they say a picture is worth a thousand words. sometimes a video can be worth millions. i love how this KidMin 2013 video captures the true heart of this very unconventional conference. to learn more or to register, go here.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/5ryLMFzK234[/youtube]
as i picture Jesus speaking to people in towns and on hillsides, i see families sitting together. through scripture, i hear Him using everyday objects (bread, fish, sheep, etc.) to build bridges from abstract concepts to concrete beliefs for all ages. i imagine kids asking their parents questions as they heard Him speak and family discussions continuing on long after He left. i envision faith being built and strengthened as families. these thoughts encapsulate reason number one of why worshipping as a family is a passion of my heart.
another reason is because i see sweet spiritual fruit from these intentional times spent together as families. fruit shared in an email i received the next morning after vine family worship that had a subject line stating: “One more for God’s Kingdom!” after our first dawson kids vine family worship, a young boy went home and prayed to receive Christ as his Lord and Savior. how cool to think that a worship song sung and a hands-on activity shared as a family (things he referenced from the night of family worship) contributed as one of many puzzle pieces that lead him to the cross, confessing his need for a Savior. glory!
our theme for our first vine family worship was “love, why?” we were following a church-wide
emphasis from matthew 22:37-39 to “love God and love people”. i wanted the children to see in God’s Word why were are to love and not do so out of: religious ritual, because i told them to, because the church was emphasizing it, but because God said so and He first loved us! below is the order of our service for that night along with pictures that help paint the story. i am already smiling as i think about what God may do in the lives of families in our next family worship.
– we began with a “why” family intro activity that families had to work on together. (it was important that they sat as families so each part of the night could be shared as a family.) each table had dot stickers and an info sheet that gave them instructions. (see pic) i was 
overwhelmed by something someone shared with me during this opening activity. she said, “you realize there are three languages being spoken in here tonight?” as i panned the room, i could see many english speaking tables, but it was the spanish and arabic speaking tables that made me beam. such a sweet picture of the body of Christ.
– we then opened with a child led worship song that was straight scripture. here is the one we used for this service. i love seeing the kids up in front leading and the parents doing the motions.
– then a family and another child performed a skit entitled “the love family.” 
this was precious, because the young boy that played “the love man” is a new believer and his part was to share the love of God with this family so they could be freed to love with God’s love.
– next, families discussed what the skit meant to them. i think this part is crucial because each person could have received something different. if we are not intentional to discuss it immediately, we may lose valuable family faith teaching time. i loved sitting back and listening in on families grappling with what this skit had to do with their daily lives.
– after they discussed the skit, a young man came and read the scriptures for the evening and i talked about two reasons why we are to love: 1) because God says so and that is enough (it was a command, not a suggestion) and 2) because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
– i ended my talk confessing and challenging families that maybe we don’t love like we should because we forget all the many ways we see proof of how God loves us. (i.e. His Son Jesus, His comfort, He made us, etc.) 
families were then challenged to take each dot off of themselves and place it on the pot of their vine plant. with each dot they removed, they were to name one reason why they know God loves them. i told them if they ran out of reasons (which we 
really never could) they could say the name of Jesus, because no other has given up their life for sinners like us. this was my favorite part of the evening. watching families count the ways they see God loving them was priceless. a child at one table even turned to grandparents and an uncle to hear from each of them.
– we then ended the night in worship singing “i could sing of your love forever” and “amazing love.” i don’t think i will ever tire of watching families worship together.
– after closing prayer and me encouraging them to take their pots home and put them in a place where the family would always see them, we ended with dinner and sweet fellowship.
i still stand amazed at how our great big God showed up and blew us all away with His love.
this weekend was my first big event with my 5th grade smasH (students ministering and serving Him) group at dawson. the objective of smasH is for them to grow closer to God while growing closer to each other. i couldn’t wait to walk through the mission smasH event with them. this night is designed to cause them to work together through a series of cd clues and complete missions through activities hidden around the church. this night requires specific planning and we even try to stay on a schedule. it was great fun watching them work with the smasH ball, which always had to have a palm on it. if the ball was left without a palm pressed on it for more than three seconds they had to add another palm. with only three palms on the ball after six hours, i was convinced this was a focused crew of kids. they worked together beautifully on all the other activities (i.e. the bull ring, the ping-pong support relay, the blindfold walk, the light in the darkness searching for their smasH shirts, and more) and the night was going exactly how it was planned. well, that was until we got to the last experience.
planned last was a time where the smasH students wrote a prayer to God about the remainder of their smasH year. each child spent a great deal of time writing this prayer and then they brought it up to the lock box at the foot of the cross. their prayers will be locked up until the end of the year and then they will receive them back to discover how God had answered their prayers. we finished this activity at 11:40p.m. and i promised parents their children would be ready for pick-up at midnight. no sweat, i had just enough time to finish what i had prepared — the adult leaders were to pray over the smasH students. as i was explaining this to the students, one student asked, “well, can we pray, too?” i will be honest, the first thought that ran through my mind was that they had just prayed in their letters, but as one of their leaders how could i tell them they couldn’t pray? so i said sure, thinking it would all go quick and fit in the nice package i had organized for the evening. i am so thankful that God pushes me out of the way when He wants to work.
