Noah's Ark

I've been having a lot of fun this Fall putting together activities for the kids on our Home Community. Our church has an AMAZING kids program... as well as an AMAZING amount of children - so my hope is that the time on Monday nights will help them grow in their relationships with one another and with God. The kids are 6, 3, 2, and 1 -- and it's been a growing experience for me to figure out what is good and best for kids of that age to be doing to learn the stories of the Bible and come to understand the LORD's deep love for them. I've gotten really into it, and I think it must be the hand of God moving in my heart. I have always felt passionate about kids knowing Christ - and it feels really refreshing to finally be able to have my hand in His work there after several years of being absent from children's ministry. This last week the kids did Noah's ark. I drew a bunch of animals for them to color and cut out so they could glue them on to the "Ark" (a big drawing of a boat). William (our six-year-old friend) loved this so much that he made a second ark on his own after that one was finished... and I'm pretty sure me made ANOTHER one yesterday when he came over! This is fun (because I LOVE drawing pictures and having them be a success) - and I pray and pray over these children that with each animal they cut out and with each time they hear the story of God flooding the whole earth they would come to understand how much the LORD's heart was grieved with sin. I hope that some day it clicks that Noah and his family were spared because of their righteousness, because he loved God. Sometimes I feel annoyed with the way Noah's story is depicted in nurserys and children's books... they're always all smiling and it's all cuteness. When really all of their neighbors and friends have just died - in the beginning stages of the flooding I'm sure it was grossness with death surrounding them and people begging to be let on the boat. That's not in the pictures -- and I don't really want it to be in the pictures. It's been really interesting to notice that my own heart stutters to allow my son (and other children I hold dear) to know of death and sin and sorrow... even though it lives in him. Even though already he reaches for the computer while looking over his shoulder to see if I will stop him -- testing his limits. I don't want him to have to be sad about our history... but it's so necessary. What a blessing that our grief does not lead us to dispair - but rather we have hope that will never perish, spoil or fade. Praise be to our God, seriously.