Remember when I posted about my journey towards finding my place in a church? We've been where we are for almost two years now. It's a good fit. My girls have good friends. I have good friends. It's close to our house. All that.
I've been teaching a girls' Sunday School class for a little over a year now. My two oldest girls are in this class and the girls of my friends are in the class too. Win-win, right? Except for this: we're going through the Old Testament as a church in all of the Sunday School classes. I wasn't super excited about this at first because we just went through most of Genesis last year and we were going to turn right around and do it again. I was afraid of the girls tuning out, turning away, being bored.
We made it through Genesis and Exodus. It's really just a survey of it anyway. Then one morning I realized the lesson was on the Law. I looked at Craig. I remembered Craig teaches on this very thing every year. To kids. I asked him if he would take the class for me. He agreed.
He rocked it. The girls appeared to gain an understanding they didn't have before. I did too. This is why today I asked him to take it again on the book of the Judges. He again rocked it. The girls and I ALL got an understanding of the book of Judges we hadn't had before. And Craig seemed to get an unnatural kick out of telling the story of Ehud… ahem.
At the end of the class I looked at him. I thanked him. I asked him to just start teaching the class full time. I said I would be there and would take care of all the things about Sunday School he doesn't like (social events, etc.) but that if he would teach it that would be all kinds of awesome. I made my case more compelling by reminding him that most kids grow through the Sunday School system being taught by moms and older women. How cool would it be if the 5th-7th grade girls Sunday School class was taught by an educated, informed, and interested DAD?
I think that did it. He agreed. And I kissed him on the cheek right there in the sanctuary.
I'm super thrilled about this. Not only will the girls and I get good teaching during that hour, Craig will be using his God-given gifts in this church in a way he hasn't been able to yet. He really thrives when he's in a teaching role. I'm excited to see where this is going to go.
Thanks, Craig, for caring enough about our own girls and the girls of our friends to give them accurate, responsible, and interesting teaching of God's Word.
You rock.
great idea! those girls are so lucky/providentially gifted:) maybe the idea will catch on.
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Awesome.
Now, what does he have to do to earn a kiss on the lips in the sanctuary? Hmmm.
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That’s such a gift. I work on the opposite end of the spectrum in our church – the nursery – yet the dynamics are just as interesting. We have very few men that help in the nursery, but the children ‘gravitate’ literally when there is a guy in there to help.
I think it’s just how God ordained it, that men are the spiritual leaders, and if a man takes that responsibility seriously, the Lord blesses it, and the children recognize it and learn from it.
Kudos to your man.
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What a wonderful tribute to your husband! You are blessed to have each other.
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You know how much I love reading aloud the story of Ehud, don’t you? With a quirky accent? Truly one of my favorite verses is this: “I have a message from God for yeeeww.”
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Chelsea – true story: After the girls left the room on Sunday he said, “Somewhere Chelsea Caivano is grinning right now.”
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Love it. That is awesome.
And ewwww on Ehud. Haha.
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That just made me very happy. I’m grinning right now, too.
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