Today, I shared a special worship topic with the 4th/5th graders. I asked them "When we talk about worship, what comes to your mind?" At first, I thought most would give me the answer that "worship is singing." To my surprise, both 2nd and 3rd session classes shared very good answers. Most of them included the factor of "praise" in their definition of worship. Some even mentioned that worship is about praising God for what He has done for us. I was encouraged.

Then I asked them, "If worship is about praising God, then what is praise?" And the class was silent. I challenged the class to think about the answer and we will come back next month for more sharing on "What is praise?"

We then talked about the right attitude of worship. And we showed the kids an amazing song sung by a 7 year old girl and a 10 year old boy. It hit home again because of the age proximity and the class was amazed how beautiful a song can be when we sing it from our heart. I told the class that

Worship is not just about singing
Worship is an act of praising God, from the bottom of our heart
God's great commandment for us is to love Him with all of heart, soul and mind
We may not all be gifted in singing, but we all have our best to offer to God ==> encourage your child to "be the best they can, with what they have, where they are" no matter what they are doing

On my way home, I stopped by a supermarket for grocery shopping. I was thinking about what I should share next month to help the kids understand the concept of praising God. Initially, my thoughts were surrounding about praise God for who He is (attributes) and for what He has done (thanksgiving). When I got back into my car, I felt like God was challenging me: how about don't share with the kids the standard answers? how about share with them what are on your heart? How about share with them what you are going to praise Me for in this coming month and tie those praising items with an attribute of me? Wow, what an idea!

And so, here I am, starting a virtual praise log for the month of Nov. I am gonna post praise items at least once each week and tie that praise items with an attribute of God. When I meet with the kids again, I am gonna share with them what is praise, not from a text book, but from the bottom of my heart.

Such an honor to serve in children's ministry with ongoing creative ideas from God.

Here is the link for that amazing clip I showed the class today. http://rolcc.net/g/you-raise-me-up