Party in the Park

This Sunday afternoon we have an incredible opportunity. Even though we might think it would be a great day to stay home and chill after morning service we won't because we could witness lives changed for eternity and hurting people receive hope. We are having a "Party in the Park" at our Whitehouse apartment complex and will be playing with some kids, serving some free hot dogs, and chatting with people. We'll have free cotton candy, an inflatable, balloon animals, games, prizes, a crazy skit and an illustrated Gospel message. We will hand out Easter Sunday Celebration fliers, talk about our new bus ministry picking people up and bringing them to church. It's an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We want to be a blessing to all and we have a burden for single moms. If you are a part of WFA, you won't want to miss it. Bring a lawn chair and a friendly smile. If you are a reader of this blog, please pray for us. God has given us favor with the complex and we just want to walk through any open doors the Lord may have that day. Pray for good weather, too!

The Heart of Worship

I am so proud of my kids. I have noticed in Sunday morning worship that our altar times have been evolving. One by one, more of the kids are physically pressing in and going after God in preparation to hear from His Word. I have been explaining that sometimes we need to get ready to hear from the Word, like an athlete prepares to compete, we can take steps to help and prepare to receive whatever He is saying through the preaching of the Word. One of the preparation steps can be worship. Since we have moved rooms and now have a larger altar area, the kids, without my teaching or instruction, have been laying prostrate before the Lord. Do you know how it touches my heart to see kids going after God in such a humble manner? To look down and see some lying flat or in a fetal position with their faces buried in their hands and cutting themselves off from all distraction so they may hear what God wants to speak into their lives. Sometimes, I have to look away to keep my focus because if I don't I'd be a blubbering idiot at the sight of something so pure and innocent as children worshipping their Savior. This past Sunday, as we were winding down our altar time, I asked the kids if any of them wanted to share something that God had spoke to them. Several kids raised their hands and told us what God had spoke. It was awesome to hear what they said but even more incredible that they are "getting it" and are developing that listening ear that many of us are still working on. I believe to hear the voice of God it takes practice. Practice to be quiet after we petition and practice to not rush but wait until He speaks. That is growth that every pastor loves to see; adult, youth or kids. It is exercising their faith and stretching them to not only listen but then share with and encourage other kids. Have I mentioned that I love my "job"?

Let Me Give Honor Where Honor is Due

Pastor Michael preached about honoring people in your life in a message based on Mark 6:1-4. In the scripture, Jesus had returned to His hometown after performing numerous miracles and He was not met with honor and thankfulness, He was dishonored by their lack of faith. I've been thinking about who in my life that I should be showing honor and gratitude towards. Of course, my family, parents, and those God has placed in authority over me. But I've been thinking about some people who have influenced me and helped mold me into the woman of God I am today. Without their effort, time, trust, empowerment and love I have to ask myself if I would be where I am today. Not that I have "arrived" but would I be in this place, at this time and on the track of evolving into more of a Christ-like person? Can I look at the people who have been in authority over me at some point in my life and honor them when we didn't always agree or we needed to part ways?

So today, I give honor to some people who greatly deserve thanks from my heart. The first pastors who allowed me to sorry all over some kids in my febble attempt to be a "children's pastor" were Pastor Ray Sorenson and Pastor Jerry Hochstetler back in Ankeny, Iowa. Pastor Ray recently went home to be with the Lord and I wish I could have expressed to him one last time how much I appreciated him. He was a unique man with a heart of gold. Pastor Jerry was instrumental in me hearing my call to full time ministry. They encouraged me to get in there and just follow the Holy Spirit's leading and love kid's to Jesus. They believed in me.

I give honor to my precious friend, Laurie Rich. She is the most amazing children's pastor I know. She did not know me from Adam but she patiently answered many questions when I was starting out. She shared ideas, she always listened, she treated me like an equal in ministry even though she had much more experience and anointing. I still think of her as a close friend who I can tell ANYTHING to and she is always one of my biggest cheerleaders.

