Resources and conversation about creating a family that builds a foundation for a solid faith and true identity.
Wow.
I just got home from the beach with some of the families from our church. They invited me to a bonfire. We roasted marshmellows and I heard about how much the kids loved camp. Many of these kids asked Jesus into their hearts at VBS. We followed up by sending them a bible in the mail. Many of these kids took these Bibles with them to camp...and they are amazingly adorable...reading them and soaking His word in like sponges. I sort of feel like I handed Bibles out to people in communist China the kids are soooo excited.
I'm so in awe. I am in awe that God would use me and allow me to witness Him coming into the lives of these 4th and 5th graders. Epidemic bible reading. Everywhere I turn I hear a story of a child working on their own at home memorizing a bible verse or reading the bible before bed. It's totally amazing.
One mom told me that her child highlights almost every word in her bible and she said when questioned: "Mom, I'm highlighting it all because I think it's important." She and her sister are determined to read it cover to cover.
Another girl wrote a beautiful thank you note to her parents saying "I used to not want to read the Bible and now I really want to all the time. I'm also going to try to be more patient with my brother. Thanks for sending me to camp."
Alana, who is in 4th grade, wrote me saying "I learned that God is always with you through rough times. It doesn't mean God will make it all better, but he'll be with you."
Caitlyn said "Kristie, God answers prayer and I've seen it happen over and over again. I really believe it. I was having a bad day...I prayed and then it got better!"
I'm blown away. I hear of families reading the bible together...and I think there is nothing that could make me happier and feel more fullfilled.
I sat there tonight as the waves crashed in the background and enjoyed the conversation and whispered a little prayer in my heart to Jesus "Thank you SOOO much!!!"
The Malibu Surfside News published an article I wrote in the paper today. It's on page 7 and it highlights the most recent partnership we shared with OLM after VBS. I'm grateful to the Surfside that they allowed me to write an article and that they do a good job creating a snapshot of our community through is paper.
I recently attended a seminar in Atlanta, GA at a larger conference I attended. Chap Clark, a well respected scholar and teacher at Fuller Seminary is mutual friend of many people I deeply respect. I incidentally took the opportunity to learn from him firsthand, by attending his insightful lecture on adolescents and the realities that face our culture of youth.
You might wonder why I opted for a "youth ministry" seminar when I am a "children's director". For many reasons I am alarmed at how our community pours resource after resource into our preschoolers and elementary aged children and yet seem to have a lack of nurture when it comes to loving them through Jr. and Sr. High. (this is my observation, and I would LOVE to be proven wrong...so if you feel differently, please enlighten me to what I am missing) I'm sure that the faculty and parents at Malibu High do wonderful things to engage our teenagers, but it seems we as a community need to really continue to engage in a conversation that focuses on a holistic care of our kids from birth to college age.
My heart is to be educated and forward thinking about the kinds of bridges we can build to help our preteens bridge into this scary world of adolescence. I was encouraged and startled by the information I jotted down in my small notebook at the conference. I was refreshed to hear someone speak to the things I know are going on and are the ways that this generation of kids operates.
Here are a few things I jotted down in my notebook combined with my own musings around these issues:
- today's kids have created a "world beneath", they have multiple identities in order to thrive in the many communities they are part of. These different identities may seem to be ingenuine, but in fact they find themselves divided, yet loyal to the many selves that their culture requires. Maturity and a passing through adolescence is about merging and creating a consistent sense of "self". Kids need adults to come alongside them and enter these other "worlds" with them so that they can be known for who they are in every corner of their life.
- Kids sense that they have to protect their parents from their reality. They sense that if their parents "knew" they wouldn't be able to handle it...so they do not see it as lying but protecting their parents from the truth.
- Many past generations sought to "challenge" youth to rise to a higher standard. Clark argues that because children are more stressed out than any other generation, they don't need us to push them as much as we need to come alongside them. We need to create family, safety and stability for them.
Chap Clark offered 6 suggestions:
- don't be fooled to think "not my kid"
- remember you are an important part of a parenting community.
- every kid matters (make sure they know this and you believe this!)
- every kid is gifted
- help them to discover themselves
- expose them to mercy and justice
My summary here can't hold a candle to the insightful words that Chap Clark shared in many occasions at the conference I attended. Here is a link to an interview with him on the Youth Specialties webpage titled How Kids are Changing
I would highly recommend ordering this book, Hurt: Inside the World of Today's Teenagers reading it, and discussing it with other parents you know. I will also be reading it this month and would love to talk about it with you. It's important that we are proactive in our care for our children of all ages.
