I've been thinking about this every time I sit and play gin rummy with my mom, a devout Presbyterian. She doesn't gamble - doesn't believe in it and I understand that the very concept of card playing is controversial but bear with me.

You are dealt a hand, given resources. Then you are offered more resources. You get to pick and choose whether or not you use them, save them, or get rid of them. Sometimes you work with a partner. As you do this, you may find that different combinations are worth more or less to you, depending on what the other folks use up, save, or discard...

Just a teachable moment that I'd never really thought about. My mom loves board games. Though it's gotten harder for her to focus, she still plays one card game. My kids love to play either... Me, not so much. When we 're small we learn about life through pretending and the games we play as well as our real life experiences...As we get older, play takes different forms. An odd way to think about stewardship, but I was thinking about stewardship.

I think I blogged a while back about touch. Let's add dogs and touch.

Here  [The link won't take you there anymore. She wrote an excellent post on training your kids and "stranger danger." Not sure where it went. More recently (2014) she posted about touch.] is a profound blog post about pets and touch by, yes, a dog person Sarah Wilson - someone I greatly respect for her technique and expertise. 

In the world of therapy dogs there is a growing group of ministry dogs - therapy dogs in yet another venue. Therapy dogs are dogs trained to visit people in nursing homes and other institutional settings. They usually visit with their owners who are trained volunteers. Sometimes their owners are professional teachers, counselors, pastors. The dog (and person) must be good with people, other visiting dogs and animals and the sights, sounds, smells  and activities in nursing homes, schools, and similar institutions and situations. There is also a R.E.A.D dog program where kids can read to therapy dogs who are particularly good with children in a non-judgemental environment.

If you have a dog who is particularly good with people and more specifically kids, google "therapy dogs," "R.E.A.D. dogs, or "ministry dogs" you'll find lots of interesting information. The progression is obedience training so you can pass the AKC Canine Good Citizen test with your dog, then there is Therapy Dog training/test, and more specialized R.E.A.D dog training. If your dog is socially" bomb-proof" (calm with people, dogs, cats, and new or crazy situations) and he/she listens to you you'll whizz through the training! If your dog already goes to work with you and loves everyone, you're already there!

I've also recently re-read Vickie Hearne's book Adam's Task. She was a writer, philosopher, horse & dog trainer. The first time I read her book I found it the most frustrating book ever. All the things I wanted her to keep talking about, she didn't. On the second read I caught the part where she said she did it intentionally.

So God created a world, then he created man and gave him dominion over what he created along with the privilege of naming. Not just the authority but the privilege.

What does it mean when you give something un-named, a name?

Sidebar:

Pondering "Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God." To be a peacemaker - a real peacemaker, someone capable of changing how people think, feel, behave for the long term - requires superpower!

If you want LOTS of great ideas for kids get yourselves on Pinterest. It's visual but the links will send you back to the source. People "pin" pics from sites they like. I wasn't all that interested in yet another virtual distraction but it really is a gold mine for ideas.

My first impression was that it was about materialism and consumerism but it doesn't have to be. I started making boards for things I care about and it wasn't about consumerism (for me).

I recently saw a teacher's board FULL of kid ideas, crafts, books. Very very cool!!

Check it out. You can probably also use it as yet another source for networking if you haven't already!

I had a friend who used to read a different version of the scriptures when he read through the Bible each year. I've been using Holman's translation lately. You have to love children to minister to children but if you are going to teach the life-giving scriptures need to filter, feed and fill every fiber of your being, myself included.

If you looked up stories about hate (see previous post), did you look up stories about love? mercy? compassion? If you do a word study, read the story around the passage. Or see how many stories you can think of where God demonstrated His love, mercy, compassion and that's what the scriptures say is happening. Where are the stories in scripture about hate? Check out those stories.

Ecclesiastes 3 is full of contrast - a time for this, a time for that ... not just love and hate. The scriptures confirm that, but have you ever taken each of these and searched the scriptures for the "when"?

birth/death
plant/uproot
kill/heal
tear down/built up
weep/laugh
mourn/dance
throw stones/gather stones (Jesus had a story about that)
embrace/avoid embracing
search/count as lost
keep/throw away
tear/sew
be silent/speak
love/hate
war/peace

How many of these can you find in the scriptures? How many did Jesus talk about? What did He say?

