1 Samuel 1

It was Children's Day at church this morning! I love this day of the year. The morning when all the little kids get up in front of the entire congregation and sing the songs that they've been learning for months. They are absolutely precious.

 

Todd (our children's minister) came up to preach his part of the sermon. He first played a video from the show Jon & Kate plus 8. This particular episode, Kate was making pancakes for the entire 10 of them. She gave us all sorts of estimates of how much flour, eggs, milk, and blueberries it took to make enough for all 10 of them. She even went as far as to tell us how many paper plates they use in 3 months, 1200??? Are you joking? I probably haven't used that many in my lifetime.

 

Anyway...Todd went on to ask the question, "Why in the world would you want to have children?" and as he asked this question, he passed the puck to Jonathan (our youth minister).

 

Jonathan & Todd both pointed out how much money that kids cost. And as they are both new fathers, they know.

 

But Jonathan went a lot deeper. He spoke of Hannah from the Bible. 

 

Read 1 Samuel 1.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=9&chapter=1&version=31

 

After Jonathan spoke some incredibly moving words. Todd offered up a prayer and asked families to get together--to pray together. My mom sings in the choir, so she came down. With tears in her eyes, she prayed.

 

I just had to ask my mom what she was crying for. I asked her during lunch. She told me that she was Hannah. She prayed and prayed and prayed for me. 

 

"...and she said to him,

'As surely as you live, my lord,

I am the woman who stood here beside you

praying to the LORD.

I prayed for this child,

and the LORD has granted me

what I asked of him.

So now I will give him to the LORD.

For his whole life

he will be given over to the LORD.'"