The Gratitude Project - Day 21

This morning in children's church, Brient and I opened up the Big City Mall! THAT, my friends, is a time when Brient and I pull out lots of great items (toys, books, movies, games, and whatever!) that have been donated or bought by some great people, and give the kids a chance to spend all those Big City Bucks they've been earning for the last few months. Big City Bucks are the incentive we use to encourage kids to come, remember to bring their Bibles, and participate in all the fun on Sunday mornings.

Well, this morning's store was SO STINKIN' FUN! We had children there today who have never had the chance to participate in the Big City Store, so it was VERY exciting to them to be able to spend their bucks and go home with some great prizes! I love watching these kids pick out prizes for themselves. But I also LOVE seeing how each one of them thinks about other people they want to buy for, like their sisters or brothers, parents, and friends. It is so encouraging to see them thinking of others. It's also great to see some of them share their Big City bucks with other kids who maybe haven't come to children's church very long and don't have very many bucks. I am so thankful to be able to witness their sweet, giving spirits! It really encourages me!

Also, my friend, Tammy, came back to help with the store and see all the fun. I was thankful she had the opportunity to be there. She had a great time!

We played a new review game, and the kids LOVED it! It was FAST, it was LOUD, and it was FUN! AND, it showed me that they remembered EVERYTHING we taught them over the last 3 months! I am so thankful for that! It does no good whatsoever to teach kids if it is not on their level and if it is not done in a way that they will remember it. I am thankful that we found a program that teaches in such a way.

The game was a very simple set-up, but the kids LOVED it!

And I am very, VERY thankful for all the great people in our church who have donated things to be put in our store. There are people who have gone through some old things, and donated some of their used items that were still in great shape.

All of our items were donated, either by someone cleaning out things not being used in their house (maybe their kids outgrew a toy), or money was donated for us to purchase things. I am SO thankful for each person who gave something for our store! 

These were some AMAZING and REALLY LARGE posters that were made for camp this summer. My friend, Rena, along with several other great artists, painted them. They were still in GREAT shape, and I really didn't want to see them end up in the trash. So Rena said we could sell them in the store. Now I ask you, who WOULDN'T want Optimus Prime or Bumblebee on their wall!?

It was a great morning! I am so thankful for how everything turned out. The store was a great success, the kids had fun, I knew they had learned a LOT over the last quarter, and it was just an all-around GREAT morning. I was SO THANKFUL!!!!