Hey everyone!
I know summer is coming to an end and school is about to get cranked up in Wilson Co., but we still have some very important things to do this week.
1) Up with Kids is this Sunday! It will be in both worship services. If you attend groups at 9:15am, plan on going up and checking out your 1st-3rd grader from the security system to go to the sanctuary with you for worship! We will have 9:15am connect groups for your kids, but no Kidstuf worship at 10:45 because of Up with Kids!
2) Back to School Bash is next Wednesday! Don't forget to come out for games, food, music, and more! 5:00-7:30pm on August 3rd. $2/person $5/family
I can't wait to see you this Sunday for Up with Kids! You won't want to miss this opportunity.
Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 21, 2011
FAMILY PLUS Children's - July 21
Hey everyone!
I'm saying "hi" this week from New Orleans. I'm down here working along side some incredible high schoolers and adult leaders.
Here are the details for this week:
Scripture: Acts 12:5-19
Life Application: I can pray for people who tell about Jesus.
Memory Verse: 2 Thessalonians 3:1 “We ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.”
Prayer for the Nations: Hungary
This week our high schoolers are putting on a day camp called KidzDays in the Parish, which is based on our very own KidzDays in the Glade. It has been a very successful week! Not only are our high schoolers serving in this capacity, but we also have 3 construction teams working daily as well.I'm grateful for a very rewarding week already, and have continued to sense that the hand of God is not ready to stop moving down here in New Orleans. If you have never experienced the relationship God has given our church with this city and people, I challenge and encourage you to get involved.
I believe it is very fitting to talk to your child about praying for missionaries when I am down here in New Orleans serving with these incredible high schoolers and you are up there in Nashville. Your challenge this week is to have your child pray the memory verse above for our church mission team here in New Orleans. This activity will help connect 2 specific things with prayer in your child's mind:
1) Your child connects the Bible with prayer. Praying in accordance with scripture is powerful because we can know without a shadow of a doubt we are praying for God's purposes!
2) Your child connects specific people and needs with prayer. This helps make prayer, often an intangible activity, tangible!
I'm saying "hi" this week from New Orleans. I'm down here working along side some incredible high schoolers and adult leaders.
Here are the details for this week:
Scripture: Acts 12:5-19
Life Application: I can pray for people who tell about Jesus.
Memory Verse: 2 Thessalonians 3:1 “We ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you.”
Prayer for the Nations: Hungary
This week our high schoolers are putting on a day camp called KidzDays in the Parish, which is based on our very own KidzDays in the Glade. It has been a very successful week! Not only are our high schoolers serving in this capacity, but we also have 3 construction teams working daily as well.I'm grateful for a very rewarding week already, and have continued to sense that the hand of God is not ready to stop moving down here in New Orleans. If you have never experienced the relationship God has given our church with this city and people, I challenge and encourage you to get involved.
I believe it is very fitting to talk to your child about praying for missionaries when I am down here in New Orleans serving with these incredible high schoolers and you are up there in Nashville. Your challenge this week is to have your child pray the memory verse above for our church mission team here in New Orleans. This activity will help connect 2 specific things with prayer in your child's mind:
1) Your child connects the Bible with prayer. Praying in accordance with scripture is powerful because we can know without a shadow of a doubt we are praying for God's purposes!
2) Your child connects specific people and needs with prayer. This helps make prayer, often an intangible activity, tangible!
Thursday, July 14, 2011
FAMILY PLUS Children's - July 14
Hey Everyone!
We are winding down our second week of camp in a row. KidzDays in the Glade 2011 is coming to an end; however, we have gotten to know a ton of great kids this week. I personally could not have imagined the number of community kids that we have had the chance to work with this week. May God gain the glory for that!
In that same vein of thought, we are still working through our July focus on missions in Kidstuf. Here are the details:
Scripture: Acts 11:19-30
Life Application: I can work with my church to meet the needs of other people.
Memory Verse: Galatians 6:9a “And let us not grow weary of doing good...”
