BLESSED ARE THE SHOEBOXES- for they shall be filled( why are YOU whispering?)

The safety scissors were safely scissoring, the wrapping paper was wrapping , the smiley-face stickers were sticking - Two shoeboxes were getting  extreme makeovers... and the Voice that was heard at the end of the makeover did not require a megaphone ... It was not "shouting "that declared the"job" a success... it was a Whisper- a whisper that was clearly heard above the excited voices of my Sunday School students...They were decorating Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. We talked while we worked..." I wonder just WHERE our boxes will go??? Maybe Haiti?? OH, I hope a kid in Cherokee gets one of our shoeboxes.. That would be cool".. we filled them with toys,toothbrushes, crayons, coloring books, and letters.... .

Dear Friend,
                  I hope you like the toys we sent you. I am praying that you have a Merry Christmas. God Bless You. I Love YOU!

After we finished the letters, we took prayer requests like we do every Sunday.. one of my boys said" Mr. Callaway, lets not only pray that the kids who get our boxes will like the stuff... but that they will come to know Jesus"....

"Blessed are the eyes that see the things that you see, Blessed are the ears that hear the things that you hear"

There's that Whisper......can you hear it???

..... That VOICE is saying it's not about the stuff.. It's about Jesus The children know it.. they know that when we reach out in Love , God will use us  to draw souls into His Kingdom. ??? After 18 years of teaching( or being taught by) children, I am beginning to understand what Jesus meant when He said" Let the little children come unto me, and forbid them not.. for of such is the Kingdom of God"... If children  are "OF" the Kingdom, then we should not be surprised when they  teach us what His Kingdom is like... let the children speak to you... Come on in to our class......join us on the floor.. surrounded by tape,glue-stick, crayons,wrapping paper.. wait a second... can ya hand me the purple marker??? Thank you!!!...

hey... do'nt ya love it here??? It sure beats that OTHER Sunday School class that you usually hang out in... the one with all the adults... why I bet they are trying to figure out supralapsarianism again... we "handled" that one in here last year.." The Secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever".... we LOVE verses with Families and children in'em..:)

Whats That?? what are we doing here?? well.. yes we are filling shoeboxes for needy children.. we are decorating the boxes, we are using up ALL that dollar store wrapping paper... YES.. WE ARE!!! but let me tell ya what we are REALLY DOING... we are building the Kingdom.... thats right...you see, our Sovereign Lord has His hand upon every act of kindness ... He will use these shoeboxes ..- and the people who pass them out- to bring many people into His Kingdom... His kingdom is not made of stones... it IS made up of LIVING stones... as we share HIS love, those living stones are being added to the kingdom... SO... it may look a little messy.. it might be a little LOUD.. HEY we are excited when we are working on HIS building...its not about the Stuff... it's about Jesus....

Can you hear something...???