Rauch Adoption Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Many of you may know that we have been praying about adoption for some time now.  We have always considered adoption as a real option for our family.  We got serious about it when Jon’s sister, Beth, and her husband adopted three awesome kids about ten years ago.  However, we quickly had Elli, Ethan, and Elisha close together, which put adoption on hold until recently.  Over the past few years our church has gotten really involved in caring for children around the world, and that began to stir this calling in us again.  We felt moved as we saw what God was doing through Asia’s Hope (a ministry our church has partnered with to rescue orphans), as we read books and articles about the orphans of the world, and as we heard stories from those in our circles of friends who had adopted.  Last January, we started praying for direction and began to talk with many friends who had adopted to hear about their different journeys.  Through that process of seeking God and counsel, we began to pursue adopting from the country of Ethiopia.  However, this spring we became aware of a need through the Adoption Support Center in Indianapolis, where they currently have more birth moms making an adoption plan than families ready to adopt. This great need for adoptive families right now and right in front of us seemed like an open door we could not turn away from.  That brings us to today.  We have taken all our classes, passed all our background checks and home study, and are approved to adopt as soon as we have all of our finances in order to pay for the adoption.  Once we have all the funds in place, Adoption Support Center will begin to match us with a birth family.  This process will begin the real “wait and see” period of following God’s lead.  We know of some adopting families that currently are waiting months to be matched and we know of some cases that only took a few days! 

To help us pull together the rest of our money, we have the really cool privilege of partnering with Village to Village International, an agency that seeks to help families overcome the prohibitive costs of adopting children.  Our adoption will cost around $24,000, and this agency is allowing us to raise $10,000 through friends and family.  By donating to Village to Village, your gift will be tax deductible at the end of the year, and they will give us 100% of what is given in our account.  We realize everyone has costs associated with having and raising children, so we have been working hard to save all that we can personally.  This boost will give us what we need to realize our goal.  A gift as small as $10 will go a long way if we can get enough people to give.  Of course, those who can give larger gifts will allow us to move ahead quicker.  Thanks for considering us for this need, and thanks for your continued prayer as we move forward in this direction.  This is a huge adventure, and we are thrilled to be walking with Jesus’ help on it.

To give online and to track our progress, go to http://www.villagetovillageintl.com/the-rauch-family-family-47.php or you can also make a check out to Village to Village Intl. and send it to 5046 N Troy St #2 Chicago, IL 60625.  Be sure to include our names on a note with your gift.

We will keep you updated so you can continue to pray as we keep moving forward in the process.  Thanks, again!

Because Jesus Loves Kids,

Jon and Tara—Elli, Ethan, and Elisha

Tough Mudder--Pursuing Goals

Lots of new changes this year for Tara and I (sounds a little bit like every year:).  Back at the holidays, the calendar was getting ready to turn over to 2011, and Tara and I were talking through our goals for this year.  One of the goals I put down was to train for some kind of running/challenge event.  Fitness has been a regular part of our lives since we've been married, but I have never been a runner.  This was going to be something new and out of my comfort zone.

Back a few months, our staff at Grace decided to do the Tough Mudder event together.  It's a 12 mile race that includes like 20 extreme obstacles--such as, running through a field of fire, jumping off a cliff into 37 degree water, climbing over hills, crawling face down in mud under barbwire and lots of other neat ideas some sick people have come up with.  The scariest part for me was the running, because I had never run more than 3.5 miles at one time.  We've been training for a few months already and it's been fun to be able to add distance each week.  Most of my teammates have run half-marathons or full marathons before, so I've had a lot of good coaching and challenging from them.  Each time I get done, I feel like I could keep running more.  It's cool how God made our bodies to work when we discipline them.

This morning we ran a 7 mile run together, using headlamps and flashlights because it was still dark when we started.  It included running upstream on a creek that ranged from ankle to waist high deep water.  What a blast!  It wasn't quite 37 degrees, but still good training for what we'll do come November 20.

Pick up the OT and read Joshua--it's all about this man and people who did things they hadn't done before.  It's inspiring and it's powerful.  God may be calling you to trust Him to walk into new territory right now.  Go for it!  "Be strong and courageous!"--Joshua 1:7

Daily Audio Bible for Kids

One of my buddies in small group has been listening to a Bible app on his phone lately while he reads it.  In fact, I got a text from him early this morning that simply read "What does 'they hamstrung their horses' mean?"  Our small group is reading through Joshua in the Bible right now, and I had read that part yesterday, so I knew what he was asking about--otherwise, I'd probably have been confused by such a question.

