A few days ago, we ended a WONDERFUL week at COTHA hosting Vacation Bible School to approximately 200 young people wanting to get to know Jesus and have fun doing it by joining us at “Kingdom Rock.” I’ve got to say WOW; things sure have changed since I was a little girl attending Vacation Bible School!  I can vividly remember sitting outside as a small group (the whole VBS probably included 10-12 youngsters). Our teacher would sit us underneath a big shade tree and read bible verses to us while we ate cookies and drank red Kool-Aid out of tiniest of Dixie cups! The smell of summer lingers in my mind, and to this day, I can immediately conjure up the scent that came from the Ivory bar of soap we were given to carve as our craft project. There were always honey bees flying from one flower to the other and even occasionally lighting on the many dandelions we sat among.  We used small little blunt scissors to cut hearts and flowers out of colored construction paper that we would take home to our moms to hang on the ice box door!
Fast forward….KINGDOM ROCK... 200 kids dancing to live music, a 17’ dragon named Yahtzee (which looked like he was 100’TALL!!) towering above the altar in the sanctuary blowing smoke out of his nostrils as he bellowed out how God helps us STAND SRONG ! Princesses floated around in beautiful and colorful gowns and knights in shining amour led the youngsters through songs and scripture teaching them the same. It was so fun watching these 200 young ones having so much fun and learning so many wonderful life lessons! YES GOD’S KINGDOM REALLY DOES ROCK!!!!

Two
weeks ago I experienced an amazing week standing strong for God and really
understanding what that means.  Two and a
half months ago we embarked on an exciting adventure called VBS.  Much time, preparation, and many, many hours
of work all for this one-week of bringing the word of God to children. Was it
worth it? The answer is most definitely yes.
Ephesians 6:10 "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might."  It
was completely astounding how much everyone involved got out of this incredible
week. We had fifty adult volunteers, thirty teen volunteers, and two hundred
children all-sharing in God’s love and God’s word. It was an incredible week. I
had so many people come up to me that week and say it was the best VBS they had
ever experienced and all I could think was that God truly was present and his
word was very much alive.
 Proverbs
22:6 "train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will
not turn from it."
  All
of our children really learned about standing strong for God. There were five
ways we achieved this: Through God’s love, friends and family, prayer, trusting
God, and the Bible. All of these helped us Stand Strong. Not just the children,
but for all of us. I had one grandmother come up to me Wednesday morning and
tell me that her grandson had really absorbed what he was being taught. His
mom, the night before, had been dealing with a pretty complicated situation and
was very worried about what was going to happen. She was crying and very
distraught and her little son went up to her and said “Don’t worry mommy, God’s
love helps us, Stand Strong.” He got it. That is amazing to see God working in
his life and in turn he shared that gift with his mother.
 Philippians 4:13 “I can do
everything through him who gives me strength.”
  VBS is definitely worth all the time and effort that was put into it. It was truly astounding to see all the lives that were changed during the week. God does magnificient things and gave us One Amazing Week!
Matthew 19:26 "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

When is the last time you
took the time to talk with a four - five or even a nine year old?  Was the conversation one sided or did you
learn something from them?  In my opinion
if we can slow ourselves down and look at the world from their perspective we may
just see a really cool and wonder filled place. 
The entrepreneurial bug
struck my oldest daughter at a very early age. 
She would rally her friends to sell things like lemonade on the side of
the street.  No you have seen these kids
before but she would sit there for hours. 
One time we had to negotiate with her to shut down the stand because it
had been open for more than six hours and all of her friends had left.  She would not budge because all of the dads
would be coming home soon and she thought she would get more business!  Excuse me, from the mouth of a nine year
old! 
We so often give up on a
project long before it even had a chance to be successful.  We sit there and wear ourselves out with
stuff and then throw in the towel just before something wonderful happens.  What if we had the patience of a nine year
old and kept building as if the project was a smashing success almost oblivious
to the reality of our surroundings?  What
if we could see the opportunity just around the corner? 
The video below is of a
nine year old that has been the inspiration for a worldwide movement to
encourage kids and adults alike.  I first
heard about this project when Cane was invited to speak at a Leadership conference
last month.  He was on stage with
influential speakers like Maxwell, Cloud, and a litany of top rate leadership
guru's …. and then there was Cane and his Cardboard Arcade. 






