VBS

It's the Last Day of VBS

It's the last day of VBS ... and I'm tired. Whenever I have a private moment and children aren't talking to me, singing to me, grabbing my hand, or watching me, I yawn.

It's the last day of VBS ... and I'm grateful. For the good group of kids we had, the kind and fun volunteers, the gospel freshly -- newly! -- imparted to young ears, no major catastrophes, no blood, and no emergencies.

It's the last day of VBS ... and I'm relieved. My sky high, sword-sharp mental energy has steadily depleted over the week, and a part of me is eager for a rest from VBS.

It's the last day of VBS ... and I'm sad. I'll genuinely miss (most of) these kids and their silliness and their sweetness and their stories and their drawings and their questions and their smiles.

It's the last day of VBS ... and I'm happy. I'm glad to have joined in it all and glad to be done for another year.

It's the last day of VBS ... and I'm hopeful. We plant seeds, but God gives the growth -- and many seeds were planted this week.

It's the last day of VBS ... and I'm ready for a nap.

6 Scripture Verses We Memorized At VBS

Admit it. You're a little surprised. We had our kids memorize six Bible verses for VBS? Isn't that a little hefty?

You would think. But you'd be wrong.

That's because all of those verses were memorized through song - three songs, in fact. And as today culminates in the end of our hectic and wonderful week of VBS, I thought I would share with you those three songs.

For all of you who think you can't memorize Scripture, be encouraged by these songs.





Creation Is Not Boring: A Lesson From VBS


Those of us who grew up in Sunday School have a tendency to lose our wonder at Genesis 1.

We talked about creation yesterday morning at VBS. Dad and Travis and I acted out a crazy skit that involved an obsession with tacos - that is, creating tacos.

And then Dad taught a lesson about how God made everything and consequently owns everything.

And I watched a child's jaw drop open in wonder.

Dad posed this question to the five and six year olds in the room, "Have you ever wondered how this world came about? God made it."

I saw their wonder and shock and awareness and understanding.

But I missed experiencing it - because I was hardened against it.

Of course God spoke the universe into being.

Of course, ex nihilo.

 Of course, I know this story.

I take it for granted. This mind-blowing creation of our world came to being through words - God's awe-inspiring, everything-creating words.

But I'm bored because I've heard this story a hundred times. I say, "Wow" for the kids' sake, but in my heart, I yawn.

This week - and every other week - I must be on guard against the hardness familiarity breeds. I am deeply blessed to know much of these Bible lessons.

But may I never grow hardened to the wonder.

May I again and again bask in the beauty and blinding glory of God's works. May I reconsider these stories and thoughts and ideas anew, with an open heart and a willing mind.

May we truly be like little children in humbly rejoicing in our good God - and all that He has said and done and made.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons and dave_mt.

All's Well that Ends Well

Well, VBS is done. Cue collective sigh of relief (and sad sniffles of disappointment). It's all over for another year. The church has been de-amusement-park-ified. The matching turquoise shirts have been thrown in the wash and into a drawer. The kids have gone home. The Bibles have been given out. The food has been eaten. And the songs are still stuck in our heads ...

We're already planning for next year, with a secret agent theme in the works. Saying goodbye to Colossal Coaster World just means getting ready to say hello to Agency D3! It's been a joy this week to see the kids learn truths about God they never knew before. We've planted the seeds. Now it's up to God to do the watering and produce growth.

We volunteers are kind of exhausted, but it's the good kind of exhausted. Not the weary, anxious, "thank goodness it's over," but the happy, contented, "sad to see it end" kind. It's the kind that leaves us eager for more energy to keep going, but knowing the fun's over for this year gets us excited to do it all again next year.

After a barbecue lunch and lots of hugs, the kids and their families left this afternoon leaving a trail of promises to return in September for our Thursday night Kid's Club. How many of those promises will turn into reality, only God knows. But this week has definitely been a VBS to remember, and for that I am glad to say Y-E-S to V-B-S!

