Ignorant Historian

Last night was the easiest night of camp or any camp-like activity that I’ve ever had.

I’m not sure if it’s just the calm before the storm, or maybe just that the younger kids really are easier.  Probably, it’s the fact that we only had 9 kiddies in our group and there were 2 other helpers.  Yeah, that’s probably it.

While I only had 9 in my group, my friend Jen (her group of kindergarteners rotates through the sports with mine) had 18.  Yeah, slightly unfair.  We’ve been told that’ll be fixed for tomorrow so she can stop pulling out her hair and I can start.  At least we’ll be a balding pair, right?

Really, though, I enjoy my group.  While we were waiting for all the kids to get signed in, we were shooting baskets.  After a while, I decided to go ahead and gather them up and sit down.  And they just sat there, not making a peep, not poking one another, not crawling around on the floor, for about 5 minutes.  That’s when I realized that I had to get them moving as the assembly portion hadn’t even started yet.  I know 5yos have a low tolerance for immobile activities.  So, I did what any other fun-loving children worker would do, and I “turned” the kids into frogs.  They had a blast hopping around while I tried to turn them back into boys and girls.  Definitely broke the ice, too!

Some kiddie-ism highlights:

Me: “What is your purpose?”
Child: “To obey Mom and Dad.” (haha, not bad, eh?)

Me: “What did we learn today?”
Child: “How to play basket-berry!”

I wish I could share with you video of the kids learning how to play basketball (each night we do a different sport, tonight is baseball…if it doesn’t rain) as it was adorable.  I only had one or two kids that had any clue how to play, so there were a lot of verbal reminders on what to do(“Dribble!” “Pass to a teammate!” “No, he’s not on your team!”  ”The basket is this way!”  ”Dribble!”).  More importantly, though, the kids had a lot of fun while learning not only about sports, but about the Lord.  I’m excited to see how the rest of the week goes!

Photo by e453753

Okay so that day I asked for in order to spin a yarn?  Yeah, it’s going to definitely be 2.  I’m going to TRY to have the story written to post on Monday.  Really, I am.

Nextly, I realize that what I’m about to say to you may end the blissful boredom on my part.

When I look at my schedule for next week, it contains a lot of purple.  We started using Google Calendars at work almost 3 years ago now, but only yesterday did I realize I could seemlessly include my personal calendar without sharing it with my co-workers.  So now, my work things are pink (the guys’ stuff are blue and green) and my personal things are purple.  I feel so much more on top of things now that I can keep up with things visually (I had previously primarily been using the calendar in my head).

So, that gets me back to my purple-filled week next week.  There’s two major things going on: a friends’ wedding (which I’ve volunteered to help decorate and make/serve food for) and Power Camp.

Ahhh, Power Camp.  Power Camp is a sports and

performing arts camp put on by my church for kids in our community.  Two years ago was our first time, and it brought me to my knees.  I have never felt more inadequate while working for children, and I’m usually the type to say, “The more the merrier.”  I had been thrown in to a leader’s role, and only found out that I’d be helping out about 24 hours ahead of time.

Last year, I knew that I would be helping out, but I t

hought that I would be in a helper role, not a teaching role.  Turned out not to be the case, so I got thrown in to teaching about 30 minutes before the first lesson.

This year, I told them they couldn’t shock me.  I knew I was going to teach, so there was nothing they could do to surprise

me.  I’ve already been told what group I’m working with and have talked to my co-leader, and we’ve split up the duties, and everything seems to be in order.   Though I prefer the older kids (and our children’s minister knows it), he put me with the rising kindergarteners because I told him I’d be flexible and that was where the need was.  That’s not a big deal though as I’m familiar with that age, as several of the kids in my group will be in my Sunday School class in a month.

That said, I’ve yet to find out what surprises might be in store for me, so stay tuned on that one.  So basically, I’m telling you all this because I KNOW I’ll need prayer.  Camp is in the evenings Monday through Friday of this coming week, so if you think about it, can you pray for me, but especially to the children that will be there?  For many of them, this will be the first time they’ve ever heard the Gospel.

