Melody shows where Australia is on the globe.
Hearing instructions for a prayer game.
Moms help their preschoolers do crafts.
The Little Globetrotters went around the world this month to learn about Australia. Great Anzac biscuits, paintings of koalas and kangaroos, and a prayer calendar filled out the activity hour after a former Australian missionary told about the continent where she had traveled. Preschoolers and their parents are being reminded every month of the grace that God has poured out to the nations of the world- grace that is shared through people caring about other people.
I know why our kids don’t paint very much. It’s the same reason they don’t go outside very much in the winter. I don’t think they will freeze in the cold air or that they will catch colds. I’m not stingy with my art supplies- our craft cabinets are full of materials.
But I don’t like the mess. Last week they found the unfinished frames I bought because the price was too good to pass up. And in one day- nay, one hour- they painted all 10 of them. They painted “Best Friends” frames for each other. And presents for assorted friends. And, of course, a couple for Chris and me.
They had a blast. Their inner painters were unlocked and they painted with all their hearts. And what did I do? I’ll sum it up this way- I don’t think I’ve relaxed yet. I wish I had had the sense of humor to take a picture of Kate- when I walked in on her in the sun room with her paints and frames spread out all over the rug (of course she put her painted frames on top of a piece of construction paper to protect the rug.) I had just finished scrubbing the rug there when I went downstairs to the craft table to check on Mia and Kate. Mia was taking care of Kate- pouring paint on a paper plate for her. But in her limited experience she hadn’t figured out to hold the paint jars over the plate when she started to pour.
And did I say that I don’t send my kids outside to play much in the winter? Yep- the same reason. The mess takes just as long to clean up, but it looks more like this:
I had already put everyone to bed and cleaned up 9 coats (yes, I know that’s more coats than bodies in the house- don’t remind me) before I took this picture.
Our kids probably had a richer-than-normal week of homeschooling this past week in between their self-taught painting exercises, outside play, and lots of new library books. And me? I am dreaming of a hot bath.
But I am grateful- grateful that God has more grace for my mess and more joy when I am learning new things than I have shown. He is my Father (as last week’s sermon reminded me) but he’s not the kind of dad that needs a break from me and my mess. He rejoices over me- not when I have cleaned myself up, but because he sees through my sin the daughter he died to redeem.
Our kids do love Christmas. They look forward to Christmas parties, Christmas decorations, and Christmas presents. But last week they dropped everything to take a couple of afternoons to invite other people to come to church with them around Christmas.
One of the kids grandmothers gave Redemption Hill the gift of 100 gift bags that could be used to invite people to church. Two weeks ago the kids took time out of their busy homeschooling schedules to write out all the invitations to put in the bags. And earlier last week, they went to hang the bags on doors in an area neighborhood. Each bag contained an ESV New Testament, a free download of a study Bible, and an invitation to church.
They were full of glee as they ran down the sidewalks and jockeyed for the next turn hanging a bag on a door. Anyone watching them would never believe how much these kids wished they could be doing their schoolwork instead. 
But- as Christmas is a time for giving- they were learning to give of their time for an important reason.
This self-sacrifice (along with their sweet prayers for more people to come to church- especially for kids their ages) are an inspiring reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.
Taking time to spread the word
As you make plans with family over Christmas- and as you reflect on your year and appreciate the new community God is building between us at Redemption Hill- take a moment to think about the friendship that ideally should be reflected in both family and community. C.S. Lewis’s The Four Loves points to the riches and depth of community that friendship brings.
In each of my friends there is something that only some other friend can fully bring out. By myself I am not large enough to call the whole man into activity; I want other lights than my own to show all his facets. Now that (my close friend) Charles is dead, I shall never again see Ronald’s reaction to a specifically Charles joke. Far from having more of Ronald, having him “to myself” now that Charles is away, I have less of Ronald. Hence true Friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends delight to be joined by a third, and three by a fourth, if only the newcomer is qualified to become a real friend.
You likely have ideas of what sorts of things you need to do to have a Real Christmas. Perhaps you have to make Christmas cookies- see the James Center lights- go by the Jefferson to see the giant gingerbread house- drive down Monument Avenue- decorate a tree- write Christmas cards- pull out Christmas plates to use the entire month of December- buy the perfect, yet discounted, gift for a long list of people. (Self disclosure: this is my personal list.) 
Yet if we do all these things, and do not have love and friendship with the people we need the most, we have not had a Real Christmas. Enjoying people, laughing with others, telling stories, playing games- these are the times with others that enrich our lives. Christmas is stressful? Or boring? Or depressing? We don’t have to live in the expectations that are leftovers from the past. Real friendship is the greatest embellishment to life. Building community and friendship is the hardest, most-worthwhile way that you could spend precious holiday hours. And in the friendships we build, we gain a window into heaven…as Lewis explains in this passage from The Four Loves.
…we possess each friend not less but more as the number of those with whom we share him increases. In this, Friendship exhibits a glorious “nearness by resemblance” to Heaven itself where the very multitude of the blessed (which no man can number) increases the fruition which each has of God. For every soul, seeing Him in her own way, doubtless communicates that unique vision to all the rest. That, says an old author, is why the Seraphim in Isaiah’s vision are crying “Holy, Holy, Holy” to one another (Isaiah VI, 3) The more we thus share the Heavenly Bread between us, the more we shall all have.
