Family Ministry

You Are The Best!

Often times as parents, we don't know what to do, how to do it, or if we are ever going to get it right. Ever feel like you mess up more than you get it right?  I certainly do. 

This week, as I was surfing the internet, I came across this blog post .  It is a very simple post, nothing profound, but as I read it, I was reminded that God chose me to be the parent of my children, what I do as a parent matters, and showing them my attempts to follow Jesus is one of the best gifts I could ever give them. 

I am not perfect. I do mess up more than I get it right. I don't have all the answers, but I can show my kids how much I need Jesus.  And they desperately need me to do that. 

Check it out. Hopefully it will remind you how much you matter and that God picked YOU to parent those special kids living at your house!

Child Dedication

 
Child Dedication is an opportunity to celebrate a young child and dedicate yourself as parents to “train up” your child in a way that will honor God. Child Dedication is more than an event. It is an opportunity for you to take some time at the beginning of your journey as a parent to really think about what will matter the most in the life of your child, to decide what you value and what you can do today to have the greatest impact on your child's future.

No one will have more influence on your child than YOU! We believe that what happens at home is more important than what happens at church. It is our hope that we can partner with you from the very beginning. We want to be your strongest supporters as you raise your child to know what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

To participate in our next event, you must attend a parent orientation at your campus, please click here  to register.  These orientations will be held the week of January 23rd. Cedar Falls will host their next dedication on January 28th at 3:30 pm. Osage and Waterloo will schedule their child dedication at your parent orientation meeting. 

New Year's Holiday Services

Please note that there will NOT be a 9 a.m. service at our Cedar Falls Campus this weekend, January 1. All other services will held at their normal times at all of our campuses.

Also, there is no kidventure (k-5th) programming.  This is a great opportunity for your elementary children to participate with and observe you in a normal worship service.

Happy New Year everyone!

Christmas Traditions

We all have Christmas traditions. This month, I thought I would share one of my families' traditions with you. A way that we enjoy the season and have more opportunities to talk about the real meaning of Christmas.

Each year, we wrap 12 Christmas stories.  There are a lot of children's Christmas books that tell the Christmas story or share about someone discovering the true meaning of Christmas.  For the twelve days before Christmas, each night we unwrap one of our stories and read them before bed.  The last book is read on Christmas Eve and on Christmas morning before the presents are opened, we read the Christmas story from the bible.

For our family, this is a lot of fun and reminds us each day to talk about what we are celebrating. Trust me our children do not let us forget to unwrap a book!

I encourage you as a family to make some memories together as you remind your children what we are celebrating.  Many of you have amazing ways you celebrate! In fact, we'd love it if you'd share some of your traditions with us. Post a comment with your Christmas traditions! You might just inspire another family to start something new that will be meaningful for them. 

 

Christmas Greed

How do you make sure that you don’t inadvertently fuel greed in your family this Christmas? Here is a great blog post from Carey Nieuwhof on this topic. Check it out!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

This month we've been teaching your child that God gave us Jesus!

We know the holiday season can get really busy, and it can be tough to find opportunities to celebrate with your kids the true meaning of Christmas. So we wanted to make it easy for you!

Every preschooler loves to bake! They love helping you in the kitchen. Plan a family fun night. Gather everyone in the kitchen, and let them help you bake a birthday cake and decorate it. Then, decide together when when you will have a party to celebrate Jesus' birthday.  Maybe it will be part of your Christmas Eve celebration or maybe it will be the centerpiece dessert on Christmas Day.

Whatever you decide, make sure you take time to talk to your children about the birth of Jesus, God's only Son. Sing Happy Birthday and celebrate Jesus! 

Star Ornaments!

All month long, we are celebrating Jesus birthday!  Here is a fun activity you can do at home with your children.  

Here is what you do: Click here  for some birthday stars you can print.  Decorate them with your child, poke a hole in the top, and use string or an ornament hook to hang them up!

What you say:  What shape is this? (point to star) That's right! It is a star!  In the Christmas story, after Jesus was born, the wiseman followed a bright star in the sky all the way to Jesus' house to give Him gifts. They gave Him gifts because Jesus was a very special baby. He was God's son!  God gave us Jesus because he loves us very much. Let's decorate these stars and put them on our tree so we can see the stars and remember that Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birthday! 

Wee Kids Welcomes Darla Popken!

Wee Kids is excited to introduce to you a new member of our team, Darla Popken. Darla will leading Wee Kids programming at our Osage Campus!  To learn more about Darla, be sure to check out Pastor Chip's blog post this week!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

This December we will celebrate with our children that God gave us Jesus. God loves us SO much that He sent His Son to live among us and ultimately die for our sins. We will tremble with Mary as she hears of her coming child. We will give thanks with Mary and Joseph when they find a stable in which to deliver their first child. We will rejoice with the angels who came to deliver the good news. We will honor our Savior with gifts along with the wise men. As we work through the amazing Christmas story, we will celebrate the most amazing gift of love ever given, God’s Son Jesus.

We will have a special parent take home this month—a birthday party for Jesus! We will tell you more about that later this month. 

Click here for this month's Parent Cue to help you include God in your daily rhythm and reinforce what your child learns on the weekend. It's easy stuff, we promise. Take a look!

 Be sure to check back each week as we share more ways to celebrate Jesus's birthday!

Boys vs. Girls

Recently, I read a couple of blog posts relating to issues of self worth that boys face and that girls face. Both posts had some really insightful thoughts and great reminders. I thought I'd share them with you:

Raising Strong Men

Raising Beautiful Girls

Check them out!