FAMILY PLUS Children's - February 23

Hey everyone!

Wednesday was a great reminder of the beautiful weather that is sure to come our way very soon! I hope you guys have had a chance to enjoy this nice weather. Take advantage of these days!

Here are the details for this week:

Scripture: 1 Kings 1:28-40; 3:1-15; 4:29-9:5; 11:41-43 (King Solomon)

Life Application: I can trust God to help me make decisions.
Memory Verse: "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23

Prayer for the Nations: Romania

This week we are discussing how God helped King Solomon, the wisest king, to make decisions. This goes perfectly with our overall challenge in February to teach our kids how to love others, even our opponents. Often when we are focused on ourselves we forget that we have been called to love God 1st and others 2nd (Matthew 22:36-40). This is true when we face opponents or our closest confidants. For instance in sports when your kid misses that lay up and gets angry, they may react negatively because they are focused on their performance, not on the well-being or loving of others (I speak from experience on this). You may say, "Jared, I disagree with you on this. These kids are competing. They are supposed to be concerned with their performance and the performance of the team." I am not saying your kids should stand around and not play the sport. I am saying that they should play the sport with it in the true perspective...that it truly has no meaning in comparison of what God wants for them. God may use sports in their lives to be an example (i.e. Tim Tebow and Jeremy Lin), but we can be guaranteed that God values his Kingdom and your child's role in it beyond their success in sports.

Your kid's have been called to Love God 1st and others 2nd for all eternity. They will not play sports for all eternity. Let sports be a tool to teach the eternal.

I love you guys and am truly grateful to know each of you!

Jared Norris

Children's Minister

The Glade Church

FAMILY PLUS Children's - February 17

Hey everyone!

February is halfway over! I know your life is filled with basketball tournament games and cheerleading right now. Some of you are even in the middle of baseball and softball practice already. Soccer is around the corner too. These things are great things, and there is nothing wrong with them. God reminded me this morning, that my heart and mind need to be on the eternal, not the things that fade. I say all this to caution us as parents to make sure amongst the busyness of life, that the eternal things take their rightful place in our hearts. May God help us with this balance.

Here are the eternal things we are focusing on this week in Kidstuf:

Scripture: 1 Samuel 16; 2 Samuel 5-8 (King David)

Life Application: I can serve God

Memory Verse: "Work willingly at what ever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23

Prayer for the Nations: Romania (Tony Madden will be sharing about Romania with the kids this week.)

Just like our challenge the past 2 weeks to model for our kids what it means to love someone, we can use our child's activities/sports as a tool to teach them how to interact and love one another, even in opposition. I'm playing in an adult basketball league, and have noticed more and more that some people can't control their attitudes in the face of opposition. Use your child's activities as a tool to impress upon them how love can be shown to others who oppose them. My guess is that if they react negatively to opposition on the court or field, then they will react negatively to opposition in life. I have plenty of proof of this very thing in my life. I'll share some more next week.

Maybe you're thinking, "My child doesn't seem to have a bad attitude on the court." Praise the Lord! Let me press back and say, "That doesn't mean they still wouldn't benefit from continued guidance from their parents on this issue. Also, don't forget how much this very thing can carry over into how they react as an adult."

Praying for each of you this week! Be proactive and strong in your parenting!

Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church

FAMILY PLUS Children's - February 9

Hey everyone!

Don't forget to check out the Virtual Brown Bag on "Protecting your Family Online"! You can view the entire session here. Let me encourage you to make some moves now to protect your children online. I'm signing our family up for Covenant Eyes this week. I challenge you to think about doing it yourself.

Here are the details for Kidstuf this week:

Scripture: 1 Sam 9-10;11:12-15; 13:1-15; 15 (King Saul)

Life Application: I can know God has a purpose for me.

Memory Verse: "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23

Prayer for the Nations: Romania - Sarai Gal-chis, a native Romanian and regular attender of this church, is coming in to show pictures, teach them some language, and talk to your kids about Romania.

Don't forget dads...Valentines Day is next week (on Tuesday!)! You probably need to get your plan together now! Let me encourage your plan to include your kids. Instead of going out to eat like I mentioned last week, you could have the kids help you fix a special dinner for their mother. Then they can get their nice clothes on and help serve mom too. They might have more fun being involved, and it will probably be a "stickier" memory about their father's love toward their mom. Then after dinner, you drop the kids off at the grandparents or have the sitter come over so you can go on your date with your wife.

These are just some thoughts! No matter what...make sure your kids see how much you love each other. That will teach them more than anything!

Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church

FAMILY PLUS Children's - February 3

Hey everyone!

I hope you got a chance to view the Virtual Brown Bag yesterday. We covered the topic of "Protect your Family Online". If you did not get a chance to view it yesterday...no worries, we've got you covered! We will be posting it online soon for your viewing pleasure. Don't forget that you can still sign up for Covenant Eyes accountability and filtering through the church at a very discounted rate.

This coming month in Kidstuf your kids will be spending time with more of the key Old Testament characters. We will begin with Samuel. After that we will talk about Saul, Israel's first king, and then work our way through Israel's next kings, David and Solomon.

Here are this week's details:

Scripture: 1 Samuel 1:1-4:1 (Samuel)

Life Application: I can pray.

Memory Verse: "Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people." Colossians 3:23

Prayer for the Nations: Romania

Parent Challenge:

February is a month that's known for what one thing? Love! We celebrate love by a special day that we call Valentines Day. On Valentines Day, we get all "gussied up" to go out and eat. The husband usually buys the wife flowers or some other kind of meaningful gift. And we get to enjoy our relationships. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. In fact, we should probably do something like this more often with our spouse.Let me ask you this question: What if you took your kids along on the date with you? I know...I know...you are thinking, "is this guy a fool?"

Let's think about it for one second. Does your son know how to treat a lady? Does he know how to open a door for a lady? Does your daughter know how she is supposed to be treated on a date? Does she know what to look for in a guy? Now I'm not saying that you shouldn't get away by yourselves without the kids. Maybe it's a 2 part date. Maybe you get the whole family dressed up and go eat, then drop the kids off at the grandparents in order to go get some coffee and dessert with your wife. Or go to the movies?

I know this is not our typical monthly challenge, but I believe something different like this can be a powerful memory that will forever last in your child's memory. Take pictures of it that way you can always point back to that Valentines Day.

For single parents: Let's say you don't have a husband or wife. If that's the case then you already have a Valentines date. Let your kids be your date!

Have fun with this!

Jared Norris
Children's Minister
The Glade Church

Virtual Brown Bag

Virtual Brown Bag Lunch
Join the New Generations Team for lunch from your computer on Thursday, February 2, from 11:30am-12:30pm!

This will be an interactive Internet experience where we will address how to "Protect your Family Online". You'll be amazed at what your kids can access! For instance, by the age of 18, 94% of boys and 63% of girls will have seen pornographic material on the Internet. You will have a chance to eat your lunch, ask questions, and gain practical insight to immediately upgrade internet safety in your home.

Go to www.gladevillechurch.org and click "Watch Live" on the homescreen in order to view the Virtual Brown Bag on Thursday, February 2, at 11:30am.