First Church Children and Families Ministry

Oh... Come ... All Ye Faithful....

2011-12-23T11:13:00.000-08:00

the Incarnation... the birth of Christ

2011-12-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

a thought... "The sacred and holy moments of life are somehow the most raw, the most human moments, aren’t they?"

A Psalm

2011-12-21T19:27:00.000-08:00

Psalm 116

1 I love the LORD, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
2 Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the LORD:
“LORD, save me!”

5 The LORD is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
6 The LORD protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the LORD has been good to you.

8 For you, LORD, have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
9 that I may walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.

10 I trusted in the LORD when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
11 in my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”

12 What shall I return to the LORD
for all his goodness to me?

13 I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD.
14 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.

15 Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his faithful servants.
16 Truly I am your servant, LORD;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains.

17 I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the LORD.
18 I will fulfill my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courts of the house of the LORD—
in your midst, Jerusalem.

Praise the LORD.[a]

Mary

2011-12-20T22:57:00.000-08:00

In Mary we see all the beauty of Advent concentrated. She is the one in whom the waiting of Israel is most fully and most purely manifested; she is the last of the remnant of Israel for whom God shows his mercy and fulfills his promises; she is the faithful one who believed that the promise made to her by the Lord would be fulfilled; she is the lowly handmaid, the obedient servant, the quiet contemplative. She indeed is the most prepared to receive the Lord.
The Abbot of Genesee monastery said that we should desire not only the first coming of Christ in his lowly human gentleness but also his second coming as the judge of our lives. I sensed that the desire of Christ's judgement is a real aspect of holiness and realized how little that desire was mine.
Now I see better how part of Christian maturation is the slow but persistent deepening of fear to the point where it becomes desire. The fear of God is not in contrast with his mercy. Therefore, words such as fear and desire, justice and mercy have to be relearned and reunderstood when we use them in our intimate relationship wihh the Lord. - Henri Nouwen

Children's Christmas Presentation

2011-12-17T18:25:00.000-08:00

10 Things To Remember When Your Child Is Disobedient

2011-12-15T06:04:00.000-08:00

Here are 10 Things I had to remind myself today when the job of correcting my children felt especially difficult…

1. You disobey the Lord…and He is the perfect Father.

2. His kindness leads us to repentance.

3. God disciplines those He loves.

4. Your child’s disobedience does not measure your value any more than his obedience showcases your achievement.

5. Your child’s disobedience teaches you dependence on God.

6. And sometimes it’s more than dependence He’s after, it’s complete desperation for Him.

7. Your child is clearly a sinner, and needs to hear the truth of the Gospel, and see it lived out through you.

8. Times of correction serve to remind, or establish within your child, his own sense of need for a Savior.

9. It’s not good behavior you really desire…you want his heart.

10. Your child is a person, not a project.

Word to Know

2011-12-15T05:52:00.000-08:00

Prophecy: A foretelling; prediction; a declaration of something to come. As God only knows future events with certainty, no being but God or some person informed by him, can utter a real prophecy. The prophecies recorded in Scripture, when fulfilled, afford most convincing evidence of the divine original of the Scriptures, as those who uttered the prophecies could not have foreknown the events predicted without supernatural instruction. 2 Pet.1 (From Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

Snowman Oatmeal Cookies

2011-12-15T05:45:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2-1/2 cups Quaker® Oats (quick or old fashioned, uncooked)
Decorator frosting in tubes
Candy sprinkles and small candies

Preparation

Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.

In large bowl, beat butter and sugars with electric mixer until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. In separate bowl, combine flour and baking soda; mix well. Add to butter mixture; mix well. Stir in oats; mix well. Divide dough into 4 equal portions.

Using hands, pat each portion of dough into a large 1/4-inch thick snowman on cookie sheet.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are light golden brown. Cool 2 minutes on cookie sheets; carefully remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Decorate as desired with frosting and candy. Store tightly covered.

A Neat Idea for Kids of Any Age (Even Adults :) )

2011-12-15T05:44:00.000-08:00

http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/PromiseCards/main-page.html

Some Fun Games to Play Online

2011-12-15T05:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.ferryhalim.com/orisinal/

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

2011-12-15T05:37:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 (10 ounce) jar maraschino cherries
1 (6 ounce) package semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Preparation:

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl, set aside.

In another bowl, beat butter and sugar on low speed until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, beat until well blended.

Gradually add in the flour mixture and blend well until smooth.

Shape into 1 inch balls by rolling a small amount of dough between the palms of your hands. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Using thumb, press down center of ball making an indentation.

Drain cherries, reserving the juice. Place a cherry in the center of each cookie.

For frosting: In a small saucepan, combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Heat over low heat until chocolate is melted. Add 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon reserved cherry juice and stir.

Spoon about 1 teaspoon frosting over each cherry, spreading to cover cherry. If frosting gets too thick, add a little more cherry juice.

Bake in oven at 350° for 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Makes 48 cookies.

What if it happened today?

2011-12-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Here are some fun videos to answer that question:

http://youtu.be/8gFYzErcweg

http://youtu.be/LbBgyt9D2ow

Friday

2011-12-08T19:41:00.000-08:00

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” (Matthew 1.23 NRSV)

A young family was going home for Christmas. The car was all packed. The mail and the newspaper delivery had been stopped. A neighbor would keep an eye on the house and feed the dog. All the gifts for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles were somehow fitted into the trunk of the car. They had plenty of anti freeze in the radiator. Their suitcases and hanging clothes were in place. They were finally ready to go. The husband started out of the driveway, when all of a sudden the wife gasped, "Honey, we've forgotten the baby." It was true. In all the excitement and the grabbing up of luggage and Christmas gifts, they had forgotten their most precious cargo their baby. We can forget the baby, too, if we are not careful. That's easy to do this time of year.

We see visual reminders, "Don't leave Christ out of Christmas." And we try to keep that from happening. He IS the reason for the season. Lord Jesus, you are my reason to celebrate this season of love and hope. Amen.

Thursday

2011-12-08T18:36:00.000-08:00

The Advent of Our God

The advent of our God
Our prayers must now employ,
And we must meet Him on His road
With hymns of holy joy.

The everlasting Son
Incarnate deigns to be;
Himself a servant's form puts on
To set His people free.

Daughter of Zion, rise
To meet thy lowly King,
Nor let thy faithless heart despise
The peace He comes to bring.

As Judge, on clouds of light,
He soon will come again,
And all His scattered saints unite
With Him in Heaven to reign.

Before the dawning day
Let sin's dark deeds be gone;
The old man all be put away,
The new man all put on.

All glory to the Son
Who comes to set us free,
With Father, Spirit, ever One,
Through all eternity.

Words: Charles Coffin; Translated from Latin to English by John Chandler

Wednesday

2011-12-08T13:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-o7nu1fTi0

I am Second.

Advent

2011-12-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

By Peg Luksik
12/6/2011

And all we have to do is follow his example.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He is not just an idea. He was, and is, a saint. A saint who reminds us that we are loved without limits. A saint who challenges us to remove the limits on how we love others. A saint who calls us to holiness as we prepare to celebrate the greatest gift mankind has ever received.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.

HARRISBURG, PA. (Catholic Online) -Years ago, a little girl named Virginia O'Hanlon wrote to the editor of the New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real. His answer, which spoke of skeptical men in a skeptical age who only believed in what they could see, is as relevant today as it was when Frank Church wrote it.

The name and face of Santa has been plastered over advertising, billboards, movies and television. We have single Santa's looking for wives, reluctant Santa's trying to escape their destinies, drafted Santa's to replace one who is "retiring", and even bad Santa's. The stories all have happy endings, with the magic of the North Pole somehow saving the day.

None of them are real, and many of them are even distasteful. Thankfully, none of them is Santa, either. Because Saint Nicholas, like every saint, is real.

He was born in Asia Minor and was bishop of the town of Myra in the fourth century. When he died he was buried in the cathedral there. When the Saracens conquered Myra in the early eleventh century, his remains were moved to the Italian city of Bari in 1087. His tomb is visited by thousands every year, even to this day.

His bones exude a clear liquid, called the "manna of Saint Nicholas", which is extracted from the shrine every year on May 9 in a formal ceremony conducted by the Rector of the Basilica in Bari, in the presence of the delegate of the Pope, the Archbishop of Bari, an Orthodox Bishop, civil authorities, the local clergy and the faithful. This has happened every year since 1980. The manna is distributed and is considered a relic with healing properties.

Nicholas is the patron saint of children, Russia, Greece, Sicily, sailors, prisoners, bakers, and pawnbrokers. His image is second only to Mary's in religious icons of both the Eastern and Western churches.

The stories of his generosity and kindness are legendary.

Santa Claus is a translation of his name.

When our children are little, we tell them to "ask Santa" at Christmas time. They can ask for anything - without limit. All Santa wants in return is goodness.

Isn't that exactly how we are supposed to relate to God?

But God is bigger than anything that we can comprehend. Developing an effective and complete relationship with God is the work of a lifetime. A work which most of us do not finish before our time here is done. That is why He sent His Son - so we would have someone we COULD connect with.

Saint Nicholas is a person who made that connection. When people pretend to be Santa, they act with levels of generosity and charity and kindness that they do not normally exhibit. In other words, they get closer to God. In doing so, they discover happiness.

And even in the convoluted versions of Santa being pushed by today's secular media, that message of happiness through goodness continues to resonate.

And all we have to do is follow his example.

-----

Peg Luksik is the Chairman of the Center for American Heritage. Learn more about the heritage of this exceptional nation at www.centerforamericanheritage.com

Advent Week 2! (Sunday)

2011-12-03T22:25:00.000-08:00

Peace!

What is Advent?

Hopefully we can answer that question a little better after these next few weeks. It is a time when we are preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ. We are looking back at the first Advent. When people were preparing themselves for the coming Messiah. We are now in a second Advent as we are waiting and preparing for Christ to return.

O Come O Come Emmanuel (for all my country fans)

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

May the Peace of our Lord and Savior be with you!

Advent Week 1! (Saturday)

2011-12-03T21:28:00.000-08:00

So it would help if I press the publish button instead of the save now button... please forgive me as I back track and catch us up.

A few months back my parents church did the cardboard signs testimonies. I have seen this done many times it is a great way, in fact when I went looking for the video there was 63 pages of videos of churches that have done this, and that was with my refined search! Anyway, I ended up going to their website to find it. The reason it is important to me is because my family participated in this. As I watched my dad wheel my sister onto that stage. I was thrown into a spiral of thoughts of the last few years. All that we have 'lost.' But as I watched and then watched my mom come out with her sign. I was reminded of all that we 'gained.' My sister has always made Christmas special for me and the family. As the years have gone on and we have both grown up and I have moved away she still seems to find a way to make it special. Although MS has taken much away from her and us, she still has hope and so do we.

For those of you who are interested:

http://www.southsidebiblechurch.net/BlogEntry.aspx?entry_id=265077

Advent Week 1! (Thursday/Friday)

2011-12-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

As I sit listening to UK choir singing beautiful Christmas music I am reminded once again that no matter who you are and what walk of life you come from the world all stops at Christmas time and celebrates Jesus. My father and I have talked many times about how the world try's so hard to get away from Christianity and have done many things in effort to move farther from God. However in their attempts to push away they still in a sometimes very unconscious way draw close Him. Like in this season many focus on the presents and the decorations. It's like the first Christmas. Everyone was busy doing their own thing and then a baby, the King of Kings, the Son of God, the Prince of Peace comes and everyone pauses. Everyone looks stops what they are doing and looks upon this infant who would save us from our sins and would pave a road for us to be with Him in Heaven one day. He brought us peace in a crazy time. During this time when we are busy running from event to event let us pause and let the Prince of Peace enter into our lives and bring the same peace that the shepherds felt as they gazed upon this precious little baby boy, the Messiah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-idI-xwdHc

An Advent Hymn

2011-11-30T23:00:00.000-08:00

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

Refrain

Day 3

2011-11-29T21:06:00.000-08:00

November 29, 2011
No Room
by Mary Southerland

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (John 3:16, NIV).

I make room for things that are important to me. I eat two or three meals every day and sleep several hours each night even though my “to do” list is not much shorter today than it was yesterday. I will choose to play with a grandchild over cleaning the house any day of the week. I manage to find a place for that great piece of furniture I don’t really need – but really like. After all, it was on sale. I like watches. Don’t ask me why because I simply don’t know. I only need one watch, but I own several inexpensive ones. I will have lunch with a friend instead of running errands. And there is always room for chocolate! Silly examples – right? I wonder. I wonder what the innkeeper thought as he turned away the young man and his very pregnant wife that holy night so long ago. He had no room – it was that simple. Do we?

The Christmas season is almost here! Our calendars are already full, our bank accounts are closing in on empty and our hearts and lives are crowded with things we deem important, but have we made room for Jesus?

I simply cannot imagine a world without the presence of God and yet I often live my life as if He does not exist. A crisis hits, and I try to handle it on my own. I don’t understand the trials in my life while those who could care less about God seem to prosper. Instead of reaching out to Him, I withdraw into the darkness. Financial stress fuels worry. Instead of turning to God, I rely on what I can see and understand. I settle.