I give honor to some of my closest friends and fellow children's pastors who have encouraged me, inspired me, taught me, prayed for me, spoke with honesty to me, gone before me and made a way, allowed me to steal their ideas or have just been a great listener. Kevin Umphress (I learned a TON of stuff from this guy), Brian Bopp (believed in me when I needed it the most), Lori Warning, Brian Dollar, Jason Noble, Jim Wideman, Dick Gruber, Kevin Geer, and Brandie Broadhead to name just a few.

I give honor to the other pastors I have served under. Pastor Raymond Weets, Pastor Mark Oberbeck, Pastor Josh Singleton, Pastor Dave Beroth, and Pastor Tommy Hall. Several different men, different preaching styles, different personalities, different leadership styles but all men of God that taught me what it means to serve the body of Christ and grow in my relationship with Jesus. I honor you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your investment in my life helps me to do what I do today in Whitehouse, Texas at WFA.

I give honor to my current investor, Pastor Michael Fleming. I have been here a short four months but have seen this man growing daily in all areas of his life. He's one of those guys that is not satisfied with the status quo and I love that! I'm thankful to have the opportunity to grow some more under his leadership and to follow his example. I give honor to his wife Angie. She is an amazing woman of God with grace, wisdom beyond her young years and a sweet, humble spirit. I give honor to Pastor Danny and his wife Celeste. They work so hard and give their lives completely to ministering to our students. They also lead us into worship every Sunday. And they will make you laugh harder than you ever have before! I give honor to Big Mike and Yvette Durbin. Big Mike is a volunteer pastor here overseeing our tech department and is Pastor Danny's right hand guy. Big Mike and Yvette willingly give their time, talent and treasure to minister here and do it with all of their hearts.

Who do you need to show honor to this day? Give Jesus the first place of honor! Show your spouse and children honor. Honor your parents as the scripture teaches. And to those in authority over you...honor...even when you do not agree. God has placed them in your life and to not show them honor is to dishonor God!

The Power of Words

I hope that when I die, the word encourager is spoken when describing me. I try to be that whenever I can but I do think that I need to work harder to do it more often. I am a person who's love language is words of affirmation. If you don't know what I mean by "love language" you need to read the book The Five Love Languages.


There is such power in spoken words. I can be totally bummed about something and one small encouragement from someone will bring me out of my funk. What if we all intentionally encouraged at least five people a day? I believe it would change the world because of the power of spoken words.


Think about this....what if someone said to you, "I believe in you!" Our student ministries pastor, Pastor Danny, recently preached a series to the youth entitled "I Believe in You" and he was amazed at the number of kids who said no one, not even their parents, had ever told them that. In my opinion, as a parent our kids should constantly hear "I love you", "God loves you", and "I believe in you." I wonder how much rebellion would be squelched if we could intentionally say those things to our kids?


Okay, so not every has the same love language as me but you name me one person who doesn't like to hear, "great job" or "I appreciate you" or "you are a blessing" at least once in a while! Often times we think about nice things people have said or done for us but we don't verbally let them know how it blessed us. It's like when we say, "I don't have to tell my spouse I love them...they just know it." Well, stop that right now! They do need to hear it so start telling people the nice thoughts you have about them!


The Bible is full of encouragement. There is no way I could even list all of the verses that just contain the word encouragement let alone the verses that are meant to lift us up. But remember this, not everyone reads the Bible. That friend who doesn't know Jesus is probably not being encouraged by the Word of God, so you need to be Jesus with skin on and say the words they need to hear. I will share this scripture, though. Proverbs 18:20-21.


I am so blessed to have people in my life that encourage me. The power of words, good, bad, life, death. I want to be a life-giver.

Growing

Growing in Numbers
We outgrew our kid's church room, so this past week, we made the move to our new digs! It's very exciting to make this kind of change even though it means a bit of set up and tear down each week. I'm so blessed to have such a great team mate in Pastor Danny, our Student Ministries pastor. He is so generously sharing his youth room with us and is even helping with the transition each week to turn it into Building 2:52. It's amazing what some black sheets, banners and crawl tunnels will do for the look of a room. The kids loved it Sunday and we can accommodate so many more!

