Mother's Day 2011 is over...

So what did you do for Mother’s Day?  Did you go see your Mom, or did your family honor you in some way? Did you receive some pretty flowers to plant in your garden or maybe a pretty card?

Whether you had a good Mother’s Day, or a not so good Mother’s Day, I would like to encourage you. Here is something you need to remember…God thinks mothers are important. He gave women the awesome gift of being able to nurture and to take care of others. Whether you gave birth to your children, or you adopted them, God thinks you are important. There are times when we “mother” people in our lives who are no longer children.  We step in and nurture that person and encourage them, and show them a mother’s love.  That’s showing a mother’s love, but it is also showing the love of Christ. God thinks that is important, too. 

Mother’s Day 2011 is over. The flowers that you received have been planted and the cards that you received have been opened and are being displayed on a shelf. Our families honor us formally one day out of the year, but God thinks what we do as mothers is important every day of the year. He loves his children and blesses us throughout the year. Turn to him in times of joy, in times of sorrow and in times of frustration. He is there and He can be trusted!

What's Happening at iAM Children's Ministries

1 Peter 1:23
The living and abiding word of God

After returning from the Children's Pastor's Conference, I  was energized by so many others who share my passion for reaching children for Christ. The past two months I have been busy teaching kids about the nature and character of God. I have been teaching a chronological curriculum where God is the central figure of every lesson, and it's been great. I am happy to announce that I have a new office, which has become the incubator for the many stories that I have been writing.  I thank God for the opportunity to study and teach His Word to children! When God's Word is planted in a child's heart good things are bound to happen.

Encourage Openness

Honest: Be a Truth Sleuth

Children's Pastors Conference 2011 Orlando, Florida

What do you get when put 1700 passionate children’s ministries workers in a room with equally passionate children’s ministry leaders and innovators? Well, frankly the excitement was palpable. The 2011 Children’s Pastors Conference in Orlando, Florida a few weeks ago was abuzz with children’s pastors, children’s ministry directors and children’s workers from all over the country eager to learn and draw on the experience of presenters and speakers who have been there, done that and now are doing something totally new.

The International Network of Children’s Ministry, Children’s Pastors Conference is the premier children’s pastors’ conference in the country if not the world. It has been our privilege to have attended in years past. This year being Lorraine’s fourth, Deb’s third and my second year to attend. Every year we have come away with tangible ideas, curriculum, and products to implement but that’s not the whole story. Attending the Children’s Pastors Conference reminds us of why we love serving our Lord Jesus through children’s ministries. The fact is that children are so much more receptive to the truths of God than adults. Their hearts and minds are soft and open to hear the Gospel and respond positively. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. It is our honor and privilege that God has called Lorraine, Deb and I to come along side of parents to help train up their children and CPC has been an integral part of that process.

Why we teach in Sequence

iAM teacher's set the bar high

 Sometimes in life, the best discoveries are found by accident, and so it was with us. It happened because we took the time to honestly access if something was really working. We asked ourselves the question “Are the kids in our ministry really understanding who’s who in the Bible? Do the kids really see the big picture of the Bible and why we need a Savior?” A few years ago Anna and I discovered that all to many kids were confused with regards to the Biblical order of events. The kids didn’t know if Moses and Jesus lived at the same time, or how the Old Testament connects to the things that Jesus taught in the New Testament. So after a number of months of teaching by topics, we decided to teach in the sequence of the Bible. We had to look far and wide to find curriculum that teaches that way but after awhile we found some. As I stated earlier we, by accident, discovered that as we taught kids the Bible in the proper sequence, the kids began to put the right people in the right order. God’s order of things is not random, so as we changed how we taught, God blessed our class with clearer understanding! The moral of the story; pay attention to details, and if something isn’t working well, don’t be afraid to change it.

Christmas Wishes

Simple, Yet

Priceless

  Gigi Tchividjian

                                            

Have you ever wondered how that first Christmas Eve might have been celebrated?  Let’s look at some of the men and women who were involved, their hearts were right and their gifts were simple. 

• Joseph gave his obedience
• Mary gave her body
• The shepherds gave their adoration
• The wise men gave their worship.

However there were those who missed that first Christmas altogether:

• The innkeeper was too busy with the mundane cares of his guests
• The guests were too concerned with their own comforts and personal affairs
• King Herod was too absorbed with his insecurities and his pathetic dreams of glory.

I’ve been asking myself this past year whether I have also missed Christmas.  Have I been too busy, too preoccupied with lost relationships, hurt feelings or just fear of what tomorrow will bring my way.  Perhaps this year my Christmas lists should read:

• More attention to children because they make us feel so alive with feelings
• More time and appreciation for friends and spouses
• More unconditional acceptance of everything
• A Biblical view of Gods grace and kindness creating in us hearts that are filled with gratitude

Jesus loves us with all our faults, failures and fears.  This year give yourself to God.

• Never give up,
• Never give in and
• Never stop giving.