Welcome back Followers' page!

We hit 10,000 this week! Six years of blogging. If that brings 10,000+ people (and the kids they work with) a little closer to Jesus, I'm happy.

This is the St. Patrick's Breastplate Prayer.

I like the lines,"Christ in hearts of all that love me," because it's a prayer for the people you grow relationships with whether they believe today or not. And this - "Christ in mouth of friend and stranger" Yes, and we know the Celtic and Roman churches had their falling out...sigh...

Can't find it right now but more than a hundred years ago a man wandered some islands in the North Sea (Scottish, I believe - Hebrides, maybe?) collecting the folk songs and prayers their isolated community had said for generations...prayers and spiritual songs for every event of the day, every kind of work, acknowledging God and His Christ and His Holy Spirit. Scripture talks of psalms, hymns & spiritual songs and praying without ceasing. (Some communities do that and don't write them down or neccessarily use the same songs or prayers over and over) They were people who expected Christ Jesus to walk through their day with them every day and acknowledged Him there ... I'm guessing that faith communities of every culture and subculture have tools that they use to keep their faith alive, some systems more rigid, some more fluid.

Scripture tells us that if Christ is lifted up He'll draw all men to Himself. How do we do that day by day, moment by moment, even without a word?

Colossians 1:9-10
". . . We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing [to Him], bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God." (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

This is from Australia.  I thought it was interesting - an astute observer. You may have access to other thoughts like this, and this is a year old so you can read it and look back at the past year all at the same time. This particular site seems not to be scaremongering.

Do you ponder the patterns you see in families and children you work with and how it affects your interaction and a child's faith?
 

I routinely search the referrals on my site meter to see where people come from and/or what they are looking for.

Here is a resource site that I may have posted long ago but they have a FB page: The Child Theology group. Lots of post-ers. Lots of followers. Downloads.


Happy Resurrection Sunday weekend, people!! Now, off to find out what's happening w/emerging kids on FB. . .

Have you seen this? When I opened up AOL to chat, this was in the news. AND as of this post, there are 207 comments. :-)

We Made the Top 100 Children's Ministry Blogs! Ok. The only reason I know is because when lots of people on my site meter come from the same site I go and see what they're saying about us. This was a neat surprise! The badge is cool but I guess they recalculate each year. If I don't put it up, I don't have to take it down again... :-)

The big reason to click on the above link, out of 100 sites, there's bound to be one you haven't seen yet - lots I haven't seen . . . Enjoy!

If you regularly frequent my site, thanks for coming! :-)

I orginally learned this verse from the NAS. "Let us know...let us press on to know the Lord..." I was surprised to see the NIV "Let us acknowledge the Lord...let us press on to acknowledge the Lord..." Guess the NIRV wins with both though a little less poetic:

(Hosea 6:2-3 NIRV) ^"Let's recognize him as the Lord.
Let's keep trying to really know him.
You can be sure the sun will rise.
And you can be just as sure the Lord will appear.
He will come to renew us like the winter rains.
He will be like the spring rains that water the earth."

Emergent Conversations in Denominations

As usual, I'm a little behind the times on this one if you look at the dates the articles on the sites here were originally posted. But the other day, I came upon an Emergent blogger from the Church of Christ. Then I found an rather large Emergent network in the Presbyterian church. Artisan is an Evangelical Covenant Church. Being the curious creature that I am I went looking at other denominations wondering if every denomination has an Emergent contingency. If so, does that make what's happening something different than just a "conversation" or a "movement?"

So here is an interesting list of "Emergent" cohorts, statements, conversations, or blogs (disclaimer: that may or may not be representative of individual denominations) for those of you who may be wrestling with this. I'm sure there are more. Some are individual bloggers, some are networks within denominations. Some are strong, what I would consider very well-written, clear observations about those who call themselves "Emergent". Check a denomination's website or just search the name of the denomination + Emergent church and see what you find. If you feel drawn to a particular denomination but also feel strongly about some of the areas that Emergent churches seem to focus on, this gives you a chance to investigate, ask questions, network a little or make contacts.

