TODAY'S CHURCH

I don't know if your impression of Christianity could be classified as "the good life". It is not necessarily supposed to be. Jeremiah 29:11 is a verse I cling to, but it means something different to me now than it did when I first heard it. My prosperity is not comfort or luxury. My hope and my future is Heaven. Anything I sacrifice in the meantime is worth giving up for His sake. If you don't believe me, study the life of Paul.

Please take time to watch this. I hope you will be blessed, especially at this Christmas season as John Piper talks to us about what we should expect. Is there always going to be suffering in the Christian life? You bet. How does this change your perspective on life, career, illness, real estate, parenthood? God is good, but he is not concerned with making us comfortable. Why not?

Have you ever been out with your family, enjoying a picnic under a nice shade tree or playing at the park, when an unwanted pest comes buzzing around. Well good news; a friend told me of this simple yet ingenious (and free) way so create a bee-free environment for your picnic.

The cool thing about bees is that they are easily attracted to sweet things. So the trick is so make something sweet that they can easily access but not easily exit. Here is how you do it:

Question: do your kids feel like they contribute some value to your family?

Every child needs to feel like they contribute something that is not only necessary, but that will be appreciated by the family. Something that gives them a vested sense of belonging to something where they can give as well as receive.

My son and I were alone while I was driving my wife’s car the other day. I noticed that it needed gas. I asked Drake if he would like to be a blessing to his mom? “Sure.” I said, “Great lets put gas in the car for her.” Such a small thing might have been overlooked by others but Drake (kindergarten) takes great pride in filling the car up with gas for his mom. He removes the gas cap, puts the nozzle into the tank opening, (I put in the credit card- Haha), he selects the grade, engages the handle, and we talk while the tank fills up. We are connecting as men at this point; doing the manly task of pumping fuel. I just hope that he will grow up to be as considerate as a teen driver though I am not holding my breath- (well, because that is ten years away; a little too long to hold ones breath) but I do have very high expectations and I think he knows that.

Our kids have a few set chores that we require of them on a daily basis. We don’t go check on the chores unless we ask first if those chores have been completed. This gives the kids a sense of investment as a contributing member of the household. They contribute something that is not only necessary to the family but appreciated by the family. Hopefully this will allow them to express appreciation for others who have contributed to their benefit as well. Ultimately I want them to know that they have something to contribute because they are a part of the family.

There are somethings that we are afraid to address with our kids; its just a fact. We often think if I don't tell them about "_______", they will never hear about it. Well, with all of the media available today, they are bound to encounter things you would not believe or at least hear about it from other kids. Especially kids with older siblings like to talk about things they heard or saw from an older brother or sister. I rode the bus to school starting in 3rd grade. Trust me, I knew lots of kids with older siblings!

In this video, Shannon Ethridge shares on the topic "Proactively Discussing Sex with your Children." Who will your children ask when they want to know the truth? What will they hear when they ask? Be the one that your kids come to. You want the answers they get to be both accurate and Biblical! WARNING: she uses words in the video that most of us are not comfortable with; but please watch anyway- whether you have boys or girls! (this and other great videos available here: http://videovine.com/topics/parenting.php)

1. I suggest to start with teaching about modesty and the reason for modesty. I appreciate the example my wife sets for our boys in this. They have a great example of what to look for in a wife.


2. Teach them about the covenant relationship between a man and a woman- marriage. When we are not modest in our dress we begin to compromise that relationship before it is even initiated.


3. My oldest is in Kindergarten. We have not had the "How are babies made" conversation yet, but I know it is not far away... please pray for me! May God bless you with the wisdom of Solomon, that is what we need as parents!
   

This video about social media blows me away. I mean I am in it like the rest of you, but which statistic is most startling to you? Personal referrals are a big deal, companies are watching what you say about them, 96% of Gen Y has joined a social network... and who is the fastest growing demographic to social media? Interesting! I remember in 6th grade we had to keep a journal for a semester. Today kids will be blogging about their favorite tweets of the week instead of journaling. People are expressing themselves. You can find an editorial on anything.

