I couldn't get it all done without help. Caleb Bagamary came by today. His mom, Julie was going to help him wash the toys in the nursery and swiffer the nursery floor after she finished her other commitment. He was sitting in the hall waiting so I decided it would be fun to spend a little time with him and help him myself. We washed all the toys (in antibacterial palmolive) and then we dried them and put them back on the cart and he wheeled it down to the room.
He put the swiffer together, then he let me use it while he got another swiffer pad and he got on his hands and knees and did the other part of the floor. He wanted to be done before his mom was so he could show her he didn't need her help and that he could do a good job. He really did.
And Caleb is a sixth grader.
Thank you Caleb. I appreciated your help today. I can't wait to see you helping your mom in the nursery on Sunday morning.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Hallowest
Mark your calendars for our yearly celebration on October 31. This year things are changing and Jim Sanders has put a lot of thought into the theme and changing the event. Yes, we will have inflatables, yes, we will have food, yes, there will be glow-in-the-dark putt-putt and there will be a boat load (or should I say troughs full of) candy. All the dentists in Asheville will run around screaming!
We will need many volunteers that night to help with food, games, crowds, shuttles, etc. So go ahead and mark your calendars, tell your neighbors to mark their calendars, tell you family, and tell your co-workers. It will be a great event!
We will need many volunteers that night to help with food, games, crowds, shuttles, etc. So go ahead and mark your calendars, tell your neighbors to mark their calendars, tell you family, and tell your co-workers. It will be a great event!
Wow, it's Friday already
This week has flown by. I'm amazed at what all is happening in the world of our children. Right now there are about 20 (many left early today for vacation) kids downstairs making a craft for their dads. I watched them during song time before their "FLIPT" lesson. What an honor it is to do summer camp for these children.
Last week watching them walk through the doors and seeing how they had grown up so much over the past year. Watching the seasoned campers welcome the new campers. Watching the struggles of the new children let go of their moms and go to camp. It is such a blessing to serve and have fun at the same time. And while Amy runs camp, it puts a smile on my face to run downstairs and see those children having a good time at "church"!
Amy, you do a tremendous job with camp. I don't know what I would do with out you.
Devin & Jordan - thanks for your commitment this summer. I pray you will find your place in the kingdom of God and will be stretched this summer as you lead your groups and teach these children about God.
Last week watching them walk through the doors and seeing how they had grown up so much over the past year. Watching the seasoned campers welcome the new campers. Watching the struggles of the new children let go of their moms and go to camp. It is such a blessing to serve and have fun at the same time. And while Amy runs camp, it puts a smile on my face to run downstairs and see those children having a good time at "church"!
Amy, you do a tremendous job with camp. I don't know what I would do with out you.
Devin & Jordan - thanks for your commitment this summer. I pray you will find your place in the kingdom of God and will be stretched this summer as you lead your groups and teach these children about God.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Drama Danelle
The past two weeks all the Elementary kids have been combined in room 109 on Sunday morning for Drama Danelle (inside game). What fun it has been to see them learn how to be actors and control their bodies, their voices, their imagination and to cooperate. They have learned each other's names, they have worked together, they have done human juggling and they have laughed.
It is great to see the children share their ideas and they have many, many ideas.
This week we did an abstract recreation of the story of Jesus calming the storm. How amazing to watch the groups work together to find their place in the story.
We are lucky to have Danelle leading with Tierney, Leanna and Ashley helping the children through this process. They are phenomenal to watch together.
It is great to see the children share their ideas and they have many, many ideas.
This week we did an abstract recreation of the story of Jesus calming the storm. How amazing to watch the groups work together to find their place in the story.
We are lucky to have Danelle leading with Tierney, Leanna and Ashley helping the children through this process. They are phenomenal to watch together.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Stuffitis
Today I went yard perusing. There might be a more common name for it, but that is what I call it. My purchases equalled $5 and I probably spent $6 in gas.
I was searching today for pictures or wall decorations for our house. We've lived here 15 months and I have some decoration; however, I find it to be so expensive I thought yard sales might be an option. We have 9 foot ceilings so curtains have to be longer (meaning you can't buy them at Wal-mart) and pictures have to be larger to cover enough wall to not look dwarfed.
