So we fasted and earnestly prayed that our God would take care of us, and he heard our prayer.

Ezra 8:23

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In Exodus we learn about God freeing the Israelites from the captivity in Egypt. After they left the Egyptians changed their minds and began to pursue them. In Chapter 14 God says something that I have found very interesting. In verse 4 he says, “…I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and his army.” With this statement God is saying that He is going to do something so big that people will know that it could only have been done by Him. He then went on to part the Red Sea, allowing the Israelites to cross on dry land before bringing the water crashing down on the Egyptians.

That is my prayer for my ministry in 2012 that God would do something so big that people will look at it and know that only he could have done it.

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Can you believe it? In just a few days 2011 will be over. As 2011 ends and 2012 begins it can be very easy to be so focused on the things we are planning for 2012 we forget to take time to thank God for the many blessings – big and small – he sent our way in 2011. So, before 2012 begins, let’s take some time to remember the blessings you experienced personally and in your ministry throughout 2011. Consider the following -

• Take time to stop and think about each blessing – big and small – He sent your way. Write them down and take one blessing a day until 2012 begins to focus on and thank God for the many ways He blessed you
• One of the best blessings God gives us is the opportunity to be a blessing to someone else! Take time to seek God and ask Him how He wants to use you to bless someone else. Remember, a simple word of encouragement may seem small to you, but to the one who receives it, it could be one of their biggest blessings of the year!
• Be ready to share with others how God has blessed in 2011 – this can be very encouraging!
• And don’t forget to be quick to listen to how God has blessed others in 2011 as well! Rejoice with them and thank God together!

Psalm 111:1-4 – “¹ Praise the LORD, I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. ² Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. ³ Glorious and majestic are his deeds,  and his righteousness endures forever. ⁴ He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate.” (NIV)

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It is really easy for me to be excited about Christmas . . . Jesus came to Earth and was born as a human so we can know Him – this is truly exciting! It is very easy for this message to be “lost” in all the “busyness” and the “celebrating” of Christmas. I, probably like most of you, tend to be very busy at Christmas and I absolutely love celebrating it with my family, particularly my grandsons! But I need to be sure to remember some very important things about Christmas . . . there are those who are so badly in need of hearing and receiving the message of Christmas – Jesus’ love.

In addition to posting here on Kidmin1124 and writing my own blog, About the Children’s Department, I also write a blog for grandmas – and grandpas, moms and dads, too – grandma’s cookie jar. Nearly everything I post on this blog is about the “wonderfulness” (may not be a “real” word, but it works!) of being a grandma! I do however, also share each week the photo and information on a missing child so everyone can be praying for this child and his/her family. I receive the alerts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – and these alerts break my heart. Many of these missing children are considered “Endangered Runaways”. When I look at the photos of these children – typically between the ages of 12 and 17 – I wonder, “what was he/she like when he/she was three or four?” They were probably just sweet, little children who wanted to be loved. I wonder what happened to bring them to a point where they chose to run away from home? For some, home is likely not a safe place where they are nurtured, cherished and wanted. For others they may have been influenced by someone with motives of their own. Regardless of why they ran away, the fact is they ran away. I wonder, “how might things have been different if they had someone in their lives who shared Jesus’ love with them?” As you celebrate Christmas this year, please make the following commitments . . . Continue Reading…

Last week I posted my Top 5 Reasons for Focusing Kids on Giving at Christmas, but this week I want to stop to think about the Top 5 reasons for Focusing our Kids on Receiving at Christmas . . . yes, I said “receiving“! At Christmas children – and adults, too – think quite a bit about the gifts they would like to receive, but in God’s Word we find some of the most incredible gifts anyone could ever receive . . . and we read they are gifts God wants us to receive! Consider the following .  .  .

• I Peter 1:3,4,8,9 “³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to His great mercy, He has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that is imperishable, uncorrupted, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, ⁸ You love Him, though you have not seen Him. And though not seeing Him now, you believe in Him and rejoice with inexpressible and glorious joy, ⁹ because you are receiving the goal of your  faith, the salvation of your souls.” (HCSB) Praise God! Because of His great mercy, He has given us new birth and a living hope through Jesus’ resurrection! He wants us to receive His amazing gift of salvation! There is no better gift we could ever receive! This is a gift we want kids to focus on receiving!
• Acts 17:11 “¹¹ Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.” (NASB) God’s Word is a gift like no other! It allows us the opportunity to know God and how to walk with Him. We want the children in our ministries to receive God’s Word with great eagerness! We want them to be excited about examining the Scriptures every day so they can grow in their walk with Jesus! This is another important gift for our kids to focus on receiving!
• Matthew 7:7, 8, 11 – “ ⁷Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. ⁸Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks. ¹¹you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” (CEV) Is there anything so amazing as the truth our Heavenly Father hears us when we pray? Not only does He hear us, but He says if we “ask” we will “receive“! Rejoice with the children in your ministries this Christmas over the incredible gift God gives us of hearing us when we pray and of answering our prayers! We want our kids to know they can and will receive answers to their prayers!
• Hebrews 12:28 “²⁸ We are receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken. So let us be thankful. Then we can worship God in a way that pleases him. We will worship him with deep respect and wonder.” (NIrV) God’s Word tells us we are “receiving a kingdom that can’t be shaken”! This gift is the gift of hope! God’s kingdom will not be shaken. It is firm and it is everlasting and this does give us so very much to be thankful for! Lead the children in your ministry in worshiping God this Christmas for the promise He has given us of receiving His kingdom!
• John 14:15-17 “¹⁵ ”If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (ESV) As if all the other incredible blessings we receive from God isn’t enough, He goes above and beyond and gives us the Holy Spirit to be our Helper! He is with us forever! We can know Him! Amazing!

