Loving the Little Rascal

      So I have been working with Cubbies at a church that is about 5 minutes away. We have about 40 kids coming and among these kids is one particular kid named James. Now James is a big problem child at Cubbies since he gets up during story time and runs around the room in a way that is both distracting and dangerous to both himself and others. It usually takes a couple of us to corral him and then for one of us to catch him and hold him during story time. 

      Anyway this kid really has made it clear that he does not want to be at Cubbies and he just wants to go home. I feel for him.

     I got told once to not feel bad for him when he was not listening. I can't help feeling badly for kids who are misbehaving. Especially ones who people do not seem to be showing love to or trying to understand what's going on at home. What does or does not go on at home will affect how they act in public.

     I want this kid to know what it is to love Jesus and what Jesus' love looks like but it's so hard when they don't seem to want it or care. (Maybe this is a little picture of how we look to God a lot of times.)

     How do we reach a child who does not want to be reached? You can't and forcing him to sit and listen might be helping him to close his ears more and more to what God says in His word. It's doing more harm than good. 

     On the other hand it isn't my choice that this kid has to be there at Cubbies. It's his parents choice to enroll him. So I have been wracking my brain as to how to get this kid more engaged. I think he's just a really active kid and so he needs to move around so making him sit isn't helping him to learn. I try to give him things to play with during the story time and ask him questions to try and get him to listen. He behaves a little better since he's getting individual attention but its not like we have a real choice in that since he has to be strapped to you during the story time. At least it's something. 

The Joy and Pain of Volunteering

      I have been volunteering this past year for a couple of programs but the school year is almost over and so are the programs. In one sense it's a relief but in another sense I will be sad to leave (mostly sad).

     In one of the programs (Cubbies) I have had the privilege to work with preschoolers. These kids are not only cute but they are also busy, naughty, and needy. They need to know that someone cares.
     I find that I'm not that much different from these little ones in comparison to God. I just am able to hide it a lot better from those who are around me. I guess it helps in me being able to relate to them since I'm just a big kid in an adult body.
     I'm going to miss seeing a whole room full of wiggly, energetic preschoolers sitting on a carpet doing their best to listen (although we did have a few who could care less, there are some in every crowd) to the Bible lesson this week and waiting for the teacher to call on them to be up front helping her.
      I also help out at a Good News Club which is an after school program that is in one of the local public elementary schools in our area. Because its free we get kids who come who have  never heard about Jesus. It has been really cool to be a part of these kids lives and be able to answer their questions and help them understand who Jesus is. I'm going to miss this group. They have done so much to help me in my own walk in asking me questions that both encouraged and challenged me. Hopefully I can finish some of the blog posts that I'm working on based on these questions over the summer. We shall see.

     These were both opportunities that God put before me. He led the opportunities to me and then I felt called to be a part and followed that calling. It truly has been a blessing to be a part of each of these ministries.

     If you are a Christian and have some desire to get involved in something that has eternal impact think and pray about getting involved in children's ministry in some way. You might be surprised at how easy it is to get involved. If you have a plate that is already full see how you can pray for a local group somehow or if you can support a local ministry somehow. Anything helps even if its "only prayer" it's still important.

What do I do with Myself?

    As a single daughter of a pastor there are people who are genuinely thinking that I should get out there and do something with my life. Sometimes this can be discouraging when you look at everything you already do and think "but what about everything else that I'm involved in"? I'm the oldest of 12 kids, I go and help out at Cubbies once a week, I've been very involved in Child Evangelism Fellowship and currently help out with Good News Club, I have a job and babysit on top of that, what more do people expect me to do?
     There is that little thing called college. Ahh, yes. College, the seemingly defining factor of whether or not you will be a success in life or not. Now I'm not saying that college is a bad thing, no. Some people I believe have a legitimate reason to go to college and learn things and get the connections needed to do what they want to do (doctors, marine biologists, engineers, etc.). There are plenty of people who still need to have college. Do I need college though?
     I am of the opinion that not everyone needs to go to college. Some people are much better off getting life experience rather than jumping into college and spending a bunch of time and money on something that you aren't going to use. I believe that with my skill set and bent that college is not my only option (although it is one option. I like to keep an open mind about the whole college thing.)
          As a single woman I don't believe that pining away and doing nothing is good for you or anyone else. I believe that keeping busy and exploring are the best ways to get an idea of where you fit before you go out and decide to spend a whole bunch of money (and time) on something that you don't know if you even like doing or not.
     I've learned (via Pintrest) that I could learn so much through the Internet on photography that I would probably start there before I even stepped foot in a classroom about it. I think with things that are artistic and technical like that though you are better off just doing stuff on your own and figuring out what works and what doesn't and just playing around with things rather than paying for a class.  Another idea that I've toyed with is learning alongside another photographer who has been doing this stuff for a while.
     I've found that I'm able to get some pretty decent shots just using the camera on my smart phone and have been experimenting with different lighting. The photos often do end up being grainy but there are a few that turned out fine. I've learned that you can minimize the graininess of your photo (and sometimes avoid it altogether) by shooting a picture with good lighting and making sure your subject is in focus. I only know this because I have practiced and went out to find out how I could get a shot that actually looked good with something I carry all of the time. It came through my own exploration.
     I am currently going through a knitting certification course so that I can teach knitting classes. The cool thing about getting certified is that I actually need to teach classes while I'm getting certified so I actually get paid during the certification process.
     The whole reason I even found out about the knitting thing is because I was going around looking for jobs and I went into my local Michaels to find out I they needed any instructors. Come to find out they were in the market for a knitting instructor and me being a knitter who happens to be in the market for a job found a match. It was God's timing and leading and I am so thankful for His providence.
     I absolutely hands down love working with kids. God has provided ways of me being able to do that through local ministry groups like Child Evangelism Fellowship and Awana and has given me babysitting opportunities for families both in my church and just through random connections. (Although with God they're not really random.) I have been to India to work with orphanages and children's homes and  continue to look for opportunities for God to use me to minister to children.
     All this to say yes, when I look at everything that I'm involved in I might not have college as one of the ingredients of my life at this moment. That's ok. God has given me special talents and abilities and has given me the outlets for those talents and abilities.
     
For all you single ladies out there ask yourself these questions:

What is important to me?
What do I enjoy doing?
Can I get involved in ministering to people with the talents that I am aware of?
Is there something that I feel called to do that might involve stepping out of my comfort zone?
Is there something that I would like to learn/do that I should set aside time to pursue?
   
     I'm not saying that you have to answer all of them but maybe take a little time to think about them and then go and pursue those things that you feel called to do. See where God takes you in this exciting time that He has for you here on earth. He has a purpose for every splotch here on earth and it will be a beautiful thing to look back on.