Women of Faith was amazing! The speakers spoke on having JOY! Luci talked about looking for those tiny pops of joy throughout your day. I was especially encouraged by two speakers- Carol Kent and Jennifer Rothschild (you have got to hear them!)- amazing stories of faith. Jennifer said, "Don't let your circumstances define you- let them refine you!" How true. I wish I could relay all that I learned and was challenged by- but we'd be here forever. If you can ever go to one of these conferences you should!!
The true blessing of the weekend was spending time with the ladies from my church. We are blessed wtih so many godly women. I was encouraged by the "down time" conversations. It was great to get to know a few women better too. Next year, the pre-conference speaker is Beth Moore...that will be great!
VBS week in many ways is a blur. By the time you get into a rhythm, it's over. Most of the week I felt out of control- forgetting little things all the time. Finally, I just began to pray "Lord, help me to do the things you want me to do- and let go of the things that aren't important to focus on". Our first day was a mess by my standards (I'm discovering my expectations of myself are often too high). Everyone else thought things went smoothly and organized. Thank God for a flexible and willing staff. Our week was smaller than years past, which is numbing in some ways. We had 58 children total. Amazing enough....our final days (Thurs/Fri) had the best attendance! 49 on Friday. That hardly ever happens during VBS. I had to keep reminding myself that God brought exactly the children He wanted us to have! They received such personal attention and heard the gospel continually!
The week was full of JOY! One boy said- "I learn more in 1 week of VBS than I do in a whole year of CCD!". We were able to minister to his family especially thoughout the week. The kids were so enthusiastic and loved every part of the week. The little ones gave out hugs galore! I enjoyed working with our teen helpers and getting to know them all a bit better. Our Teen VBS went well too- 20 teens. We were able to really set the pace for the fall program. The ladies Workshops went well- everyone enjoyed them and saw the value in them. We had 7 ladies attend that were not from our church. They were all encouraged and blessed by the fellowship. All in all it was a good week. The closing program was well-attended. Some of our VBS guests attended church on Sunday- which is always a nice surprise and blessing. In the end- it was a successful week and I'm thankful to have been a part of it.
Now that the week is over- you always take a nose-dive. You go and go and go- and then it's done. I still have some followup to do over the next few weeks. Pray that I balance everything and that seeds are watered and fruit is harvested.
I start New Teacher Orientation tomorrow- a lot will be review....but it will be good to get back into the swing of things. Thurs/Fri are district days so everyone will be back. I still have no idea what I am doing specifically- so hopefully I will find out this week.
In other news- I will be joining the Teen Club leadership this fall. Basically, I'll be adminstering the club- though I view it entirely as a team effort. Working at the Teen VBS was good for me to get to know the kids and get a feel for the group. We were able to establish some clear boundaries that will help us transition in Sept. We have a variety of leaders all with different strengths. I'm excited about this but also cautious about how much I can handle and how thick my skin is. So- keep me in prayer. We start 9/20
Well- the time has come that I must create some sort of order to the chaos I've been living in for 5 weeks now. When I do VBS, I am consumed and life falls by the wayside. Praise God my bills were all paid this time around (though I have a video long overdue at Blockbuster.....)
I'll keep you posted on my first week back to school- the students return the 28th.
Oh- and many thanks to Bek who let me crash at her place last week. It was a blessing to stay close to the church rather than drive the 1/2 hr every day multiple times.
~Peace to you~
1 comment:
Sounds like you're mind is full or thankfulness, glad you had such a good toime at the Women's Conference. Thank goodness for blogs, or we'd never keep tabs of what the other is doing. My mom said VBS was very nice, smaller, yes, but sometimes that's better for the kids. I love you, girl. Way to stay faithful! Want to take a brain break? Watch "V for Vendetta" it's a great action movie... not scarry at all. "Mrs. Hendersen Presents" is one that you & Bek would love. Ta ta
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