This is a new paradigm on communication. A chance to express. A chance to listen! Check it out:

Keeping devotionals fresh, unexpected and giving your kids ownership are keys to keeping the whole family engaged in a Family Devotional time! So we decided together that we were going to cover the book of Jonah over a two week period. My 5 year old son seemed to know the details pretty "whale". (ok, sorry about that) So I invited him to help prepare the devotional time with me.

Preparation for the devotional night...
• To make it fun, we started by watching (the first half) of the Veggie Tales movie- Jonah. We discussed it as we watched.
• The next day we read the first two chapters of Jonah to compare and discussed some of the things from the movie that the animators had to guess about and how the characters were not the same as the real people. (especially that the caterpillar in the movie is not really Jonah’s traveling companion in the scripture)
• Then we brainstormed how we could learn the main lesson as a family. We concluded that there were really two themes. Week 1 "Obedience" and Week 2 "Mercy and Compassion"

Finally for Week 1 "devotional time" we agreed on doing an interactive tale in the backyard...

Casting…
• Drake (my oldest would play the role of Jonah so he could articulate what he was learning while he was in the belly of the whale
• Big Fish (played by our dog Chance; yes he is a little over weight, but I would not say as big as a whale, I once caught a big catfish; but a big dog fish?).
• Mommy would hold the sign to Nineveh (representing the authority that Jonah was disobeying).
• Little brother Parker would hold the sign to Tarshish representing the temptation to disobey.
• Daddy would do the voice over for God as he directed Jonah. Hope you don't find that blasphemous, I admit I am far from perfect...

We did some ad-libbing which was hilarious of course. Then Jonah gets on a boat (our red wagon) with some sailors (also played by Parker and Mommy). Mommy pulled the boat around the back yard for a couple of minutes until Jonah fell asleep in the bottom of the boat. Unbeknownst to Jonah and the ‘sailors’ a storm began to set in. I had secretly prepared the water hose to simulate a violent storm that threatened to break apart the ship.
(be sure to have everybody wear clothes that can get wet, after all you will be in the belly of the whale) Also I forgot to mention that Jonah had a costume to play the role of the prophet.

To make a long story short: the storm swelled, they threw cargo from the boat, they cast lots, Jonah was awakened, he had some 'splainin to do. Finally they threw him overboard and the great fish- "Chance" came to swallow the prophet.

We used a wet green towel to simulate the seaweed that was wrapped around Jonah’s head, and recalled thinking he was about to die (rehearsed)! The whole family sat with Jonah in the belly of the fish (on the covered portion of our backyard jungle gym at the top of the slide.) We turned the slide into a water slide and placed a kids pool at the bottom for when the fish would spit Jonah out) In the belly, Jonah talked about the prayer he prayed in the belly of the fish and repented; asking for a second chance to do what God asked.

To conclude everyone had to come up with a phrase to say what Jonah learned by the end of chapter 2. Then we all took turns sliding off of the whale’s tongue (water slide) and shouting the phrase: “I’ll obey God today!”

I was having lunch with Parker the other day. He was desperately trying to get out of finishing his food (strangely enough it was PB&J; his favorite!) I don't know why, he just has a hard time having to sit down and be still; even for eating! I guess that is how he manages his slim trim physique.

So in order to get dismissed from the table, it seems he planned to take the flattery approach... "Daddy, you are silly." I took that to mean Daddy you are funny, hilarious, entertaining, and a general pleasure to be around! Playing along I responded "No, you are silly!" But then he kind of changed things up on me as he replied, "Why don't you do something silly right now and let me leave the table?" Did I mention this guy just turned 3 this summer. He set himself up for the punchline. Awesome. Fortunately I have worked with preteens for the past 16 years.

"OK," I said you are dismissed from the table, but you have to head to bed; its nap time." He decided to stay up for a couple of minutes to finish his lunch. Don't feel too bad for the guy, after all it was peanut butter and jelly.

My kids and I had fun watching this video together. They wanted to watch it over and over and over. Not sure why it is so funny to watch babies skate like guys from the late seventies. To be honest it would probably be just as funny to see the adults from the late 70's doing the same thing. Check it out:

We watched and we laughed. I would encourage you to pull this up with your kids and watch it together as a family. After a couple of views you might throw out the question what does God want us to laugh at? Is there anything that people usually laugh at that displeases God?