When I do cry out to God, He lovingly fills each dark corner with Light. His love flows over the pain like soothing balm and once again, I experience the manger. Once again, Jesus Christ steps into the smelly, unlikely and very ordinary existence that is mine to change everything – absolutely everything!

Jesus could have come to us in many ways. The simplicity of His birth is extraordinary and sometimes hard to grasp. Jesus could have been born in a mansion. He was, after all, a King. Instead, He came to a dirty smelly manger and His birth was announced by common shepherds instead of Kings -- the greatest of all miracles in the midst of total simplicity. Today, Jesus still wants to meet us in the midst of our simple daily lives. It seems too easy and too good to be true, doesn’t it?

It was Christmas Eve, and the family was preparing to attend the special service of their local church. Everyone was going except Dad, who was an honest man, a man who could not seem to wrap his logical mind around the story of God come to earth as a baby in a manger. He didn’t want to be a hypocrite, pretending to worship a Savior he wasn’t sure even existed, so he stayed home, built a fire to dispel the bitter cold of that winter night and began to read the paper, waiting for his family’s return. Hearing a knock at the window, he turned to see a tiny bird trying to reach the warmth of the fire. The man opened the window, but the bird refused to come in. Grabbing his coat, the man went out to the barn and opened the barn doors wide – but still, the bird refused to come in. The man thought, “If only I could be a bird, for just one minute, I could lead the bird to safety.” At that moment, he heard the church bells ring and finally understood why Jesus came to earth as a man -- to become one of us so He could lead us to eternal safety.

The very heart of Christmas is Emanuel, God with us – with me – and withyou. Christmas is not a date on a calendar. Christmas is a way of life that celebrates the presence of God in the simple, ordinary happenings of daily life: where we go and what we do -- the smile we give the harried stranger or the patience we choose in the crowd of impatient shoppers -- the love that prompts the secret gift or the heart that constantly celebrates His birth through every sparkling light, every beautifully wrapped gift, each special meal, every card, phone call and visit. God is with us – if we choose to make room for Him.

Day 2

2011-11-29T20:54:00.001-08:00

Prophecy about Jesus

Many men over many years prophesied Christ’s coming

· Messiah: the king that would come to deliver Israel

· Prophecy: message from God

Isaiah 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Emmanuel."

Christ’s birth and life were announced long before Mary was even born. In fact, prophets told many details about His birth hundreds of years before. (From 6,000 to 450 years BC) Over 300 prophecies were made, so the Israelites would expect and recognize Jesus when He came. If someone told you 300 facts about someone you never met, do you think you would recognize him?

The prophecies said that the Messiah would:

· Be born of a woman (Gen 3:15)

· Be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14)

· Be the son of God (Psalm 2:7)

· Be descended from Abraham (Gen. 22:18), Isaac (Gen. 21:12), Jacob (Num. 24:17), tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), family of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1), house of David (Jer. 23:5)

· Be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)

· Be Presented with gifts (Psalm 72:10)

· Be threatened by Herod (Jer. 31:15)

· Be God and man (Isaiah 7:14)

· Be a Prophet (Deut. 18:18) a Priest (Psalm 110:4) a Judge (Isaiah 33:22), and a King (Psalm 2:6)

· Be preceded by a messenger (Malachi 3:1)

· Teach first in Galilee (Isaiah 9:1)

· Perform miracles (Isaiah 35:5,6)

And that's just the beginning of His life! Could any two men meet all those descriptions perfectly? No - only Jesus. Some people recognized Him when He came. The wise men that brought presents knew He was the Messiah: the shepherds that visited, Simeon and Anna at the temple in Jerusalem, His mother and father, and John’s parents. Even Herod knew He had been born and tried to kill Him. God told us He was coming because he had a plan. He was going to save man from his sins. Why? Because He loves us. John 3:16 tells us: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” So God sent His son for you and me as well as for people who were alive then.

Advent Week 1!

2011-11-27T18:24:00.000-08:00

I am so excited for Advent, the start of a new church year and the preparing for Christmas. I love the telling of the Christmas story little bit by little bit as we get closer to that glorious day. Between the hustle and bustle of this busy season I want to share some Advent thoughts with you. So each day between now and Christmas day stop by this page to find a thought for the day.

Today is a video.

Happy New Year!!

Upcoming Events

2011-10-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Events

Pictorial Directory Photos - .

Oct 27-31 (Downtown)

5th Sunday Offering

Oct 30

Time Change -

Nov 6

All Saints Concert -

Nov 6

Pictorial Directory Photos -

Nov 10-12

(Andover)

Hiking trip -

Nov 19

Giving Banquet -

Nov 20

Advent Craft Night -

Nov 27

Children's Christmas Presentation -

Dec 11

A prayer for God's children

2011-10-13T11:12:00.000-07:00

Many have asked me for this... here is the prayer I prayed before my sermon on Sunday:

We pray for children
Who sneak Popsicles before supper,
Who erase holes in workbooks,
Who can never find their shoes.

And we pray for those
Who stare at photographers from behind barbed wire,
Who can’t bound down the street in a new pair of sneakers,
Who were born in places we wouldn’t be caught dead,
Who never go to the circus,
Who live in an X-rated world.

We pray for children
Who bring us sticky kisses and fistfuls of dandelions,
Who hug us in a hurry and forget their lunch money.

And we pray for those
Who never get dessert,
Who have no safe blanket to drag behind them,
Who watch their parents watch them die,
Who don’t have any rooms to clean up,
Whose pictures aren’t on anybody’s dresser,
And whose monsters in their closets are real.

We pray for children
Who throw tantrums in the grocery store and pick at their food,
Who like ghost stories,
Who shove dirty clothes in their closets,
Who get visits from the tooth fairy,
Who don’t like to be kissed in front of the carpool,
Who squirm in church,
Whose tears we sometimes laugh at and whose smiles can make us cry.

And we pray for those
Whose nightmares come in the daytime,
Who will eat anything,
Who have never seen a dentist
Who aren’t spoiled by anybody,
Who got to bed hungry and cry themselves to sleep,

We pray for children
Who want to be carried and for those who must,
For those we never give up on and for those
Who don’t get a second chance,
For those we smother and for those who will grab the hand of anyone kind enough to offer it.

God we lift up your children today and always.

Amen

First Day of Fall!!

2011-09-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun fall recipe for you to try :)

Click HERE

Fall Registration

2011-08-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

Click the link above to Register your children for the 2011-2012 school year!

Is Heaven or Hell real?

2011-07-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

I have been reading the book by Rob Bell called Love Wins. It has been an interesting read. But I wanted to look back at what our Methodist roots say. Wesley spoke many times about what Heaven and Hell are. To him they were real places. If you read through the Scriptures closely you too will see what he saw. There are many times when both are talked about and not in the theoretical sense either. They are real places. I found this article about the Methodist view of the afterlife and salvation. It was an interesting read and would invite you to read it too. Instead of linking you to it, it is copied below. Let me know what you think...

"John Wesley believed in a traditional idea of an immortal soul that spends eternity either in a place of blessedness called heaven or a place of torment called hell. One's destination depends on whether one is saved, forgiven by God's grace and converted to a life growing toward sinless perfection.

John Wesley sometimes said he was passing through this life "as an arrow through the air." This life was a precursor to the next, and the most significant question for a person was whether this life's trajectory ended in heaven or hell.Wesley believed in a traditional view of heaven and hell.Because God was just and humans were sinners, unless they availed themselves of the forgiveness made possible by Jesus Christ, they would face an angry God when they died.He encouraged his listeners to "flee the wrath to come."Hell, according to Wesley, was a real place of real torment that lasted through eternity.Heaven, in contrast, was a place of pleasure, not sensual, but the blessedness of being in the presence of God.What salvation means is to be free of sin and thus able to live in the presence of God.This presence is available to believers in this life, but is available fully and directly in the life to come.

Salvation is the result of a process of conversion, away from sin and toward God.Methodists believe that all humans are born sinners, thus all require conversion to be saved.Conversion may be sudden and dramatic or gradual.It consists of responding positively to God's prevenient grace, and to accepting the offer of justifying grace (the forgiveness of sins). With justifying grace comes also God's sanctifying grace, the supernatural assistance we need to make possible a life of increasing success in turning away from temptation, not allowing ourselves to sin, and performing works of piety andmercy.Methodists have historically differed from Presbyterians in believing that you can approach sinless perfection, and in believing that if you do not make progress toward perfection, you can lose your salvation.

While in the past these differences about your ability to accept salvation, and to live sinlessly or lose salvation, have distinguished Methodists from other Protestants, in more recent years the deeper significant split has been between the more conservative and more liberal wings of each Protestant denomination.Conservative Methodists and conservative Presbyterians resemble each other more than conservative and liberal Methodists do, and the same is true for the liberal wings.

The conservative wing of the Methodist Church maintains its belief in an afterlife spent in a literal place, either heaven or hell.More liberal Methodists tend to downplay hell, often because the image of God torturing people for eternity, even if they are sinners, is not easy to square with their idea of a loving God.Nor is it easy for them to square the idea of a just God with one who casts people into hell because, as the result of fortune for which they are not responsible, they have not lived in a place where the Gospel of Jesus was preached.

In recent surveys, far more Americans say that they believe in heaven than say they believe in hell. Since the mid-20th century there have been Methodists (this is true of all Protestant denominations) who hold that neither heaven nor hell are literal places.If the core of salvation as described above is to live in the presence of God, heaven is then a metaphor for blessedness or a divine relationship in this life.Hell is a metaphor for living in the absence of God in this life."

What do you think?

Family Fun Night

2011-05-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

Family Fun Night!

On May 27, 2011 we are going to be hosting a night for the whole family! Come downtown and enjoy an evening of excitement. We will be watching clips from the upcoming Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We will also be learning a Bible story and singing some worship songs together!

When: May 27 at 6 p.m.

Where: West Chapel

Who: Anyone!

Cost: A donation of $5 for each family

RSVP by Sunday, May 22 (sign up sheet in Gathering Hall, Children's Wing or via email to Bekah at monkeyrst@gmail.com)

Holy Week

2011-04-21T10:18:00.000-07:00

Monday: You should do as I have done for you. John 13:15 (NIrV)

In that same week that Jesus entered Jerusalem, He planned a supper with His followers. They all met together, the twelve followers and Jesus. They ate supper together and then Jesus got up from the table. You see, when Jesus lived, people walked around in sandals on dusty dirt roads. Even if they just walked down the street for a visit, their feet would get very dirty and dusty. There were usually servants in each home to take care of things like washing a visitor’s dirty feet. But this night, this Thursday night, as Jesus ate with His friends, there was no servant to wash His feet or His disciple’s feet. Jesus got up from the table after eating because no one else had offered to wash His feet. Jesus took a bowl of water and a towel and washed His follower’s feet. Cool water on their hot, dry, dusty feet! Jesus dried their feet with the towel. Jesus, their Teacher and Leader, had just done what only servants do! Jesus wanted to teach His friends to think of other people first. He wants you to think of someone else to help before you help yourself. And He wants me to do the same. How can you help someone else this week?

Tuesday: Jesus in the Temple

"Destroy this temple," Jesus answered, "and in three days I will build it again!" John 2:19

Oxen - “Stamp, stamp.” (Stomping of feet.)

Doves - “Coo, coo.”

Sheep - “Baa, Baa.”

Money Changers - “Clink, clink.” (Keys would be good for this sound.)

Are these sounds you hear when you come to church? Jesus heard these sounds one day when He went to church. Jesus knew what the sounds were. Men were selling animals for a special celebration at church. Others were changing Roman money into Jewish money so the people could use their Jewish coins in church. Those things sound like nice things to do, don’t they? It sounds like these men wanted to help others by selling what they needed. Jesus knew better. Jesus knew what these men were really doing. Jesus knew that what they really wanted was not to help others, but to make money for themselves. And making money is not a bad thing, but these men were making money at church when they should have been learning about God. Jesus was very upset with these men. He took cords (or ropes) and tied them together to make a whip. Then He made the animals and the people who were selling them leave. Jesus poured out the coins and turned over the tables of the money changers. Then Jesus told them that the church, God’s house, was not a place for business. Jesus told them that when they came to church, they should come to pray. These men were not supposed to come to church thinking about making money. They were to come to church to learn about, to think about, and to talk to GOD.

Wednesday: The Last Supper

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?” 18 He replied, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.’” 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 And while they were eating, he said,“Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” 22 They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” 23 Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” 25 Then Judas, the one who would betray him, said, “Surely you don’t mean me, Rabbi?” Jesus answered, “You have said so.” 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying,“Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you, I will not drink from this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Thursday: The Savior's Happy Meal

This Happy Meal doesn't look like much,
And it doesn't come with a toy.
It may not fill my stomach,
But it fills my heart with joy!
The bread and juice remind me of
The Savior's love for me;
When he died upon a rugged cross
On a hill called Calvary.
There is no way I can describe
The gratitude I feel
Each and every time I eat
The Savior's Happy Meal!

Jesus Before Pilate

11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor. 15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him. 19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.” 20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. 21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered. 22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” 23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” 25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. The Soldiers Mock Jesus 27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. 38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Friday: The Death of Jesus

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”(which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” 50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” 55 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. 56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons. The Burial of Jesus 57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.61 Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.

