Teach me to do your will, for you are my God: may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. –Psalm 143:10
Seeking the Lord’s will is a goal I search for every day. Sometimes I get so caught up in the “storms” of life that I miss the opportunity to see His will.
Since last week I have been out of town in quest of a few days off before heading to Summer Camp. I had the opportunity to spend some awesome days with my brother and his wife on the ”Farm” in North Dakota. I really had a great time with family. It was a good time to rest and refuel in preparation for the fast pace life of summer camp. If you have children coming to Camp Kulaqua this summer please stop to say hello. It would great to see you and catch up on the happenings in your ministry.
You and your ministry remain in my prayers. Please let me know if I can assist you in any way. You are not alone in this ministry. We all face similar trials as we seek the Lord’s will.
Before the Storm
May 15, 2017 07:00 am
In the story that Jesus told about the two houses, one on the rock and the other on the sand (Matthew 7:24-27), there’s one major point we need to zero in on: The house does not change foundations in the storm! If we have time, we might change afterward, but we will never change when the crisis hits. All the big wind does is reveal who or what we already are. That’s all. This shows how ridiculous it is to think we’re going to get on the last trolley out when the final big winds begin to blow. It just won’t happen.
And this is true for small winds as well as big ones. If I get hit with pain or tragedy or sorrow or separation now, it’s a very real opportunity to find out what really makes me tick and how deep I really go. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God: may your good Spirit lead me on level ground. –Psalm 143:10
Ideas to Try:
Firm Foundation Object Lesson
Matthew 7:24-25; 1 Timothy 4:12
Materials:
• 2 Paper Bowls
• Clay
• Sand
• Pitcher of Water
• Toothpicks
Instructions:
1. Tell the kids that in the Bible there is a story about two houses built next to each other that look the same in every way. But one day, the rain came and the town began to flood. At the end of the craziness only one house was standing.
2. As you tell the story, get your pie plates. Put a lump of play dough “rock” in one and put a mound of wet sand “rock” in the bottom of the other.
3. Take some toothpicks and form a “tee-pee” by pressing the ends of the toothpicks into the play dough in one plate and the sand in another.
4. Pour water from a pitcher over each of the “tee-pees.”
a. The play dough “tee-pee” should stand firm, but the sand “tee-pee” should fall apart.
5. Tell them how the Bible story ends. There was only one house standing because even though they looked the same, one house was built on rock and one was built on sand.
6. Explain to the children that the “tee-pee” in the clay is like the house on the rock. It will stand firm when the storms come. But the “tee-pee” in the sand will fall down immediately because sand is not strong like a rock. This is what will happen if we
do not build our lives on the Jesus who is compared to a Rock in the Bible.
a. Just like this house, we need to have our lives built on God so that we can be just like God and become super in all that we do.
7. After they are finished, let them attach their “Life” badge to their superhero crest!
Questions:
Why?
How strong is your foundation?
I have 2 small drawstring bags, one filled with Legos and one filled with junk (broken Popsicle sticks, small rocks, broken hunks of concrete, twigs, etc.) I have 2 children each come to the front of the room, in view of all, and build a house out of their materials, so we can then compare the different “houses”. Our good, carefully thought out decisions are like the legos. If we make a good choices, we have a strong, healthy, safe future and life. If we make poor choices, our building materials are poor, and we end up with a shaky future that won’t take more than one shake to send it toppling to the ground. Questions to ask: Which house do you want to live in? How can you make choices that will result in strong testimony?
Source: http://www.eprimary.dk/ – (visit the Primary Object lessons section), additions by Jenny Smith
Calendar Updates:
June 4-25 Summer Camp @ Camp Kulaqua 3 weeks
July 7-8 Family Min Weekend @ Crawfordville SDA Church
July 22 Creative Ministry Workshop @ Oasis of Hope Company
Next week I will send you the weekly update from camp. Prayers are needed for all those attending plus the staff that will be with your children for the next 5 weeks.
May your week finish well and seek direction from your Heavenly Father.