Amy Scott's Thoughts

My hubby is a pretty adventurous guy. He’s laid back and usually is cool with about anything. I admire this trait in him a lot. Today at church we threw a big Labor Day Block Party for our community and Jeremy, of course, was very involved. He and our youth pastor, Josh, led “Minute to Win” games before our big animal shows. It’s always fun watching him play the role of game show host. During the animal show the pastors got called up a couple times for the fun job of being covered in snakes. Yes, Jeremy went down and very calmly had a python wrapped around him. At one point he had a handful of corn snakes. Now, I might be considered Pastor Amy, but I figured for the safety of my blood pressure and my unborn child, I would let others get in on that action!  In between animal shows, Jeremy was in the dunk tank as a fundraiser for the MOPS group that meets at our church.  He was a very popular pastor to dunk amongst the kids and the adults. His own father even got in on the action. Jeremy certainly did a lot things that aren’t normally in the job description today, but he did them with graciousness. I can’t say I would have held those snakes as calmly as he did. They kept giving him hand sanitizer every time he went down and handled a snake, but honestly, I think he needed it everywhere the snakes touched… Eww! He is a good pastor, a hard worker and I’m proud of him!

Job Hazards – Snakes

Job Hazards – Dunk Tanks

I’ve written about many good-byes on this blog. Too many for my taste. One of the hardest things about staying in Lewis County is the fact that I am the one always sending people off and wishing them well on their new ventures. It’s not an easy job. It’s one of the hardest things. Yesterday was one of those good-bye days. I knew it was coming, but that didn’t make it any easier.

I’ve known all summer that my wonderful student helper of three years, Aimee, would be leaving for college at the end of the summer. Knowing it was coming didn’t keep me from denial. Somehow I was still caught off guard by Aimee’s last night! Oh, last night… Just writing that makes me sad. The last two weeks of August, my class visits our student ministry, Fusion, to see what their transition in the fall will be like. I, however, had us sneak out early so I could surprise Aimee with a cake in University of Washington colors. I even got UW plates and napkins! It was great to celebrate Aimee and her three years of influencing young lives. It was fun go with the UW theme and I think she appreciated it. She took the plates and napkins with home her! We took one last group picture as a class and the end of a season officially happened… Insert tears here! I got my own picture with her, I walked her to the front doors and hugged her at least 3 times in 15 minutes.

When I started teaching, I was aware that kids grow up. They become teenagers and then I build relationships with them grow deeper through the crazy stuff of life and then they graduate and they decided to go to college outside of the area and then they are gone. This is the first time this has happened but I know it’s not the last. Every year this will happen. My kids, the girls I love and taught as a 11 year-olds will grow up, become adults, and move away. I can’t go with them. I can’t look out for them. I have to trust that they have the foundation they need and that God is going with them. He will never leave them alone. Oh, trust, why is it such a hard lesson to learn? Anyway, it’s been hard, but I am trusting God for all the good things this next season will bring.  I am thankful for the time that I’ve had with my girls and I wouldn’t change this journey for anything, even though it does come with it’s own set of good-byes.

McFlurry Time

My guess is that August for me is what June feels like for most teachers. This month, I have taken down the bulletin board and posters in the my classroom on Wednesday nights. I have divided up all the stuff the girls have collected over the year and given it back to them as keepsakes and mementos. Tonight to celebrate our last “official” class together, we walked over to McDonald’s (in the rain, I might add… in August) and got special treats. Attendance is down in August with last minute vacations and end of summer stuff, so my group was pretty small. I let each girl order one item off the menu and they all went for McFlurries I, however, went with my standard soft serve cone. It’s a classic. We made a summer picture frame and put a class photo in it. We signed autograph books which are a lot like yearbooks. It’s a way for the girls to say something nice about each other. For me as a teacher, it’s one more opportunity to tell them how awesome they are, how much they are loved and how I’m always here for them no matter what. I closed the night by sharing what an honor it has been to be their teacher. I thanked them for making teaching so fun and I told them to come visit me often. I’m always down the hallway. They know were to find me.