Growing Spiritually
God is really doing some amazing things throughout our church and the kids are right there, too. It's so cool to see them growing spiritually and taking the messages we have in Building 2:52 and applying them to their lives. That's when you know they are growing in Jesus; when a Bible story comes to life for them and they realize it's there to help them in their lives too, not just the person in the Bible. Plus fourteen kids have accepted Jesus as their Savior in the last three months!

Growing in Outreach
We just finished up a series on purity and are now going into a series on the Parables of Jesus. In the midst we will have two weeks to celebrate Palm Sunday and Easter. Our Easter plans for WFA are really coming together and it's going to be incredible! I'm praying for 125 kids on our campus that day. We will have something special for birth on up and the adults are welcome, too. Just kidding...we have some great plans for Big Church that people will be talking about for months to come!

Another very exciting area of outreach is our bus ministry. We are taking steps right now to bus in kids and their families on Sunday mornings. We have been bussing on Wednesday nights but we know there are many who would love a ride to church on Sunday, too.

Growing the Team
Our kid's department team is growing, too. We have something very special; people who are excited to serve kids. I know I'm biased but kid's are arguably the most unreached, unserved population in most churches and yet one of the most important areas of the church if not the most important. But not here at WFA! We are investing in our kids with our time, talents and treasure! If this community knows nothing else about our church they will know we LOVE kids and welcome them in Jesus' name!

Can I Be Very Transparent?

If you have known me for more than a month, you probably know me pretty well. I tend to be the type of person, that in my effort to be honest and open, may sometimes share more than you want to know. This can be both good and bad! :) But since moving to Texas I think I have been a bit guarded....believe me when I say not on purpose. It is so incredibly painful to leave a place that you love, where you have poured your heart and soul into people and winning the lost. Ministry is such a different kind of "job" because it's so very personal and relational. Each time God has called me to a new place, there has been a grieving process in the transition. I don't fully understand why, but this last move was especially hard and so when I came to this new place I may have had a shield before me that was certainly not intentional.

The past couple of weeks, I have been so renewed with what the Lord is doing in my life and in this new place where I am serving my Jesus. The shield is down and I feel like I have set aside a huge weight. I am feeling more like myself, the real me with all the good, bad and ugly sides we all deal with. I am so encouraged and loved by my new friends and team mates. I am full of ideas that stir my every waking thought. I have to tell myself not to get ahead of God's timing when I think of all the possibilities and open doors laid before me. I feel a new purpose in my call and additional confirmation about being in Texas. I see that past hurts cannot cloud my new vision of what God needs me to do here or allow them to stand in the way of Him moving in me and through me. I have avoided blogging for a bit because I just couldn't put out in cyberspace the raw things I have felt. Healing comes in many forms; through time, through people, but most assuredly through time with Jesus and His people. Healing comes when we trust...if we just trust Him enough to obey what we know He is telling us to do, then put one foot in front of the other and keep looking straight towards Him, soon we are not dragging our feet or tripping along but we are running in His direction.

My heart must be made up of multiple chambers. I still have every child I ever ministered to tucked away in a special place and now I have a new chamber that is already filling up with some very special kids in Texas. I'm so thankful and in awe that I get to do what I do. I'm thankful for seasons in our lives, even the tough ones because we always come out stronger and with more anointing when we are careful to give Him the glory, no matter what!

Be Ready...Cuz You Never Know

I had a "be ready" reminder yesterday. I had a full day of errands for church and stopped by Build-a-Bear to give them a deposit for our Mini Missions Trip. I wanted to make sure all the details were covered so we could get 40 kids through the build -a-bear process in the 2 hour time table we set. I was speaking to an employee that I hadn't talked to before and was explaining our mission in coming there. For those of you who haven't read or heard, we are taking up to 40 elementary kids to Build-a-Bear on March 11. They will create a bear, dress it with a t-shirt and make a get well card to put in the box. We then are taking them to Mother Frances Hospital in Tyler and giving them to the pediatrics ward via the Children's Miracle Network. The kids are raising their own money to pay for the trip and purchase some additional gifts for the kids.

