Give This Christmas Away

Just wrote a post about Operation Christmas Child on the ministry-to-children website.

If any of you have kiddos and are looking for a way to show them just what happens to their Christmas boxes they compile, check out the video embedded in the post.

Grab a Kleenex though. The Veggies just may make you cry.

VBS '09

As soon as we returned from RI, we dove into VBS - a summer highlight!

Selah LOVED it this year - God talks, friends, art projects, penguins, and ALL!

Adden really just loved hanging out with G'andma and G'andpap:)

I taught 6th graders this year - a blast!
Great questions, long discussions, and plenty of ridiculous.

So proud so proud so proud of our youth group students.
They make our VBS program and DAYCAMP work (them and God.)
They got game. Energy. Mad leadership skills. Crazy bout kids. Love for Jesus. Yes.

These two girls rock. Our kids love them. We kinda do too.
Thanks, Laurie, for all of your hours of work. It was a fantastic week!

Ministering to Families in Crisis

I recently wrote an article on this topic here for Ministry-to-Children.com.

Please post any additional suggestions. Thanks!

My New Gig

For a couple months now, I've been following a site that provides practical ideas for Children's Ministry. Ministry-to-Children.com offers great lesson plans, children's church ideas, parenting articles, and encouragement for those serving children in numerous capacities.

Just recently, I was invited to serve on staff with a number of other contributors. I can't even tell you how psyched I am about this opportunity! After receiving the offer, I promptly woke the kiddos up from their naps with loud shenanigans. Oh well, that's their momma.

Working with kids, loving Jesus, and writing about it all is like the perfect combo for me. I couldn't be more thrilled, humbled, and honored. Please pray that God would utilize this ministry for His glory. And pray that all of the contributors would have the words to say to equip, empower, and encourage those investing in the next generation.

Thanks, guys! Come check out the site! The address is: http://www.ministry-to-children.com/.

Our Small Thing

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." - Mother Theresa

Yesterday we kicked off our church's first ever children's church - Treasured Tikes (2-5 yr olds) and His Kids (1st-6th grades.) Paul helped me organize the whole shabang and get it off the ground and running. Here were a few of my favorite moments from the morning:

Seeing Heather (one of our college students) in 3 inch heels toting 4 kids (not her own) with her. (She's the woman.)
Watching kids jump around the registration table because they couldn't contain their anticipation.
Alex running out of Treasured Tikes with his paper bag puppet repeating, "Love is not (r)ude."
Abigail hesitating to leave after hesitating to come.
Disciplining Zac in love and having him respond well.
LeeAnn's after church stories of her horse riding tumbles.

If any of you have any suggestions concerning children's church, we would gladly take them. Please pray with us that this ministry would reach out to the community, strengthen families, and draw kids to God . Thanks!