New Articles about Easter

I've posted two articles about Easter below in our resource section. As you plan for Palm Sunday and Resurrection Sunday, take time to read, pray and expect God to do great things!

The Wonder of Childhood

Yesterday one of our preschool teachers was talking about the Resurrection. She had a neat little paper plate tomb with a crumble paper sack rock that rolled away to reveal the empty tomb. She asked the preschoolers what happened to Jesus. One little boy jumped out of his chair threw his arms in the air and began jumping up and down saying, "He's alive! He's alive!" That beautiful spontaneity is the wonder of childhood that Dunlop describes in this week's reading. Without any hesitation or second thoughts, this little guy shared exuberantly from his heart.

Children "have an almost intuitive sense of God's presence that allows them to link God with the rest of life more readily than adults, who put life into neat boxes" (page 46). This Resurrection seaons, what boxes in your life do you need to exchange for a new sense of wonder at our amazing Creator Savior? How have you seen God's wonder expressed in your classrooms? Encourage us with your stories. We'd love to hear them.

Developing a Broken Heart

This morning, I went to the website of one of our local TV stations. I glanced over the headlines:

• 'Looking to Kill:' 4 slain at French Jewish School
• Girl's grandmother finds text messages about sexual assault
• Woman and 3 daughters shot to death at Mo. campground

Childhood is tough. At our church, we've ministered to children who have experienced great trauma--one even seeing the murder of a parent. Even in our strongest families, children still experience fear, hurt feelings, insecurities and disappointment.

Dunlop writes, "Do you weep with and for your children? Have you entered their world? Even if the youngesters you teach live in middle class or affluent communities, their childhood is probably not a pretty, sentimental affair. And if the sidewalks around you are stained with children's blood, beg God that He will never allow your heart to be hardened or numbed to news stories that break His heart."

Our city has those stories. Our church has those stories. Let's enter these stories with compassion being the hands and feet of Christ to his hurting children. Stop and pray for the kids in your class. As you watch the news, pray for our city. Pray that our church will LIVE LOVE in Montgomery and beyond.

Next week..."The Wonder of Childhood"

New Articles Below

I've posted three new articles that correspond to this week's reading in Follow Me as I Follow Christ. Take a few minutes and read about...

• Children and Grief
• Helping Children Cope with Change
• Building Trust with Children and Parents

You are making an eternal difference in the lives of these kids!

I value you and love you!

Childhood: Fantasy or Fallen

Think about your own childhood. For some of us, we remember hugs from our dads, kisses from our moms, birthday parties and family vacations. For some of us, we can't really remember or perhaps we choose not to. Divorce, frequent moves, death or abuse created a childhood filled with more pain than peace. The same can be said for the children in our classes each week. Some of them enjoy the security of having both parents at home, while others have two homes and two families that they move between during the week. Some receive patient discipline from parents who understand how children grow and learn; others hear constant criticism and nagging from frustrated parents at their wits end.

Remember how Jesus responded to children..."gathering them up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them" (Mark 10:16). Take some time right now to pray blessings on the children in your class. Take your roll sheet and lay it out before the Lord and pray for each child and their family. Know that I am praying for you as you pray for them.

Father, thank you for these teachers that you have called to be laborers in your harvest field of childhood ministry. I pray that you would heal them from their own childhood hurts, give them compassion for the children in their classes, grant them discernment to know how to bless their students, and empower them for this great task. You are the only example we have of a perfect Father so we look to you as your children--loving you and obeying you--as you guide us, protect us and equip us to do your work. You love us, and we love you too! Amen.

Children Without Childhood

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:21

We can easily be discouraged when we think about all the negative influences that bombard our children each day. Some they encounter just by moving about in culture--billboards along the highway and the magazine covers in the check-out line. Others they consume intentionally--inappropriate TV programs or violent video games. As teachers in the church setting, how do we provide a counterpoint to these influences? How do we provide children with a biblical worldview of God, themselves and the world around them?

Read Romans 12. What does God tell us about living distinctively different lives within our culture?

Father, help us to be your agents of transformation in the lives of our children and their families. Give us your wisdom to pentrate our culture for the gospel and to empower kids to live distinctively different lives. Work through us to overcome evil with good.