Reflections on Colossal Coaster World

Well, I've barely had time to breathe since eight o'clock yesterday morning when we pulled into the church parking lot and stepped inside the sparkling church-turned-Colossal-Coaster-World-amusement-park where kids learn about facing their fears by trusting God. Though numbers are a bit down from last year, this year's group of kids are enthusiastic and involved, the volunteers are making stronger connections and more fun than ever is to be had! The theme verse is 2 Timothy 1:7,
"For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love and sound judgement." (HCSB)
Our Bible lessons this week follow the apostle Paul and God's power and glory magnified in his life. Each day is a different theme.
  • Day 1: Dare to Change
  • Day 2: Dare to Speak Up
  • Day 3: Dare to Believe
  • Day 4: Dare to Stand Strong
  • Day 5: Dare to Trust
So yesterday when we "dared to change," we looked at Paul's conversion and how God changed Paul's life from one of hating Christians to loving them. We sang a song that asked God to "change our hearts" and "open up our eyes" so we could "see [God's] glory, shining like a light." We played games, made crafts, ate snacks and had conversations that spoke of God's power to bring change in our lives for His glory.

Today we "dared to speak up" and looked at how Paul's preaching the gospel resulted in the Jewish authority's desire to imprison him and how Christians needed to lower Paul out a window in a basket to safety. We sang about speaking up and telling "the world about [Christ]" and His message of repentance and faith. We played games, made crafts, ate snacks and had conversations about how when God saves us, He enables us to speak up and tell others about Him.

There are still three days left this week before Colossal Coaster World is over. But when all has ended on Friday afternoon, I pray that our gospel connection with these kids will not end. We'll spend this week giving out Bibles, teaching them the Scriptures and telling them how to be saved. Then we will pray and leave the rest up to God. This week of VBS is for His glory, and we rejoice in this opportunitiy for twelve and a half hours to preach and demonstrate the love of Christ and the hope of the gospel to all the kids who have come through our door. Soli Deo gloria.

Gettin' Ready

In T-minus five days, eighteen hours and fifteen minutes, Gospel Light Baptist Church will be transformed into a bustling amusement park and kids ages five to eleven will swarm the church for our annual VBS, Vacation Bible School. That means we volunteers have a busy week ahead of us. From games to snacks to crafts, everyone has a lot of preparation to do. This year I'm leading music with Travis and that means lots of gettin' ready - memorizing choreography, practicing teaching, decorating, picking ice breaker games, learning the Bible lessons and memory verse. We do all this preparing so that next week, at nine-thirty Monday morning, we'll be ready for every kid, for every song, for everything.

VBS isn't the only thing we prepare for. We prepare for lots of things - vacations, for tests, for houseguests, for school. And, for the most part, we prepare for them well. Then why, I wonder, don't we heed Paul's words to Titus in Titus 3:1 and "prepare for every good deed"? Why don't we spend our time serving others, being on watch for any available good deed for us to do, every sacrifice to take, every word of kindness to speak, every act of love to show? Why don't we get ready for that?

The simple answer is that preparation takes a lot of work and in our still sinful hearts, we try to cling to our selfish ways. Service hurts. Sacrifice hurts. "Every good deed" hurts. But Paul's words in Titus 3:1 were not an option. They weren't a gentle encouragement, a silly idea. They were a command from God - to Titus, and to us. And so even when it hurts, we are to get ready to serve, to love and to give.

I'm excited to get ready for VBS next week. But I'm even more excited to get ready for the good deeds "which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) I'm excited to start gettin' ready.

Your Saturday Smile: Amazing Wonders Edition

So Amazing Wonders Aviation VBS is over, and we can all breathe that collective sigh of relief. It's all done for another year, and everything went swimmingly! We were very busy (which is why you only got three days of VBS reflections instead of all five!), but it truly was an amazing week. We were all so blessed! For today's Saturday smile, here's the video Pastor Matthew made of the week:

Reflections on Amazing Wonders: Day 4

After an absolutely hectic day yesterday, we get to have some down time today. Yes! But really, this week has been incredible. What a joy to serve these 37 kids we have registered at Amazing Wonders Aviation VBS!

