KidFlix pt. 2

This week we continued our journey through the KidFlix series and our mock awards show with an award for the character who grew the most from the beginning of the movie to the end.

The nominees this week were: Rapunzel from Tangled, Sully from Monsters University, and Kristoff from Frozen. After we watched a clip from Sully’s winning performance we sat down to small group and talked about our next real life “character” from the bible who also had a winning performance.

This week we took a look at Zacchaeus and his story found in Luke 19:1-10. Your children heard all about how dishonest Zacchaeus was and how he used his job as a tax collector to ask the people for more money than they owed and then kept the leftover money for himself! Your kid(s) then learned at that time Jesus was passing through Jericho where Zacchaeus was and large crowds had gathered to hear him speak. Zacchaeus wanted to know what was up with this Jesus guy, and that’s where his story starts to shift. Zacchaeus was a short man so in order to see and hear Jesus he had to climb up a sycamore tree. The story goes on to tell us how Jesus called Zacchaeus down from the tree and insisted that he needed to stay with Zacchaeus at his house—the people could not believe that Jesus wanted to stay with a sinner! But here’s what Jesus knew that no one else did, Zacchaeus was about to make a life changing movement towards Christ.

Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham”.

What an amazing transformation. Our need-to-know this week was:

GROWING PEOPLE CHANGE.

What are some ways we can help our children grow this week?

Let’s make our time matter.

KidFlix pt. 1

This week in Kidz Konnection we started a new series called KidFlix and had a great time having a mock awards show for a fictional movie character from the Disney movie “The Croods”– we even got to watch a clip of the “winning performance”!

But in the midst of all that fun we learned about another star that had a winning performance by simply following God’s instruction. During small group time we turned our attention away from awesome fictional characters to an even more awesome real life bible “character” named Philip. If you are unfamiliar with this story it can be found in Acts 8:26-40.

The scripture tells us all about Philips instructions from an angel of the Lord and the Holy Spirit instructing him to walk alongside a carriage where the Ethiopian sat, but what really grabs my attention is what happens next! Philip heard the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah and asked him if he understood what he was reading and the man replied:

How can I, unless someone instructs me?

There is so much meaning packed into this simple reply.

The Ethiopian needed help understanding what God’s word meant and Philip got the opportunity to clarify and share Jesus with him. As parent’s and leaders, don’t we get to be just like Philip in the lives of our kiddos? That’s the beauty I find in children’s ministry– not only do we learn more about the story in the middle of simplifying it or searching for real life scenarios to help make it click but we also have been trusted by God with their lives to help shape and mold them!

How are you going to instruct your kids today?

How are you going to help them understand during your bible time?

Make your time with them count.

Our need-to-know this week was that:

found people find people

How will you as a parent or leader help the kids in your life become found people?

HE > i

As many of you know CCA has just leaped into the great new adventure of launching a new campus in Gainesville. This change is part of a grander mission than ourselves, it is about “moving the ball down the field” to reach more and more people for God. Why wait for them to come to us, right? During this transition I felt the draw of God leading me to go separate from my husband and the thriving children’s ministry in Alachua to lead the kids in Gainesville at the new campus. What didn’t hit me in this exciting decision making time was my overwhelming anxiety to do something I’ve never done.

Anyone who has ever met Caleb, if even for a brief moment, knows he has the biggest heart and the greatest spirit ever… don’t believe me? Try arguing with him… he was made to lead children and does the absolute greatest job at it. I on the other hand like to stay behind the scenes, make my check-lists, and make sure everything is running smoothly. It hit me that I was about to step into a completely different world where I would not have Caleb to jump in and do a crazy dance if things went wrong. I had to realize something for me to be able to move forward, grow, and do what God was leading me to do and that is,

I am not my husband.

And more importantly God doesn’t need or want me to be. He needs me to be willing. He needs me to be stretched. He needs me to be ready. He needs me to be eager. He needs me to be me. This is not about what I am comfortable doing. Realizing that changed the game for me.

