Day 4

Dear VSMers,

Hope you are having a good time in camp and learning a lot. You know there is nothing greater in life you can pursue than to learn about the God who made you. He is the one who created the heavens and the earth, who gave some of you blue eyes and some of you brown, and colors the flowers and the trees. I know this week you are getting a little peek into my garden. It is my little piece of heaven on earth where I meditate as I tend what God has given me. It has often been my hope that someday in heaven God would allow me to be one of his gardeners.
When you look at a flower you notice that parts of it are green and parts of it are sometimes of many varying colors. It is truly amazing the way God has made the variety of plants. Look closely at the inside of a flower. Some of them are fuzzy and some are shiny. If the flower gets the same water through the roots and it gets the very same minerals that feed and nourish through those same roots then there is a question to consider. What makes parts of it green and other parts different colors? What makes part of it straight and part of it curly? What makes parts of it smooth and parts fuzzy? Have you ever stopped to think about that? What makes some people tall and some short? This is the hand of God in our universe. There will be many that will give you other reasons, but just know that they are deceived by the evil one who wants to fool all of us. Then pray for them.

I enjoy sharing this lovely yard that God has blessed us with by inviting people over for fellowship and sometimes group meetings. I think it is a place where people can draw nearer to God. I also grow things that I take from it and use in my ministry, such as dried flowers, ferns, weeds and grasses. That brings us to the topic today of my ministry.

God gifted me early in life with a love of drawing and all things creative. In college (Fine Arts) I majored in sulpture and drawing. Never did I guess that God would use these things in ministry as I was still not a believer at that time. I say "gifted," not so much that my talent was great, but that my desire was strong. There are those who are gifted with great talent, yet never do anything with it. Yet, if you have great desire, God can use that to do things with you far beyond anything you might imagine. Here are some things I never imagined.

In Sunday school I have a team of ladies that go into the various classes and do crafts with the children, This same team decorates for holidays, children's evangelism events and for our VBS. In addition we do crafts for 5 days of camp for up to 200 children. God blesses us with folks who send us materials to do these crafts.

I have ladies, including your sister Ava, who sends us old jewelry and buttons. With this I do bracelets and crafts with ladies and youth. It is my opportunity, as we work, to talk to them about God's love.

The most recent ministry the Lord has given me has been that of scrapbooking with ladies and youth girls. There are two courses I do. One is "Heritage of Faith" which scrapbooks one's walk of faith. The second is called "The Gratefulness Spot, 365 Days of Gratitude." With this one they write something they are grateful for every day. One more I am working on is a prayer scrapbook. The fun part of scrapbooking is that it brings to life our walk of faith, things we are grateful for and what we pray about. In addition and most importantly, it becomes a witnessing tool for ladies to share with others just by showing their books.

Maybe if you ask your mothers, they might have some old buttons or old jewelry (broken is OK) they don't need that we could use in our church and classes. Would you please pray that God would use me in ministering to ladies and children through the work he has given me?

Love in Christ,

Sister Coleen