This week I've been thinking a lot about God's power. Maybe that's because our VBS theme verse is Psalm 147:5 - "Our Lord is great, vast in power; His understanding is infinite." Maybe it's because our motto is: "Awesome God! Amazing Power!" Or maybe it's because of the songs we've been singing this week, filled with lines like, "[God], you have the power over all things," "if God has power over my circumstances," "Amazing Wonders Aviation, encountering God's awesome power," and "I wanna walk, I wanna talk, I wanna live in your power." This week has been all about the power of God. Each day has a different theme. Day 1 was "God's Power over Nature." Day 2 was "God's Power over Circumstances." Day 3 was "God's Power over Sin." Today, day 4, was "God's Power over Death," and tomorrow, day 5 is "God's Power over My Life."

These days, not a lot of people talk about God's power. They emphasize His love, His goodness, His kindness, all good, true things, but often at the expense of His power. This week we wanted to show the kids that our God is powerful, sovereign, doing whatever He wants, decreeing whatever commands He wants us to follow, and completely worthy of our praise. I think the kids are getting it too. They're recognizing that our God is omnipotent, all powerful - He has control over everything.

So let's seek to live by the power of God. For He truly is an awesome God, and He has amazing power!

Reflections on Amazing Wonders: Day 2

Waking up to a gloomy, grey morning outside, it was so much fun to step inside the warm and bright church this morning for Day #2 of Amazing Wonders Aviation. As kids arrived, the air was electrified with excitement. Okay, maybe not exactly electrified, but I've just always wanted to say that! The truth is it took us a while to wake them up, but after a few good songs, some screaming and a healthy dose of jumping around, they were finally woken up and ready to hop on that old 20's bi-plane and travel to the wonders of the world!

This morning in our music rotation at the Matterhorn, we learned a song called, "If God." This song is based on Romans 8:31 - "If God is for me, who can be against me?" But one of the major themes in the song is worry. The verse in "If God" goes: "If God holds my days in His hand, if God has power over my circumstances, if God knows the plans He has for me, why should I fear? Why should I worry?" After teaching the kids the song, we sat them down and asked them about things that made them worry. Answers ranging from "I got worried once when my mom was yelling but wouldn't tell me what was wrong" to "I'd be worried if I drowned" culminated in their honest replies. Then Ms. Carla cracked open her Bible, and we got two kids to read two different Scripture verses. The first was Matthew 6:24:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
The second was Philippians 4:6:
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
Today was a great reminder for me, as I sang about God's power over my life and how He's working out my circumstances for His glory and my good, that I don't need to worry, that I shouldn't worry. If I know God's in control, and He "holds my days in His hands," I should be content and even joyful in my circumstances. There's no reason to worry. For "if God is for me, who can be against me?"

Reflections on Amazing Wonders: Day 1

Today was Day #1 of my church's annual Vacation Bible School (VBS). The theme this year is Amazing Wonders Aviation: Encountering God's Awesome Power. The kids get to hop on this old 20's bi-plane and travel to the wonders of the world - the Matterhorn, Victoria Falls, the Grand Canyon, Paracutin Volcano and Great Barrier Reef. Today was great! Fun, crazy and definitely a fantastic start to what looks to be an amazing week. Here's some pics from the day:

(Our welcome sign in the Worship Centre.)

(Ms. Carla - who I lead music with this year - and me rocking out to "Remarkable.")

(There's some intense competition going on over at these games!)

(More dancing and singing!)

(No, I'm not pretending to be a goal post, honest! Just dancing. As always.)

(Our incredible replica of the Paracutin Volcano made by my grandpa. Cool, huh?)

(Here are me, Ms. Carla, and Pastor Matthew dancing to "A-M-A-Z-I-N-G," our 1920's swing song!)

(Another replica made by Grandpa - this time of the Matterhorn.) 

(Welcome to the Great Barrier Reef ... or the church basement.)

(Making some cool crafts!)

