Tithe and Taxes

Last night I started volunteering with Pioneer Clubs at our church. I am a helper in the 3rd-5th grade room. The kids earn reward "money" for doing things like getting caught being kind, learning their verse, wearing their club shirt, etc. Once a month or so they get to use that money to buy things from the store. The store has toys and also items for the Lord's Pantry like shampoo, toothbrushes, or soap. Before the kids go down to purchase items of their choice, they get in a line according to how much money they have. The teacher helps them figure out how much they should give away as their "tithe" and that pooled money is used to purchase things for the Lord's pantry from the whole class. As the kids were handing in their dollar or two, one boy says to another "You know where that money goes, don't you? To the government."

I really enjoyed being around these big kids last night. I liked watching them, seeing how they interacted with each other and the teachers. There were some who had already caught on to flirting and that made me smile because it was so clumsy! I found myself watching the boys especially, wondering what sort of 4th grader Oliver is going to be and looking forward (without wishing time away) to parenting him when he's that age.

And a picture of Oliver just because.