Light of The World....

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'” ~Matthew 19:14

The week of Vacation Bible School never ceases to amaze me. 
There is a rare, powerful, tear-stained, genuine worship that occurs, akin to nothing I've seen out of adults. 

Their worship was pure and heartfelt....with no distraction or concern of anyone around them. 

What was going on was a song and a conversation between each child there and their God.

While I was worried about getting "too in to it" at one point....I realized the quietest kids I knew were in front of 400 people "letting it rip" 

A few things overheard this week....

"We are giving money because, there are sad thirsty elephants in Africa that need it."

"God loved the world so much- 

that He decided to stay the same yesterday, today and forever" 

(messy 3rd grade handwriting Scripture looks better than any scroll found in Israel) 

"I growed a mustache here."

"favorite song is, My God is an awesome guy. He Reigns from heaven above. 
My God is an awesome guy." 

The particular singer also sings, 
"Mary had a little man. a little Man, a little man. He followed her home from school one day." 

"God sent bananas from the sky to feed desert people."

Kids took it upon themselves to help crying little ones. 

They giggled and skipped and didn't get their feathers ruffled by differences.

They had honest conversations with God....

They truly were and are, the light of the world and a city on a hill.

God, Thank You for giving us visual examples of what You desire. No wonder the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.

In His Dust,
DCC

The Emergency Pager...

When you call the church after hours this is what you hear....
"If this is an emergency or life threatening situation...please press 911 and a pastor will be paged immediately."

Let's review over a few possible emergency situations, shall we?

Someone is dying.
Someone is in serious trouble.
Someone is on fire.
Someone has just been in a terrible accident.
Someone has just passed away.
Someone is in a crisis and needs counseling.

I had the pager this weekend. 
(No, your time machine did not just drop you off in 1985, I said pager....which is an entirely different post)

This was a middle of the night emergency call we received...
"Please call me back quickly, I need to find out how to enroll my son in a shop class at Lee High School. Also, I could use $3500.00."

Ummmmm, at first, I wondered if he had misheard emergency as,

"Please press 911, if you would like to wake someone up and ask for help in a situation that is not an emergency."

In which case, I would say, Bravo sir, well played!

Then I reflected on all of the other middle of the night "emergency calls" we receive,

They go a little something like this...

What time is church? What should I wear? I think I lost a pair of sunglasses? I don't like that sermon series. Your message on the marquee is offensive. Why won't McNitzky wear a robe? What is Michael doing on his sabbatical? 

I could go on...but I was reminded by Job, that every concern of our's, is important to God.

"What is mankind that you make so much of them,

 that you give them so much attention." ~Job 7:17

Since God cares, then we should as well....3:00 am and pm equally.

God, Thank You for caring about every concern we have, just because You love us. 

In His Dust, 

DCC

Tools....

After a great dinner and on the way to my Godson's Bday party...I had a blow out.

Of course, I did what all 45 year olds do....I called my Mommy and Daddy.

And of course they immediately screeched up.

On board, was my Uncle Con. 

It is in his DNA to, "know what to do" and to not be afraid to do it. 

He does it with no complaints or even an eye roll.

With 600% humidity, with sweat literally pouring, off of his face....

there was not an eye roll or a complaint to be heard from him. 

Momo would be proud to know that there was no "belly-aching" from her boy. 

Just as Popo would be proud to know all his hard work and training in the garage paid off. 

I would be remiss if I didn't mention Reagan Stringfellow who drove by, stopped and turned into a Indianapolis 500 one man pit crew. 

(I owe you big time Reagan!)

 

I was quickly reminded that, we all come packed with a God Given set of tools. 

Our upbringing tends to sharpens, dull, add or subtract. 

Some of us look like we bring a shiny filled up tool box, 

that would make Tim Allen jealous... 

and others tend to show up with.....

a Fisher Price. 

You know the people I am talking about don't you?

They might not look like that much help in your eyes...or their "help" isn't exactly, "helpful." 

However, according to 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, He uses Fisher Price too!

No one is left out. We all have value and purpose. 

"Members do not have the same function... 

We have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us." ~Romans 12:4a,6a

 He has placed us where He wants us...

in order to Honor Him and Bless each other. So whether you think you arrive with a dented toolbox with inadequate tools...or you pull up whistling carrying plastic tools...

you and I can rest assured....

"He who began a good work on you 

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." -Philippians 1:6 

Just like Reagan, My Uncle Con and My Daddy showed me....

Love changes everything.

Thank You God for loving me and looking out for me in such a way, that only I knew, was straight from Heaven. 

In His Dust,

DCC