Once upon a time in a land far-off, there was a girl and construction paper before her. She took crayons and markers and crafted poem after silly poem to make the best birthday cards she could for her family members.

The years went on, and the girl grew. A blank notebook set before her with decorative cover. Inside it she produced thoughts and memories, ranging from the deep to the minuscule. The ink flowed freely from her pen onto the lined pages, filling journal after journal. Her thoughts generally vacillated from the soul-searching questions about faith to the heartbreaking unrequited crushes of her youthful years. New writing styles emerged in forms of poetry, short stories, plays, and personal essays. She couldn't stop writing.

The years continued on, and the girl became a woman. A blank document set before her, glowing on the computer screen in the darkened room of night-owl tendencies. Though life had become filled with responsibility after responsibility, she began a blog to occasionally share some thoughts with the world, trying public pondering on for size.

Life changed and became filled with activities, both challenging and fantastic. Blogs became something she read rather than wrote, seeing others who made names for themselves in their blogging efforts. These days much of her creativity was mustered weekly for her editing position, writing 52 short pieces a year, one a week. Personal writing went by the wayside, but reading other people's words (both fictional and non) as inspiration remained a joy.

One night during a distracted quest to search for something for work, the woman recalled that she had a blog. She visited the land forgotten and smiled at past posts. Some were a little embarrassing to her as an editor (they sure could use some editing!), and most she could hardly recall writing. But they reminded her of the life she lived and the blessings God had given and continues to give.

She also remembered how cathartic it could be to put words together just for fun. Not for work. Not for anyone else's benefit. Just for her.

So she sat down and wrote. And after 2.5 years, she posted.

Some weeks, nothing seems to go right.
Life is full of disappointments, frustrations, and pain.
You can't stop asking why.

But then there are other weeks.
Everywhere you look you see generosity, love, and kindness.
And you can't stop smiling.

Fortunately, I've had one of the good weeks. I've had the privilege to witness people giving and caring for others in marvelous ways. Their actions humble me and inspire me. And I know that God is real and moving in this world—because I've seen the way He answers prayers and moves in the hearts of His children.

I hope you've seen God this week. And if you're having a week of struggles, I hope you hang on until next week. He'll show up.

This past week, our church conducted our first ever VBS. We had a great turnout and a mix of all types of kids who came. Loved it! 

Here are some things I learned:

• Getting a room full of kids to scream loudly and jump up and down to worship songs is a great way to end your night.

• Snacks will always be the favorite part of any church endeavor.

• Even the coolest of kids will do arm motions to cheesy songs if everyone else is doing it. And if it’s mockingly at first, they still might actually start to have fun.

• The smallest child will gravitate toward the tallest adult sponsor. And they will be best buddies. (Talking to you, Elder Most High!)

• You can be utterly exhausted and overwhelmed with joy at the same time. (Well, I likely learned this when I had a newborn in the house, but this was a good reminder.)

• When step up to the plate and give their all in service to God, it energizes you. Seeing people using their talents (even ones they may not know they had) is a wonderful sight to behold. My respect and adoration of my amazing friends at Echo Church grew exponentially this week. (I didn't think that was possible!)

• It’s good to be reminded of the perspectives of 4- through 12-year-olds. The questions I heard were informative as well as challenging.

• Even the wildest behaved child wants to feel special. And if you assign that child a special friend to guard and guide, then that child feels even more special. (And the volunteers who took on this task this week were adored by all!)

• Even when you think they aren’t paying attention to what you’re saying, children are observing things.

• If you look closely at each child, you can see the hope and potential brimming inside. Believe in that.

I've helped with VBS in various churches over the years—but being more involved in the organization of the week was a whole new perspective. Plus this was different than when I've helped in larger and suburban churches. This has truly helped me appreciate all the years Price Hill Church of Christ has given such a huge effort from a smaller congregation in an urban area. They are an inspiration!

And I was super amazed by Alicia Gee, who came up with our entire program. She rocks!!

We hope that, ultimately, the kids felt God's love.

Thanks to Echo Church for being the church.