Children's Moment: Hope in sunflowers

Wooo hooooo!!!!!  Does anyone know what tomorrow is?  It’s the first day of school for most of you.  How exciting right?

Have any of you ever gotten nervous about returning to school?  Or trying a new activity? Or meeting new friends?  Or even sharing your faith, sharing Jesus with someone?

Well, I have.  I have gotten nervous about starting new jobs, making new friends and about sharing my faith with others.  I am a planner, which means I like to know exactly what is going to happen, all the time.  I don’t always know how every situation will turn out and that sometimes causes me to worry or be a bit nervous. 

When I think about my feelings of “not knowing”, I think about my sunflowers.  Sounds funny right?  Early on in the summer, we had great rains.  All of our crops were washed away – corn, squash, beans, okra.  We replanted and again, all of our crops were washed away, or so I thought.  I was beginning to think we wouldn’t have a single crop this year, I was getting pretty worried.  After a week of dry weather, I decided to go out once more to look at our crop fields to determine what we needed to do.  I walked past our first plot and saw only weeds had survived the rains, the same for the second plot . . . only weeds, I was becoming very disheartened, but proceeded on to our third plot.  In front of our third plot stands a cross which is about 10’ tall.  I made my way over to the cross and stood there saying a little prayer “Lord, I don’t know what we should do or if having a garden is even a good idea, but I have faith that you can make our plants grow”.  As I had my head bowed, I noticed something green and in a straight row growing. Guess what?  It was the sunflowers I had planted.  They were growing straight up, despite the wind and washouts.  Those sunflowers gave me hope.

We replanted our crops again and have had a bountiful harvest despite the rains this year.  One of my favorite harvests was yesterday.  We harvested our first batch of sunflowers.  From this tiny little seed, 8 foot tall plants grew and now we have thousands of sunflower seeds which we will get to enjoy.

God tells us in Matthew 17:20

Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

As you return to school this week, I hope you will remember, nothing is impossible for God.  He can help you with anything you need.  Next time you get a little nervous, remember the sunflowers and God’s promise – nothing is impossible.

Let us pray: Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day.  Thank you for letting us worship in your house today.  Thank you for all that you provide.    I pray that each one of the children is able to trust you, to have faith even as small as a sunflower seed.  It’s in Jesus name, Amen.

Children's Moment: Rotten to the core

WOW! What beautiful rain we have had this week!  What a blessing to have rain during the summer heat.

With all this rain, my garden is thriving.  I have more cucumbers, squash and zucchini than I can pick each day.  Yesterday was an exceptional day for gardening.  In the morning we had a cool breeze flowing so it was a perfect time to work in my tomato patch.  As I worked staking up my tomatoes and pulling weeds, I ran across some beautiful red and yellow tomatoes.  Of course I was soooooo excited to see these little jewels, they are my favorite summertime garden pick.  Aggie was kind enough to pick and wash the tomatoes and then she bagged and gave most of them to some special friends who visited the farm yesterday.  She kept a few back for me to enjoy though and for that I am soooo grateful.  They were delicious!

I was a little hesitant to eat the tomatoes though.  You know why?  Well, the other day I found the perfect, round, red tomato.  I was thrilled as it was our first tomato of the season!  I carefully picked and washed it, then sliced it in half.  Do you know what I found?  It was awful!  The bloom had never fallen off the tomato and had grown inside the tomato causing it to rot inside the tomato.  Do you know what would have happened if the tomato would have been left alone?  It would have eventually rotted all the way to the outside becoming as ugly on the outside as it was on the inside.

When I was thinking of the rotten tomato it made me think of us and how sin can do the same thing in our lives.  Sin comes in many different forms such as lying, taking something that doesn’t belong to you, being disrespectful to parents or friends, talking badly of others, or being unkind to someone.  If we do not ask God to forgive us of our sins and ask Him to help us do better, we are like the rotting tomato . . . we may look good on the outside, but rotting on the inside.  Eventually our sins will begin to show themselves to others and we will be like the rotting tomato, not only will our sin be in our hearts, but it will show on the outside to others as well.

Psalm 51:10-12 states my prayer for all of us the best

¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

I pray that we will be able to turn to God and ask Him to forgive us of our sins and ask him to help us to become more like Him.

Let us pray: Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day.  Thank you for letting us worship in your house today.  Thank you for all that you provide.    I pray that we can turn from our ways and look to you for help today.  It’s in Jesus name, Amen.

Children's Moment: Cavender's . . O taste and see that the Lord is good!

Good morning!  Has everyone had a good weekend?  Happy Father’s Day to the Dad’s out there!

Does anyone know what this is?  This is Cavender’s “special” seasoning.  Has anyone ever tasted this before?  Well, let me tell you a little story.

When I moved away from Arkansas to live in Washington state MANY years ago, I realized something horrible during one of my first grocery shopping trips.  Do you know what it was?  I realized that I could not buy Cavender’s seasoning in any store where I lived.  I searched specialty markets and grocery stores.  Couldn’t find even a single bottle!  I was soooo frustrated!  I called up my mom and had her send me a case of this “special seasoning”.

