New Baby

Today, I got to do one of my favorite "pastor" things....visit a new baby and mom at the hospital. Isaiah and Megan had a beautiful baby boy, Elisha Keith. I guess I shouldn't say beautiful for a boy, but he is. He's got a lot of dark hair and a sweet little nose. Megan looked great. It never ceases to amaze me the whole miracle of birth. We are such complex and awesome creations, I don't understand how anyone could think we are anything but a miracle of God. Congrats to the McGee family, we love you guys.

Movie Web Site

I love to go to movies, but it's hard to go sometimes. You don't want to be exposed to all the garbage that can be in a movie and we especially want to protect our kids from profanity, violence and nudity. TIME magazine recently listed their 50 Coolest Web Sites and listed is one I would recommend for parents. It's a movie site that lists all the "heads up" things we parents need to know. It's http://kids-in-mind.com. On a scale of 1-10, it rates content in the areas of nudity, profanity and violence. I think it's a great tool to help know if it's a movie for your family or not. There is a Junior Bible Quiz question that comes to mind: Why should we be careful about what we think? Answer: Because we become what we think about. (Proverbs 4:23-27; Matthew 12:34,35). I know I've seen movies that I think about for days after I've seen it, whether it was worthy of thought or not. This is a tool that I think will definatly help. Pass the popcorn, please.

Rock Star

Yesterday I went to visit Parkview Middle School in Ankeny where I worked for nine years before leaving to pastor full time. I felt like a rock star, everyone was so excited to see me and couldn't wait to hear about the church. Even some of the kids who were 6th graders last year stopped me to see how I was. Wow, everyone should feel so loved! PV was an awesome place to work and I made some lifelong friends there but it was not my call or my passion. Sure, I miss those people, but I am right where God wants me. It was fun to "brag" about JCFC and all "my kids" and everyone was genuinly thrilled that we are doing so well. It was a great chance to invite them to church, too.

Missouri Trip

We successfully delivered our daughter to Evangel University in Springfield. The campus was so exciting. I thought Micaela was taking way too much to school, but I watched other girls hauling their stuff in and Mic had a pretty average load. Her dorm was remodeled this summer and it's really nice. They have brand new beds, desks and chairs. The building was all rewired and recarpeted and smelled all clean and new. I was a little jealous, do you think Micaela would mind if I crash there sometimes? :) Randy and I were very impressed with all the people who came to help whoever needed it. They had Evangel alumni of all ages, local college church groups, Evangel staff and professors all pitching in to help. Great place, so glad she's there, miss her already.

Priceless

Do you ever have those moments when you ask yourself if what you do makes a difference? As a children's pastor, somedays you wonder if the kids you pour your life into are actually "getting it." This morning, I was a little tired from our trip to Missouri, one of our nursery workers called in sick and my crazy knee was really hurting. But it all didn't matter when after service, I was helping pack up Baby Steps and one of "my kids", a four year old sweetheart named Isabella, was sitting by her mom teaching mom the scripture verse we had in Creek Kids. She said it perfect and was so proud to tell me she could say it all by herself. At that moment, that one thing that most people would not think twice about, was priceless to me. She "gets it," she listened, she's learning God's Word. I wasn't quite so tired after that, it blessed me so much. Thanks, Isabella. It's always those little things that God uses to encourage us to keep on doing what He's called us to do. Thanks Lord!

6 1/2 Hours

That's how far away our daughter will be. Tomorrow is a big day at the Eilers' house...Micaela moves to Springfield, MO to finish college. We are so excited for Micaela, we know this is going to be an awesome experience for her, but 6 1/2 hours is a long way. I'm not sad or nervous but I know I'm gonna miss her a lot. It's a new chapter in all of our lives. When I asked her who she was going to miss the most, she said her brother Keaton, then her best friend Katie, then dad and then me. I got a good laugh from that one. Thank goodness for cell phones. I know we will talk almost every day. It should be a fun trip tomorrow.

Love Languages

I know it's an old book but I recently read The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. If you haven't read it, DO. Even if you think you know your spouse frontwords and back, you may discover something that takes your relationship to the next level. Not only is it important to understand your spouse's love language, we need to know our children's, too. There is a children's version of the book but the same principles apply. The five love languages include: Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts and Acts of Service. How do you know a child's love language when they may not be able to communicate or understand it? Observation. If your child is always begging for you to play with them or read to them, their love language is probably Quality Time. If they are super affectionate, probably Physical Touch, and so on. Ministering to our children's intimate, emotional needs will pay off in your relationship as they grow up, especially when they reach the teen years. If their "love tank" is consistantly full, they will be more apt to have that open relationship with us that every parent desires. If a child's needs are being met at home, why would they need to turn elsewhere to feel loved and accepted? They probably won't. Happy reading!