Prayer for the Nations: Haiti
This is a perfectly timed lesson for us here in the Glade: it is the middle of the summer, we have done a lot this summer, and there is still a lot left to do before school starts. I'll be honest with you...it's late as I'm crafting this email, and my wife has already asked why I'm not in bed. I feel like time is more crucial now than ever, and we can all say that. We all have a ton going on.
Here is my challenge for you this week. Plan a family outing with no distractions. Sometimes the most God glorifying thing we can do is rest. Hence, God made the sabbath. Personally, my heart is being pushed by God to rest and be with my family. There are so many ways to serve others here at the Glade in the summer that this week I feel like I need to settle down and be with my family. I'm not going to lie...this will be tough for me to do. However, I promise each of you that I will do this, and nothing will stop me. For me this week, Saturday morning is my only option and I will make that happen. For Katie, Carter and I, our family outings look something like walks in the park or a trip to get ice cream. Katie and I don't feel the need to spend a lot of money on things to create time with Carter. We believe that "quantity time" brings about the "quality time" moments with our son.
Please send me your ideas for family outings with your kiddos to jnorris@gladevillechurch.org. I am always looking for new ideas!
We are winding down our second week of camp in a row. KidzDays in the Glade 2011 is coming to an end; however, we have gotten to know a ton of great kids this week. I personally could not have imagined the number of community kids that we have had the chance to work with this week. May God gain the glory for that!
In that same vein of thought, we are still working through our July focus on missions in Kidstuf. Here are the details:
Scripture: Acts 11:19-30
Life Application: I can work with my church to meet the needs of other people.
Memory Verse: Galatians 6:9a “And let us not grow weary of doing good...”
Prayer for the Nations: Haiti
This is a perfectly timed lesson for us here in the Glade: it is the middle of the summer, we have done a lot this summer, and there is still a lot left to do before school starts. I'll be honest with you...it's late as I'm crafting this email, and my wife has already asked why I'm not in bed. I feel like time is more crucial now than ever, and we can all say that. We all have a ton going on.
Here is my challenge for you this week. Plan a family outing with no distractions. Sometimes the most God glorifying thing we can do is rest. Hence, God made the sabbath. Personally, my heart is being pushed by God to rest and be with my family. There are so many ways to serve others here at the Glade in the summer that this week I feel like I need to settle down and be with my family. I'm not going to lie...this will be tough for me to do. However, I promise each of you that I will do this, and nothing will stop me. For me this week, Saturday morning is my only option and I will make that happen. For Katie, Carter and I, our family outings look something like walks in the park or a trip to get ice cream. Katie and I don't feel the need to spend a lot of money on things to create time with Carter. We believe that "quantity time" brings about the "quality time" moments with our son.
Please send me your ideas for family outings with your kiddos to jnorris@gladevillechurch.org. I am always looking for new ideas!
Friday, July 8, 2011
FAMILY PLUS Children's - July 8
Hey everyone!
I'm at CentriKid Camp this week with our 3rd-5th graders. We are having a blast! This is a great week where I am always amazed at the kids who step out of their comfort zone and transform into different kids. Kids excel in this environment. I can't wait to share pictures with you when we get back.
In Kidstuf this week we are back to covering the topic of missions. Here are your details:
Scripture: Acts 10:1-48
Life Application: I can respect and value people from all nationalities and backgrounds.
Memory Verse: Romans 2:11 "God does not show favoritism."
Prayer for the Nations: Guatemala
Wow! What a great topic of discussion for your kids this week. We talk about this with our kids constantly. Ultimately, kids have to learn that diversity in some areas of life (race, gender, backgrounds, socioeconomic status) do not matter to God. In fact, Scripture mentions every tribe, tongue, and nation worshipping God; however, diversity in other areas of life (views on Jesus Christ, values, principles) do matter to God. Even if others differ in values, principles, and their views on Jesus Christ, we are to still respect others to the point of loving them (Matt 22:36-40).
How do your kids get this point? I'm not going to lie...this is a tough one. I am a firm believer that a major part of teaching kids is showing them and letting them experience things. With that said, here is an option:
Go for a drive to an area that is out of your context- I was speaking with our parent chaperones here at camp about this. They agreed that some of the best time to converse intentionally with their kids is in the car. They continually said that their kids go way deeper in the car than anywhere else. While on your drive, point things out to kids. Show them a life that they don't have and talk about diversity and differences. This is easy and can be done at the drop of a hat and done in a way that seems very natural to your kids. Honestly, you may want to do this every now and then to continue to teach this point.