Presbyterians

This guy is an individual blogger with 3+ posts specifically wrestling with similarities and differences between the emergent church & the Church of Christ from his perspective.

Evangelical Covenant Church - scroll down to the end of the article. (Artisan is an ECC church.)

Anglicans & Episcopalians. The way I understand it, Anglicans and Episcopals are different but you will find both here. (When you get there, scroll down)

Methodist

one Baptist perspective (Ed Stetzer, Baptist Press) and another (William Lloyd Allen at Mercer).

this very recent conference included Catholic participants. I'd venture to guess this is just a beginning.

an interesting video from the Ooze with Phyllis Tickle* + comments.

some resources from Ryan Bolger, a professor at Fuller Theological.

livingroom.org (Darren Rowse in Melbourne Austrailia) which I think was or is a House Church movt blog. This was the initial blog post. Again, you'll have to search for the follow up post.

Non-denominational and autonomous churches, from my experience, are a mixed bag like anything else even if they love Jesus, the Word, and each other depending on the people, internal leadership model, outside networking, involvement in the greater community. Apologies, but my comfort level with non-denomination/autonomous models (in general) is less now than it was 30 years ago.

Does being associated with (or breaking away from) long-established Christian denominations give a movement or "conversation" more or less credibility? Not sure. What do you think? Our choices as adults ultimately impact our children.

*Phyllis Tickle's book for children

1/25/10 Emerging Spirit (an arm of the the United Church of Canada)

2/17/10 Emergent Pentacostal they also include some of denominations above. Not sure if the websites are the same.

2010

The year of our Lord 2010 is right around the corner.

May we continue to grow in wisdom and in the knowledge of God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)
and of His Christ
through His Word,
and through His people
as we walk and work with Him
in this world of His that He loves.
Individually and collectively
May we learn to love the way He does.

"bad kids"

Another search - bless the site meter...just kidding, although it's very nice when technical and mechanical things (like snow blowers) work the way they're supposed to . . . Thank you, Lord!

The search words: "Scriptures for bad kids"...hmmmmm. . . I'm not saying there aren't bad kids. Today the real definition for that is more profound than it used to be but let's put a different spin on it.

God had bad kids. Sometimes we are God's "bad kids" . . .

How about instead of looking for scriptures for "bad kids," we go looking for stories in scripture about God's "bad kids" & ponder God's response. Understand, as well that there were many different social and family-centered expectations and controls in the various Biblical cultures- very different than what we have today.

The stories that immediately spring to mind are the Prodigal Son, David, Jonah, Adam, Eve, Esau, Isaac, 2 out of 3 of Noah's sons, Joseph's brothers, Moses, Miriam, Aaron, Judah, Judas' daughters, Peter . . . Can you think of others?

Not that "bad kids" will want to hear stories about God's "bad kids" . . .

So we look at the scriptures for us: "pray without ceasing."

We entreat God for the grace and wisdom to demonstrate "the steadfast love of the Lord" that "never ceases". (Enjoy the cross references) We find solace in God's promises and the pictures He's given us that show us who He is and what He's capable of even if our faith is no bigger than a mustard seed.

Once a non-denominational charismatic evangelical, I can probably still rattle off a list of great books about prayer warriors. But more and more I find myself returning to the prayer Jesus taught His disciples when they asked Him to teach them to pray.

"Our Father . . . thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven . . ." That's what Jesus ultimately prayed in the Garden, though He seriously asked God for a different outcome.

Then you watch and wait and one day you look and realize that God answered that prayer and you say, wow - that was Your will. Bless Your Name, Lord God.

We throw around the word, "awesome." No, God is awesome. Never underestimate the power of God's love. Never underestimate the power and authority that Jesus had to forgive and to heal. Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." "That which I see My father doing, I do." How did He demonstrate that when He walked on this earth? Teacher, Healer. . . How do we model who He is and what He did (what He does) so even "bad kids" can see Father, Son & Holy Spirit working in and through us?

