Last November our Children's Minister resigned to stay home with her children.  We are still in the search for our next Children's Minister as I write this blog post.  Part of my duty as Sr. Minister at our church has been to help fill the gap through being the administrative piece for Children's Ministry.  When 2016 was approaching everything was in place except Wednesday Evening Classes.  This is a really rough part of Children's Ministry.  The kids have been sitting in school all day, they pig out at our Wednesday Meal and are somewhat restless.  For months we had been doing different video series and  I think the kids were a little tired of watching videos.  Also toward the end of 2015 I was reading a book, Along the Way: Conversations about Children and Faith (click book title for link to buy).  It is was written by several authors, some I know personally.  I took one of the chapters regarding children and spiritual disciplines and dreamed up a new way to do Wednesday Evenings.  So starting in January of 2016 I began to teach 3 year olds through 4th graders; around 25 children each night.  I might be a little crazy!

What we do in there is based in that book, some of my own tweaks, and experience with my own children who are in the program.  Here is what we do in the hour of time we have on Wednesday Evenings:

We begin our class with each child sitting in our Children's Church room in a circle on a carpet square.  I welcome the children and then we go around the circle allowing every child to share their "favorite" thing of the week.  The set-up is that when we speak of our favorite thing that we are considering this a blessing from God.  So we begin each week sharing God's blessings in our life with one another.

Next we dim our lights and I ask the kids to "come to the quiet."  We will remain quiet, without shuffling feet, making noises, laughing for 30 seconds.  Our goal for that 30 seconds is to listen for God.  The truth is that we always do 60 seconds, they just think we only do 30.  There was this one time when a 3rd grade boy in our class tooted loudly during our "come to the quiet" time.  One of my 4 year old energetic and talkative boys sitting next to him immediately giggled and then immediately held it under control (better than an adult would have done).  It was an amazing testimony to the reverence in the room.

Next we take a "field trip" to our church's prayer wall.  At the front of our church we have dedicated a wall in one of the hallways as our "Prayer Wall."  It is painted a different color and has permanent markers available for people to write their prayers and prayer requests to God so others can come by and pray for them.  The class walks (sorta) to the wall and we take their requests.  Those who are of age to write, put their requests on the wall and those who cannot read and write yet, we listen to their requests and then put them on the wall.  In just 10 weeks the wall is fuller than all of last year.  This is probably their favorite part of class.

Next we have our lesson time.  I first read our text two times through and then ask them what they heard from the reading.  Some responses are straightforward, some are from left-field, and some are deep.  

Then I usually bring a box with some objects of illustration for our lesson.  I let them guess what may be in the box and then bring it out.  We talk about the objects and how they apply to our lesson.  The next part varies from week to week.  I may just ask "I wonder..." questions (see Suzetta Nutt's chapter in Along the Way) or I may have them tell the story (we did this with the story of The Good Samaritan) or we do an activity that makes the story come to life.

The last thing we do is invite one boy and one girl up to the middle of the circle to be introduced to our class.  This idea is because our theme for the year is knowing the story of God and His people, so we are getting to know each other.  We ask six questions and they each answer them.  1.  What's your favorite color?  2.  What is your full name? 3. How old are you and where do you go to school? 4.  What is your favorite thing about God?  What is your favorite thing about church?  What is your favorite thing you do to help others? (the last 3 questions hit at our church's mission)

When we first began the kids were begging to be let out to play on playground.  This had become a normal thing for them to do in the last 15 minutes of class time.  I'm not sure if it is the current weather or what we are doing in class, but they haven't asked in 4 weeks to go outside.  We did add an extra thing recently to motivate some of our kids to a better behavior (it is Wednesday and this type of class is more meditative).  We added giving out two awards at the end; leadership award and servant award.

This has become a holy time for me on Wednesdays.  The Wednesday night is hectic for me personally sometimes and there is a lot going on at our church that evening with a meal and adult class, but once our class starts it is absolutely wonderful!

