Lesson's Learned From the Kindergarten Bible Class

taken from I Samuel 24 and 26

It’s not fun or easy to pray for people who are mean to you.

God, like Grandmas, will never stop loving you.

We should always thank God for Jesus, even if we’re in a hurry.

Caves are cool (as in "I wish I had my own cave.")

Forgiving a bully is just as hard for a 5 year as it is for a 50 year old.

If King David can be sneaky, then being sneaky can’t be all that bad. (We spent a lot of time debating this one.)

Singing the Lord’s Army is funner if you sing it cowboy style.

Even though it sounds good in theory, it’s impossible to actually marry Dairy Queen (Go figure...)

At the beginning of our class, we always put a prayer list on the board. Who should we pray for? Those who are sick, those we love, those we are thankful for. But then I asked something out of the ordinary. I asked if they knew any bullies. Immediately, names were dropped. When I started to write a name on the board, one little blond stopped me. "Don't put his name on there," he stated rather loudly. "We can't pray for him! He's mean!"

He said what many of us feel every time we are faced with someone difficult to be around. However, by the of the end of class time, we all understood how important it is to show love and mercy on those hard to get along with. God loves all people even the means ones.

Loving and forgiving our enemies isn't easy no matter our age. The important thing is to do it (Luke 6).

One Day

Today is the first day for my son at boot camp. I wrote an article for Forthright over the weekend regarding my thoughts of our oldest leaving home and enlisting in the Marines. It will be available on Thursday. So many feelings.

Also a new podcost will be up this week here.

I hope you have a wonderful week.

My Funeral

I don't know why but it seems like every now and then I start thinking about my funeral. Maybe it's due to the fact that while growing up, I always seemed to be at one. Or maybe, it's because good friends keep passing away. Whatever the reason, we shouldn't let death worry us. There will be no greater joy than finally being home.

The other night I found an old CD of mine and one song made me stop what I was doing and listen intently. I went straight to my husband and told him that I wanted that song played at my funeral. Then while driving one evening the song came on and I made the same remark to my 15 year old and his friend. His friend smiled and replied, "I want Braveheart played at mine." (Never thought of playing a three hour movie at my funeral. That kid is brilliant. ;)

Click here for the song. Enjoy.

A new podcast is coming

You'll be able to hear podcast #6 very soon. Keep checking www.abetterview.org for details and show information

You completely missed the coronation!

My Wednesday night Kindergarten Bible class is one of the most enjoyable parts of my week (I love my teen girls, too on Sunday mornings; however if you’re reading this… let’s be honest,- you’re not as funny as the 5 year olds ;)

We always start class with a prayer. For the first few minutes they tell me who and what we should pray for. As they talk I write their prayer requests on the board. I learn EVERYTHING about what is going on in these kid’s lives and the lives of their friends. (Parents, you have my word that I will never, ever, repeat what they tell me. I promise that I will take it to my grave, however I may giggle a little when I see you. I'm sorry. I can't help it)

The kids always want to pray for their teachers, friends, animals, presidents, principals, mail delivery people, the dog down the street, the dead dog down the other street, every cat in the city, and every grandparent on the face of the Earth.

I learn very disgusting things that kids in Kindergarten do (trust me, you don't want to know). I know every sickness every child in kindergarten has (who threw up and who didn’t is always a hot topic). And I always get the low down on whether their teacher was happy or mad that day.

After the prayer list and prayer we move from the table to the other side of the room onto the large carpet with a picture of a town complete with streets and buildings (that comes in handy at the end of class). On the carpet we sing the books of the OT and NT then I take a couple requests.

Once everyone picks a song we move into our lesson. After saying, “Criss-cross applesauce. Hands in your lap” (which immediately stops the 5 year old boys from turning flips. . . for about 3.6 seconds) I proceed with the lesson.

Tonight's lesson- the first King of Israel. After the Bible story, we discussed what it meant to be a King. I then asked who would like to be crowned a King. Immediately, several hands went up. I walked to the table and picked up my extra large bowl filled to the rim with oil. I told them that we would have to anoint a King the same way Samuel did. I was very careful not to spill the oil as I walked back across the room to the little blond-hair boy who had taken it upon himself to sit on our throne.

I tried not to let the oil slosh out of the bowl and watched his eyes get bigger and bigger the closer I got to him. I quickly went over the story again and then when his eyes were as big as they could get (and matched his smile). I dumped the entire bowl on his head. He flinched a bit as the confetti went everywhere!

They were so excited about being “anointed” that they quickly picked up the ‘oil’ and we continued crowning kings for the next few minutes. Later after moving back to the table, we decorated our crowns, complete with gold stickers and sparkly stars.

By the end of class, we were back on our rug. This time for questions. Our hot rods were reving their engines at the starting line and only allowed to proceed to the next stop sign once we answered a question correctly.

Tonight was fun. It was a bit chaotic but it was worth it and by the end of class, these little ones knew who the first King of Israel was, who poured the oil, and how God felt about the Israelites wanting a King.

Are you teaching a Bible class? If not, I highly recommend it! And if you've never taught children, I encourage you to get involved in their education. Teach the Bible and save the world ;)

The World of Podcasting

I have ventured into another area and invite you to check out this new website.

Click here to visit the ABETTERVIEW website.

Pray for the President

Today is President Obama's birthday. I would be lying if I told you that I was a fan. I do not agree with many of his choices, however, my Jesus died for him and that gives us a common bond.

The Apostle Paul also reminded us that we are in subjection to our rulers (Romans 13). Therefore, we should be praying.

As children of God we will stand for Truth, yet we will do so respectfully.

I invite you pray for our President not only today but everyday.

For additional reading on this topic, click here.

Coach Don Meyer

Every now and then, I hear of a Christian who has gone through or is going through a difficult time but instead of wallowing in self-pity, they show others Christ by their actions and their lives.

Some people never have to stand behind a podium to preach a powerful sermon. Don Meyer is one of those people.

I invite you to watch this video then pray for the Meyer family as they go through these struggles and remember:

Don't whine. Don't complain. Don't make excuses. --Coach Wooden, via Coach Meyer