Children's Fine Arts

The Assemblies of God denomination, which we belong to, has a yearly event called Fine Arts. It's a chance to showcase Human Videos, Drama, Puppets, Sermons, Instruments, Baking, Photography, Drawing, etc, all within a certain Christian theme. There are so many categories to choose from. At the Youth level, it is a competition. I personally think sometimes there is too much emphasis on the competition part and not the ministry part. At the Children's level, it is a chance for them to become familiar with the different aspects of Fine Arts while simply getting critiqued and not having to compete against each other. This also gives them several years of experience so they can be fully prepared for the competition in Youth Fine Arts. Fortunately, this year I was privileged to be a coach to our children that wanted to be involved in Fine Arts. Performing is such a passion of mine and I am always so thrilled when I can share it with others. Along with our amazing Children's Pastor and his wife, I got to work with 11 kids in puppets, drama, and human video. We worked hard and had lots of rehearsals and it all paid off. Yesterday was the big day! We went to a big church in the area along with lots of other churches and the kids got to showcase their gifts. I was so proud of all their hard work and they were phenomenal. I know all the scores, but can't announce it yet. I'm just so proud of what they've accomplished. One thing that we were sure to emphasize was this is a ministry. This isn't to see if we're better than other churches. This was their chance to minister to others using their talents. I'm so sad it's over now. I wasn't the only Kelley to participate. Kaitlyn decided she wanted to enter the baking category. She actually picked out her own recipe, Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake. The rules state the children have to do a majority of the work with minimal help. That's exactly what she did! Here she is mixing all the ingredients together. I helped her pour it in the bundt pan.

Then, we baked it. It smelled so good coming out of the oven.

Finally, chocolate frosting was poured over the top. Yummy!

We took the cake to the designated area at Fine Arts and they closed the doors as all the baked goods were being judged. I wonder how you become a judge for the baking category? When the doors opened, she had a Fine Arts medal next to her cake (all the entries received one). You can see the tiny slice the judges cut out.

After a long and busy morning at Fine Arts, we came home and had Kaitlyn pose next to her cake. You can tell she was exhausted! I can say that she received a Superior rating from all 3 judges and they commented how tasty it was.

It was an amazing day and I am so proud of the kids. I'm so thankful to the parents for allowing me to be part of their children's lives. Stay tuned for the scores and cake recipe!