As Suzetta is quoted as saying in Along the Way:  "Respect the text and respect the children"

Amen!

Am I insane?

In the spring of 2012 our family moved to Conway Arkansas.  It was a big move for all of us.  As we made the transition another reality had set in for Leah and me.  Although we wanted to have another child, it wasn't happening.  We had tried for several years and the answer seemed to be no.  In the summer of 2012 Leah and I came to terms with being a family of four and that this is who we were.  And we were happy with a slight hole in our hearts.  Two weeks after putting in an offer on a home for our family we found out that God blessed us with what seemed to us as a miracle.  Leah was pregnant.  It would be a difficult pregnancy and a rough 9 months.  At every turn God was there propping us up.  On March 7, 2013, Brynn Leigh Beth Mercer was born.  6lbs. 7oz., 19" long at 9:57am.  

We found out at our 20  week appointment that we were having a girl.  I remember feeling the load of responsibility that came over me with now being the dad of a girl.  I prayed a lot and it continues.  When we found out we were having a girl we began the process for finding the perfect name.  Brynn Leigh was a name that Leah and I had picked out for a girl before we were even engaged.  The struggle came in that we needed a name that spoke of God and his movement in this pregnancy.  We decided on Beth, because after our prayers and the boys' sweet prayers for a baby sister, he answered yes and Brynn Leigh is a reminder of God's promises.  

Brynn Leigh is a constant source of joy.  She brightens the room and brings energy to all those around her.  She is kind and caring.  Whether it is a baby doll, an animal, her brothers, parents, or anyone else, she shows great compassion towards others.  She is bold and fearless.  While this attribute is nerve-wracking at a pool or on the playground, it serves her well for life's adventures.  She loves her mommy and daddy very much.  She loves her brothers very much.  All three of my kids will be great friends throughout all of life.  And I know that Leah and I will be taken care of in our old age.

Brynn Leigh turns 3 today and is a growing source of goodness and love.  God is using her for His kingdom purposes and she is following faithfully.

​We love you Brynn Leigh!  Happy Birthday baby girl!

I told an elder last night that maybe he shouldn't get that close to me.  It seems that many of the people I love are suffering from death of loved ones.  Personally I lost my Step-mother last October, Leah her grandfather in January, a sweet boy from Abilene died that we had committed to in prayer, friends of ours lost their parents in a tragic accident, and now my best friend has had a great loss of his own.

Death is basically a promise to all of us.  Sometimes it follows a long journey and almost invited.  Sometimes death comes unexpectedly and quickly, like a thief in the night.  Sometimes death works like a boomerang where it seems to come, seems defeated, and then comes again to sew its roots of finality.  Death is evident and as people who believe in God's promises we are told not to fear death because of the eternal reward we gain.

However,  I don't fear death.  I don't even fear the death of those whom I love the most.  Sometimes I fear grief.  Grief means that I am here to continue a journey without the ones I love.  It pains me that as my journey continues, it continues with less on this earth.  I say in funerals and memorials where I officiate that grief is an invention from God's imagination.  And this is true.  The pain of grief and mourning was created by God and given to us.  It's not that He wants us to hurt.  It's that He knows we feel and that by exploring all of our emotions we are not denying God or His presence, but leaning fully into Him.

As a professional minister I am suppose to have all the answers.  I don't!  I'm at a loss when others are experiencing deep, painful grief.  Knowing the truth about God does not take away my pain, but at least my pain is experienced in a greater hope.

We will all experience our own grief and others' grief at some point. Not knowing what to say and do is extremely common...even for ministers.  A preacher that I greatly admire, Mike Cope, has written several blog posts that share about grief.  His daughter Megan died at a young age and his son Chris had a terrible car accident that nearly took his life many years later.  He covers in this one blog post about things to say and not to say.  Click here for that post. And check out his other posts on the topic of grief.

Please pray for my friend Jacob and his family as they mourn and grieve the loss of their son Ezra.  As we continue on this journey and find grief along the way, may we surround one another with love and prayer and presence.