No matter what role you play in the mission of God know this, He put you in that position for the gifts, desires, and traits He gave YOU. Not for what you can watch and mock someone else do. Be true to you and God will use you in great ways.

“He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”

For better or worse, whether I keep them or not, I hereby declare my New Year’s Resolutions

2014 is here! I cannot believe it.

New Year’s for many of us comes with new goals, aspirations and resolutions. I for one love a good resolution list and think that wanting to make improvements in your life is amazing and needed.

 “There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self” 

 ― Ernest Hemingway

So how will you be superior to your former self this year?

I personally like making a lot of resolutions so….

Here is what I will be doing:

• Spending more time with God
• Reading a book a month // 6 fiction, 6 non-fiction
• Spending more time present and less time on my phone
• Praying for the “impossible”
• RELAXING

                  *side-bar for those of you who don’t know– this past year Caleb and I moved twice, bought a house, had a baby, went to school, and worked. I am worn out just thinking about it.

• Making an effort to be healthier
• Being a better friend
• Praying for Caleb daily and thanking God for him

and my personal favorite & the one that will be the most difficult…

• Falling in love with who God created me to be and not who I want to be for the world

I pray that you all have a great new year and set some goals to make this year count!

                                       THE BEST IS YET TO COME!

It is rare that I find a book for school that I love. I have found TWO! One of my missions in life is to help people build healthy families. I believe in healthy families and these books so much that I am going to give both books away to two lucky people (one book per person). All you have to do is comment on the post on Facebook and I will draw out the names tomorrow night! Good luck! Here’s a little about each book:

BOUNDARIES WITH KIDS

Here is the help you need for raising your kids to take responsibility for their actions, attitudes, and emotions. Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend take you through the ins and outs of instilling the kind of character in your children that will help them lead balanced, productive, and fulfilling adult lives. 

   

LOVING YOU CHILD TOO MUCH

Packed with 10 essential parenting strategies, Clinton and Sibcy help parents understand the strengths and weaknesses of parenting styles, and offer a proven method for raising healthy, happy, well-balanced kids.

The kids who ne…

“The kids who need the most love will ask for it in the most unloving ways”

To the Kidz Konnection team and anyone else who will be working with kids this morning here is something to think on. Serve well!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

One thing that I have learned from my time spent in children’s ministry is that there is a lesson to be found in everything. It is easy to just overlook important things your children say by passing them off as just “silly” comments. I want to share something that really challenged me as a leader and a Christian by asking you a question.

Do you put God first in everything?

This question has rocked my world over the past year & it all started with a simple answer from a child. Here is a little back story:

In the children’s department we do series that last about 4 or so weeks at a time, during the series there is a time where small group leaders reiterate to their group what Pastor Caleb went over in large group time. During this time with the small groups we ask certain questions about the bible story or the need-to-know of that day.  These questions will always get one of 3 responses:

1. The correct answer!! (I love when that happens)
2. The wrong answer (at least they tried?)
3. Simply the word “God” or “ummmm, Jesus?” (now they are just saying something to say something)

Number 3 seems like it could also go into the wrong answer category, right? For example: if the question was “What did Josiah’s workers find in the temple?” we would be quick to tell the kid who answered “ummm, Jesus?” that no that is not the correct answer because we know that the correct answer is a scroll described as the “book of the Law”. But what if the seemingly clueless kid is onto something.

Here enters a huge nugget of an idea…

What if, like this kid, we decided to put God at the top of our answers? What would our day-to-day lives look like?

• Stressing over bills? Try to find hidden money in your bank acct < Pray to God.
• Lost your job? Feel defeated < Pray to God.
• Kids making you want to pull your hair out? Tune them out < Pray about a way to calm down and listen to what it is they are trying to communicate.

I think you get the idea…. I think these kids are onto something.

“But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
 You have perfected praise’?” – Matthew 21:15-16