Creating On-Mission Kids

Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.” – Matthew 28:19-20

Recently I saw a poll on the International Mission Board’s Commission Stories website (www.commissionstories.com) that said “at what age were you first exposed to ‘missions’?”  As of this writing, 62 people had answered.  The age at which most people said they were first exposed to missions was preschool (0-5) age!  The next highest was children (6-12).  The lowest was college age.   Granted 99.9% of people who answered this poll were Southern Baptist (and probably exposed to missions at birth...ha ha) …but still, it was SO encouraging for me to see that most people were exposed to missions as a young child!

I was one of the responders to the preschool-age choice of this poll as I vividly remember going on mission trips and being in the preschool church program “Mission Friends” as a preschooler.  Before I started school, I went on so many mission trips with my parents and got to be a part telling others about Jesus – even as a little kid.  My parents had a background in missions so they believed strongly in making sure me and my sisters knew about and experienced missions as children.  Most of you know we were missionaries for two years in Hong Kong ('97-'99) as a result of their deep love for missions.  I’m so grateful for their passion in being on-mission for Christ and educating us as children because it has resonated so strongly in my heart as far as being on-mission and also helping children become educated in missions.  

My sweet on-mission family during our mission time in Hong Kong

Also while on the Commission Stories website, I found an article entitled “Families on Mission: A Guide for Every Stage of Parenting” which contained suggestions for families …and really anyone that works with children…to keep missions at the forefront of your family and children’s heart.  I absolutely loved the fact that the article was divided into the different stages of childhood because it allows parents and teachers to see what learning styles/activities work best for that age group. 

I did not come up with any of these ideas…they are solely the work of the author of the article and you can read this article in its entirety here…Families on Mission.  However, I wanted to share with you briefly, the different points the author brought up as well as some of my thoughts… ‘cause you know I can’t write a blog and not have any opinions… ha ha!

Preschool-Age

1. “Talk about missions.”  Preschoolers are such sponges for information.  This is the time of life where they are learning SO many new things…why not let missions/missionaries be one of those new things that they are learning?!  Adding to that…as you talk about missions, remember that a picture is worth a thousand words…especially to preschoolers.  They are observing the world around them, most especially visually, so show them pictures of missions and missionaries so they aren’t just hearing about missions, but they are seeing it too!
   
2. “Invite Internationals to family time.”  Church workers, you can also invite Internationals to your class time.  Preschoolers are very curious people and they LOVE to ask questions!  As preschoolers meet new people and learn about new cultures, they may be able to better understand what a missionary does and where they go.  Encourage your international friend to bring objects or food from their country/culture.  Visual/tangible items resonate strongly with kids…especially preschoolers.
   
3. “Collect money for missions.”  This is the #1 answer I get from kids when I ask “what can we do to help missionaries?”  Children know that money is needed to get something and so they have a frame of reference to understand that missionaries can’t get things or do things without having money to help them.  I love what the author said about setting a goal, keeping track of it, and celebrating when the goal is reached.  Allow your kids to see what the results of their collection efforts will be.  If you are collecting for a specific project, show them pictures or video of what their money has funded.  If you have collected money for a missionary, see if the missionary can write a letter, call, or Skype you.  Help children see that what they are doing is having an impact.

**One thing that the author didn’t mention, that I think is very important, is to make sure preschoolers understand that missions is something that Jesus has asked us to do.  Put the Great Commission and Acts 1:8 into language that preschoolers can understand and help them realize that we don’t do missions just because we want to…we do it because Jesus asks us to “love our neighbor” and tell our neighbors about Him.

School-Age

1. “Collect supplies.”  In the article, the author offered a specific project for which to collect supplies – the Baptist Global Response’s Bucket Project.  The Bucket Project is a great project to be a part of, but there are also many other great projects that children can collect supplies for, such as, Operation Christmas Child, your local food pantry, care packages for missionaries, etc.  Allow your child to have the opportunity to collect these supplies – let them make the decisions (with your guidance) on what kinds of items to collect for others around the world.  By allowing them to make part of the decision, they are able to see that they have made a personal investment in something/someone else.  Church leaders, maybe you can make your collection a competition.  At my church, we like to have collection competitions between the boys and the girls.  The kids get really into the competition and in turn we are able to help a lot more people because we have a lot more items.
   
