If you haven't joined us in signing the Christmas Convenant, it's not too late.

As members of the CCV family, we will seek to make Christ the center of our Christmas holiday celebration by…

1. Creating a modest budget and committing not to buy any gifts on credit.

2. Adopting a child from the CCV sharing tree.

3. Reading the Christmas story, Luke 2:1-20, on Christmas Eve and asking, “What’s the greatest gift Jesus gave you this year?” and ending in prayer.

4. Creating a “savings jar”, saving money from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve; bringing the savings to CCV’s Christmas Eve services to be given to an annual benevolence event (Casas Por Cristo or an African mission that will take place next year).

5. Making a gift “from the heart” for people in your immediate or extended family that cannot be purchased.

By signing this Christmas Covenant, I/we agree to partner with others from CCV to make Christ the center of this Christmas holiday.

Signatures:

Thanksgiving

"How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?" 1 Thessalonians 3:9

I thought it would be appropriate to take a moment during this Thanksgiving week and thank my family for who they are and the joy they bring me.

Shannon- I am thankful for your friendship, your unending patience and love. You know the real me and love me in spite of it. You are kind and generous and I love spending my life with you.

Emma- Thank you for your kindness, you are a beautiful girl inside and out. I love watching you bring out the good in your friends and your brother (even when it is hard). You have the ability to find the good in all situations and your caring attitude changes those around you.

Ethan- I am thankful for your humor. Your smile has the ability to change my day. You are funny and smart and I love to listen to your stories. Thank you for the innosence in the way you spend your day.

God has blessed me with a wonderful family. I encourage you to take time during this week to let your family know how much they are loved by you.

Fear

I never thought of myself as a scaredy cat kind of person. I like scary movies, I don't have to check under the bed for possible hiding people in hotel rooms (my husband), I am not afraid of my dark basement (Brian Jones), you get the idea. So recently I was faced with this fear thing, and it took me by surprise.

Last week some of our staff went on a retreat and Stephanie and I had the opportunity to go on a ropes course during some of our free time. It was a beautiful fall day up near the Poconos, the leaves were starting to change and there wasn't a breeze to be found. We get harnessed up and Stephanie takes off cruising through the course like she was part chimpanzee. So it's my turn, and I froze, completely scared out of my mind. I could no more take a step off that platform than I could lift a building. What was crazy about the experience was that the fear was completely unexpected. So I stood there frozen while a wrestling tournament was taking place in my mind. The logical side of my brain argued that my harness would hold me, the rope swing before me was something I had used a thousand times with my kids in the backyard, and Steph. was right in front of me cruising through the course with ease. The irrational side of my brain was arguing every reason that I would plunge to my death if I were to even think about stepping off that ledge.

Needless to say, with Stephanie's encouraging words (or the threat of telling my kids what a chicken I was if I didn't do it), I managed to take that first step. After that I was fine, the fear subsided and I made it through the course and was able to crash land like no other.

So the follow up left me thinking, what else scares me? Do I let fear stand in my way of doing things that would help me do my job better, be a better friend, wife, mother? I have to say, fear probably stops me from doing a lot of things that I'm unaware of. I am trying to be more in tune with that feeling and not let it keep me from accomplishing what God has set me out to do.

Isaiah 41:10
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

www.helpoutyourneighbor.com

Tuesday evening I had the opportunity to attend a town hall meeting at Perkiomen Valley Township. One of our faithful volunteers is fighting a battle reminiscent of David and Goliath. Her parent's land is being taken from them under the covering of "imminent domain". They are not being offered fair market value for their property, but more importantly, they don't want to move or sell the land.

Laura Dietrich is not only trying to help fight for her parents' rights, she is also helping fight for her father's life who is ill with brain cancer. Laura and her family need our prayer support as well as our actions. Please visit www.helpoutyourneighbor.com and help Laura and her parents in this battle.

Back to School

I am a sucker for the back to school season. I love this time of year; school buses on the road, kids at bus stops, new back packs, the smell of new crayons, you get the idea. Even before I had children, seeing kids at the bus stop put a smile on my face. Now that I have children of my own, I still feel that same excitement but there's a twist.

Sending Emma to school 4 years ago for the first time just about sent me over the edge. The thought of someone else being responsible for my baby during the day, teaching her lessons, making sure she remained safe, keeping her from getting her feelings hurt... This did not sit well with me and I moped around feeling quite sorry for myself for days. She was thrilled and thrived in the school environment and slowly I came around too. What other choice did I have?

Well, fast forward a few years and it is now Ethan's turn. I felt very confident that I wouldn't be effected in the same way. He is a boy and I had been through it before, so the night before school when I turned into a crazy whirling tornado I was taken by surprise. As I was packing enough lunch for him to last a week and making sure all of his forms were in his bookbag for the 5th time, my husband looked over at me and laughed out loud. I knew what I was doing and I was not happy. I sat on my couch and had a good cry.

