Responding to God

Kids amaze me. Every week something happens that keeps me so excited about being a children's pastor. Today's service was a great example. We had a wrap up sermon about Christmas. I preached about Simeon and Anna celebrating Jesus' birth in the temple. I talked about how sad it was that some people only celebrate Jesus' birth on Sundays and Christmas day. I told the kids there were TONS of ways to celebrate His birth but the three most important were to 1. Ask Jesus to be your Savior. 2. Celebrate His birth everyday simply by remembering Him and spending time with Him and 3. Telling others about Jesus and how much He loves them.

When I was talking about telling others, one of my girls was on the edge of her seat with such an intense look on her face, I knew that this was hitting home with her. It was beautiful to see God speaking to her heart as I talked about telling our grandmas and grandpas and other family members how much Jesus loves them. When I asked, "If we don't tell them, who will?", I thought she was going to jump out of her chair and shout, "Amen!" I even called her mom to give her the "heads up" in case she talked about it at home and mom said they weren't even out of the parking lot before the conversation started about witnessing to her family. WOW! I am so humbled that God allows me to be a part of something so powerful in the life of a five year old. She's so young, but totally gets it. This girl is going to do incredible things for God, well actually, is already being used by Him.

At the end of my sermon, I felt there needed to be a salvation challenge. As I asked the kids to raise their hands if the would like to ask Jesus into their lives, every one of them raised their hands. Now granted, some of them have raised their hands before but this was the first time for many. I was watching some of the kids repeat the sinners prayer and my eye caught one of my boys who is only three years old. He had his legs crossed in front of him on the seat, his hands folded and locked under his chin and his eyes were squeezed shut. As I had the kids repeat after me, his little brow was furrowed and he repeated every word. I had to stop watching him for fear I would begin to weep before the prayer was finished. Some people may think, "He's only three. How can you possibly think he knew what he was doing?" If you had seen his face, you would have NO doubt. The child was going after God with all his heart.

This Christmas has been one of the best I've had in a long time and a big part of it is due to my JCFC kids. Our Christmas program was a humble little affair but they gave it their all and really understood that Christmas isn't about us, it's about Jesus. They are an amazing little tribe that are growing physically and spiritually and I'm so very glad to be witnessing it all.

More Pics

BGMC Pizza Party

We had a great time celebrating our successful BGMC giving for 2006. JCFC was able to send $1000.00 to Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade to help spread the Good News of Jesus to kids all over the world. Enjoy the pics and thanks to the Sustala's for the expert photography. Hey, is the giant Buddy Barrel using Texas Ranger?

Trip, the Buzz and Stuff

The Eilers' had a great Christmas. It was fun to be together and see our families in Sioux City. Randy's mom wasn't feeling the best, so we didn't get to visit with her as much as we would have liked to but still good to see her. My twin seven year old nephews seemed very happy to see me and I got lots of hugs without even begging for them!

Now that Christmas is over, I've been excitedly thinking about the Buzz. Just four weeks away! It's gonna be awesome. Not only for our families at JCFC but for people who are not yet involved in ministry, people in our community and it's a catalyst for taking our church to the next level of reaching people with Jesus. It's gonna be a lot of work but so worth it. I think it's really going to be more fun than work and an opportunity to use people's talents in a new way for Jesus. It has the potential of changing families and how they grow in God together.

Before the Buzz starts, I'm going to preach the next three weeks on three different topics. This coming Sunday, December 31, I'll be preaching about Simeon and Anna, two elderly prophets that celebrated Jesus' birth. The following Sunday, I will be preaching about new beginnings; being a new creation in Christ - New Person, New Attitude, New Behaviors. And finally on January 14, I'll be preaching a sermon I recently did at DM Christian called "I am a Lion Chaser!"

Don't forget our BGMC Pizza and Ice Cream Party this Thursday night, December 28 from 6-8 PM. If you haven't signed up yet, give me a call so we have enough pizza. All Creek Kids and their families are invited to celebrate our generous missions giving to children all around the world.

