Children's Church? Yep, We Rocked It.

I must admit, I am very cautious about this whole church thing. It is something that I feel very unsure of myself about. Not about my faith or my beliefs, or what I want to instill in my own children, but the whole business of church. My parents did a great job of raising me with morals and having a faith in God, etc. etc. They also let me explore various religions and go to different churches with my friends, which has helped me be able to make decisions about what I like and don't like in churches, because I've seen a lot of them. But I never really felt part of a church family. (We did attend a church fairly regularly when I was a teen, but really, I didn't go for God, or to be part of a church family, at that point in my life. I went there for the youth trips. Where else can you go skiing with 35 other kids your age?)

So when I am approached at church or announcements are made about needing Sunday School teachers, Youth Group leaders and various committee members, I often find myself very immersed in reading the bulletin and avoiding eye contact with anyone. The thought of these things make me very nervous. I mean, what if I volunteer to teach Sunday School and I screw it all up and then those children are scarred for life? Or I give them false information and then they find out as an adult that what they believed all their lives was just a lie that their childhood Sunday School teacher told them (unknowingly, of course)? Do these other parents really trust me to help with the religious upbringing of their children? Let's just be honest, I haven't always set forth such a great religious example. Its not the teaching part that bothers me, I do have 3 degrees in Education and have spent the last 10 years of my life working with children...its the bible party. And here's a prime example...up until last summer, I thought that Joseph of Joseph and Mary and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat were one in the same. I had no idea there were multiple Josephs in the bible. Aside from "Jesus Loves Me", I don't know any other children's church songs. Chris is always singing about some Wee Little Man...um, yeah, I have no idea who he's talking about.

BUT, I do want my children to be a part of these things. I expect them to go to Acolyte training and Sunday School and Children's Church and VBS. But I can't expect that the other parents are going to pull their weight and mine any more. We've been going there regularly for a year now and its time for me to put my big girl panties on and step up to the plate.

So this morning, Chris and I led Children's Church. And, if I do say so myself, it went fantastically! And I am very excited about it! And I would love for Chris and I to be able to do more for this program. And that, my friends, is a good feeling. So, Children's Church? Yep, we rocked it!

p.s. - I do know that it is Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors, I just like calling it the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat. It sounds so sassy that way. I have also stopped calling the bulletin "the program". I believe that's progress.