The Cross Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark 8:34 (NIV)

Every day we see crosses all around us. People wear them as jewelry, they hang them on the wall, and they use them as key chains. When you pass by a church, it is not unusual to see a cross on the steeple. We even see many people who wear the cross as a tattoo on their body. What comes to your mind when you see a cross? What does the cross mean to you? Is it just a piece of jewelry or a work of art?

One day, as Jesus and his disciples were walking along a road, Jesus asked them, "Who do people say that I am?"

The disciples answered, "Some say John the Baptist or one of the prophets."

"And you - who do you say that I am?" Jesus replied.

Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Messiah."

Peter had given the right answer. You would think that would be the end of Jesus' lesson, but it wasn't. "Keep it quiet and don't breathe a word of it to anyone," Jesus said, "because it is necessary for me to suffer many terrible things. I will be arrested, tried, and killed, but after three days I will rise again."

Peter didn't like that! He took Jesus aside and told him to stop talking like that.

Jesus reprimanded Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are looking at things from a human point of view, not from God’s."

Then Jesus called the the crowd of people who had gathered around to come and join him and his disciples. "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it."

So, what does it mean to us? It means that we have a Savior, Jesus Christ, who was willing to give up everything so that we could have everlasting life. It also means that those of us who want to be his followers must also be willing to take up our cross, give up everything, and follow him.

The cross - it is so much more than a piece of jewelry, a work of art, or a decoration on a steeple. It is a reminder of our Savior's great love for us and our call to follow him!

Saturday: The Guard at the Tomb

62 The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. 63 “Sir,” they said, “we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, ‘After three days I will rise again.’ 64 So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day. Otherwise, his disciples may come and steal the body and tell the people that he has been raised from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first.” 65 “Take a guard,” Pilate answered. “Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how.” 66 So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a seal on the stone and posting the guard.

Sunday: Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord!" And she told them that he had said these things to her. John 20:18 (NIV) "The Case of the Empty Tomb."

The story begins very early in the morning on the first day of the week. Jesus had just been crucified and buried. Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus' followers, went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. When she got there, she saw that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Peter and John and said to them, "They have taken the Lord's body from the tomb and I don't know where they have put him."

Peter and John raced to the tomb. John got there first. He looked in the tomb and saw the linen wrappings lying there. Then Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linens that John had seen lying there. As he investigated further, he saw the cloth that had covered Jesus' head was also folded and lying apart from the other wrappings. After Peter looked around for a few minutes, John joined him inside. When they were sure that the tomb was empty, they left and went home.

Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she looked inside the tomb and saw two angels sitting there. One of them was sitting at the head and the other at the foot where the body of Jesus had been lying. "Why are you crying?" the angels asked.

"Because they have taken my Lord and I don't know where they have put him," she answered.

Then Mary turned and was about to leave when she saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn't recognize him. "Woman, why are you crying?" Jesus asked her.

Mary, thinking that he was a gardener said, "Sir, if you have taken my master away, tell me where he is so that I can go to him."

"Mary!" Jesus said.

When Jesus spoke her name, Mary knew who he was. She turned to him and cried out, "Teacher!"

"Don't cling to me," Jesus said, "for I have not yet ascended to my Father. "Go and tell my brothers that you have seen me and that I am going to return to my Father and your Father, my God and your God."

Mary found the disciples and told them, "I have seen the Lord." Then she gave them the message that Jesus had told her to tell them.

And that solves "The Case of the Empty Tomb." The tomb is empty because Jesus is not dead, he is alive! He is risen just as he said!

Easter is coming soon... get your Easter Outfits at the Cottage!

2011-04-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

The Cottage

clothing for children

wants to help you celebrate in style!

We have a beautiful selection of dresses

and smart seerucker pants & shorts

Plus everything to make the outfit complete

hairbows in fresh spring colors

white shoes & sandals

eyelet socks & boys kneesocks

bow ties, straight ties & belts

Easter Basket Treats

Calico Critters

stuffed bunnies, lambs & sheep

Palm Sunday

2011-04-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

THIS SUNDAY!

April 17

Waving of the Palms

Please have children in the Ladies Parlor at 8:20 and 10:50 for the procession of the palms.

Parents and youth are allowed to participate too!!

Thank you!

What it means to have a little Faith....

2011-04-01T15:12:00.001-07:00

Hebrews 11

Faith in Action

¹ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. ² This is what the ancients were commended for.

³ By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

⁴ By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

⁵ By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.”^[a] For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. ⁶ And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.

⁷ By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

⁸ By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. ⁹ By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. ¹⁰For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she^[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. ¹² And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. ¹⁴ People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, ¹⁸ even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”^[c] ¹⁹ Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.

²⁰ By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.

²¹ By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

²² By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.

²³ By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.

²⁴ By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. ²⁵ He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. ²⁶ He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.²⁷ By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.

²⁹ By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

³⁰ By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

³¹ By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.^[d]

³² And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning;^[e] they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

³⁹ These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, ⁴⁰ since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

Easter Egg Hunt!!

2011-03-28T17:14:00.000-07:00

Easter Egg Hunt 2011!!

April 23 - 9:00 a.m.

Andover Campus (4131 Todd Road)

9 a.m. Pancake Breakfast

9:45 a.m. Lesson and Egg Hunt

Irish Prayer on St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T05:40:00.000-07:00

An Irish Prayer

May God give you...

For every storm, a rainbow,

For every tear, a smile,

For every care, a promise,

And a blessing in each trial.

For every problem life sends,

A faithful friend to share,

For every sigh, a sweet song,

And an answer for each prayer.

Irish Blessing

Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers—
Miles and miles of Irish smiles
For golden happy hours—
Shamrocks at your doorway
For luck and laughter too,
And a host of friends that never ends
Each day your whole life through!

The Cottage

2011-03-11T05:04:00.000-08:00

20% off all bathing suits

Today - March 19

Fun styles and prints by

Bailey Boys, Kate Mack, LeTop, Banana Cabana, Eland, & Funtasia Too

The Cottage

clothing for children

859.273.1552

190 Lexington Green Circle, Lexington

Monday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm

Prayers...

2011-03-08T05:53:00.001-08:00

Today I am remembering the Nathaniel family as Crosby is going in for more scans. Praying that they come out perfectly clear. I am also remembering the Weaver family. Timothy has been very sick over the last few days and was in the hospital Sunday night dehydrated. Praying he gets well enough to travel to Disney later this week.

Have prayer concerns you would like me to lift up during the week? You can email them to me or add them to our prayer blog http://1stumcprayerpartners.blogspot.com/.

Are you kids toys safe?

2011-02-28T08:18:00.000-08:00

Take this quiz to see if your kids toys are safe: http://www.parents.com/parents/quiz.jsp?sssdmh=dm17.509583&quizId=/templatedata/ab/quiz/data/64.xml&esrc=nwpmmdailytip022811&email=3257529503

Camp Fair!

2011-02-23T11:44:00.001-08:00

http://www.lexingtonfamily.com/camp_fair.html

Coffee Facts

2011-02-17T06:29:00.000-08:00

A one-pound can of regular grind coffee, tossed into a commercial urn will brew fifty cups of regular strength coffee or sixty cups of weak coffee. A pound and a half of regular grind coffee will make ninety cups regular strength coffee.

David Crowder*Band - Foreverandever Etc...

2011-02-12T05:52:00.000-08:00

Just for laughs... this is one of my favorite Crowder songs and I love the silly video that someone has made for it. Only because we have all had to deal with crazy squirrels at one point or another :) there is a Biblical lesson in there somewhere... what do you think?

1-26-2011

2011-01-26T11:37:00.000-08:00

Life Works and all other church activities are still on for tonight. Please use your best judgement in travel and stay safe!

Successful Household Management in 2011

2011-01-24T10:15:00.001-08:00

Successful Household Management in 2011

One of the biggest areas that moms struggle with is managing our homes. Overwhelmed with responsibilities it can seem like you never get caught up, no one ever will help out and you get to the end of the day feeling like you managed to accomplish nothing!

It is hard to try new routines or systems to get yourself out of the rut – but if you don’t, NOTHING will ever change.

When overwhelmed moms come to me, they generally are at their wits end! They have tried many different approaches to managing their homes and families and are desperate. We work from the ground up; putting routines and systems in place that lessen the load and start freeing up time during their frantic and overloaded schedules.

It is amazing that as soon as minor changes are made in the home a mom begins to feel relief. Instead of the stress and chaos they were feeling everyday, they begin to experience order, freedom and control.

If home management is a struggle for you, I would like to share with you a few key principles I discuss with moms who come to me for coaching. I am sure these points will be helpful in coming up with some new ideas to tweak what is going on to make things run smoother for you too!

Manage Your Time and Resources

Time is valuable and one of your best resources! There is only so much ‘time’ in a day, are you using is wisely? Evaluate how you are spending your time and on what.

Can you break larger jobs into smaller ones in order to make more effective use of your time?

Do you have routines in place that help your children know what is coming next so you do not have to follow them around like a drill sergeant?

Are you wasting time on things that are not productive?

Jot down what you do in a day and then evaluate it; is there room for improvement, can you make changes?

I recently discovered how productive I could be if I just was intentional and aware. We took placement of a 13 month old foster child (that’s a whole other blog post!!). But I had my home running smoothly with much older kids, 18,14, and 10 – and had LOTS of time during the day. I could spend hours on tasks that should have only taken minutes. So in pops this little one and I had to quickly adjust my time and tasks around his schedule.

I began breaking much larger tasks into smaller pieces and this simple tweak has changed everything. I also discovered a great resource, The Motivated Moms Chore Chart, which is broken down week by week, with daily household tasks to complete and LOTS of boxes to check off. I love checking off things – it gives me a sense of accomplishment.

I was a fairly organized person and my house was in order before – but now I truly feel like I have control of the situation and even have had time to spare!

Create SOP’s (Standard Operating Procedures)

By establishing Standard Operating Procedures, AKA systems and routines in your home you will end up wasting a lot less time reminding members of the family to do things and trying to invent the wheel everyday! You also stop wasting time wondering when things are going to get done because you already know – it is part of your routine.

My kids know that at 5:00 PM their chores need to be done. There is no explaining this everyday and having some battle because they didn’t “know”.

Certain days of the week are ‘their’ laundry days, everyone knows this. I don’t need to be running around gathering clothes, or reminding everyone – they know it and get their clothes to me if they want me to do them.

There are so many areas you can set up systems and routines in order to make things run smoother, take a look at your weekly schedule and see where there is room to make some changes. Ask your family’s input – they might surprise you with some suggestions too.

Meal Planning

If you are not meal planning you are missing one of the easiest and most rewarding things you can do for you and your family! Whether you use a service, such as Emealz to do it for you, or sit down and gather recipes and create a grocery shopping list yourself – the amount of time you invest in this task returns itself three-fold! Seriously!

How much time do you waste figuring out each day around 3 PM what’s for dinner?

Do you have all the ingredients or are you frantically gathering all the kids together to run to the store for those two items you need? This just creates unneeded stress – so invest a little time on a Sunday evening (or another evening that works in your schedule) and get a plan. Then either keep a well stocked pantry, or plan a trip to the store Monday morning to get your entire week’s groceries so you won’t be running out for last minute essentials.

Not only will this system save you time it will save you money as well. You won’t be buying unnecessary items – which is always a good thing.

If home management is an area you struggle with, pick one of these topics and give it 3 weeks. Really be intentional about your choice and see what a difference it can make in your home. Often times it is the small changes that end up making big changes, it is worth the energy and focus to forge ahead!

When you have an organized and smooth flowing home routine it benefits you but really blesses your family!

Susan Heid loves inspiring Christian moms to make small changes managing their home and family life giving them more time, order and less stress! As a Certified Parent Coach and Family Manager Coach she enjoys sharing her expertise with moms through workshops, teleseminars, public speaking, and individual and group coaching. She is a proud mom, step-mom and foster mom to 3, married to her very own prince charming, loves coffee, cloudy days, and does think the “bluest skies you’ve ever seen are in Seattle.” Make sure you get a copy of her FREE ebook, “Getting Kids to Cooperate and Become Team Players.”

Parent's Meeting

2011-01-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

This Sunday

3pm

Fellowship Hall

Goal setting...

2011-01-12T07:58:00.000-08:00

Setting Family Goals and Intentions for a Successful 2011

By Sandra Huber of the The Soulful Parent

Can you believe we have started a new decade with New Year 2011? After the activity of the holidays, the pace has slowed down a bit and the weather is colder. And this time of the year is by far my favorite. I love it because I believe there’s a great opportunity to start over and decide what things we want to let go with the passing of the old year and what new things we want to hold as our intentions for the New Year. So many people are focused on their New Year Resolutions right now that you can’t help but feel the excitement of a new opportunity to start over. My hope for all of us is that we decide that this is the year when we are going to start intentionally practicing the tools that will ultimately give us the results that we want.

Here are some suggestions to make this time of the year and intention setting work for you:

Let Go of the Wrongs

Ask everyone in your family to take some time and write down anything they feel went “wrong” in the previous year. Nobody has to read it out loud; this is not for the purpose of venting or blaming anyone! Once everyone’s pieces of paper are gathered, decide on a place where you can safely burn them, a fireplace, a barbeque grill or even just a spot on the backyard. Even though I always focus on family strength, this exercise helps everyone symbolically let go of what didn’t work and have the opportunity for a fresh, new beginning!

