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danielle

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the chalk wall of praise

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“when was the last time when praying you just spent time bragging on God and praising Him for who He is?”  that was the question i asked my YUCs last night while beginning our prayer series on praise.  wow!  it is as if when those words came from my mouth they did an instant u-turn and came back to pierce my own heart.   as is often the case when teaching children, the question and lesson i had for them seemed to be one God wanted to remind me of as well.

i love this prayer series with kids.  while it serves as a great reminder for me, it is also a challenge to my prayer life as i watch children passionately go before the Father in prayer.  their authentic response to the offer to communicate with the Creator is so refreshing.  we will spend four weeks working through the ACTS strategy of prayer, but i think the first lesson will always grip my heart the most!

we begin talking about the A-adore.  when we adore God in prayer, we are praising Him for WHO HE IS!  this has such a great way of taking our eyes off ourselves and placing our gaze on the One that can handle any need, problem, or concern we bring to Him.  He is able!  after spending time in popcorn praise circles we do an activity that helps illustrate the point and power of praise  – the chalk wall.

the sad truth is kids have difficult worlds.  they have deep hurts, aggressive temptations, confusion, disappointments and more.  just like adults, as children walk their faith journey they are often trying to stay afloat in the storms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

so that is what we begin with, life’s storms.  the kids get chalk and spend time drawing symbols for all the storms they are facing in their lives!  as a ministry leader it is so eye-opening and humbling to see the pictures drawn and the hurt that you know is attached to each stroke of the chalk.  their storm drawings are a stark  reminder of how we often come to God in prayer.  we come burdened and broken and only able to see the struggles we long for Him to meet us in and bring us hope.  so it is there, with the storms staring us in the face, we begin to review the names of God and see Him for all He is and how He can personally meet us in each difficulty!  and we start to praise!

as children praise Him using His different names they begin to write those names over their storms and struggles until the storms fade to the background and who He is remains for the eye to behold.  we talk about how the storms don’t suddenly disappear and life magically gets easy.  we intentionally focus on the One who can reign, offer safety, comfort, and bring peace in the middle of life’s battles.

if we will take the precious time to adore God in prayer and praise Him for who He is, our eyes will focus on Him and not on our storms.  that is why we begin with praise.  that is why today as i came to Him with worry in my hands, i sat back and bragged on Him.  then like a child, i am reminded there is nothing i hold He can’t handle.  and so with praise my heart floods with peace.

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In kidmin

15 years in the making

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college girls, that use to be my youth small group girls, & several that use to be in my preschool and children's ministry.

last month i celebrated 15 years as the minister of children at belle aire. there is really no way i can convey with words my humbled gratitude for all the notes, gifts, cards, drawings (by the kids), hugs and love i received.  i was (and still am) blown away by the way this church family wrapped me with appreciation for the last 15 years i was blessed to serve alongside them.  even after so many years, i am still surprised and a tad bit confused that our great God chooses to use such an imperfect person as myself.   may His glory shine brightly though this cracked vessel.

there is one gift i received in the morning services of january 15th that is simply indescribable.  you must see it for yourself.  they recruited many of my past students (YUCs – youth under construction) to recite Hebrews 11, my favorite passage of scripture.  how can you top the sweet faces and lives i love so much speaking the hall of faith from the Living Word of God? it is my joy to share with with you!

 

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In kidmin

off-center

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*this is an entry i wrote for our church blog this week.  each staff member was to write about what God was teaching them during our special time of self-examination in preparation for our Solemn assembly. 

i was confronted with a cold, hard truth recently.  the Gospel is not the constant center of my life or my ministry.  while i get busy doing things “for” God or “about” God, i allow other things to take first place and the center of my life and the ministry He has entrusted to me.

this hit me squarely in the face when i was reading through a letter one of the children in ministry wrote to their prayer partner.  this child asked, “what must i do to get saved?”  while part of me was rejoicing over the fact that God was obviously drawing this child to Himself, the other part of me cringed as i thought “how does this child not know?”  is the Gospel not so prevalent in all conversations i/we have with children that the way to God through Jesus is not obvious? i was so convicted that even with all we “do” in children’s ministry, i can often be busy with the stuff and allow the life-changing Gospel to take a back seat.  shouldn’t the Gospel be the very source and goal of all i/we do?

then i glared at myself in the mirror of self-examination.  can i honestly say the Gospel is a constant center of my life? the truth is the center of my world gets so crowded with myself that the fuel of my faith, the Gospel, can get pushed to the side.  my “self” and my sin quench the Spirit and the power it provides, so that when i rub shoulders in everyday life with unbelievers they may not see the Gospel clearly lived out in me.

