Joy in Serving

Matthew fell asleep in the ice cream jeep, he had walked with me and covered a lot of ground for a little guy.

Christiana helping sign up kids for VBS

Josiah and Kaitlyn handing out ice cream

Our church VBS ice cream trailer

I'm always looking for opportunities for my children to learn to serve. I want them to be so use to serving others that it is a natural part of who they are and what they do. Our church is signing up kids for our Gigantic Vacation Bible School. We take free ice cream into neighborhoods that we send buses to during the week of VBS and sign up the kids there who are planning to attend. It has been so much fun to be out there meeting kids and signing them up. My younger children ride in the back of the ice cream trailer and help to hand out ice cream to all the kids that come to them while others of us go around signing up kids.

We went for the first time on Saturday and my children loved it so much they were actually asking me to take them again. It blessed my heart that they had fun and were willing to do something that can be difficult to get adults to do. I'm so proud of my children and pray that they will come to love serving in any way that is needed. In the meantime we will be going to help with VBS sign up as much as we can until VBS starts.

What ways can you find to serve and to teach your children to serve with a willing heart?

Learning Servanthood

As a way to teach my children to serve others in our community, I went yesterday to a nearby nursing home to sign us up as volunteers. We will not actually be working as volunteers so much as visiting and praying or whatever we can do to serve the people there. Some of my children are excited and others are a little nervous. I know that in the end it will be good for them and a learning experience. I have also recently inquired about helping at a local food bank.

I want my children to be so accustomed to serving that it is just a part of who they are and what they do. It's not something they will have to plan to do, they will just do it. I am hoping it will come naturally to them as they grow.

We have moved a lot and for that reason we haven't gotten too involved in our communities in the past, other than church. Now that we are here and don't plan on going anywhere (other than to build our own log home) I want to get the children involved. I think it is important that we do these things. After all, it is a part of everyone's calling as a Christian.

I will keep you posted on what we do and how things work for our "larger than average" family as we serve and minister to those in our community. How about you? What kinds of things do you do with your family? I look forward to hearing from you.