We've Moved

The KiDS COR blog has moved to a new home. Come and visit us at:

http://kids.blogs.cor.org/

Picture Of The Week

Here is a cute picture from this past weekend. Our green rainbow class was talking about loving others and made a love banner of all of the people they love!

Friday Faith Builder

Has your family been enjoying the Olympics? The Olympics provide a wonderful opportunity for us to learn about other cultures, races, ethnicities, traditions, and rituals. We all too often get wrapped up in our own little, personal world and forget at some level that we are each part of a much bigger picture and plan.


Choose an Olympic event to watch as a family. Bring some kind of map, whether it is on paper or a computer. Find the countries represented at the event. Learn about the foods the people eat and what days they celebrate. Listen to the music from the country. Choose one or two competitors to research. What are their stories and the stories of their families? What has it taken for them to be able to compete? What will they return to when they go back home?

Throughout the year, volunteer in areas different from where you live. Spend time in homeless shelters and food pantries. Attend cultural events at museums and parks. Sponsor a child from a different country. Show compassion and care for those different than you. Travel as you are able and explore new areas and places.

As we embrace the larger world, our children will begin to understand that the world is bigger than them. That they can make a difference. That they can be people of peace and hope. Share God’s love with the world and the world will be a better, brighter home for all.

-Pastor Lisa

Friday Faith Builder

Last week two of my daughters (who are 12 and 14 years old) participated in the church’s youth mission trip to downtown Kansas City. We had reviewed the packing list several times, and even as we were backing out of the driveway I said, “You have swimsuits? Shower bag? Bible? Sleeping bag and pillow? They responded “Yes” to each item—even saying they had blankets and pillows when I asked about the sleeping bag.

I dropped the girls off at the church where they would be sleeping, gave them hugs, and headed home. Twenty minutes later, my phone rang. I knew it was the girls and I chose not to answer it. However, I listened to their message right away. “Mom—my sister forgot her swimsuit and I forgot my sleeping bag and pillow. Can you bring them down to us, please?”

I did not respond. I wanted the girls to have some time to figure out their situation on their own. Six hours later, the phone rang again—I answered and heard the same information—however not the request. I asked, “So what is your plan?” I was pleased to hear they had one—and it didn’t involve me bringing anything to them. (They knew better than to ask me again because my answer would be “No.”)

Sometimes it is hard to let our kids make mistakes. We want to help them out. We want to protect them. But they need to learn how to solve problems and do things differently the next time around. Pray for God’s guidance as you parent and pray that we all, young or old, can grow from our mistakes.   

-Pastor Lisa

Friday Faith Builder

One of the highlights of our New York City mission trip was worshiping at a Jewish synagogue. The service we attended was filled with singing in the Hebrew language. Though we did not understand the words, we did understand the spirit. The congregation was filled joy and gratitude towards God.

About halfway through the service, the rabbi identified us as a visiting group and we were asked to join him at the front. He spoke briefly on the importance of accepting and loving one another and understanding our differences. He spoke of us as part of the family of God and asked the children to bring forward cups of white grape juice for us to drink as a symbol of sharing our faith with each other. He also asked the congregation to sing a song of blessing upon us. We were all very moved by this amazing act of hospitality and love.

How does your family seek to understand those of different faiths? Do you know how they pray and worship? What traditions or rituals do they honor? What are the basic theological beliefs? What is the history of the faith? What special days to they celebrate and why?

Build relationships with those of other faiths. Seek to understand and love. Be people of peace and hope. Reach out to all.

-Pastor Lisa  

Weekend/Friday Faith Builder

The Friday faith builder is one day late so let's make it the weekend faith builder!

I love celebrations—birthdays, holidays, graduations, anniversaries—any milestone is celebration-worthy in my mind!  And yet, why wait for a milestone to celebrate?  What if this summer, we each took at least one day to celebrate life!  God has given us an amazing gift in the ability to use our senses of taste, touch, smell, hearing and sight to experience this incredible world around us—so let’s give thanks and enjoy!

Choose a day to celebrate.  Then as a family, talk about how could you use all of your senses to rejoice!  You might choose some favorite treats to create and eat.  What games or activities could you do that would be fun for everyone?   Do you have some music that everyone enjoys listening to—or playing yourselves?  How about seeing balloons, colorful confetti and God’s creation?  Would you want to invite any friends to join you in your celebration?