Write Down Your Goals

Asking everyone to write down their goals for the new year is a great opportunity to have everyone’s opinions, hopes and dreams gathered in one place, where each family member can create his own list of goals for the family. Everyone can get together, compare goals and decide what to work on. Be open and listen carefully to what every member of the family has to share from their own lists.

Make a Plan

Now is time to turn these intentions into goals for the family to work on. For example if your spouse wants to see the house more organized and clean, then the goal is “Organization and Cleanliness”, which then would require a system that assigns family members with age/time appropriate tasks to accomplish this goal. Get as specific as necessary to make sure everyone is clear about their respective duties and expectations and you will save a lot of arguing later. Once the list is put together, have everyone in the family “sign” the agreement. Type it up and print it in nice color paper and put it up on a visible spot in the house (the refrigerator door is a good place!) and “voila”, you have a plan!

Make Them Realistic

Set a realistic time frame. Following the previous example of organizing and cleaning, it would not be encouraging to expect the entire house to be clean in a week. Setting a date for when you want to expect to have your goals accomplished is important. At home, I like to put reminders around the house to keep my family motivated. I put the date when the task needs to be completed and some encouraging words (I know you can do this!!) to motivate all of us to keep going!

Revisit The Goals

As the “enthusiasm” wears out in the months to come and we get busy with the business of life keep in mind that you are only human. Revisit your goals to make sure you have not set the bar unrealistically high and set goals and intentions that are impossible to reach. This is a great opportunity to teach our kids (and ourselves) the value of discipline and perseverance but also flexibility. Sometimes you need to revisit your goals with your family. It’s important to be aware that sometimes, things don’t go the way we want them to. But you already know that. You are a mom!

The Grinch of Christmas

2010-12-28T05:55:00.001-08:00

The Grinch Who Nearly Stole Christmas

by Troy McDaniel

Once there was a king
Who lived long ago
His name was King Herod
And He nearly stole Christmas, you know.

The story began
One fateful night
When angels appeared
And gave shepherds a fright.

Peace unto you
Do not be in fear.
We bring you good news
The Savior is here.

And there in a stable
As angels had told
Was little baby Jesus
Just a few hours old.

High in the sky
God appointed a star
It shined very brightly
It shined very Far.

In the east
Some men were watching the sky.
They said, "This is it,
A sign from on high."

A new king has been born.
We must travel and see.
I’m not sure just how many,
But probably three.

So they left on their journey
Traveling by night
The star just before them
Their one guiding light.

To Jerusalem they went
They wanted to know
How to find this new king
They had a party to throw.

"Where’s the new king?" they asked
As they entered the city.
And this is where the story
Doesn’t get very pretty.

Their clothes were quite different
And their accent was funny,
But no one dared laugh
When they pulled out their money.

Well it didn’t take long
Before the Grinch heard the news.
He jumped from his throne
And came out of his shoes.

WHAT?! A NEW KING OF JUDEA?
HOW CAN THIS BE?
WHY, I AM THE KING
NO ONE BUT ME! ME! ME!

He slumped on his throne
And was ready to pout
‘til he got an idea
But there was more to find out.

Bring me the priests,
Bring me the scribes,
I think they can help me
Without any bribes.

“Your highness, the Messiah will be born
This much is true
In Bethlehem, as prophesied
In Micah 5:2.”

The Grinch kind of snickered
As he thought of his trick.
He said, “Bring those wise men,
And you’d better be quick!”

“Welcome my friends,
you’ve come from the East?
You must be quite weary
Won’t you join in my feast?”

Thank you for your kindness,
But our journey’s not through
We’re searching for a new king
Perhaps you saw his star too.

“A new king, did you say?
What a pleasant surprise.
And you saw this in a star?
You must be quite wise.”

“Exactly, when did you see
This star in the sky?”
The wise men just told him,
They never asked why.

“Perhaps I can help you
With a bit of information,
I think that Bethlehem
Might be your prime location.”

“Just do me this one favor
Before our time is through.
If you find the one you're looking for,
Come back and tell me too.”

The Grinch kind of chuckled
As they passed through the gate.
“There’s no need to follow now
we just have to wait.”

The wise men left for Bethlehem
There was no further delay,
And God sent the star before them
To guide them on their way.

Arriving at the house
Where Jesus was staying
They found Him with Mary
He was on the floor playing.

The wise men were humbled
As they got on their knees.
“Your son is quite special;
Will you please accept these?”

Then out of their sacks
That were lined with fur
Came gifts of gold,
Frankincense and Myrrh.

That night in a dream
God gave them a warning.
Don’t return to King Herod
When you leave in the morning.

When the old Grinch found out
That he had been had
He was red as a beet
He was madder than mad.

“They think they’re real funny
not stopping back by,
I’ll just go to plan B
Which means more kids will die.”

Then he stood from his throne
And let out his ploy,
“Go to Bethlehem now!
And kill every boy!”

“Your highness, you know
we’ll do as we’re told
Are you sure every boy?
Can you tell us how old?”

”Wait, that’s right.”
I don’t need to blunder
Just kill all the boys
That are two years and under."

But the Grinch didn’t know
That God knew his scheme.
He sent angels to Joseph
To warn him in a dream.

“Mary, get up
We must leave right away
The soldiers are coming
And our child they will slay.”

She grabbed up her baby
And held him real tight.
They packed a few things
And left in the night.

Hoof beats and hollering
They beat on each door.
Bloodshed and screaming
It sounded like war.

The soldiers returned
The deed was now done.
The Grinch was relieved
He thought he had won.

But Jesus escaped
‘Cause God had a plan.
The baby grew up
And soon was a man.

He gave up his life
To save us from sin
And nothing could stop him
Not Grinch or his men.

So when you trust Jesus
As Savior and Lord,
You become like the wise men
You give and don’t hoard.

Just one more thought
Before we are through,
You know Satan is trying
To steal Christmas too.

But when you have Jesus,
He’ll never depart
And you’ll always have Christmas
Alive in your heart.

The End

12 Days of Christmas

2010-12-28T05:48:00.000-08:00

On the 12th Day of Christmas God in heaven gave to me:

12 things I believe in, (Apostle's Creed)

11 faithful disciples,

10 Holy Commandments,

9 fruits of the spirit,

8 Blessed Beatitudes,

7 spiritual gifts,

6 days of creation,

5 books of the Torah,

4 Gospel writers,

3 Gods in one,

2 Testaments and

Christ crucified on the tree.

2010-12-28T03:51:00.000-08:00

Parents Meeting!

January 23

4 PM

Fellowship Hall

Eve of Christmas Eve!!

2010-12-23T08:23:00.000-08:00

It's an uncelebrated holiday to most but this is one of my favorite days of the year. It is when you can almost smell and taste Christmas morning and the excitement of the day is building to a point that you almost can't stand it.

Time Out! for Family Sharing
The bustle of holiday preparation slows at least a few times during Advent as we prepare and share a simple Gingerbread recipe. The late James Beard, "dean of American cooks", hailed from Oregon, United States. His directions for gingerbread, slightly modified here, result in a lovely, moist cake. It takes little time or effort, but provides a festive cap to family Advent meditations or Christmas prayers.

Directions and Ingredients (Metric Conversion below)

Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees, and have ready a 9 inch x 9 inch by 2 inch baking pan. Do not grease or flour the pan.

Measure 1 cup molasses, light or dark, with a glass (liquid) measuring cup. Pour the molasses into a reasonably large bowl, perhaps 2-3 quart size. Pour 1/2 cup boiling water into the now (mostly) empty glass measuring cup, and then into the bowl. This will help rinse the last of the molasses from the measuring cup. Coarsely chop up 5 tablespoons butter and add quickly to the bowl; stir to help the butter melt into the combined hot water and molasses.

To the bowl, stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1-2 teaspoons ground ginger (more ginger results in a spicier, "hotter" cake), 1 teaspoon baking soda, and 2 cups flour, preferably unbleached. Stir just until ingredients are mixed and moist; this is a job for a light hand with a wooden spoon, not an electric mixer.

Bake in the oven at 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes. When the cake is done, it will pull away slightly from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake will come out clean. Allow to cool briefly and, if desired, sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Best when warm, but entirely acceptable cool.

Metric Conversion:

Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees, and have ready a 23 x 23 CM baking pan. Do not grease or flour the pan.

Measure 250 ml molasses, light or dark, with a glass (liquid) measuring cup. Pour the molasses into a reasonably large bowl, perhaps 2-3 litre size. Pour 125 ml boiling water into the now (mostly) empty glass measuring cup, and then into the bowl. This will help rinse the last of the molasses from the measuring cup. Coarsely chop up 75 ml butter and add quickly to the bowl; stir to help the butter melt into the combined hot water and molasses.

To the bowl, stir in 2 ml salt, 5 - 10 ml ground ginger (more ginger results in a spicier, "hotter" cake), 5 ml baking soda, and 500 ml flour, preferably unbleached. Stir just until ingredients are mixed and moist; this is a job for a light hand with a wooden spoon, not an electric mixer.

Bake in the oven at 190 degrees for 25-35 minutes. When the cake is done, it will pull away slightly from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake will come out clean. Allow to cool briefly and, if desired, sprinkle powdered sugar on top. Best when warm, but entirely acceptable cool.

Christmas Shoes (by: Newsong)

2010-12-22T11:47:00.000-08:00

sorry!!

2010-12-21T12:30:00.001-08:00

So I realized that my blog post haven't been posting... and then I have been sick for the last few days... so here is to make up for it :)

______________________________________________________________________

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain

Rejoice! Rejoice!
Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who orderest all things mightily;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And teach us in her ways to go.

Refrain

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan’s tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory over the grave.

Refrain

O come, Thou Day-spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night,
And death’s dark shadows put to flight.

Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.

Refrain

O come, O come, great Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times once gave the law
In cloud and majesty and awe.

Refrain

O come, Thou Root of Jesse’s tree,
An ensign of Thy people be;
Before Thee rulers silent fall;
All peoples on Thy mercy call.

Refrain

O come, Desire of nations, bind
In one the hearts of all mankind;
Bid Thou our sad divisions cease,
And be Thyself our King of Peace.

_____________________________________________________________________

Isaiah 7:10-16
A woman shall bear a son named Emmanuel
_________________________________________________________________________

Advent 4: The God of Those Ends, That Justice, and Such Reversals Is with Us

Advent 4 is a bridge Sunday. It sums up all that has come before. It also leads into the celebration of the incarnation we begin on Christmas Eve.

For that reason, the point of the readings today is not the story of the birth of Jesus, though Matthew's account of that is the gospel reading for today. Nor is the point even that God became flesh. There were many stories of gods taking on human form in past civilizations, so such a claim from the standpoint of human history was not remarkable. The point is that "God is with us," and more specifically, "this God," the one prophesied by Isaiah, the one proclaimed by Paul and John the Baptist and Mary, this God whose presence changes and often reverses everything, something evident even in the odd circumstances of Jesus' birth -- this God is with us.

This isn't a theologically trivial point. Say the word "God," and all kinds of images and ideas pop up that are quite incompatible with the One we encounter in the Law, the Prophets, the Writings, and in Jesus. Christians insist that it is indeed this God who does the very things we've recounted these past three weeks, and summarized today, who has come among us and abides with us still in the power, presence, and person of the Holy Spirit.

It is this God with us whose birth among us we celebrate during Christmastide and seek to follow all the days of our lives.
________________________________________________________________________________

love and other foolishness
love
in a young girl's song;
fearful,
determined,
hopeful,
bursting.
love
in a mother's song;
tender,
embracing,
challenging,
stern.
love
is god's song;
curious yet timid,
playful and wondering,
coming among us again.
we light a candle for love.

________________________________________________________________

Advent - Wednesday

2010-12-16T07:11:00.001-08:00

Since it is Wednesday and food is something the kids kept talking about I looked up advent food...

Advent and Christmas Foods

Everyone has their favorite holiday foods. Good old-fashioned puddings are made in advance with sweet soft fruit such as raisins, currants, citrus peels, figs, pomegranites, and prunes, plus brandy, and then jarred and chilled to age several days to a week, so that the flavors meld. Mince pies are made of a dried fruit mix, and sometimes finely chopped lamb or venison. (The meatless, low-fat varieties are most common today.)

A Gaelic custom is to bake cakes during the last week of Advent, store them, then take them out just before Christmas to spread on almond paste and/or a sweet goo such as cake frosting or honey. On the days before Christmas, Europeans bake plaited breads in a long oval shape, to look like a well-wrapped Christ child. Just as Lent is a fast, Christmas is a feast.

In some traditions, such as in the Phillipines, families start the Christmas feast right after returning from the late-night or midnight Christ's Mass. The typical fare is some form of ham, cheese balls, and hot cocoa.

Advent - Thursday

2010-12-16T06:49:00.000-08:00

http://akidsheart.com/holidays/christms/snowman.htm

A little fun on a snow day :)

Advent - Tuesday

2010-12-14T14:41:00.000-08:00

I saw a friend today who is very pregnant. She is anxiously awaiting her baby to be born. She complained about her feet and back hurting. I listened as she explained the discomfort of being in the last month of pregnancy. Then I started thinking about Mary. How miserable she must have been riding on the donkey in her last month of pregnancy. And Joseph knowing this was the only way to get to Bethlehem and realizing that the baby would be born on this trip. New parent worries must have filled their minds as they traveled that weary road. I know they were excited and anxious like all parents are as they wait for their child to be born. But there must have been a little more anxiety knowing it was the son of God that was inside of Mary.

