It's that time again... Vacation Bible Schools are popping up everywhere!

If you've ever volunteered at a church's vacation bible school, I'm almost positive these things will make you shout "Yes! That is so true!"

1. "Help... please?"

Recruitment for volunteers... begging, literally on hands and knees begging for bodies to help corral the tons of kids you're hoping for the upcoming week. Why is it so hard to get people to volunteer?

2. "Twas the night before VBS, when all through the church..."

Now everyone who has been to a vacation bible school knows that it's not a successful and fun VBS without decorations. The posters have to be hung, the classrooms arranged just right, and the sanctuary must make the kids' mouths drop open in awe.

3. "Take one down, pass it around..."

The food. Of course, we all know that a bunch of kids are picky eaters, and I am convinced that all of those kids come to VBS. Pizza, PB&J sandwiches, and Hotdogs, These are about the only foods you can be 100% sure that most of the kids will eat. But goodness, once they find something they like, they want to eat it all!

4. "This little light of mine..."

Vacation Bible School songs can be fun... for the first two days! After about the third day of children screaming the songs at the top of their lungs, sometimes we want to just put a pillow over our ears! But bless their little hearts, at least they are having fun praising the Lord!

5. "No! Don't be a glue monster!"

Crafts. Bless the poor arts and crafts leader's heart! Glue, sequins, paper, scissors, and lord knows what else... They use it all, and they can somehow show 10 kids how to make the same craft to (almost) perfection!

6. "Wait. Don't run away yet. Listen, then we can play games!"

The volunteer in charge of outside games is a true blessing for all VBS crew leaders! These games give the crew leaders a chance to take a breath and regroup. After that short breath, they are thrown back in to running around, chasing the kids, and playing the silly games too!

7. "Make sure to invite your parents! Our final night will be lots of fun!"

The final night... and quite possibly the most difficult night of VBS. It is up to the volunteers to not only keep all of the children up in front of the church to sing, but also keep the parents from standing up to take pictures of their little darlings while also blocking the entire group. Oh, and the after-party... Did anyone ever think that maybe we should come up with a system to get everyone from the sanctuary down to the fellowship hall for dinner? Or do people get some kind of twisted fun out of watching everyone stampede downstairs for pizza and ice cream?

As tiring and stressful as it is, we all know it is worth it! The silly games, picky eaters, loud singing, sticky glue fingers, and lots and lots of smiles and laughs, all add up to bring us enough joy to last until VBS rolls around again next year!