Family Mission Trip - Nov 10-12

Ok, so I know that this is long overdue! The story is worth telling because of what happened that weekend.

On November 10-12 about 30 folks from The Glade Church loaded up and headed North. These weren't just any folks...these were families excited about having the chance to serve alongside one another. In one seat on the bus there was a 1st grade girl, in the next seat there was her 31 year old dad, and in another seat there was a single father whose child wasn't old enough to come. I tell you this because it was an unlikely group of people to take on a mission trip if your only goal was to do work. That was not our only goal...the goal of this trip was to give an opportunity for kids and parents to serve alongside one another, and to give children the experience of their first mission trip.

Here is what we did on this trip....

laid hardwood floor in the main building

Gutted a cabin that had mold in it

raked a lot of leaves

cleared hiking trails

cleaned cabins, main hall, kitchen, bath house

burned debris

began putting an epoxy seal on a concrete floor

cleaned out some gutters

The cool thing about this list is that it's only part of the story. Here is what you don't see...

We took around 6-7 kids on their first mission trip ever!

Families spent a ton of time together...working, playing, laughing by the fire, eating, hiking, and that's just some of the ways!

We worshipped together as families!

This trip gave the opportunity for new families to our church to connect to families who have been at our church a long time...I didn't expect God to use this trip for this purpose.

Bottom line: Of all the mission trips I have ever been on, this was by far my favorite. God moved in some special ways!

If you'd like to see pictures, go here. Due to technical difficulties I was not able to post any on this blog.

FAMILY PLUS Children's - November 23

Hey everyone!

Here are the details for this week:

Scripture: Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5:1-21 (The 10 commandments)
Life Application: I can live by God’s rules.
Memory Verse: Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Prayer for the Nations: Nepal

I know you are all getting geared up for Thanksgiving. This is my favorite holiday for one simple reason...I love to eat! I love everything about food because it is something that helps bring all my family together around the table. Know that and use it to your advantage this holiday season. You will have some time off, and plenty of chances to sit down with both extended and immediate family. Begin talking to your kids about what they think God may be doing in their lives or about the one thing that you believe God is calling your family to do. Maybe this is a great time to put the plan together on how you're going to accomplish the task that God has laid before your family. You have a candid audience at your disposal this week...use it for God's glory! Hint: If you don't accomplish the task of having a conversation of this magnitude the first time, who cares? Your children will value your persistence and be even more likely to follow you in the end.

Parent challenge this month: With your kids alongside you, find out what God is calling your family to, and make plans to do it.

Enjoy your time off!

Jared Norris

FAMILY PLUS Children's - November 18

Hey everyone!

I hope you guys have had a phenomenal week. The Spirit of God has truly blessed our time of worship in Kidstuf. Last week we got to try dal (a nepali soup). That was a huge blessing. I got to see the worldview of your children expand before my eyes. It was incredible to see them begin to embrace and pray for a country that they weren't very familiar with. If your kids asked you to fix that soup for them (I know several of your kids did ask), you can find the recipe here. I was able to find all the ingredients in my cabinet or at the local grocery store for pretty cheap.

Here are the details for the week:

Scripture: Exodus 13:17-15:21 (Crossing the Red Sea)
Life Application: I can know God has power to protect me.
Memory Verse: Jeremiah 29:11- "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."
Prayer for the Nations: Nepal (We're learning the Nepali language this week. No promises that we'll pronounce it correctly, but we'll try our best!)

With your kids alongside you, find out what God is calling your family to, and make plans to do it. This has been our parent challenge this month, and it truly has been a challenge for me. God has been stirring, but it has been difficult for me to discern His direction for us as a family. However, all that changed this week. I'm am convinced that God is calling our family to reach out to our neighborhood. More and more neighbors are beginning to move into the homes that surround us. It just so happens they all have kids, which makes me think that this Spring we are going to try to have a block party of some kind. Now I can begin to plan this "shindig"

I need to say 2 more things about this calling to you:

1) If you're having difficulty discerning God's call for your family, you need to hear the following words from John MacArthur. (I'm summarizing) John writes in "Found: God's Will" that if you're genuinely seeking God in the Scriptures and in prayer, and you still can't figure out what He wants you to do, then you need to prayerfully continue to take steps forward in the direction you think you should go. In this process, you should know that God will lead you. For example, I've been praying the same prayer since July and God has just begun to give me clarity about it.

2) Your calling could be completely different than mine. Maybe your calling is to...provide gifts for a needy family for Christmas, invite your neighbors over for Thanksgiving, take your family somewhere to serve Thanksgiving dinner, take your family on vacation together, rake that elderly neighbors yard, and the list goes on and on. The reality is it doesn't matter what our calling is...It matters how faithful we are!

Let me know how I can pray for you during this journey.

FAMILY PLUS Children's - November 10

Hey everyone!

I'm sending you this in the middle of the preparing the final details of the family mission trip. Please pray for us as we leave at 7pm today and work for the next couple days. I'm excited to our God working through these parents and kids!

Here are the details for this week:

Scripture: Exodus 5-12 (The Israelites left Egypt)

Life Application: I can trust God cares for me.

Memory Verse: Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.

Prayer for the Nations: Nepal (Allergy Alert: The kids will eating rice with a Nepalese lentil soup called Dal and trying green tea this week.)

Since the summer, my wife and I have been praying a simple prayer that was laid on my heart..."God, what do you want us to do?" The past couple weeks have been difficult for me as a husband/father. God has been stirring in a way that I am having difficulty gaining clarity in. When times like this come we as parents have to be diligent to stop and continually ask God for it. You may face this if you choose to be bold enough to take this month's parent challenge to bring your kids alongside you, find out what God is calling your family to, and make plans to do it.

For the record. I'm horrible at stopping and seeking God through prayer because it's hard for me to stop in general. I love to work whether it be at church, home, in the yard, etc. I always have to be doing something, so it is really difficult for me to stop. God has been making me stop lately and seek Him; therefore, I have seen more and more of Him. I talk to you guys weekly about how busy you are (as you read this you're thinking about all you have to do aren't you?). Find something to stop doing for good and give yourself 2 minutes of time with God to take this challenge and pray your prayer with your kids.

Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church

FAMILY PLUS Children's - November 4

Hey everyone!

Things are changing up for the month of November in Kidstuf! We are beginning to study Moses and the greatest salvation act of the Old Testament, the Exodus. This week we begin by learning about Moses’ call by God to lead His people out of slavery.

Here are the details for this week:

Scripture: Exodus 3 (God called Moses)
Life Application: I can follow God’s plans for my life.
Memory Verse: Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Prayer for the Nations: Nepal (Home of Mt. Everest and a land led by Hinduism)

Yesterday, we were in the office at church, and Robert, our Middle School Interim, mentioned a book title that was something like, “Are you called by God?” (Forgive me for not remembering the exact title). As soon as he said that title I answered the question...Yes! It doesn’t matter who you are, what you’ve gone through, but God has called you and is calling you. In fact, as parents He has put a call on your life to lead your family. God calls believers to all sorts of things...With your kids alongside you, find out what God is calling your family to, and make plans to do it.

To be transparent, I am personally feeling the weight of this challenge. Over the next few weeks, I will be covering some practical things I find helpful when seeking God’s call, and sharing with you where Katie and I are at in this adventure too.