Amazing the things that God helps us through.

Advent - Monday

2010-12-14T14:34:00.000-08:00

Finger Play: See the Baby Jesus
Have children say the phrases and do the corresponding actions with you in this fun finger play.

See the baby Jesus, born within a barn (bring fingertips of both hands to form a roof peak).

See the baby Jesus, held in Mary's arms (cradle arms).

See the baby Jesus, star high overhead (extend arms high).

See the baby Jesus, manger for a bed (palms of hands together; lay cheek on hands).

See the boy Jesus, little child like me (point to self).

See the boy Jesus, fishing in the sea (hands together, casting out fishing line).

See the boy Jesus; see him running there (one palm flat, other hand "running" on palm).

See the boy Jesus, on his knees in prayer (fold hands in prayer).

See the man Jesus, walking by the sea (two fingers walking).

See the man Jesus, children on his knee (two hands on knees).

See the man Jesus, loving everyone (closed fists, crossed
against chest).

See the man Jesus asking me to come (right hand motioning to come).

Carol McAdoo Rehme
Loveland, Colorado

3rd weekend of Advent

2010-12-13T06:43:00.000-08:00

Joy!

Philippians 4:4-7
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

4:5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

4:6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

"The second most popular Advent question asked in the United Methodist Churches I’ve served is “Why is there one pink candle on the Advent wreath?” (THE most popular question has of course been “When can we start singing Christmas carols?”)

The pink candle is lit on the third Sunday of Advent because since the 10th century, that day has been recognized by the catholic church as Gaudete, or Joy, Sunday. (See one history here.) As early as the fifth century, Christians prepared for Christmas with a forty-day fast. The weeks prior to Christmas were a season of penitence, much in the way that Lent functions in relation to Easter. One can see how the lectionary texts in the first couple weeks of Advent issue calls to reflection and penitence: “The Kingdom is at hand! Know how to read the signs! Repent!” My Greek Orthodox friends observe two fasts prior to and during Advent, increasing in severity and restriction, as a way of preparing for the coming of Christ. They understand that preparation for the coming of Christ entails self-examination and sacrifice.

In faith traditions where the penitential nature of Advent is observed, the third Sunday of Advent is an occasion which ensures that the joy of Christ’s first and second comings is made clear. The texts for that day bring that joy and anticipation to the forefront of the church’s worship. The prophet Zephaniah assures us that God will “save the lame and gather the outcast” as well as “deal with their oppressors.” Joy! Paul exhorts the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord always.” Joy! And Luke reports that upon hearing John the Baptist’s message were “filled with expectation.” Joy, joy, joy all over the place!

The pink candle has been a witness to me in recent years. In my Protestant upbringing, December worship wasn’t much more than a prelude to the nativity. It wasn’t until my preaching years that the pink candle began to inform my interpretation of the texts on the first and second Sundays in Advent. I’ve been striking more penitential tones in recent Advents, knowing that Gaudete Sunday is ahead, waiting to help us understand what we are preparing for. This Sunday, our congregation will pull out all the stops during our worship services. A small ensemble of church members who are singers and instrumentalists have been practicing to lead our congregation through some intentionally upbeat music. Some of our small children will be playing “Ode to Joy” on the piano. We intend to have a longer time for the passing of the peace, which (gasp!) may even make worship run past its “usual” ending time.

Of course, each Sunday reminds us of the joy of the resurrection, and Gaudete Sunday is not meant to manufacture a cheap joy through emotional manipulation of worshippers. What I hope our celebration will do is focus our attention on the joy of the eschaton, the redemption of all creation, the glorious telos that the Church anticipates and waits for, but forgets to talk about in the waiting. I pray that our worship will form people for Advents to come, so that their joy is not contained in packages with pretty bows but in the uncontainable God, who is, was, and is to come. Joy!"

by Jenny Williams

Advent Day 13

2010-12-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

Advent Day 12

2010-12-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

A Birthday Cake for Jesus
(Contributed by Leslie Ratliff)
Many families and churches emphasize the meaning of Christmas by having
a birthday party for Jesus, often complete with a birthday cake. Why not make
this celebration even more meaningful with this object lesson that uses the cake
to teach the plan of salvation.
Supplies Needed:
• 1 or 2 layer chocolate cake
• white frosting
• angel figurine or sugar cookie
• 12 red candles
• star
• plastic evergreens
(Opt. You may also want to have each child create their own birthday cake by
providing small round cakes for the children to assemble and decorate
themselves.)
1. Begin by talking about birthdays, what they mean and why we celebrate them.
2. Tell the story of Jesus’ birth either in your own words or with a story book. For older children have them read it from the Bible (Luke 1-2).
3. Now share with your children why Jesus came as you assemble and decorate your
birthday cake.

Round Cake – The shape of the cake is round with no end, showing that God’s love is never ending. He loved us so much that he sent his only Son to die for our sins (John 3:16).

Dark Cake - Before knowing Jesus, our hearts are like this dark cake, and we couldn’t get into heaven with our hearts so full of sin (Romans 3:23).

White frosting – (While frosting the cake, talk about the meaning of the white frosting.) God did a wonderful thing when he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins. Now all the darkness is covered up, and Jesus washes our sins white as snow. We are pure white in the sight of God. When we ask Jesus to forgive all the bad things we’ve done, we are white like this frosting (Romans 6:23).

Angel Decoration – (Place the angel decoration on the cake or have a child do it.) The angel reminds us of the good tidings that were brought to the shepherds that night. It also reminds us of the good tidings, or good news, that we can bring to others (Luke 2:10).

Star – (Place the star decoration on the cake or have a child do it.) The star reminds us of the star in Bethlehem and how the Wisemen followed it and worshiped the Lord Jesus. It reminds us that we should worship and follow Him everyday. We can do this by praying, reading our Bibles, and going to church.

12 Red Candles – (Place the candles on the cake.) The red color reminds us of Jesus’ blood that was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. Because He died and rose again, we can have eternal life and go to heaven if we believe (Romans 5:8).
Light the Candles – ( As you light the candles, say…) Jesus can shine in our hearts if we just ask Him to be our Savior. The 12 candles remind us to let His light shine every month of the year, not just at Christmas time (Matthew 5:16).

Evergreens – (Place evergreens around the cake.) Evergreens around the cake remind us
of something living and growing. If we have accepted Jesus into our hearts, we are going to grow and get to know Him more. How can we grow to know Him better? By praying, going to church, reading our Bibles, and sharing Him with others—(John 15:5 or 2 Peter 3:18).

Advent Day 11

2010-12-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

The Story of the Jesse Tree

The Jesse Tree is named from Isaiah 11:1: "A shoot will spring forth from the stump of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots." It is a vehicle to tell the Story of God in the Old Testament, and to connect the Advent Season with the faithfulness of God across 4,000 years of history. The Branch is a biblical sign of newness out of discouragement, which became a way to talk about the expected messiah (for example, Jer 23:5). It is therefore an appropriate symbol of Jesus the Christ, who is the revelation of the grace and faithfulness of God.

The Israelites through the descendants of Abraham were chosen by God to be a light to the nations. When they were imprisoned by the Egyptians, they cried out to God for deliverance from their oppression. And God responded: "I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt, and I have heard their cry . . . I have come to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them to a good land" (Exod 3:7-8). And so He entered history in a marvelous way to deliver them and bring them into a place where they could worship God and serve Him in peace and joy instead of serving Pharaoh in hard service. God promised to be with them and to be their God, and they would be His people.

But as they settled into the land that God had given them, "they forgot God, their Deliverer, who had done great things in Egypt" (Psa 106:21). As they grew secure in the land, they began to believe that "my power and the strength of my own hand have gotten me these things" (Deut 8:17). Even though God had raised up godly leaders like David, later kings and religious leaders served their own interests, and the people began to worship the false gods of the land. They even gave offerings to the idol ba’al, supposedly the god of rain and fertility of the land, thanking him for the prosperity they enjoyed.

But God grieved because "she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished upon her silver and gold that they used for ba’al" (Hos 2:8). God had "planted [them] as a choice vine from the purest stock" (Jer 2:21) and had expected them to grow and flourish and carry out His purposes in the world. But they had degenerated into a wild bush with worthless fruit.

Because they had forgotten God, they also forgot the call of God to "do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God" (Mic 6:8). God sent prophets to warn them of the consequences of failing to be His people. Amos warned them to "seek me and live" (5:4). Through Jeremiah, God promised them that if they would turn from their wicked ways He would bless them and be with them in the land (7:5-7). But he also said: "Take heed, O Jerusalem, or I shall turn from you in disgust, and make you a desolation" (6:8).

Some of the people longed for new leaders, a new "anointed" (Heb: meshiach; Eng: messiah) shepherd king like David who would help them to become what God had called them to be. But most of the people would not listen. They continued to worship the idols of ba'al. They continued to cheat the poor, steal from each other, neglect the needy, and do all manner of evil.

So God let them go their own way and suffer the consequences of their choices. The Babylonian armies came and destroyed the temple, the city of Jerusalem, the land, and took the people into slavery. The choice planting of God that had such promise, that God had tended so carefully and encouraged to grow, was cut down and became a mere stump (Isa 5:1-10).

But God did not give up on this people! Even though they had disobeyed, even though they had forsaken God for other gods, even though they had miserably failed to be His people and to let Him be their God, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob still loved them. He had made a commitment to these people that He would not allow to be undone even by their rejection of Him.

He had already told them this through the prophets, but they had not understood then. Jeremiah had promised a day when God would again plant and build (31:28). And Isaiah had spoken of a time when God would cause a new shoot, a new king, to spring from the cut-off stump of the lineage of Jesse, David’s father (11:1). During the Exile, suffering under the consequences of sin, they had little reason to suppose that God would do anything new. Still, the old promises echoed across the years, even if they could not believe them or even understand them.

In spite of their failures, in spite of their inability to envision a future beyond exile, there came a time when the prophets again announced a new thing, proclaiming "good tidings" to the people: "Here is your God!" (Isa 40:1-11). The Exile was ended! God would bring back to life a nation that was already dead (Eze 37). Long ago they had been slaves in Egypt, with nothing they could do to change their condition, and yet God had chosen to deliver.

So now, in the midst of their failure and hopelessness, God had again entered history as Deliverer. They would have another chance to be His people, not because they had earned it, no more than they had deserved it the first time; but simply because God in His grace had chosen to forgive.

They returned to the land. But across the years, they again struggled to obey and live up to their calling. They would never again slide into the worship of false gods. They had learned that lesson. But the great kingdom that they dreamed of restoring remained only a dream. They had hoped for a new king like David to lead them into a glorious future in which they would rule the world. They hoped to throw off the control of the Greeks and later the Romans and become a great nation. But it didn’t happen. And they became disillusioned and discouraged.

So, they again hoped for God to raise up a new king, a new messiah, to deliver them from the oppression of the world. They longed for peace and deliverance from the tyranny of a sinful world. The prophets again brought the word of God to them, and promised a newness. Even though they struggled to understand and believe, they held onto the hope that the same God who brought slaves out of Egypt, and who brought exiles out of Babylon, could bring Messiah into the world!

We know the rest of that story. God was faithful to that promise, and a new King was born in Bethlehem. So we can exclaim with the old man Simeon: "My eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before all people, a light of revelation to the nations, and for glory to your people Israel!" (Luke 2:30-32).

But we also know that the world is still with us. Even though we can have Peace and Joy through the presence of Jesus Christ, we still long for deliverance from the oppression of sin in the world. We long for the full reign of the King, and the Kingdom of Peace that He will bring. So, while we celebrate the birth of the Branch, the new shoot from the stump of Jesse, we still anticipate with hope the Second Advent, and await the completion of the promise.

The Jesse Tree helps us retell this story, and express this hope.

Advent Day 10

2010-12-08T06:56:00.000-08:00

During the Christmas seasons many families have traditions. My family had the tradition of putting up the Christmas tree and listening to Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving. What are some traditions your family has? Parents what were some traditions your family had when you were a child? What about starting a new tradition this year? Like reading the Christmas story or making something for the tree?

Advent means preparing

2010-12-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

During the season of Advent we are preparing ourselves for Jesus' birth. One way that we prepare ourselves is to ask God for forgiveness for the sins we have committed.

Here is a confession for advent

Emmanuel, we want to believe you are with us dwelling in this and every moment, but we cry for the past and rush toward the future. We want to be found wide awake, alert with love, as you appear in this and every moment. But we slumber through and laze away the miracle of ordinary days. We want to wait for you alone, with desire and hope, but our trust fails, our longing grows cold, and our hope dims. We want to make room in our hearts, a safe and warm place, for you to be born, but we close our hearts, and harden them to you and your people. We confess our failures in love. We are sorry, we ask for your forgiveness.

Day 7 and 8 - Weekend

2010-12-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

Take a moment and thank God for all that He has given us. Thank Him for the snow and the sun. Thank Him for our church and pastors. Thank Him for our parents. Thank Him for our grandparents and aunts and uncles. Thank Him for all the small things that we have like flowers and puppy dogs. There is so much for us to be thankful for. All we have to do is look around. Make a list of the things your family is thankful for and send it to me. I would love to hear your blessings.