We'll be starting a monthly friday night gathering for our 4th and 5th graders in the fall. Camp and Forest Home will act to launch that group which I hope will bond together and act as a support system to each other surrounded by a caring group of parents and church leaders who will continue to walk with them through each season of this thing we call adolescence.
From The May Newsletter
Abraham, David and about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are just some of the things that the kids at our church have been learning about this year. I sat in my office the other day when a student from Pepperdine who was preparing to write a story about our church asked me, “How did you help the kids cope with the fire?”
Sometimes, it feels to me that church ministry can be like a treadmill, one locked on the “interval” setting. There are peaks and inclines, but the continuous motion of the machine keeps me moving and looking forward.
I’ve found that, in this season, it has been the reporters and close friends who have pushed the “pause” button when they walked up to me and asked, “So...how are you?” and “How are the kids?”
These moments of pause are important, and I usually find myself in a place of gratitude for all of the things that have transpired since I began working at Malibu Pres. for all of the ways that they have caused me to grow deeper and closer to the Lord and to many of you, my new friends and church family.
I answered the Pepperdine student’s question honestly when I said, “Well, the kids are the easiest. They are the most resilient and adaptable in a situation like this.” I told the student about art projects the children’s ministry did, discussions we had, and about contacting a psychologist in the area to help create a “talk sheet”.
There has also been a parallel between the things we’ve been learning in Sunday school and the life we’re living - I continue to be blown away by how God’s word is always so living and active in our lives when we seek Him.
We’ve walked alongside Abraham and David and learned from the way that Jesus worked miracles and healings in the lives of those He encountered. Then we learned about the end of Jesus’ life and His resurrection. It has been an exciting year, watching our kids grow in their understanding of scripture and in their relationship with Jesus, and in seeing how those two things apply to their lives in real ways.
Redemption seems to be the ongoing theme of the Christian life. God is about redeeming His creation. While the moment when we ask Jesus to come into our lives is a significant one, I find that it is His day-by- day redemption of the things inside us that takes my breath away. He does this in small and large ways, and I think we’re seeing this happen in our church. We’re seeing God do a deep thing in our midst. To see families come to know Jesus by participating in a Valentine’s Dance, and to see people walk faithfully with God through such a difficult time, speaks of God’s ability to make all things new and to use all things to His glory and good.
The children of this church are our greatest investment. There is eternal value in the things we have done this school year through programs such as Mommy and Me, MOPS, Sunday School, Harvest Festival, the Valentine Dance and mostly through relationships built over dinner and coffee or sitting in the sandbox at the country mart.
This year has been about living life together on this journey to live in the Kingdom of God.
The story we’ve been living this year has provided opportunities to peek between what’s happening on the surface and what God’s doing inside of us. God is doing incredible and redeeming things in our midst, and I’m just privileged to watch it and be able to participate in it.
Abraham, David and about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus are just some of the things that the kids at our church have been learning about this year. I sat in my office the other day when a student from Pepperdine who was preparing to write a story about our church asked me, “How did you help the kids cope with the fire?”
Sometimes, it feels to me that church ministry can be like a treadmill, one locked on the “interval” setting. There are peaks and inclines, but the continuous motion of the machine keeps me moving and looking forward.
I’ve found that, in this season, it has been the reporters and close friends who have pushed the “pause” button when they walked up to me and asked, “So...how are you?” and “How are the kids?”
These moments of pause are important, and I usually find myself in a place of gratitude for all of the things that have transpired since I began working at Malibu Pres. for all of the ways that they have caused me to grow deeper and closer to the Lord and to many of you, my new friends and church family.I answered the Pepperdine student’s question honestly when I said, “Well, the kids are the easiest. They are the most resilient and adaptable in a situation like this.” I told the student about art projects the children’s ministry did, discussions we had, and about contacting a psychologist in the area to help create a “talk sheet”.
There has also been a parallel between the things we’ve been learning in Sunday school and the life we’re living - I continue to be blown away by how God’s word is always so living and active in our lives when we seek Him.
We’ve walked alongside Abraham and David and learned from the way that Jesus worked miracles and healings in the lives of those He encountered. Then we learned about the end of Jesus’ life and His resurrection. It has been an exciting year, watching our kids grow in their understanding of scripture and in their relationship with Jesus, and in seeing how those two things apply to their lives in real ways.
Redemption seems to be the ongoing theme of the Christian life. God is about redeeming His creation. While the moment when we ask Jesus to come into our lives is a significant one, I find that it is His day-by- day redemption of the things inside us that takes my breath away. He does this in small and large ways, and I think we’re seeing this happen in our church. We’re seeing God do a deep thing in our midst. To see families come to know Jesus by participating in a Valentine’s Dance, and to see people walk faithfully with God through such a difficult time, speaks of God’s ability to make all things new and to use all things to His glory and good.
