Wow, God!

We are in the midst of Vacation Bible School (VBS) this week! And what an amazing week it is! Ms. Brandi has outdone herself and all the volunteers that are helping us are definitely super heroes of faith! The theme is Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God! The main theme of the week is that God the Creator is everywhere, in everything, and knows and loves us forever! For some of these children this is a continuation of their Spiritual growth which they have been nurtured in since birth. However, for others, it is their first time experiencing the greatness of God and the life-changing love of Jesus Christ. What a privilege and a joy it is to be just a small part of the Spiritual journeys of these young people!

I want to take a moment to tell you about a true Super Hero who has made this week happen for thirty-four children (that is a significant increase in attendance over last year which was twenty-four children). Ms. Brandi has poured her heart and soul into this Vacation Bible School. Every decoration, snack, game, Bible story, science project, opening and closing session, Scripture time, sign-in/sign-out procedure and child and youth protection guideline has been meticulously planned and executed by her and her team. She does it all with a smile and an extra dose of love for every child. Being in this church this week with Ms. Brandi, the children and the leaders has been joyful, inspirational and just what my own hurting heart needed!

Another special thank you goes out to Ms. Kelly and the youth group from First UMC Jupiter, FL. They are staying in our bunk rooms this week and serving as crew leaders and station leaders for Vacation Bible School. What a blessing! People often ask me, "What does it mean to be a connectional church?" Well this is a perfect example of our connection. We live in paradise and our church has bunk rooms that we share with others in our Conference and First Jupiter was looking for a mission trip with an amazing group of chaperones and youth, so God brought us together to share the Gospel and the love of Christ together!

This Sunday will be VBS Sunday at our 11am service. We hope that you will join us and meet some of our VBS Kids, hear them sing the joy-filled songs they have learned and meet some wonderful families who have shared their children with us this week. If you need a little pick me up or some encouragement in your own faith right now, you definitely do not want to miss this special worship service! 

I leave you with this… VBS included a daily Bible point. Here they are:

God is Our Creator

God Knows Everything

God is Our Safe Place

God is Love

God is Forever

Each day Pastor Sami led the opening and closing sessions and she taught them these themes in really fun and engaging ways (by the way, Pastor Sami is another Super Hero!). She taught us to look for "God Sightings" all around us (things like a sunset that remind us of God's love). She also taught us that, every time we heard one of these Bible themes each day we should respond loudly with...."Wow, God!" I wish and pray for you a week filled with God Sightings and many moments when you will say out loud, "Wow, God" - and let everyone around you wonder what you are talking about! Lol!

Praise the Lord, all his works

    everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, my soul. (Psalm 103:22)

Grace and peace,

-Pastor Madeline