Through the year consider bringing moments of celebration into everyday life.  Bring home a bouquet of colorful balloons on a dreary day.  Learn how other cultures celebrate and choose one to join in on.  Throw a party for the first day of fall or spring and give thanks for the seasons God created.  Throw a surprise party for someone who may not have family around.  Celebrate efforts and not just accomplishments regarding school performance and activities.

Commit to celebrating life! And have fun!

-Pastor Lisa 

VBC KiDS raised lots of money for KiDS in Jamaica!

Pic Of The Week!

Today's picture of the week comes from Bible Theatre. On Sunday, July 1 35 Resurrection kids led Sunday school. They performed a musical called The Land Of Giants! It was awesome!!

Friday Faith Builder-5th Grade Mission Trip To NYC



This past week, eight of our KiDS COR fifth graders each brought one parent along to share together in our very first mission trip to New York City! Wow—were they all amazing! We filled our days with opportunities to grow in knowing, loving and serving God and others.


We learned about immigration as we visited the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and the Tenement Museum, a place where immigrants came to live after they were accepted into America. We cleaned up a couple of community gardens, delivered Meals on Wheels (actually they were Meals on Foot ), worked in a food pantry and prepared a meal for 400 people at a soup kitchen.

The group listened to people’s stories of becoming homeless and how they are working their way out of homelessness. We visited the World Trade Center site and the Museum of Jewish Heritage to learn about the horrors of hate and the hope that comes when people seek to understand and love one another. We were warmly welcome as we worshiped in a synagogue and a church in Harlem.

We spent time at the Church Center for the United Nations where we learned about the importance of being involved in both charity and justice efforts as we serve others. We also were visited by the top official of the United Nations World Food Program who taught us to share the story of freerice.com, a website where anyone can play games and earn grains of rice for people around the world.

We thank God for this amazing opportunity to grow in our faith, and as we return home to Kansas City, we will be exploring ways to build relationships and serve here, as well. We feel blessed to have been a part of this journey.

-Pastor Lisa

A Day At KiDS COR Basketball Camp

Every Summer KiDS COR has two great weeks of Basketball Camp! Led by Coach Eddie Rogosich over 400 kids attend camp over these 2 weeks. We thought you might like to see what a typical day at camp looks like.

Our campers begin in their team lines each day for instructions from Coach Eddie. Each camper is placed in a team of 8-10 kids and has 1 coach for the entire week.

Follow the opening instructions, campers participate in a fun camp wide camp game. Today was Relay race day!

Next campers rotate through instructional and competition stations. Stations include ball handling, speed & conditioning, and of course some one on one games.

Camp would not be complete without a snack. Today was animal cracker day!

Each day at camp we take time out of camp to have a halftime devotion. Guest speakers from Resurrection take 15 minutes to talk about about the most important reason we are here at camp and that is to know and love Jesus a little bit better.

Following the halftime devotion we play one more camp wide game and then all campers meet with their team for a closing praying and any words of wisdom.

Camp is so much fun both for the avid basketball player and for those who just like to have fun. We hope to see everyone at our next basketball camp sometime soon!

5th grade-NYC Mission Trip Update!

KiDS COR 5th graders worked at St. Paul's Church in the food pantry and delivering meals on Friday.

5th Graders learn about world hunger at the Church Center for the United Nations

5th grade team works at Brooklyn community garden

5th graders at World Trade Center

5th graders at Ellis Island

On Wednesday, we visited the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, the 911 Memorial Center, St. Pauls Chapel, The Tenament Musuem, China Town, and Little Italy.

5th graders learn about "Going Green in Queens" with host Mark Christi

Our team cleaned up a street by the East River in Long Island City.

5th Grade Faith Passage Trip - 2nd day in NYC!

Greetings from the 5th graders in NYC!

Jenna and the crew say hi from New York City. We have been very busy the last two days. We learned about immigration today. Check back tomorrow for more!

VBC Kids Making A Difference!

Vacation Bible Camp 2012 has just finished but the stories of the week keep coming in. Here's a great story about a couple of girls making a huge difference for the people of West Africa. Their names are Ellie and Emma. On Thursday afternoon after leaving VBC, Ellie and Emma, along with their siblings and some friends, went around their neighborhood knocking on doors to collect shoes for Rerun shoes in West Africa. In one afternoon they collected 263 pairs of shoes along with some monetary donations!! Here is a picture we took of them in their third grade "Green Gracers" classroom. We are so proud of them!

