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kids experiencing God

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recently many of our dawson kids participated in the “experiencing God kids” Bible study.  i loved watching them process and begin to grasp the seven realities shared in this study.

  • reality 1 – God is always at work around me.
  • reality 2 – God wants a personal relationship with me.
  • reality 3 – God wants me to be a part of His work.
  • reality 4 – God speaks and shows me what He wants me to do.
  • reality 5 – i must have faith and take action to follow God and join in His work.
  • reality 6 – i must be willing to make changes in my life to follow God’s plan.
  • reality 7 – i know and experience God when i obey Him.

i also realize the short time we have exploring these truths within the church walls simply isn’t enough.  we must help children and families understand that each reality is to be a part of our everyday life.  so, i went to one of the most humble, godly men i know, claude king, who just also happens to be the co-author of experiencing God.  because i see Him not only talk about these truths but genuinely live them out daily, i ask him to share some thoughts for children and families about the importance of experiencing God each day. below is the video he shared:

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/87676560[/vimeo]



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In kidmin

step back and see

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it is old news that us southerners experienced some eventful snow days recently.  wanting to fully experience these rare snowy moments, i rushed out the other evening to take pictures as the snow began to fall.

photo 1

i live right beside my church in the sweet “mayberryesque” town of homewood.  so as the much talked about snow (not ice, that’s what we usually get.) began to fall, i couldn’t wait to get outside and experience it.  there may have been snowmen and snowball fights, but my first priority was to take some pictures. i crossed the street to the church and quickly snapped a picture of the front of our sanctuary.  when looking at it later i thought, hey that’s not half bad.  i mean i don’t need to quit my day job, but i thought i captured the whole scene quite nicely. (even if it was taken with my phone.)

photo 2

 

then later that evening i saw a picture that my friend and coworker, andy cartee, had taken and shared on our church’s facebook page. same night, same building, and same snow, but i was blown away by how much more beautiful his picture was.  i kept saying to myself, “danielle, you should have stepped back to really see the whole picture.”  how did i miss those incredible snow-covered oaks? while my close up was just a glimpse of what surrounded me, andy captured the bigger, more beautiful picture. his is boldly framed with glorious oaks. (i sound like my mother as i go on and on about trees.)

i know these are simple snow pictures, but i keep thinking about how i all too often approach life, ministry, and God’s story like i did my photograph.  i zoom in and fixate on one or two issues. depending on what i perceive in my small frame, i can feel complacent, worried, prideful, scared, angry, or sad. when focused on my tiny view, i can miss an opportunity to see the greater picture.  i miss the oaks.

since that snowy night last week, these are the lessons i have been continually repeating to myself:

when the lens of life’s journey captures moments that don’t seem fair or make sense… step back.  what is unfocused to me, my great God sees clearly.

instead of allowing ministry challenges/successes to frame the way i serve… step back.  maybe it is time to broaden my view and remember God holds the landscape in His hands.

when things don’t go my way…step back.  i am constantly in need of the humble reminder that God is the main subject of the story, not me.

because i didn’t step back, my picture is void of the oaks. may that not be the case for my life.

“they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” isaiah 61:3

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In faith

living like we really believe

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Basic RGBrecently i attended an all sons & daughters / tim tommons concert in the area.  during one of the familiar worship songs, tim timmons stopped and challenged us.  he asked, “what if we really, whole heartedly believed the amazing words we were singing? how would our worship be different?”

what a simple, profound thought.  we often worship so flippantly, allowing words to casually fall from our lips before taking time to examine our heart.  my worship the rest of the evening was altered.  i could no longer just sing to be a voice.  with each song, i had to consider what i truly believed about each word i voiced.  more often than going through the motions of the song, i fell silent in prayer.

as we enter the Christmas season, i can’t help but think about applying this same principle.  we will have the opportunity to hear and teach scriptures we have studied countless of times.  carols and worship songs we sing are so familiar we could easily sing the last note without ever truly pondering the truth the tune holds.

so, i ask myself this Christmas: 

 what if i lived like i really believed the miraculous truths of Christmas?  

what if instead of “lip service”, i celebrated Christmas with “life service” grounded in deep belief?

what if, as i taught the lessons of Christmas to children, i could support them with examples of where i have allowed Him to be faithful to me?

my Christmas could be different if:

as i pondered the way our Savior and King entered the world, i could eagerly trust that His ways are not like mine.

i believed beyond the shadow of a doubt that “nothing is impossible with God.” (luke 1:37)

i not only taught children about how an angel told mary, joseph, and the shepherds  “not to be afraid” (luke 1:30, matthew 1:20, luke 2:10), but i lived a fearless life trusting God’s plan.

mary’s song caused me to examine if my soul truly “glorifies the Lord.” (luke 1:47)

like the shepherds, my reason to hurry was to spend time with Jesus. (luke 2:16)

i, like the wisemen, may have some valuable gifts for Jesus this Christmas.  i could lay down some idols and my “precious” time. i could tightly wrap up control and trust it to the One who holds me in the palm of His hand.  and, i could consistently lay my future at my Savior’s feet.

one day at a time this Christmas season, may i live more and more like i believe!