Church research shows over and over that after a period of time, if a Christian doesn't begin a discipline of personal time with God reading the Bible and praying, their growth stalls and they become stagnant.  It's just not enough to come to church and let someone else "feed" us--we need to learn to feed ourselves or we'll starve.

Why not help your child begin a daily habit while they are still young?  I recently came across a really cool tool for kids (mostly 8-12 year olds are using it, but whole families could, too) at www.dailyaudiobiblekids.com.  A ten year old, China, and her brother, Max, read a portion of Scripture every day and your student can listen to it while following along.  Today, I listened to Galatians 1:1-24--pretty cool.  You can also listen to iShine Christian music, join a social network side to it if you want to become a member, and it's all monitored by a real Christian mom:)

Maybe it could be the way they spend their first 5 minutes on the computer each day before they are allowed to look at any other site--just an idea!  Check it out today.  (By the way, my buddy later texted me a definition of what hamstringing a horse is--I'm pretty sure I could never do that.  I don't even like to go in the 4H barn where the calves are being born, but that's just me.)

Kids Lunches

I'm a horrible blogger (which is obvious since I haven't blogged since May) but I want to try again to get started.  I promise I'll do better this time;)

Yesterday, I ate lunch with a 3rd grader from Grace at Orchard View Elementary (thanks, again, for the mini pancakes, Megan:))  I love eating lunch with our kids, because I get to know them and their world in a different way than I can in Kid City.  I even got to interact with a Muslim boy yesterday and hopefully was able to share Jesus' love with him.  Today, I was reading a magazine article ("K Magaizine") about new technology being used in public schools.  Apparently, 5 schools in Texas piloted a program last spring that was able to take digital pictures of a student's tray of food before and after they ate and then report to their parents how many calories they're eating and what healthy options are being left on the tray.

It's a cool idea for sure, well advanced from the lunchroom experience I remember as a kid, but do we need to invest billions of education dollars to let us in on the big secret that today's kids eat too much junk food?  Is that really news to anyone?  Instead of re-analyzing a problem we already know about, we would better use our time and resources to help find a solution!!

That is a lesson for life.  Choose today to stop re-diagnosing all the problems with our lives, our spouses, our kids, our communities, our world, and let's start working and praying for solutions.  Are you a solution focused person?

Coaching the Kids

Like many parents these days, we are spending some time at the local little league or soccer fields.  It's  a lot of fun.  Not only do I enjoy hanging out with all the kids on our team, but it's a great way to build new friendships with the parents, and shine Jesus' light onto others.  Ethan and Elisha play tee-ball for the Grizzlies, and Elli plays softball for the Bandits!

Ethan asked me the other day what college he should play for when he's older...then he asked me if Tara and I will move to wherever he plays professionally, so we can still watch him:)  That's confidence!!

Learning from Other Churches

Over the last 12 years or so that I have been in children's ministry, the greatest ways to learn have been from other churches.  I just can't understand why Christians and churches would ever put each other down--it certainly doesn't please Jesus and it gets in the way of building His kingdom.  I love visiting other churches when I get a chance to talk with the kids, dialogue with the staff, and just observe whatever I can.  It doesn't mean that I'm going to take everything I see back to my home church or agree with every belief another church has, but there is something to learn from a church that God is blessing.

I was in Dallas this past week for a leadership conference (Catalyst) and CE National Board Meetings.  Yesterday morning I got to go to Fellowship Church in Grapevine, TX--FC Kids has thousands of kids in their ministries on the weekend!  I had a great time hanging out with one of their assistant Children's Pastors and gaining some fresh ideas of how to reach the hearts of kids and parents in today's culture.  Thanks to Fellowship, Alisha, and all their kids for their great hospitality!

Thank You Church Janitors Everywhere!

Being a Children's Pastor is a risky enterprise.  Like teachers or pediatricians (or just your average mom), you're around germs all the time, so you're way more likely to get sick than the average human being.  Without doing any research or data gathering, I'm going to estimate that a Children's Pastor is 68% more likely to catch a cold than the average adult in America.  Every year I can count on, at least, one bout with Pink Eye, but I'm getting off point of this entry...

Being a Children's Pastor is a risky enterprise for many reasons, but one main reason is they are Public Enemy #1 of church janitors all across this nation!  I can hear the church janitors yelling now, "Why is there glitter all over the floor?  Wasn't that banned by the church last year?"  "Do the kids eat any of the goldfish they are given, because I just swept up a whole bag full and put them back in the cupboard!"  "Whose idea was it to give the kids silly string?"  "But it was a great illustration of how lies turn into a web that smothers us," answers the CP, ducking for cover around the corner as the silly string comes flying across the room...