(Yes, and now the thing you've all been waiting for ... the eight by ten foot plane built by - yep, you guessed it ... our creative and skilled decoration builder, Grandpa!)

Vanilla Cupcakes and the Minimization of Gospel


Yesterday I had the pleasure of watching my mother bake 96 vanilla cupcakes for our upcoming VBS (Vacation  Bible School) next week. But when she was done, and the cupcakes were packed into their appropriated tins, something seemed missing. I couldn't quite put my finger on it ... ah-ha! That was it - the icing. Where was the sugary, gooey, sweet and sticky frosting? Now, I'll tell you, I'm not a big fan of the icing myself, but when it comes to looks, the icing just seems to add a magical touch to those plain old cupcakes. But it was not on these baked goods. And that was because we'll be putting the icing on the cupcakes closer to the actual day when the kids at VBS get to eat these sweet treats. But this got me thinking ...

The gospel is like a vanilla cupcake. Golden-browned to perfection, soft, perhaps a little plain at first sight ... but then, after one taste you are suddenly transported to a world of beauty, sweetness, joy and complete and full satisfaction.

But the world just doesn't believe that a vanilla cupcake on its own is tempting enough. So they add the icing, the sugar-coating. And to most of the masses, the icing is what catches their eye - it's bold, flashy, gooey, sugary sweet and all-around delicious. It makes the cupcake so much sweeter going down. In fact, with that rather thick layer of icing, you can hardly taste the cupcake itself at all. Maybe, if you licked all the icing off and tried really hard, you might catch of taste of that cupcake. But the point of the icing is to disguise the plain old cupcake, make it into something it's not, and make it more appealing to those who just aren't that fond of boring vanilla cupcakes.

You see this all the time in the world. In the music industry, for example. "Christian" songs play that have no mention of God, the gospel, sin, hell, the cross, death or judgement. Instead, except for a few (if you're lucky) subtle references to "Lord" or a Bible verse, the song could be talking about the singer's boyfriend or best friend. The song is feel-good, and hits top music charts all over the country. Non-Christians listen to it on their radios and sing along to it. It sells, and the gospel is minimized.

Or take "Christian" movies. Many have a moral lesson, or a nice story, but the gospel is never implicitly shared. Or "Christian" books. Lessons that push good works or some mysterious "faith" is the only gospel that's presented, and as a result, more people read or watch their books or movies, and the true gospel is minimized.

This sugary coating, this adding or taking away the message of the gospel, is really, instead of furthering the kingdom of God, hindering it. It's destructive. It's saying that the vanilla cupcake, the gospel, is not powerful enough on its own to save souls. That God needs some help. He needs you to make Christianity sound more appealing. That couldn't be more far from the truth! My God doesn't need help. My God is a warrior. My God uses the gospel to save sinners.

The vanilla cupcake needs no frosting.

Living God's Unshakable Truth

Tonight, I'm off to the Island. I've got my t-shirt, capris, flip-flops and lei packed and ready to go. I'm ready to leave cold, snowy Halifax and enter the tropical paradise of sunshine, cloudless blue skies, and coloured flowers. This Island has the most beautiful location, too! It's just steps down from Gospel Light Baptist Church's foyer in the lovely and comfortable basement. Because the island I'm going to is Outrigger Island, where the kids of Kid's Club come to learn how to live God's unshakable truth!

No, I'm not going to a real island. Just a church basement, decorated like a tropical island for our latest theme, decked out with bright posters, tiki torches, and flowers. It was only last week that we first came to the Island. You see, every month or so we switch themes in Kid's Club. We redecorate the basement with posters and themed decorations, change all the music to our new theme, make crafts that correspond with the new theme, and even learn new truths about God based on this new theme! So, tonight we sail to Outrigger Island: Where We Live God's Unshakable Truth!

As I lead music for Kid's Club, I've been singing a lot of Outrigger Island songs lately. So, I've been rolling around its main line a lot: living God's unshakable truth. I've even asked myself a few times, What does it mean to live God's unshakable truth? I think I've finally figured it out, and I want to share this important truth with you.