I hope you all have a great weekend.  You know what I’ll be doing…charging up all my batteries to prepare for the long week!

Photo by Emrank

I teach Sunday school to kindergartners.  Though it’s not my profession (perhaps it will be someday), I love it.

When their eyes are drawn to the object in my hand, I love teaching.

When they let me play with their hair, I love teaching.

When their mouths hang open in disbelief at something neat and fascinating I’ve shared with them, I love teaching.

When they joyfully welcome a new friend they just met, I love teaching.

When I get to practically apply one-on-one what we’ve been learning to their personal struggles, I love teaching.

When they hang on every word and get frustrated when I pause or switch gears, I love teaching.

When they start making connections demonstrating they’re really getting the lesson, I love teaching.

When they draw a picture showing they get the lesson, I love teaching.

When they see me down the hall and can’t wait to give me a hug, I love teaching.

When a parent tells me their child has chosen to follow Christ, making what I’ve been teaching them their own, I love teaching.

Photo by Lilivanili

These questions come from Amanda, who got them from a class.  I guess there is some benefit in going to class.

1. What three things would be said about you and your life if you died today?

I think that it would be said that I loved the Lord, made a difference in the lives of children, and loved to learn.

2. Given the likelihood that you will not die today, and have time left to change some things in your life, what three things would you most like to have said about you and your life?

I would like it to be said that I shared my faith, encouraged others, and spoke truth through my writing.

3. If someone were to witness a week of your life, what assumptions would that person make about your values–what matters to you?

I think that they could safely assume I love to learn, as I spend a ton of time reading and writing.  I hope that it would be obvious that I value the Lord, but that’s probably not as clear as I would like.  I think that it’d be clear that I love children, too.

4. What values do you hold that are not evident from the way you life your life?

I value others, I really do, but this is a hard thing for me to do as an introspective introvert.  I’m way more comfortable in my reading chair than I am on the streets, but I need to be on the streets (or in other houses or wherever) interacting with others more.

5. What three goals are important to you as you plan your life?

Seeking to honor God in everything I do is an important goal that influences every decision that I make.  Another goal (if you can call it that) is to get married, but that has yet to change my on-the-ground plans.  Another goal is to be an encourager, which is why I choose to go on trips (though hey, I do like to travel, too).

6. What keeps you from achieving what you want for your life?

The biggest hindrance is my own sin.  Another hindrance to many of these plans is my own self-absorbed tendencies, something that my friends try to push me out of (which I appreciate, though I might not like!).

Photo by Randy Son of Robert

Today’s Mother’s Day, a day of celebrating mothers.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve celebrated this holiday as a daughter and a granddaughter, but today was the first time I imagined what it would be like to celebrate this day as a mother.

You all know I want to be married.  Not that it’s my chief aim in life, but this God-given desire is a big part of who I am.  I’ve always wanted to be a mother as well, but my mind tends to focus more on marriage.  You know, the whole don’t put the cart before the horse thing.

But today, unexpectedly, Mother’s Day got to me.  At one time I was at the point of tears, as adoption was mentioned, something that I really want to do.

I trust that God did not give me these desires to mock me, but that they serve a purpose.  Whether this desire will be fulfilled in physical or adoptive motherhood, I don’t know, but I thank God for each and every little one that He has allowed me to touch or teach.  After four years of serving as a Sunday School teacher and Awana leader, I have had the opportunity to teach/lead/love-on almost every child in our church from kindergarten through 9th grade.  As some of you know, that’s more than a few children.  I’m thankful for those parents who have shared their children with me.

I don’t give up hope of becoming a mother myself, but rather remember where my true hope lies.

This past Sunday, our church focused on prayer and repentance, so we taught our little kindergarteners about prayer.  While this age isn’t my favorite to work with (I prefer the older kids: 5th grade and up), this group is growing on me, just like they do every year.