The truth is that God loves for us to laugh; but not at the expense of his beloved creation. Not at that which is crude or vile. Maybe you could make a list with your kids of things that should not bring laughter but sadness when we know God's heart. Sometimes, it would be better to show mercy or compassion. Remind them that it especially does not feel good to be laughed at, and that it is better to honor God and be left out of the popular circle from time to time than to join in the mockery or laughing at a foul joke.

On the other hand I think it is great when we can teach our kids that it is OK to laugh at ourselves. The mistakes we make are often very funny (assuming we learn from them). God made us to be creative beings. If we can channel that creativity to be humorous like the commercial we just watched God can be glorified through it. God is the source of our creativity.

I heard Craig Julita say once that the most effective leaders (influencers) according to a study he read about, were able to make people laugh 5 times more often than others. So humor is an important tool in life. It can especially help motivate and encourage our children! It can be a huge blessing when things are not going right and we are given the opportunity to laugh a little. Laughter can be a catalyst for a renewed zeal that comes only from the Lord.

Today Parker came by with a Lego helmet stuck on his thumb. He held it up to me and said, "Hey Dad, you want to see my bad puppet show?" I think he meant that the puppet was a villain or something? Who knows...

Kids are capable comprehending things way beyond their years lately!

My son asked me for permission to make some chocolate Milk the other day. He wanted some assistance in pouring the milk (probably to keep me occupied while he hung on to the syrup) but he insisted on pouring the chocolate syrup himself. I said "OK but I want you to put the chocolate in first" (this was not a power trip for me or anything like that, but just so I could see how much he felt was appropriate.) Well apparently that is 'not how Mommy does it'. "You are supposed to pour the milk first and then add the syrup!!" he said sternly. We went back and forth briefly, then I thought of something clever... I said "Tell me what we are making again?". He refused. I repeated, "say it again please." Drake is only five, not even in kindergarten yet, but check his response. "I know, the word chocolate comes first, but that doesn't mean that's the order you put it in the cup!!"

So I was foiled; but not yet sunk. I thought once again... since I was dealing with a kid who could conceivably carry on an intelligible conversation with the Harvard Debate team, I thought maybe I should throw out a little math proof for him. I asked what is 2 + 3? He said 5. I said "yes! What went in first?" He said, "The 2." I said, "OK, then what is 3 + 2?" "5", he replied. I asked, "what went in first this time?" "3." I asked "but you get the same thing either way right?"

Then it clicked for him and he said "OK". Then he pulled the lid off of the chocolate syrup and began to pour it into the cup. How crazy is that? My kid is so logical that an equivalency property that I learned doing Geometry proofs in High School helps him to understand how chocolate milk works. I guess I am a little worried about what its going to take for me to help him understand girls; cause math proofs 'ain't going to cut it'. LOL

I am always amazed at what I learn from hanging out with my boys! As I teach them, He (God) is teaching me. I am praying today that God will give you a new perspective on something he has been trying to teach you lately. Will He use a child to help you see spiritual wisdom? Or a new passage of scripture that clarifies the question you have been pondering? Could it be as simple as having a glass of chocolate milk with someone you love?

–The McKenna Kondratiuk story

What would you do if you were put in a situation that compromised your values or contradicted what your parents had instructed you? What if you were instructed by an authority to engage in this compromise? I hope you (or your children) would do what McKenna Kondratuik did.

McKenna is a 7th grader (12 years old) at a middle school here in Mansfield, TX. Her class was “killing time” while the 8th graders were wrapping up a standardized test, when her teacher announced that the class would be viewing the critically acclaimed and ever so popular movie “Twilight”. Twilight is an action thriller based upon the Stephenie Meyer novel about a young girl who falls in love with a vampire. Click (http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0004361.cfm or http://www.screenit.com/movies/2008/twilight.html) to learn more about the contents of this movie, but McKenna was pretty sure that her parents didn’t want her to see this particular movie.

Well who says that technology is a bad thing all the time? McKenna quickly texted her mom to get consent before settling for the teachers authorization to view the movie. A quick response from her mother confirmed her suspicion that she did not need to “sit through” this film. As her teacher put in the movie, McKenna stood to her feet and walked to the front of the classroom in front of 29 other 7th graders and said “I'm not supposed to watch this.”

