FamJam to return after Easter

Following on from our first and pilot FamJam in January, after the conclusion of our Forty days of Community campaign and after Easter we'll having our second FamJam. The time/date is Sunday March 30 at 11:00 in the Multi-purpose room. The virtue for the month of April is "Conviction" - standing for what is right even when others don't.

So plan to bring your children K through grade 5 with you to enjoy a faily presentation that will include acting, singing, games, short videos and of course the FamilyTimes resource.

Keeping hope alive!

On Sunday our parent group (FEAST) discussion was around chapter 5 of Dr Tim Kimmel's Grace-based Parenting. It's focus is for us to lay a foundation of hope in our kids lives.

Childhood is a time we should move our children from dependence on us to
dependence on God. And knowing there will face challenges they can’t handle
but God can.

Tim goes on to give us two things that are needed to raise hope-filled kids

A) They need to see/watch parents who place confidence in the only true
God. When they see parents who say the right words but without much joy, with much fear and lack of love for not yet Christians they get a mixed message.

B) They need to be raised by parents who treat them the way Jesus treats us. With grace.

The importance of this really struck home when I read about 17 young adults in a Welsh town hanging themselves and 3 youth in Northern Ireland

As Jesse Jackson says we need to "Keep hope alive!"

Dr Kimmel goes on to say that childhood is a time we should move our children
from dependence on us to dependence on God. And knowing there will face
challenges they can’t handle but God can.

He also talks about parents being there for their kids so the kids know that
there is someone bigger than there problems. This helps them understand as
they get older that God is bigger than any of our problems.

Unless you become like one of these ..

Thanks Perry for reminding us that we don't have to be afraid when it comes to approaching our Daddy.
The

other day I had another thought about how awesome the love of God is while I
was spending time with Charisse.
I walked into the living room after being at the gym for an hour or so and Charisse was playing in the floor & was unaware that I had came back home.
I called her name and she immediately looked up at me…AND…smiled. Nothing, I mean NOTHING can warm up the heart of a father any faster than seeing his child smile at him. She didn’t fear me bringing up her past…and her past HAS been nasty if you think about all of the crap and snot and vomit that she’s blown all over the place!
She was not fearful that I was going to yell at her and begin asking her to do things that would eventually hurt her and make her hate life.
She didn’t think that I was going to take something away from her, that I was actually out to get her and make her as miserable as possible.
NONE of that took place. She looked at me with her HUGE blue eyes and smiled because she KNEW that I was about to run to her, scoop her up in my arms and hug her as tightly as possible.
She looked at me with anticipation that something great was about to take
place.
She looked at me with joy because of how good I’ve been to her in her seven months so far on this planet.
She looked at me with complete trust, knowing that I’ve never done anything to hurt her…only to bless her and teach her.
She looked at me like any child should look at a father…and how I should look to God!
He’s not out to get me…OR I’d have already been gotten!
He’s not out to take something from me–what could I possibly have that He
wants. (By the way–it’s already His!)
He’s not out to hurt me, only to bless and teach me.
He’s been so good to me, seriously, He owes me NOTHING!
He’s not out to remind me of myr past–He’s already paid for that and made me brand new.
He wants to see me SMILE at Him, to see true joy in my life and complete trust that He is who Scripture says He is…my PERFECT heavenly father.I am praying that God will continue to teach me to view Him through the eyes of a child…and it is blowing my mind!!!!

40 Days of Community coming in the New Year

It's been my desire for the whole church to focus on the same thing on Sundays. And we're going to get to do just that for 6 weeks starting February 3 in just a couple of months time. Unfortunately the Kindergarten kids won't be able to join in on Sundays, but they will have a Kindergarten devotional to match their parent's devotional.
The kids will have their own devotional. In addition tehre will be a family card each week that will help families relate to the theme of the week too.

Children doing devotions by themselves !

Another parent came up to me recently and told me that their son gets his 60 day wonder devotional book 2 out and reads it by himself without being asked. This is not the first parent to have told me this.

This Sunday we gave out this devotional - if you didn't get a copy for your children come see me I still have a few left. We're rewarding the kids who bring the books completed and each page signed by parents to confirm that they did it. Don't worry about missing the odd day or playing 'catch up" keep going until the 60 days are done then return it and your child will receive 100 KIDSZONE dollars.