Evangelism Musings (08/30/13)

Do you see, do you see, all the people sinking down,

Don't you care, don't you care, are you gonna let them drown

--Keith Green (Alseep in the Light)

A small team from our church headed out to the Minnesota State Fair today. We stood outside the entrance gates and handed out gospel tracts to the throngs of people heading into the fair. I can't think of an easier way to get the gospel into the hands of thousands of people. So, grab your favorite gospel tract, hit the streets, and give it a try. God will take it from there.

Cookie Baking Night 08/26/13

Tonight was Cookie Baking Night. In attendance this evening: Ethan, Carissa, and Alli. Our niece, Alli, is our newest Cookie Baking Night member. She turned 3 years old last week and has now officially joined us. Tonight we made cranberry/white chip/oatmeal cookies.

It has been a long time since we've needed to use some kind of step stool for hand washing, but we brought it out again tonight (as you can see, Carissa was a great helper). 

We also continued reading from "God's Names" by Sally Michael. Tonight we learned about God's name: A Strong Tower. Proverbs 18:10 tells us: "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe." We even learned a song that will help us remember that verse. 

We finished the evening by teaching Alli the game "Zingo" (a matching game along the lines of Bingo but with picture shapes). Alli caught onto it quickly and seemed to enjoy it. If you don't have this game in your game closet, I suggest adding it to your collection. It's recommended for ages 4-8 (on the box) but the younger ones can play it without any problem, and the older ones haven't tired of it yet. 

As usual, a fun time was had by all.

Road Trip Musings

Well, it's that time of year again--state fair time. The company Greg works for does the audio visual production for the concerts held at the Iowa State Fair and the Minnesota State Fair each year. Emily and I decided to take a little road trip to Iowa again this year to visit Greg at the Fair. 

The three of us starting our day together at the fair. 

Greg in action

Greg with a wanna be audio visual engineer

A little fair food

A little texting ... with a view

With entertainment at every turn, you still can't beat watching the baby chicks (for free) in the Animal Learning Center (I literally had to lure her away from there after about 30 minutes). 

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We left the fair exhausted. Time to hit the air mattress. 

Side note: If you've been around my blog any length of time, then you probably know I love a good road trip. As I always say, "real life happens on the road trip". Kids talk more on a one-on-one road trip. Hearts are exposed. Conversation is inevitable. Gospel opportunities abound. Now grab your favorite 12 year old (or 9, 10, 11, etc. year old) and hit the road!

Cookie Baking Musings

This week is an off week for Cookie Baking Night, and sometimes on the off weeks, I get reflective.

Last week, we had a couple guest friends at Cookie Baking Night, children who have not been here before (friends of the nieces and nephew). As is expected when someone joins an ongoing activity that has been in place for a long time, there are some adjustments to make and education to be done. I learned a few things from the experience and they are as follows:

• Cookie Baking Night is a ministry full of gospel-sharing opportunities
• Always say yes to gospel-sharing opportunities that knock on your own door
• Children need to be taught how to do things 
• Training produces fruit

I was struck by the reactions of my own nieces and nephew when at times chaos was happening around them due to the others not knowing our routine. This was particularly evident to me during our Bible lesson time. Our guests were not accustomed to this activity, so we had to work through the experience with lovingkindness. My nieces and nephew, however, treated that time with reverence. When we talked about God's names, they became very serious for they knew it was a serious subject. Where I might normally view them as "squirrelly" and unfocused, when contrasted with someone new to the activity, I could see their evident concentration. I could see the fruit of training in them. I was reminded that they didn't come like that to the first Cookie Baking Night. God showed me a glimpse of the value of the "long haul" (endurance, if you will). In essence, He was training the leader that night. May she be the same kind of student as her nieces and nephews have been and may God produce fruit in her.