I asked McKenna if she thought she would have been punished by her parents for having watched the video. “I’m really not sure”, she said thoughtfully. But the fact is McKenna did not want to disappoint them was motivation enough to take a stand. She never really thought that she was being a leader that day; she just thought she was doing the right thing. Sometimes leadership is born when only one person takes a stand to do what is right. That day 15 other kids also left the room because McKenna had the courage to take a stand. Half of the class was thinking “maybe this is something I should not be watching…” but nobody else moved until she had first risked everything.

McKenna wants to honor her parents because it is something she values as a Christian. She knows that is one of the ways she can glorify God with her life. Bottom line is that is why she did what she did. So many times you read about kids because of poor decisions that they have made and the headlines reflect consequences of those negative behaviors. Today I wanted to pay a tribute to one kid who stands out for superlative reasons. I pray she represents many others you know.

What’s on your tray today? Let’s think it through because there is only so much room. We have to choose wisely when we lead our family (and ourselves!). How will our kids respond when tempted to replace God’s best with the ‘good stuff’ of the world? More challenges (still so funny!) from Dr. Mead. Listen to his story on evolution… lol; remember he has multiple doctorate degrees so he can put it really simply for us. (Starts at 14:49) It will be up to us to tell our kids the other story! They just won’t hear it at school; it’s not allowed unless a friend is sharing it. Be blessed! More to come next week. (if you are reading this on FB you will need to click this link to listen: http://leadinfaith.blogspot.com/2009/04/walk-of-warrior-part-3.html )

In this message Dr. Mead addresses what does a real man do, the challenge of how a man should treat his wife, bring up his son, who are some examples of Real Men in the Bible, and how does this affect who we are; our character. Wow talk about a challenge; he puts the mark so much higher than what most of us have ever encountered! I would be glad for you to post your thoughts. In this message he also addresses some post-modern critiques of Christianity. You will want to remember some of his arguments because they are profoundly simple. Again, he will keep you laughing- I promise! This message is 44minutes. If you are reading this post on FB click here to listen: http://leadinfaith.blogspot.com/2009/04/walk-of-warrior-part2.html

Here is a challenge for all you men out there from Dr. Patrick Mead. I especially enjoyed listening to this when I heard it for the first time at a men's conference at my dad's church a few years ago. He really has a gift for keeping you laughing while challenging you at the same time. The first 4 minutes is an introduction for Dr. Mead, so it would be at your discretion it you would like to skip this part of the podcast. The message is about 1 hour but I would challenge you to listen to his accent for just a few minutes and try to turn it off! I will post a new message each week for the next few weeks. Listen for the story of his son at the end and let it challenge you with regard to your purpose as a parent... You can also visit his blog at http://patrickmead.net/ Blessings and happy listening! (if you are reading this on FB you will need to click here to listen http://leadinfaith.blogspot.com/2009/04/walk-of-warrior.html

Please visit www.loveandlogic.com for tips on helping your child make respectful & responsible choices. (Today's blog is a direct excerpt from Jim Fay of Love & Logic.) Happy Parenting -Jason

Parents, Dads- I am talking to you! What if our kids grow up to be just like us? Would you be excited about that prospect or does that thought produce just a little anxiety? Do we always model integrety, compassion, humility? Does our character reflect the God we teach them about? Do we always do the right thing even when we think nobody is looking...

The truth is somebody is always looking, those little eyes are watching and one day they will be just like us. They see it all! We are leaving a legacy in our character, in our convictions, and in our faith. Show them the good in your life and reveal to them the mistakes that you have made. Admit your flaws but most importantly allow them to see the consequences and the steps involved in setting things right. Otherwise they are destined to repeat that which we have worked through in private. Or even those things that we have yet to overcome. Can you hear their precious voice as you watch this clip... We are Today's Church working together to see future generations lead in faith! Psalm 78:4-8

We began a series in the preteen ministry on March 15th called “The Good Fight”. The purpose of this series is to communicate the truth: that a relationship between parents and preteens (even teens) is worth fighting for. I am posting a link to a podcast by Reggie Joiner.