The first part of living God's unshakable truth is to understand what that truth is. To answer it simply, it's His Word. When Jesus was praying His high priestly prayer in John 17, He said to the Father, "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth." (John 17:17) As one Outrigger Island song testifies, "The Word is perfect truth ... unshakable, unbreakable Word of God." 

The second part is to recognize God's truth as unshakable, thus recognizing God as unshakable. The author of Hebrews skillfully outlines what this means - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." (Hebrews 13:8) God never changes. So, that means His truth never changes. Also, in Numbers 23:19, we read that "God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes his mind. Does he speak and not act or promise and not fulfill?" The answer to that latter question is, of course, no. God is not a fickle human who writes down His Word and then changes His mind about it. He never changes. His perfect character is absolutely unchangeable.

And the last part is to live God's unshakable truth. We can read through the Bible a hundred times without actually living it. We can read "Love your neighbour as your yourself" 1,000 times while still hating our neighbour. We must read the Word and then apply it to our lives, thus living the unshakable truth of God's Word.

So, as I slip on my lei and head to Outrigger Island tonight to share these truths with a great group of kids, I hope that I'll keep in mind what it means to truly live God's unshakable truth. And, as this fantastic theme has so graciously reminded me of these truths, I hope they have reminded and encouraged you! So, aloha, friends, until I return from Outrigger Island!

Reflections on the Big Apple: By Faith

Well, yesterday was the last day of Big Apple Adventure: Where Faith and Life Connect. Yesterday afternoon, we stripped the church bare, transforming New York City back into Gospel Light Baptist Church. We praise God for the work that He did through VBS this year. We had one young lady make a profession of faith and several other families mention the fact that they would like to start coming to church again or for the first time. The last two days of VBS were absolutely nutty, so that's why you didn't get any of my reflections on those days. Today I've included the music video for one of the Big Apple Adventure songs, "By Faith," performed by Jeff Slaughter, who writes all of LifeWay Vacation Bible School's music. "By Faith" was one of my favourite songs and a song with lyrics that I also loved. For truly, we can do nothing without faith.

Reflections on the Big Apple: Hearing, Believing & Connecting

Day 3 of the Big Apple Adventure wrapped up nicely here at Gospel Light. Today our focus was on salvation, the ABCs of becoming a Christian, and connecting with trust in God. This morning, as we started with our opening Worship Rally, we yelled our VBS motto together, like we do every morning. Our motto is:  

Hear it! Believe it! Connect it! 

I really like that motto because it stresses connecting faith with life. It covers the three practical steps of understanding the gospel:
  1. Hear it! The first thing that the kids need to do is hear the gospel, and they certainly do hear it every day at VBS! Our campers are faithfully taught the Word of God every day of this week, so there's no excuses. They've heard it.
  2. Believe it! Now the kids may not have had much of a choice in hearing it. If they were dragged to VBS against their will, they may not have wanted to hear the Word of God, but they did anyway. Believing is different though. Parents can't make the decision of believing in God for their kids. The kids have to step out in faith on their own. They have to believe the gospel because of their own convictions, not that of their parents. 
  3. Connect it! And once the kids have heard the gospel and believed in it, they have to connect it with life. They have to tell their friends and their family. They have to confess Jesus as Lord and live their life a different way because of that confession.
"So faith comes from what is heard and what is heard comes through the message about Christ." 
Romans 10:17

    Reflections on the Big Apple: Connecting with Love


    "Happy Valentine's Day!" I shouted, flinging red paper hearts into the audience. I raced down the aisle with a goofy grin on my face. "It's Valentine's Day at VBS!" I absorbed the kids' reactions laughingly. The older kids laughed hysterically at me. The younger ones looked at me with an expression of horror as if I had turned insane before their very eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day, Pastor Matthew!" I cried, returning to the stage once more.

    Pastor Matthew stared at me incredulously. "What are you talking about, Jaquelle?"

    "Well," I explained matter-of-factly, the grin never leaving my face, "today, in VBS, we're going to be learning about connecting with love. I connected with love ... and I got Valentine's Day! Love, Valentine's Day. Get it?" Pastor Matthew continued looking at me as if I had two heads.

