I Am God's Helper (9/29-10/1)

This last week of September in chapel we talked about how our Father relies on each one of us to be His special helper and even gave us each 2 hands to get the job done. We read the book, One Hand, Two Hands by Max Lucado and learned about all kinds of ways God wants us to use our gifts to do His work. After our story we played a fun game of golf using pool noodles and balloons, then we sang and danced to Boom Chaka Laka and Everybody Everywhere. I wish you could see the joy....the utter, unrestrained joy of your children dancing for Jesus during chapel. This sight makes my heart happier than I can express with words, and if you know me, that's saying a lot! This is our last week for our September Bible verse, 'I am wonderfully made' - Psalms 139:14. Next week we learn a new one. God bless you, Moms and Dads this week as you pour your lives into your precious little ones and teach them what it means to be loved unconditionally. Melinda

God Speaks to Me Through My 5 Senses (9/22-9/24)

I am wonderfully made - Psalm 139:14. Indeed He did make each one of us in a unique and wonderful way! This week we celebrate the ways Our Creator gifted us to explore His world. God uses all of our senses to show us who He is and He speaks to us through each one. Combining chapel with Sensory Days, we explored Our Father's world through our eyes, ears, noses, and skin. How about that? God doesn't just speak to us through our ears, He talks to us through ALL our senses! In chapel we listened with our eyes to see what God was telling us about the creatures He made. Then we listened with our noses to smell what He was saying about the foods He provided. Finally, we listened with our skin to feel what God wanted us to discover about textures found in nature. Next week we'll learn about how we all are The Lord's helpers. May you hear God speak to you and may you feel His blessings everywhere you go throughout your week. Melinda

God Made All That Is Good (9/15-9/17)

"I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Psalms 119:11. God tells us that it's important to commit scripture to memory so that we can live strong in His word and be cloaked in His protection wherever we go. This is one of the reasons why ELP has school-wide, monthly Bible memory verses for the children to learn. The one that we begin with each September is "I am wonderfully made" Psalms 139:14. Keeping with that theme, our first chapel lesson for the year is 'God Made Everything that is Good.' We will look at a flower, an apple, a fish, and ourselves and discover that God thought, He planned, and He made everything in a very special way. The world and everything in it that is good is God's loving creation. One of the children's favorite things about chapel is getting to know Scruffy, our chapel puppet dog. He helps focus our attention by introducing the lesson. Something extra special about Scruffy is that he has a little pocket in his chest where he keeps his heart and one thing always tucked inside is the monthly Bible verse. Every chapel after practicing the verse several times, the kids and I say it once more into our hands and then place the words in our own 'heart pockets' so that we can always carry God's word in our hearts too. This week after we finish our story, the younger classes play a fun parachute game. The older classes will hunt for hidden bible verses around the room to take home. Finally, we'll sing 'King of the Jungle' and 'Praise The Lord Every Day'. Next week we get to learn about how God uses us to help others. Blessings to you and your family! Melinda