Baby Steps

On Sunday, I was in Baby Steps with Morgan. Even though we had a good crowd at church, we just had a few babies. I was telling the kids some Bible stories and I asked Colin, "What was the name of the guy who built the ark?" Without hesitation, Colin said, "Bingo!" That was pretty funny. When I asked him if he was sure it was Bingo, he said he was sure.:) He cracks me up sometimes.

Laughter

Micaela is home! It's great to have my girl here for almost three weeks. Little does she know that for at least one more week, she will be my chauffeur! Keaton came home last night to see his sissy and have pizza with the fam. One thing is guaranteed when both my kids are home...there will be LOTS of laughter. Even this morning as Keaton was getting ready for work (we had a slumber party) we were laughing about some childhood memories. I'm so glad that I always took time to just hang out with my kids and laugh about silly things. We all have quirky senses of humor, so that made it even better. This shows me how important laughter is; Keaton is like his father in that he doesn't remember life details from when he was little. But any time we had a good laugh about something, he can tell you every detail of what was going on. Laughter is so powerful. Not only does it relieve stress and help our health, it is a bonding experience. Take time to laugh with your kids. It may seem like something totally weird and silly to us but makes a great memory for your kids. Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine.

Movies

It's that time of year when there seems to be some better quality movies premiering. I found a movie review site within a children's ministry site I use. It has great info about the movie and all the other data you'd want before you take the kids. When you link to a movie, it may apprear that there's nothing there, but just scroll down some.

It's frustrating to see movies advertised as something that appears to be safe to take your four year old to and then to discover it's morally offensive or has verbiage that you don't want your kids to repeat. I love to go to movies although it's something Randy and I rarely do. I know I'll be reading these reviews before we chose one to watch.

http://www.childrensministry.org/content/moviereviews.htm

Program Success

Our kids did such a great job for our Creek Kids Christmas musical, Christmas Around the World! You just never know what will happen when you get a bunch of excited children in front of a crowd of people. There was no falling off the stage, flipping of dresses, or tears. They all sang, some louder than others, and did a remarkable job of remembering their lines. I have the BEST kids!

It was amazing to see the turn out, we had 190 people in attendance! What was even more amazing was that some people came for the first time just by invitation; no family ties. It was fun to meet extended family members; grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. It was great to see some faces that we haven't seen for a while and even better to hear that they will be back again. God is really blessing our church and by His Holy Spirit, people are being compelled to come and check us out.

I am so blessed to work with such a supportive pastor who understands what it takes to have a top notch children's ministry. Thanks Pastor Josh for letting us have to whole morning to minister.

Thanks to all who jumped in and helped from beginning to end. It took many hands to get the job done and we have a great team. I'm already getting ideas to make next year's Christmas program even better. :)

Already Blessed

The big program hasn't even happened yet, and already I've been so blessed by it. What I mean is that I've gotten to spend some extra time with the kids, I've gotten to know some parents better than I had, and parents have been giving me such positive feed back about things that are happening and being said in the preparations. Everyone has had such servant attitudes and have gone the extra mile to help me prepare. I'm so thankful for you all and how everyone is working as a team to "get 'er done." Sandy May is helping me in a huge way by being on the stage with the kids, helping to direct where the kids need to stand, etc. Her daughter, Adele, said the cutest thing..."Mommy, I'm so glad you get to be a stage girl!" I laughed out loud when I read that in an e-mail from Sandy. How cute is that? Just a couple more days of listening to the CD moms and dads, then you can go back to your favorites. Since you all know the songs so well, you're welcome to sing along on Sunday! :)

Big Opportunity

Here it is...your big opportunity. This weekend is our Christmas Around the World kid's musical at 10:15 at Jordan Creek Town Center in the Century Theaters. I promise you this is the easiest invitation you'll ever extend to someone you've been trying to get to come to church. I know you've heard it said before, but I'm telling you it's true. God has been waking me up almost nightly with things He wants me to share during my sermon and your unsaved friends and family need to be there. Please be praying for the service. There has been a lot of sickness going around and we don't want anything to stop the Gospel from being proclaimed this weekend. Not just at JCFC. but churches across the state will be doing their programs, too. It's an important weekend for souls everywhere.

