Category Archives: Summer Bible Club

How Long, O Lord?

I have a Whisperer at Bible Club. She sidles up to me, cupped hands around her mouth, ready to whisper shocking details about any of the other little kids sitting nearby. This week, it was, “Sarah, did you know that [so and so] said he was going to steal [so and so’s] bike?!” “We won’tContinue reading “How Long, O Lord?”

Carrying the Banner

I love that movie from the nineties called, “Newsies.” Homeless, streetsmart boys find employment selling newspapers, and they often do it by embellishing the headlines. Their theme is that they are “carrying the banner.”  I thought of the movie, and its catchy song, this week at backyard Bible club. The kids in my neighborhood wereContinue reading “Carrying the Banner”

Survey Says…

I only see that old game show “Family Feud” now in doctors offices, but I watched a lot of it as a child.  I remember the host saying in his dramatic voice, “Survey says…” while all eyes turned to the results on the screen. Every summer, I get a general survey of what is troublingContinue reading “Survey Says…”

Big Sins, Little Sins

I cradled the little rubbery model of a 12 week old fetus in my hand. “You were only this big when your mother was three months pregnant,” I said to the little girl I was talking to. Her eyes grew wide. “I was so little!” she said. We talked about how God made her, plannedContinue reading “Big Sins, Little Sins”

Equip the Saints

You know the kid I’m talking about. He doesn’t sit still. He lives more in his imagination than reality. He talks even faster than he thinks, mostly at a higher decibel level than any other noise in the room. Last week, he sped in the church at the head of the line, as usual, andContinue reading “Equip the Saints”

Those Who Mourn

All summer at Bible Club, I have been teaching these famous words: “Blessed are those who mourn.” This week, hugging children who have lost their mother, looking into the eyes of those who lost their brother, baking pink and purple cupcakes for the grandmother who lost her grandchild, I have had to think deeply aboutContinue reading “Those Who Mourn”

He Came Down

The distressed peeping from the pigpen was not a piglet.  As I leaned in closer to look, I saw a speck of movement in the mud.  It was a fuzzy yellow pheasant chick. My son jumped in the mud, reached down, and took hold of the struggling baby. He handed it to me. It wasContinue reading “He Came Down”

The Balm of Humility

It happened while we were playing Wolves and Sheep at Bible Club. The “wolves” were tagging the “sheep,” freezing them in place. My oldest son was the “Good Shepherd” who was able to unfreeze the sheep by tagging them, and the wolves did not have the power to freeze him. Bea, a spindly seven yearContinue reading “The Balm of Humility”

Butterfly Rules

We studied the book of Galatians in Sunday School last week.  I asked the children, “Do Christians have rules?” Well, of course they do. They shouldn’t steal or lie or hit their sisters.  Then I asked the children, “Does keeping the rules make them Christians?”  This one was more difficult, and they scratched their headsContinue reading “Butterfly Rules”