The Camel and the Eye Hole

I love teaching children!

Ok, so I just love teaching in general, but I REALLY love teaching children.  There is an open-ness of their hearts that is unparalleled in any other age group.  It's what I always imagine Jesus was thinking when he told us that we need to receive the Kingdom of God like a child.

It is also fitting that tonight, when I noticed this difference between adults and children so profoundly, we learned about the Rich Young Ruler, which is the very next story in the book of Luke.

God had tonight's plans already completed, but hadn't shared them with me.  In fact, I started my night with the kids frantically thinking and searching.  But like I said, God had it all taken care of.

We began the evening with our normal routine of reviewing the story video and practicing the Bible Verse and The Point, then went to snack.  I had found a 'game' outline online to try and got it ready, but I was concerned about how it would work out.

The idea behind this game was to have one child 'purchase' various boxes with labels attached, then put them in a backpack and try to get through a tiny space while wearing the backpack, illustrating the Camel and Needle concept.  Well, I didn't have play money AND I wanted to involve all the kids AND I didn't want to wrap all those boxes, so I switched it up a little -

I have 'Tribes' in my class - my group is divided into 4 tribes, each with a tribe leader.  The tribes are small groups.  They always stay the same, and the leaders (older students) are encouraged to get to know more about the kids and really bond with them.  So, each tribe came back from snack to find 5 gold coins in their space. (I use these coins in a variety of ways - they are common items for us)  They were instructed to work as a group to choose 5 items from the room that they would like to purchase or take home with them.  I was concerned about what they would choose and whether it would fill my backpack enough.

I shouldn't have worried.

God took over at this point.

The first item brought to the front of the class was the new 5ft. wooden cross.  The second item was the green butterfly chair.  The third item was our 4ft carnival tiger.  It was going to work out just fine.....  :)

We filled the backpack to the point of barely zipping, then the kids took turns putting it on and attempting to crawl under the chair I was sitting in.  (Actually, my daughter and I were BOTH in the chair to keep it on the floor as they struggled to get through!)

 There were some close calls - two children almost made it through - determined little stinkers!  LOL

But my favorite part was when a girl made the connection to the story before I ever went there through our talk time!  She was so excited about the connection when she got it!

We settled back down and I emptied the backpack and asked if they thought they could put it on and get through this time - of course they could!

"Like the camel and the eye hole!" one young guy blurted.  Yep!  That's exactly it!

There's a camel in the eye-hole, dear Liza, dear Liza
There's a camel in the eye-hole, dear Liza, a camel! - yes, I really sang it!  :)


We talked and we talked.  They stayed close and engaged as they lounged around among all the items they had 'purchased' earlier.  We talked about the things we own.  We talked about toys and video games and tv.

Then we talked about friends and family.

I challenged the kids to identify one item that they use too much and they could put aside so they would have more time to work on their personal relationships.

I even went as far as to talk about how God will let them know what that item is the next time they play with it!  Then we talked about what it 'feels' like when we get a whisper from God - and the kids already knew what it felt like for them, because they had heard from God before!  :)


I am so excited to hear about their weeks this Sunday!  I have some kids who are on fire and I get so psyched hearing about their interactions with God!


But what about you?

What do you have in your life that is getting in the way of building a deeper relationship with those in you family, friends, and neighborhood?  What could YOU put away for a while so that you could detox from it for a while?

I know that God will talk to you about it just like I know He will talk to the kids.

Are you ready to hear what He has to say today?