my Friday night relaxing at home. I reviewed our Sunday School lesson plan a few
days before, and was beyond excited to see that one of the activities involved
balloon animals! Let me explain… our group of kids ranges from K-3rd grade, and
we usually average about 50 kids a service. This is quite a bit different than the
Sunday School classes we all grew up in, where you have 10 kids sitting in tiny chairs
around a tiny table, listening to a bible story, but let me tell you… Brazos Kids are
AWESOME!
So I went to Hobby Lobby, used my 40% off coupon as always, and came home
with 150 balloons and zero idea how to make any animals. Youtube, here I come.
After watching a basic intro on “How to Make A Balloon Dog”, I felt pretty confident.
Six popped balloons and a whole bunch of frustration later I realized this was
not my forte. Back to the drawing board. Why did I buy 150 balloons again? What
can I say, when I commit to something, I commit. Long story short, after some
prayer and strategizing I made my first successful balloon animal. Whoop! Which
quickly turned into twenty. And from there I landed at fifty the first night. I
sent a pretty hilarious “selfie” to my younger sister of me, sitting in bed, surrounded
by fifty balloon animals--- we got a good laugh out of it. The next night I went to an All
Sons and Daughters concert (which was awesome!) with some friends, and I bragged
about my new hobby. We laughed, but I really did have to head home that night and
make more for the next day.
That Sunday morning I showed up with seventy-five adorable (and unique) balloon
puppies, with NO idea of if the kids would even think they were cool or not.
Sometimes they surprise me with what excites them, and what is no longer cool
haha. I started to get nervous that it would be a big dud, and I would have to
walk-of-shame the three bags full of balloons back to my car after church. But
when we sat down with the kids, and explained how Jesus changes our hearts once
we are forgiven (just like how he changed Zachheus’ heart in the book of Luke)
and used the balloon as an illustration that Jesus can change something that
only serves ourselves (like the tax collector, using the balloon to point to the kids)
into something we can give to others (the finished balloon), the kids’ faces lit up with
joy! Praise Jesus that my ten minutes of “Clown College” tutorials paid off. We asked
the kids if anyone wished they had a balloon puppy to take home, and every hand
shot up. It was precious to announce to them that they would each get to take home
their own balloon puppy, because the reactions included clapping, gasps, hugs,
and a kiss on the cheek from the little girl overcome with excitement next to me.
Melted my heart!!
That afternoon I got to hang out with a few of the kids and taught them how to make
balloon animals, and I have to admit that it is one of the neatest things to see
the confidence and sense of accomplishment in a kid’s face when they learn
something new. I know they won’t see this, but a special shout out to Graylen and
Amaya for the ZOO of animals they learned how to make, which far exceeded my own
creations!
Here are some pictures of Sunday’s service!