Drum Roll Please!

And the winner in the Amazing Grace Race is......
Everyone!

Missions Totals:
Money for Jamaica - $9,447.83
Shoes for Africa - 2,398

VBC Sonflower Camp!

Matthew's Ministry, in conjunction with VBC, held its Sonflower Camp this week. Sonflower campers participated in drama, missions, and music. After all that fun, they headed off to make birdhouses, help teachers organize supplies, and do a little yoga.

Day 4 Missions Totals!

A big thank you to everyone!
We have collected $4,670.94 for St. Anne's school in Jamaica!

We have collected 1,469 pairs of shoes for Africa!

Face painting was a big hit last night at VBC Family Night!

Day 4 - song time!

It may be summer....

but there is a whole lot of learning going on!

Craft volunteers rock!

Craft volunteers have been busy helping campers make beautiful picture frames and handy keychains!

Shoes & More Shoes - Day 3 Totals!

Way to go VBC campers! Here are our missions totals so far:

$2,542.94 for St. Anne's Bay school in Jamaica and

995 pairs of shoes for Africa!

The cheers could be heard across town

Ted, a great man of faith, has inspired so many campers this week that he needed bodyguards, aka the Men in Black, to get by his adoring race fans. Hundreds of campers turned out to cheer on the Amazing Grace team competition. It was Chuck and Buck versus Ted. Ted may have stood alone, but as a great follower of the Lord, he sent Chuck and Buck "a packing".

Official VBC Music!

So what are the tunes your kiddos are singing along to at camp this week? Here's your 2012 offcial song list of the Amazing Grace Race

Shackles by The Go Fish Guys

Movin' To The Beat by The Go Fish Guys

Wise Man Rock by Phil Joel

Ready, Set, Go by Songs from The Playhouse

Trading My Sorrows 
We're All Singing by Promiseland (Willow Creek Community Church's Children's Ministry)  

All the kids love rec time!

VBC's awesome song leaders!

VBC KiDS make cool murals for our KC partner schools!

Jesus is ready for the stage!

No easy task getting Jesus ready to judge The Amazing Grace Race!

Nate & Duke versus Sammy & Delia

Brian Seacrest gave the first two teams their instructions. The goal was for each team to fill a treasure chest with things they believed important. Jesus was the judge. After all was said and done, Nate & Duke, through prayer, realized riches aren't material goods, but rather the love in our hearts for God.
Congrats Nate & Duke!

Future VBC camper donating shoes for Africa!

Day 2 Missions Totals
Funds for St. Anne's School in Jamaica - $1,278.80

Pairs of shoes for Africa - 414
Way to go campers - keep up the good work!

The Amazing Grace Race Day 2 - 4th & 5th graders!

The race is on for "Dollars for Jamaica" and "Rerun shoes"

Our goal is $9,000 for St. Ann's School!
Day 1 we collected $266.13 and 100 shoes!

VBC Mission Info

Each year VBC takes on multiple missions project. This first project is a collection of money for one of Resurrection mission's partners and the 2nd is a tangible item that kids can easily collect and bring in for people in need. This week all money collected during Vacation Bible Camp will go directly to St. Ann's Bay Primary school in Jamaica to help renovate 2 classrooms. For more info watch the VBC mission video and click here. All money your child brings in will be collected in the classrooms and go 100% towards our Jamaican project.

Second we are partnering with Rerun shoes and collecting gently used shoes to send to Africa. These shoes will be given to local small business owners in West Africa for them to fix up and sell. By giving these shoes to local businesses we are not only supporting a felt need in Africa, but also supporting the local economy which is vital to lifting communities out of poverty. Shoe collection bins are located in the narthex of the West Building and in the halls of the East Building all week long.

Be on the look for more info about this projects during the week! Thanks in advance for being so generous!

Song time - Day 1

Amazing Grace Race Day One!

Every camper is a winner when they come to VBC 2012!

Getting ready for the race!

The Amazing Grace Race for many VBC volunteers started Sunday afternoon as they prepped their classrooms for campers!

VBC 2012 "The Amazing Grace Race" begins tomorrow!

