Celebrating WeServe VBS

As I have experienced VBS in short visits and conversations with volunteers throughout the week I have not stopped giving thanks and praise to God. I am so excited about the opportunity this Sunday to celebrate God's goodness through this experience with my church family. I recently read an article by Timothy Keller where he expresses this about Sabbath:
"The whole point of Sabbath is joy in what God has done."
Looking forward to celebrating together on Sunday here are a few things that I have found joy in what God has done this week through WeServe VBS:

• God's creation: the theme for VBS this week has been "ReNew: the Green VBS" telling Jesus' story of the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9). It has been fun to watch the children engaging with God's creation this week. City-kids playing with dirt, seeds, roots. Each day the kids planted seeds. As I visited I heard them asking, "when do we get to plant?"
• The Weather: It is July and we are hosting an outdoor event. We expected the heat from early June (while I was in Big Bear enjoying the cool pines) when temps hit 118 for the high. Instead we have enjoyed mornings in the 80s and low 90s with cool breezes! I praise the creator and keeper of the clouds and sky.
  
• Artists: We discovered the artistic talents of so many in our church family. Volunteers took our black & white clip-art print-outs and drew beautiful posters for the kids. Hosts decorated their homes with vines and die-cut leaves (even one bathroom got a fancy sign!). Musicians asked for the sheet music when we had only given them words. It was beautiful to see God's creativity at work in His creation.
  
• Generosity: Our volunteers demonstrate the generosity of our Lord as they adjusted to their unique situations. We've had teams move locations, serve preschoolers instead of gradeschoolers, learn new songs than the ones they had planned, change schedules to accommodate a change in their environment, patiently wait for children day after day, and so much more. God is growing His character in us!
• Families: God is drawing families to Himself in unity. Our church family is unified in this endeavor. Families within our church are unified as they serve together. Families in our community are experiencing the love of God through us. It is fun to see a whole family participate while the parents watch and listen.
• Presence: God is present in us and He is teaching us to be present in our neighborhoods. He is showing us things about our neighbors that we haven't noticed before. And He is loving our neighbors through our service.
• Seeds: "God's love is growing in me" is a theme from the week. I praise God that this truth is being planted in the hearts and lives of the children and even the adults leading the activities. As Jesus expresses in Mark 4: 20 I pray that this would be "seed sown on good soil, hearing the word, accepting it, and producing a crop - thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."