A drive and a conversation can be powerful...don't underestimate it! Every Sunday, my father and I used to go for a drive. We have tons of stories about things we experienced. We still talk about them years later.
I'm at CentriKid Camp this week with our 3rd-5th graders. We are having a blast! This is a great week where I am always amazed at the kids who step out of their comfort zone and transform into different kids. Kids excel in this environment. I can't wait to share pictures with you when we get back.
In Kidstuf this week we are back to covering the topic of missions. Here are your details:
Scripture: Acts 10:1-48
Life Application: I can respect and value people from all nationalities and backgrounds.
Memory Verse: Romans 2:11 "God does not show favoritism."
Prayer for the Nations: Guatemala
Wow! What a great topic of discussion for your kids this week. We talk about this with our kids constantly. Ultimately, kids have to learn that diversity in some areas of life (race, gender, backgrounds, socioeconomic status) do not matter to God. In fact, Scripture mentions every tribe, tongue, and nation worshipping God; however, diversity in other areas of life (views on Jesus Christ, values, principles) do matter to God. Even if others differ in values, principles, and their views on Jesus Christ, we are to still respect others to the point of loving them (Matt 22:36-40).
How do your kids get this point? I'm not going to lie...this is a tough one. I am a firm believer that a major part of teaching kids is showing them and letting them experience things. With that said, here is an option:
Go for a drive to an area that is out of your context- I was speaking with our parent chaperones here at camp about this. They agreed that some of the best time to converse intentionally with their kids is in the car. They continually said that their kids go way deeper in the car than anywhere else. While on your drive, point things out to kids. Show them a life that they don't have and talk about diversity and differences. This is easy and can be done at the drop of a hat and done in a way that seems very natural to your kids. Honestly, you may want to do this every now and then to continue to teach this point.
A drive and a conversation can be powerful...don't underestimate it! Every Sunday, my father and I used to go for a drive. We have tons of stories about things we experienced. We still talk about them years later.
CentriKid Day #4
It's the last day! We ended with a bang! Incredible games, worship, and church group times filled our day.
Here are some highlights:
Imagine this field with 300+ kids on it and you have OMC, the best game ever! It rained so hard during this game we couldn't get any pictures of kids in action, but we did have a blast getting soaking wet, playing in mud, and playing OMC!
Ms. Linda had an incredible devo time with these girls this morning.
Great church group time tonight after a powerful worship experience. The kids are telling stories in these shots below.
That's it for tonight. We will leave around 9:30am central time tomorrow. We expect to be home around 2:30pm. I will post to Twitter an Facebook as we get close. We will also get the kids to call you too.
See you tomorrow!
Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church
Here are some highlights:
Imagine this field with 300+ kids on it and you have OMC, the best game ever! It rained so hard during this game we couldn't get any pictures of kids in action, but we did have a blast getting soaking wet, playing in mud, and playing OMC!
Ms. Linda had an incredible devo time with these girls this morning.
Great church group time tonight after a powerful worship experience. The kids are telling stories in these shots below.
That's it for tonight. We will leave around 9:30am central time tomorrow. We expect to be home around 2:30pm. I will post to Twitter an Facebook as we get close. We will also get the kids to call you too.
See you tomorrow!
Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Centrikid Day #3
Hey guys!
Day 3 is in the books and we are on the home stretch! The kids had another great day.
Here are some highlights:
Josh Ferguson sporting his Super Jesus shirt
Hunter Fugate waiting for Wet 'N Wild track.
Rachel and Samantha being goofy.
Mail Time!
Our kids playing football with other kids.
Kenzie, Annabelle, Marti, and Bailey
Karleigh and Jessica
Gracie and Meredith
We had a great day, but we have got to get some sleep! We will be home before you know it!
Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church
Day 3 is in the books and we are on the home stretch! The kids had another great day.