Advent Day 6

2010-12-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

Candy Cane Cookies

A basic sugar cookie dough is transformed by adding peppermint extract and red food coloring for this candy cane cookies recipe.
Ingredients:

1 17.5 oz. package powdered sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 large egg
1-3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. peppermint extract
4-5 drops red food coloring
Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Dump cookie mix into a large mixing bowl. Add softened butter, egg and one tablespoon of flour.

Using an electric mixer or your hands, mix until it forms a soft dough.

Divide dough in half. Add peppermint extract to one half. Knead it into the dough until well-incorporated. Add a tablespoon of flour if dough is too sticky.

Add red food coloring to the other half. Start with a few drops of food coloring, and add more until you get a deep pink color (or a red color, if you prefer). Add a tablespoon or two of additional flour if the dough is too sticky.

Pinch off one teaspoon of pink dough. Roll between your palms to form a rope, about 3 to 4 inches long. Repeat with one teaspoon of the white dough.

Place the ropes side-by-side and twist into a candy cane shape, pinching at the ends to seal. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Repeat with remaining dough. Bake 7 to 10 minutes until cookies are lightly browned around the edges.

The Cottage

2010-12-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

Clothing for children
190 Lexington Green Circle, Lexington
859.273.1552 thecottage@qx.net

30% off all Christmas
outfits, pajamas, bows, socks
excludes ribbon headbands
December Shopping Hours:
Monday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm
Sunday, 12noon - 4pm
Santa's elves have delivered a huge shipment of CALICO CRITTERS!
The Cottage elves will wrap for you!

Advent Day 5

2010-12-02T07:02:00.000-08:00

Advent is the night of the Christian year. As a Jew begins the day at sunset, so Christians begin the church year in the darkening quiet of ever-deeper winter, hushing our frenzy, readying for Christ.

When my friend Justin was very young, and I was tucking him into bed, he asked me, “Susan, how long does night take?”

What an amazing question, and one I had forgotten to ask for a very long time! At the start of the night of our year, we might well ask it now: How long does night take?

If you’re sick and in pain, one night takes about a hundred years.
If you’re alone, and waiting for love, one night takes forever.
If you’re a child, and night seems a waste of perfectly good playtime, the night stretches on to eternity.
If you’re a reluctant Messiah, a sweating blood in a garden while the whole city parties, the night is terrifying long.

Night is all about waiting, and waiting is about helplessness. Waiting for dawn or light or hop or love or relief, we are helpless to turn back the darkness or hurry the new day. All we can do is nothing. All we can do is wait. But that very helplessness makes every time of waiting, if we will let it be so, a time of waiting for God. Every wait can become holy, artful, and lovely, a waiting for God.
We have no choice: Advent makes us wait. But Advent asks us how we are waiting. With anger, resentment, sleepliness, boredom, and despair? Or with desire, become waiting is all about that too? Desire. If we let ourselves feel our desire and bravely name it, then waiting can become the birthplace of hope, and faith, and, especially, love.

Advent is the church’s night watch, our season of waiting. The helplessness and desire in waiting make every wait, in the end, a wait for God. The good news of Advent is that if we wait, while we wait, in the waiting, God comes. The waiting itself is the thing, the very place we can meet God anew.

I’m terrible at waiting! I hate to be put on hold on the phone, or held by a slow driver, or made to wait in the grocery line. And our instant, hurry-up world doesn’t teach me patience.

But waiting is “mysteriously necessary to all that is becoming” and especially to the becoming souls. So every time of waiting is soul-work, and a wait for God.
I once heard of a ninety-five-year-old woman who fell in the snow on her way to church and couldn’t get up. She could have become angry, frightened, and cold. She could have given up, fallen asleep. She could have died! Instead, she made snow angels. She filled up her waiting with energy and action, beauty and warmth, and it kept her alive.

Near his end, approaching Jerusalem, Jesus gives us a clue to such brave and holy, artful waiting. The people are full of Passover joy in the hope a messiah will come, but he, sensing danger, is waiting with dread. Trudging along he sees a fig tree, heaving with buds, and his eyes are drawn upward where he notices, suddenly, spring. Remember the promise of spring, unstoppable after winter’s death, he says: “When everything around you is dark with violence and fear, stand up, raise your heads; your redemption is near.”

Stand up. Raise your heads. Look to heaven. Hold to spring when winter draws down your gaze and your heart. In this very darkness, especially here, God is near.
Every time of waiting is a wait for God: a wait for peace in the Middle East, the results of a test, the conception of a child, or that child’s maturing; a wait for love, or an end to grief, or pain, or life itself, or the rapture of the Lord. If we will keep company with our waiting, keeping it warm and alive with desire and hope, keeping it awake, like a mother attentive to her baby’s breath, feeding it with faith, if we will look up and not lose heart, then while we wait, in the waiting because of the waiting, god will come.

How long does night take? When waiting is holy and artful, filled up with God, just long enough.

Written by Susan Bock

Advent Day 4

2010-12-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

Snow!
I love snow. I was driving into the office today and the snow was falling the sun was coming up and I was singing praise songs. It was a great way to start the day. As I looked that snow hitting my window I was reminded of a story about snow. I thought I would share it with you on this fourth day of Advent :)

In the early part of the American War a young woman of 22 years died at the Commercial Hospital, Cincinnati, one morning in the dead of winter. She had once possessed an enviable share of beauty and had been greatly sought after for the charms of her face, but had become a prostitute. Highly educated and accomplished in manners, she had spent her young life in shame and died friendless as a broken-hearted outcast of society.
Among her personal effects was found, in manuscript, the poem `Beautiful Snow', which was taken to the editor of National Union and appeared in print the morning after the girl's death. When the poem appeared in the paper, the girl's body had not been buried, and the American poet, Thomas Buchanan Reed, was so impressed by the stirring pathos of the poem that he followed the corpse to its final resting-place.

Some of the stanzas of the poem entitled `Beautiful Snow' are as follows:

Oh! the snow, the beautiful snow!
Filling the sky and the earth below:
Over the housetops, over the street,
Over the heads of the people you meet,
Dancing, flirting, skimming along—
Beautiful snow!—it can do nothing wrong;
Flying to kiss a fair lady's cheek,
Clinging to lips in frolicsome freak;
Beautiful snow, from the heavens above,
Pure as an angel, gentle as love!
Once I was pure as the snow, but I fell,
Fell like the snowflakes, from heaven to hell,
Fell, to be trampled as filth in the street,
Fell, to be scoffed, to be spat on and beat,
Pleading, cursing, dreading to die;
Selling my soul to whoever would buy;
Dealing in shame for a morsel of bread,
Hating the living and fearing the dead.
Merciful God! have I fallen so low,
And yet—I was once like the beautiful snow!
Once I was fair as the beautiful snow,
With an eye like its crystal and heart like its glow;
Once I was loved for my innocent grace—
Flattered and sought for the charms of my face;
Father, mother, sister and all,
God and myself I have lost by my fall;
The veriest wretch that goes shivering by
Will make a wide swoop lest I wander too nigh:
For all that is on or above me, I know
There is nothing so pure as the beautiful snow.

How strange it should be that this beautiful snow
Should fall on a sinner, with nowhere to go!
How strange it should be, when night comes again
If the snow and the ice struck my desperate brain;
Fainting, freezing, dying alone,
Too wicked for prayer, too weak for a moan
To be heard in the streets of the crazy town,
Gone mad in the joy of the snow coming down—
To lie, and to die, in my terrible woe,
With a bed and a shroud of the beautiful snow.
The following verse has been added by another pen:
Helpless and foul as the trampled snow,
Sinner! despair not; Christ stoopeth low
To rescue the soul that is lost in its sin,
And raise it to life and enjoyment again:
Groaning, bleeding, dying for thee,
The Crucified hung, made a curse on the tree;
His accents of mercy fall soft on thine ear—
'Is there mercy for me? Will He heed my prayer?
O God! in the stream that for sinners doth flow,
Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow!'
(Isa. 59. 2; James 1. 15; Ps. 51. 7)

Advent Day 3

2010-12-01T09:30:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came to Shadman’s birthday party yesterday! We will mail all of the messages you wrote to him and let him know we celebrated with him, just from a long ways away. Thanks, also, for bringing your offering so we can continue to support him. Your $35 a month makes a huge difference in his life!

In case you were wondering, all of the children from the choir that performed Sunday are sponsored through the Watoto program like we sponsor Shadman through World Vision. How great that we were able to have time with them! My family had the privilege of hosting Silver, Jessie, Davis, and their Uncle Nicholas—we built with Legos, laughed (a lot), ate, prayed together, and learned that we eat bananas upside down! Everyone at our house was blessed by their friendliness and love for the Lord.

Thanks again for coming, visiting, eating cupcakes and Jello, and, most of all, for sharing God’s love!
Ms. Barry

Advent Day 2

2010-11-30T16:10:00.000-08:00

I was thinking today as I left the house this morning what it must have been like for Joseph. To hear that the women he was to marry was already pregnant. Not with his child but a long expected Messiah... back then the first born son got all the inheritance of his father. it was a huge deal to be the first born. we see this in the old testament story Ishmael found in the book of Genesis. His brother Isaac who was born second got the full birth rights of the first born. Something to ponder as you think that God gave us his one and only Son... we get that inheritance that Christ received as the first born son.

I was also thinking of what Joseph was like as a dad... we know that Mary and Joseph had other children after Jesus. But if you read the Scriptures closely. None of their other children accepted Jesus for who He was till after His resurrection. This isn't to say that Joseph was a horrible father but it gives us as parents hope. That even the father of Jesus wasn't perfect. But yet, God chose him to be the one to teach Jesus the things that a father teaches their children, including his trade as a carpenter. We all have a hope of how our children are going to turn out. We hope that all of them will accept Jesus as their personal savior. We hope...

Matthew 1:24-25 says, "When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."

Advent Day 1

2010-11-30T15:34:00.000-08:00

Hope... expectation... waiting for something to be fulfilled... today is the day we remember the hope they had long ago that the Messiah, the one who would rescue them, would be there soon.

If you haven't done so already, talk as a family about how you are going to spend the days of Advent. I am spending them surprising my husband with little gifts each day. As we prepare to spend our first Christmas together. It doesn't have to be that big or exciting but even an Advent calendar helps to remind us each day of the hope we have in Christ our Savior.

Preparing for Advent

2010-11-24T05:44:00.000-08:00

Advent is the first season in the church calendar. It marks the beginning of our church year. Advent has become a time of buying gifts, baking cookies and running ourselves ragged. While preparing to celebrate is certainly an appropriate response to the anticipated coming of God incarnate (become human), the true meaning of Advent is inward reflection, repentance of sins, and preparing our souls to meet Christ, the Redeemer. The season of Advent gives us a unique opportunity to enrich the lives of our families. To provide traditions and memories that bond families together while giving each member a chance to enrich their own spiritual lives.

One way we can do this is through the making of an Advent Calendar. It is a way to count down till Christ’s birthday. An idea for an Advent Calendar:
http://new.catholicmom.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/2010_advent_chain.pdf

Another way is to make a family Advent wreath. This is a way that families can gather each night and have a devotion about the coming of Christ. An Advent wreath is made from greens to symbolize continuous life and contains four candles— three purple and one rose. Often a fifth candle (white) is added to the center of the wreath for lighting on Christmas Eve, in celebration of the birth of Jesus. (http://www.amazingmoms.com/htm/christmas_advent.htm)

First Sunday of advent : Hope
light one purple candle to symbolize Hope
Prayer
Read Isaiah 60:2-3
Extinguish the flame

Second Sunday : Peace
Light two purple candles - Hope and Peace
Prayer
Read Mark 1:4
Extinguish the flames

Third Sunday : Joy
Light two purple candles (Hope and Peace)
and one rose to symbolize Joy
Prayer
Read Isaiah 35:10
Extinguish the flames

Fourth Sunday: Love
light all four candles - Hope, Peace, Joy and Love
Prayer
Read Isaiah 9:6-7
Extinguish the flames

Christmas Eve
After Sunset...
Light all four candles and add the fifth white candle
(the light of Christ)
Prayer
Read Luke 1:68-79 and Luke 2:1-20
Keep the candles lit a bit longer, or safely
throughout the evening.

Kidz News

2010-11-16T07:13:00.000-08:00

Some children's ministry events coming soon:

Shadman's Birthday is November 30th! On November 28th we will be celebrating his birthday by having a birthday party. The first and second grade class is opening up a cupcake bar after first service for anyone who would like to come to their room and decorate their own cupcake.

Girls Night Out! Friday, December 3rd. 6p.m. - 8:30p.m. Fun Girly Movies, Crafts,Pizza, Snacks and great friends. Cost $5.00/person. Childcare available for 2 and under. Please RSVP to Lisa Michelle Wilson. 797-2651

Christmas Pageant December 12th both services. We will have a Christmas party for children of all ages during the kids worship time.

Family Christmas Movie Night! Wednesday, December 22 4:00 p.m. Room 208/209 Pizza, Soft Drinks, popcorn and other goodies will be provided. We’ll also be doing fun Christmas Crafts and activities! Can’t wait to see you there!

