Dream Conference

I am on serious information overload. The conference was incredible and worth every penny in my opinion. Not only did Keaton and I learn some things, we were inspired to dream BIG, and we had a blast. I'll have to share bits and pieces in several posts so I can do the information justice and it's not just rambling. One super fun thing that happened was I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Reggie Joiner from Northpoint Community Church in Georgia. He is the main creator behind the material we use in The Buzz. I have been a fan of his ministry for several years and have gotten to hear him preach a few times. In the picture album I included is one of the two of us together. He asked me for my e-mail so they can contact me to get a testimony about how The Buzz is going for us. Pretty cool. Those of you who read this and are involved in children's ministry need to try to get to a Dream Conference at least once in your life. Even if you are a seasoned children's pastor and think you know all there is, I guarantee you will still get a lot from it.

Keaton was so fun to watch. When we went into their Resource Room, I thought he was going to faint! If you know Keaton at all, he LOVES organization and this place was the ultimate in order and neatness. They have every conceivable prop, costume, puppet, and gizmo you could ever need to teach kids.

The conference was helpful to know we are on the right track in what we are doing for our kids so far. Many of the things they suggested we already do only on a smaller scale than Church On the Move. Some things I will be sharing at our upcoming Baby Steps Training/Meeting. Enjoy the pics!

Kodakgallery.com Choose an album to view

Church On the Move

Here I am...sitting in bed at 11:55 PM at the Hampton Inn in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The first night of the Dream Conference was incredible. Reggie Joiner, the creator of our Buzz curriculum, spoke tonight. Great message. The worship band was off the hook! Their staging was the coolest thing Keaton and I have ever seen. I'm gonna try to gets some pics of it tomorrow and see if I can show it before I even try to describe it. Their worship leader is the lead singer from the group 4Him, Andy Chrisman who is fantastic. Really anointed.

Tomorrow is gonna be great. All of the workshops look so good it will be hard to choose one. Before service, Keaton and I wandered around taking lots of pics of each of their nursery rooms and the Kids On the Move sanctuary. It was a riot to watch Keaton's face with every new thing we saw. It's just one of those places that you can hear about and even see pictures but you can't fully appreciate it unless you see it in person!

The staff and volunteers are going out of their way to be welcoming, friendly, helpful and if I was told once I was told 100 times, "We are so glad you are here." After service, we got to got to their Oneighty building where all their youth ministry happens and tour and play Bingo with about 1000 people for some incredible prizes. Neither of us won but it was still fun.

I've gotta get a few zzzzz's so I'll try to write more tomorrow. Let Brother TD Jakes says...Get Ready, Get Ready, Get Ready!!!

District Council and Tulsa

I feel a little out of the loop. I have spent three full days at our annual District Council meetings. All of the Iowa Assembly of God pastors, spouses and newly credentialed people gather for business meetings and elections of officials, etc. To some, this may be boring but I really enjoy District Council. I enjoy most of the business side of it; seeing how the officials deal with all the things most of us don't think about that are a part of ministry. I REALLY enjoy the fellowship side of it. It's an opportunity to see fellow pastors from across the state that I only see a couple of times a year. I have opportunities to network and brainstorm and be challenged by some usually great speakers. It was fun this year to have so many people come up to me and say, "I hear things are going great at Jordan Creek Family Church." It gave me many opportunities to give God praise for all He is doing at JCFC and to brag a little about our pastor and all the awesome, incredible, dedicated people we have as a part of JCFC. It's not that we are looking for man's approval but it is nice to hear that so many people in our fellowship are excited for us and have been praying and believing for awesome things.

Thursday morning, Keaton (our son, who is also a children's pastor) and I are leaving for a children's pastor conference in Tulsa at Church on the Move. I am so thankful for the opportunity to go for three days of challenging messages, great workshops, information and ideas, new resources and networking. This is a top notch conference that I have been blessed to attend twice before. This church was literally built on children's ministry and they know what they are doing. They minister to thousands of kids every week. I am super excited that Keaton and I get to do this together. He has never been there so it will be so fun to see it through his eyes. For all my fellow children's ministers that read this blog, I'll post some details and share all the good info I get! Pray that I will get ALL God has for me and even though it is three very full days that I will feel refreshed physically.