CP's need to send "thank you's" to the church cleaning team more often then they do, because they are often the ones left to clean up after a weekend of high-energy, over the top creative, kingdom of darkness battle axing ministry in the children's area.  Thankfully, at Grace, we have an awesome team of Jeff, Jana, and many others that serve our church this way week after week.  They do an awesome job of putting our rooms back together for the next round, and they do their job as unto the Lord.  They are an integral part of our team, and they don't complain as I described in the (not so fictitious) stories above, so from all of us in children's ministries everywhere, "Thank you, to Jeff, Jana, and your posses!"

The Power of Forgiveness

We had a very moving service in Kid City this past weekend.  We're talking about forgiveness this month--a crucial skill/attitude for anyone to learn.  Adults and children that talk with me in counseling situations are hurting for all kinds of reasons--the wide array of all the situations is endless.  However, most of those people aren't able to get past whatever happened because of some slight or major issue with forgiveness (either with themselves or someone else).  Learning to forgive is that big!

We've talked about that with the students the past few weeks.  First, we made a mental list of all the things God forgives us for.  Once we realize how long that list is and how much we hurt God, it makes it a little easier to choose to not make someone else pay for what they've done to hurt us.  This past Sunday we took a fresh look at the story of Zacchaeus from Luke 19--how when Jesus forgave this man, it drastically changed his life.  Someone who was so greedy before was now extremely generous!  We challenged them to realize that if we choose to forgive someone, it might change them, too!  We closed each service giving the students a chance to think of the people/person hardest for them to forgive, to write their name down on a slip of paper, to offer a prayer to God for help to forgive, and then drop it in a bucket as a symbol of letting go of the unforgivness toward that person. 

Not all the students got up--some just sat in their seat and watched, perhaps, because they are good forgivers already or, perhaps, because they weren't ready to forgive.  But many were willing to come forward--some with tears because they have been really hurt by family or peers, but they were ready to try forgiveness.  Perhaps, you could be inspired by their young faith to choose to not make someone pay for how they have hurt you.

Give Kids a Chance

I spend my Monday lunch break hanging out with boys in our local schools.   It's rewarding because it's the one chance I get to just hang out with kids and not have to be in charge of any program or anyone else--my mind and heart can just focus on the boys.  I have found over the years that not only do I get to influence the student I am assigned to, but also his buddies who want to be around me as well.

Last week in Kid City, one of those classmates showed up in the 4th grade room.  Bryce couldn't believe I was a pastor (kids don't usually ask you what your job is) and worked at a church, but he was excited to see me.  In fact, the next day at school he told the whole class about our church and what he had learned (how Jesus died on the cross and what it all meant!!).  He came back this past week on Easter, so I pulled him and another 4th grader in to the large group room before we got started and asked if they would be my stage helpers for the day.   I have learned over the years that people feel a sense of worth when someone believes in them enough to ask them to do what they view as an important task.  All Bryce and Josiah did was to move stuff around on stage before and after games and hand me props when I needed them, but it made a huge difference.  Later that afternoon at the Easter Egg Hunt, Bryce brought his mom over to meet me.  Before he walked away, he leaned in and whispered, "Thanks for letting me help today--that was really cool."

I saw the same look in his eye that I probably had in my eye when one of my professors/mentors at Cedarville, Cheryl Fawcett, asked me to look over a talk she was giving at a conference, because she wanted to know if I thought it flowed well and made sense.  I couldn't believe she was asking for my advice and felt so honored.  (Looking back, I know now she didn't really need it, but she was pouring confidence into me.)  I'll say it again, "People feel a sense of worth when someone believes in them enough to ask the do what they view as an important task."

It's a simple truth, but the more you let your kids know that you believe in them, you'll begin to see positive stuff come out of them you'd never expected.  Bend over to get on their eye level, put your hand on the shoulder, and say, "Hey, I need your help today.  I don't think I can do everything I need to on my own.  Do you think you can ___________?"  Try it--often, kids just need a chance.

Trying to Take it All In

God has moved wave after wave over the last week at Grace, and I'm just trying to take it all in and appreciate it all today.  Last Sunday we collected an offering of $57, 216.00 to build a home for our orphans (no more) in Cambodia--in one day!!  During the week we boxed up 2,416 pairs of and shipped them to Japan via Soles for Souls.  On Friday, we connected with Jesus on a unique level through communion.  I took some pictures, but they're kind of dark--anyway, Jesus said we would blessed for keeping communion and we were.

