Vacation Bible School

Today is the last day of Vacation Bible School for our church and tonight was the big celebration for it.  This is where parents, kids and all of the volunteers get together to talk, sing, worship and find out how things were for everyone involved.

This week my youngest daughter was attending while my oldest daughter and my wife were volunteering.  It was a big time commitment, but you can see it in their eyes that it was worth it.  I am hoping that next year I will be able to volunteer.  So here are some of the images and videos from tonight.  I hope you enjoy the sheer joy of the kids in worship!

Things started off with a food drive, the boys vs. the girls in which group could bring in the most.

Then we did some worship and praise with the kids and adults!

Just watching the sheer joy of my daughter singing and worshiping is my joy.

And I will end it with this.  The guitarist is one of the church musicians and is really good!

Have a blessed evening!

When Did I Become My Parents?

  I enjoy watching my kids as they grow, but it is with a joy tempered with sadness.  My little girls are not so little anymore and I sometimes step outside myself as I look at my interaction with them.  Especially with my oldest.  She is in that tween state between child and teenager and I can see how she is growing and maturing into her own person. 

 And in growing into her own person, she has developed her own taste in music.  Loud music.  Obnoxious music.  At least to me.  To her it is exciting and new and cool.

Sound familiar?  How many times did your parents or grandparents tell you to turn down your music?  Or as you how you could listen to that stuff?  Or wish that you would listen to music that made sense?

So now I tell her to turn it down and wish she would listen to something that made sense and wasn't obnoxious.

So the vicious cycle has come true.  "You'll understand when you have kids!"  Remember that statement?  I do.  And yes, now I understand.

In this small way I have become my parents.

Potluck with the Junior High Ministry

I am making this a short one tonight as it is late and I want to get some reading in before bed.  I went to the potluck dinner held by the Junior High Ministry of our church Sunday evening and there was a lot of people...not a lot of food!  But that was okay.  As I was one of the last ones in line, I thought about a couple of things.  One, I can stand to lose a LOT of weight, so eating lightly was a good thing.  The second thing is that what I had on my plate was a lot more than a lot of people get in a single day to eat.  So I was and am grateful for what I did eat.

My wife and I listened to the Junior High Pastor, Mike, talk about all of the things that will be going on this year and I am excited for all of the kids.  In a way I envy them as I did not have this opportunity growing up. 


But the one thing that I was really thankful for, that made my evening and really my day, was when my oldest daughter got up and came over to where we were sitting (she was sitting with her friends at another table.) and hugged me from behind, rested her chin on my head and said hi to me, then that she loved me. 

So for tonight I wanted to thank God for my wife and my two girls.  I love all three of them and I could not imagine life without them.

Persecution

A state in India has thousands of people murdered and displaced. Homes and buildings are burned to the ground and the people burned out are herded into refuge camps. There they are still bullied by those that persecute them.

In China thousands are persecuted for meeting together. Their leaders are jailed for years without trial, or in some cases, tried in a kangaroo court, their guilt predetermined. They are kept from their families and sometimes, they never make it out.

In North Korea, these people are used in unspeakable ways when they are caught. Subjected to torture as subjects to chemical and biological warfare experimentation.

Yet, you never really hear about this in the main stream media.

Why?

Because they are Christians.

Since the main stream media will not report, it is up to the lesser known media to get this out and yes, this includes bloggers. I will be writing more on the Persecuted church in the days ahead, but I wanted to simply point out to you that this is happening now and in our world. You may not have heard, but it is there.

My next post on the persecuted church will focus on how you can help. For now, pray. Pray for those who are persecuted for strength and boldness. But pray.

Eric

On Becoming A Book Reviewer

I have to admit that I am excited at the opportunity that has presented itself to me.  I am now signed up with a couple of companies to receive, read and review books!  I am ecstatic about this!  The first book I will be reviewing is Living With Confidence In A Chaotic World written by Dr. David Jeremiah.  I will post the review here first as soon as I receive and read the book.

Have a great day!
Eric

Far Far Too Long

I have missed blogging more than I realized.  I decided to take a long break to concentrate on other aspects of my life and now it's time to start blogging again.  I missed you.  I hope you missed me!

Eric