Family Friday Links 5.18.18

Jana Magruder writes on the Lifeway Kids blog some tips about recruiting volunteers for VBS. Jana writes, "Vacation Bible School and other large-scale events can be a great opportunity for an all-hands-on-deck mentality that can strengthen entire congregations, with multiple generations playing a role. Here are some ideas to consider when recruiting, training, and rewarding those who choose to say yes to serving."

The Rooted Student Ministry Blog wrote about The Unimportance of Being “Cool”. Rebecca Lankford shares, When we experience the true and everlasting favor of Jesus, we are then freed to love and serve our students solely for the sake of the gospel. As Paul reminds us in 2nd Corinthians 4:7, we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. Our “cool points” are being stored in jars of clay – ready to be shattered at any moment, reminding us to hand all glory over to God. This relinquishing of our quest for approval is what Tim Keller refers to as the “freedom of self-forgetfulness,” a freedom that emerges when we are fixated on neither criticism nor flattery, but on our identity as beloved children of God."

Cassi Franks at the 3DM blog shared about spending time with God. She shared what she learned while Cutting Carrots, "I’ve got plenty of challenges and faults to prevent me from hearing God. I’m an expert at striving and planning ways to convince the Holy Spirit to show up on my terms.  I’ve created calendars to practice listening for a word of encouragement for different people on different days of the week.  I’ve gone shopping with the intent of hearing how He wants me to pray for passing strangers. While there is nothing wrong with those kinds of practices, so often, my attitude is about asking the Holy Spirit to enter my life, my workplace, my family, or my plans for how I want to grow in hearing Him.

Thanks for reading today! What are you reading this week? Please share in the comments!