Because my class is 5th and 6th grade girls, I’ve had many of my students for two years. Relationships grow deep in two years and it’s hard to let go and watch them grow up. Even my co-teacher, who has served by my side the last three years, is leaving for college in a week and a half. It really is the end. The end of a season. A good season. That doesn’t mean the next season won’t be good, it’s just hard for me. In a lot of ways, this was my last normal year of teaching. The last time to do things the way I have always done them. Next year I’ll have a new co-pilot in the classroom and I’m super excited about that, but it will also be my first year balancing teaching and parenting. I’m certainly curious how that will pan out. So far I’ve been able to pour 110% into other peoples kids because I haven’t had my own to worry about. The dynamic of life is going to change and change can be hard to adjust to even if it’s not bad.

Even though one season is ending, it does mean a new one is beginning. A new chance to build relationships with the upcoming class. We will redecorate the classroom and make it our own. The walls won’t stay bare for long. Right now it might seem sad, but the momentum of fall will soon be propelling us forward into another great adventure. Each year it’s hard to say good-bye and watch another class move out of children’s ministries, but I am always comforted to know that there is another group of students just waiting to enter my classroom. I have a fresh, new opportunity each year to invest in lives and make an impact with the 5th/6th grade girls at Bethel. It’s an opportunity that I don’t take lightly and one that is seriously way too much fun. So as one season is about to end, another one is just about to begin.

Family VBA Worship!

Family VBA might be one of the coolest things we do at Bethel Church when it comes to children’s ministries. This was our second year of moving our VBA to the evening and having parents attend alongside there kids. We’ve been making an intentional shift at Bethel to empower parents to be the spiritual leaders in their homes. Family VBA reinforces that idea and gives parents practical experience to boost their confidence in having spiritual conversations (and fun) with their kids.

There are a lot of highlights from this last week and a lot reasons why I love this event. The first one for me would be watching families worship together. VBA is known for it’s music and the motions that go with the songs. As a leader in children’s ministries, I’m accustomed to having motions and moves that go with certain songs, however, most adults aren’t. It’s fun to watch the parents step outside of their comfort zone and look a little silly right alongside their kids. It’s also important during those slow worship songs that kids see their parents praising God. There is a lot learned by watching the adults around them go deeper with God.

In our rotations parents are the ones that lead the kids. This year at our snack rotation, we gave them all the supplies at the tables and passed out the instructions on how to assemble the snack and how it relates to the lesson. We also had them pray together as a family at this time as well. In our Bible lesson, Pastor Jeremy (my wonderful hubby) would present the lesson with youth helpers acting out parts. Once the Bible lesson was shared, the parents were given another handout to discuss and pray with their family. Our final rotation was the Imagination Station which is a bit like science and craft combined. Parents do this activity with their kids and it’s a lot of fun to watch the whole family get involved. Especially activities that involve water!

One addition to the program this year was dinner before VBA started. At 5:00pm, we offered a meal so families who were coming straight from work or a busy day wouldn’t have to worry about rushing for dinner. While a quarter of our families took advantage of this opportunity, the ones who did really enjoyed and appreciated it. I’m positive it will be a change that we keep in the future.

After last year, we learned that the littlest VBA attenders have early bedtimes, so we shortened the program by a half hour this year. This meant that families were dismissed before 8:00pm every night. This was an intentional move to be more family friendly. Another addition was a daily giveaway. Each night we gave away three parenting books as a resource to encourage parents and families. Every night we heard from multiple families about how excited they were that they won a book and how they really needed something to encourage them. The excitement for the books was cool to see.

We are realizing that our flow of VBA is still a little different. It takes some explaining, but once people see the heart behind our changes they usually agree that it’s a pretty cool change. As a children’s leaders, it’s fun exciting for me to have a week where I set parents up to succeed. It’s a great event and I’m so really encouraged by the changes in I see our families throughout the week. Sometimes it pays off to do something just a little different!