2. “Adopt a People Day.”  I know a lot of school-age kids that love to find out cool facts about people, places, and things.  Help your kids find interesting books or websites about different cultures or countries so that they can read about and see what is going on in different parts of the world.  The IMB has a couple of great missions websites for kids…visit “Kids on Mission” and “The Caravan.”  The Joshua Project website has information on how reached or unreached various countries are around the world.  I encourage you to visit these websites with your kids so that they can find out for themselves about different parts of the world and missions work there.  When I was 11, I made a scrapbook about Hong Kong…granted, I lived there…but still, it was an opportunity for me to discover more about this unfamiliar country as my family was living “on-mission” there.
   
3. “Take a family mission trip.”  This doesn’t have to be a 15 hour mission trip to another country…it can simply be taking a trip across town to the soup kitchen to help feed the hungry.  The important part is to let your kids EXPERIENCE missions!  I can’t put into words the value that experiencing missions has on a child.  All I know is that I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the experience of missions.  If you have the opportunity to take your family on a mission trip out of town or out of the country – DO IT!  Your kids will NEVER forget it and the things they see and do will make a lasting impact on them.  Experiencing missions is when it becomes REAL to them.

 **Something else to mention here…introduce school-age kids to not only historical missionaries, like Lottie Moon/Adoniram Judson, but also introduce this age group to missionaries in the Bible like Paul, Barnabas, John Mark, and others.  Help them realize that Jesus didn’t just ask today’s generation to be missionaries…His words were also meant for those that lived during the Bible times. 

Teens

1. “’Give it up’ for global hunger.”  Really what I think the author of the article is saying here is to help your teen realize that missions is a sacrifice.  Give up a night at the movies and spend that extra time doing something for missions or make a low-cost meal out of items that someone in a third world country might have and give that extra money you have to missions.  Teenagers are at a time in their life where they understand that it can be difficult to do without something.  Helping them realize that so many in the world don’t have the luxuries we do in America opens their eyes to appreciate the world and people around them.
   
   
2. “Be a World Changer.”  World Changers is a great organization that teens can be a part of as they aim to change the world for the sake of Christ.  It’s an opportunity for teens to experience missions in a peer-team setting.  Teens don’t just have to go through World Changers, though.  Encourage your teen to go on a mission trip with their youth group or your church.  The IMB Students website, theTask.org has great opportunities too.  Again, missions never becomes more real until you experience it!

 **If at all possible, allow your teen to get to know (Skype, Facebook messaging, personal visit) a current missionary and/or missionary kid.  Whether the missionary be on Stateside assignment or on the field, a personal interaction can help spur the interest of a teen to get involved in not only praying for this missionary, but desiring to help them and others as well.

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One thing that ALL age groups…preschoolers to adults…can do for missions is to PRAY.  Your prayers to the Father on behalf of missionaries and missions work mean more than you’ll ever know.  The hardest hearts and most impossible situations can change in an instant when ALL of God’s children come to Him in prayer.  Make sure your children always know that “where two or three are gathered in [His] name, [He] is there” (Matthew 18:20). 

Mission-minded children lead to mission-minded adults and in this world that is ever-so changing and where so many have never heard the name of Jesus, having mission-minded adults is something that is GREATLY important.  What better way to live with a servant heart than to be mission-minded?!  I pray that our future generation will live with a servant heart, be on fire for Jesus and have a desire to help others come to know Him either through missions involvement or as full-time missionaries themselves.

Source: "Families on Mission" by Susie Rain, July 21, 2013, http://www.commissionstories.com/asia/interactives/view/families-on-mission-a-guide-for-every-stage-of-parenting#teens

On Your Mark...Get Set...WAIT!

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time.” – Ecclesiastes 3:11a

Four years ago when I was coming back to the States from my first mission trip to Hong Kong, I arrived at the Newark airport after the looooooong 15 hour, international flight.  When we got off the plane, we discovered that weather had delayed and cancelled many flights.  I went to the domestic terminal to discover that my flight back to Tennessee had been delayed…10, yes T-E-N, hours.  Talk about a long time to wait in an airport after already waiting 15 hours to get home…and crazy enough, that story doesn’t even compare to the wait time the other person on my team had to endure in order to get back home.

Waiting is never fun.  Whether it be in a doctor’s office or on hold with the phone company or for a delayed flight…we all have stories of times when waiting caused frustration to the max.  In life we have things that we may want to do or see happen immediately, but for some reason known only to God, we are having to wait upon the Lord for those things to come to fruition.  Even we as believers can get frustrated during these times of waiting because things aren’t happening on our timetable.  There’s the kicker, though… it’s not our timetable.  It’s God’s.