this time of self-examination hasn’t been “fun”, but has proven fruitful as it has brought me face to face with my defiant sin, to the foot of the cross for forgiveness, and a realignment in center of my heart and mind. (oh, what a day by day process.) i go back to a chapter i love, psalm 51, and think about how david said,

“12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.”

it was after his heart was broken and sorrowful for his sin that he experiences the sweet cleaning, restoration, and joy of his salvation.  then, he could be used powerfully to teach sinners the way so they, too would turn back to God.

most of us would say we want to be used by God, but are we really willing to take these hard looks at our sin and what is the center of our lives?  like i said, it hasn’t been fun and at times i have avoided it and grabbed tightly to the comfort of complacency.  i am tired of living that way!

as we seek Him in this special time and in each day and week to come may our prayer be the same as the one who was called, “the man after God’s own heart.”

Psalm 51
“1Have mercy on me, O God, 
 according to your unfailing love; 
according to your great compassion 
   blot out my transgressions. 
2 Wash away all my iniquity 
   and cleanse me from my sin.  3 For I know my transgressions, 
  and my sin is always before me. 
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned 
   and done what is evil in your sight, 
so that you are proved right when you speak 
  and justified when you judge. 
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, 
   sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts[a]; 
   you teach[b] me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; 
  wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; 
   let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 
9 Hide your face from my sins 
  and blot out all my iniquity.  10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, 
   and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
11 Do not cast me from your presence 
  or take your Holy Spirit from me. 
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation 
   and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, 
  and sinners will turn back to you. 
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, 
   the God who saves me, 
   and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 
15 O Lord, open my lips, 
  and my mouth will declare your praise. 
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; 
   you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 
17 The sacrifices of God are[c] a broken spirit; 
   a broken and contrite heart, 
 O God, you will not despise.  18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; 
   build up the walls of Jerusalem. 
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, 
   whole burnt offerings to delight you; 
 then bulls will be offered on your altar.”

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In kidmin

a conference home

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  during my 15 years in children’s ministry i have attended and even led many conferences or training workshops, but not one fit my heart quite like KidMin.  for me, it is not about “big names”, “important people”, latest trends, out-of-this world creativity, etc.  after many highs and some really big and recent lows in ministry, i needed simple, authentic, and unconventional.  i needed time with Jesus and people who “get me” and understand the trials and triumphs of KidMin.  KidMin hit that nail ever so humbly on the head for me this past october.

all you had to do was walk through the hotel for 30 minutes to see any or all of these sites:
– KidMin leaders praying with or over other leaders
– tears streaming down faces as people found a place to be completely transparent about those things
that have/are breaking their hearts in ministry.
– you usually heard the laughter before you saw it, but there was never a short supply of great laughs.
– people walking into the quiet prayer room alone to spend much needed time with their Creator and
Savior.
– long time KidMin veterans sitting side by side with fresh faces sharing insight, advice, triumphs, and mistakes.
– sweet, abandoned worship at the feet of an amazing Savior.

for me, KidMin was an ever-so small and sweet peek into what Heaven may be like and it felt like home!

To find out more about KidMin 2012, click here.

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In my journey

laying down the fight

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recently i was hanging with a friend’s young boys and playing our traditional game of “monster.”  of course, they got to be the good guys and i was assigned the role of the enemy and “bad guy.”  their ultimate goal was to get this awful coon-skinned hat off my head, so i would lose my powers and die.  they also had an idea of an easier route – shooting me with a toy and immediately ending the battle.   when they voiced this idea,  i responded quickly with, “if you do that the game will be over and we can’t play anymore.  you will have won and the fight will be over.”  (i said it like that was a bad thing for them.)

no sooner did those words come out of my mouth that i saw that my very statement was such a reflection of how i often live my life in defeat.  there are some “fights” and battles in my life that could be over if i would just wholeheartedly lay them down at the feet of Jesus.  instead, i chose just to lay down enough when it gets too painful, but something in me still allows the fight to continue.
maybe it is:

  • fear of giving the fight all over to God’s control
  • pride and me thinking i know a better way
  • unbelief in that God can do what He says He can do
  • spiritual laziness in tackling the tough “stuff”
  • choosing not to bring each thought captive
  • an undisciplined walk
  • prayerlessness

whatever my excuse (sin), i choose to allow the fight to continue instead of dying to those things at the foot of the cross.

as i wrap up and begin a new year in a dedicated time of self-examination, confession, and repentance, i see so clearly how there are some “battles” in my life that need to be put to death through my willing obedience to give them completely over to Jesus.  what about you?  are you deliberately or even unconsciously holding on to some fights knowing that Jesus is holding out freedom to you?  let’s give Jesus the gift of total abandonment this Christmas and begin a new year totally surrendered to Him and soaring in the freedom only He can deliver.

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