New beginnings, as exciting as they are can be very painful too. That's where I feel we are in Valley Kids. We are entering a new beginning. As our church continues to grow it is exciting and awesome, but at the same time painful. We need more volunteers and people are use to doing things certain ways, change is difficult but the benefits are huge and the rewards immense!

God gave each of us this incredible gift and the coolest part is, we can give it away as many times as we want and it never runs out. I look forward to sharing the exciting plans for the upcoming year in Valley Kids this weekend, Sept. 7th at 1:00pm. I hope you will join us as we explore the year ahead. It's going to be a great one!

Classroom Design - Your feedback wanted!

We are in the process of painting our classrooms and giving them a more "kid friendly" atmosphere. Our building has been a multipurpose building housing all of our ministry areas, but in the spring, the space will be designated as a children's building. As we prepare for that transition we are trying to create a fun and exciting atmosphere.

From the beginning of our church life each classroom identified itself with an animal; ducks, bears, turtles, etc. In this interim time, before we deck out the building with a wild and fun movie theatre feel, I'm curious to know what you think about saying good bye to our animals. Strictly using the age of the child to identify the room.

Thank you for your feedback!

Inappropriate

Yesterday my children and I were watching television when one of those funny wireless commercials came on. It was the one about being on vacation and not getting the call that the family was headed to a nude beach on accident. Well, in my family no question is off limits so my eight year old was full of them... "Why would anyone want to go naked on the beach?" "Wouldn't you get sunburned?" "Do you think they put sunscreen on their behinds?" You get the point....

Well I tried the route of "In other countries they do things differently." But my 5 year old piped up and stated that he thought it was inappropriate to be naked in front of other people. The statement was an interesting one because it was such a big word, I wondered if he even knew what it meant.

We discussed what it meant to be inappropriate and I was impressed and his ability to articulate what that means to a five year old. He was right on. I walked away with a clearer understanding that my kids are listening. They do hear the lessons I try to get across, and even when it appears that no one is home, they are.

Camp Reflections

We finished up Kids' Camp Sunday this weekend with a packed house. Our final number for children attending the camp was 959! We ask children to bring their parents to church with them on Sunday and receive their camp shirts. It was an awesome weekend seeing so many new faces.

I had a volunteer stop and talk to me about how impressed he was with our camp and how it was run. He made the statement that he could tell we were "supported from the top down." I had to stop and think about what that meant exactly, but he hit the nail on the head. I have never been involved with a project in which every single person on staff took such a large role in reaching the final product.

There is no way we could pull off a production the size of camp without the support of our staff and interns. I hope that each of them knows how much I appreciate their hard work and support. As we grow as a church, my hope is that our children's ministry team will be able to take on more of the duties and relieve some of the stress camp takes on other departments. Our team took this opportunity to grow together and I am excited about what the future holds in Valley Kids.

Along with our incredible staff, the volunteers at CCV blew me away! There were countless individuals who met weekly for the months leading up to camp, gave generous financial support, and helped out with camp itself. We had over 300 volunteers helping to make this event possible. God took this opportunity to really show me how unique and wonderful people are. It was an honor meeting so many new and wonderful people.

And finally, the reason we do this... the kids. The children coming to camp had such a wonderful experience. There is nothing like the feeling of 400 children in one room worshipping, participating in dramas, and having a great time with you. It is an honor to serve God.

Kids' Camp Day 1

Day 1 - 803 children ages 4 - 5th grade attended their first day at our Big Top circus. The experience was unbelievable. The energy in the room could literally be felt. Have 400 + kids screaming back the bible verse Phillipians 4:13, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength," was truly a powerful moment.

Today we set the stage for the camp, introducing the idea of BIG dreams. Children were inspired to dream big and imagine a future with purpose.

Kids' Camp Crazies

Today I learned a valuable lesson in trust. When you are working on a project as large as our camp you can not possibly own every piece, it is physically and emotionally impossible. You have to trust that other people around you want the event to succeed just as much as you do. They want kids to have an awesome experience, they want families to come to church that normally wouldn't, they want to carry out God's commission just like me.

Letting go and trusting that we are all on the same page takes faith. I am thankful to be surrounded by people that I have faith in. That comes from having faith in the same God and knowing that he is the only one that truly has control.

Legacy

Sunday we had Gene Appel as a guest speaker at our church. He spoke on the topic of leaving a legacy. The message was one of the most moving I have participated in awhile, one of those that won't let you sleep.

What is my legacy? What am I doing that will make a significant impact on the world around me long after I'm gone?

