VBS

This week has been VBS at our church. Bethani was the only child young enough to register, but the SALT (Student Action Leadership Training) team worked with the adults to make it a smashing success. There were about 120 children registered, and I believe 10 children received the Holy Ghost. In our family, however, the most exciting thing was how SALT transformed my teens. They were forced to rise to the occasion, and rise they did!

The second day into VBS, after the children went home, the SALT team had practice from 3:30-5:00. Jeremi called me around 4:30 and said that they had started with prayer before practicing, and they were still praying!! They hadn't yet gotten around to practice. He was so fired up about how God was moving and ministering to him and his peers. When they got home, Tiffani was bubbling over with how God had used the Gifts of the Spirit to speak a specific word to them, and it was the teens who were operating in the Gifts!


The week continued in this same way everyday this week. God used Tiffani in the Gifts of the Spirit. I encouraged her not to seek after the Gift of the Spirit, but to seek after the Fruit of the Spirit, and the Gifts will naturally follow. It is awesome to see their enthusiasm and love for the Lord.

Sunday night, the entire youth group rallied around one another, and it was a beautiful thing to watch them pray and support each other. For a while, they set aside their differences, and worked together for a common goal. They asked Jeremi to stand and tell what he felt about the week. He talked about unity and working together to achieve a common goal. I saw the man he is becoming, envisioned the minister he will be, and I felt so proud of him.


Raising Godly fruit can be a long and tedious process. It seems that the fruit will never grow, and then when it does, it seems it will never ripen. I have to confess that there have been many occasions recently where I have wondered if any of what I have been trying to teach is actually getting through to my children. It has at times truly felt FRUITLESS! However, it is the times like this week that I am so thankful that I have not given up. "For in due season, we SHALL reap if we faint not." Thank you Jesus for giving us a hopeful peek into our children's future.