Then yesterday was Easter!  We had over 700 kids in our kids' ministries yesterday!  We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus; kids gave their hearts to Him--it was incredible!  I was in the middle of it so I didn't get a chance to snap any photos, but I took this one from our balcony of one of the adult services--each person who wanted to accept Jesus flipped a light switch and turned on a light signifying what was happening in their heart.  As you can see, there were so many it just looks like one big light! I think there were 98 total adult decisions.

That wasn't even the end of the day.  Afterward, we had our Easter Egg Hunt.  I don't know how many people were there, but it was packed.  I snapped a shot of the field that Ethan and Elisha were on--this was just the kids age 5 through 1st Grade.  Our Blue Crew got to mingle with so many people from the community.  Ethan and Elli both had classmates at the hunt who we prayed for last night and will invite back to church.  God blew us away again.

I say all this to give praise to God and to help myself not go the next thing without thanking Him first.  I also say this to shout out loud that God still moves through the local church, which is the hope of the world!  I hope you jump in and are a part of all that God is doing in our world.  If not, you may miss out on the very thing you were made for!!

What the Cross Means for Kids

Yesterday in Kid City we talked about the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made on the cross for each of us.  I wanted the kids to really try and process it.  As I talked about the events on that day in history, I passed around rough ropes like the ones that would have been used to tie Jesus up, crowns of thorns like the ones Jesus would have worn, and large nails like the ones that would have been used to hold Him on the cross.

I don't believe there was anything scary presented, and none of the kids showed any fear.  But you should have seen the intensity in some of their eyes.  My goal was to use the sensory learning skills that we all possess, so they could remember this for a long time.  (Like how you can remember the way something felt or smelled years later.)  I wanted the kids to feel some of what Jesus felt, so they could try and grasp how horrible our sin is and the great price Jesus paid.

We closed the morning with the kids taking paper and crayons and writing down their response to what Jesus did for them.  Some of them wrote one word answers like "Grateful" or "Thanks."  Others wrote sentence prayers describing their feelings, and some sketched out pictures to express their emotions.  Then they brought those up front and stapled them to a cross we had in the front of our theatre as a way to honor Christ.  It was a pretty cool morning as many young hearts were stirred in true worship of their Savior.  Can you believe that we all can be forgiven of everything in our past and future because one perfect God-Man sacrificed Himself for us?

Parenting is Hard!

One of the roles I have at our church is meeting with all the potential members coming into our church.  It can be really rewarding hearing all the stories of how God's grace has changed the lives of so many people.  He really is an awesome God!

Yesterday, I talked with two different families--both remarkable stories of grace and both hurting because of  choices made by their adult children.  All of these parents would admit they weren't perfect, but both of them were godly in their parenting and tried to do things the right way.  We can't control our kids and the choices they make--although we wish we could.  It's so rewarding when they follow God, but it's equally devastating when they don't.  Take a moment to pray for the parents and kids you know whose relationship is strained because someone is walking away from God.  There is always hope--no person is EVER too far from God's reach (see Luke 15)!

You can NEVER Outgive God

I had the chance to preach in the adult services yesterday at Grace--something I enjoy, although I must admit I miss seeing the kids.  We're in the middle of a series on Giving, so I shared from the Bible how God will take care of all our needs, which allows us to be generous with our resources, knowing He's got our backs.

God showed Himself faithful again!  After church, our family had lunch together, and I sat on the couch with the boys to watch the Phillies and take a nap before small group.  Tara ran to a store to get some things, including Easter candy so we could fill our family's eggs for our church's upcoming Easter Egg Hunt.   While there, she struck up a conversation with a man buying candy for his nieces and nephews.  She invited him and his family to the egg hunt and to visit our church some time.  He shared he would be out of town on Easter, but he was very moved and, out of nowhere, whipped out a $50.00 bill as a donation toward the hunt!  Then, when they were standing in line, his receipt popped up a $5 off coupon, which he passed to Tara behind him for the candy she was buying!  We ended up paying practically nothing for our candy to fill the eggs for the hunt, and Grace can get extra prizes for the 3,000+ kids coming!  God always does that sort of thing!