I actually purchased an organized for my scrapbooking addiction ($1) and a movie ($2) and game ($2) for church.
I had a yard sale about a month ago. It was amazing to me at how many professionals there are out there. One couple told me they have three storage buildings full of stuff. He was trying to talk her into buying a purse, but she told him she has about 10. He said occasionally he takes a load over to the flea market and sales it. He buys to resale but ends up keeping most of it.
So why are we fascinated with stuff? I remember being about six and standing up to sing in church with my one and only pair of patten leather church shoes and thinking about how Krista Crowe has a different pair of shoes for each week and when I'm older I'll be just like her (and I do have a boat load of shoes). Not realizing my foot was still growing and going to church three times a week didn't necessarily mean I needed more than one pair of church shoes.
I think this scripture http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:19;19:21;%20Luke%2012:33 says it well because as a nation we are truly storing up "treasure" on earth and then trying to sale it for a profit to buy more stuff.
I'm as guilty as anyone of doing this. I think a mindset of living more simply with less stuff would be beneficial to so many. Maybe our challenge should be to store up treasure in heaven and store up memories on earth?
I was searching today for pictures or wall decorations for our house. We've lived here 15 months and I have some decoration; however, I find it to be so expensive I thought yard sales might be an option. We have 9 foot ceilings so curtains have to be longer (meaning you can't buy them at Wal-mart) and pictures have to be larger to cover enough wall to not look dwarfed.
I actually purchased an organized for my scrapbooking addiction ($1) and a movie ($2) and game ($2) for church.
I had a yard sale about a month ago. It was amazing to me at how many professionals there are out there. One couple told me they have three storage buildings full of stuff. He was trying to talk her into buying a purse, but she told him she has about 10. He said occasionally he takes a load over to the flea market and sales it. He buys to resale but ends up keeping most of it.
So why are we fascinated with stuff? I remember being about six and standing up to sing in church with my one and only pair of patten leather church shoes and thinking about how Krista Crowe has a different pair of shoes for each week and when I'm older I'll be just like her (and I do have a boat load of shoes). Not realizing my foot was still growing and going to church three times a week didn't necessarily mean I needed more than one pair of church shoes.
I think this scripture http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206:19;19:21;%20Luke%2012:33 says it well because as a nation we are truly storing up "treasure" on earth and then trying to sale it for a profit to buy more stuff.
I'm as guilty as anyone of doing this. I think a mindset of living more simply with less stuff would be beneficial to so many. Maybe our challenge should be to store up treasure in heaven and store up memories on earth?
Friday, June 8, 2007
Would I sacrifice my child
Last night I was on the phone with a friend (I'll keep her anonymous) and she was telling me all about how she enjoys homeschooling her child. The conversation progressed to how the government tries to "control" homeschooling, etc.
She was commenting on how the children at church behave much worse than her homeschooling group. One of the children in the youth group had been busted for cocaine use (thank God they are in the youth group - maybe they will rally around them and help them). My question is how many haven't gotten busted? I mentioned that I had experienced the opposite with homeschooling children that seem to not be able to function in groups.
Then I posed the question of if we continue to take all the christian children out of public schools and put them into either christian schools or home school them how do we expect our public school system to get better? She chimed right in and said I will not sacrifice my child because of other parents lack of discipline with their children (that is a paraphrase, but I think I am close).
I am so glad that God chose to sacrifice His child for us. I don't know that by sending my child to public school I am sacrificing her. I think I am giving her skills that she will need to excel in a work world where most people weren't home schooled.
And I attended "Christian" school. The boys had a way to climb into the ceiling from their bathroom and peep into the girls bathrooms. They also had a system in place to wipe out the Lance man while he was filling our snack machine. And most of my friends that went to school there weren't so pure and innocent. Just because a school says Christian doesn't mean the children inside always portray Christ.
But back to the point of what if God had decided not to sacrifice Jesus for us? That is what He did. Would we be here? Would we still be sacrificing animals for atonement?
I am so thankful for the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you God for sacrificing your son. Thank you for my daughter. Help me know how to educate her so she can know how to behave around others that aren't of the same mindset.