To download the pod cast now: right click here
(select "save target as")

Print out a listening guide if you would like to jot down a couple of notes: click here

The Good Fight series gives you and your students something to fight about, actually fight for—your relationship with each other.

Week 1: (march 15)
The Good Fight series exposes the truth about family life: All families fight. We just fight about and for different things, and we fight in different ways. Some families are very vocal; others quietly stuff their frustrations inside. But regardless of how families fight, every family decides what they are going to fight over. Fighting about rules and issues will always drive us apart, but there is another way. What if we began to fight for relationship? What if our sole objective was to know each other and to honor each other? The Good Fight encourages students to stay in the fight and never give up on their relationship with their parents.

Week 2: (march 22)
When it comes to God’s intention for family, there are no ambiguities in Scripture. God desires for children and parents to turn their hearts toward each other and have a relationship. In order to have the good relationship God intends, we have to first learn how to change the fight. We have to stop fighting against “their way” and start fighting for a relationship. We have to surrender our right to be right and take up a new cause. We must prioritize relationship regardless of the cost.

Week 3: (march 29)
This week is the final conclusion to our parent series. The goal of this week is to help students see the responsibility that they have to pursue a relationship with their parents. Some students have been hurt by their parents and they are living out the cycle by seeking to hurt their parents in return. This week we will look at the life of Absalom, who having been hurt, used the remainder of his life for revenge. We will see the outcome of Absalom’s choice and raise the question: Is this really the best way? Can students begin to break the cycle by refusing to use their influence as sons and daughters to inflict pain on the parents who may have hurt them? Can they be the instruments of healing in our parent’s lives?

How to stay safe in the world today. (of course, we all know that our goal in life is not to stay 'safe', but to live dangerously for Christ and be salt and light in the world too!)

1. Avoid riding in automobiles because they are responsible for 20% of all fatal accidents.
2. Do not stay home because 17% of all accidents occur in the home.
3. Avoid walking on streets or sidewalks because 14% of all accidents occur to pedestrians.
4. Avoid traveling by air, rail, or water because 16% of all accidents involve these forms of transportation.
5. Of the remaining 33%, 32% of all deaths occur in Hospitals. So, .... above all else, avoid hospitals.

BUT , .... You will be pleased to learn that only .001% of all deaths occur in worship services in church, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders. Therefore, logic tells us that the safest place for you to be at any given point in time is at church! ....And.....Bible study is safe too. The percentage of deaths during Bible study is even less. So, Attend church, and read your Bible. IT COULD SAVE YOUR LIFE!

GOD BLESS YOU -This post was forwarded to me by Dean Guerra, one of our outrageous leaders in WRKIDZ. Thanks for all you do Dean! our apologies to your wife Stacy and daughter Jordan as this picture was not intended to embarrass them in any way.

Information used to double every 5 years! What is the rate of acceleration with respect to knowledge now? Check out this video! You will be asked what does it all mean? You have to filter this information with a Biblical worldview to not be frightend or overwhelmed. We might be suprised by this, but God is not!


Post your response now!

Check out this video by a 12 year old named Lia. Who says that preteens can't make a difference?! She recently decided to make a courageous stand in her school by giving a persuasive speech on the topic of abortion. Even when her teachers strongly encouraged her to choose a different topic, she decided to stick with what she felt passionate about.

She was motivated to take this stand after her mom attended a Lou [Engle] conference several years ago. The family made a covenant to pray for abortion to end…

• "As part of her class requirements, she needed to prepare a speech; however, the classroom presentations were also meant to enable the teacher to select the best speeches to go on to a more serious competition. As I mentioned, several teachers discouraged her from picking the topic of abortion; she was told it was “too big”, “too mature” and “too controversial”. She was also told that if she went ahead with that topic, she would not be allowed to continue on in the speech competition. Initially, I tried helping her find other topics to speak on, but, in the end, she was adamant. She just felt she wanted to continue with the topic of abortion. So she forfeited her chance to compete in order to speak on something she was passionate about. "

To help get the word out, the family would like you to visit the Think Fast campaign. EVERY FRIDAY Junior High and High School students in more than 900 schools FAST LUNCH and use that time to get with friends to PRAY FOR ABORTION TO END. You can join the movement now, and make a difference too.
* * * * * * * * * *
Lia’s teacher was so moved by her handing of the content that she decided to allow her to participate in the competition after all. THEN LIA WON for her class. Later the school principal and teachers all agreed that Lia’s speech before the entire school was the OBVIOUS WINNER. But the judges overall decided to disqualify her because of the topic and her position on abortion.