Having moved several times in my life I have the advantage of seeing things in a temporary light. I have learned the hard way that we don't have infinate time to do the things we want to do or say the things we want to say. Wether it is a job relocation or a death, time is a temporary measurement and I am challenged to make sure I am using mine efficiently.

So I left here Sunday thinking about how I am using my time. Starting the preschool last year was valuable time spent, now as I set out to oversee the direction of our weekend ministry I want to make sure I am leaving a legacy of growing families in our church while not sacrificing my own.

Gene asked us to end the service by writing our Legacy statements. My statement was this: "I hope to leave a legacy of loving God with all of my heart by honoring my family and maintaining a healthy balance of home and work." I want my husband and children to know each day how much I love them.

Kids' Camp - 7 weeks out

Well, 7 weeks out and things are not exactly where I had hoped they would be. A few weeks ago I left drama "try outs" completely excited and energized with the thought of having the teens take over the large group drama time. Well, it isn't working out quite the way I had hoped. It's not from lack of trying, the teens are giving us everything they have. I think the problem lies with my lack of knowledge in the drama process and lack of experience in "directing".

Tonight I have the unpleasant task of giving our teens their new assignments as we fill in the leads with some of our veteran stage performers. My hope is that everyone sticks with us and the process and in a few years, with more practice these teenagers will be our "veteran" actors.

I'm feeling frustrated at my lack of foresight in the process of leading, definitely something I am praying about. The last thing I would ever want to do is discourage a teenager, or anyone for that matter from serving in the future.

Insanity

Insanity = Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

I've seen a lot of this lately. Sunday after church my family and I went out for lunch, it was pouring rain. As my children and I huddled under the awning of the restaurant waiting for my husband to pull the car up, we witnessed a sight that I've seen a few too many times lately. A mom was yelling at her kids trying to get them to hurry along. The longer they procrastinated, the louder she yelled, more fooling around, more yelling, and on went the cycle. Same scene, different characters. A teenager and her mother were at the grocery store. The teen wanted to go somewhere, mom said no, the girl whined, mom got louder, and so did the teen. At what point do we learn that the same approach to a situation usually produces the same outcome?

It got me to thinking about our approach to traditional Sunday morning teaching. We teach the same way over and over again, and somehow expect different results. We are fortunate here at CCV to have wonderfully creative teachers who are willing to try new things. They are risk takers and I am proud of what we are doing each weekend and especially excited about the direction we are headed. Different techniques are producing different results, some great, others not so, but it is fun trying new things.

Kids' Camp - the beginning

CCV takes kids seriously. The largest event we have every year is camp, it is held like clock work every year, the same time, 3rd week in July. People plan their vacations around it. We begin preparing in January and honestly could start in August. Last year we had almost 800 children and 300 volunteers in attendance. This year we are projecting even more.

Our theme this summer is BIG TOP. It is our plan to turn our building into a circus with tightrope walkers, lion tamers, elephants, and more! Our hope is to get kids so excited about being here that they bring their parents on Sunday to see their video and get their free shirt.

This year we are trying something new, we are utilizing our teens for as many components of camp as possible. In the past the worship team and drama teams consisted of mostly adult volunteers. This year we have a cast of very gifted and devoted teens that are in rehearsals right now. We are moving in the direction of utilizing our teens more and more for these large events as well as Sunday mornings.

Our elementary leader, Stephanie Carter, http://growingyourkidsministry.blogspot.com/ has a heart for this ministry. She is finding ways to integrate students into helping on stage, with tech., volunteering in the younger classrooms, and more.

As we continue to recruit for camp and work through this process I will keep you posted on our progress.

Because I can't, he can

Today was one of those gloomy weather, my son is home from school sick, my husband is out of town, feeling a little down kind of days. I find that on days like this my mind begins wondering and that voice of self doubt creeps in. I started looking around thinking about all the ways I have slacked off on house cleaning, how I had a to-do list a mile long at work that wasn't getting done, phone calls to friends that were way over due, surely I'm not the person God wants me to be.

So I decided to sit down and pray. I thanked God for my unclean house, thanked him for my children who made it that way. I thanked God that my husband has a job that he loves, I thanked him for my job and the friends that I had made over the last year. I thanked him for having enough faith in me that he trusted me with the task of leading our children's area.

The more I prayed the more I realized that it really is true, through my weaknesses, he is strong. I opened up my bible to James chapter 4:7-10

So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, you hypocrites. Let there be tears for the wrong things you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on him, he will lift you up and give you honor.

I am thankful that God finds me useful, honored that he is able to work through me, and painfully aware that I am nothing without him.

Where are we headed?

I will officially start my new position as Valley Kids Director in June and the first thing I have asked myself is, “Where are we headed?”

