Good news! Now your kids can be walking advertisements for an awesome children’s program! KidsPointe t-shirts are on sale now! We only have child sizes, and they are a steal at $10 each. Supplies are running out fast.
A New Level of Ministry April 23, 2008
Sorry I’ve been a bit scarce lately, but my reason is halfway good. And I’m about to get a lot scarcer (more scarce?). I may or may not be leaving the country on the morrow. (The “may not” is for the bad guys that might be staking me out for an opportunity to break into my apartment and steal my new vacuum and my priceless Muppet memorabilia collection. Better luck next time, bad guys! I’ve completely thrown you off this time!) Anyway, instead of posting, I’ve been using my time in front of the computer to actually do work. *gasp*
Here’s the deal. Through an unexpected course of events that have worked entirely in my favor, I have been granted an assistant. Michele is now transitioning from the creative arts team to the KidsPointe team, and I’m stoked. After spending the last three weekends holed up in KidsPointe breathing pure contact cement fumes, I am glad to have a full-time extra pair of hands around. (No, this is not my chosen form of escape – I was making puppets, people! Quit jumping to conclusions and starting rumors about the “habits” of the children’s pastor.) What is wrong with me? I’m all over the place today.
The even greater news is that this comes at an excellent time. In the spirit of taking risks,I have been blessed with some really fun ideas for KidsPointe. I’ll reveal all that when the time is right. I just have to say that as a creative person, it feels so good to have the creative wheels turning again. Now that I’ve got a semi-decent hold on the logistics of making KidsPointe run, I’m glad that now we can work on making it an awesome experience every week. By the way, we’ve added a few more faces to the KidsPointe Sunday morning crew, but we need more! If you’re not serving somewhere, call me!
+/- for Community April 16, 2008
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about community. As I read Making Room for Life, I am realizing that being a part of a community has changed over the years. Community used to be a close-knit group of neighbors or friends that were like extended family. Now community is very vague. We have a growing number of acquaintances and fewer people that we consider close friends. I have to wonder how blogging and other forms of internet connection have affected this. When I write, my words are viewed by about 100 people a day, but do I know these people? Well, there’s no sense talking about you like you’re not there – it’s you! Do I know you people? You are able to “know” me because you read my words, but I don’t get to know you back. Under the old definition of community, we probably would have met face-to-face and spent time together. Now I get an extra long glance or an extra wide smile, and I think, “Oh, that person must read my blog. They probably like fried green tomatoes/American Idol/the Beatles/home improvement projects, too.” On the other side of the coin, some of you frequently leave comments, or you come up to me in person and give me your thoughts. Maybe we never would have met if this blog hadn’t given you the conversation-starter we needed. In addition to that, I have reconnected with friends that I had totally lost contact with. So what do you think? Is blogging a form of community that is superficial or beneficial?
The crud again April 10, 2008
I guess the germs heard me talking about them, and they didn’t like it. I had a garden hose nose yesterday, and today I’ve got the throat aches. What is the deal?! I went into Sunny’s office yesterday and said, “I think I’m getting sick again.” She said, “No, don’t do that!” I said, “I know! It’s been awhile since I’ve been sick.” She said, “No, it hasn’t.” It’s been about 6 weeks. That feels like a lot to me since I’ve had one illness after another since I started working here. I guess it’s the same thing that teachers go through when they start teaching. There’s always a lot of advice that comes with each illness.
“You should take vitamins.”
“Are you getting enough sleep?”
“Try changing the air filters in your house.”
“Well, you probably don’t have a cold. What you have is allergies. Even people that don’t have allergies have allergies right now.”
I prefer the take-it-as-it-comes approach. Sickness is part of life. I feel like the effort of getting through it is far less than the effort that most people exert to avoid it. But that doesn’t mean I won’t whine. I will always whine. Waaahhh.
You make me sick! April 8, 2008
Part of my weekday (and sometimes weekend) morning ritual is watching the Today Show. A few weeks ago they featured a story about some medical research, and the subject is still on my mind. The research concluded that children who had anxious or depressed parents are more likely to get sick. I obviously don’t have children, but knowing about them is definitely part of my job. I actually have an auto-immune disease (lupus), so I know how much stress can affect the immune system. When I started contemplating how this would affect children and families, it made total sense. As adults, we often over-dramatize the events of our lives. Sometimes it is for no other reason than entertainment value. The trouble is that kids have very abstract minds; they hear our voices and feel the tension. They may not know that the issue is not all that serious. They feel the stress, and their immune system just weakens. With that in mind, it’s amazing that the kids are as healthy as they are! So to all you parents, if you don’t mind taking advice from a non-parent, watch your stress levels around the kiddos. I will, too, and maybe we’ll all be healthier.