Kids Need More than One Voice

Here's a homework assignment for every parent and children's ministry leader.  Sit and watch 30 minutes of TV with your kids, listen to 30 minutes of music with them on a "kid" station, or play 30 minutes of the current popular video game.  Popular media has learned something that Christians would do well to learn as well.  Multiple inputs of information/influence have a much more profound impact than just one!

During that 30 minutes of homework you're doing, listen to the messages being conveyed.  "You deserve the best!"  "This will make you popular and happy!" "Everyone who is anyone has this or is doing this!"  "You can do anything if you just try your best!" and other culturally popular agendas like them come through loud and clear.  The trouble is, these messages are flat out wrong and will destroy the life of whoever chases after them.

Here's the good news!  The same strategy of multiple inputs from popular media can also be used by Christians for incredibly positive results in a kids' life!  Know why?  It was God's design!

God knows that your kids will be dramatically influenced more when they hear the same message over and over, so He designed families and churches to work together to bring up a godly generation.  It doesn't work if you just drop your kids off at church to let them take care of the "God thing."  And it doesn't work if you as parents think you can teach your kids everything they need to know about God.  Both of those extremes are harmful.  Our kids need godly families and a relevant church!

So, 1) turn down the influence of popular media in your kids' lives.  We don't hide our kids from everything out there, so they look and feel like social freaks around friends (I know a few Christians like that, and it's not a pretty sight), but we do set limits on how much and what they are exposed to.  Media is not the best baby-sitter (even though as a parent, I know how tempting it is), because it does affect how your kids think and view the world.

And, 2) turn up the influence of godly people in your kids' lives.  For instance, why don't you start looking for the teachable moments when you can bring God into your kids' worldview.  Also, make sure your kids are plugged in to a relevant, Bible-centered church ministry where others can speak and model truth in front of your kids, too.  Reggie Joiner is famous for rightly saying that every parent needs another godly adult to say the same things they say to their kids.  I'm so glad my kids have other people from our church pouring into them.  Here is a picture that two of Elli's favorite Kid City leaders sent to me after church last week!  Where else but church can you be influenced for Jesus and get wrapped up in a carpet like a taco? :)

These are two pivotal ideas that Christan parents must do in order for their kids to be life-long followers of the Way.  Now, go back and take in another 30 minutes of media with your kids, so you're not that socially freaky Christian!

New Inspiration

The past month or more I have been in a bit of a creative lull (hence not blogging).  It seems I've had to struggle for every little ounce of creativity coming out, but some fresh reading, continued time with God, and challenged thinking has me starting to go again.

What's more is that I've had the privilege of watching God move in the lives of kids--something that always inspires me.  In Kid City this month, we're talking about ways we can live our lives as if other people are more important than we are...humility.  In big church this month, we're talking about giving, which is in the same vein.

On Sunday our adults were challenged to give their shoes they were wearing to be sent to the people of Japan who are homeless (and many shoeless) right now because of the devastation presently there.  Last night the kids that made it to Phase 2 rubber banded all the shoes together in preparation for shipping.  One student even put his dollar inside his shoe "so a Japanese boy could get something special for himself!"  That is putting someone's needs ahead of your own, the kind of gesture that I know makes our Father proud!

Just Say "Yes"

I haven't been very disciplined to blog lately, but I wanted to get something out there today for parents and anyone who hangs out with kids.

Some time last year, I realized that when my kids asked me for permission to do something, my first response was to say "no."  This was for many reasons--I wanted them to be safe, I didn't want to be bothered at the time, I didn't want to spend the money, etc.  (Honestly, it was probably the middle reason more times than not.)   There are all kinds of good reasons to say "no" to lots of ideas kids come up with.  Adults do have responsibilities to care for that keep them busy, but when I realized that was my automatic response most of the time, I knew I had a problem.

I was at a PTO thing at our elementary school recently and was talking to another dad who shared that he is the exact same way, so it got me thinking more about it.  Hearing "no" all the time can be defeating to a child, so once I realized this about myself, I tried to change.  When my kids at home or the kids at church come up with an idea to try, I try to make my first response "yes" and think through how we could do it.  How about you?  Would you like to just say "yes" to your kids more often?
 

Our Kids are Getting It!

It was cool to hear some awesome stories from the kids this past weekend of how they are taking the Kindness Challenges.  Erica shared how she's showing kindness to a friend by talking to her about God; Jocelyn said that she sat at lunch with a girl who always sits by herself, and now she has a new friend; Derick's mom called me on Monday to share how moved he was by the challenge.  Even though he wasn't one of the students to get the $20, he was thinking of using his money to do something similar.  He explained this to her in tears on the drive home from Grace, because just the day before he had been so mad at another boy for picking on him, and now he wanted to show unexpected kindness to that boy!!

