It is summer – and it is VBS season. This has given me direction and hope. I don’t want it to go fast at all – I want to savor the summer. I want to spend a lot of decompression time AT THE BEACH. I put my feet in the sand just the other day – and took in the shade reading – taking Sunday afternoon to decompress and relax. I think I need to pre-rest for the pre-busy summer. The theme of summer is SUMMER and the re-focus into summer that has invigorated me, is not just a little bit of vacation but a lot of Vacation Bible School, yeah!

VBS is a great way for us to listen to Jesus where He tells us where to catch His fish… Just like Jesus told the disciple fishermen where to put their nets for the greatest fish collection, we need to see VBS as a great opportunity to bless the children who need to hear about Jesus, we don’t want these children to be sheep without a Shepherd. In John 21, Jesus said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the LARGE number of fish.

VBS serves these fish and helps them both keep swimming in growth and to be caught up in the blessings of Jesus.

If you remember 5-6 years ago, it was a tumultuous challenge and change for us, for me, having to do with planning VBS. My boat was tipped over – I felt shipwrecked but rescued by Jesus (which coincidentally was the last VBS I had done the year prior). Yup, that following year was the year I had to cancel VBS. And without dwelling on the LONG backstory, I have to state that it WAS a shame in continual processing – and then move on. I have to state that instead of running the event, I ran the closure and the cleaning out of a whole choir loft of supplies – and the moving forward of me and others to another VBS that summer. I moved forward in many ways. And I moved forward in NOT leaving a church but expanding my church families – I love ALL my church families and I think that this was purposeful for me as an encourager to find the people where they were and are. 

Remember. we really have to go where we are led and I felt led. We are told to put our hands to the plow and keep looking forward, not back. So YES, the Lord filled me and still fills me with mission and purpose and logistics and you name it – and got me through it all – it was a process that summer that still hurts and yet still invigorates my faith as I saw where I was rescued by Jesus. It also reminds that what was once so routine showed to become temporary and finite and done…  Move forward the Lord said – and He showed me…  Move forward, and remember it was and is always NOT about me. It is about serving the Lord.

So, as I mentioned, I found blessing in helping another VBS that summer, and after covid, I found many many other places to help. It really is now my time to ask you for your help, for you to come to my VBS events or to go to help at ANY VBS ANYWHERE near you. God’s children are everywhere, so why not us?!!! God needs us to “feed His sheep”…  And myself? I am both going to serve, such a blessing, in a new VBS never run, as well as a renewed VBS at my original VBS church – not as the leader but as a helper – back again with my friends and with new friends. MOST IMPORTANTLY, at VBS, WE GET TO HANG OUT WITH OUR FRIEND JESUS.

AND the benefit of moving forward from that time, is that I must know that God moved at least something into good – and that was to be now connected with MANY VBS’s MANY churches, working with those friends from other churches. So, personally this year, Lord-willing and Lord-helping, I’m volunteering with THREE maybe FOUR VBS events with my friends’ churches.  How will I do this? One day at a time. The first one will be in a week that I am taking as actual vacation and do VBS in the morning and relax in the afternoon (at the beach woohoo). Then the other 2 are evening VBS’s. I pray for fruitfulness, I pray to see the Lord working. I pray the children and teens and volunteers to be enriched in faith. 

First I’m going into Egypt with Joseph’s journey, into the sand as that one will be at a beach church with my vacationing there too with sandy, singing, swimming, sweet sisters! Then if I have time, that weekend I’m helping with one day of ROAR, where Moses pulls out God’s people FROM Egypt – with a passover and a parting of the red sea! Wow what timing!!! Then the next Sunday is Australia! Starting with Moses again and into learning about Jesus. Then 1 week later walking with Jesus as our TRUE NORTH in an Alaska wilderness theme… Isn’t that crazy? I’ll be ALL OVER THE WORLD in many continents and contexts in just 3 weeks time span, Lord Willing, with ONE Subaru driving… Driving under and with ONE direction: Jesus… Jesus said to Peter and to us: “FOLLOW ME” – that is what we are to do, follow Jesus, taking it ONE DAY AT A TIME.

Jesus Lord… You said: “FEED MY LAMBS’ – to Peter and to us (see John 21). I just heard this Gospel reading in the inaugural mass of the Pope, and yes, I appreciate this – Peter was told that his life will be charged and challenged to FOLLOW JESUS. How did Peter do this? ONE DAY AT A TIME.

How can we serve the Lord and live our lives? Serve Jesus serving VBS, the Word and the World, ONE DAY AT A TIME!

VBS is the best part of summer – and the year!

Join us! Wherever you are!

Amen

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John 21

Jesus and the Miraculous Catch of Fish
Afterward Jesus appeared again to his disciples, by the Sea of Galilee. It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing.

Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?”

“No,” they answered.

He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.

Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came, took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time Jesus appeared to his disciples after he was raised from the dead.

Jesus Reinstates Peter
When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.”

Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.”

The third time he said to him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, “Do you love me?” He said, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Feed my sheep. Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.” Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!”

Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?”

Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” Because of this, the rumor spread among the believers that this disciple would not die. But Jesus did not say that he would not die; he only said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?”

This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true.

Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.