  For some reason we pronounced it "rassle" and it was pretty much a free-for-all!  Our daddy was a county deputy and he always seemed to have some special move up his sleeve.  He would get one or the other of us pinned down and start the whisker rub.  I tried to tough it out when I was in this uncomfortable situation; after all, I was born believing I am one tough chick.  But at some point even I would give in and holler "Uncle!" when I thought I had had enough.

Yesterday was one of those days when I wanted to holler out to my Heavenly Father and shout "Uncle!"  It was no one thing, it was just one of those tough days when everything was a challenge.  The Bible is clear that God will not give us more than we can take, but so many times I wonder how much more my Father thinks I can endure!  At the end of one of those days I just want some milk and cookies and my nice soft bed.  I feel like that is my due reward for toughing it out.

I suppose you can already see the comparison here.  It's not that deep of a thought!  Just like my daddy would pull some new move on us and make us work a little harder to tackle him, my Heavenly Father sends new things to me and makes me look at my life just a little differently in order to tackle the challenge of the day.  And, let's face it, it seemed like a much more palatable choice to holler "Uncle!" and get the whisker rub over with so we could get back to the fun than to just wait it out for my daddy to decide to stop! :-)  And I guess there are alot of tough days when I give in pretty quickly and try to holler "Uncle!" to my Heavenly Father so I can be done with the challenge and just get back to the usual routine.  But I wouldn't have this special little memory of my daddy and my siblings and I "rasseling" around and being tough with each other if I just hollered "Uncle!" at the first rub of the cheek.  And I wouldn't have stories in my heart of times when God made me tougher....or softer.....or more humble....because of the challenges He brought to me if I had given up every time it was a bit uncomfortable.

Thank You, Heavenly Father, for making me face challenges each day that make me stronger in You.  Thank You for not always listening when I started to holler "Uncle!" but You knew the lesson I needed!  Ps 73:26

This past weekend I spoke at a Ladies Retreat in Wyoming.  The theme verse was Romans 12:5 "So we, being many, are members of the body of Christ, and every one members one of another."  We talked about the different systems in the body that must be healthy and working in unison to have an effective body.

The brain is  the control center of the body.  The pastor is like the brain.  The Central Nervous System is the coordinator of communication and behavior.  Sounds like the pastor's wife to me!  She relays messages about pain and illness and helps get out the word for reactions to these situations.  She gives instructions to organize programs and activities.

We talked about the skeletal system being made up of bones and cartilage.  These are designed to support and protect the vital organs where the life is.  The circulatory system is about moving or transporting.  We compared communication to moving and how good communication moves you along a happy path and poor communication moves you along a, well, bumpy path.

The digestive system shows a wonderful picture of reading and studying God's Word.  The Word in us makes us healthy.  I have coined a term that I call "anorexic Christianity."  People who suffer with anorexia eat just barely enough to survive and do not have a healthy life.  Many Christians just listen a little in church sometimes and think that is enough to make them spiritually healthy.  It takes personal study of the Word of God.

 And then, it was easy to talk about the Excretory System......yup, the poop.  If the health and nutrition of the Word of God goes into our hearts, then the waste of sin will be taken out of our lives.  If sin is allowed to build up in our lives, we become filled with toxins and are no longer profitable but poisonous.

All the parts must be working together in harmony to have a healthy  body.  A church is made up of all kinds of people who have all different kinds of talents and abilities.  We all need to have a check up and be sure we are doing our part to make the body of Christ healthy and effective.