Jonah Chapter 2 (for youth)

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So, friends for chapter 2 of Jonah we need to get ourselves into the belly of a big fish (some people still say whale and I think there are better things to argue about than fish vs whale).

You can search online and find great plans for huge tarps that you inflate with a fan. This sounds like a bunch of fun. I didn’t have the time, energy, or budget to make this happen.

My cheaper option required 18 blue plastic table cloths, blue duct tape, painters tape or masking tape, a ladder and a hallway at church!

Step 1-Hang up your table cloths!
Keep on hanging them until your whole space is blue.

Next, you need a mouth, so you can get swallowed by the big fish.

I was told it looked like a monster at this point.
Finished fish!

The hard work is done. Now on to the lesson for the youth. Begin by reviewing what happened in Chapter 1. Last time we left Jonah floating in the sea, and now he gets swallowed by a big fish.

Everyone into the fish. You can sit or stand for this part. Ask wondering questions. I wonder what Jonah was thinking? I wonder what you are thinking since you are now in the belly of a fish? I wonder what Jonah did to pass the time? I wonder how you would spend your time in here? I wonder what it smells like in the belly of a fish? (It was suggested that I place open cans of tuna fish around the room to help create the ambiance. I didn’t. You can if you would like).

Read Chapter 2 of Jonah out loud. You can divide it up and have different youth read. Stop before Jonah gets out.

Ask the youth what they would have said or prayed in this situation?

And then together, get vomited out of the fish back onto dry land like Jonah. Give thanks to God for caring for us and sharing Jonah’s story with us. Encourage the youth to come back next week to hear the rest of the story!

Jonah Chapter 1 (for youth)

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My youth asked for ways they could be Jonah, so for three weeks we are making Jonah’s story come to life.

Week 1 was chapter 1 (except the last verse). We left Jonah floating in the water with a to be continued and come back next week.

So for chapter 1, my friend and I built a boat.

We used cardboard and paper and tape from church. We used empty boxes from church as the cargo to be thrown overboard.

And then I rewrote the chapter into a youth friendly play. One of their favorite things they took from the lesson was that casting lots was something like rock, paper, scissors. We are doing more rock, paper, scissors now since they see the connection to the Bible.

We had a great time enacting the story and learning more about God through Jonah’s story.

A Prayer for the Lollygaggers

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A friend sent me a card in the mail recently where she talked about the joy of lollygagging. This is a word I love to use in a positive way. I think we need more time to lollygag! (Also, I just learned that it is sometimes spelled lallygag. I am sticking with the way I have always heard it).

On some recent time away from my normal routine, I took time to lollygag! It was glorious. I read in the morning instead of jumping out of bed and hurrying to the shower. I drove down a two lane road even though a four lane highway was near by and would have had me at my destination faster. I sat in a comfy chair at a bookstore and read part of a book that I then purchased. I played board games with my husband! It turns out that I am good at lollygagging when I let myself do it.

So give yourself permission to lollygag, whatever that might look like for you! Move slower. Look around at creation. Linger over a cup of tea (or coffee, if you prefer).

God! You taught us to rest and we are often not good at it! Slow us down. Help us to make time to lollygag. Remind us that life is to be enjoyed and not just hustled through from one task to the next. Show us that we are enough as we are. It is okay to put our work down at the end of the day. It is good to laugh with loved ones. It is necessary to spend time in conversation with you. Bless us as we lollygag, Gracious God. Amen.

Book Review-Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn’t Have to Heal From by Meredith Miller

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You should read this book! I keep talking about it to anyone and everyone.

This book is my recommendation for the parents to read at the church I am serving. Let me tell you why!

This book is very readable. In Part 1 (Chapters 1-4), she encourages families to find their own way to be faithful families. We are not given one right way to live our faith. Instead we are encouraged to live out our faith in our families and communities in ways that work for us. One of her ideas that I love is replacing the idea of a wall of faith that we build higher and higher with a web where the strings support each other and it grows stronger by connections. If your web has a string that gets weaker or breaks (a new understanding or change in your theology), your web is still strong and able to adapt unlike a wall that would tumble. She also pushes us to use all Bible stories to focus back on God instead of as a lesson toward obedience by children or adults.

In Part 2, she gives us 6 examples of what this looks like with different attributes of God (God is Good, Powerful, Just, Joyful, With Us, and Lord). In each chapter, she highlights a characteristic of God with a Bible story, ways to live out this characteristic of God, and suggestions for answering the hard questions.

I encourage you to read this book and let it nurture your faith while you prepare to nurture the faith of the children/youth in your care!

Sink or Float (Matthew 14:22-33)

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Helping make the Bible understandable and relatable can be a challenge. Here’s a fun way I encourage our children/youth to engage in this story of Jesus walking on water from Matthew 14:22-33.

So I did this both as a kid’s sermon in worship and as a longer outside activity for youth on our family faith night. Both were fun!

You will need a clear pitcher or clear bowl if doing this inside during worship or a kiddie pool if attempting outside during youth group. And a bunch of things you are okay getting wet as we are going to drop them in the water to see if they sink or float. I recommend looking around your space and finding a variety of things.

Invite all gathered to guess whether each object will sink or float and then have them place it into the water.