My
challenge for myself is to find the simple things that I can be exceptional at
accomplishing and do so with the reckless abandon of a nine-year old.  Wanna join the movement?
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I just finished reading Mik Krzyzewski's book Leading from the Heart. It was a very good read and contains much to commend it. It certainly wasn't the best book on leadership I've read but it may be the most surprising. I went into the book with a dubious attitude at best. As the basketball coach at Duke University, I have watched him coach for many years. A few of those games have been against the University of Kansas. In fact Duke has an overall 6-2 record against the Jayhawks. So when someone recommeded this book, I was skeptical.
As I turned the last page and put the book down I started wondering how many times I have put myself in a position of not learning something because of my preconceived notions about a person or a situation. It seems to me that if I am open to the possibility that I may have misjudged someone based on faulty evidence, I might be able to learn from unexpected places. It certainly was the case with Mike Krzyzewski.
There is much I could share about the lessons Coach K has learned over the years. Suffice it to say that beyond the many points of leadership that he makes, I was most taken with the personal stories he shared. At times I was moved to tears as he shared anecdotes about his players, his mother, other coaches (especially Jim Valvano), and his staff.
I know that I've read an important book when I continue to think about it after I have read it. This is such a book. Let me leave you with one quote: "I believe one of the reasons we're here on earth ... [is to]... develop gifts we are given. And just like none of us walks through life alone, none of us develops our gifts alone. It's a cooperative effort." I believe that he is right. As I think about my life, I need to remember the importance of seeking further development of my gifts with the help of others.
See you Sunday as we finish the series on James: "Life Ruined."

Isaac Thompson: Devotion Leader - Crew #3
 Today my crew and crew #2 went to Hope
Lutheran Church and held a surprise birthday party for the children. We had fun
playing with water before we went inside. Before the party, Shelia, the pastor
of Wholly Committed Ministries held a celebration for our last day there. She
gave us certificates to help us remember her and the ministry. The kids had fun
and said they would miss us and we said we would remember them.



Christopher Choate: Quartermaster - Crew #11 
Today
my crew was the only one at our site. We worked very well with the tutoring
kids today. My favorite kid was Kaitlyn because she was nice and funny and I
will miss her.  The kids said that we
were really awesome this week and they will miss me tomorrow.



Kenneth Golden: Project Leader - Crew #11
The
whole week has been filled with fun here at the host church and tutoring kids at
our mission site. The week was overall pretty fun with all the kids at the
tutor house. The lodging was great! There is a game room and a gym, yet helping
the kids was fun as well. My favorite one was Jason. He was very smart and had
some trouble. He was my favorite and I was his by the quote, “you are the best
teacher I have had!”  Overall it has been
a great week!



Tahlia Sehon: Devotion Leader, Crew #4
In the
beginning of the week I was assigned to the restoration art center. It’s a way
that kids can connect with God through art. I met some really amazing kids. I
saw God shine within each and every one of them. It was amazing and I wish I
could’ve stayed longer, but God has plans for me back home and I’m so excited
to see what he has planned for my life ahead.

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Day One is behind us and as relax for the evening I grabbed a couple students to get their reflections for the day:
By Kaylee Hane, Breakmaker for Crew #9 and Haylee Wade, Organizer for Crew #10
Today at Dream a Dream Therapeutic Horsemanship we had a
great time helping special needs children. We met three children; Jordan, David,
and Mariner. David was very familiar with getting the horse ready to ride. He
had his music set up and started singing to the horse, Gracie. It was so sweet,
we have never seen anything like it. We also realized how lucky we are to be
working with special needs children. Our hope is that the rest of the week will be just
as great as today!
 