A couple of blogs ago, I talked about how God is doing a new thing in our lives and how we need to be patient and wait upon the Lord to reveal it in His time.  I wanted to expand upon that thought, but wasn’t led to go that far in that particular post.  It’s such a “God-thing” that this was what my pastor’s sermon was on this past week.  I wrote down some really encouraging thoughts that he presented and wanted to share them with you as a follow-up to my previous blog.  If you haven’t read it, click this link: A New Thing.

One thought my pastor shared was that “we are bound by time, but God is bound by eternity.”  He went on to say “God may be slow, but He’s never been late.”  Those two quotes spoke volumes to me when I thought about how strongly they connected with the topics I’ve been writing about lately.  Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”  God is all-knowing, we are not.  He has seen both the ending and the beginning.  He knows when and where the things we are waiting for will happen and is weaving our story together as a part of His beautiful master plan for our lives.  He’s not late…He’s in control.

Who am I to question the timetable of God?  As a believer, I surrendered my life to Him.  My life is His.  Romans 14:8 says, “We belong to the Lord.”  As I think about the truths and attributes of God and add to that the knowledge that I belong to the Lord, I come to the realization that I can’t be frustrated or aggravated when things aren’t happening when I want them to happen because I am God's to lead and direct.  This leads me to a challenge for each of us…when we are waiting on God to do something in our life, let’s choose not to wait with discouragement and frustration but instead anticipation!  God has promised plans to prosper and plans for a future (Jeremiah 29:11) so let’s choose to look forward...as we wait...to the great things God has planned for us!

So what do we do when we’re waiting on God?  My pastor offered three principles for those having to wait:

1. Wait with patience.   I know.  Patience is easier said than done.  I work with kids…so I know that patience can be pushed and pulled in more ways than you ever thought possible.  Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.”  What better testimony to waiting with patience than this short verse from David?  When we wait with patience…God will hear us and reveal His plan to us.
2. Accept God’s timing.  His time is always the right time.  Remember Ecclesiastes 3:11?  God has made everything beautiful in His time.  We may not understand it, but we should trust and accept it.
3. Learn to rely on God.  When I was a kid, I had a bracelet that said “FROG” and it stood for “Fully Rely On God.”  This is a great little acronym to help us remember who we can lean on when times get tough or when we think we can’t wait any longer.  My life verse is always one that helps me rely on God during times of waiting.  Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.” 

I’m right there with ya…waiting with anticipation to see the things God has for me next.  Rest in the fact that God loves you, has a plan for you and will reveal that plan to you when that chapter of your life is ready.  He’s constantly preparing us in different ways for the different portions of our lives so that we can thrive.  If we aren’t ready to be in that environment and we enter that door before it’s ready to be open, we could be insanely miserable.  God’s timing is perfect, so don’t rush it.

So…on your mark, get set, WAIT!

"Memory Monday" - Joe the Jokester

“A joyful heart is good medicine.” – Proverbs 17:22 

 

Back a couple of months ago, I instituted “Memory Monday,” where I could talk about some favorite memories that came to mind and that I wanted to share with you, my blog readers.   These past couple of months has been one of remembering many, many memories of my grandfather who passed away last month.  I’m always remembering funny times and sayings that we had with him.  All of these memories constantly bring a smile to my face and, let me just say, there was never a dull moment :)

When I close my eyes and remember him, I immediately remember the huge smile and laugh that he had.  He loved to be funny and play jokes on people.  He also loved to laugh…even when things weren’t laughable. 

For example, I think about a story my dad told us from when he got his driver’s license.  My dad was driving for the first time with a driver’s license and his mom was in the car with him.  He stopped at a red light and then was hit (not too hard, though) from the car behind him.  Terrified as this was his first “car accident,” my dad pulled over to the shoulder of the road and the car behind him did the same.  My dad gets out of the car and turns around to see who this person was that had rear-ended him.  Out from the other car steps my grandfather (his dad) laughing uncontrollably!!  My dad said, “DAD!  Why did you do that!?!?!” My grandfather says, “I just wanted to see what would happen!”