See you all Sunday. I'm not sure I'll get to post while I'm in Tulsa.

Blessings in Obedience

Sometimes it takes us a while to learn obedience. Especially when we feel the Lord leading us into something or somewhere that is out of our comfort zone. It has taken me making some mistakes along the way but I have learned to obey God no matter how crazy of an idea He gives me.

This morning, we were getting ready for The Buzz. You know, setting up props, checking sound, rehearsing lines one more time. It's usually a little hectic but always fun as we work. As I was getting all the kid's take home papers ready, Pastor Josh played the video testimony of Paul and Sandy May for me. Oh-my-lan-ta! Major snotting and tissue usage. The tears I shed were of thankfulness. I'm so proud of Paul and Sandy and their sweet little girl, Adele. They have given themselves wholeheartedly to Jesus. They are serving Him in ways that I am sure they never dreamed of one year ago. I'm so thankful that they were delivered and healed from many hurts and disappointments in life. And it started with JCFC being obedient to God's voice.

We had this idea for some park ministry outreaches. That in itself may not seem "out of the box" but God was giving specific direction for what we were to do during the program and WHERE we were supposed to do it. Because of a Super Saturday flier, the May's came to check it out and their lives were radically changed in just a few weeks. As I watched that video, I was not only thankful for what has happened to the Mays but for a pastor who totally believes that we need to do children's ministry with EXCELLENCE. No second best for our kids! I'm thankful for a team of people who help us every week get the job done. I'm thankful for God's Word that teaches that there are blessings for obedience.

Deuteronomy chapter 28 begins with the blessings for obedience.
1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:
3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock—the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed.
6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.
7 The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven.
8 The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land he is giving you.
9 The LORD will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in his ways. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. 11 The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity—in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground—in the land he swore to your forefathers to give you.
12 The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. 13 The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. 14 Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

I can't help but wonder what would have happened to the May family if we had not been obedient. When you feel like God is directing you, DON'T hesitate...it may be a matter of life or death...literally.

Welcome Baby Claire

Claire Elise Little
April 18 at 11:06 am
8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20.5 inches long

It's a baby boom at JCFC! Little Miss Claire arrived at last. What a beauty! I snatched these pics off her momma's blog because I got to the hospital too late to see her! I got there just in time to see the Little's car pulling away. Stink! I can't wait to hold her and watch how her big sister reacts to sharing the spotlight. Congrats to Lisa, Jeff and Ava. Now we have a Claire Elise and an Elise (Lisi) Claire! Pretty cool.

Schooled in Dinosaurs

Today, I received an education. I was schooled in dinosaurs by a four year old. Jaden taught me some things that you would think a 46 year old woman would already know. We were playing with some plastic dinosaurs and made cages for them with blocks. I said, "This dinosaur says he wants out of the cage." Jaden came back with, "Pastor Lori, dinosaurs DON'T talk, they just growl." Mistake number one. Then I asked him if the brown one was the one that eats leaves. Mistake number two. I was then informed, in a polite but a little condescending voice, "Pastor Lori, the green one eats leaves because he is green and so he is the fresh dinosaur. He eats fresh leaves." How can I be so uninformed!? It took everything in me not to bust a gut but when you think about it, it's all very logical.

It's never fails to fascinate me how a child's mind works and how different they all are. Some are so literal, some have dramatic imaginations, and some have thoughts that are beyond their years. I love to have one on one conversations with my kids so I can learn more about how they think and see the world. I have to be so careful when I preach and teach that I word things that will help them and not give them the wrong impression. Even expressions like "ask Jesus to live in your heart" for some kids is too much to grasp when they are literal thinkers. As parents we need to try to be sensitive to the way our children learn so we don't confuse and or frustrate them.