This seasoning made my potatoes taste better and my steaks more flavorful and my veggies just down right delicious.  I always had people ask me what my secret was to my awesome opossum oven roasted potatoes and when I would share my secret I would also share a bottle of this special seasoning.  I just couldn’t imagine my life without this fantastic seasoning.  It has made me a superstar at potlucks and family gatherings and with my kiddos.

This special seasoning reminds me of our relationship with God.  Without God we are just people without a true cause.  When we add God into our lives, we are like deliciously seasoned and flavorful roasted potatoes.  We become wonderful to those around us.  Do you know what it takes to have God in your life?  All you have to do is ask.  Ask God to make you more awesome today than yesterday and ask him to season your life with good things so others can see His goodness.

Psalm 34:8 states, O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

I encourage you today to trust God and know his goodness.

Let us pray: Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day.  Thank you for letting us worship in your house today.  Thank you for all that you provide.    It’s in Jesus name, Amen.

Children's Moment: On my knees in the tomato patch

Good morning!  Has everyone had a good weekend?  Anything exciting going on?

Yesterday while I was on my hands and knees planting tomato plants, I was thinking about how busy everyone is these days.  With Mother’s Day, Graduation, Crawdad Days, end of school year field trips and events, Memorial Day is approaching and yes, the end of the school year.  Mr. Ladd and I also just celebrated our 10^th anniversary.  Needless to say, with all of the “stuff” going on plus all of our normal day-to-day tasks like cleaning house, cooking dinners, getting all of our crops planted, and working our full-time jobs, I get to feeling overwhelmed.  My focus is not really what it should be.  Do you know what focus is?  It’s the center of somebody’s interests or activities.  In other words, it’s what is most important to that person at that time.

During this time of the year, I find myself skipping church so I can travel and see my mom for Mother’s day or traveling with Ladd for our anniversary.  I also find myself skipping my morning Bible reading time so I can get 20 more minutes of sleep.  And I find myself praying in the car on the way to work because I didn’t take time at home to spend in prayer with God.

So yesterday, while I was thinking about all of these things, I was reminded of a simple truth from Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

When I quit focusing on God and His word and truth and start relying upon myself, I lose my path.  I start feeling overwhelmed and lost. 

It is good to be in God’s house today.  It is good to spend time reading God’s word.  It is good to spend time in prayer with God.  I just wanted to remind you of that this morning.  I know you have big plans of summer fun ahead, but make sure you take time to include God in all the fun.

Let us pray: Dear God, thank you for this beautiful day.  Thank you for letting us worship in your house today.  Thank you for all that you provide.    It’s in Jesus name, Amen.

Children's Moment: Thorns to Corn

Take a look at this picture, what do you think it is?

It’s baby corn!

How do you think the corn got into the ground?  That’s right, someone planted it.

The field where this corn is planted used to be overgrown with thorns, weeds, blackberry bushes and tons and tons of rocks.  Last fall Mr. Ladd got out the weed spray and sprayed the field, then slowly mowed the field.  We walked around the field and picked big rocks and cut down large briars and cleaned the field enough that he could cut the weeds lower.  He then sectioned off the field into 5 plots and tilled up the ground not once, not twice, but three times.  The kids picked rocks and picked rocks and picked rocks.  It was hard work.

Guess what?  This spring all those weeds decided to come on back.  Mr. Ladd did all of it over again – spraying, tilling, and the kids picking rocks.  He added fertilizers and dug rows for planting.  It was then ready to plant.  All that hard work and weeds are still peaking through, so we are continually picking and cleaning out our garden plots.  We have to work at giving our new plants space to grow.

All of this reminded me of the scripture in 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Becoming a Christian and inviting God into your life does not mean that all the things you were used to doing all of a sudden disappear, it simply means that in order to let God grow in you, you have to work at giving God space to grow.

What are some of the ways we can let God grow in us?

By reading God’s word.

By spending time with him in prayer.

By choosing to do the right things and asking God to help you with this.

By going to church and being around others who believe in God.

Just remember, if you give God space to grow in your life, He will.  You have to let him keep on working on you like we have to keep on working in the garden.

Let us pray: Dear God, thank you today for bringing these children into your house of worship.  Thank you for the blessing of knowing you are God and for the opportunity to know you better.  I ask today that you help each one of us to weed out all the areas in our life that are not pleasing to you.  Help your love to grow in our lives.  We thank you for all things.  It’s in Jesus name, Amen.