After Lauren was born, he and my grandmother picked me & Meredith up from the hospital to take us home.  The hospital was in downtown Louisville and our house was in the suburbs of Louisville.  After not hearing from him in the time that it should’ve taken us to get home, my dad and mom became a bit worried...and these were the days before cell phones.  A couple of hours later, they get a phone call from my grandfather.  He says, “Son, I turned the wrong direction and I’m not sure the right way to your house.”  My dad says, “Well, where are you and I’ll help you get back.”  My grandfather says, laughing, “Well, I saw a sign a few minutes ago that said, ‘Welcome to Indiana.”  Fun times, fun times. :)

A little eccentric is a memorable way to describe him too.  I’ll never forget the time we heard that he had hit roadkill while driving down the road.  He simply got out, threw it in the back of his truck, and took it home to have for dinner.  Like who does that??!?!  He loved visiting the homebound or people who hadn’t been to church in a while, but when he would visit them and they wouldn’t be home, he’d just walk in their house and sit and wait on them until they got back!!  Home invader! :)

He had a huge assortment of sayings that made us burst out laughing.  We shared some of those on his celebration service program.  For those of you who didn’t get one, I’ll share a few here…

• Old age is pit-e-ful.
• How do you feel?  I feel with my fingers!
• Are you tired?  Tired of what…livin’?
• Hey!  Fodder.
• Well…that’s a deep subject.
• Guess what?  Rabbit squats.
• The best part of a chicken is the skin, of course!

The past 6 years that he lived in the same town as us was for me & my sisters, the most memorable out of all the years we’ve known him.  There are SO many memories and funny times…too many to share here.  I’m so grateful that he was able to come live in Tennessee near us.  I wouldn’t trade the past six years for anything.  Many of the funny moments we remembered, we were able to capture on video.  We compiled a bunch of the funny ones and showed them at his celebration service.  He was a hoot and we love to re-watch these videos.  If you haven’t already seen this video, I hope you’ll watch it so you can see his funny side too!

Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine.”  My grandfather definitely had a joyful heart!  In fact, “J.O.Y.” was his initials, Joseph O. Young!  So I guess joy was just in his DNA! :)  I’m so thankful for his joyful heart.  His joy brought such joy to our hearts and I will never forget these moments. 

A New Thing

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. – Isaiah 43:19

Talk about a new thing!  As you can see by visiting the blog today, things have most definitely changed!  After a couple of years or so of the previous design, I felt it was time to change things up.  Remember, I’m part graphic designer so I can’t stay with the monotony of a design for too long…it’s just not my nature...ha ha!  I’d say this qualifies as a drastic change in scenery!  I hope you like it…I felt it was very representative of me :)

There are so many NEW things that God is doing in my life and in those around me.  People are moving into new phases of life…school, new jobs, marriage, kids, and the list goes on and on.  My church is moving into new phases of ministry, one being our brand new children’s building that will be opening very soon.  Finally, I am beginning to see God open new doors of service to Him.  It’s truly an exciting time! 

Isaiah 43:19 says, "See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." I love this verse because it shows us as believers that no matter what is going on in our wilderness or wasteland, God is will make all things work together for our good (Romans 8:28).  It shows us He will provide and that there will be a light at the end of our long, dark tunnel.  What a relief that He promises to bring us out of our wilderness! 

That brings to mind my pastor’s summer-long sermon series called Finding Your Way in the Wilderness.  This series has focused on the life of David and his time in the wilderness fleeing from Saul.  It’s been really eye-opening to connect the experiences of David to things that are going on in my own life.  Look at this time of David’s life…he spent so many years on the run from Saul.  To David, his wilderness had to seem so vast.  There were times that he lost his sanity, hope, and trust.  Yet God had a NEW thing prepared for him!  How could David have ever dreamed that he would be the King of Israel after being chased and almost killed by Saul?  How could he have ever fathomed that he would be an ancestor of the Messiah, Jesus Christ?  See, God did a new thing!  He made all things work together for David’s good and provided a way through his wilderness. 

If you are interested in hearing these sermons, please visit my church’s media webpage by clicking here.

Stuck in the wilderness?  Spending time in a wasteland?  Take heart!  God has a new thing ready for you and He will make it clear to you…in His time.  Spend time in the Word, talk to God continuously, and seek His Will.  All of these are ways that God will make this NEW thing known to you.  Maybe you’ve waited your whole life for this new thing.  Maybe this new thing isn’t what you will expect it will be.  Maybe this new thing is out of your comfort zone.  Maybe this new thing will call you someplace else.  Whatever the case, God is going to provide for you…bank on it. 

God will make a way where there seems to be no way, He works in ways we cannot see, He will make a way for me.  He will be my guide, hold me closely to His side, with love and strength for each new day, He will make a way.  God will make a way!