After my dinosaur education, we had some great snuggle time with brother Ethan and watched one of my favorite movies, Toy Story. I'm so glad my lack of dinosaur knowledge didn't lessen Jaden's affection for his pastor! :)

Coolest Thing

I totally stole this from a fellow children's pastor's blog. So cool. I tried it and is a sweet deal. It's an awesome website that provides helpful tools for FREE. It's Jott, a site that gives an 800 number to call. You leave a voicemail and the site will automatically transcribe it and send what you said to an email account you designate. You get a great idea while on the road, pull out your phone, call the number and just talk (up to 30 seconds). An email appears in your inbox immediately. Or set up a group of emails, name the group and you're set up to send batch emails from your phone! This is gonna rock my world.

Told You it Was a Thinking Day

I had a couple of thoughts....

When we find something we have been looking for, why do we say, "It was in the last place I looked."? Obviously if you found it, you won't keep looking for it so it was in the last place!

What if The Hokey Pokey really is what it's all about?

Things that make you go hmmm.

I Love My Life

I am having what I call "a thinking day." It's when I am focused on hearing God's voice and He helps me think through whatever is going on in my life. It's on these "thinking days" that He inspires me with ideas for ministry, shows me a sermon illustration to use that helps my kids understand a Biblical principle and helps me notice the little things in life that I don't always see in the busyness of everyday. Love it when that happens.

I had an opportunity to spend a little bit of time with Isabella and Lisi today that blessed my socks off! They came over for a little while before school and in that short time we laughed, colored, watched the cat, told stories, talked about going to the lake at grandma and grandpas, talked about veterinarians, underwear with fairies on them plus squeezed in a short game of Sorry and painted our toenails! Whew, we didn't waist one second of our time! Those two always crack me up with the cutest things they say. When I took them to school, we pulled into a parking spot right in front and Isabella says, "Yes, rock star parking!" Too funny! When I delivered them to their classrooms it was fun to see the place I hear so much about. Isabella's teachers wanted to know who I was but Iz thought they were asking about her stuffed dog, Snowball and she said, "Oh, that's snowball." They looked at me and laughed. Then I said, "Iz, I think they wanted to know who drove you to school today." She looked at me like, duh and said, "You did." "I think they wanted to know my name." She said, like they should already know, "Oh, that's Pastor Lori." Maybe she just assumed I'm famous with them like I am with all the kids at JCFC! :)

How can you not love your life when you have a day like this?

Virginia Tech

What can you say about this horrible tragedy? So scary, sad, frustrating, confusing, shocking and hard to believe it really happened. What prompts a person to do such unthinkable things? The best thing we can do is pray even though it doesn't seem like much, especially to us women who are, by nature, "fixers." May God give all involved peace, comfort and and the assurance that He is with them.

Getting Results

I finally finished entering all the egg hunt registration information into my computer. I thought it was interesting to see the breakdown of who was at the hunt. We had 70 kids that were not a part of JCFC attend and 34 kids that are regular members. We had at least 17 people there that were helping or visiting without kids plus all the parents that attended. That very easily puts us over the estimated 200 people we thought were there. We had one child from Kansas, three kids from Wisconsin and one from Illinois. We had several sign up to receive our e-newsletter and a couple of families that came to church Easter Sunday.

Now, here is were I need your help. I am getting ready to mail a follow up letter to all those families who attended the hunt that aren't a part of JCFC. Please stand with me in prayer that these letters will relate to the readers how much we honestly care about them and it will prompt them to visit JCFC and check us out. Pastor Josh had an awesome blog post about "just another day" that if you haven't read, you need to. He talked about how so many people's lives have been impacted by what may seem like a small thing at the moment but was a catalyst that changed their lives. May these letters be the beginning of something big in someones life. I'm believing that the Lord will use this whole event to bring someone to the saving knowledge of Jesus!

