Scrappy

"Scrappy" the racoon was the mascot for the Shake-it- Up-Cafe VBS recently. The four-year-olds in the classroom I was in looked forward to Scrappy's visit each day. While they may have suspected that the voice of Scrappy's was that of the puppeteer, Ms. Linda, they never showed it, because they were fascinated with his words and responded to him when he asked them questions on what they were learning.

While the week is now over, I know that the kids that attended have been touched by this week of learning their scriptures of the day; 'the secret ingredients (Be ready for God, Believe in Jesus Fully, etc); and are more open to being 'shakers for God.'

I am thankful too for the opportunity to have spent a week with 17 precious 4-year-olds who are special and unique. I think too, that this experience has also given my heart a 'shake-up' to continue living each day out with expectancy of great things the Lord wants to accomplish.

Shake It Up

"Shake it Up Cafe" is the theme for this year's Vacation Bible School. It's been fun building bulletin boards with kitchen utensils, mixing bowls and measuring spoons~ all as a visual of how we can 'shake up' our world with our love for God and for others.
It reminds me that throughout history, people and cultures have changed quite a bit through the process of being 'shaken',
Shaking up means waking up. Who hasn't experienced that shaking up experience when someone who cares about you is telling you 'Wake up~ as they gently (or not so gently) shake you into consciousness? Yes, it can feel abrupt, and not so welcoming, but consider the alternative. You sleep through an important interview, an appointment, or other event that you will regret being late too, or even worse, missing all together.
I'm looking forward to being with a classroom of four year olds. One of them will be my little granddaughter, Camryn, who already has a talent for shaking things up; resulting in the creation of fun and interesting memories.

Independence Day

Yesterday was independence day and it was interesting to see how it is celebrated. Of course there were flags. Lots of red, white and blue, too. Stores were all opened with 4th of July sales, and people seemed to move a lot slower with four days of leisure to enjoy.
This year, I also gave it more consideration. I pondered the meaning, and how it relates to me. First off, I am thankful for the privlege to know that I do indeed experience freedom everyday of the year. It begins with my citizenship of the United States of America. Here, I can speak my mind and not be punished because I differ from our current government officials. I can worship freely, without fear that the assembly would be suddenly halted by the powers that be.
However, the most important freedom I must say I experience is that of a spiritual nature. The United States of America has only imitated the real free will offering that God gave us. God has never forced us to love or obey Him.
The ten commandments that were given to us through Moses in the Bible only reveal that we are incapable of obeying and keeping all of them all the time. If this were the case for the condition to approach God and be granted eternal life in Heaven, we'd all lose out.
Therefore, God only gave the ten commandments as a template of why we need instead the blood of the lamb-- Jesus for the redemption of sins. So instead of freedom from the commandments, we embrace dependence on Jesus Christ and the cross. I guess you could call our freedom in spirit to be a 'He'dependence rather than 'independence.' You see, when we are dependent on the 'in' ward of ourselves, we are instead slaves to sin. Yet when we let go, to become dependent on 'He' (God), we are "free indeed" (John 8:36).
Let's celebrate our freedom everyday of the year!