Creek Kids

Today in Creek Kids, our Big Idea was "I am responsible to do my part." We talked about how the Bible says to watch the ants and see how hard they work. The kids looked at me kind of funny when I said we were going to talk about ants today. :) I was really proud of their answers when I asked what they could do at home to fulfill our Big Idea. They said everything from making their beds to taking out the trash and Leighton even said, "I can obey my mom and dad." When I asked about what they could do at church to do their part, they were a little slower to answer. You see, some kids (and adults) don't think they have anything to offer as service to the church. In Creek Kids, I want them to begin a life of servanthood as soon as possible. Why, because they need to follow Jesus' example just as we do. There are tons of things you and I can do to make our church more productive and a place people want to be. After I made a few suggestions, they came up with more on their own. Smart kids! If you haven't found a place to serve at JCFC or your church, I encourage you to jump in and let God use you.

Tuckered

Yes, I used one of my Lori-isms. My kids always make fun of some of the words I use. But I am tuckered. Moving day went awesome, we have such great friends to give up a Saturday to help us. But Randy and I are tired, a little sore and very happy to be moved. My cat, on the other hand, was a little tramatized by the whole thing. She made a lot of noise during the car ride and then hid under Micaela's bed until about 4 AM when she jumped in bed with us. Poor kitty. Now if I could just get the unpacking done, we'll be in good shape.

Discovery

Well, I learned something about myself tonight that has me a little irritated! I've always boasted (a little too proudly) that I am NOT a pack-rat. But when it comes to ministry stuff, I AM a pack-rat. I was cleaning out my storage cupboard in the basement, getting ready for the big move on Saturday, and wow, I've got a lot of stuff. Some of it brought back fond memories of past programs, families I haven't seen for a while, and past places I've ministered. It made me relive some of the awesome things God has done in our lives. But the Lord reminded me he has NEW things for me to learn, fresh anointing and people I haven't met yet that JCFC will help lead to the Savior. That's exciting. So....out with the old, well, some of it anyway. I've got some cool stuff I just can't give up yet. :)

School Days

Okay, if you're a mom you are probably doing a little hallelujah dance right now. School is about to start again! It's a great time of excitement, new beginnings, shopping, and maybe even a little nervousness. I think it's so important to lift our kids, schools, teachers and administrators up in prayer. You all know that school is a totally different experience now compared to when most of us went. Not necessarily in an all bad way, but a lot more challenging and stressfull. Here are some things I think we should pray for and about. Pray for our children as they begin school this year, that God would use them to be world changers for Him in their schools. Pray that the doors of schools will be open for ministry. Pray for Christian school teachers, that they may have favor with school administrators. Pray for Christian administrators, that God's wisdom and anointing will rest upon them. Pray that God's guidance and anointing will be upon the teachers as they teach this year. Pray for protection over our students and teachers. Pray for our home schooled kids, also and for their parents who teach them. I'm looking forward to getting into the schools this year to have lunch with our JCFC kids and to build relationships with teachers and administrators. I'm really hoping to get in and do some character building assemblies. Pray for that, too please. If you don't already do family devotions, why not start now when school begins? We always did devotions over breakfast when we could. Now, get back to that hallelujah dance! :)

Changes

As a woman, sometimes we have a hard time with change. I can think of many times in my life that change has come about and it was frightening, frustrating, or faith-challenging. I remember when we moved to Ankeny in 1989, I felt all three of those things. It really rocked my world. I feel like the last two years of our lives have been a huge series of changes that have stretched us in every conceivable way. And here we are...facing a few more changes. But this time, I feel a wonderful peace in it all. As I've grown in my relationship with Jesus, I can be a little more "go with the flow." We are moving to West Des Moines after being in Ankeny 17 years, we are going to live in an apartment instead of a house, and the biggest change of all...we are now empty nesters. A couple of years ago, I was almost physically ill thinking about my babies leaving me, but I can now say, it's cool with me. It's an awesome feeling knowing that your adult children are ready to be on their own and the greatest blessing you'll ever have as a parent are adult children that love and serve God! I'm so proud of our kids! So even though life is always changing, rest in knowing Jesus never does! He will always get us through, as the Bible says, "He's the same yesterday, today, and forever."

Here we go!

Okay...I've been kicking around the idea of starting this for several weeks and decided to jump in. I LOVE what I do and thought this would be a great way to communicate with our church, friends, and family. Being a children's pastor has been my dream for many years and I'm ever so thankful for the opportunity to minister at Jordan Creek Family Church (or JCFC as we affectionately call it). Today was an incredible day at JCFC, 117 people including 13 babies in our Baby Steps nursery. It is so exciting to see how God is helping us to share his love in our community. One of our moms told me today how her girls were talking about Jesus at home and her three year old told them she "has Jesus in her belly". Her five year old sister asked, "Do you mean you asked Jesus into your heart?" After clarification, they were able to pray together and seal the deal. Jesus is definetly in her heart now. I love it when parents share those things. It encourages me to know that they do listen in Creek Kids!