The teams are organized. The clues are ready. The pit stops are in place. We look forward to seeing VBC campers on Monday, June 11. It'll be a winning week, where all who enter the race will learn about God's Grace. Look at all of these snacks!

Friday Faith Builder

Today , my brother and I are helping my parents move out of the home they have lived in for thirty-four years. I moved to that house with them when I was eight years old and my brother was seven. The house they/we are leaving holds many wonderful memories. Birthday parties, holidays, graduations, anniversaries and just everyday life have all been celebrated within those walls. My three daughters (who are helping, too!) have spent many nights with their grandpa and grandma at that house and have enjoyed chasing fireflies, eating bowls of ice cream, hunting Easter eggs and swinging on the tree swing my dad built for them.


We are all also preparing their new house. We are excited about their new adventure—no stairs, a new neighborhood, fresh paint, a pool and exercise room nearby, and their best friends living across the street. As melancholy and sentimental we are about leaving the old house, we are equally as excited about enjoying the new one. We know that walls don’t connect us, hearts and love do, and that many more memories await creation.

Change is a part of life. Transitions can be hard. Loss can be difficult. Newness can be filled with joy and excitement. And we sometimes feel it all at the same time. No matter what you are experiencing in life right now, trust that God is with you. God loves you. And God has a new adventure awaiting you.

-Pastor Lisa

Pic Of The Week!

Yes, that is a lot of chips and that is just a portion of our snack supply for Vacation Bible Camp starting next week! We'll have over 1,100 hungry campers learning about the Amazing Grace Race!

Friday Faith Builder

With kids out of school, more hours of sunlight, and activities winding down, summertime brings about a whole new rhythm.  You might be planning on spending time at the pool, library, museums, parks, and traveling.  You might have several arts and crafts projects tucked away, outdoor games and play dates planned.  How about spending time focusing on your family faith life?  Could you create time for an additional time with God this summer?

You might get involved in a charity and volunteer somewhere.  Consider helping neighbors, community service people, or those in need. Sing or listen to music that is cheerful and uplifting. Find a new praise CD and learn a new song or two. Pray together as a family and by yourself.   Retell Bible stories you hear in church. Create a craft project and share it with someone who is lonely.  Cook a meal or bake a treat and bless someone else with it.  Invite people to your home for a time of fun and fellowship.  Spend time outside at different times of day and night. Thank God for the beautiful creations in this world. Continue to attend worship and KiDS COR.

You will have many opportunities to praise God and grow in your faith as a family this summer.  Pray that God will help you enjoy every moment!

-Pastor Lisa

VBC Mission Project

Each year the Vacation Bible Campers take on a mission project; this year we are partnering with St. Ann's  Bay Primary School in Jamaica. Take a look at the video below for more information.

VBC 2012

Vacation Bible Camp begins June 11th. We hope you all will be here for this awesome week!! Check out the blog often to see what is going on at VBC!! You might even win a prize!! Get a sneak peak of our drama, watch the video below.

Technology And Your Kids

Some very interesting research!
Courtesy of: Schools.com

Friday Faith Builder

Wow!  Summer is here!  Do you have plans to spend time with family and friends?  How about one-on-one time with your kids?  Do you and your family have fun and creative ideas of how to spend time day-to-day for the next few months? 

If you have yet to think about what fun moments and activities your family might share together, consider asking everybody for a few ideas.  Also, talk about how much screen time your kids will be given this summer.  Young people spend an average of seven hours and thirty-eight minutes every day between computers, cell phones and television--that totals 53 hours a week!  A good number of those hours could be used in creative pursuits, serving opportunities, and sharing quality time.

Read, play a game, or design a craft instead of watching TV.  Turn off cell phones during meals.  Leave the computer off for an evening or two each week and take a walk or visit a neighbor.  When you are in the car, leave the stereo off and talk, sing, or play silly car games. 

This summer, tune out the TV and tune into God and one another.  Remind your kids that God can always be accessed anytime and anywhere.   Pray and ask God to help you all use your time wisely and celebrate summer!

  

Pastor Lisa

Picture of the Week

May 19 & 20 was volunteer appreciation in KiDS COR! All our volunteers got free cake! Did you know it takes hundreds of volunteers to run KiDS COR? We are so thankful for all our volunteers!!