Most people love dogs, especially children.  Dogs are fun to watch and have many different characteristics, some good and some bad.  In KidZone we have been studying relationships and dogs.  What do those two subjects have to do with each other?  In this fun study, we are learning about certain breeds of dogs who have characteristics that demonstrate the relationship skill we are studying. For example, patience.  The Great Dane is one of the most patient breeds of dog often playing with puppies and kittens who are much smaller in size.  We learned that we must be patient with others and even sometimes "Put on muzzle on it" when we are tempted to say something we shouldn’t.         

1 Corinthians 13 has our guideline for the way we should relate to each other–in love.  We all need help getting along with the people in our lives whether family or friends or strangers.  We are memorizing 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 to help us always remember the way we should treat people.

We are having so much fun each week with special appearances by our cast of exciting characters, DC, our loveable dogcatcher, Dr. Shotts,  veteranarian extraordinnaire, Francine the Dog Groomer and our loveable new puppet, Muttley.  I would like to invite your children to come each week.  We have services at 9:15 am and 11:15 pm.  Come and join the fun!

Here at MCA we are blessed to have a wonderful event coming up.  The Holy Spirit Conference will be held January 11 - 14.  We will not only have wonderful services for the adults, we will have special services each night for our kids. 

Do children need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit?  Absolutely.  They need the Spirit working and moving in their lives just as much as any adult.  Many adults wonder if kids really understand the working and moving of the Holy Spirit.  I can tell you that they are able to understand some things and there are some aspects they don’t always understand.  I can say that for myself too.  However, I have watched many children over the years respond to the gentle nudging of the Holy Spirit.  I have observed them as they feel the presence of the Lord and are touched and filled with all that God has for them.  It is one of the most exciting times in their spiritual lives!  The Holy Spirit loves to minister to everyone that opens his heart, including children.

I hope that you will attend the conference and bring your children.  Sunday night our MCA team will minister to the children.  Monday and Tuesday evenings we will have special guests that will minister.  Wednesday night we will have our Mpact and Royal Ranger programs as usual.  Each evening we will have nursery and preschool also.  Make it a priority for your family to start out the year spiritually uplifted and empowered. 

2008 is almost history.  As the last few hours wind down I am reminded that almost nothing ever stays the same.  2008 has been a year of many changes.  We have watched our economy fall, we have elected a new leader, we have seen our global family go through times of war, famine and disaster.  If we just look at the circumstances in our world, we could be worried and anxious about what 2009 will bring.  However, because we are in the hands of our loving Father, we can be sure that He has everything in control.  He is a God that will always give us strength to face whatever is ahead.  That is why I know that 2009 is gonna be one great year!

Isaiah 40:29-31 - He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall.  But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Christmas is a time for family.  This year Tracy and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary.  As we look back, there were lots of different stages to our family.  Those baby years with lots of crying, diapers and sleepless nights were tough.  Then as the kids grew we tried to keep up with them.  We laughed, we cried, we prayed a lot.  We increased our prayer life even more as they became teenagers.  Now they are all adults and leading their own lives with children of their own. We are blessed with 5 beautiful grandchildren.  It is a joy to watch our children in the stages that we went through.  Somehow the perspective now is much different.  Sooooooooooooo…I said all that to say this.  Cherish and enjoy every moment.  Make lots of memories and take out T-I-M-E to talk to your child.  You will never regret the time you took out of your schedule for that! 

I am so excited!  Christmas is in just 2 more days.  Most of the big parties are past and now it is just looking forward to actually celebrating with family and friends.  Last minute gifts are being bought, food is being prepared, school is out and the kids are antsy, looking forward to opening those presents.  It is a wonderful and hopeful time of the year.   A baby always reminds us of hopes, dreams and potential.  That is what Jesus brought to a world without hope.  He brought the dream of having an abundant life on this earth filled with His love.  He also brought the potential for us to take our ordinary existence and make it something extraordinary for Him!

Happy Birthday Jesus!  You are the best gift we have ever been given.  We love you!

This month my son will turn 30.  I can’t believe it.  I can’t be old enough to have a child of that age!  But, it’s true.  As I reflect on being a parent (and now a grandparent of 5 adorable children) I realize that I don’t remember all the presents I gave my kids at Christmas over the years.  Just a few are memorable but for the most part they are long gone.  However, there are some gifts that I have given that continue to keep on giving.   They aren’t the latest computers, video games, dolls or bicycles.  These gifts cannot be bought with money and will never break or get old.  That is why I am recommending these 3 gifts to give your child this Christmas and throughout the year.

1.  The first gift is time.  In kid language love is spelled T-I-M-E.  Make sure that you take time to connect with your child each day.  Give him/her your undivided attention, without any distractions, for even just a few minutes each day.  It could be awkward at first but as you start communicating, it will become easier and it will pave the way for good communication during those rocky teenage years.

2.  The second gift is prayer.  Pray for your child each day.  Pray for him/her and with him/her.  Let your child see that the answers to life’s questions and problems lie with the Lord. This will prepare him for facing problems in adulthood. A great way to pray for your child is to pray the scriptures. Ask the Lord to give you specific scripture to pray and to hold on to during difficult times.  3 of my favorite scriptures to pray are:

Psalm 1:3 - He (put your child’s name in there) will be like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields it’s fruit in season and who leaf does not wither.  Whatever (he/she) does prospers.

Philippians 1:6 - He who began a good work in (your child’s name) is faithful to complete it.

Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry ground.  I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendents.

3.  The third gift is to make it a priority to see that your child receives good spiritual training.  No responsible parent would feed their child only occasionally when it fits into the schedule.  No responsible parent would keep their child out of school.  A responsible parent will do whatever it takes to make sure his/her child is healthy and happy.  We are three part beings.  We have a physical body, emotions and a spirit.   Most parents do their best to take care of the first two parts.  But, many parents neglect or even ignore their child’s spiritual needs.  Statistics say that most people receive Jesus as their Savior when they are very young, under age 14.  So, make it a priority to bring your children to church, send them to camp, talk with them about spiritual things, have a devotional time with them and be a living testimony of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

You can’t buy these gifts, but they will cost you something.  You will be so glad you invested.  These gifts will last for an eternity!

FaDazzle Wazzle was great fun!  A great time was had by all. It was very cold outside but warm and happy on the inside of MCA.  Some of the highlights were:

The Bucking Salmon

"Derby," one of the world’s smallest ponies

Kids of all shapes and sizes in their western attire

Games, games, games

Bubble Gum the clown

Typhoon Teddy and Tiger Bouncing

Corndogs, nachos and Caramel Applies

Candy, candy, candy

Lady Leona, Neon Deon and the Puppet Team

But the best part of all was that many boys and girls gave their lives to Jesus!

Come one come all!  This Friday, October 31st at 6:30 p.m. is our annual kids fun night called FaDazzle Wazzle.  Our theme this year is a county fair.  So dust off your country costumes and come enjoy a night of fun, food, games, and most of all, CANDY, CANDY, CANDY!  We will have old tyme carnival games and a Bucking Bull, a Bungee Run, Tiger Bouncing, a Rock Wall and our own Typhoon Teddy. 

Invite a friend to come.  We will have a gospel presentation from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. and we hope that lots of boys and girls (parents too) will come to know Jesus as their Savior.   I’m so glad that we serve a God who enjoys having fun!

See you there!

Today is Monday and I tend to analyze how everything in our Children’s Ministries Department went on Sunday.  One thing I have noticed since being here is that our nursery is always a busy place.  In the past weeks we have had as many as 15 babies and toddlers in our care at one time. I watch them as I am preaching to our kids as they come to the windows of our nursery and watch as the older children worship. I see them dance and sway to the music.  They are always attracted when the puppets perform their song and they look with wide eyed faces.  It gives me great joy to look at them and  I always wonder when that special moment will come to them and they will have an understanding that Jesus loves them.  I am confident that even before they can say the name of Jesus, they can feel His love.  How?  It’s because of the wonderful workers who convey the love of Jesus to them as they play and sing.  It is a sense that God’s house is a good place to be and they are loved here.  That’s the way it should be!

It takes a huge pool of workers to staff our nursery (at least 24 working one time per month not counting any special events).  Our nursery coordinator, Michele Peterson, does a wonderful job.  She does her best to recruit for our nursery but often ends up working every Sunday and some Wed. nights.  My prayer is that we could have enough caring workers that Michele would have to turn people down because there is a waiting list to work with our wonderful babies and toddlers!  I pray that everyone would understand that the nursery is a valid ministry of our church and not just a duty or a babysitting job.  Jesus was a baby once and look at what He did for our world!  I am confident we have boundless potential for the Kingdom crawling around playing with blocks just inside our nursery door!  I am confident also, that if Jesus was a member of MCA, he would be a part of our nursery ministry because “little ones to Him belong.”