Here are some highlights:
Josh Ferguson sporting his Super Jesus shirt
Hunter Fugate waiting for Wet 'N Wild track.
Rachel and Samantha being goofy.
Mail Time!
Our kids playing football with other kids.
Kenzie, Annabelle, Marti, and Bailey
Karleigh and Jessica
Gracie and Meredith
We had a great day, but we have got to get some sleep! We will be home before you know it!
Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Centrikid Day #2
Hey everyone!
Day 2 is in the books. Your kids are in bed as I write this. We had a great day talking about how God provides forgiveness.
A few highlights of the day were:
Meredith Weeks beating me in a water chugging contest.
Me beating Gabe Jennings and Meredith Weeks in a jello eating contest (Dillon Shaw posted a video of that on his Facebook)
Gracie Webb, Isom Lannom, and Christian Hughes were the top 3 in the soccer track.
Your kids had to sing for their mail (check the blog tomorrow for a video of this)
Our leaders are the greatest highlight for me! They made me get in the picture below too, but God could not have put a more perfect group of leaders together. They have gone above and beyond ministering to your kids. When things have come up one of leaders has been able to speak God glorifying words to your kids due to their life experiences. It is humbling to see these guys work with the kids. In order to convey how moving it has been to see this happen, I have shed tears today as I watch them work with your kids to navigate life here at Georgetown. Let me introduce them to you.
From left to right:
Michelle Russ, Christian Hughes, Linda Bruce, Dillon Shaw, Brandi Ferguson, Angela Powell
If I had to sum up this camp experience up in one word, it would be the word grateful. I'm grateful to be here with these kids and these leaders. Be excited for what is happening here. I see your kids coming out of their shells in a good way. Your kids are excelling here and having a good time doing it. For instance, check out Karleigh Eakes and her new socks below. She is maximizing her camp experience.
To leave you with a funny story...
Today Linda Bruce asked Hunter Fugate if he had been drinking his water (we are always asking this question throughout the day and actually require the kids to drink a certain amount of water before they can get soft drinks). Hunter was carrying his water bottle around at lunch and just drinking away. Linda was excited that he was drinking his water. However, Hunter responded by saying, "Ms. Linda this is root beer. Putting water in my water bottle is a decision I would have to make at home and...well...I'm not at home."
They aren't at home as you well know, but they are doing great. Thanks for sending them!
Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church
Day 2 is in the books. Your kids are in bed as I write this. We had a great day talking about how God provides forgiveness.
A few highlights of the day were:
Meredith Weeks beating me in a water chugging contest.
Me beating Gabe Jennings and Meredith Weeks in a jello eating contest (Dillon Shaw posted a video of that on his Facebook)
Gracie Webb, Isom Lannom, and Christian Hughes were the top 3 in the soccer track.
Your kids had to sing for their mail (check the blog tomorrow for a video of this)
Our leaders are the greatest highlight for me! They made me get in the picture below too, but God could not have put a more perfect group of leaders together. They have gone above and beyond ministering to your kids. When things have come up one of leaders has been able to speak God glorifying words to your kids due to their life experiences. It is humbling to see these guys work with the kids. In order to convey how moving it has been to see this happen, I have shed tears today as I watch them work with your kids to navigate life here at Georgetown. Let me introduce them to you.
From left to right:
Michelle Russ, Christian Hughes, Linda Bruce, Dillon Shaw, Brandi Ferguson, Angela Powell
If I had to sum up this camp experience up in one word, it would be the word grateful. I'm grateful to be here with these kids and these leaders. Be excited for what is happening here. I see your kids coming out of their shells in a good way. Your kids are excelling here and having a good time doing it. For instance, check out Karleigh Eakes and her new socks below. She is maximizing her camp experience.
To leave you with a funny story...
Today Linda Bruce asked Hunter Fugate if he had been drinking his water (we are always asking this question throughout the day and actually require the kids to drink a certain amount of water before they can get soft drinks). Hunter was carrying his water bottle around at lunch and just drinking away. Linda was excited that he was drinking his water. However, Hunter responded by saying, "Ms. Linda this is root beer. Putting water in my water bottle is a decision I would have to make at home and...well...I'm not at home."