    "Jaquelle, first of all, Valentine's Day isn't in July; it's on February 14! Second of all, Valentine's Day is good because it encourages you to love and be loving, but that's not the kind of love that we're going to be talking about today. We'll be talking about God's love. We're going to learn about stepping out in faith and connecting with love."

    If you haven't caught on yet, this was the skit that Pastor Matthew and I performed at this morning's Worship Rally for Day 2 of Vacation Bible School - the Big Apple Adventure. Yesterday we learned about connecting with faith and today was connecting with love! Our Scripture verse was 1 John 4:19 - "We love because He first loved us." Today was a beautiful reminder of the everlasting love of God and the grace that He has so mercifully bestowed upon us. I think we always need to be reminded that we didn't love God first; it was Him and then us. Christ chose His death on the cross out of love for us long before we ever knew what love was.

    Reflections on the Big Apple: Where Faith and Life Connect

    Today was Day 1 of my church's Big Apple Adventure, Lifeway's Vacation Bible School. Our theme is New York City, the "Big Apple." The VBS is called Big Apple Adventure: Where Faith and Life Connect. The focus this year is on practically connecting faith and life. We're trying to teach the kids that faith is not something that's reserved for church buildings only. It must collide with life. True faith is something that must be a part of every component of everyday life; it must impact and influence daily decisions and choices. It has to leave the church buildings and enter the schools and the homes and the shopping malls and grocery stores.

    So this week, as the faithful volunteers at our church give up their time to share the gospel with the kids of our community, I'd encourage you to think about the practical connection of faith and life. And while you're thinking about that, here's our theme verse this week: "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (Romans 10:17)

    What Are Hyraxes?


    What are hyraxes? That is the question that I stumbled upon last night as I was reading Psalm 104 in my HCSB (Holman Christian Standard Bible). Verse 18 of Psalm 104 reads: "The high mountains are for the wild goats; the cliffs are a refuge for hyraxes." I looked at that ... and looked at it again. I finally came to the conclusion that a hyrax was probably an animal. But I wasn't sure. So, seeing this question in God's Word, I was reminded of our Saddle Ridge Ranch motto: "Need Answers? Ask God!" Well, in this case, I needed an answer. What was I to do, though?

    I looked at the verse again and wondered how I could ask God what a hyrax is. Then it dawned on me. God doesn't usually speak to people directly (just by His voice, I mean). Often He speaks through other people. Like my dad. My dad is my elder, pastor, teacher, father, and friend. I brought my Bible to him and asked him what a hyrax is. After checking Dictionary.com he came to this conclusion: "any of several species of small mammals of the order Hyracoidea, of Africaand the Mediterranean region, having short legs, ears, and tail, and hooflike nails on the toes. " In other terms: an animal they have no idea what it is.

    So, as Day 2 of Saddle Ridge Ranch comes to an end, I would like to encourage all of you to ask questions. Need Answers? Ask God!

    Only 12 Sleeps Until VBS


    Summer day camp. Vacation Bible School. VBS. Christian camp. There are many different names for Saddle Ridge Ranch, the VBS theme this year at our church. Wild west. Cowboys. Yee-haw! No matter what you call it, it's coming up in 12 sleeps. That's less than two weeks away! Whoa doggy! I can't believe it's here again. You may have remembered last year: The Boomerang Express. This year will be just as fun with new songs, new snacks, new crafts, and not-exactly-new Bible truths. As volunteers grab our cowboy hats and hit the trail, I'd like to invite you to pray for all the kids that will come out to our church. Many of them will have never heard the Gospel before. We need to pray that God will be preparing their hearts, that He will use the volunteers for furthering His kingdom, and that God would use every Christian there as a vessel to bring kids to Him.

    As these kids round up questions about God, the Bible, and spiritual things, pray that God would give the wisdom to drive home answers.

    "Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without criticizing, and it will be given to him." ~ James 1:5

    Find Jaquelle on Social Media