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Kids Happenings November 2017

Hello church family,

Happy Fall Y’all!  Let me tell you, I love fall.  The leaves turn beautiful vibrant colors, the air is cool, crisp and fresh. You can open the windows and air out the house and curl up in your favorite chair with your favorite blanket and read a good book or devotional, listen to soft music or write in your journal.  It’s a time that I feel I can “Be still” and take in all of God’s many blessings and meditate on them.

I’m not sure if you feel the same way about fall as I do but I pray you are able to find a time to “Be still” and take in all of God’s blessings. Being in the children’s ministry I feel I have an advantage that many don’t. I see so many sweet, innocent, joyful, loving children on a daily basis. Whether it’s in our weekday daycare or during our children’s ministry times on Sundays or Wednesdays. I get hugs, laughter's, jokes and encouragement from our children.  This makes my heart sing praises to our Lord for giving me opportunities to see His face through our children and to have wonderful blessings to remember as I’m being still.

If you are in a place where you feel as if you can’t slow down, relax, feel joy, see God’s blessings or even feel His presence, I want to urge you to change what you are doing quickly.  God made us to be joyful. The bible tells us “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. “ (Romans 15:13) We were not created to be worrisome, weary, complacent, to have “worldly “busyness and to lack joy. We were created to “Be still” and know that he is Lord. Parents, if we don’t change our ways and stop the worldly busyness or running our children from point A to point B and even to point C… we will lose our joy and be so busy to remember our purpose as Christian parents.

Change now, don’t wait till next year or assume you are too far involved that you don’t want to disappoint your child or the PTA. Make the change to invest more into yours’ and your children’s spiritual walk and less busyness towards worldly desires.  Don’t get me wrong I have raised athletes and watching them play their sport brings me great joy but it’s only temporary. I have to have another game to fill my cup for their love of the sport. But to have a child that you have invested into their spiritual walk, knowing they will go into their adulthood knowing Christ Jesus and living for Him, you will never be left wanting more for your child. You will never be left thinking you should have done things differently.

So open the windows, take a seat, find a blanket, breathe in, and “Be still”.  Our Lord wants you to be the parent He has made you to be.  Show your children what priorities look like when you follow a loving God that wants us to never be too busy for Him and His people.

Thank you for allowing me to love on your kiddos.

April

Spiritual Development November 2017

As a disciple of Jesus, we have been given a new nature and identity.  Our heart has been transformed, our eyes have been opened, and our lives have been set on a path of dedication to our new Lord, Jesus Christ.  I don’t know about you, but many times I need to be reminded of these truths and more specifically about what the Bible says about who I am in Christ.  I want to use this opportunity to remind you and encourage you to cling to these promises and unshakeable realities that are true if you have trusted in Christ.  There are many distractions and temptations that will take our eyes off of these truths, but we can respond back in the same  assurance that John Newton had when he said "Although my memory's fading, I remember two things very clearly: I am a great sinner and Christ is a great Savior."

• Through Christ, I am dead to sin (Romans 6:11).
• Through Christ, I am spiritually alive (Romans 6:11; 1 Corinthians 15:22).
• Through Christ, I am forgiven (Colossians 2:13; 1 John 2:12).
• Through Christ, I am declared righteous (1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
• Through Christ, I am God’s possession (Titus 2:14).
• Through Christ, I am an heir of God (Romans 8:17).
• Through Christ, I am blessed with all spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3).
• Through Christ, I am a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20).
• Through Christ, I am free from the law (Romans 8:2).
• Through Christ, I am crucified with him (Galatians 2:20).
• Through Christ, I am free from the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:24).
• Through Christ, I am declared blameless and innocent (Philippians 2:15).
• Through Christ, I am a light in the world (Matthew 5:14-15; Philippians 2:15).
• Through Christ, I am victorious over Satan (Luke 10:19).
• Through Christ, I am cleansed from sin (1 John 1:7).
• Through Christ, I am set free in Christ from the power of sin (Colossians 2:11-15).
• Through Christ, I am secure in him (1 Peter 1:3-5).
• Through Christ, I am at peace with God (Romans 5:1; Philippians 4:6-9).
• Through Christ, I am loved by God (1 John 4:10).

(List from Gospel Coach pgs. 71-72)

Recommended Resource— Trusting God by Jerry Bridges
Life is hard. But even in that difficulty God remains trustworthy. This book helps us to think through why God is trustworthy and why we should run to Him in our trials and sufferings instead of anything else. Because God is in control of this world and is intimately involved in the workings of our lives we can believe that even when answers may escape us we can trust God who is working everything together for our good.