She was commenting on how the children at church behave much worse than her homeschooling group. One of the children in the youth group had been busted for cocaine use (thank God they are in the youth group - maybe they will rally around them and help them). My question is how many haven't gotten busted? I mentioned that I had experienced the opposite with homeschooling children that seem to not be able to function in groups.
Then I posed the question of if we continue to take all the christian children out of public schools and put them into either christian schools or home school them how do we expect our public school system to get better? She chimed right in and said I will not sacrifice my child because of other parents lack of discipline with their children (that is a paraphrase, but I think I am close).
I am so glad that God chose to sacrifice His child for us. I don't know that by sending my child to public school I am sacrificing her. I think I am giving her skills that she will need to excel in a work world where most people weren't home schooled.
And I attended "Christian" school. The boys had a way to climb into the ceiling from their bathroom and peep into the girls bathrooms. They also had a system in place to wipe out the Lance man while he was filling our snack machine. And most of my friends that went to school there weren't so pure and innocent. Just because a school says Christian doesn't mean the children inside always portray Christ.
But back to the point of what if God had decided not to sacrifice Jesus for us? That is what He did. Would we be here? Would we still be sacrificing animals for atonement?
I am so thankful for the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you God for sacrificing your son. Thank you for my daughter. Help me know how to educate her so she can know how to behave around others that aren't of the same mindset.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Cultural Relevance
Debates about using culture in church abound. Debates about being relevant to our society abound.
Today, I attended my daughters Awards Ceremony for fourth grade. The fourth & fifth graders had their ceremony together and the fifth graders will leave for middle school next year. I was astounded at the different approaches taken by the music teacher and the art teacher.
The art teacher, Mr. Pisano actually used a lesson from college to teach his students this year. They love art. He taught them how to make books, they even bound them with awls. They experimented with making whistles and if they didn't work - he called them paperweights. Out of the box teaching. Use your brain. He even said they did a drumming exercise.
The music teacher (to remain unnamed) had three songs for the students. The first one was a patriotic song with hand motions. It was pretty, but you could tell the fifth graders hated the hand motions. But then, the intermission song really got my attention. It was about manners. There was an attempt to add a coolness factor by rapping in the middle of the song. I asked my daughter about it and she said it was corny. They had to learn it, but felt like first graders singing it. Then the last song was a "rap" song that the fifth graders sung about staying in school. Again very corny and not in keeping with culture at all.
The talent show at my daughters school was all popular culture music. No one attempted to rap or make a song written for first graders into a song for fifth graders.
I remember chorus in school. We learned Penny Lane. That song wasn't popular at the time but had a nice feel to it and didn't make us feel like babies.
So, on Sunday mornings are we still attempting to reach 4th and 5th graders using a model that works for first graders or even younger and is hated by fifth and sixth graders? I question do we continue and let them lose interest or do we change our approach - not compromising the message but changing it's delivery? Something to think about.
Today, I attended my daughters Awards Ceremony for fourth grade. The fourth & fifth graders had their ceremony together and the fifth graders will leave for middle school next year. I was astounded at the different approaches taken by the music teacher and the art teacher.
The art teacher, Mr. Pisano actually used a lesson from college to teach his students this year. They love art. He taught them how to make books, they even bound them with awls. They experimented with making whistles and if they didn't work - he called them paperweights. Out of the box teaching. Use your brain. He even said they did a drumming exercise.
The music teacher (to remain unnamed) had three songs for the students. The first one was a patriotic song with hand motions. It was pretty, but you could tell the fifth graders hated the hand motions. But then, the intermission song really got my attention. It was about manners. There was an attempt to add a coolness factor by rapping in the middle of the song. I asked my daughter about it and she said it was corny. They had to learn it, but felt like first graders singing it. Then the last song was a "rap" song that the fifth graders sung about staying in school. Again very corny and not in keeping with culture at all.
The talent show at my daughters school was all popular culture music. No one attempted to rap or make a song written for first graders into a song for fifth graders.
I remember chorus in school. We learned Penny Lane. That song wasn't popular at the time but had a nice feel to it and didn't make us feel like babies.
So, on Sunday mornings are we still attempting to reach 4th and 5th graders using a model that works for first graders or even younger and is hated by fifth and sixth graders? I question do we continue and let them lose interest or do we change our approach - not compromising the message but changing it's delivery? Something to think about.
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