Spoilin' Me

I can feel the love!!! Wow, everyone has been so kind and thoughtful for my birthday. Thank you to all who sent e-mail messages, e-cards, snail mail cards, phone calls, blog tributes, and gifts! I have the BEST church family and friends EVER! Friday, I got a Starbucks gift card in the mail from the Mains, Friday night I spent the evening chillin' with my hunky husband and Saturday we went to Sioux City for the day to see family. I was a little sad that I didn't get to see Micaela and Keaton but I did get to talk to them on the phone. My dad remembered my birthday and called to visit for awhile. Then this morning at church I got a HUGE surprise and one of the most generous gifts I've ever received...everyone at church went together and got me a digital camera! Wow, I was blown away. I can't wait to play with it. I love to take pictures and am always wishing for a camera and now I have my own! No more disposable cameras for me. I feel so spoiled and loved. I even got new crayons from Isabella and Lisi. :) It's the big box with the sharpener - I seriously love to color! Thank you so much everyone. You made turning 46 a little easier to swallow. I told Randy, I am now closer to 50 than 40. I sure don't feel that old. All my kids keep me feeling young. Pretty soon, I'll be a teenager. :)

Randy's Tribute to Pastor Lori

Don't freak out. I did not hack into Pastor Lori's blog. I'm not savvy enough for that, and she would pound me if I did. She opened her blog to me, so I can post this tribute. In honor of Pastor Lori's birthday I want to brag about her.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...No. Wait. That's the wrong beginning.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times...No,no,no. That's not it either.

In a mysterious land called Sioux City in 1980 God allowed me to unite with the love of my life. If you want to know details, you'll have to ask her. I keep a picture of Lori and my kids with their names on it to help me remember who they are. Not really, but I'm not really good with details. To honor the wonderful Pastor Lori I want to blog a few things I love about her.

1)She is HOT! Chill out. I can say that about the pastor. I'm her husband.
2)She's a great kisser! 'nuf said.
3)She is a great cook! Take my waist line as evidence. Also, Pastor Josh's rants about her chocolate cake gives some credence to the claim.
4)I love her laugh. It is contagious.
5)I love her unique vocabulary. Example: Huh-na-wa? Good night on Friday. etc.
6)Her sense of humor. Pastor Lori is not afraid to laugh at herself. She also laughs at my jokes occasionally.
7)Her integrity. She is true to Christ no matter where she is.
8)How she loves our children. She has been a FANTASTIC mother! If you meet our children, it will be evident.
9)How she loves your children! I am always amazed at the love she is capable of for the little ones. I have seen little ones run to her in the store. Her eyes light up whenever she thinks of your kids and how she can serve them. There may be children's pastors with more talent, experience, or what ever, but I defy you to find one with more love for HER kids.

Finally. I love Lori for putting up with me for twenty-seven years! She has been supportive, loving, and my best friend.

Happy Birthday Pastor Lori!!! You are the best.

What Are You Passionate About?

That has been a question on KZZQ radio the past couple of weeks. They are doing some sort of pole to see what people are passionate about. Got me thinking...what floats my boat? Obviously, I am passionate about Jesus but here are some other things from my heart in a somewhat random order.

1. I am passionate about my relationship with my husband and our children. It takes work and care and I am not willing to scrimp on it.

2. Children - to teach them about Jesus, to love them no matter what, to help them be successful in life and relationships, and to love them enough to teach them right from wrong.

3. Feeding people. I get such gratification from seeing someone enjoy something I have prepared for them.

4. Hospitality - I love to have people over and hang out and them to feel at home.

5. Good coffee and bagels - Nothing beats a Panera bagel, and a sugar-free cinnamon dulce latte from Starbucks.

6. Friends - I have so many awesome friends and I hope I never fail to tell them how much I love and appreciate them.

7. Staying creative and flexible in ministry. Stretching myself to new levels and not getting into a comfort zone.

8. Chips and salsa from El Rodeo! Lindsay, am I speaking your language, babe?

9. Jewelry :)

10. PREACHING! I may not be the best children's pastor in the country but I love what I do and communicating Jesus to kids really gets me going!

I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll think of a few more things but this gets the conversation started. What gets you going? Just curious.

