What God does doesn’t always make sense…such a TRUE statement!  As I meditate on the faithfulness of God and trusting Him, I’m overwhelmed.  Very overwhelmed.  His love is so great, so deep, so vast.  He cares for us, like no other – yet sometimes we don’t understand His ways.

I was reminded of that a few weekends ago.  

Fridays are family day at the Winkler house.  We start with a slow morning, dancing to the “One Big Gulp” CD, and lots of laughing.  This Friday we decided to go to the park.  We have a park close to our house, but instead we were going to venture over to Legacy Play Village.  Everyone was loaded up in the car, seatbelts buckled, car seats adjusted, ready to go.  Then, the car won’t start.  It doesn’t even turn over when Cody tries again.  We’re stuck.  Probably a battery, starter or alternator – not our first car repair, we’re a bit experienced.

We get everyone out of the car and start with Plan B.  Cody suggests I take the boys in our smaller car, he’ll stay home with Lucy and work on the family car – yes, he’s that good :)  As we discuss further, I remind him that our smaller vehicle was making an odd sound last time we drove it.  Not sure what it was, but didn’t feel right.  (Because that car is used maybe twice a week, we had forgotten about the issue.)  I told Cody that I didn’t want to take Josiah and Joshua in the car until we knew what was wrong with it.  He agreed.

Cody, the mechanic, began diagnosing.  He identified a problem, called his brother to assist (since parts were needed and we were stranded).  They continued working through most of the afternoon.  They were close to a fix, but didn’t have the correct equipment.  We called our auto repair place and they told us to bring the car immediately, and they could work on it.

What was found at the auto shop was a little more intense than we had expected.  There was an issue Cody had not even discovered yet, that could have been devastating had we driven the vehicle – possibly even fatal.  WOW!

There were many emotions that could have overtaken us on that Friday: disappointment and tears from our kids who missed going to the park (Josiah was convinced we could simply get a battery from the house to fix the broken car), frustration from a husband/dad doing everything he could to reconcile the issues with both vehicles, helplessness from me who could do nothing to help.  All of those feelings are from the deceiver, the enemy, who is fighting against us each day.

But truly, the Holy Spirit was guiding us and leading us.  We felt thankful and grateful that God has given us two vehicles and resources to fix them.  We saw God’s timing is perfect, finding a missed repair that could have been detrimental. We were blessed to be stranded at home, not some strange place in 100 degree weather with 3 small children.

What God does doesn’t always make sense, but it is ALWAYS RIGHT.  We can trust Him, and not understand Him in the same breath.  He cares for us in such a magnificent and just way – nothing can compare.  It’s the most amazing relationship we can foster in our own lives and in the lives of those around us, especially children.

Has God said something to you that didn’t make sense?  Has God done something that didn’t make sense to you at the time?  What is your testimony?  I’d love to hear from you, and share with our Kidsplace team.  The Bible tells us that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11).  YOUR testimony may be the encouragement someone else needs to overcome.

By Deborah Winkler

Deborah is the Nursery and Early Childhood Coordinator at Trinity Church overseeing all that happens in a minsitry environment for babies up through Kindergarten.  If you'd like to learn more about how you could be involved in our ministry to the littlest of hearts at Trinity, I know she'd love to hear from you.  She can be reached at dwinkler@trinitytoday.com

August is here and we want you to know what your preschooler is learning this month at Trinity Kidsplace.  God loves me.  A simple truth, yet it can be difficult to grasp when we don’t fully understand God.

Why should you do what God says?  Children will be taught GOD KNOWS WHAT’S BEST FOR ME!  To catch this month’s vision video, watch the video below.

VISION VIDEO: FIRST LOOK (August 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Our sweet children will be memorizing Psalm 18:30 “God’s way is perfect.”

Every Sunday afternoon, an email goes out with our weekly Small Talk Card.  If you aren’t signed up, the time has come!  Register at RIGHT NOW  at parents.trinitykidsplace.com .  Small Talk Cards include our monthly themes and memory verse from the preschool environment, the weekly Bible story, and a prompt for incorporating this into your everyday rhythms at home.  This card provides potential for fantastic conversations between you and your preschooler.  And, it allows us to partner together to impact your child.

Lost and insecure
You found me, you found me
Lyin’ on the floor
Surrounded, surrounded
Why’d you have to wait?
Where were you?
Where were you?
Just a little late
You found me, you found me

These popular song lyrics by The Fray don’t hold a deep, profound spiritual meaning to me; rather they describe a weekly occurrence in our nursery and preschool ministry area.  An all too common situation.  A circumstance that threatens everything in our ministry.

A LOST SECURITY TAG!!

Ok, so you think that’s a bit of a dramatization.  I think it’s spot on.  The harsh reality is a lack of security in our check in/check out process has a profound impact on every child that comes through the doors of Trinity Church.  Safety and security have to be a priority.  This is how the process should work. Drop your child off in their appropriate class. Receive a security tag that matches your child’s name tag.  Retain tag.  When picking your child up, present security tag to volunteer team member.  Your security tag and your child’s name tag match.  Your child is released to you.  Everyone is safe and secure on our campus.

Let me walk you through the song lyrics and how they compare to a lost security tag.

Lost and insecure

The moment you loose your child’s security tag, our security process has been breached, causing an insecure environment.

Lyin’ on the floor

Surrounded, surrounded

I cannot keep up with the number of security tags I find lying on the ground throughout our weekend services.  Some weeks it’s a staggering amount!  But consider this, if a tag is dropped on the ground, surrounded by the feet of thousands of individuals, anyone could pick it up.  Definitely not safe.

Why’d you have to wait?

Where were you?

Where were you?

All it takes is a little time and diligence to keep up with the security tag. If you arrive at your child’s class without the security tag, I guarantee it will delay your exit from church.  It’s easier to always have it with you. 

Just a little late

You found me, you found me

The time you spending locating the security tag in your purse or your spouse’s Bible is insignificant compared to your child’s safety.  If you are intentional to keep up with it, then picking your child up from class will be a smooth process.

On our last full day of camp, the kids had a fun, full day of go-carts, bumper cars, climbing walls, and much more!

Following a time of powerful worship at evening chapel, Pastor Gabe George taught the kids that they can speak the word of God against worry, fear, and sickness.  They can say the word of God out loud, and it's like using a sword against the enemy! This was the final teaching on our verse for the week:  "Greater is He that is in me then he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4.  Be sure and ask your kids to recite the memory verse, and tell you all about what they learned this week!

A special thanks to our adult sponsors: Geoffrey Winkler, Stacey Siemens, Starr Cliff, Nicolel Maddux and Amy Dade. They each had a great time with the kids; be assured your children at camp were prayed for often and loved well this week.

Enjoy some pictures from today, and we'll see you back in Lubbock soon!