God has been showing up in our Kid City services over the past few weeks as kids have been challenged to really live out their faith and have stepped up.  This past Sunday, we talked about using our words to show kindness.  They were all challenged to SAY kind things this week to others unexpectedly.  As a bonus challenge, they were dared to use their words to share their faith and invite someone to church on Sunday.  I'm excited to see what happens this week!

My Valentine

I was thinking about Tara this weekend, knowing that Valentine’s Day was coming up, and a thought really struck me.  There is no one in the world that I know more about than Tara, and there is no one else in the world that knows more about me than her.

In a world that tempts us to think that newer is always better, that happiness will come with the latest model, and that we should always just live for the moment, it’s actually nice to have that constant, steady source of love and comfort.  The truth is that both Tara and I are always changing, so it doesn’t have to get boring.  She and I are two different people from the ones who got married almost 12 years ago.  We’ve grown as individuals, gone deeper in our faith, taken on new ideas and values, pursued different education and ministries, become parents, and have adjusted as parents already several times.  The cool thing is we’ve done it all together, and there is something about that which can’t be replaced.

Tara and I love to laugh at ourselves.  We have so many inside jokes that no one else would ever fully grasp, and I love that.  Elli says we laugh and whisper all the time, and she wants to know what’s so funny.  Hopefully, one day, she will be able to know, too.  Here’s a picture from us in college—a bunch of friends went out on a group date together.  Our first stop was at Goodwill where we all bought our dates the outfits  they had to wear the rest of the night—it was so much fun, and we were so mean to other:)

The memories you make together are a photo album that stick with you forever—I can picture different moments in our life together and still remember how I felt, what was happening, what the smells were, and all that stuff.  I don’t want to share that album with anyone else but you, honey.  Thanks for being My Valentine!

3 Filters for Helping Kids Say Kind Words

How many times as a parent have you wanted to crawl in a hole because of something your child said to someone else?  I know that feeling pretty well.   Although, I try to extend grace to my kids, realizing they are what they are--kids!  Not too long ago my 5 year old son, Ethan, was talking to my mom on the phone about her mom, Ethan's great-grandmother.  Ethan thought she was about 40 and was pretty old:)  (With every birthday like the one I celebrated yesterday, I am amazed at how close to "old" I am getting:)  When my mom corrected him and said that Great-grandma was actually 93, Ethan couldn't believe it, adding, "Wow--she's really old. She'll probably die really soon."  Oh, the candidness of kids...

This month we are focusing on Kindness at our church with our elementary age students.  A mom sent me a great little article that a woman wrote about teaching her kids how to use our mouths properly.  I thought it was incredible and will definitely re-use some of her thoughts with my own kids as well as the students in our church.

Whenever her kids would say something that offended someone else, she would have them use these 3 filters to see if what they said was appropriate:

Was it true?
Was it kind?
Was it necessary?

If it met all three criteria, there was no harm.  Often, her kids would see where their words fell short of one of the marks.  Sometimes we blatantly lie.  Other times, we say something that might be true, but we don't say it kindly, or we might say it at a time where it wasn't necessary.

What great questions for kids (and adults) to run through our minds before we open our mouths!  BTW--my grandmother is still very involved in life at 93 and is one of my greatest prayer warriors!

Kindness Challenge--Week 1

Yesterday, we introduced the theme of Kindness in Kid City for the month of February.  One of our goals for the year at Grace Community Church is to be the kindest church in the whole world.  (I know, it's not incredibly measurable, but what an awesome goal!)  We looked at Jesus' teaching in Luke 6 where He challenged His followers to be kind, even to enemies and people they didn't know.  You see, being kind to people who will be kind back to us is normal--that's typical.  Jesus wants us to go outside of the norm and show love and kindness to those who don't expect it from us!

The challenge for every child in our church was to eat lunch or play at recess this week with someone they have never done it with before.  I challenged them to nicely ask these other children if they could sit with them at lunch or play with them at recess.  If those weren't options for them, I encouraged them to ask their parents permission to have a child from their community over to play at their home this week (again, someone they have never had over before). 

We also gave a special challenge to one of our older students in 5th or 6th grade.  I gave 3 different students $20 each to show kindness this week in some way to someone God brings in their path using the money.

Next week, we'll get to hear stories from all the students who took the challenges and see how God uses it in their life and the others they touch.  We're praying for loads of God-sightings--should be exciting!