This young lady caught me a little off guard when I looked at her and she was tearing up. She was so touched by the mission that she had to compose herself before she could speak. She told me that was the sweetest thing and how much she loved the idea. I regained my clarity and shared the purpose and lesson behind the mission. We just want to show the love of Jesus to some kids who are suffering. We want to teach our kids the joy of giving and that there are more ways of telling people about Jesus than to get them to come through your church doors.

The exchange reminded me that we all need to be ready to share our faith because you never know what seemingly ordinary conversation will open a door. This girl couldn't wait to tell the other store clerk what was happening. I wonder how many other people she will relay our conversation to and if that God idea of a missions trip will unknowingly open someone's heart to knowing Jesus?

Lord, may you find us READY. Jesus, I need these reminders in my busy life that You will speak through me in ways I don't plan or purpose but when I'm ready you will use me. I will be able to be ready when I constantly seek you and am careful to heed your voice. Thanks for revealing this to me in a way that I needed and may all we say and do bring you glory and honor. Amen

Family Devotions

I was going to write a blog about something new our church is doing to encourage family devotions, but my pastor said it so well I'll let you read it for yourself! http://mdfleming.wordpress.com/

Mark Your Calendars!

Here are some incredible opportunities for your kids and family:

Family Game Night
Friday, January 21 @ 6:30 Pm in the Whitehouse First Assembly Fellowship Hall. Bring the whole family, young and young at heart, your favorite board or card game and some snacks to share. I'll bring the beverages. Come for a great time of bonding with family and creating some memories!

Mini Missions Trip
We have 40 openings for kids in Building 2:52 to go on a missions trip to Build - a - Bear in Tyler and then to Mother Frances Hospital. Cost of the trip is $40 and includes Build - a - Bear, team t-shirt, lunch and other gifts to purchase.
Our mission id to make bears to take and donate to the pediatrics ward of the hospital along with coloring books, crayons and puzzles. We want to show the love and compassion of Jesus to the hurting kids of our community. Contact me for more details and an application.

Kid's Fine Arts Festival
Does your child have an artistic talent, a love for singing or a cool hobby they would like to share? Fine Arts is a great opportunity for our kids ages 6-12 yrs. old to discover and develop their God given talents and abilities. We will travel to Dallas on April 9 for the Festival. See me for applications and info. There are LOTS of categories to participate in!!

Kid's Camp
Camp? Talking about camp in January!? You BET! I can't wait for camp. Let me encourage you in this; I believe kid's camp is the single best spiritual investment you can make in your child outside of regular Building 2:52 services! We have to get the ball rolling now because camp fills up so quick. Our dates are:
5-7 yr olds - June 16-18 $115
8-12 yr olds - June 22-25 $165
Deadlines are coming up quick so see me ASAP for forms. We have quality people going with me as councilors!

We are making plans for an incredible Easter Sunday, April 24! It's going to be a day your whole family will enjoy and never forget so start praying about who you can invite to join us! More details soon!

A Book?

My husband said something to me the other day that I can't seem to get out of my head. He said I should write a book. When I began to laugh, he said he was serious. I then began to offer all of the excuses I could think of...who would read it, I'm not educated enough to know how to properly write, I have so many random thoughts and topics I'm not sure how it would come together and make sense, etc. Every excuse was met with an answer debunking my reasoning!

So, I'm praying about the possibility. I guess I won't know if it's in me until I try. I have, for many years, ranted to my family all my thoughts, opinions and philosophies about children's ministry that maybe, just maybe some of those rants could be put into practical advise for those getting started in ministry. Maybe some of my frustrations over "the church" could help bring us together in a way that would make a bigger impact on the Kingdom of God.

Any thoughts or opinions?

