In your free time.
Parents, we know you are busy, but we have a few resources to recommend.
Every week for about 15 minutes, you can check out David Dwight and Nicole Unice on a new podcast series called Becoming.
It’s free, will probably leave you laughing, and is a perfect download to listen to in a carpool lane or in those few quiet moments you find during the week.
Also, this will take a little more of your time, but will definitely be worth it. Parents of preschoolers, this will be a terrific resource for you. Janet Carter, a Certified Parent Coach in the John Rosemond Leadership Parenting Institute and Hope member, is offering a class for parenting in the preschool years. Please stop by Adventure Woods for a flier with more information, dates, and locations.
We LOVE what you have to say…
We love the Facebook updates on the Zone page, but it was a recent note on the Hope Church page has us really excited this week. A fellow Hope Church Page follower said “Am being smacked in the face by the Meet Me at the Table verse for this month. ‘Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. James 1:19’” When we pray over what to put in the Meet Me at The Table cards, we really hope that parents and kids will find life in those words. To see that happen is a blessing.
Please visit our newly created Zone page for updates and photos of all the fun happening in the multipurpose room. Yes, you might be surprised by some of the things you see, such as a chicken chucker and life size angry birds. All of these fun activities are a part of the bigger picture of kids being able to find life and purpose in Christ at Hope. We love that kids are finding joy on a Sunday morning. And to see them during worship time, teaching and small group time…the fact that they are truly involved and a part of what is happening makes every bit of effort worth it for our volunteers. We hope our Sunday morning fun translates into growth for your family.
Here is a link to our February Meet Me at The Table. Enjoy!
Survey says….
Hope’s Mission: Offering experiences, relationships and places where people can find life and purpose through Jesus Christ.
Part of my morning routine, somewhere between making breakfast for 2 kids and wrestling a 3 year old into his clothes for the day, is a moment or two for checking the Facebook statuses of friends. Today I was struck by how the two most frequent updates were related to lack of sleep from caring for their children last night and the love of a morning cup of joe. I guess it is clear that most of my peers are trying to survive the early years of parenting. When asked what helps young parents find life, they might be inclined to suggest caffeine and a moment of quiet away from their kids. I know from my own experience.…Give me 20 minutes alone in a Starbucks with my bible and I am a new woman. This leads me to wonder what experiences, relationships, and places help you find life and purpose in Jesus?
As a team in The Big Adventure, we use this mission statement to guide the choices we make for families. We really want Hope Church to be a place where you and your whole family can find life and purpose in Jesus. Apparently it is, because you are continuing to come and you are bringing your friends! Meg, Lisa, and all the faithful Big Adventure volunteers have great anticipation and excitement over what God is doing in the lives of families. It isn’t the numbers that help prove TBA is a thriving children’s ministry, but they are an indicator that some of you are finding life here. The Zone is busting at the seams this January. We had a record number of kids two weeks ago with 175 K-5th grade kids that morning. But that record was blown out of the water the next Sunday with a total of 205 K-5th graders. Add that to the 138 kids in the Adventure Woods and you have a whole lot of fun happening in The Big Adventure.
But it isn’t just the numbers that makes us excited. It is knowing that those 343 kids are hearing God’s word and building relationships that will grow them into men and women of faith. It is knowing parents are being challenged to consider what their identity is found in and to throw out the traditional expectations in favor of God’s truth. Parents, you are making it personal and your family will be better for it. Life will not be without challenges, but you will have opportunities for growth. That is a terrific collision of family and church.
We want Hope to continue to be a place where you find life and purpose in Jesus. And as exciting as it is to have 340+ kids singing, learning, and connecting in The Big Adventure on a Sunday morning, we know that our rooms can only hold so many kids at one time. There is a tipping point when space becomes cramped and our morning becomes stressful for our volunteers and the parents who are trusting us with their kids. We know the time is approaching when we need to create another slot for families to enjoy The Big Adventure.
The discussion is open right now and we would like to invite you to join it. If we were to provide a Sunday morning experience(full children’s ministry during a worship and sermon time) what would serve your family best? We have considered Saturday night, Sunday night, Sunday morning, or a weekday evening? We would really appreciate your feedback and letting us know which one of these times works for your family. We know there is no perfect answer, but we want to be able to continue to grow with what God is doing at Hope. He is bringing people and we want to serve those people well. Please share your comments and keep the conversation going…
New Meet Me at The Table Format
What will you find in our 2012 Meet Me at The Table?
Parent Time- just for parents, to give you tools to help your family grow.
Family Time- our virtue, verses, and voices from our curriculum.
Memory Time- a verse for your family to memorize together.
Here is a link to the January MMaTT or you can pick up a copy at the Adventure Woods or Zone welcome desks. We would love to have your input and comments. Please share with us how your time at the table is going in 2012!
Embracing Family Moments
Happy New Year from The Big Adventure!
We hope you have had a chance to pick up our new Meet Me at the Table and are embracing a New Year’s challenge of eating together as a family more often. Here is a link to the newest copy and a little story from my family to yours.
*****
My children discovered a new favorite football movie, Facing the Giants, over the holiday break. For those of you who haven’t seen it, it is a great family movie, despite the low budget and no-name actors. After the fourth time of viewing it, my children had happily embraced the message and truth. And after the fourth time, mommy was ready to hide the dvd. But I was happy that they were enjoying the positive message. At one point in the film, the coach tells his team that “If we win, we praise God. If we lose, we praise God.” Good stuff.
Skip ahead to a few days after Christmas and our usual trip to the Henrico dump to dispose of our holiday trash and attic clean-out. In the process of throwing out boxes, my engagement ring made its way into a truck sized dumpster. As soon as we discovered that it was missing, we made plans with the staff at the dump to arrive back the next day at 7:30am to dig through the dumpster in search of my ring. That evening at the dinner table we were prompted by our son to pray that we might find my jewelry the next morning. During the prayer, I said something along the lines of “no matter what happens, we trust You God.” My 5 year old perked up and quickly made the connection between what I prayed and his favorite part of the movie. “Mommy, we could say…If we find the ring, we praise God. If we don’t find the ring, we praise God.” I was deeply moved by the moment and realized that my child had just spoken great truth to me.
That next day, while I stood at the top of the Henrico dump, freezing cold with tears of frustration streaming down my face, I was given hope by those words my son spoke. Despite hours of digging and searching, we never found my ring, but I believe we have gained something worth more than all the diamonds in the world. Even in the tough times, my family was united. We didn’t shelter our children from the frustration we were experiencing, but we embraced it as a moment to grow together. And thankfully we took time to listen to our children, because it was their words that had us remembering all that we have to be thankful for, even in tough times. We were given a gift of truth through our children and it was a moment at the table that gave us the strength to persevere.
I do not know what your New Year is like and what your family is dealing with as we move into 2012. In the grand scheme, a lost ring is so minor in comparison to some of the pain and suffering people are experiencing around us. But I encourage you to go through it with your family. Invite your kids into the good and the bad. Talk about what God is teaching you and listen to what they have to say about His truth. This is what keeping the end in mind is about. Faith isn’t about our current circumstances, no matter how painful they are, but remembering that God will work through our lives in ways that we can’t even begin to imagine.
In facing a time of trial in Daniel 3:16-18, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego said these words as they were about to be thrown in a fiery furnace. “17If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Basically, this was the lesson we were learning at our dinner table. Whether we survive our trials, win the game, find the ring….or not, no matter what He is worthy of praise. I believe that God is doing something big in our hearts, even through our suffering, and He can do the same for you.
Today, let’s begin embracing those moments of family time together.