Baby Zaida

I went to the hospital to see baby Zaida and she is a keeper! So sweet and tiny with gobs of blond hair, just as beautiful as her momma! Megan looked wonderful and was planning on going home sometime Thursday afternoon. I asked Megan about her middle name, Augustine, thinking maybe it was a family name. She said they thought of it because of spending time in St. Augustine, Florida and liked it! Very cool, I love different names. When we named Micaela, we didn't know any Micaela's and now it's not so different. We've only met a couple of Keaton's over the years. Anyway...Praise God for Zaida's safe and healthy arrival. Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful plan You already have for her and the opportunity to help her know You.

Rants: Al Gore Smokes Crack and Forwards

I think it must be true. Mister Global Warming needs to visit Iowa! Dude, where is spring? I love sweaters but I'm so over them by now. I'm longing for sandals and Capri pants. Man, I'd even settle for a short sleeved shirt. So back off with you global warming theory!

Okay, now that I'm on a roll....What is the deal with forwards on e-mail? Dog gone, who sits around creating all that nonsense? PLEASE don't send me the ones that say, "If you're not ashamed of Jesus, you'll send this to at least 10 of your friends." Or the one that promises to "grant my wish" if I forward this to every person on the planet. People, do you really think you will get a $100 from Microsoft or prevent gang related activity if you forward something? Randy got one at work yesterday that was a petition to stop Madeline Murray O'Hare from suing congress to take Christian programing off TV. The chick has been dead for years! Randy said there were over 2000 names on the list and it stated if you stopped the petition, all those names would be lost. So know this, I don't make wishes, I pray. I am not ashamed of Jesus but have better ways to show I serve Him than e-mail. And Microsoft can keep their $100...I trust God to meet all of my needs.

Okay, I'm starting to feel better! Have a wonderful day and don't worry...I AM mentally stable. :)

Easter Sunday and Some Random Stuff

It's Monday morning, I'm wiped, I have a stinking cold, and I'm a happy girl. Easter 2007 will be a very fond memory for me. I know...you are saying to yourself right now, "Pastor Lori, it was FREEZING at the egg hunt! How can you say "fond?"" Yes, the hunt was beyond chilly. Yes, I have not slept more than 5 hours in one night in over a week. Yes, our lights and CD player pooped out on us in Creek Kids yesterday. Yes, my house is a disaster after filling 10,000 eggs all last week. But you can not beat that yesterday, despite the distraction of my husband frantically trying to fix our lights in service, 10 kids raised their hands for the first time to receive Jesus into their hearts! That's what I'm talking about! This is why I do what I do! To look out into my little congregation and see those faces deep in prayer and repentance is worth all the sacrifice I could ever make.

I read on Scott Hodge's blog that his church in Aurora, IL. had a 10,000 egg drop from a helicopter! Is that the coolest thing ever?! Yowza....I want that dude's budget.

We had a wonderful Easter afternoon with dinner at our place. We shared the holiday with two other families that don't have "family" in town like Randy and me. Pastor Josh, Dara and the fam and Michael, Lindsay, and Rhys Young came over for a little chicken on the grill. My husband, by the way, ROCKS on the grill! Thanks my hunky man. We laughed and laughed and Michael wrestled with all the kids and wore them out. Pastor Josh was in a singing mood and turned everything into a song. Keaton made it back from Montizuma to join us. So sad our girl wasn't here but she will be home May 5. Yeah! Becky and the boys stopped by to retrieve Jaden's prized possession, his blankie! Ethan cracks me up. One of the kids was eating a dinner roll and he was all about that. That boy destroyed a roll in record time. He was finishing up whatever he could find laying around. Becky swears she feeds him but you'd never know it by the way he was going after that bread! So funny! Anyway, we finished out the day by celebrating our youth pastor's birthday with a surprise gathering for Michael "Obie" Oberbeck. We had a fun few rounds of Catch Phrase. The girls were victorious, of course! Good times. I need a nap in the worst way. :)

Antarctic Egg Hunt

Our first annual Community Easter Egg Hunt was a success even though it was the same temperature today that it was Christmas weekend! We had over 200 people turn out, which all things considered was pretty good. Everyone seemed to have a great time. Some of the pics here are from Lindsay Young and some from the Des Moines Register. Go to http://desmoinesregister.com/ to see a few more. The photographer was the nicest guy!