Candlelight Communion

I was blessed to experience communion in a whole new way! Pastor Michael has a tradition here at Whitehouse First Assembly that makes communion a beautiful family experience. Our service started with some acoustic worship. Pastor Michael had all of the kids come onto the platform for him to read them the Christmas story from the Bible. After candy canes were shared, pastor shared a short message and then it was time for communion. All the staff couples had a station at the altar with communion emblems and we invited families to come. We served each family individually; sharing the scripture, a word of encouragement, prayed over them and then asked the spiritual leader of each home to pray a blessing over their family. It was so powerful! There were lots of hugs and tears of thankfulness. We each served communion about 10 times. In all my years of pastoring, I have never had the opportunity to serve communion in "Big Church" and I loved being able to be a part of it! What an awesome tradition and something I will look forward to every year!

Something to Really Think About

http://www.barna.org/culture-articles/462-six-megathemes-emerge-from-2010

Can I Just Brag?

Since moving to Texas, I have had the opportunity to be a part of the Whitehouse Ministerial Alliance. We are a group of pastors from all different denominations that come together once a month with the common goal of winning our city to Jesus. I love how this group plans services, fellowships and ministry projects together with no other agenda but encouraging each other and loving the people of Whitehouse. We had a joint Thanksgiving service and now are finishing the final deliveries for an awesome outreach called Project Joy.

Project Joy not only involves the churches of Whitehouse, but the whole school district as well. We team together and it starts with the schools. Teachers and administrators nominate families that they know are in need. The elementary schools collect non parishable food items, the middle school and high school collect money for gifts. Each church collects a household need such as laundry detergent or tooth paste for all of the families nominated, which this year was over 250 families. Then all food items are brought to one church where it is sorted before making boxes for each family. The money is collected and then the shopping begins. We try to have $20 per child to spend and had over 300 children to buy for! This is a huge project but is so fun to be involved in and team up with so many great people who just want to be a blessing to families.

If more communities worked together like Whitehouse, can you imagine how much more could be accomplished for the Kingdom of God? It's not about this church or that church...it's about showing the love of Christ. It's about pooling resources and being Kingdom minded and taking care of your own community. Love this!

My New City

I was doing some errands for church today and decided to drive through the housing development that is mostly government housing and where I have been told are many kids. As I slowly went over the speed bumps and looked over the layout, God began to stir my heart with ideas to reach out to the people who live there. Like the speed bumps in the road, many of them have had some speed bumps in their lives. We must be the hands and feet of Jesus to those who maybe some don't want to deal with but Jesus died for them just as much as He died for you and me.

I found a small play area where we could easily set up a sort of Sidewalk Sunday School and do some fun events for all the kids. If they won't come to the church, take the church to them! We can help them to overcome some of the generational cycles that keep them dependant on everything in this world and show them how to depend on Jesus...the true cycle breaker!

I love how no matter where we are or where we live, God can give us a passion for those around us if we are open to His leading. If we will have His eyes, He will show us the ways He can use us. I'm thankful to be used by God. Wherever, whenever however He chooses...let me always be obedient.

The New Journey

I'm on a road of discovery right now. With a new group of kids to pastor, I must not fall into the "children's church formula" that would make life easier. What I mean is this; as a person who has been a children's pastor for more than 20 years, I have to be careful not to fall back on or rely on past successes to minister to my new congregation. I have to discover where they are in their faith journey, how mature they are in God's Word and what needs do they have socially, physically and Spiritually. That takes time, effort and being very intentional. Life would be easier if I just mapped out the coming year without really praying it through and allowing God to show me where He wants or needs these kids to go. At the MOST, I have them 7 years in children's church. Seven years to lead them to Jesus and through His Word in a way they can understand. Seven years to prepare them to go to the next level with the youth pastor. Seven years to build a Spiritual foundation that will be firm and steady enough to add worldly weight and pressure. Seven years to help them understand what we believe and why we believe it. Seven years to get them plugged into ministry and teach them to be servants. Seven years...sounds like a long time but remember that's only a couple of hours a week. I have to make them count!
So...the road to discovery has some bumps and pot holes but it's a road that must be traveled to achieve what those precious kids really need. I choose to make the road fun and not a burden. It makes it even more satisfying when you can look back and see how they got from point A to point B. What an honor it is to love kid's to Jesus.

In the Beginning....

