KEBL Nights!

As you can imagine, our family life is full.  Just this week we had two baseball games, three gymnastic classes (gratefully, two were at the same time), Brett had worship team practice and we babysat Cousin Bethany one evening.  That left us with one night this week with nothing planned ... where we could hang-out as just our family.  In spite of this typical, crazy schedule we also want to make sure that the kids are spending some time in the Bible and learning more about Jesus (outside of Sunday School).  Our church has an AWANA's program that meets once a week, but with our schedule and the fact that the kids would be studying three different books with three different lessons ... we decided we just wouldn't be able to do that.  At least not very well.  (And if you know me, I don't like to do things 1/2 way ... it's either 100% or not at all!)

So ... in light of all these factors, last year we started a tradition of setting aside one evening a week for our family to study the Bible together ... kid-style!  It was a huge success!  We studied people from the Bible as well as different character values like serving and patience.  We also enjoyed some silly games like obstacle courses and bean-bag tosses - all tying back to and re-inforcing our lesson.  It was a great time for us to learn some things from the Bible, have fun together and make some fun memories.

And so ... it is with great excitement that we kick off our first KEBL night of the 2010-2011 school year.  What is KEBL, you ask?  Well ... we wanted a catchy and unique name for our family nights - something that the kids could have ownership of.  After some brain-storming we came up with KEBL which stands for "Kellums Enjoy Bible Learning".  Are we creative, or what?!? :)

This year we are studying popular Christian songs and worship songs with the purpose of making sure the kids know what they are singing ... and us, too.  Our kids sing a lot ... but what comes out of their mouths isn't always what the songwriter intended!  Ashley has her own sweet renditions of songs - verses flipped around and words with new endings.  I always get a chuckle out of her interpretations of "Jesus songs" as she calls them.   On a number of occasions, Aaron or Norah have leaned over to me at church and asked, "What does that mean?" or "What's that word?"  One time, Aaron whispered in my ear that he didn't understand the words to "Great is Thy Faithfulness" ... "The words are all mixed up, Mom ... it's like Yoda-talk" :).  Seeing as right smack dab in the middle of worship is not necessarily the best time for a discussion, we thought it would be fun and educational if we took some of the kids favorite worship songs and picked them a part a little bit.  I think the kids will be a tad bit surprised to find that many of the phrases and words in some of their favorite songs are verses take verbatim out of the Bible.  Which reminds me of a story...

One year I attended a Campus Crusade for Christ retreat at the YMCA of the Rockies outside of Estes Park.  I was probably a sophomore and I was just starting to get involved in Bible studies, attending church regularly and reading my Bible consistently.  I remember I was sitting on a log having a quiet time and I came across a verse in the Psalms that was the chorus of one of Steven Curtis Chapman's songs.  To think that he was singing the Bible!  I was stunned!  It was at that moment that I realized that music can (without us even knowing it) be a powerful vehicle for teaching us about God and His love for us.  It is also a great way to teach and learn about many of His other promises and hundreds of nuggets of truth hidden in the Bible.

On another rabbit trail :) ... that was one thing that I loved about our VBS this year.  We had a great line-up of catchy, western tunes that were fun to sing and chock-ful of Biblical truths.  The kids (and their families) were singing songs about God's peace, about how He made us unique and special and about how much He cares for us ... all while doing the two-step!  It was awesome!!

So ... seeing that music is powerful, I want to make sure that my kids are singing ... but I also want to make sure that they know what they are singing.  Hence this year's KEBL theme.  :)

For this week's song, we have chosen a ballad that the kids are very familiar with and maybe you are too.  It is titled, "Here I am to Worship" by singer/songwriter Tim Hughes.  It has been sung by a number of artists including Chris Tomlin.  We have a kid's worship version, too, from Cedarmont Kids.  I found the lyrics on the internet and then did some Bible searches for some of the words and phrases found in the song.  My hope is to show the kids, right from the Bible, where they can find these truths and promises ... so they know what they are singing and why.  And I'm convinced Brett and I will learn a thing or two, too!

We also made a word-search puzzle here for the kids to work on.  Simply follow the directions and put in words from the song ... ta-dah!  It's fun, educational ... and easy for Mom!

I thought I would include this week's song and the Bible references we will be using ... that way you can benefit, too! :)  Happy singing!

"Here I am to Worship"

by Tim Hughes

Light of the world  (John 8:12)

You stepped down into darkness.

Opened my eyes, let me see.

Beauty that made this heart adore You

Hope of a life spent with You (1 Peter 3:15)

Here I am to worship,  

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

All together worthy,

All together wonderful to me

King of all days  (Psalm 47:2; 1 Tim. 6:15)

oh, so highly exalted

Glorious in heaven above

Humbly You came (Philippians 2:8)

To the earth You created

All for love's sake became poor  (2 Cor. 8:9)

Here I am to worship, 

Here I am to bow down,

Here I am to say that You're my God

You're altogether lovely

All together worthy,

All together wonderful to me

I'll never know how much it cost  

To see my sin upon that cross

I'll never know how much it cost 

To see my sin upon that cross

I'll never know how much it cost

To see my sin upon that cross

I'll never know how much it cost (1 Peter 2:24; Hebrews 12:2; Colossians 1:20, 2:14)


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