Preschool Kids Worship
Starting this Sunday Kids Worship will be a little different for kids ages 3 - 5. They will be having their own worship time in the nursery area. They will have a lesson, craft and song time that is specific for their age group.

Children's Missions - Room in the Inn
This year each guest at Room in the Inn will find a handwritten card containing an encouraging verse of Scripture on his pillow each week. Ask your children--they may have made a card or two already in Sunday School. We thought families might like to participate in this project together, so we have put together take-home bags that contain a suggested verse and 5 cards. If you are interested, please pick up a bag from the 1st/2nd grade Sunday School classroom, write the verse on the cards, decorate them, pray for the recipients, and return them to Barry Prince. Our guests always enjoy seeing the kids' artwork (because it's awesome!). They will be blessed by your sharing God's word and His love in this way. Thanks!

Kids Worship

2010-11-15T11:21:00.001-08:00

Starting this Sunday we will be dividing the children into age groups during the Kids Worship time. The preschoolers (children ages 3, 4 and 5's that are not in K) will meet downstairs in the nursery area and the elementary children will meet in room 208-209. Andrew Kimbrough started this a few weeks back during the second service. Starting this week we will divide into two groups for both services. This is to give both age groups age appropriate stories, crafts, and music. This week Susan Holt will be leading the preschoolers during first service and Andrew Kimbrough will be leading second service.

Opportunity to serve Room in the Inn

2010-11-10T17:26:00.001-08:00

This year each guest at Room in the Inn will find a handwritten card containing an encouraging verse of Scripture on his pillow each week. Ask your children--they may have made a card or two already in Sunday School. We thought families might like to participate in this project together, so we have put together take-home bags that contain a suggested verse and 5 cards. If you are interested, please pick up a bag from the 1st/2nd grade Sunday School classroom, write the verse on the cards, decorate them, pray for the recipients, and return them to Barry Prince. Our guests always enjoy seeing the kids' artwork (because it's awesome!). They will be blessed by your sharing God's word and His love in this way. Thanks!

Halloween Safety Tips

2010-10-25T15:21:00.000-07:00

TIPS FOR KEEPING HALLOWEEN SAFE

When walking in neighborhoods:

Go to well-lit houses and remain on porches rather than entering houses.
Wear clothing that is bright, reflective and flame retardant.
Consider using face paint instead of a mask; as masks can obstruct a child's vision.
Use flashlights, stay on sidewalks and avoid crossing yards.

For parents:

Inspect all candy for safety before children eat it.
Drive Slowly.
Watch for children in the street and on medians.
Have children get out of cars on the curb side, not the traffic side.

Halloween Safety

A fun Halloween Treat to Make

Children's Sabbath - Downtown Sanctuary

2010-10-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

Children's Sabbath is this Sunday Oct. 24!

Both services

Kids and families will be helping out with different parts of the service.

Our children's choirs and chimes will be presenting some of the pieces that they have been working on.

See you Sunday!

Tomorrow Night!

2010-09-14T10:43:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Night at Life Works Ms. Barry will be here to talk about the Red Bird Mission! Look forward to seeing everyone there!

Parent's Meeting This Sunday!

2010-09-11T10:23:00.000-07:00

We would like to invite all parents to attend a short parents meeting on Sunday at 4pm. We will meet in West Chapel. This will be a short but very important meeting. We will be discussing the future of the children's ministry. Please bring your ideas and questions.

Wednesday Nights Begin This Week!!

2010-09-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

We are getting ready for another great Fall of Wednesday nights. Over the summer Wednesday nights got a bit of a makeover. There will be no FaithWeaver Friends or Choir on Wednesday nights. But do not fear we have a great night in store. There will be singing, praying, and a lesson. Along with a lot of fun. We are calling it Life Works! We will begin our night at 5pm with dinner in the fellowship hall. At 6pm come join us in room 208-209 for an intergenerational worship experience! If you have any questions please feel free to contact Bekah at the church office or via email. Look forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday night!!

A concert event worth looking into

2010-08-06T09:09:00.000-07:00

This is a music festival put on by the Methodist Denomination... I have gone for the last couple of years. It is a great time. Kids and youth both love it. If you want the full experience camp but it is a festival that you can go down for the day and have just as much fun.

http://www.newsongmusicfestival.org/

School is getting closer!

2010-08-02T05:50:00.000-07:00

As our kids go back to school separation anxiety might be something you have to deal with. Parent's Magazine had an article on the different styles of separation anxiety.

The first style is the crier:
What he's feeling: I'm sad to leave my mom and dad and be alone in a strange place.
Your response: Try not to look worried -- kids pick up on that. Remind your child how much fun school will be and that you'll be back to get him a little later. You can also reassure him that his teacher is there to help him and make him feel better.
P.S. He'll stop crying soon after you leave. If you want some reassurance of your own, ask someone at the school to call you later to tell you how he's doing.

Second: The Brave (But Scared) Child
What she's feeling: Not gonna cry, not gonna cry, not gonna cry. Not even gonna say goodbye because that'll make me cry. Just gonna knead this Play-Doh like crazy.
Your response: Don't panic if she doesn't say goodbye. She's just trying to hold it together. Say goodbye, but don't pressure her to respond. And don't talk about how you'll miss her or how sad you'll be without her -- it'll make her feel bad.
P.S. There's a chance she'll completely lose it when she sees you at the end of the day because she's been holding her feelings in. Make sure you spend some relaxing, calm bonding time together after school.

Third: The Delayed Reactor
What he's feeling: I'm cool with school. I'm cool with school. Then, a few days or a few weeks later.... Wait -- where's my mommy?!
Your response: Talk to him about the things that he enjoyed so much at the beginning. Speak with his teacher so she can give him a little extra attention. Also, try to develop a quick goodbye ritual, like a handshake or a wink, that you can do as you leave.
P.S. It's not that your child suddenly decided he doesn't like school. He was just so caught up in all the new experiences that he didn't even realize he'd been away from Mom and Dad. He'll bounce back.

Fourth: The Silent Observer
What she's feeling: Let me check out what's going on around here before I jump in and start playing with these kids.
Your response: Give your child time to adjust to her new environment. Then help her get used to the idea of becoming involved by reading books about school together, playing school at home, and talking about the teachers and children.
P.S. Remember that your kid is learning as she's observing. You might want to talk to her teacher about helping her find her comfort zone so she can get more involved.

http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/starting-preschool/separation-anxiety/separation-anxiety

Children's Choir!

2010-07-27T16:25:00.000-07:00

The fall Children's Choir schedule is out!

First UMC
Children’s Music Ministry
Fall 2010

It’s hard to believe that the first day of school is just around the corner. As you plan activities for your children and youth for the coming school year, be sure to take a look at what we have to offer through our Music Ministry for children here at First UMC. At First UMC we are committed to providing the highest quality sacred
music education that we possibly can. Our programs include choirs for students in grades 1-6 as well as instruction in handbells and the use of Orff instruments. Registration will take place in the Gathering Hall between services on August 1 and August 8 or you can register online at 1stumc.org. While there are certainly plenty of activities for parents to choose from, there is nowhere else that you can find the combination of high quality music instruction and spiritual development that we offer at church. While our schools certainly do a great job with music education, there is nowhere other than church where our children and youth can be taught and trained to use their musical gifts to glorify God through service to the church.

Participation in our Music Ministry also provides:
 a vehicle for learning stewardship of time and talents. Learning to be a worship leader as a part of a handbell ensemble or choir gives our children an opportunity to give back to the church that has nurtured and developed them.
 an opportunity to develop leadership skills, poise and confidence as they learn to lead in worship.
 a musical outlet for students who don’t otherwise have time for it due to the demands of school and extracurricular activities. Upcoming events for our children include:
 Regular worship participation by all ensembles
 Participation by our upper elementary students in our Christmas Concert along with our Chancel Choir and professional orchestra on December 11
 A Christmas Musical for children on December 12
 A spring Children’s Choir festival (combined with children’s choirs from all over central and northern Kentucky area)

First UMC
Children’s Music Ministry
Fall, 2010

First Chimers and Celebration Ringers (grades 3-6)
Sundays, 4:00 – 4:45 in Rooms 6 and 11
Directors – Lisa Hall and Cindy Higgins
All of our children’s handbell and chime groups meet at the same time on Sunday afternoons allowing students to be placed in the group that best suits their developmental level. No previous musical experience is required.

Wesley Choir (grades 1-3)
Sundays, 4:45 – 5:30 p.m. in Room 201/203
Director – Lauren Collins
At this age, children are ready to begin a regular pattern of participating as a choir in worship, which they will do every six to eight weeks. The musical focus is on finding the true singing voice, increasing the singing and learning to match pitch. Music literacy readiness activities based on manipulative games create an enthusiasm for future musical growth. As the year progresses, musical skills are expanded upon, with beginning emphasis on transferring rudimentary notation to the written page. Time is also given to improvisation with the Orff instruments, movement exploration and the use of hand signals as a means of learning to sight sing.

Celebration Singers (grades 4-6)
Sundays, 4:45 – 5:30 p.m. in Room 208/209
Directors – Lisa Hall and Kevin Holland
More intensive vocal challenges and worship responsibilities are introduced at this age level. They sing in worship every four to six weeks. Increased emphasis is placed on the learning of musical terminology and literacy development with the goal being usable sight singing skills. The voice is ready for more challenging repertoire and the ear is ready for some part singing. Work with the Orff instruments and the use of hand signals is continued.

Registration for all children’s musical ensembles will take place in the Gathering Hall between services on Sunday August 1 and August 8 or you may download a printable registration form at www.1stumc.org.

All children’s musical activities begin on Sunday, August 15.

Charge Conference Date Changed

2010-07-21T13:18:00.001-07:00

Due to conflicting dates and times posted for the Charge Conference in last week's Gazette, the Charge Conference previously scheduled for this Thursday, July 22, at 7:00pm will be rescheduled for a later date. Our announcement in the Centennial Gazette properly listed the date and time in its heading, but the body of the message listed the meeting date as Wednesday, July 21. To avoid having anyone miss the meeting because of this error, we will need to reschedule. Our District Superintendent Mark Girard agrees that it would be best to reschedule the meeting for a date in the near future.

We apologize for this late change and the error in the original announcement that caused it. This was an oversight on our part, and we will do our best to keep it from happening again.

If you know of others we should notify who do not check e-mail frequently, would you please contact them or let the church office know to contact them? We want to ensure that everyone knows about this change before tomorrow evening.

Teddy Ray
Executive Pastor

Summer Fun!

2010-07-10T14:08:00.000-07:00

Hey Families... was at the movies today and learned that they have 1 dollar movies for kids! Not only that but they are going to be showing the veggie tales movie The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything on July 28th. Interested? Check out: http://www.cinemark.com/summermovieclubhouse/SMC2010_122.jpg

2010-07-09T20:48:00.001-07:00

The Cottage clothing for children

190 Lexington Green Circle
Lexington, Kentucky 40503

thecottage@qx.net

Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm

40% off ALL Summer Clothing
30% off summer shoes & sandals and Vineyard Vines

Beginning Monday, July 12
Enter to win a $200 shopping certificate!

Music Camp

2010-07-06T09:02:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is having an great summer. Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I promise to get back on it in the fall!

I wanted to let everyone know that our Music Camp that was to be held in August is going to be canceled. If you have any questions you can email or call Kevin Holland.

Need a Summer Fun Idea?

2010-05-19T20:31:00.001-07:00

http://www.regmovies.com/nowshowing/familyfilmfestivalschedule.aspx?state=KY

Fun Idea

2010-05-12T08:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a helpful idea I got in my mailbox this morning: http://family-life.familieswithpurpose.com/2008/04/23/creating-a-house-cleaning-schedule/

Kidz Nook

2010-05-11T10:37:00.000-07:00

The Kidz Nook
Beijo Bags Trunk Show and Kidz Nook Savings

Contact Jill Faulconer for more information.

190 Lexington Green Circle, Lexington
8590273-1552
thekidznook@yahoo.com
Monday - Saturday 10am -6pm open at 9am on Wednesdays and Fridays

Sunday May 9th!

2010-05-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

The children’s choirs will be singing for both services this Sunday. They will be getting prepared to sing at 8:15am and 10:45am in the Fellowship Hall. They will then go up to the sanctuary and will be sitting all together on the side closest to the nursery.
Children that attend Sunday School will be picked up by a volunteer and brought down to the Fellowship Hall. Please let the Sunday School teacher know if you do not want them picked up.

Thank you!
See you all on Sunday!
Bekah Thompson, Barry Prince, Lisa Hall and Allyson Cooper

This Wed!

2010-05-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

This Wednesday the kids will have a full hour of choir practice in the sanctuary from 6pm to 7pm. Preschoolers will start upstairs and be brought down during the second half of the night to practice. Sunday morning the kids will be singing both services.

Parents of children ages 2 and under!

2010-04-30T12:39:00.000-07:00

Your Family is invited
To the First Footsteps Luncheon on
May 2nd, 2010 After 2nd service
in the Fellowship Hall at
First United Methodist Church

Please join us to get to know other
Newborn families, The Newborn
Ministry Team, Ministry Staff,
And Nursery Staff.