God created the team meeting. Well, not really, y'all know it was the heavens and the earth! But here in Whitehouse it is my new beginning and it started with an entire children's department meeting. What a great evening of opportunity. I was able to share my heart and just a bit of vision casting. I don't want to overwhelm people with too much too soon but they were all on board and ready to see what God has in store for our church and community. I am so blessed to be in yet another church that sees the urgency of reaching kids for Jesus and is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish much for the Kingdom of God.

It was also very cool to have our lead pastors and student pastors in attendance; supporting, encouraging and showing unity with the new gal! If you are a staff pastor reading this and have such unity in your church, make sure you tell the team how much you appreciate it. Not every place has that and it sure makes a difference in how ministry flows and builds together.

I got teased a bit for my acrostic about my role as the children's pastor. I used T. E. E. M. and Pastor Michael chalked up my spelling of team to my Iowa education....ha ha! In leading this new team, I want to
T - Train/Teach each member in the position they serve in. If they feel educated, they have more confidence to do their job.
E - Equip each member with the resources and materials needed to make their job easier and more effective.
E - Encourage each one. We all need a pat on the back, a "hang in there", or a well done!
M - Mentor each one who would like to go deeper in their walk, or fulfill a call to ministry. We must duplicate ourselves!

Of course, we had to eat! I love to feed people so a dinner meeting is always good. It was fun to have the servants from nursery, preschool, children's church, discipleship, Royal Ranger and M'Pact girls all around the table sharing food, fellowship and excitement to be doing the Lord's work for kids.

Great things are ahead and I know I must continue to grow in my life before I can be the leader God has called me to be. Thanks Lord for all you are doing in us, through us and despite of us!

TEXAS!

Here we are in the Lone Star State! We arrived in Tyler last Friday night to our new duplex and crashed after a long day of driving from Tennessee. Saturday morning brought a great crew of peeps from Whitehouse First Assembly to unload the truck. We were even treated to a yummy soup lunch from our new pastor's wife, Angie! Many thanks for all the help but let me back up the truck a bit.

It was tough to leave such a great church family at Union City First Assembly. Our two years there are precious times of making lifelong friendships and new life lessons. We are so thankful for our time there and the doors that the Lord opened. It was not always easy with some struggles along the way but it is a time I wouldn't trade for anything. I learned a lot under Pastor Tommy's leadership and will sure miss the awesome team there. We never dreamed we would only be there two years but I count them successful for the Kingdom of God as I know we witnessed many lives forever changed.

The people of Whitehouse First have given us a terrific welcome and are very excited to see what God has in store for the kids and families of this community. Pastor Michael is gonna be awesome to work with and our youth pastors Danny and Celeste have an awesome group of students that I'm looking forward to getting to know. Look for updates on what's happening in Texas and I'm excited to be serving in yet another great church!

The Giant Haystack

The Giant Haystack is back! On Sunday, October 31, from 3-5 PM…FREE hot dogs, drinks, a bag of candy for every child AND lots of prizes. This Obion County community family event is right in the backyard of Union City First Assembly of God, 1810 Pleasant Valley Ave. All kids ages 3 yrs. old- 6th grade will climb in the haystack for a 5 minute mission to find a specially marked ball to redeem for a prize. Back this year…a .25¢ cake walk for all ages and a free kid’s craft table! Everyone is encouraged to register for our family gift basket with something for the whole family! The drawing will be at 4:30 PM, or after the final group in the haystack. Invite your friends!

Entering the Giant Haystack:

3 yrs. old – 5 yrs. old (preschool) 3:15 and 4:15 if needed

Kindergarten – 2nd grade 3:30 and 4:30 if needed

3rd – 4th grade 3:45 and 4:45 if needed

5th-6th grade 4:00 and 4:45 if needed

Wow, I'm painfully behind in blogging! With Facebook in all of our lives, sometimes it's easier to just make a quick comment and move on but when I write in my blog, it stirs my creative juices in other areas of my life.