The children of this church are our greatest investment. There is eternal value in the things we have done this school year through programs such as Mommy and Me, MOPS, Sunday School, Harvest Festival, the Valentine Dance and mostly through relationships built over dinner and coffee or sitting in the sandbox at the country mart.
This year has been about living life together on this journey to live in the Kingdom of God.
The story we’ve been living this year has provided opportunities to peek between what’s happening on the surface and what God’s doing inside of us. God is doing incredible and redeeming things in our midst, and I’m just privileged to watch it and be able to participate in it.
Here is great CD for middle/upper elementary aged kids. It has a great sound...and you might just have a dance party erupt in your car...beware...it's a fun cd! It's put out by Willow Creek in Chicago. Check out Have You Heard?
Enjoy!
If you didn't get to purchase her music on Friday, here is a link to her website. I know many many families who LOVE her DVDs, CDs and they are a part of their family's life soundtrack.
I highly recommend checking it out! Jana has a way of putting the truth to music that feels so right and beautiful. She has CDs for children and adults.
I believe that it's a really good thing to live out your green-ness in front of your kids. God calls us to take care of the earth, so I am trying to add one more thing into my life to come closer to "green living". I'm soon to buy a hybrid and move closer to work so that I don't use so much gas (and save cash! $4 a gallon???? yikes!) Another thing I think we're all aware of now, is the problem that plastic bags are causing in landfills. I have just put in an order for these reusable grocery bags. Hey, if I'm gonna pick a bag to keep around for a while, it may as well be colorful and pretty! :) I have also started using these bags for Sunday School supplies...I like them very much. Here is a link to Baggu Bags.
They come in just about every color imaginable!
I found this article about play. I think it has some good things to say and wanted to share it with all of you.
I really believe that in many ways the next generations of children will tire of technology as entertainment, but that it will become a function of their lives. They will be hungry for deeper connections with creation and with art. I think this "back to the basics" approach might lay the foundation to subvert the trend we see amongst today's teens with boredom, self-destruction and withdraw from society. Create...play in the ocean...bake...plant gardens...that's what I think life is about...allowing our children to know how to be still...it's so important in a world that begs us to be overstimulated and never to slow down.
I know that many of you have shared your child's love for the VBS CD they take home each year.
I recommend purchasing Seeds Music.These scripture songs are really great, they won't drive you nuts, and you might learn some scripture too. Seeds Music is written by Nashville songwriters who wanted to create a quality product for families to learn scripture, but also have a sound that isn't really annoying for parents who love Coldplay and U2 to have to listen to. :)
I highly recommend it! I've listened to it on my own time...I guess this goes into the "You know you're a Children's Ministry Director When..." category.
Every night before bed, my dad would read to me from a bible story book. The stories were short, but I would look at the pictures and imagine what had happened in them. Those moments were foundational and sweet. They were ordinary moments that paved a way for me to know the bible, story by story. Neither one of my parents have theological training, nor did they grow up in christian homes where they would know "how" to raise kids to know God. They did simple things like take us to church, raise us around other families in the church, read us the bible, and process and live their lives in front of us as they followed God too.
I often have been asked, "what do I do? how do I do this well?" and it can be a daunting idea, especially if you yourself did not grow up in the church. (or if you did...and hated it...that's a whole other story)
Reading the bible before bed is the best habit you can get into as a family. You might start out doing this a few times a week, but my guess is that it will become a special part of your bedtime routine.
When selecting a Bible Story Book here are some of the criteria I like:
1. Pictures are life-like and not cartoon-like. I never want the kids to think the bible is fiction. Image is very powerful, so life-like paintings of the stories help bring it to life and not feel like a Spongebob cartoon.
2. Bite sized stories: I try to find a book where each story is divided up so that you can easily come to it and read one story per night. It will also be fun when the kids have favorite stories that they want to read; they will be able to easily find what they are looking for and beg you to read it to them.
3. Not too wordy...but enough words to tell the story in a way that conveys enough detail. Balance.
Without further ado, after years of buying Preschool Bibles, I had lost track of this title which I like the best. I found it! Yea. Here is a link to this title: 365 Bible Stories for Young Hearts
I have 3 copies in my office that I just purchased at a seminar I went to. if you would like to preview it, come on by.
Do you have any traditions or routines that you are doing in your family life that you could share with others? Please feel free to leave a comment and share your special insights.
For more information about Children and Family Ministries, please email us at:
children@malibupres.org