The family pondered how to proceed with how the school chose to handle Lia’s situation. the whole thing led to a big disagreement with the judges and one offended judge chose to step down. The other judges reversed their earlier decision, and Lia was declared the WINNER. Lia advanced to compete regionally and represent her school with this amazing message of LIFE. Lia then advanced to the next round of competition with her speech.

Lia did an outstanding job at this level of competition. "Her presentation was flawless and she was poised and passionate throughout." She did not win the competition however. Two teachers and others present felt that she was the strongest speaker and should have won, but they suspected that her topic of abortion is what kept her from winning. Read this excerpt from her mother’s email:

• Lia wasn’t really that upset though, especially when she considered that the only difference between winning the competition and not winning was having a couple extra pictures taken and being given a small trophy. Lia has a much bigger trophy – somebody commented to us on our YouTube account that her aunt watched Lia’s video and decided to NOT have an abortion because of it. Yay God! Others have commented that they either never thought of the issue before or were pro-choice – but now they have changed their opinions. So, having a life saved is the best trophy ever!

We’re thrilled with Lia’s courage and conviction. And YES, the best trophy is a life saved. Please join us in continuing to pray for her YouTube video to spread virally and impact countless lives. (this material is truncated & referenced from http://www.bound4life.com/)

When I was much younger, my dad would often wear a pair of fancy boots, jeans, and a cowboy hat. We was (and still is) about 5 foot 9. He spent most of his time in the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex which was coincidentally the set of the famous TV show "Walker Texas Ranger". Oh and one more thing, he always wore a beard in those days. I don't know if you realized it or not, but I just described Chuck Norris. No Chuck Norris is not my dad, but lots of people thought my dad was Chuck Norris. Maybe he looked more like Chuck's caricature (see below), I can't be sure myself. Many times he would go to a restaurant and the waiter would inform him that the meal would be "on the house" because they were grateful that a celebrity with the fame and notoriety of Chuck Norris would choose to eat there. Of course, he would then have to tell them that he was not who they thought he was. (just his stunt double- jk -not even that. Chuck Norris always does his own stunts!)

I have known people who have met Chuck personally. I think 4 people have told me that they actually had conversations with him in person at least once and one who used to know him pretty well. I also know a lot of Chuck Norris jokes. here are some of my favorites:

• When the Bogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris!
• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live!
• Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice!
• When Chuck Norris does a push up, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down!
• Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door!
• Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one!
• Some people wear Superman pajamas. Superman wears Chuck Norris pajamas!
• if you have some favorites please post them to this blog!!

So I guess you could say I grew up in the shadow of Chuck Norris' shadow. But even still I would have to admit I didn't ever know Chuck Norris. I have seen lots of pictures of him. Heard people talk about him. I have even told some of the jokes I have heard about him. I have read about him. I have met people who knew him. There were even several weeks in a row where I tuned in to his program. Yet I never knew him.

There is a cultural danger in some circles of Christianity. People who look at their affiliation with God as a heritage, something that is passed on to them from their parents like their nationality. (You might hear someone say that they are Italian because their parents were Italian and grandparents were Italian too. Some might say well, my parents were Baptist and my grandparents were Baptist so I too am Baptist) There are people who are satisfied with hearing about Christ or reading about Him, even many who will attend religious ceremonies on a weekly basis but have never truly come to know Him in a personal way like he intended.

Matt. 7:21"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!

Jesus wants us to know him! We must be careful to do the things that Jesus taught for they will help us to know Him better. Focus on his voice will allow us to become more attentive and obedient. Our obedience will help us to learn his character. But the first step to knowing Christ is knowing his forgiveness. Some think it is important to be obedient to God so that you can earn your way to heaven, but that is not it. It is out of gratitude for his forgiveness that one chooses to submit their life to Him. Ultimately knowing him will produce fruit in our life.