Just to give a little background, I am directionally challenged. I get lost often. When we moved to Pennsylvania I went to the grocery store and couldn’t find my way home. After driving back and forth on the same road with ice cream melting in the back seat, I called a neighbor I had just met and asked them to guide me home.

Last year as we opened Providence Christian Preschool the very first thing I tasked myself to do was to create a road map to guide us ahead in our school year. It was very simple; students came in with X knowledge and they needed to leave with Z. It was something that was clear, specific, and measurable. Naturally I desire to do the same with our children’s ministry as well.

I now find myself on a road less traveled. As I have researched scope and sequencing maps, I am finding that the road is not only less traveled, but seems to not even be paved. Many boxed curriculums have independent goals and outlines to their programs, but if I wanted to have a baby in our church, send them through our preschool program, and into elementary, I would not have a clear vision of what they would learn when they left us.

I think we owe our children more than that, we owe our parents more than that, we owe God more than that. I need to know that I have done a sufficient job of planting the seeds God has tasked me to plant. If that means writing our own curriculum, supplementing bits and pieces with others, whatever it takes; we need to get it done. We can’t do it though until we know where we are headed.

I’ll let you know how the paving goes.

Elijah

A few weeks ago I was reading about the prophet Elijah. Here is a guy who is fleeing for his life. He sets out to climb Mount Sinai and talk to God. As he stands on the mountain top God sends a crazy windstorm, next he sends an earthquake, and follows the quake with a fire. Now these are God sized calamities, I can only imagine what it must have been like to stand at the top of the mountain and witness God's power through these storms. But the bible repeats, God was not in the wind, not in the earthquake, not in the fire. God shows up after all of these mighty acts in the sound of a gentle whisper.

As I was preparing to go out of town to a children's conference last week, I felt myself behaving like a natural disaster. Everywhere I went was rushed, too busy for my co-workers, husband, kids, friends. I was creating the perfect storm around me. When I got to this conference one of the speakers reminded me of the story I had just read.

Sometimes I get so busy with doing "God's work" that I forget to seek him out. I think if I can work a little harder, get a few more things checked off my list, connect with a few more volunteers, I will be worthy of the title I have been given. Funny thing is, I create this storm around me and God's not there. He just wants me to take some time to hear the gentle breeze of his whispers.

Grace through my child's eyes

School can be a cruel place for children of faith. They are bombarded from an early age of the “ways of the world” and then we ask them to make good choices and do the right things. A task that I find impossible on most days to accomplish.

One Sunday morning as I picked up my eight year old from her Sunday school class her eyes caught mine and gave me the “deer in the headlights” look. She casually (or as casual as an eight year old can be jerking her neck from side to side) motioned for me to check out the visiting classmate for the day. As my eyes glanced across the room they rested on the sight no mother ever wants to see in her child’s “safe place”, the school bully.

I casually whispered, “Let’s talk about this in the car.” On our way outside to the car my mind was racing with thoughts of frustration and anger. This child has been responsible for countless tears and hurt feelings, I didn’t want her at our church too. This was our place, this was our sanctuary from bullies!

And then my eight year old daughter taught me a valuable lesson in humility. She said, “Mom, I am so glad she was there today.” I looked at her with a shocked expression and said, “Really, why?” “Because mom, if she learns about Jesus, I know she will learn to be nice.”

God’s grace was shown to me that day through the eyes of my child.

Sit and Be Still

I have never met a stranger, a gift I inherited from my father. Grocery stores, restaurants, out of town museums; he can, and will talk to anyone. As a child this brought me great amounts of grief. It took an extra hour to go anywhere because of the conversations that would inevitably come.

I inherited this “gift of gab” from my dad; I love to talk, I love to meet new people, I love the sound of my own voice. I am what you would classify as an extrovert.

Last year I went to work in a cubicle environment, a large room divided by small partitions. I thrive in the buzzing environment of conversations and activity, but not everyone around me shares my enthusiasm. I started noticing my colleagues wearing headphones and even shushing me on occasion. Have you ever been shushed as an adult? It’s not a nice feeling.

Last Sunday our Pastor, Brian Jones, was talking about the different personality traits of introverts and extroverts. He gave a humorous demonstration of how different an introvert and extrovert would go through the motions of looking for lost car keys.

The contrast between the two was humorous. I laughed at the comedy of what I must sound like from an outsider, but it got me to thinking. How can I ever hear what God wants for me to hear if I’m the one always talking? The bible tells us to sit and be still. How often do I take the time to listen, not verbalize the first thought that comes to my mind, not speak the many words of the voices in my head, but just listen. I have to admit, not often.

This is my goal for the week: to sit and be still. I will earnestly stop and listen for God. Who knows what he may be trying to tell me.