Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School is this week at my church.

This means several things:

1. As a church we have tried to create a pretty incredible environment for the kids to learn stuff about Jesus in. This includes any and every kind of hawaiian decoration you can think of relating to the theme, Outrigger Island. This year, the big object is the Volcano that we've been putting dry ice into so that it pours smoke throughout the scenery. (You can see it at the top right of this picture)

2. Some ridiculously catchy songs will enter into your head that you will remember years down the road...don't believe me...try this on for size:

• "Arctic Edge...Where adventure meets courage...courage...courage..."
• "Game Day...Central...where Heroes are made..."
• If those don't ring a bell, then you should probably helping out with your church's VBS more.

3. There are a lot of kids all jacked up on kool-aid and candy bars running circles around the church for 3 hours every night.

4. I will concoct some pretty nifty outfits to wear all week. My "Masters Collection" has been my favorite thus far.
(It was also called my "Celebrate the Boston Celtics NBA Championship suit" & my "Leprechaun Suit.")

You might not be able to make it out in this smaller picture, but those are indeed green and white striped pants that I am wearing and they match the coat perfectly. In fact, my camera could barely contain the epic proportions of awesomeness that these pants exude because the stripes were more like swirls on the screen. You have to click on the larger picture to see the completeness of these threads.
PS. I love the thrift store

I think the statistic is something like 25% of all confessions of faith are made during Vacation Bible School. That makes me excited. The combination of kids seeing truth for the first time and me getting to wear some ridiculously awesome outfits is uber sweet.

I heart VBS

He Loves Us

I may be a little behind on this song, but I just heard it for the first time this past week at Impact. It really is an incredible song. Here's the line that blew me away...

If grace is an ocean we’re all sinking.

Holy cow. I mean, seriously. Think about the magnitude of that statement...
then think about the reality in it...

Overwhelmed in grace...drowning, even.

Here's the whole song if you want to check it out:

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us so

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss,
And the heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way…

He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves us,
Oh how He loves.

~John Mark McMillan
"He Loves Us"

I'm back from an incredible week of learning and this is all I can think about...and I love it.