The United States has over 1.3 million child care teachers. Of those, only 4% are men. In our Redemption Hill Kids classes on Sunday mornings, 30 out of 70 of our teachers are men.
Nationwide, most children’s ministries- like other positions teaching children- are staffed primarily by women. In fact, many children can grow up without having any regular interaction with a male figure outside the home except a principal.
That’s why I’m so thankful that RH Kids has lots of volunteers who are guys. And I don’t mean the kind who pick daisies and tiptoe through the tulips (though we’ll welcome volunteers like that if they love Jesus and pass their application and background check.) I mean the tough masculine types like those pictured below.
Mark, Brad, Justin, Christian, and Jeremiah contemplate children's ministry
Men like Christian Hayes who taught our kids this past week about King Saul’s faithless sacrifice before his battle with the Philistines. (“He did it because he was scared, not because he was doing it for God,” recalls my six-year old.) Or Tom Hanrahan, who is more likely to have kids doing jumping jacks than dancing during worship. Or the K-3 teachers who sometimes forget to have the kids cut-and-color but (in my daughter’s words) play “millions of games.”
I trust that our kids are getting solid Biblical teaching from the men and women who volunteer in RH Kids. I appreciate that. But I love that 43% of our teachers are exposing them to a broader spectrum of the character of God than women could do alone. Thank God for the men!
A long trek by air, bus, dug-out canoe, and foot took us to the Amazon jungles in Venezuela for our December missions event with the preschoolers and their parents. Kelly Little showed pictures and told about visiting people in the jungles who had never heard the name of Jesus before. When the children threw in their beanbags to say a “beanbag prayer” for the country, they prayed for clean water, plenty of food, and people to go preach to the children in the Amazon region. Once again, the children took home a calendar to guide them in praying for Venezuela each day this month.
Below are some pictures from the Little Globetrotters event:
A special thanks to the 55 RH folks who brought food and helped serve Thanksgiving dinner at a dinner sponsored by CHAT at their facility called the Lighthouse in Church Hill. It was great to see families serving together and community groups passing out desserts together. CHAT director Chris Whiting said, “I was so grateful to introduce so many friends to CHAT and get people out to see the Lighthouse.” Have a Happy Thanksgiving week. May generosity come easily to you this holiday season.
Sunday the Kids’ Community Group (RH middle schoolers) held a bake sale to raise money for an organization called Children of the Nations. This group aims to partner with nationals to provide holistic, Christ-centered care for orphaned and destitute children, enabling them to create positive and lasting change in their nations. Our kids’ group was particularly energized by the prospect of helping orphaned and destitute children, so the kids have been planning this bake sale for months.
We learned more about COTN getting ready for the bake sale; their wholistic efforts to shape national leaders in these countries focus on the following eight areas:
- Education
- Feeding Centers
- Medical Centers
- Evangelism and Discipleship
- Agricultural Farming
- Micro-Enterprise
- Children’s Homes
- Trauma Counseling
As you can see from the pictures below, the kids had a great time. They also had a productive time; they raised over $125 from their bake sale to send to help children in Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda, Dominican Republic, and the US through COTN.
On the first Tuesday of each month, preschoolers and their parents are invited to trot around the world to see what God is doing with children like them all over the globe. In our inaugural time together, Chrissy Black took the children on an exciting, hands-on journey through China. We desire for the youngest RH Kids to love the world God has made and for their parents to gain ideas, resources, and inspiration to lead their children to love international missions.
Thanksgiving today draws up images of harvest and extravagant meals. 
Historically, the American Thanksgiving was a celebration of God’s providing deliverance through the harvest (natural means) and through the Pilgrims’ community (the Native Americans.) As God used these two means, he also supernaturally intervened to keep the entire community from starving. Thus we celebrate today.
We also have much to thank God for because of the deliverance He provided us through the Gospel of Jesus. Our jobs are the natural provision for our lives. Our church, friends, and family are his community provision. And supernaturally God has intervened and provided for us salvation through Jesus. Thanksgiving, indeed!
In our last sermon series we were challenged to think of how we live “in this city, for the nations.” As God’s children we have been served by the One who left glory to go on mission for our sake. Our love for Him draws us to serve others as we have been served, caring for the city where God has put us.
Please consider two opportunities to serve and be ambassadors this Thanksgiving: Welcome a refugee family into your home to share a meal with you, as detailed in the previous post. Or join others from Redemption Hill as we help to serve a Thanksgiving meal in Church Hill.
Church Hill Activities and Tutoring (CHAT) is an inner-city non-profit whose goal is to create and sustain intentional communities that are dedicated to transforming the lives of at-risk youth in Church Hill. We are one of the churches/groups partnering with CHAT to help provide a Thanksgiving meal that helps build community in Church Hill. CHAT is looking for people who will help set up, bring food, serve food, and break down afterward.
If you are free the Monday night before Thanksgiving (November 23) and able to help with the CHAT Thanksgiving meal, look for the sign up to come through the City, our RH online community, or get in touch with Chris Whiting at chris.whiting@chatrichmond.org.
Our prayer is that this Thanksgiving, instead of being merely a time of feasting, may be a time where we marvel at the magnificent grace of God in our lives and turn that grace toward others as ambassadors and servants of Christ.
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