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I'm excited to be headed back to Phoenix on Saturday, January 12th.  It will be a great time away with Bethany for a few days.  The purpose of the trip will be to visit my friends at Axiom Church in Peoria, AZ.  My church led a family mission trip during Spring Break a few years ago to Axiom and I'm looking forward to seeing them again and worshipping together.  I will also lead a workshop at Axiom called "Pass It On: Discipling Children" in the evening on Sunday. In addition to my time at Axiom, we will also be attending the USMB The Bible and Women in Ministry Study Conference January 14-16.  Check back here for quotes from speakers and thoughts from attendees.  If you want to stay connected to what is going on at the study conference, use the hashtag #usmbstudyconf

My Aunt Kay Jean suggested I start sharing a verse of the day.  I liked her suggestion but decided instead of a verse of the day, I would share a verse of the week.  Be reminded of who God is from His Word. 13  And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14  But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16  And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them. (Mark 10:13-16)

Today, I am attending The Apprentice Gathering at Friends University in Wichita.  During the day, I attended a workshop led by Mimi Keel. Below you will find notes from the workshop: John Westerhoff in “Will our Children Have Faith?” writes,  In the formation of children we do four things: We tell and retell God’s story until it becomes our own personal story We participate in the Eucharist and the liturgy We listen and talk to each other about our relationship with God We practice acts of ministry together Holistic-Relating to the whole, rather than dissection of the parts; whole is greater than the sum of its parts The Whole Child Multiple-Intelligence Theory Educational philosophy that is based on developing the whole child Creates environments for the whole child to explore Types of multiple intelligences-Bodily, Verbal, Musical, Naturalist, Interpersonal, Mathematical (Logical), Visual See Handout: Multiple Intelligences and Prayer Video...

Looking for a mid-week ministry for your 4 year old through 4th grader?  At Hesston MB, we offer Hide N Seek which includes games, Bible Memory, and a lesson.  This Wednesday, August 29th is our meal/registration/parent meeting.  If you are considering sending your child, please plan on attending as it helps us prepare supplies and classroom for our first week together on September 5th.  If your child attends Hesston public schools, a flyer went home in backpacks last week.  It is below for your convenience. I hope to see you Wednesday at the meal for the whole family beginning at 6:30 p.m. and parent meeting starting at 7 p.m.  

Promotion Sunday is one of my favorite days of the year because it signals the beginning of our year in Go Deeper Hour.  On this day, we introduce new teachers for all of our classes for kids, youth and adults.  We give Hesston MB bags filled with goodies to our 1st graders because they promote out of Children's Church and we give Bibles to our 3rd graders. Adults, which class are you attending this year?  There is something for everyone.  Try one and if it is not what you are looking for, try another one.  I believe we have classes with a variety of topics and variety of teaching styles.  If you have questions about the classes, please let me know. I look forward to celebrating Promotion Sunday with you today!

Over the last several months, I have been sharing new books that I have received.  Starting today on Fridays, I will now be sharing some of my favorite kid's books.  Enjoy!

Over the last several months, I have been sharing new books that I have received.  Starting today on Fridays, I will now be sharing some of my favorite kid's books.  Enjoy!

Over the last several months, I have been sharing new books that I have received.  Starting today on Fridays, I will now be sharing some of my favorite kid's books.  Enjoy!

Over the last several months, I have been sharing new books that I have received.  Starting today on Fridays, I will now be sharing some of my favorite kid's books.  Enjoy!

Over the last several months, I have been sharing new books that I have received.  Starting today on Fridays, I will now be sharing some of my favorite kid's books.  Enjoy!

Tomorrow at Hesston MB, we have special activities for kids from 2 years old through 4th grade during our worship service.  Our service begins at 10:10 a.m.  Special activities occur after singing.  Here is what is planned for this week: Children kindergarten and younger will process into the worship service with palm branches.  If you want your child to participate, please drop them off in kid's classrooms by 10 a.m. on Sunday.  Special Activities-Every Palm Sunday, we have special activities for kids including games, video, music, coloring, and a live donkey.  On these days, fuzion students (5th/6th graders) serve as buddies for the younger children.  Below are a few pictures from previous years.  I hope you will join us tomorrow!

God is Father Pray then like this: “ Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. (Matthew 6:9)  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.                        (1 Corinthians 1:3)  And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father !” (Galatians 4:6)   therefore we are His children But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God (John 1:12) 16  The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)  See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God ; and ...

Jessica Thompson's chapter on "God Our Father" in Everyday Grace is so good.  She reminds us about God as Father to us as how that should affect our parenting.  There are so many good things, but I will just share a few.  Pick up a copy for yourself.  Those on whom God has set his love are no longer children of wrath, but have been brought into God's family and are now referred to as "children of God". J.I. Packer writes, "To be right with God the judge is a great thing, but to be loved and cared for by God the father is greater. God is a good father who loves blessing his children...He is a good father who gives good gifts, always...He loves each of us as he loves Jesus. The biblical definition of discipline, however, has no negative connotations at all. As a matter of fact, whenever God talks about disciplining his children, it is always in the context of love and delight. We confuse God's wrath for his enemies and his discipline of his ...

Sometimes a pastor's family is neglected because of the demands of ministry.  I try very hard to keep my evening meetings to a minimum so I spend time with my wife and kids.  During sabbatical, I made a goal of taking each of my kids somewhere for 24 hours.  It was their choice as long as we could drive there.  Mackenzie and Megan chose instead to go to Guatemala for a week on a mission trip with me in exchange for this 24 hour trip.  Other relationships that were strengthened were with extended family.  Since we are at Hesston MB most Sundays, we miss out on different activities with our families that happen on Sundays so during Sabbatical we spent some Sundays with Bethany's parents and my parents. We also took a longer than usual vacation to Florida as part of our Sabbatical.  This was great to spend time together, have fun, and make memories.  I would have liked to have a weekend or short trip away with Bethany, but that did not work out d...

Head on over to 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting  today and read my post on power for parenting.  I hope it will be an encouragement to you.

Today, I am posting over at http://www.1corinthians13parenting.com/blog/ My post is about passing on faith to our kids based on Ephesians 6:4.  Stop by the site and read it or one of the many other great posts by members of the 1 Corinthians 13 Parenting Team.

My post for today is over at http://www.1corinthians13parenting.com/blog/  today.  It is on Father's Day and the best gift we can give our children--prayer.  Please check it out!

My post for today is over at http://www.1corinthians13parenting.com/blog/  today.  It is on teaching your children (and yourself) about God's faithfulness, goodness, and provision.  Enjoy!

I attended breakout session led by Sally Lloyd-Jones entitled, "Communicating Grace Through Story" She is the author of several books including the "Jesus Storybook Bible" There's no ifs and maybes with God.  To show God loves us no matter what she wrote "Just because your mine." A story slips up on you and catches your heart.  A picture book tells us a story in two languages: words and images. What I knew about America came straight out of the movies. Home is not a place to settle, but a place to set out from. How do you choose the 44 stories in Jesus Storybook Bible? Need stories to help explain the plot, those with good illustrations like Noah, and then stories that moved her.