Then read the story from Matthew 14:22-33. I recommend reading it twice. The first time read it as written. The second time read it while pausing to ask questions. Notice that Jesus took time to be quiet in prayer (Matthew 14:22-23). Do you ever need time to be by yourself in silence? Jesus was walking on the water toward the boat (Matthew 12:25). Try to imagine how you would feel if you saw someone walking on water. Peter asks to join Jesus on the water (Matthew 12:28). If you were in this story, would you do the same or would you be like the other disciples watching from the boat? Peter notices all the scary things around him and begins to sink (Matthew 12:30). When have you ever become frightened when you saw where you were and what you were doing?

This story reminds us to trust in Jesus even when we feel like we are sinking or are overwhelmed or scared. Jesus never leaves us. (This is where I ended the kid’s message in worship).

For the youth activity, we made “ourselves” as a reminder that with Jesus we float and can handle the big waves of life. We used a collection of random items from the supply closet including styrofoam balls, rubber bands, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes. Everyone had fun creating and then took their creations home as a reminder of that night’s story.

And a prayer to end the night-

God of the Wind and the Waves and Silence, you never leave us. You never abandon us. Even when life is hard or scary or unfair, you walk beside us on the water and lift us up when we start to sink. We are grateful for your constant love and support. Give us the strength we need for today. And thank you for this community of faith which supports and loves us too. Amen.

A Prayer for Jury Duty

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I have jury duty the entire month of July. I might be more excited than the average person about fulfilling my civic duty.

Also, I might have gotten called in and then not gotten selected. I did enjoy getting to see the process unfold, and there is still time this month for me to make it on a jury. Fingers crossed.

This whole experience inspired me to write a prayer for jury duty. Although it is often a hardship to have jury duty, it is a right for citizens of the United States to have an impartial group of peers decide if they did or did not break the law. So, the next time you are called to serve, try to keep a positive attitude even while it is disrupting your life. You might even enjoy it like I did.

Gracious God, You encourage us not to judge one another. And yet, that is just what is being asked of jurors. Grant us a sense of calm and listening ears. Give us patience as we hurry up and wait to see if we will be selected for the jury. If picked to serve on the jury, help us to remember that each person here is your beloved child. Send us your spirit of peace. Let us listen for your voice as we make this important decision. Amen.

Midweek VBS Prayer for the Volunteers

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If you find yourself halfway through VBS, this prayer is for you. If you have VBS later this summer, save this prayer for when you need it. If you are done with VBS for the year, you can say this prayer knowing you made it. If you aren’t doing VBS this year, pray for those who are because we need it!

Faithful God! What a week! And it is only Wednesday. Thank you for a great week so far. Acknowledging, the week has not been perfect. It has been good because children of all ages have seen and heard that they are loved. We, the volunteers and staff, are tired. It is a good tired. We know we have been doing your work. We know you have been present here. You have opened our hearts so we can love you more. You have increased our patience when it was needed in hard moments. You have given the volunteers courage to show up the first day and keep coming back. Holy God, give each one of us what we need for the remaining days of VBS. Help each of us to see you in each other. We will thank you and praise you with our laughter, our singing, and our prayers. Bless us as we share your love with everyone who enters the doors of your house. Be our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

A Prayer for the Week Before VBS!

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VBS (Vacation Bible School) is one of the best weeks of the year. The church is filled with laughter, singing, people of all ages, and so much love. It is also (usually) hot, hot, hot! And someone is going to have a meltdown. It might be a child. It might be the person in charge of ensuring all goes well at VBS!

So as churches prepare for the biggest week of the year, join me in praying for things VBS.

God, it feels like this prayer should come with hand motions or decorations or lemonade as it is a prayer about VBS. Help all of us to remember what is most important is that every person who comes through the church doors needs a reminder that you love them. This is true for the kids hustling into the room and the kids hiding behind a parent. You know this is true for the person who brings the snacks, leads the singing, helps with crafts, and the brave one who agrees to keep games under control. The whole point of this week is for everyone to know you love them. You created each one in your own image. So no matter what happens at VBS, remind us that you love us. Give the adults strength for the week. Give your children of all ages open hearts to experience your goodness. And when Bible School is over, give us all good rest after a wonderful week of loving each other and you well. Amen!

Wedding Reception Prayer

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Later today I will be celebrating the marriage of two lovely people. And as I was preparing a prayer for the reception, I thought I would share it here in case it would be helpful to anyone else who is needing a prayer for a wedding reception.

Loving God, On this day when love brings us together, we thank you for your constant love for us. We thank you for bringing —— and —— together and blessing their love today. Continue to guide and support them as they begin this new chapter of their life together. God, we thank you for this joyful feast. Watch over all of us and keep us safe as we celebrate the gift of love and especially the love between —- and ——. Amen.

Prayer for a Day That Keeps Trying to Knock You Down

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Recently, my friend and I had a day. A day filled with one unpleasant surprise after another. My friend described it as a day of whiplash. I said what next just wondering what could possibly go wrong next. And less than an hour later the bridge we were driving over when I said what next got stuck and people had to wait for a fix! I didn’t say what next again!

You have had one of those days. Where the bad news keeps coming and you honestly wonder what next because you can’t imagine there could possible be more bad news. Ugh! You know one of those days where you feel like you are living in a Psalm of lament. When those days come, I hope this prayer brings you a bit of peace.

Faithful and Wonderful God, it has been a day. You know what I mean. How many more unpleasant surprises can I handle? And yes, I know there was good in my day. The good just felt so overshadowed by all the hard parts. No matter what you are with me. Beside me when the hard news comes and celebrating the victories. I would love to ask for more victories, God. Instead, I will ask for your abiding presence and love to give me the strength to navigate this day whatever might happen. Amen.