EQUIPPED: Ready for Battle!

That is the title of our VBS going on this week at the Legacy Equipping Center. What a blessing it has been! Just to see the excitement on the kids' faces as we learn about the Armor of God is worth all the many hours we have put into it. One mom told me that her son said, "I can't wait to see what part of the Armor we learn about today!"

We started at the top and are working our way down:
1st day: The Helmet of Salvation
Yesterday: The Breastplate of Righteousness
Today: The Belt of Truth
Tomorrow: The Shoes of Peace and the Shield of Faith
Friday: The Sword of the Spirit and a PARTY!

The kids made Gospel Bracelets and learned how to share their faith with their friends. They also made Breastplates of Righteousness out of brown paper bags and foil. They loved it! They learned lessons about doing what is right. I wonder who is getting more out of this, the kids or the workers! What a blessing to pour into young lives how they can put on the Armor of God and STAND STRONG! (Read Ephesians 6 starting in verse 10.)

Pray and ask God how to reach children in your life. According to George Barna, 85% of Christians in America come to Christ between the ages of 4 and 14. Wow! Do you want to reap a harvest? Consider children's ministry!

Mother's Day...What a Blessing!

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there! Whether I am thinking about my own precious mother or my children, I smile with gratitude on this day! I am also blessed to have my 92 year old grandmother on my mom's side still around. In fact, today I get the privilege of cooking a meal for my mom and grandma. Grandma loves God with all her heart. She has passed that passion down to my mother, who in turn has passed it to my generation. I thank God for the awesome privilege of now passing that insatiable desire for God down to my daughters. (On a side note, I just looked up the word, "insatiable"...that's not the word I'm looking for, because it means "not satiable; incapable of being satisfied or appeased: insatiable hunger for knowledge". Hmmm....with God we DO get completely satisfied, yet we always want more! There is always more for us, and we never get a hang over! Any suggestions for a word I can use!)

This is a day I always count my blessings. I am one of those women who knows what it is to desperately desire a child. Bill and I walked through a season of infertility for four years. Our first child was born 8 years after we got married. Looking back, I wouldn't trade it. God taught me SO MUCH during that time. I learned how to wait on a birthing! That has carried over into ministry as well. Amy and Amber are such jewels! What a blessing they have been and continue to be to Bill and me! I will never take them for granted. Just remember, we can plan our life all we want, but God knows what's best! Proverbs 16:9 says, "A man's heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps."