It's Not THAT Bad...I Promise!

When I say the words "children's ministry," what comes to mind?  This?

Because I promise it's really not that bad...only on days with a full moon.  And those only come once a month and may not always land on a Sunday.  Just sayin'...


How 'bout I not beat around the bush, not give you a lot of fluff, not give you all the convincing reasons why you SHOULD volunteer in children's ministry and just get right to it.


Here's the deal.  We need you.  Mhmmm, you.  Oh, you don't really like babies and real little ones?  We've got older kids too :)  I see.  It's the older ones that scare you?  That's ok, we have sweet babies that need rocked or kiddos toddling around that will gladly share their snot and germs with you!  What?  You don't really like kids all that much?  You're in luck, I even have a spot for that!  Can you say "Good morning!" and smile?  If so, I've got just the place!


Children's ministry has a variety of places to serve:  from very little contact with kids...all the way to.... all-out access to them!  Still not sure?  I'd like to invite you to join us some Sunday and check us out.  No commitment, just come hang out for a service and see what Celebrate Kids is all about!


I want to leave you with a few thoughts as you consider my invitation.  In children's ministry you get to see children that love God, learn about God and worship God.  You get to meet new friends, see friendships begin and watch them grow.  These are just a few of my favorite things...

I Have Put Words In Your Mouth!

You know what I hate?  You know what can make me feel guilty faster than anything?  That moment I react to my daughter out of pure frustration.  Ugh.  It gives me that sinking feeling.  I know I can't be the only parent feeling like this.

It always amazes me how Satan can find that weak moment.  The moment when I'm tired.  Or the one when I have a headache and want to be left alone.  Or the moment when I see a messy room that I've asked to be cleaned up or the clothes that I've washed, dried, folded and brought upstairs that are now in a messy pile on top of the dresser, or how about when...well you get the point...he finds that moment when I don't have the energy to filter my irritation before I spew it.  

This is what's been on my mind since I posted the last couple entires (Momma's Hands & Impressions).  It's made me meditate on myself the last several days and wonder what impressions I make on my child.  A wise person taught me "It's not what you say, it's how you say it."  More than the actual words sometimes, it's my tone that is my weakness.  I'm usually not very good at hiding my irritation.

As I was researching verses that I added at the bottom I read Jeremiah 1:9..."Then the Lord reached out and touched my mouth and said, 'Look, I have put words in your mouth!'"  Seriously?  How awesome would it be if the Lord would zip mine for a moment, turn my face towards His and then say those very words to me:  "Look, Karla, I have put words in your mouth!"  Aahhhh...but thankfully He has given me His Word that I may find delicious truths to learn from.

Here are words from His Word...

Psalm 19:14  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 119:103  How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey.

Proverbs 12:25  Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Proverbs 16:24  Kind words are like honey - sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

Proverbs 17:27  A truly wise person uses few words; a person with understanding is even- tempered.

If you're a parent that struggles sometimes with words or with tone, or if you're a friend or a daughter or a wife or a husband...I share these reminders of wisdom from God of what kind, sweet, encouraging and patient words do.

Any tidbits of wisdom you can share?  I'd love to hear! :)

Impressions

Today I have a guest blogger!  Brought to you all the way from Willow Park, Texas...none other than "Nana."  Stevi Fenton is my mother-in-law, but she is affectionately known as Nana :)  This Christmas she gave me and my sister-in-law, Amy, a special mug.  It was a Fire King jadeite "D" handled mug.  This mug was just like the mug she saw her Mother drink from.  She shared with us, in a letter packaged with the mug, the memories she had as a young girl. And I share them with you now:


"This particular used mug brings to mind a story that belongs to this family and I want to make sure our children's children have a vivid image in their heads to pass down in their own oral history, as vivid as if I had painted it with oil on canvas.


Stevi got out of bed and wandered into the kitchen where it was warm.  She was three or four years old and what she sees in the kitchen is not etched in her life memories because it was unique or shocking, but because it's what she saw every morning when the weather was cool.  The perimeter of heat from a stove like a wall of warm air was the indicator of how long her mama had been up and stirring.  Still in her cotton gown and house coat, the chrome and yellow vinyl dinette chair pulled closer to the oven so Mary could prop her feet up on the oven door to warm them.  She never went barefoot.  She always wore chenille slippers.


Unaware that her youngest child had entered the room and was watching her, Mary sat with the Bible in her lap.  She didn't leave her family that singular Bible where she recorded her countless insights in the margins of the scriptures.  The Word is fluid and alive and she always gave her bibles away.  Some of her notations can be found in homes of Australians, New Zealanders, Brazilians and South Africans.


Stevi was watching her mother's hands, they were her defining features.  She had long fingers, strong yet delicate and they flew into the air every time someone wanted to take a photo of her, as if she used them to frame her face.  This morning as most mornings they caressed a cup of coffee, a jadeite mug that had probably been left by a previous tenant.  She held the mug with both hands.  Since she was left handed she clutched the "D" handle mug in her left hand.  The thumb of her right hand balanced the bottom edge of the mug while her right index finger touched the rim.  Both little fingers with their long nails were held out in dainty fashion.  I think she held every mug that way from then on.




It would be this memory that came flooding back many years later when I found a Fire King jadeite "D" handled mug in an antique store.  I couldn't wait to get it home and drink coffee out of it the very way my mother did years ago.  I poured the coffee into the mug and raised it to my lips to discover that there was a reason why mother held the mug in such a fashion.  Those mugs were hot to the touch and the only place to touch them without burning your fingers was the handle, the bottom edge where the glass was thicker, and the rim.  Her coffee drinking style turned out to be primarily practicality, and it made me laugh out loud.  Enjoy drinking from my mama's cup!"


Love you,
Nana

This is me in my usual weepy state when receiving something sentimental...

Nana demonstrating how her Mother held her coffee cup :)

Thought Nana sharing her memories of her mother's hand and the way she held her mug was a great second part of the thoughts I shared about my mother's hands.

Again, so funny the things we notice about the ones we spend so much time with and how we carry those with us the rest of our lives.  Is it funny to you how hands have made an impact?  

I know something else that makes an even bigger impression than our hands. Our words.  While I gather my thoughts about that...maybe you can spend some time thinking about your words, your hands, your actions, things about you that YOU think make an impression on others.

Thank you, Nana, for sharing your memories...and thanks for my new mug!!!! :) 

Momma's Hands

I was looking through pictures my niece posted on Facebook of holiday time.  I clicked on the next one and there it was...a rolling pin, some cookie dough and a woman's hand.  My MOMMA'S hand!  I'd recognize that hand anywhere (even if it wasn't on a familiar site).

photo by Kaitlynn Passon

This one simple picture brought several words to my mind in a moment:  creative, sewer, teacher, reader, doodler, list maker, story teller and one other one...simply - "Mom." 

  

photo by Kaitlynn Passon

I like details.  I like to pay attention to people's mannerisms and details about their physical appearance that makes them unique.  I've always taken notice of things like that.  Memories of my mom's hands I have are:  she never liked her hands even as a young girl and it was because of her veins...funny thing is, I always loved that part!  I always hung my hand down to let the blood rush so my veins would be puffy like hers.  She never removed her wedding band from the day my dad put it on her finger.  She had strong nails like her mother and they were nicely shaped nails.  She used her hands to teach:  Sunday school, how to sew a button, how to tie a shoe, how to tie a perfect bow so it's not crooked,  how to roll the cookie dough, how to hold a picture so you don't get fingerprints on it, how to iron a shirt and iron a perfect pleat.  The list is long.  For me the list is 37 years long.  

The older I get the more of my mother's mannerisms I see in myself.  Most times I laugh when I notice them or tease my sister when I notice them in her. :)  But really, why would I expect anything different than to resemble my mom (and dad)?  In all of this remembering and thinking of all she has taught me through just her hands alone,  I sit and wonder..."What is Miah seeing in me?  What is she learning from my hands?  What details is she picking out?  What will she mimic?  What will she remember?  What am I teaching that I don't even realize I'm teaching?"

I hope she is seeing love and kindness and patience...hmmmm, this sounds familiar...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control."  Galatians 5:22-23

What details can you take notice of today that your kiddos are more than likely noticing already?  Any details you think you may need to change?  What are things you learned from watching YOUR mom?

All I Want for Christmas Is...

Well I already have my two front teeth so can I have some consistency instead?  Pretty please?  Santa, I've been a good girl, I promise.  If you could just drop some consistency in my stocking and a little gift of motivation under the tree I'd appreciate it so much!

Do you struggle with it too?  Some areas I am very consistent with so I would wonder why in another area it seems so difficult to obtain?

In case you don't know I'm married to the lead minister at my church, Matt Brent.  When I sit and listen as he preaches sometimes I am thinking how proud I am of him, how excited I am for what God is doing through him, amazed at how well he communicates God's Word and relates it to the church.  Other times I am listening to his words, his points, following along, etc.  One day recently I'm just going right along thinking about how well he is bringing these points together.  In fact I'm even thinking about how this person and that person is probably going to be affected today because he is talking about exactly what they are going through, blah blah blah, until...I felt it.  My toes.  Ouch.  Something hurt.  Hey!  Wait a minute!  He's talking to ME now!  Ouch!  He did it again!  He stepped right on my toes...all ten of them!  I didn't mind though.  I like being convicted when I need it.  I don't even mind that it's by him.  :)

It all boiled down to a "God hole."  That place you try so hard to fill, the "hole," and nothing seems to fill it, fix it, or take it away.  That's because it's a God hole, and no one and no thing can fix it except Him.  God.  Only He can fill it.  I don't have just one hole to fill, I have several.  And they can all boil down to two things...consistency and motivation.  I've tried many things and I am finding that they only work temporarily.  I am seeing now that those are God holes and only He can fill them.  "If I had motivation I would finally be able to tackle this, this and this.  Consistency would then keep that, that and that under control."

Where do you get your motivation?  You know you need to do something.  You may even know WHAT you have to do, but you lack the kick to get it going.

This post doesn't really have anything to do with kiddos or children's ministry on the surface, but I know that allowing God to fill these holes will then make me a better mom, a better teacher, a better ministry leader.

And I also know that Santa won't be the one to deliver it...just the One.

Ho, Ho...uh oh!

As of right now my 9 1/2 year old still believes...at least she acts as if she does.  But I'm bracing myself this year for the question, "Momma, is Santa real?"  She asked last week if the tooth fairy was real so I assume maybe doubts of Santa may be coming too.  I'm not really worried about it.  It wasn't traumatic for me, in fact, I don't even remember when I found out Santa was actually Mom and Dad.  

I probably need to decide exactly what I want to say when that question comes.  What did you say when your kids found out?  Or if you have kids that still believe, what do you plan to say?  Any creative ideas to share?

Full Moon Madness

Yesterday as I began Large Group teaching I knew within two minutes it was going to be "one of THOSE days..." There is just a buzz around the room. It's the kind of energy that you just can't pinpoint any certain thing or any certain person, it's just an all over energy. It's the kind of day when all my Small Group leaders look at me like "What's going on?!?!"

After Large Group was done and kiddos went into the Small Group classrooms, I walked back to one of our teens who was running tech and said, "Get on the internet please and google full moon dates of 2010 because I betcha anything it's a full moon." The people standing there kinda looked at me funny and I went on to explain that when I taught in school teachers always knew when it was a full moon because of the way the kids were. They had these funny looks as if they were saying "I don't quite believe all that..." until the teen found the information I was asking for. "Full moon for November is...November 21st," she said. They looked at each other and then said "What is today's date?" I smiled and said, "November 21st." The looks on their faces were priceless :) I assigned them each a Small Group to assist and then quickly went to find ME another cup of coffee!!

 

So why DOES a full moon make such a difference? I have no idea...a scientist I am not. I went googling for some information but only came up with "no scientific proof." All the studies show there is no link between the full moon and behavior. I say none of those scientists have spent time teaching kids then. ;)

Oh well. I stand by it anyway :) As a teacher I sometimes shake my head and wonder "Why in the world does this full moon affect these kids?!" Now I sit and wonder if God does the same thing. Wonder if there are days when He looks at our behavior, our choices and says "They've gone full moon mad! What are they doing?!" I have a list of questions I want to ask God one day. I think I'll add this one to my list.