Evan Matthews, Quartermaster for Crew #13
Well, today at Georgetown Housing Authority, I handed out
flyers for computer classes and met some nice people. After that, we went to
the Stonehaven Senior Center and met Helen. She taught us how to play spades
and skip-bo. It was fun playing with them.
 
Abbey Bing, Devotion Leader for Crew #7
Today I went to an
Elderly “Day Care”. We dealt with elderly people with Alzheimer’s and dementia.
It was very interesting to see how they acted. I could tell they appreciated us
being there! We played an intense game of BINGO, started a puzzle and held a
ring toss tournament. Spending a day with them and having many conversations, I
realized how amazing people are and I’m glad I have a good memory! I enjoyed
today and I’m exited to go back!

Our COTHA gang is split into crews and have been assigned their positions for the week.  Group Missions split the missioners into crews of 5-6 people and then each missioner has a job within the crew...
Work Director: Oversees the crew's work to get the project completed. 
Quartermaster: Gets extra supplies and equipment the crew may need.
Break Maker: Makes sure crews have food and drinks and takes breaks throughout the day.
Devotion Leader: Leads the crew's daily devotion. 
Organizer: Keeps the crew mission packet and first aid kit.
Progress Reporter: Reports to staff each day about the project.

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By Donna Matthews, Administrator and JH Mission Youth Leader
After getting all our rooms set up and eating dinner, we were finally assigned our crews and missions for the week. 
Group Missions takes all of the indivdual churches, combines them and then breaks them out into 5-6 people crews.  You have the opportunity to mission with people from all over the state and surrounding states.  This week we have groups from the Dallas area, Shreveport and Houston.
As a result, our COTHA gang is spread out over the local area assigned to everything from low income housing, tutoring at risk kids, VBS, equestrian support, an Alzheimer's unit and nursing homes.  At the end of each day, we'll come back together to share about our different missions, opportunities and God sightings.  
I have coordinated with the Group supervisor to get copies of all their pictures from each day so hopefully we'll have some to share with you of your students at work!  Also, each student will reflect on their mission trip on this blog sometime during the week. 
The week has started off great...everyone is excited to get started and our Group mission leaders are an awesome crew...they even sing us to sleep!

This weekend our series on James continues by looking at what seems to be a contradiction regarding grace and works found in the writings of James and Paul.  James writes in his letter that "... faith itself, if it does not have works, is dead." (2:17)  Paul writes that "For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2: 8-10)  So which is it?  Do James and Paul contradict one another?
At this point, I should write: well, come and find out!  See you this weekend... While I won't quite do that, I do urge you to come this weekend and dive deeper into this issue.  All followers of Jesus need to understand the fullness of this issue because it makes a big difference in how we approach our faith and the world.  But until then, let me give you a deeper glimpse into this issue.
Paul and James do not contradict each other, they compliment each other.  Faith without works is a dead faith, yet our works do not save us.  Works are fruits of faith. They are the natural result of the life of a person who has faith.  Paul urges us to see grace as a free gift that helps us know that we are followers of Jesus.  James, on the other hand, argues that works helps to show us that we are followers of Jesus.
There is much more to this that will be unpacked this weekend.  It's summer time and a lot of activities tempt us to miss church more often than usual. I encourage you to be here as we celebrate the end of a hugely successful VBS, celebrate our fathers, learn more about the depth of our faith, and experience an amazing God in our worship.  Come and see.

The other day I was in a spin class at the health club.  Near the end of the class and about the time I thought I was just about to die from heat exhaustion, the instructor yelled out to the 30 of us in class,  “KEEP GOING, DON’T STOP! PAIN IS JUST THE BODY’S WAY OF GETTING RID OF WEAKNESS!”   Well, for the record, I think that is about the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard!  I think pain is PAIN. And pain is REAL! We can experience physical pain, emotional pain and spiritual pain. When Jesus was being brutally beaten and being nailed to the cross I know he experienced PAIN like we can’t even imagine! But, he took that pain FOR US which had nothing to do with weakness! And then…. he died on the cross FOR US!  Let us remember John 3:16 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
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