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What Really Counts
Making the days count—how do you do that?
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"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. May the favor of the Lord our God rest upon us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands." (Psalm 90:12, 17) A popular worship song based on these verses asks God, "Teach us to count our days/ Teach us to make the days count … " Making the days count—how do you do that? If there is anyone who needs to "gain a heart of wisdom," it is the children's ministry leader. It's not easy to lead kids these days, because it's not easy to be a kid these days. Kids today face tremendous pressures. They see and experience violence everywhere, from the playground to the PlayStation. They're hurried and busy, which sometimes makes them stressed. Many live in fractured families. Last weekend at church, our pastor shared a sobering statistic. Even though we have an excellent, relevant, and thriving children's ministry, and there are lots of kids in Promiseland (our children's ministry) classrooms on any given week, it's apparently not the same kids every week. The average child shows up for Promiseland 1.6 times a month. That's less than half the time. Young kids can't drive themselves to church, so you have to assume when the kids are missing, their parents have chosen not to be in church. Although as spring soccer and baseball seasons gear up, it may be the child's agenda that is driving the attendance pattern, as sports sometimes trump Sunday school. So as a leader, you've got time with the children you're ministering to only a few hours a month, maybe only one hour a month. How will you make those days, or rather, hours, count? Let's break it down a little more. In the work you are doing, your main tools are loving actions and words. You have a limited number of words that you will be able to share with the kids you lead. Making the days count, according to Scripture, begins with prayer. The verses from the Psalms give us a model for prayer. "God, please establish the work of our hands for us." God will establish, or give permanence to, our work, for us. It is not we ourselves who can mold a child. We work with God, and bring our gifts, and he establishes, or makes to last, the work we do. Knowing this, pray this prayer each week before you spend time with the children you lead. Establish this work, Lord. Make it last, give it permanence. What words will last? What words should we say to these children? We should say the words that they most need to hear. "I believe in you," for example, or "You can count on me," or "I treasure you." These are just three of the phrases that Promiseland director David Staal says are Words Kids Need to Hear, the title of his newest book. I started reading David's book because I was looking for ways to strengthen and encourage my own children. And as a mom, I found this book both challenging and encouraging. But this is also an invaluable resource for anyone who relates to children—as a coach, teacher, even grandparent, aunt or uncle. |        
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