Don't forget your cameras, extra film, batteries, camcorders, binoculars, etc. Well, you probably don't need binoculars but you get the idea! I'm telling you...the cute factor will be off the charts.

Progress

Finally, a day at the physical therapist with some progress! Honestly, I was getting a little discouraged by how slow I am healing and I had to give myself a little pep talk. I had a very discouraging doctor visit last week and was determined that God didn't have me go through two major, painful surgeries to not be successful in my recovery. I know He has a better plan than that! So this morning's visit saw some gains. I have a long way to go, but I'm confident it will all work out. Even in times of struggle, God IS working. It may not seem that way, feel that way or appear that way, but we can rest and trust knowing it is true. Thanks to all who have faithfully been praying for me, driving me to appointments and encouraging me with kind words and scriptures. When I think about what God has allowed me to do in the past few weeks, I know that it's just that lyin' devil trying to slow me down. Ha, not gonna happen!

The Way to Start a Day

I re-published this without the random ad comment.

I had the BEST morning. I got to hang out with two of my young friends from Creek Kids, Isabella and Lisi. We had a great time watching Dora, doing crafts, talking about the ornaments on our Christmas tree and petting the kitty. Those girls are the sweetest, and so well behaved. I love to listen to their view of everything. Kids that age sometimes see things differently than we do. They almost always have a more fun and positive slant on anything in life. It was a great way to start the day, almost makes me wish we could still have babies. My poor kids will have to once again hear me "encouraging" them to get married so I can have me some grandbabies. They love that. :) Thanks for hanging out with me, girls.

Chapel

Today, I had the great opportunity to do chapel time at Des Moines Christian School. What an awesome school. Everytime I have been in the building, the staff has been so welcoming and friendly. I finally met the principal today. He seems like a pretty cool guy. I had so much fun even though you only get about 15 minutes to do your thing. I preached about being lion chasers. I was inspired by Mark Batterson's book In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day. As soon as I read the first page, I knew there was a kid's sermon in there. Anyway...my friends Amy and Mark and my ever faithful husband helped me make 350+ bookmarks for the kids to keep that had a "lion fur" swatch on one end and the Big Idea for the day, "I am a lion chaser!" written across it. I think the kids enjoyed the message and they sure were well behaved and attentive. I would highly recommend DM Christian if interested in private school. I get to go back in February to do another chapel time! I better hurry up and get my inspiration for the next sermon so I can come up with another tactile way for the kids to remember the message. I cut it close with the bookmarks! Thanks Randy, Amy and Mark.

Pie and BGMC

Yesterday was the victory for the boys and our missions fund raising for Boys and Girls Missionary Crusade (BGMC). Good ole Pastor Lori got a pie in the face. But don't even begin to think I was disappointed! It is for such a great cause. If me getting a plate full of sugar-free cool whip splatted in the ole kisser means that even ONE boy or ONE girl will come to know Jesus, I'll do it every week! The kids loved it, especially my friend Jacob who gave with great sacrifice to see me get that pie. It makes me so proud of my kids that they will give so happily to help other kids hear about Jesus. I already have several ideas for 2007 to raise our goal of $1200.

What's the Deal?

Excuse me. What did you say? You've got to be kidding me! When did that happen? Are you sure? I'm not sure how I almost missed it, but do you realize it's December 1? EEEEK! Sixteen days until our JCFC program, Christmas Around the World, nineteen days until Mic is home again, twenty-four days until Christmas. Wow, that really snuck up on me. Randy and I haven't even started shopping. But we did spend the last two evenings putting up the tree and setting out all my snowmen. I really enjoyed it this year. Last Christmas, we decided not to put up the tree mainly because the house was for sale and we didn't want anything to make the house seem smaller. It was weird with no tree, so this year it didn't even seem like a chore to unpack it all. It looks great in our apartment and gets me to think about something else than my crazy knees. :) Yeah...Christmas.