Disclaimer

If I insinuated in my last post that Vacation Bible School was anything less than joyful for me, I never intended to. All I meant was that it was really hard for me to watch my language all week. I love Jesus, but I am far from perfect.

Let me tell you some of the highlights of the week...

1. The boy with the 69 ounce Coke?? I fully expected him to be nothing but a distraction all week. However, do you remember how I described him as really bright? Well, he certainly proved that in the classroom last week. He was attentive and funny and intuitive and never gave me a bit of trouble, with the exception of a few times that I had to tell him to be quiet. But, I had to tell all the kids to be quiet at some point or another. I would really rather be surrounded by spirited kids than a bunch of duds. Really, who am I to criticize the fact that this 10 year old needs a Coke to wake up in the morning? I start out every one of my days with a pot of coffee....

2. The boy with the 69 ounce Coke's father? He is a great guy. He and his wife couldn't be more involved in the church unless they were pastors. This dad was at VBS every day helping. He came to my classroom every morning to 'act' in my skits. I have no doubt that his family would be first in line to help anyone in the church who was in need. I may not always agree with their (or anyone else's) parenting choices...but I am positive that there are people in the church that don't thing I always make the right parenting choices either. I hope that they have the balls to call me on it.

3. The profane snack lady? Well, I'm sure that the s-word just slipped out when she dropped the juice. I thought it was funny and very human. But if this little anecdote made anyone think that there was a whole lot of swearing goin' on during VBS, well, that's just not true. However, I do think that there were a few people who had to think before they spoke a lot of times during the course of VBS. Let me just give you a little list of the things that I personally say that I know I couldn't say during my teaching stint just because some folks don't approve (and I think these phrases are innocuous and a part of our everyday lingo)

1. Sucks...as in "It's raining again? This sucks!"

2. Shut up!...as in "He said that to you? Shut up!"

3. Dork....as in "That was a good joke, you dork!"

4. What the....!...because that implies that I was going to say "hell"

Here are some things I would never say...

1. Oh My God! (That is about the worst swearing ever, in my book.)

2. What kind of answer (or question) is that? (Because that is akin to calling a kid stupid and I would never, ever do that. I love those stupid kids!)

Okay, now...where was I?

4. As far as it sounding like I was making fun of the theme (the space thing). I wasn't. I am not much of a "theme" kind of gal, but I know that the kids love it and the little ones need it. If we invited the kids to come to Vacation Bible School and there weren't any decorations or funny class names or crafts based on a "theme" it wouldn't be much fun for anyone. I loved the decorations in the church and the silly names. I just didn't really make the connection between the Bible stories and the theme and that's okay too. It was fun. The decorations were awesome. I guess because I never went to VBS as a kid I just didn't know what to expect. I am always awed and inspired by the amount of work the volunteers put into this incredible week. The people that work the hardest on VBS are not paid church staff...they are volunteers who love the kids, love VBS and love Jesus Christ. Do you think I teach VBS because I just want blog material? No way. I do it because I want to teach these kids about the Bible and about the love Jesus Christ has for all of us. I want to give them a foundation so that when they are in high school and someone offers them drugs or they end up at a party where all the girls are giving the boys blow jobs or whatever, they know that isn't the right thing to do and they know that the church is a safe place. I want to give them hope and context for the choices they will be faced with. (I can't believe that I just ended that sentence with a preposition, but I can't think of any other way to put it!) I do it because I want to make a difference in those kid's lives like the youth leaders at my church growing up did for me.

However, I am not so pious that I can't admit that I swear. I am critical. I have sarcastic, non-Christlike reactions to things.

But, I can guarantee you this...I try. And I loved VBS. My class was awesome. They weren't Ass-teroids, but they were awesome.