Kids understand and communicate love in a way that is unique to each child. Gary Chapman has categorized the ways that kids communicate love into five groups he has called "The Five Love Languages of Children". As a parent we should know how to best communicate to our kids that we care about them. Communication is about connecting the message to the receiver. That is the purpose of discovering and discerning what language your child speaks. If you are a small group leader it might not be as easy to decipher in the short time you are with your students. Chapman names the 5 languages in his book:

1. words of affirmation
2. quality time
3. acts of service
4. physical touch
5. gifts

Click here to print a quiz that will help you to determine what love language your children understand best. I challenge you to communicate in a way that your kids will understand what you are trying to convey- That they are loved!

This week in WRKIDZ huddle time we will unpack Phyisical Touch. What are the appropriate ways to communicate in this dialect as a small group leader? How do we protect the kids and the church from inappropriate touch? Learn about the H3 approach. If you are a parent interested in learning more please visit http://www.fivelovelanguages.com/. Please feel free to post anything you would like to share with other parents or small group leaders.

Coming April 17-18! SuperStart is a weekend event for preteens (grades 4,5,6) that tours the country. Your preteen will want to attend this Retreat! Check out this video:
Friday night includes an ice cream party and tons of fun. We will drive to Compass Christian Church in Colleyville Friday evening and come back to spend the night here at the the Ridge. Early Saturday we'll head back to CCC for breakfast and more fun. There will be a large group production "battle of the illusionist", excellent worship times, and small group break outs throughout the day. We will break from 10-1pm for lunch and lunar golf at Grapevine Mills Mall! All of this is included in the cost of registration. You will find the registration info very soon at http://www.walnutridgechurch.com/News_And_Events/
Early Registration will be $50. Late registration will begin after March 25 and will be $60, so register early for the best rate.

Wow, you won't believe this! 2 weeks ago I posted a blog called "Can a Christian be Trusted?". Then yesterday, Kodi forwarded me a link to a blog by Bil Cornelius (pastor of Bay Area Church in Corpus). He had posted this YouTube clip, that I want you to see by Penn Jillette of 'Penn and Teller'. Penn is not a Christian but listen to his thoughts reminiscent of the questions I posed 2 weeks ago!

BLOOD DRIVE-
Benefitting Braden Allard
at Walnut Ridge Baptist Church
Sunday, January 18th
8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Contact Deborah Jackson
682-556-2896

Click here to schedule your donation time.
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You can read Braden’s story below. For updates you can view or subscribe to his website click here!(http://caringbridge.org/visit/bradenallard):

"My name is Braden Allard I am seven years old and I live in Mansfield, Texas in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I was diagnosed with leukemia on 12 December 2008. I would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. With God as my savior, my family and friends around me I can overcome anything put in front of me. Please continue through this website to read more about me.

I live with my mom Tammy, my dad Chris, my sister Katie and my brother Logan.

I was first diagnosed with leukemia on 12 December 2008. My mom, who is an awesome Registered Nurse, noticed that my gums and tongue were very pale after I had complained about hitting my gums with a chopstick. I had complained of being tired for a couple of weeks before that and Mom had noticed that I was really pale. My mom made a doctors appointment with our family doctor on 10 December to just draw some blood to check to see if there was anything going on. Mom was in the doctor’s office on 11 December with Logan and the doctor told her that my blood levels were critically low and we needed to get a referral to see a specialist. Mom immediately asked if we needed to admit me in the hospital but the doctor wanted to go through the process of getting a referral and letting them check me out.

My mom went to work on the morning of the 12th and was talking to some doctors at the hospital where she works about my blood test levels. One of the doctors turned to her and asked why she was at work?! The doctor told mom to get me and take me to the emergency room and do not wait on the system to get this looked at. The doctor told us to go to Children’s Hospital in Dallas and we ended up there in the emergency room about 10am.