what happened next was orchestrated by God and as one of my leaders stated, “we had church.” for the next 20 minutes child after child prayed humble, specific prayers about everything from their upcoming year at church, to the children and families in connecticuit, and then for a family in our church whose daughter had passed away in the fall. it was a holy moment. i sat there in awe and profoundly convicted. these kids poured out request after request to their Heavenly Father. as a leader with a plan i knew this might effect my schedule, but i sat quietly and they continued to pray. after a while, there was finally a break in the consistent prayers and i wrapped our time up and we went hurrying off (just a couple minutes late) to where their parents were waiting for pick up.
out of the six hours we spent together as a group it was the last bit that really drew us all closer to Him, and i had nothing to do with it. i kept hearing, “danielle, stop worrying so much about the plan and what you prepared, and let the children pray.” i constantly state that i believe that children are not the church of tomorrow, but the church of today, but i now see when it comes to prayer my actions don’t match my words. where am i intentionally giving children opportunities to pray not only in dawson kids, but in the church as a whole? i have often said if i am ever in need of great prayer i will welcome anyone’s prayers, but please let the children pray for me. let the ones who pray passionately believing and leaving their requests at their Father’s feet intercede for me. this group was a prime example.
i am reminded once again that children need to be given purposed time to pray. we not only need to provide the time, but teach them and challenge them to make prayer a priority. this lesson, like every other lesson, begins with me. i hear it loud and clear and it is still ringing in my ears — let the children pray. may their passionate prayers of faith and hunger to learn and live His Word change our world and bring glory to God.
“oh yeah, i totally know!” that was my flippant response when anyone warned me of the devout loyalties for football in alabama. even though i am a tennessee native, i have been an auburn fan for 15+ years. i have learned the fight song, greeted other fans with “war eagle, bought my dog an auburn sweater, and instinctively knew i was to have a disdain for a crimson shade of red. i really thought i had a grasp for how deep the rivalry ran. then, i moved to alabama. the following are just a few educational moments about alabama football i have had in the last six months.
– at one of my welcome dinners i was handing out plastic forks to some kids. when a little boy walked up, i knew the pink one in my hand wouldn’t be well received. i said, “let me get you another color fork. is orange okay?” he immediately grabbed the orange fork and said, “i can only eat with orange. i can’t use red. i am for auburn.”
– my first month on the job i was planning a special event for a sunday in the fall. i sat down with a co-worker and the first thing she said was, “pull up the sec calendar on your computer.” thinking she forgot this event was for a sunday not a saturday, i looked at her puzzled and asked, “you mean the church calendar, right?” “no, the sec calendar” she said without missing a beat. i was the new girl and wanted to be respectful as i reminded her that my event was on sunday, not saturday. the games surely would not interfere with this one time event on a sunday morning. she gently explained to me that while the games were played on saturday, birmingham people faithfully travel to auburn and tuscalossa. for the best attendance, i needed to find the best combination of an away game and an easy win for the home team. who knew that the first calendar i would reference at my new church would be the one for the southeastern conference?
– after a great meeting and many meaningful questions from some church leaders i was being introduced to, i was asked, “have you made your allegiance yet?” i knew exactly what he meant. i immediately answered with my love for the deeper shade of orange. (not to be confused with the neon orange of tennessee.) half the room smiled, while the other half sighed.
– my favorite experience just happened to take place during my first wreck in birmingham. a friend and coworker (that happens to be a tuscaloosa native) came to pick my assistant (an auburn grad) and me up as the wrecker arrived to tow my mangled car. she reminded us to get everything out of the car, because i didn’t know when i would see my car again. she was right. so, all three of us started grabbing things out of my car. with our hands full, my assistant and i looked at our friend in hopes she would grab the last thing left in the car — my auburn umbrella. what happened next was so surprising it brought giggles during this unhappy moment. our friend, the one whose purpose was to come and help us after we were stranded by the wreck, looked at both of us with a straight face and said, “i am not picking up that umbrella!” “seriously,?” i said. “you came to help. you were the one to remind us to clear everything out of the car, but because the umbrella is auburn you won’t pick it up?” she didn’t budge. so, my assistant proudly grabbed her alma mater’s umbrella and we have yet to let our friend live down how “helpful” she was the day of my wreck. 🙂
there are many other stories. like the fact that i can’t wear my grandmothers vintage houndstooth coat without hearing “roll tide.” (i may have to start wearing an orange scarf with it.) my niece came home after her second week here this summer asking if we are war eagle or roll tide. (i immediately bought her an auburn t-shirt.) i could go on and on, but i share this to prove i really had no clue how passionate alabama folks are about their football. 
so with the bcs national championship game approaching and after a sad, sad auburn season, i so want to root for those little fighting irish men. i mean their gold helmets are so sparkly and who can forget rudy? as much as i want to root against the tide, i just can’t. there are just too many “bammer” people in my life i love. plus, as a new alabama resident i would love to see the state get another national championship. so while i can’t bring myself to utter a genuine “roll tide”, i will be cheering hard for the sec and counting down the days until the next college football season. (war eagle!)
update: after proofing my blog, my auburn grad assistant has disowned me and says i am NEVER to cheer for them bammers. oh how i love a good rivalry.
