I was baptized around nine or at least that’s what I was told by my entire life.  I even remember a preacher, a church and some water.   I had often wondered if that was my baptism or someone else’s.  Because if it was mine wouldn’t I remember more.

I will turn 33 Friday April 27^th and for 24 year I thought I was baptized until two weeks ago.   Two weeks ago a great friend of mine took a very big step to a journey filled with so much desire and a will to live a life with God by her side and in her heart.  She has lived a life of anger, judgment, sin and abuse.  She has witnessed this throughout her family tree for many many years.  Just four months ago she would not even hear of walking in a church and listening to a sermon.  She went kicking and screaming with a close family member pushing her.   Exactly two weeks ago a very nervous women walked up to the front of her church lead by her pastor and announced her baptism. This I promise you was one of the most emotional announcements you will ever see.  As she cried, sweated & smiled with tears of joy she made some awesome memories that Sunday.   She will forever remember the tears that fell to the floor, the people that lead her to this decision and the God that for better or worse will never leave her side.  She will remember this event that will change her life forever.

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A few days ago my husband and I cleaned out our storage room. I know, boring right? My day started by picking things up, rearranging, getting rid of trash, and packing things away.  I realized that God had been talking to me all morning long. My mind was creating its own new story book of my life that is about to began at a whole new level. It had nothing to do with our storage room and everything to do with the challenges we face everyday; challenges that we will never face alone again.

When we are born, our life seems to be perfect. As the years go on, life settles in and we began to make choices and experience challenges, problems, and negativity. We get knocked down, kicked in the head, and pushed to the limit many times. We often dwell on all the things that are going wrong. We work hard to please everyone around us and it seems to be very hard to get a simple, “thank you.” What about when you work so hard on a project and not one person recognizes it; however, they recognize the person that has done the simplest task? We work without sleep and forget to take care of ourselves. We want to give up and find it so hard to move on. Is all of that because someone forgot to say a simple “thank you” or “I appreciate you?”

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As a volunteer or a full-time children’s minister, it is important that we attend to our own spiritual lives and development in order to be able to minister to kids.  One important aspect of our own spiritual lives is prayer.  It is, after all, impossible to forge a relationship with someone without talking to them.  Our relationship with God is no exception.  A vibrant prayer life is critical to a healthy relationship with our Heavenly Father.

What happens when children pray?

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Teaching your children about Jesus can be very overwhelming. Most of us don’t know where to start. How do we teach them? Will just reading the bible make a difference? How do we bring God into our lives all week long?  How do we prioritize with so many things going on? You will never have the perfect answer to all of your questions. It is not something I can give you.  You have to have a desire to do it.

Helping your kids to grow spiritually involves a whole lot more than just teaching your kids about God, It means living a God-centered life in front of them!  It means getting your family to church every week where they can be with God each Sunday and around great people who love your kids and will help to instill in them a biblical worldview. You have to have faith that God will take care of your family!  Will all your prayers get answered? God answers every prayer. I believe that Gods answers hundreds of our prayers each day. Keeping us happy and strong each day dealing all the hundreds of things we all do every day is a definite answer to prayer.  You cannot out dream GOD! He has a plan for all of us including your children.  So, let’s help them to know who he is and build that foundation in their lives while they are still young!

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Yesterday, we looked at the need to get your house organized and some keys to getting that done.  Today, let’s review a a few tips that may help you with practical everyday chores.

IN THE KITCHEN

• Dishes:  Color code your kids.  This has been the very best way to keep our kids organized.  We went to Dollar General and bought 3 sets of cups, bowls and plates – pink, orange, and green. Each child is assigned their own color.  So, when they leave a dish out, we know who it belongs to.  It makes setting the dinner table easy and fun and colorful to boot.   It also makes putting dishes away easy for kids.

• Dedicate one cabinet to each of your  kids:  This cabinet will include color coded dishes, water bottles, lunch boxes, one bucket of silver ware for easy access, one towel for each one to clean up their own mess, kids’ aprons, mixing bowels for helpful cook times, popcorn cups, and a basket full of snacks just for them. You can also put kids’ cook books in this cabinet along with a kid’s step stool if you have the space.  This keeps the kids out of all the other cabinets and gives them some independence in the kitchen.  This helps the kids feel like they belong and make clean up time so easy.

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As volunteers and children’s ministers, there is one thing that many of us have in common – we wish we had more time!  Oftentimes, we allow our ministry to impact the time we have at home.  Even when our ministry does require a lot of time, that is still no excuse for an unorganized home.  In today’s article I want to explore some simple tips for helping you organize your home.

As a Certified Family Manager, I sit down with so many families that need help with everyday stuff like balancing their homes.  This includes not only and organizing their lives but organizing their physical homes as well.  It can be so difficult to focus on your life when your home is in a state of chaos.  Tomorrow, we will look at a variety of practical tips for organizing your home room-by-room, but first let’s have a look at the key to any organizational effort.

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This is my very first blog representing Kidmin1124, and it has been a challenge!  I couldn’t decide where to start.  I have so many things I want to say, so many things I want to share with you, and yet and I can’t seem to get it down in writing.  But, there is no stopping me now!  God has had this intentional plan for my life since I was born.  It is truly an honor to have been asked to join this group of creative and extremely knowledgeable writers.  The last month of my life has changed me in so many ways.  It all started when God began to answer all of my prayers seemingly all at the same time.   I know that he answers them everyday – big or small – whether we recognize it or not, he does and answer them!  However, the last month has really been a flood of some extremely awesome answered prayers in my life.

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