A Hodge Podge Of Stuff

10 days of silence --- I can't believe I went that long without blogging!!! My head is buzzing with stuff I want to blog about so this is going to be a hodge podge of stuff.

~ First off, the reason for the long silence --- Kidz Kamp at our church this past week! We did Group's Avalanche Ranch and the kids had a blast. They learned that God is real, God is with us, God is strong, God is awesome, and God is in charge! Wahoo! --- that was the 'cheer' for the week. On the other hand, I was exhausted after making theme-based snacks for 90+ hyped-up children all week. I must say though that I, too, had a lot of fun in the process! I wouldn't trade my week for anything else.

~ On Tuesday, the kids learned at Kidz Kamp that God is with us. That evening, we drove to the airport to pick up my parents who are visiting us for a few weeks. Driving back home, we discovered that the westbound lanes of the highway were closed off because of a major accident --- a truck fire! Upon hearing the news, we discovered that we would have been in that stretch of highway at the time of the accident on our way to the airport had we not decided to drive out an hour earlier so that my son could have a longer nap on the way. We quickly discovered the truth to Tuesday's Bible point --- God is indeed with us!

~ As the weekend rolled around, I had not even done half of what I'm supposed to do for my job because of all the excitement the week had presented. Ahhh! I was getting behind on my deadline. My great hubby decided that he would take the kids hiking in the forest in our neighbourhood so that I can get some work done. Did I already say: that's one of the billion things why I love my hubby? The kids enjoyed the hike and couldn't stop talking about the toad that they saw in the forest. :-)

~ Now on to Sunday morning's sermon at church. It was on Colossians 3:10-17, about our 'new self'. The speaker referred to verses 15-17 as the 'duties of the new man'. "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

In short, the duties of the Christian are: to submit to the rule of peace; to give thanks to God; to admonish each other in the word; and, to dedicate our labours to God. Here's what the word duty means --- an act or a course of action that is required of one by position, social custom, law, or religion. It is therefore required that we do those four things mentioned above. What a great reminder and what an awesome privilege --- especially to be able to dedicate our labours to God.

~ Now, to the highlight of the week --- a concert by the African Children's Choir at our church on Sunday evening. Just to see the joy and enthusiasm on those children's faces as they sing and worship God through their music and their dancing really got to me. In spite of their circumstances, they praise God! What a sight to see! If you have not heard of this group before, I encourage you to check out their website and see where you can attend one of their concerts. It's definitely worth it!

Phew! That is the short version of my hodge-podge-of-a-week. Hopefully this week will be a calmer one!