Our experience at Children’s was unbelievable from the moment we stepped into the ER. We stayed in the ER where Dr. Bowers and Dr. Fowler talked to us about what they saw in my blood. From the ER we were moved to the 10th floor which is the oncology floor. There our nurses started taking wonderful care of me. Doctor’s Wickiser and Fustino my Oncologist worked diligently to find out what exactly we would be dealing with.

On Monday, 15 December I underwent a surgery to place a Medi-port underneath my skin which will enable me to get treatment and other procedures without having to undergo multiple sticks with the needle. The doctors and nurses will access my blood through this port in my side. They took a sample of my bone marrow from my hip in order to analyze it and also did a lumbar puncture to take a small amount of fluid from around my spine and brain. This was to see if there was any cancer in the fluid around my brain. That test was NEGATIVE!!! When they did the lumbar puncture they also gave me my first dose of Chemotherapy!

The doctors thought for sure they would be able to tell us for certain what kind of leukemia I had once they were able to look at the bone marrow! Well my parents always said I was odd and the doctors were able to prove that. Normally they find what they call blast cells in the bone marrow at extremely high levels. And that is how they diagnose leukemia (ALL or AML the two different common kinds of leukemia). What they found was that there were high levels of Blast cells (leukemia cells) in my blood but not an abnormally high level in my bone marrow. Normally the blast cells are found in higher levels in the bone marrow where it develops. That being said this is where the doctors started scratching their heads. Which is never a good sign? However with Children’s Hospital being apart of an Oncology Group, the doctors are able to confer with a multitude of other agencies around the country and many different specialist will take the opportunity to evaluate my test results.

On 18 December, my dad’s 44th birthday I was discharged from the hospital. We don’t know for sure what it is I have as of yet but we know that the wonderful people at Children’s Hospital will find out.

My family and I would first like to thank the Lord for taking care of me and blessing me and my family with all of you, our friends and family. My dad said that it was like raining Angels. The amount of prayers and support that we have received is incredible. We would like to thank Uncle Terry and Aunt Lisa for getting to the hospital at a time when we really needed the support, even though my dad sent them on a wild goose chase to Fort Worth and back.

My Aunts Sue, Pam and Joann took care of Logan and Katie while I was in the hospital with my mom and dad. Aunt Shannon and Uncle Charles came and stayed with me and my parents in the hospital and were very instrumental in keeping my parents calm and just having her there was a blessing. Ms. Shelly, Ryan and Zack came by and gave me my very own DS and several games which was an incredible gift that kept my mind off of being in the hospital. The neighborhood clan of Ms. Bitsi, Ms. Tina, Mr. Paul, Megan and Ryan came to see me and brought me a bag that holds my DS and all of my games and then some.

I would truly like to thank Mr. Jason Oxley and Mr. Michael for coming to see me and praying with me. My family at Walnut Ridge Baptist Church is awesome. Mr. VA and Mr. Chuck deacons from the church also came and prayed with me which is really special to me. Walnut Ridge Baptist Church ROCKS!

So now our journey begins……"

I once heard a non-Christian proclaim that it is "impossible to trust a born-again believer". This person was very aware of what Christians believe happens post-death. They knew about the Biblical description of hell, and what a Christian believes happens to a person who perishes without accepting the forgiveness that is offered only through receiving Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior.

They said that a Christian who really cared for a ‘professing’ non-Christian should be willing to do just about anything short of murder; even torture to get them to profess a faith in Christ. (This actually was a medieval philosophy- used to 'win' converts; I guess that is one way to get your numbers up!) What would be worse they reasoned; the short term discomfort of the physical body or eternal suffering, separation from loved ones and God himself?

The alternative to this he said was, “the Christian who says they care about me but does nothing to persuade me to receive this free gift of salvation that Christians claim Jesus offers. Thereby proving that they are nothing more than a liar, who cares nothing at all about me. I would expect if they did, there would be a much greater sense of urgency to impress the gospel upon me.”

The breakdown in this logic is found in the first part of the argument. The Bible indicates that each person must choose Jesus of their own volition. Coercion cannot replace personal conviction. A personal response to the gospel like the one that Paul exhibited (Acts 9:20-31) does not take place through intimidation or compulsion. The logic does hold up however, in the second argument. If we say we are a Christian, yet do nothing and say nothing, then we by default ‘care not’.