Thankful for Parents Who Bring Their Children to Worship

Dear Fellow Children of God,

 

Have you ever made a comment that caused a reaction in the person to whom you were talking so that you got more of a response than you expected?  When I was a child and I started talking, my older relatives would say, “Who pushed your button.”  On Tuesday I “pushed my wife’s button.”  You see, on Tuesday two separate people thanked me for worship last Sunday.  I mentioned those comments to Kathy.  Then she responded with some loving sarcasm.  I was somewhat surprised, but then I was thankful. 

 

“You ought to come sit with us on Sunday instead of sitting up front all by yourself.  (You see, Kathy sits with 3 of our grown children, and our 6 grandchildren in the back of the church, where hopefully our crowd won’t disturb others too badly.)

 

“First you get out the gum and give it to the grandchildren.  About 2 minutes later they’re done chewing gum and you give the gum wrappers back to put the gum in, because they’ve been warned not to throw the gum on the ground.

 

“Then they want gummy snacks.  So you get those out.  They drop them and pick them up and eat them.”

 

“Then they want to find the page number in the big book.  So you help them find their place in the hymnal.”

 

“Then they want to go see Poppy (who is leading worship) up front”

 

“Then we hand out money to put in the offering.  Someone gets a dollar and someone gets 6 pennies.  The person with the six pennies thinks they have more money than the person with the dollar.  The person with 2 quarters decides he will keep one.  When the offering plate gets there they all want to hold it and put their pennies in one by one.”

 

“Then they want to play with phone and you tell them no.  And they want to write on all the yellow cards in the pew.  They want to know if they can go to the nursery now.”

 

“Then they drop the lego into the floor vent.  You try to get that out, and even when the vent cover is taken off later, you can’t find it.”

 

“Then they need to go to the bathroom (even though you made them go to the bathroom before church).  When they come back they need to get a drink of water.”

 

“Then they want in your lap, then out of your lap.  Then they want to go see Uncle Tim.”

 

“The people in the other seats think everyone is so cute, but you’re pulling your hair out.  (Charlie Fox used to love to egg the kids on.)”

 

The people who talked to me on Tuesday mentioned Sunday’s sermon.  Kathy continued, “The sermon, O yeah.  I’m glad they liked it, but when you are taking care of grandkids you don’t get to listen very much.”

 

Wow!!!  I had forgotten what it is like to have children in worship.  But, if children are not in worship how will they learn the importance of spending time each week with God and His people.  Our parents went through the same thing for us.  However, when it came to bringing our children to worship, because I’m a pastor, Kathy has taken care of that responsibility.  I especially remember one Sunday when, as I was preaching, I saw 4 bare feet sticking up from the pew.  Kathy got to deal with that situation.  I was busy preaching.

 

Jesus scolded his disciples for sending the children away and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  After all, what our children REALLY need, is Jesus!  And that is what we want for them.

 

THANK YOU PARENTS!  Thank you for your love and your effort and even for your struggles to bring your little children to Jesus!!

 

I guess I pushed my wife’s button.  But, the truth is that the single event that most brings joy to Kathy is when all her children worship with her together.  Then she is full of joy and contentment.  And NOW, she gets to worship with all her grandchildren too!  Kathy may have shared her grandmother struggles with me, but in truth she was full of joy on Sunday.  It fills me with joy as well!

 

From a grateful husband and grandfather, “Thank you, Kathy!”

 

A Child of God, Thankful for Parents and Grandparents who Bring their Children to Jesus,

Pastor Jonathan

 

P.S.  Here is a picture from the baptism of Kai and Kadence Kastar last Sunday, June 7.  https://plus.google.com/photos/114993745799525883148/albums/6105100932013912881/6158653095952045426?banner=pwa&pid=6158653095952045426&oid=114993745799525883148

 

 

P.P.S.  Please see the information below about our Colony Days Picnic.

 

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ABOUT ‘THOUGHTS FROM THE PASTOR’ -   I am sending these e-mail messages, hopefully weekly, to all St. John members and friends whose e-mails I have.  (I am always adding new names of friends and members – in case you are just receiving this e-mail for the first time.)  However, if you don’t want to receive this e-mail, please let me know, and I’ll gladly leave your name off my list for this message. . .

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