Children's Moment: Salsa Faith

Last night I was making homemade salsa and I started thinking about the process it took for that salsa to become real.  Back in November of last year I scoured through the pages of my heirloom garden book carefully selecting which types of tomatoes I wanted to grow this year, then in December I placed my order and anxiously awaited their arrival.  In late January when my seeds arrived I set-up our growing tables in the basement and carefully counted out 2 seeds for each little pot I had filled with dirt.  I watered the tomatoes, placed a cover over my growing containers, moved them under my grow lights and waited with faith that these tomatoes would grow. I waited and waited and waited and then one day, I went downstairs and found 4 of my plants had started to grow.  This happened over and over again for weeks, little sprouts coming-up and reaching towards the light until it was time to remove the covers and place a fan in the room to mimic wind and make my plants strong.  It’s always at this point that Mr. Ladd examines my plants and says “those sure do look scrawny, are you sure those are going to survive?”  Each year I reassure him that I have faith they will not only survive but thrive.  Once the tomato plants look healthy by my standards, I take them outside to enjoy hours of sun until the day after Mother’s day.  Mr. Ladd always says “You better plant those tomato plants or you won’t have any tomatoes!”  I reassure him that I will have plenty of tomatoes and they will be the sweetest most beautiful tomatoes he’s ever seen, because I have faith that all that hard work will pay off.

Once I plant my tomatoes I watch them carefully to make sure they are getting enough sun and water or if they need to be moved or covered.  This year because of the heat we had to water our tomato plants twice a day and the blooms came on later than usual.  Mr. Ladd said “I don’t think you are going to get any tomatoes!”  I reassured him that not only would I have tomatoes but there would be plenty because I had faith that all that hard work was going to pay off.  Sure enough, this week we picked over 5 gallons of tomatoes from our garden – all different colors too – purple, red, hot pink, green, yellow, orange – all of them tasting delicious.  Mr. Ladd always says after our first big picking “I knew you would get lots of tomatoes!”

Anybody know what faith is?  One of the definitions in the dictionary says it’s believing in somebody or something, especially without logical proof

 Jesus says in Luke 17:6 “ If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you”

Can you imagine telling a tree – get up and move you lazy thing and go crawl in the lake?  I can’t either, but I can imagine having faith that can create tomatoes for a jar of salsa, faith that a loved one will get well after being sick, faith that someone I love will come to know Jesus, faith that God will take care of me when I am tired or lonely or scared or sick or lost.  I hope that you can find that same faith.  Let’s pray.

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for today, for your love and kindness and grace.  Thank you for this beautiful weather and for all my tomatoes this week.  Thank you for each one of the children here in this church today.  I pray that each one of these children are able to find faith in you.  I also pray that you would reaffirm the faith of those gathered here today.  We love you and praise you and pray all of these things, in Jesus name. Amen.

Children's Moment: Kolbe the Sumo Wrestler

*This was written quite a while back, but just now having time to publish, so dates aren't accurate.

This weekend my family and I went to visit my new baby nephew, Kolbe.  He is only a couple weeks old and is still very tiny and fragile.  He had 10 perfect fingers and 10 perfect toes.  He felt so cuddly warm and was just so handsomely cute.  I love holding new babies! 

Kolbe was baptized yesterday and they had a big party after the baptism to celebrate Kolbe being welcomed into the family of God.  With so many people around, I thought it would be a good idea for me to help my sister with Kolbe so she could continue visiting her guests at the party.  When he got a dirty diaper, I went to change him.  I grabbed a diaper out of the bag and put it on him.  I thought it sure did look big – I mean the diaper went all the way up to his underarms!  I thought maybe my sister had just packed the wrong diapers, so I doubled the diaper over, put his clothes back on him and took my little sumo wrestler looking nephew back out to his party.  It wasn’t long till he messed his pants again, so I took him back in for a change and when I did, I discovered that my sister DID pack the right diapers – she packed big ones for her other son and little ones for Kolbe.  I forgot that my other little nephew was still in diapers.  This time I put the right diaper on him, which fit MUCH better.

If I had taken time to ask my sister about the diapers the first time, I wouldn’t have created a mini-sumo wrestler right?  My sister is his caretaker, the one who loves him and provides for him, the one who packed his bag and knows all about him right?  God is like that with us.  He is our caretaker, the one who loves us and provides for us, the one who gives us all things and knows everything about us. 

Sometimes I forget this and I look to the people around me to try and figure out my worth.  I listen to others telling me that I may not be pretty enough or smart enough or others who tell me I am not a good person.  It’s hard to decide who I am when I listen to others.  The Bible says in Matthew 10:29-30 “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

The Bible tells us that God knows exactly how many hairs are on your head.  Look around the room, some of us have a lot of hair and some don't have very much.  It doesn't matter how much or how little hair you have, God knows how many hairs are on each person's head!  The Bibles also says that God knows exactly how many birds are in the air and if one of them dies and falls to the ground, God knows it!  If God cares when a little sparrow falls to the ground, can you imagine how much he cares for you?  Well, I'll tell you how much God cares for you -- He cares for you so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross so that you could have everlasting life.  Now, that's amazing love!

The next time you can’t remember how much you are worth, think about God’s words to us.  He created you and loves you and knows everything about you.  Go to God the next time you need to know who you are.

Let’s pray.  Dear God, thank you for creating me and knowing me.  Thank you for loving me the way you do.  We thank you for the sacrifice you made on the cross for our sins.  Help us to remember, our value and worth is in you.  We love you and praise you and thank you for today.  In Jesus name, Amen.