If you want to read more, here is an article.
Fried Green Tomatoes April 7, 2008
Although I do not have a thick accent, and I do not like county music at all, I am Southern. There are a few times when this is clearly evident. Here are some examples:
1. The laser show at Stone Mountain Park. I don’t know what happens to me, but when “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” starts up, I am slapping my knee and yee-hawing like I mean it. I know every word. Let’s not even mention the moment when the Generals take their hats off and ride off the side of the mountain and the sword breaks and the states come back together. . .it’s beautiful. If there was an Oscar category for brilliance in laser technology on gigantic pieces of granite, then the laser show would totally win.
2. The singing of hymns. I know this admission may make me unpopular, but I still love to sing them. I was raised as a Southern Baptist, and there is just something comforting about a four-verse, four-part harmony. Sometimes a hymn will sneak into a modern worship service and masquerade as a Chris Tomlin, Steve Fee, whoever is popular original, but I know the truth. And I know the alto part.
3. Fried Green Tomatoes. I admit that I did not grow up eating these. I think if most Southerners are honest, no one really ate them until after the movie. However, now that I can cook them, I feel more Southern. Most folks use cornmeal to bread them, but this is not the best way. Nor is it the tastiest. Let me share my method with you. I learned this superior recipe from Cathy Mc. First, crunch up some Ritz crackers. Sprinkle in some cayenne pepper to taste. Beat an egg. Slice the green tomato as thin as you can. Dip the slice in the egg, then the cracker crumbs, then back in the egg, then back in the cracker crumbs. Then smack it down in the pan of hot oil. Flip it when it gets brown. Enjoy.
These are just a few of the things that show my Southern-ness. Can anyone identify?
The Movie Game April 3, 2008
This is a post that I wrote a while ago, and I’ve been saving it for a rainy day. Well, it’s raining. It’s a movie game passed on from Wendy. I list ten movie quotes, and you guess what movie it’s from. No cheating by looking it up on the internet. You just have to know it. Then you can post quotes on your site, too. Doesn’t that sound fun? Here goes.
1. “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” The Princess Bride – Chrissy, Joy and Sean
2. “You’re wearing a sparkly! Can I have it? Can I?” The Secret of NIMH – Wendy
3. “Well, red usually means “Caution,” or “Beef” if it’s a bouillon cube.” Toys – Debbie
4. “Someone has to save our skins. Into the garbage chute, fly boy.” Star Wars – Chrissy and Sean
5. “Ahh, a bear in his natural habitat – a Studebaker.” The Muppet Movie – Tami
6. “What about breakfast?”
“You’ve already had it.”
“We’ve had one, yes. What about second breakfast?” The Fellowship of the Ring – Chrissy, Joy and Sean
7. “You are fart factory, cheesy, scab picked, pimple squeezing finger bandage. A week old maggot burger with everything on it and flies on the side.” (I don’t really expect anyone to know this one, but isn’t it hilarious?) Hook – Good job, Kyle!
8. “Until mankind is peaceful enough not to have violence on the news, there’s no point in taking it out of shows that need it for entertainment value.” Clueless – Chastity
9. “You know, there’s like a boat-load of gangs at this school. This one gang kept wanting me to join because I’m pretty good with a bow staff.” Napoleon Dynamite – Chrissy and Sean
10. “It is not our abilities that show what we truly are. It is our choices.” Harry Potter (Chamber of Secrets) – Amy
I’m going to add one rule – you can only guess one. Otherwise my sister will answer all of them, and no one else will get to play. So choose the one that you think is most obscure and go for it. As each one is guessed I will cross it off the list. Then make your own list on your site!
Amazing Sunday April 1, 2008
Our first Sunday in our new home with our new format was awesome. It felt so good to create something from start to finish. I can’t say enough about the volunteers that gave entire days to the cause. KidsPointe looked amazing, and the kids were in awe. They even paid better attention because of the stage and the lights – it was more than I could have hoped for. I messed up a little on the cues, but at least we know there is room for improvement. I want to hear from you! KidsPointe team – what did you think? Parents – what was the reaction from your kiddos?
