Grow. Pray. Study.

Enjoy this week's GPS!

Early Childhood GPS

K - 2nd Grade GPS

3rd - 5th Grade GPS

Friday Faith Builder

“God saw everything that He had made and it was very good.”   Genesis 1:31

How often do we look at everything God made and celebrate God’s goodness?  How well do we do caring for the world God created?

From the moment God created people, God entrusted the care of His world to us, but with full schedules and numerous responsibilities, nurturing the environment can become a low priority in our daily lives.

Talk together as a family about how to care for God’s world.  If you have pets, help your child care for them.  Pack lunches with reusable containers.  Use both sides of the paper when drawing or writing.  Turn the water off while you are brushing your teeth. Recycle. Turn lights off when you are leaving the room. 

Remember also to enjoy God’s world!  Enjoy a sunrise or sunset. Smell flowers. Tour the zoo. Play outside. Taste fruits and vegetables. Play in the dirt and dig for worms.

Thank God for this amazing, beautiful world and ask God to help your family take care of it each and every day!

PIC Of The Week

On Wednesday night KiDS COR had an interactive family Ash Wednesday service. Families had a chance to learn the meaning of Ash Wednesday, receive a blessing, and the imposition of ashes. Take a look at the pic below as some kiddos receive a blessing from Pastor Lisa!

  

Grow. Pray. Study.

This week's GPS guides!

Early Childhood

K - 2nd Grade

3rd - 5th Grade

Friday Faith Builder

What do the words “God bless you!” mean to you?  How often do you hear or say them?   Maybe when you send a card of care or comfort? Only when you or someone else sneezes?

Consider offering a blessing to your child on an intentional, regular basis.  We offer our children a blessing when we give thanks to God for their lives and ask God for guidance and grace for them.  But what if we went a step further and placed our hand on their head, touched their shoulders, or placed our hands on their back and prayed aloud for them. You could say something as powerful and as simple as, “God thank you for our child____.  Please bless him/her with your love and grace. Help him/her always know how much he/she is loved. Amen.” You can also add words of thanksgiving for your child’s unique qualities and prayer requests for issues that are concerning your child.

Children of all ages will feel peace and comfort as you bless them—teens and adults will, too! The earlier you start, the more comfortable your child will feel as he or she grows older, but you can begin blessing your child at any age! The more often you do it, the more natural it will become.

Today and always, God bless you and God bless your child!

-Pastor Lisa

PIC OF THE WEEK!

Sunday the 4th graders talked about Jesus' parable of The Great Banquet take a look at some of their  research work below!

Grow. Pray. Study.

Early Childhood GPS

K - 2nd Grade GPS

3rd - 5th Grade GPS

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Friday Faith Builder!

Many people love to talk, but very few truly know how to listen. Talking to a person who knows how to listen with his or her whole heart is a true blessing and gift.


As parents, we will do our children a great favor if we grow to be good listeners. When someone is talking to you, be attentive. Close the book you are reading, silence the TV, turn away from the computer, and ignore your cell phone. Make eye contact. Listen to your child’s words and to his or her body language.

If you are in the middle of something, it’s okay to say, “I need to finish this up right now, but I want to hear every detail in just a few minutes.” When you are interrupted while talking, it’s also okay to say, “I am talking right now. I will listen to you when I am finished.” Then do it wholeheartedly.

Listening is also an important aspect of prayer. We are used to talking to God quite often. But God wants us to listen as well. In your personal and family prayer lives, include quiet time to listen. Open your mind and heart to hear what God might whisper to you.

Practice listening to God and to others. You will be giving and receiving a very special blessing as you do.

-Pastor Lisa

Where Are You Winter?

There has been almost no snow this winter. For those of you who don’t enjoy a good immobilizing snowstorm, you’re welcome. Our family bought a snow blower in the fall and it seems like that has created a force field around our area that simply stops snow from reaching the ground. I’m a great lover of winter and am very sad about our lack of snow.



As a parent with kids involved in several activities at any given time and every evening filled with some type of event, the snow day was like a “stay home” pass. Kids’ activities were cancelled, businesses opened late, everything slowed down and it was okay to stay in your pajamas a little later in the morning. Breakfast became a meal at the dining room table rather than a Pop Tart in the car. Kids pulled out sleds and played outside. Everyone gathered at one house, usually determined by whoever had the most snacks on hand and was willing to bake treats and fix lunch.


Moms got together to visit, made cookies, took turns stepping outside to check on the kids and snap a few photos. The kids went sledding, had snowball fights, built forts and acted like kids. And every couple of hours, when the kids got really cold they came in for hot chocolate, a snack and dry clothes. On snow days, no matter their age, our kids became young again, just having fun and playing.


I have often wondered what makes a snow day so special. I can’t really explain it, but it seems the snow day strips away expectations. There is no homework, no activities, a slower pace and not a lot of “going” – snow days are home days. On snow days our focus shifts to home and comfort, warmth and fun.


So I will keep the snow blower and maintain the force field against a blizzard, but I have decided to create a “snow day” for my family to slow down and welcome friends into our home for a lazy day of visiting, playing and enjoying each other. I encourage you to do the same for those days with our kids become fewer and farther between as they get older and as the song says “you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone”.




So choose your snow day and enjoy! For God has blessed us with family and friends, we just have to make time to enjoy them!

Denise Mersmann
Early Chilhood Program Assistant

Picture of the Week

This past Sunday the 3^rd-5^th graders wrote the name of one person they were going to see in their neighborhood this week. Then they stuck this name to the cross and prayed over them. Here is the cross with all the names stuck to it. 

Pretty awesome!

Grow. Pray. Study.

I hope you enjoyed the Parables of Jesus this weekend.

Here are the guides in case you missed them!

Early Childhood GPS

K - 2nd Grade GPS

3rd - 5th Grade GPS

Friday Faith Builder

“Sing. Sing a song. Sing out loud. Sing out strong. Don’t worry if it’s not good enough for anyone else to hear.  Just sing.  Sing a song!”

I hope some of you remember that popular song from a few decades back! J

Music is a very important part of our culture.  Music connects us across generations (at least sometimes!).  Music is a universal language. Music can lift our spirits and give voice to that which has no words. Of course, the Bible is also filled with songs and encouragement to sing!

Have you ever chosen a song to represent your family?  Gather your family and ask them to bring some of their favorite music.  Listen to some songs.  Bring some up that you have enjoyed as favorites over the years.  Take a familiar tune and write your own lyrics if you want to.  Maybe you have a hymn or a praise song that speaks strongly. Can you find one that describes your family well?

Enjoy it by using it as a family prayer before meals, whistling or humming it in a crowd, soothing a sick child, dancing to it, or using it as background music to a DVD slide show of family pictures. When you are separated, use that special song to bring you back together in your minds and hearts.  And always thank God for your family and your song! 

Picture of the Week

Did you know that each week over 200 people volunteer to serve in KiDS COR? Without them we don’t have KiDS COR. This past weekend we celebrated the service of our volunteers with lunch! Here’s a pic from the event. Thank you to everyone who serves in KiDSCOR!