Last Thursday we took our church Sunday School kids on an adventure to an amusement park! Yes, we are crazy like that! We had originally planned it for Tuesday, but then the date needed to be moved to Wednesday, and then Thursday worked out the best for everyone. My friend, Allison and I had originally planned to take the twelve kids, but then Allison had a family emergency come up. She needed to be available for her family, and I couldn’t take the twelve kids by myself. Roger had to work a lot of extra days last week as his boss was out of town. I called the person who usually gets called when there is a problem: the pastor! After having a conversation with him, and then a conversation with another good friend of mine, Robin, and having a conversation with Roger, God provided a plan. Pastor Mark was willing to drive the church van, and another young adult in our church was able to go with him. Robin agreed to come along with me and the other children in our van, and Robins daughter, Aili agreed to watch Emma!! Whew!! It was an act that only God could’ve orchestrated, and He brought all the details together as only He can do! It was the perfect opportunity for our children to watch God bring everything together. They were very disappointed at the thought that the Sunday school adventure might not work out, but it did!
We left the church building around 8:15 am. on Thursday morning. God provided beautiful weather, and He provided the perfect number of children to come along, We had six girls and six boys. Robin and I enjoyed great conversations on the ride to the amusement park, and we ended up with just the two older girls in our van. Chandler hopped in our van when we stopped for a bathroom break because he said he other girls were doing too much talking in the other vehicle! It really was a wonderful day spent with twelve great kids. Travis ended up sick by the time we left the park, probably due to too much motion and not enough water. Pastor Mark and D.J. (the young adult) had most of the boys. Pastor Mark said that at one point in time, the five boys shared a drink. They each had a straw and five heads around the cup, and everyone drank as quickly as they could-wish I had a picture of that! Robin and I spent our time with the six girls and one of the younger boys. It was fun to hear their discussions, laughter and fellowship throughout the day. I would love to see an event like this become a “yearly” occurrence. Sometimes, I think, its easy to bog our kids down by many things, but this day was a reminder of how much fun kids can have visiting together (and obviously in a well controlled environment). We had four adults to twelve kids, and I just sit in awe of how God worked out all the details.
On Saturday, Garett and Chandler had the opportunity to work for a friend of ours who was working on a property that needed some cleaning. Roger dropped the boys off at about 6:30am, and they came home a little after 12:30pm. I’m glad that they had the opportunity to work for a great Christian man, and that he was willing to have them help him for a bit. Chandler was delighted with the treasures that he collected during the day...a lawnmower, a propane tank and a few tools-what a crazy kid!
Sunday provided me with the opportunity to play the piano at another local church. It surely pushes me outside my comfort level, but in a good way. I’m always happy to have the opportunity to serve the Lord through music. It was a busy and full day, but I received a blessing by being in the Lord’s house on Sunday... did you?
Roger had off on Monday and Tuesday! Oh, Praise Jesus! We took some much needed family time together and went to the lake. Kevin (Roger’s boss) and his wife (Terry) have a cabin on a lake, and we were able to stay over night on Monday night. Terry had made Emma a chocolate cake with pink frosting! Emma was delighted, of course! And Terry gave Emma a birthday present which included doll clothes, a dress and fancy shoes! Emma put those little black shoes right on because clearly at a lake is where you need black fancy shoes, right?! Roger took the boys fishing (multiple times in 24 hours) and also hooked up the tube behind the boat. Emma enjoyed tubing too, and its was certainly a fun memory for our kids. It was so good to get away and sit by the lake soaking up some late summer sunshine. We weren’t able to stay too late in the day on Tuesday as I had a school board meeting in the evening, and Roger and I wanted to attend the funeral visitation for a dear friend of ours.
On Tuesday evening we took our kids to a funeral visitation. I spent some time explaining to Emma what would happen at the visitation, and her eyes had a glazed over expression. Emma has not yet made a salvation decision to accept Christ as her Savior, but she has been asking many questions lately. Mr. George had been a dear friend to our children and had also given Chandler the opportunity to collect scrap at his house. The children did very well at the visitation, and I was glad that we had brought them along. Wyatt told me later, “So basically at a funeral visitation, you go and give lots of people hugs, look at the pictures, take a mint and leave?” I did smile at his observation, but yes, in a lot of ways that’s what happens. I had the opportunity to attend the funeral on Wednesday afternoon as my friend, Claire, graciously watched our children. It is always a blessing to attend a funeral where the clear plan of salvation is given. I want people to know several things when I die: 1) That I loved my Lord, first and foremost, and also my family. 2) That I am 100% confident that when I die, I will go to Heaven 3) I want a clear plan of the Gospel message given at my funeral 4) I want lots of music at my funeral and I do NOT want any organ music (there’s a place for every instrument, but I just don’t want the organ played at my funeral)
It was a busy and full week with a lot of emotions and life challenges in it. I’m thankful that our confidence is in Jesus Christ. He alone is my rock and my salvation.
Isaiah 26:3 “ Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
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