Finding a Quiet Moment

I'm hiding out from our Jr. High youth group right now.  I was here with them during Bible study, and let me tell you, they are one crazy bunch!  I love being here with them, creating friendships, hanging out with them, and getting to know them, but every week (at least once) I whisper a prayer of thanks that this is Jesse's job and not mine!

He just took them up to the field to let some of their energy out, and since it's 6pm and still 90* outside (not to self, time to begin my annual tradition of bugging Jesse to move before it gets too hot!), I am very happy to stay inside and keep cutting out the paper birds we're using for our 4th VBS craft project tomorrow.

Days 1, 2, and 3 have gone off without a hitch, and that's been a big blessing!  Jesse and I are SO exhausted, though.  We've been home from our vacation for nearly a week, and besides the...11 or so loads of laundry I did on Saturday, we haven't cleaned up or unpacked.  Each night when we get home, we just crash.  This week is completely wiping us out!

Jesse is the director of VBS, and I'm in charge of all of the craft projects we're doing.  I love the job, buyt it's a challenge! The VBS program we use is happy to sell us all of their pre-assembled craft kits for an arm ad a leg, so I've been doing my best to adapt them and so that we can make them ourselves.  They've actually turned out really cool.  The one we made yesterday was a big hit--one of the boys told me he was "going to take it with [him] on every vacation for the rest of [his] life!"

I have to take a break from cutting, though, because I've been cutting out detailed cardstock parrots for the past 1 1/2 hours, and I'm developing a blood blister from the scissors!

So I thought I'd share a funny moment from today:

Today's VBS lesson was talking about the Apostle Paul and his missionary trip to Malta when he was bitten by a snake.  The theme for today was Surprises, so I began my time with each group by asking them about surprises.

"Do you guys like surprises?" I'd ask, and let a few of them volunteer to share some of their favorite surprises.  Then I'd remind them that not all surprises were good (like when Paul was bitten by surprise). I shared a story from my childhood.
"When I was a little girl, around 8 years old, I was getting ready for bed one night.  I put on my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and went to my bedroom.  The light was out, but since I knew the way to my bed, I didn't turn it on--I just walked through my room in the dark.  Just as I was about to climb into bed, my dad, who had been hiding underneath my sheets, popped out and surprised me.  I did not like that surprise!  It scared me and I started to cry.  Sometimes, we don't like surprises, do we?  And I'll tell you one thing, my dad never surprised me like that again!"

Then we went on to make a Chinese yo-yo--a "surprise" craft of our own.  As we finished up  our craft, one of the little girls in the group came up to me and gave me a big hug.  Looking up at me with concerned eyes, she asked, "Was your daddy always that mean?"

!!!

I couldn't help but laugh!  Jesse just about died when I told him.  My dad is one of the kindest, most compassionate men I know, and it didn't even occur to me that the kids would think of it as a mean action!  I was careful for the rest of the day that when I used that story with each group, they knew my daddy loved me very much!