R.S.V.P. to Cathy Saunooke at 806-8703
Or via e-mail to catcrank@hotmail.com

We hope you can join us as we
Celebrate the arrival of our newest
family members!

Finding the Way

2010-04-30T12:35:00.000-07:00

If you are going on a trip, you need to know where you are going and how to go to get there. I have a two things with me this morning that you might use to help you to find your way when you are traveling. I have a map and a compass.

I'm sure all of you have seen a map, but perhaps some of you have never seen a compass. The map will show you where you want to go, and the compass will point you in the right direction. The compass shows you whether you are going north, south, east, or west.

I heard about a lady who was taking a group of children to a soccer game in another city. She knew the right road to take, but she became confused and turned east instead of west. They had traveled for almost an hour before one of the children told her that they were going the wrong direction.

When we are trying to find your way through the journey of life, we need some help in finding the right way to go too, don't we? Each day we face many difficult decisions and it is sometimes hard to know which way to turn.

Some people use their feelings to make decisions. They say, "Im going to do this, because it just feels like the right thing to do." That's no good. Our feelings may change from day to day, and just because we feel good about something doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do.

Some people make choices by what's popular. That is no good either. Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't mean that it is the right thing to do, does it? Besides, tomorrow everyone might be doing something else.

There is only one way to know if we are going the right direction in life and that is to follow Jesus. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Well, we know where we want to go. We want to go to heaven. And now, we know the way. Jesus is the way. If we follow him, we know we are on the right path and headed in the right direction.

Dear Father, help us each day as we journey through life to follow Jesus, because we know he is the way, the only way. Amen.

Kidz Nook

2010-04-26T17:14:00.001-07:00

Kidz Nook
190 Lexington Green Circle, Lexington Kentucky 40503
859.273.1552 thekidznook@yahoo.com

April Showers bring May flowers
and just in:
summer fun from Peaches n' Cream
lined raincoats for boys & girls
Bailey Boys bathing suits
white sandals
and scheduled to arrive this week:
Vineyard Vines trunks and flip flops
Come see us
Monday - Saturday, 10am - 6pm
Open at 9am on Wednesday and Friday

Summer Music and Arts Camp

2010-04-14T10:37:00.000-07:00

Summer Music and Arts Camp

Our Children’s Music Ministry is offering a Summer Music and Arts camp for students who have completed grades k-5 during the week of August 2-6, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. each day. Students who have completed grades K – 2 will participate in choir, crafts, creative movement and musical games.

Students who have completed grades 3 – 5 will participate in choir and may also select classes such as Drama, Liturgical Dance, Orff instruments, Handbells/Handchimes, and African Drumming. There will be a closing concert on Friday evening preceded by a family potluck dinner at 6:00 p.m. The concert will include presentations by the choirs and classes. Campers will also participate in worship on Sunday, August 8. Registration for the camp begins on April 5 and the total cost is $40 if paid by July 1. The cost of registration after July 1 is $50. There is also an option for full-day activities if needed at a cost of $70 for the week. You may download registration forms or complete the entire registration process online at www.1stumc.org beginning Monday, April 5. For additional information contact Rev. Kevin Holland at 859-233-0545, ext. 240 or kevin.holland@!stumc.org.

http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e2sys4zp0622178a

Sermon on the Mount

2010-04-05T16:29:00.001-07:00

A good Monday thought...

Matthew 5:1-12 1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into the mountain: and when he had sat down, his disciples came unto him: 2 and he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye when men shall reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets that were before you.

Jesus wants us to be happy!

Easter Sunday

2010-04-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

Stare at the four dots in the center of this picture for about thirty seconds. Then, close your eyes and wait for an image to appear. What did you see? Did you see an image of Jesus? Some people see the image of Jesus and some don't. That is the way it really is. Some people don’t see Jesus because they are looking for Him in the wrong places.
That is what happened in our Bible story today. Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb where Jesus had been buried. She found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. She ran and found Simon Peter and another disciple, whose name was John. She told them, "They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!"
Peter and John started out for the tomb. They were both running, but John outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings, while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. Then they went home.
Mary stayed behind and stood outside the tomb weeping. As she knelt down and looked inside, she saw two angels dressed in white. They asked her why she was crying. She told them that someone had taken her master and she didn't know where they had taken him. Then, Mary turned and saw a man standing behind her. It was Jesus, but Mary did not recognize Him. She thought he was the gardener. Then Jesus called her by name and, when she heard his voice, she recognized Him. After she saw that it was Jesus, she went to the disciples and said to them, "I’ve just seen Jesus! He is alive!"
Some people, like Mary, Peter, and John can’t see Jesus because they are looking for Him in a grave or on a cross. He isn’t there! He is risen and is seated at the right hand of His Father in heaven. If you want to see Jesus, look in His Word, He will reveal Himself to you, just as He did to Mary!
(sermons4kids.com)

Holy Week

2010-04-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Day 35: March 29th
This is the first day of what we call Holy Week. For many of our children they are calling this week Spring Break. During Holy Week we will follow Jesus through the last few days and hours of His life. Then on Sunday we will celebrate His resurrection.
As we go through this final week there are going to be times when it is hard to understand all that is happening and why it happened, especially for children. Listen to their questions and hear their stories as they recount what they saw or heard. It is important for them to know that although this is a sad week it is a happy one too. Keep them looking towards Easter but help them to understand there is a lot that had to happen before that day could.
Palm Sunday = the entrance into Jerusalem
Holy Thursday = institution of Communion and betrayal by Judas
Good Friday -= the arrest, trial, crucifixion, death, and burial of Jesus
Holy Saturday = the Sabbath on which Jesus rested in the grave

Day 36: March 30th
Remembering Jesus
Today look up the different symbols that we have for the Easter season.
1. Torn curtain Luke 23:44-46
2. Dice Mark 15:24
3. Sponge/ Vinager John 19:28-29
4. Bowl & Towel John 13:3-17
5. Wooden cross Mark 15:21
6. Alabaster vase Mark 14:3-9
7. Nails Luke 23:32-34
8. 30 Silver coins Matthew 26:14-15
9. Palm Branches Matthew 21:8-9
10. Chalice Luke 22:17-18
11. Jug of wine Luke 22:14-20
12. Grapes Mark 14:23-25
13. Loaf of Bread Luke 22:14-20
14. Unleavened bread Luke 22: 14-20
15. Donkey Matthew 21:1-3
16. Rock Matthew 27:57-28:2
17. Praying Hands Mark 14:32-36
18. Rooster Mark 14:27-31
As you look up each item talk about why each one of these items are important to the journey to the Cross.

Day 37: March 31st
Foot Washing

Read: John 13:1-20

Why did Peter not want Jesus to wash his feet?

Why did he change his mind?

What can we do to serve others?

Day 38: April 1st
Maundy Thursday
Communion
Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday, is a service to commemorate Jesus' Last Supper and the beginning of our sacrament, the Lord's Supper. The word Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum, which means "commandment." At the Last Supper, Jesus gave the disciples a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them (John 13:34). Prior to breaking the bread with the disciples, Jesus washed their feet. Maundy Thursday worship services include Holy Communion and sometimes foot washing as well. (http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=2873)
Jesus surrounded himself with people who, like us, had failings and shortcomings. The events of Holy Week reveal the disciples' human nature and weaknesses: Judas betrays Jesus for a pocketful of coins; the disciples sleep while Jesus agonizes in the garden; Peter's anger causes him to take up a sword and strike the high priest's slave; the chief priests act out of fear or jealousy of Jesus; Pilate's willingness to hand over a man he believes to be innocent; and perhaps most poignant of all, Jesus' own very human desire to escape the Crucifixion. And is it possible that even today, our own human nature, weaknesses, and failings cause us also to betray, deny, convict, and crucify again? (http://www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=1850&loc_id=1,32,49)

Day 39: April 2nd
Good Friday
"Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him" (Mark 14:10-11, NRSV).
Today make Hot Cross Buns with your family (http://www.faith-at-home.com/recipes/hotcrossbuns.html)
Ingredients:

3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 packages active dry yeast (2 1/2 tsp.)
1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees F)
3 eggs
4 cups sifted flour, divided
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup currants
1 egg white
1 tsp. cold water
Frosting (see recipe below)

Scald milk in a small saucepan, add salt, sugar and shortening; cool to lukewarm.
Sprinkle yeast on top of the warm water; stir to dissolve. Add yeast mixture, eggs, 1 cup flour and cinnamon to milk mixture; beat with electric mixer at medium speed about 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Stir in currants and enough remaining flour, a little at a time, to make a soft dough that is easy to handle. Beat well.
Place in lightly greased bowl and turn dough over to grease top as well. Cover and let rise until just about doubled. This will take about 1 1/2 hours.
Punch down the dough. Turn onto lightly floured board. Roll or pat to a 1/2 inch thickness. Cut in rounds with a 2 1/2 inch biscuit cutter or bottom of a glass. Pat the shapes to a bun like shape. Place about 1 1/2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Allow to rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.
With a very sharp knife (serrated works well) cut a cross into the surface of each bun. Brush tops with unbeaten egg white mixed with cold water. Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool on racks for about 5 minutes. With a tip of a butter knife or a small spoon, fill in crosses with white frosting. Makes about 18 buns.
Frosting:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened
1-2 tablespoon milk
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients and mix well until smooth.
Read: Psalm 22

Day 40: April 3rd
Easter Vigil
Read: Matthew 27:57-66
Today is a the Sabbath day that Jesus laid in the grave. Take some time today to go through the stations of the Cross. Remember what Jesus went through, the journey that He took to get to the Cross.
http://www.cptryon.org/prayer/child/stations/index.html
1. Jesus before Pilate
2. Cross given to Jesus
3. Jesus fall the first time
4. Jesus meets his mother
5. Simon helps carry the cross
6. Veronica wipes Jesus’ face
7. Jesus falls a second time
8. Crying women
9. Jesus falls a third time
10. Jesus’ clothes are taken away
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross
14. Jesus is buried
15. Jesus raises from the death

Holy Week 1

2010-03-29T19:34:00.000-07:00

Palm Sunday

2010-03-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

Day 34: March 27th
Easter Eggs
Come join us today for the Easter Egg Hunt out at the Andover campus.
The history of the Easter Egg is one that many debate. But Easter just doesn’t seem complete without the Easter Egg. It was originally a secular idea. The first colored egg was in China during 1000 B.C. The tradition of hiding the eggs came in Europe later. The tradition says that a lady would hide the eggs in tall grass telling children that a bunny left them for them to find. The Easter bunny is still visiting children today.
Today the colorful eggs remind us of the new life that comes with spring. It reminds us also that we have new life in Christ.
As you see eggs or even decorate some eggs yourself think about the new life that is growing outside and the new life that is growing inside of you as you grow in your knowledge of God.

For some extra fun, if you are dying your eggs wrap a variety of rubber bands around them and dip into the die. If you’re very adventurous you can even unwrap them after they dry and wrap them again to die them another color in other spots.

Sunday
Many superheroes like Superman and Superwoman have something in common. Do you know what it is? Many of them wear a cape. Their cape has many uses. It can protect them from bullets. It can keep them warm when it is cold or it can keep them dry when it rains. It can help them fly through the air or leap tall buildings in a single bound. Have you ever pretended that you were Superman or Superwoman? When I was a child, I used to tie a cape around my neck and pretend that I was Superman flying through the air. You probably have done that too.
In the day when Jesus lived, many people wore a garment called a cloak. It was a loose outer garment similar to a cape and, like the Superheroes' cape, it served many purposes. It provided them protection against the harsh winds and blowing sand in the desert. It also provided protection from the hot desert sun. In our Bible lesson today, we will see a very unusual way the people used their cloaks.
Jesus and his disciples were walking toward Jerusalem and had stopped near a small village called Bethphage. Jesus sent two of his disciples to go on ahead into the village. He told them that when they got there, they would find a donkey and her colt which they were to bring back to him. Of course the disciples were a bit concerned because they imagined that these animals might belong to someone who might not appreciate having their animals taken. Jesus simply told them, "Tell them that the Lord needs them and they will let you have them." So the disciples went into town and sure enough, there was a donkey and her colt. They grabbed them and as they were leaving, someone asked why they were taking the animals. They answered, "It is for the Lord." And the people let them take them just as Jesus had said they would. When they arrived back at the camp, the disciples took their cloaks and put them on the donkey to make a nice soft seat for Jesus. Jesus got on the donkey and headed toward Jerusalem.
When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, a very large crowd gathered to welcome him. Some of them spread their cloaks on the road for Jesus to ride on, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Why would they do that? They were treating Jesus like a king!
The Bible tells us that the crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted:

"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest heaven!"
The people greeted Jesus as a King that day. Today, Jesus wants to be your King -- and he will be if you will allow him to come into your heart and rule over your life. Lay down your cloak to greet your King as he comes to you in love.
(sermons4kids.com)

Palms Sunday Easter Egg Hunt and more....

2010-03-26T11:56:00.001-07:00

Its a busy weekend... here are some important times to remember... tonight at 7pm at Andover we will be stuffing eggs... tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9am the pancake breakfast starts (reservations required)... at 9:45 Pastor Todd will lead us in a story and then we will dismiss by ages to go and hunt eggs. Palm Sunday morning we will be waving the palms both services meet in the ladies parlor behind the sanctuary at 8:10!