I have to say I am sooooo incredibly thankful to all the people who pitched in and helped with time, treasure and talents to pull this off! Everyone went way above and beyond the call of duty! A special thanks to Pastor Josh for all his support and help with the budget. Several people told him they were going to come to church for Easter and check out JCFC.

If even one family comes to know Jesus through this, it will be worth it all. I already have some ideas to make next year's hunt even better. :) Let's have it in Jamaica!

God's Favor

I am PUMPED! The Community Easter Egg Hunt is building into an incredible event. Yesterday, I got the WDM section of the DM Register and discovered our egg hunt was on the FRONT PAGE. SWEEEEET! Then this afternoon, the DM Register called me to say they would have a photographer there. I have been scoping out the clearance isles for awesome prizes for the give-aways and today I scored BIG. 75% off, baby, and they are awesome toys - not junk. We are down to a couple hundred eggs to fill so they will be done tonight. The Lord has been blessing us with many willing hands to help and people have really gone the extra mile. I guess our February virtue of Service in The Buzz really hit home with the folks at JCFC. I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate all the help I've had! But the thing I'm most thankful for is God's favor in all this. He has been so faithful to lead and guide and bless us with things we didn't even ask for. That's just how He rolls. :) Even if you don't have kids, you need to be there Saturday. Come and walk around and visit with people. Walk around the park and pray that this act of service to our community will bring people to a life changing decision to accept Jesus into their lives.

Pray HARD

I am sitting here watching the Today Show and I am looking out my window at SNOW! What gives? We were wearing flip flops the other day. EEEK! So people, start praying hard for the Easter Egg Hunt! We can handle some cool air but NO snow, rain or gusting wind. Oh, by the way....How many people have you invited? We want at least 300 people there and 500 would make me do a hallelujah dance on the spot. :)

Cake Craziness

If you read my pastor's blog (http://joshuasingleton.blogspot.com ), you have realized the man is losing it! He is on this rant about cake. Yes, I said cake. I made a cake for our team meeting Sunday night and the man loved it. Now he's promoting people to order one from me! Crazy. It make me LOL every time I think about it. He has even refused to share the pieces I left for the family. I told him I could make more but he is a little concerned about that...he is worried he will not be able to stop eating it. :) I guess my homemade chocolate cake will be his birthday request next October. And Lindsay, I have a piece saved back for you and Michael!

Eggs, Life Group, Amazing Weekend

We had a fun time filling Easter eggs tonight. Thanks to Mark, Amy, Rebecca, Sandy, Adele, Camille, Shera, Olivia and of course Randy for all their hard work. We did pretty well but have lots left to do. We got about 3000 done tonight! I'll be calling some of you who offered to help.

If you haven't joined a Life Group yet, now would be a good time to jump into our Parenting group. This Wednesday, I'm changing gears and we will be discussing parenting a strong-willed child. There are many areas to cover and we will start with disciplining without breaking their spirit. Give me a call if you are interested and we can talk details. I usually have some yummy dessert! :) 419-3347

Yesterday was amazing. Next to our kid's Christmas program, we had our highest attendance at JCFC. 136 with 50 of those in the children's department. God is so good! It was such a great weekend. Friday we celebrated Keaton's birthday, Saturday we had a birthday party with two very special kids, and Saturday night we had a grown-up fellowship at the Main's house. It was wonderful to get to know some of the newer adults who have been coming to JCFC but don't have kids yet. It takes me a little longer to connect with them (without the kid factor) and I had lots of interesting conversations. It was so fun to meet Jessie and Christian who lived in our hometown of Sioux City, Matt and Amanda who know a ministry couple that I know and Jessie and Lisa Little realized they went to college together. Wow, small world and cool how God brings people together.

Yeah...Pictures!

I didn't lie, did I? Here is our adorable baby Landon and his big brother Carter and big sister Kennady. Three cutie-pa-tooties. Thanks for the pictures daddy Brian.