Summer was awesome as far as ministry goes. After Kid's Camp, we prepared for back to school as in Union City the kids were back at it on August 2! And I thought Iowa started early! We had our second annual "Round Up Sunday" where we try to round up all the families that have been MIA over the summer months. It was a fun day with a western theme, horseback rides in the church yard, costumes, roasting hot dogs and making s'mores, lots of pictures, and success in getting reconnected with some awesome kids! Our team did a great job in the plans and execution of all the activity.

School also reignites "Lunch Dates with Pastor Lori." Every Sunday at the end of service, we draw a name out of a metal lunch box and that child will get a visit at school for us to have lunch together. We take pictures and talk and just have a little one on one time. I LOVE the opportunity to see the kids outside of the church and meet their friends. I always get to find out something I didn't know about my date before that day.

We have two vases that set on our stage every Sunday. They have a bouquet of foam stars in each that represent each child who came to an altar of repentance and accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior this year. This last week, we added numbers 40 and 41 to the cases! Praise God that the Holy Spirit moves in the hearts of kids, too. One of the salvations was a young man who I have had the privilege of mentoring since last school year. He just started coming to church and prayed to accept Jesus. Thank you, Lord, for Your favor in our schools.

We are gearing up for the third annual "Giant Haystack" fall celebration! It's gonna be even bigger and better than before! Tons of candy, prizes, a cake walk, crafts, free hot dogs and beverages, family pictures and probably gonna give away a couple of bikes again. More details to follow but save October 31st for a great family adventure.

I'm so thankful for each person who God has brought to help us minister to these awesome kids at UC 1st. I believe in them and believe they are truly making a difference in the lives of these kids. I'm thankful for a husband who supports me in so many ways. And I'm most thankful that the Lord asked me, an ordinary person, to be His ambassador to kids.

Kid's Camp 2010

This, I believe, was my 16th year of attending a Kid's Camp! That statement should speak about how passionate I am about the camp experience for our kids. I LOVE camp for myself also....not the rickety bunk beds, the 100 degree heat, the smell of sweaty children...I love communing with my tribe, swapping ideas, hanging out with my kids away from "life", meeting and networking with new people, watching the way kids socialize, learning things about my kids that I may have never known during a Sunday service, and most of all the intimate time at the altars with kids that I love and want to help be life long followers of Christ.

I am passionate that camp is one of the most valuable investments you can make in the spiritual growth of your child. They have five days with no TV, cell phones, parents (good or bad ones), or other outside distractions. They are in an environment that is made for them, all about them, honoring them, and doing all with a ton of fun. Without all of the other stuff from their lives, they can focus on God and tune into what He wants to say and do in their lives. I could go on and on about why I believe in the camp experience but I think you get it.

This year at Camp Jackson in Goodlettsville, TN, we took 10 kids who really wanted to be there and had come to camp knowing God was gonna show up for them. I have taken many different sized groups to camp from 3 kids to 62 kids but have never taken a group that was 100% ready for God to speak into their lives. I also had the most amazing male councilor go along. Mr. Brian experienced his first kid's camp and I do believe he is now addicted! He not only had a blast but did a fantastic job with our boys. None of them have a Godly man in their home and so they got to see how a Godly man acts and how he is to handle himself and how real men love and worship God. I know that was almost as valuable as the time they spent with Jesus. Brian is gonna be an incredible children's pastor.

One of our boys had his first real encounter with Jesus at the altar. Tears of repentance and cries for emotional healing came from this young man who lives in absolute dysfunction. One of our girls received her call to ministry and another was filled with the baptism in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues! Can I tell you how honored I felt to witness these two young women of God have these life changing encounters? It brings me such great joy and excitement for what is in store for them. To watch their faces as they cried out to God and then see Him answer is absolutely priceless!

Camp has it's games, crazy times, swimming, sports, concession stand, carpet ball, constant noice and of course chow time. It has it's first crushes, squabbles, constant noise and the afore mentioned sweat issues. It has it's lack of sleep, mosquito bites, dirty clothes, unclaimed underware, lost pillows and did I mention lots of noise. But camp has Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God's Word, worship, fellowship, friendship, inspiration, growing, hearing God's voice, healing, repentance, forgiveness and love. I can't wait until next year!

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