Rowdy Rodeo
MY CONTRIBUTION TO RAGAMUFFINSOUL.COM’S “CREATIVE CHAOS”
“Fridays Rock” is The Great Kid Adventure’s event for elementary age students at New Life. This type of event happens three times a year and includes inflatables, video games, food, a movie, prizes, etc. Our next Fridays Rock will be on May 30 and will be a western theme, “Rowdy Rodeo.” The image below is the touch card for the event designed by our INCREDIBLE graphic designer Natalie. If you have any questions about what these events look like, let me know.
Posted on April 30th, 2008 by David | 3 Comments »
If You Could…
If you could give one piece of advice, what would it be?
Posted on April 29th, 2008 by David | 1 Comment »
Making Peace
I just had a conversation with a colleague about spanking kids. It’s really an interesting subject and one that people have all kinds of opinions on, but it got me thinking on a broader level about what families can do to create environments that teach kids how to make not only wise choices, but also resolve conflict when it arises.
It’s easy for a kid to get it in their mind that hitting, or name calling is acceptable when they experience it on television or even at school amongst their friends. It’s also easy for kids to think that blaming someone else is a great way to divert punishment or other sorts of consequences, such as spanking or a timeout, etc.
Focus on the Family has an article on their site about how to “teach children to be peacemakers.” This is such an incredibly important principle that if kids can grasp it, it will have wonderful effects on all of their relationships. Relationship at home, at school, on the playground and in their future relationships as they get older.
Read the article, and leave a comment on what you do to make sure your kids are becoming peacemakers.
Posted on April 29th, 2008 by David | No Comments »
Verminators
My skin is crawling.
I was just flipping through channels and came across the show “Verminators” on the Discovery channel and they were exterminating bed bugs.
.
NASTY.
STRAIGHT UP NASTY!
I feel like I need to take a shower.
Posted on April 28th, 2008 by David | No Comments »
Nate
Monika and I are part of a spinning class (indoor cycling) and one of the things I love the most about the class is the camaraderie. While the class is super intense, we all have a lot of fun and it’s great to watch people joke around.
Most of the people who are in the class are pretty hardcore and attend regularly. One of the newest people in the class is a boy named Nate who is probably about 13 or 14 and he regularly comes with his mom. Well, tonight he came by himself and before the class started he gave our instructor Kellie a cd to use during the class.
Normally, the music we ride to is provided by the instructor but Nate decided to hook Kellie up with some tunes. It was pretty cool to watch Kellie interact with Nate. He’s the type of guy who is pretty shy and doesn’t seem to have a lot of self confidence.
Well, it was obvious that Kellie made his night by using his cd. He had an awesome goofy grin all night and I’m sure that was the best spinning class he’s been a part of so far.
Posted on April 28th, 2008 by David | No Comments »
Stir Up A Passion
Passion.
It’s an interesting word and one that I find challenging to define. Is passion an excitement for something? Is it a desire to do something really badly, or is it deeper than that?
I think passion comes from some of the deepest places in our heart. It is something that can be innate and other times something that takes some work to develop. Nonetheless, I believe it is important. I especially believe it is important in ministry.
As a children’s pastor, it is my prayer to see all of my team serving out of a passion to see kids lives changed.
May God stir up a passion in the hearts of all of us on the GKA team and in the hearts of every other person who ministers to children.
Check out this great article about having that passion.
Posted on April 28th, 2008 by David | No Comments »
Caleb's Dedication
Today my close friends Jason and Nat dedicated their baby Caleb. It was such an exciting event considering that he was born 10 weeks premature, weighed less that 2lbs. and was in the hospital for months.
Caleb is now doing very well and I felt so excited for Jason and Nat.
I also felt a sense of pride. It’s funny, but due to the friendship that Monika and I have with them and our ability to share in the pregnancy/hospital journey with them I feel very close to Caleb. I can only imagine how exciting it was for them as parents to see their little miracle baby being dedicated to the Lord.
What an incredible example of God’s protection and provision.
He is also the poster child for “hooked on phonics” as you can see from his desire to read SI.
Posted on April 27th, 2008 by David | 1 Comment »
I'm In Ministry For People Like Kestin
Let me start by saying that I have an incredible worship team. Our children’s ministry worship team does an incredible job and they are so dedicated to seeing kids worship in a real and authentic way.
Tonight another great step was taken as one of our Jr. High Students (Kestin) worked through transitioning from song to song. I know this doesn’t sound like that big of a deal, but it is the transitions that are the difference between a good worship experience and a great worship experience; especially for kids.
Being able to in a sentence or two focus kids in on the meaning of a song, or provide some context is essential. It’s also without a doubt the most challenging part of leading a worship team in my opinion.
Tonight Kestin rocked it. She did a great job of not only transitioning, but providing cues for those in the audience.
Ultimately I am in ministry to see students like Kestin develop a relationship with God and put to use the gifts and abilities that God has given them.
Way to go Kestin, I can wait for you to lead on Sunday.
Posted on April 27th, 2008 by David | No Comments »
On The Road Again
(Yeah…John doesn’t really have much to do with this post. It’s just a title)
Continuing to train for the STP, our “team” went on another 30+ mile ride along the green river and interurban trails. It was a great ride but obviously not as far as our rides will needs to be. So starting this week we’re probably going to start riding twice a week and increase our distances.
Hopefully in the next couple weeks we’ll be up to 60 miles or so and will start riding around Lake Washington and doing some more intense rides.
Today we pushed things pretty good heading out and then experienced some strong head winds coming back. All of that made for a great workout but we need to start working on our endurance.
I think tomorrow evening we’re going to go on a shorter ride just to get some more time in the saddle.
All in all things are going well and I think we’ll be ready for the big ride.
Posted on April 26th, 2008 by David | No Comments »
Words of Affirmation
My Life Coach Lichty gave me the assignment the other day of figuring out the love languages of the three most important person and professional relationships in my life. Great question and it got me thinking about how mine is “words of affirmation.” There really are few things that mean more to me than hearing someone say that they appreciate me or recognize something I have done well. For some people their love language is touch or quality time or acts of service or gifts. But for me, I need that verbal encouragement.
I’ve been experiencing some of that over the course of the last few days and it’s amazing how your perspective on things can change when you know that you are valued or that people see potential in you.
Maybe my desire for words of affirmation comes from insecurity. I’ve never thought of myself as an insecure person. In fact I’ve thought just the opposite. But maybe there is a part of me that is insecure. Or, maybe it’s an ego thing. I try not to have an ego. I try to stay humble and grounded. I try to empower others and put them in positions to receive credit for accomplishments. But maybe there is some ego issue.
Whatever the case may be, I value encouraging words. They make me feel good, they give me hope, they keep me dreaming and pushing on towards bigger and better things.
So, thank you to those of you who have expressed your faith in my over the last few days. It truly means a lot. Probably more than you know.
Posted on April 25th, 2008 by David | 1 Comment »