Check these out

From Followers: Blogs I Follow...

podcast at somethingbeautifulpodcast.com - Julie Clawson's book EVERYDAY JUSTICE.


advent poetry blog. Anybody who loves Madeline L'Engle and George McDonald has my vote.

Rebus and beyond

I really like having a site meter.

Somebody was looking for a Christmas Rebus story. Rebus stories are a little tricky. The pictures are usually a character, place or thing ie. a noun. Not sure you can show action with a very simple repeatable picture. Maybe. Your describing words and prepositions, probably not.

Then all the words in between should be easy to read for new readers or in a context that would make them easy to figure out. Could be a fun project with power point or an easel with color copies of the pics you're using. You could use flannel, too.

It might also be fun to let the kids create their own Christmas rebus stories. Show them how to make a rebus and then turn them loose with paper and markers or copies of christmas scenes to cut and paste. Maybe you have cut out words to add between the pictures to paste in sequence. Or maybe you have pictures to paste in sequence with space to fill in (write) words.

Maybe you make it a very long Rebus that your class creates for a younger class to "read" & hang around their room.

And here is an idea from a writing class I took once. Using props to trigger a memory, write or draw a story about a Christmas from your past. Possible props: A smell (cinnamon or pine), an object (candle, ornament, pine bough), a sound (a jingle bell, a Christmas song,) something to touch or taste.

Put on your creative thinking cap and have fun with it.

I can never spell cinnamon...but guess what! Naamon in in there if you misspell Namon with one A - ha ha

Bulletin I finally remember because of "bullet" and "tin". Random, I know. But I spell it correctly more than I used to.

bible study tools online & random rambling

I was missing the Study Tools feature at Bible Gateway but I found one! biblestudytools.com: interlinear Bibles, lexicons, and such. I was looking up "Counselor" in Isaiah 9 and "Counselor/Comforter" in John 14.

This is an aside: My daughter and I were just talking about the difference between working online and holding an old recipe or a cookbook in your hand. A few days earlier we were talking about kids, wondering what if they didn't have access to electricity or technology and how easy it would be to see tactile media (books, magazines, etc) disappear. I told her, if you ever have kids and I'm not around, make sure they know how to survive without electricity and technology. Sound far-fetched? Maybe. Maybe not.

We definately get to practice when there's a power outage but what if it all goes down globally? When the ATM's don't work and the power doors don't open? Did you ever go to a grocery store when the machines were down and have a cashier who didn't know how to make change or even know how to handle money? There are definately people working hard to make sure that doesn't happen but still . . .

Hopefully it will remain only a "what if" for science fiction writers. The more challenging sci fi prompt would be to put God in the story. I'm guessing He wouldn't be quick to turn the power on.

another (random) activity for Jesus walking on the water

If you decide to use a little science for a scripture like the story of Jesus walking on the water (not to take away from the miracle of it) there is a book - a series of books to look at. When the kids were younger we found a book for making insects with moving parts and such. I THINK this is the book but I can't look inside so I don't know. If I remember correctly one of the insects was a water strider - the insect that walks on top of the water. It was a very cool hands-on book for kids (crafts and facts). If this is in fact the book, turns out there is a whole series of books like that.

Story photos and images

Someone was looking for an "angel and Cornelius photo." At first I laughed. Not because they were looking for a picture but a photo. But then I got to thinking why not? If and when you do skits or plays with adults (or children) why not stage photos that you can use later to tell the story? It's probably much harder and more time consuming than it sounds but it would make for an interesting approach to Bible storytelling. You also have Powerpoint. Some of you might think of the business possibilities but it's no small task to get the pictures the way you want them to tell the story.

It's the opposite of the approach I like from Young Children In Worship where the figures have no faces because it's a sacred story and faceless figures allow you to see with different eyes or use your imagination.

If you really want to play you could put your story photos on Photoshop and make them faceless photos. It might be eerie but it might work. I have no idea.

Just an idea to play with. If you decide to try it, let me know what happens.