They aren't at home as you well know, but they are doing great. Thanks for sending them!
Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Centrikid Day #1
Hey everyone from Georgetown!
We had a great day of traveling! This might be the quietest group of kids I have ever taken
to camp. I know that you don't see that side at home. We did hit a slow patch of driving due to some construction, but after some scheduling changes it was smooth sailing.
We stopped in Elizabethtown for lunch at Taco Bell, KFC, and Arby's. After that we finished the final leg of our travels to Georgetown. On the way to camp your kids got to see a real castle in Versailles, KY and the farm where the race horse, Secretariat, was raised and trained.
Once at camp we settled in, ate dinner, and kicked things off with worship. It was a great night full of laughter, smiles, and fun. After worship each child went to "team time" (aka bible study). There they got acquainted with their leader and what they will be learning this week, how God provides. We reinforced that at our church group time before bed.
After "team time" we went to our first party! A party is basically put together to get as many kids on stage as possible playing games. The Glade was well represented on stage tonight by Jessica Young who won the biggest game of Jenga I have ever seen (3ft tall). Ryan Cox, Aidan Usher, and Ethan Puckett played Fiesta Explosion, a silly game that always concludes the party every night. Each of which excelled at their roles.
We are trying to settle the kids down for bed as I write this. They won't sleep much tonight because they are so excited, but we will try our best. It's time for lights out...gotta go!
We had a great day of traveling! This might be the quietest group of kids I have ever taken
to camp. I know that you don't see that side at home. We did hit a slow patch of driving due to some construction, but after some scheduling changes it was smooth sailing.
We stopped in Elizabethtown for lunch at Taco Bell, KFC, and Arby's. After that we finished the final leg of our travels to Georgetown. On the way to camp your kids got to see a real castle in Versailles, KY and the farm where the race horse, Secretariat, was raised and trained.
Once at camp we settled in, ate dinner, and kicked things off with worship. It was a great night full of laughter, smiles, and fun. After worship each child went to "team time" (aka bible study). There they got acquainted with their leader and what they will be learning this week, how God provides. We reinforced that at our church group time before bed.
After "team time" we went to our first party! A party is basically put together to get as many kids on stage as possible playing games. The Glade was well represented on stage tonight by Jessica Young who won the biggest game of Jenga I have ever seen (3ft tall). Ryan Cox, Aidan Usher, and Ethan Puckett played Fiesta Explosion, a silly game that always concludes the party every night. Each of which excelled at their roles.
We are trying to settle the kids down for bed as I write this. They won't sleep much tonight because they are so excited, but we will try our best. It's time for lights out...gotta go!
Friday, July 1, 2011
FAMILY PLUS Children's - July 1
Hey everyone!
We are now entering a new teaching series in Kidstuf. We will be focusing our efforts in July on teaching our kids about missions. We will be covering areas like telling others about Christ, respecting others with different backgrounds, and praying for others. This is a great time to cover this topic with Radical being on our hearts and minds and there being more free time in the summer.
Here are the details for this week:
Scripture: Acts 9:19b-31
Life Application: I can trust God to help me tell people about Jesus.
Memory Verse: 1 John 4:14 Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
Prayer for the Nations: Greece
Your challenge this week is to simply pray with your family about how your family can be missional. Praying with your family can be intimidating, especially if you have never called your family together to pray specifically about something. Let me encourage you to be bold and know your kids will adore and respect this action.
Here are some helpful hints that I have learned:
1) give your family a heads up about when you are going to pray- Ahead of time give them a specific time, location, and the subject(s) that you will be praying about. This sets clear expectations for each family member. Also, they will not begrudgingly come to the time because they had to be pulled away from toys, video games, etc.
2) give specific responsibilities- Ahead of time give your child(ren) certain things to research about the subject, pray for during the time of prayer, etc. This will help them take ownership in the prayer time.
This coming Tuesday we will be leaving for camp in Kentucky. If you would like to follow along with what's going on check out my Facebook,Twitter, or Blog.
Also, don't forget to sign your kids up for KidzDays in the Glade!
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