A popular worship song based on these verses asks God, "Teach us to count our days/ Teach us to make the days count … "

Making the days count—how do you do that?

If there is anyone who needs to "gain a heart of wisdom," it is the children's ministry leader. It's not easy to lead kids these days, because it's not easy to be a kid these days. Kids today face tremendous pressures. They see and experience violence everywhere, from the playground to the PlayStation. They're hurried and busy, which sometimes makes them stressed. Many live in fractured families.

Last weekend at church, our pastor shared a sobering statistic. Even though we have an excellent, relevant, and thriving children's ministry, and there are lots of kids in Promiseland (our children's ministry) ...