This year’s Sunday school class is especially mature for their age, and fairly tight-knit as well, though they are a large class (we usually have between 15-20 kids each Sunday, though past groups have been in the 10-15 range).  Oh, and they’re mostly boys (we usually have 4 girls there each week).

We three teachers split them up into 3 groups and lead them in praying, and it was neat to see how well they handled taking turns praying in a small group, and the true sincerity in their prayers for their fellow students’ mommies (we have 4 students who will soon have new siblings…our church definitely takes “go forth and multiply” very seriously), missionaries that they personally know, their family and friends who don’t know Jesus, and themselves (specifically, to help them love and obey God).

After my group was done praying, I started asking about when they find it difficult to treasure God (our lesson was from Matthew 6), and the kids were really honest with me.  One girl mentioned that she has a hard time obeying her parents, while another boy mentioned he struggles with lying.  The fact that they understand following God isn’t easy speaks volume to their maturity, even if most of them haven’t yet reached the point of making the faith their own.

This is just a glimpse of why I love working with these children week in and week out.

Today’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  I’d love to write a post about it, but my brain’s not just up for it.  The kiddies have worn me out. (I’m writing this Sunday night, knowing full-well that I won’t have a spare second tomorrow to write a blog post.)

I generally consider myself up-to-date with pop culture.  That said, I’ve hardly seen any recent movies because they simply haven’t appealled to me.  Ever since the summer of Ocean’s, Pirates, and Bourne, there’s only been 2 movies that have really captured my attention (Enchanted and 27 Dresses).  So, tonight, when my 10- to 12-year-old girls started talking about movies, I just didn’t know what to say.

They talked about Twilight and The Dark Knight, y’all.

One of the main reasons why I enjoy working with this age of girl is because we have a lot in common.  In many ways, I still feel like a 12-year-old girl.  Those were awkward, formative years in between childhood and adulthood, and since I still don’t feel quite grown-up, I totally relate.  I also like pink, pens, and talking, things that are big hits with the preteen crowd.  In general, I probably even like many of the same movies as they do.

But there is not one thing about Twilight or The Dark Knight that appeals to me in the slightest, but here are some of my favorite girls going on and on about what they loved about the movies.  Now I don’t want to alienate you Twilighters as I know there are a ton of you, but I JUST. DON’T. GET. IT.   And comic book movies?  The only ones I’ve seen are the Spiderman ones, and even those I have to take with a grain of salt.  (And, really, Toby Maguire may have had a lot to do with the reason for seeing those movies)

So, I guess if these girls are getting into them, it couldn’t hurt for me to give them a try.  I guess.  At least I should look into it…

When I have teenaged children, I’m going to teach them how to use proper spelling and grammar in online communication, and if they don’t, they’re going to have to do work to prove to me they know it (e.g. write the usages of your and you’re 20x each). I don’t care if they use texting shorthand or whatever, but if they’re writing a real word IT WILL BE SPELLED CORRECTLY.

That is all.

ETA: Oh, wow.  Yes, I did have a weird typing error in this post that is now fixed, the kind where I think faster than I type.  I wrote it in a hurry; that’s what I get.  Oh, the irony…

The Funniest Things Kids Have Told Me in the Last Week

1. “It’s not spring; it’s March!” – 4yo

2. In a rebus of Psalm 139:14, for “marvelous,” a 10yo put “marve + louse.” Louse, as is in one lice. I’m pretty sure it was a spellilng error, but it made me laugh.

3. “I thought that she was in Chicken.” – 6yo being totally serious. We had been talking about Turkey, but then switched gears later to talk about someone working in another country. He was confused and thought we still were talking about Turkey…but called it Chicken.

4. “But I have my Bible cover.” – 11yo, trying to justify getting another Awana buck (which they can spend) for bringing his Bible when all he had was its cover. I asked him if it was inspired, and he said, “No, but…” He’s really quite the negotiator, but not in a disrespectful way.