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“Christmas time is here Happiness and cheer Fun for all that children call Their favorite time of the year!”

Ah, yes . . . Christmas time is here and while children are likely to be focused on the gifts they hope to receive . . . as for many children it is their favorite time of year, I believe it is the ideal time to redirect their focus on giving to others! So . . .  here are my Top 5 Reasons for Focusing Kids on Giving at Christmas . . .

1. Jesus is our Example . . . He gave to us – John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” (ESV)
2. Jesus told us to give to others . . . when we give to others, we are choosing to obey Jesus  - John 15:12 “‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’” (ESV)
3. Giving to others brings glory to God! – Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV)
4. It pleases God – Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” (ESV)
5. It shows by what we do God’s love is in us!  - I John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (ESV)

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With the news of the past week it is impossible to not have our hearts grieve for children who have been harmed at the hands of an adult they should have been able to trust. When news like this hits the airwaves, it leaves parents understandably shaken and in need of assurance they can trust the adults who have access to their children. So what can you do to help parents know their children are safe with you? Consider the following . . .

• Transparency. Share your written child safety policy with the parents of the children in your church and community. This is an excellent opportunity to mail a copy of your safety policy to each family in your ministry and schedule a time for parents to sit down with you to walk through your policy and how you implement it. Invite parents to visit their children’s classes and be sure they know their child’s teachers.
• Collaborate. Along this note, schedule a time for your volunteers to sit down with the parents. Give the volunteers the opportunity to share why they serve and provide time for parents and volunteers to pray together for the children. Help parents and volunteers come together as a team to disciple their children!
• Vigilance. Pay attention. Watch. Have a plan for safety in all areas of your ministry and stick to it like glue.
• Prayer. Make the safety of the children an issue which is at, and which remains at, the top of your prayer list.

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For the past few weeks I’ve been writing about some of the things I’m thankful for. I recently saw a post on a friend’s facebook which made me stop and think about thankfulness. . .

So . . . yes, I’m thankful, but do I take time every day to thank God for His many, many blessings in my life?  This caused me to ask myself a few questions . . . Continue Reading…

Still looking back in this series and in my children’s ministry, there is one more thing I wish I had known at 50:

That networking will make you smarter than you are.

I had just turned 50 when I came on staff at Momentum Church.  A children’s pastor with  30 years experience, yet I was at a complete loss as to where to begin.  All my previous experience had been in very traditional church settings.  Momentum was a portable church, setting up and tearing down every Sunday to have a worship service.  That meant putting everything you used to teach, all tech, all props, all everything, in a box and loading it in a trailer, set it up at the theater, have service, then put it all back in boxes and back on the trailer; all before the first movies began at noon!

How do you do games?  What back drops work best?  What materials all will hold up to the constant loading and unloading?  How do you have a clean, safe nursery on the floor of a theater?  The questions came faster than I could write them down.  It seemed that every turn, every department, every inch of the ministry was unlike anything I had ever done before.  I was clueless.

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I guess I am just a slow learner.  Or maybe, we do keep learning our entire life.  Either way, there was at least one thing I wish I had known as a kidmin when I was 40:

The more you share, the more you can do.

With time and tenure in ministry, I accepted a wider area of responsibility.  However, it was difficult for me to learn to let go and let others take on fully projects, tasks, or positions within that area. I think there were two reasons I struggled with letting go: First, I have a deep sense of obligation that what is entrusted to me be done to the best of my ability.  So when I released ministry to others, to allow them to serve along side me, I really didn’t release it completely.  I  shared some of the responsibility for that area, I shared some of the work that needed to be done, but I still helped.

And secondly, I didn’t want to give anyone the impression that they were being dumped on.  I learned, eventually, that giving someone the opportunity to minister, in their own way, within clearly established guidelines and goals, is a great blessing, both to the person serving, and to the church as a whole.  If I clearly share the vision, the goal, the purpose of the ministry that a person is assuming, and then I follow up with them, encourage them and help resource them with what they need to minister, there isn’t a feeling of being used or abandoned.

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