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In faith

Jesus in john…

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john330a week ago today i had the honor of sharing in the closing general session of group’s 2013 kidmin conference.  our theme for the day was “celebrate Jesus” and i was about to burst with excitement to share what i know God placed on my heart.  we looked at john the baptist in the first chapter of john.  wow, did he ever get celebrating Jesus.  john the baptist truly knew who he wasn’t (“i am not the Messiah.” verse 20), knew it wasn’t about him (“i am the ‘voice’ calling in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord.” verse 23) and he knew the true worth of the One he was privilege to serve. (“the straps of whose sandal i am not worthy to unite.” verse 27)

through looking closely at john the baptist’s example, God showed me how we can so easily make ministry about us when we are simply the lamp stand for the Light of the world – Jesus.  i was convicted about how the praise of man and innocent encouragement can quickly lead me to try to steal some of His glory!  i have great strides to make in making it all about Him. “He must increase, i must decrease.” john 3:30.

as i continued to study the book of john, i looked for who Jesus was in each chapter. so i set out to memorize a truth of Jesus (and literally just a tiny glimpse of all He is) for each of the 21 chapters.  how could i talk about celebrating Jesus without actually doing so? i know i haven’t begun to grasp it all, but boy how i needed those truths.  see it turns out that i had some unexpected, additional responsibilities placed on me at the conference. i would be lying to say at moments i didn’t have the tendency to be overwhelmed.  what a great gift from Jesus to be able to get away, alone with Him, and recite each of these 21 truths.  see, i thought they were only for my talk on monday morning, but the Jesus in each verse seems to be who sustained me throughout the entire weekend.  here is what i kept saying over and over to myself and also how i ended my talk on celebrating Jesus.

piccrossglow

– in chapter one Jesus is the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us. 
– in chapter two He is the mighty man of miracles.
– in chapter three Jesus is Savior and the only way to be born again.  
– in chapter four Jesus is the Living Water.
– in chapter five He is Healer and equal to God.
– in chapter six Jesus is the Bread of Life.  
– in chapter seven Jesus is the Christ.
– in chapter eight Jesus is the Light of the world.
– in chapter nine He makes the blind see.
– in chapter ten Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
– in chapter eleven He is the Resurrection and the Life. 
– in chapter twelve He is the Son of Man lifted up.
– in chapter thirteen He is the humble servant. 
– in chapter fourteen Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
– in chapter fifteen He is the True Vine.
– in chapter sixteen He is Overcomer.
– in chapter seventeen Jesus prays for us.
– in chapter eighteen He is called Jesus of Nazareth and King of the Jews.
– in chapter nineteen Jesus, our Savior, was crucified for us. 
– in chapter twenty Jesus is ALIVE!!!!
– in chapter twenty-one Jesus appears to His disciples, tells Peter to feed His sheep, and we learn that Jesus did so many other things that the world could not hold the volumes of books it would take to record them!  

i have loved my time in john (and have much more time ahead there), but God did something with the truths in those scriptures that not only carried me throughout the conference but encourage and hold me accountable each day as i go forward. i am thankful that even a small glimpse of Jesus shows us that He is enough. He can be our all and all.  He is able and He is worthy to be celebrated!!! what do you need to be reminded about Jesus today?

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In kidmin

kidmin top ten

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in honor of group’s 3rd annual kidmin conference in just a little over two weeks, i put together a kidmin top ten list of things i am most excited about this year.  this extreme extrovert can’t wait for all the people time and i am sure i will have much to share.  i will be blowing up social media with conference updates throughout the week.  consider yourself warned. (the conference hashtag is #kidmin13.)

the conference app – i am a self-admitted tech nerd, so i have loved playing around with our new kidmin conference app.  even though we are more than two weeks out,  i may have already set up my personal schedule so i will feel a tad bit more organized.  🙂

IMG_3599time with my team – i have to say i work with some of the most amazing and fun people i know. i am constantly learning from them and laughing with them.  i believe there were several “laugh ’til you cry” moments at the kidmin conference last year.  times of learning, growing, and laughing together are just plum good for the soul.  oh the stories we will have from this year’s conference. they really shouldn’t let us loose in a city together.

traveling – call me crazy, but i love almost everything about it: plane trips, hotel rooms, new cities, taxis, shuttle buses, airport people watching, the luggage carousel, and more. for me it is just one big adventure.

it team

the IT (inside track) team – this group of 100+ kidmin leaders from around the country is a constant source of support and encouragement throughout the year.  not only do they speak into the kidmin conference and share ideas, they also share successes and failures with each other all year long.  several times a day our group connects through facebook, tweets, or emails but it will be so sweet to connect face-to-face at kidmin.

IMG_3611

xorbee sack chair conversations – you just can’t beat comfy chairs, dear friends, spontaneous conversations, and honest sharing.  these casual times in the hallways of the conference center are some of my favorites.  i have yet to be able to take a nap in one of these chairs, but i have never found it hard to strike up a conversation in one.

the unexpected – i like control, but there is nothing quite as uplifting and personal as the unexpected ways God speaks to me through an uninterrupted time of worship, an authentic conversation about ministry struggles, a message from a speaker, a comment from a friend, time in the prayer room, being still in His Word, and time just hanging with people who “get me” and ministry.  you simply can’t schedule how He will show up, but how i look forward to seeing how He does. 🙂

IMG_3593

R.E.A.L.. learning – don’t talk at me, teach me.  don’t just speak of creative classrooms, allow me to encounter one. this is yet another reason i love this conference. not only the workshops, but the general sessions engage and stretch each participant using group’s R.E.A.L. learning method. (relational, experiential, applicable, learner-based)  i get to learn through hands-on experience and then debrief what we discovered. i also leave with practical activities i can easily apply to my ministry back home. not to mention that R.E.A.L. learning is just plain fun!

my workshop – i am super excited to get to share my heart about “helping kids have a friendship with Jesus.”  this is one of my favorite topics to discuss and i look forward to learning alongside participants as i lead this session.  here is my workshop description: “we’ll explore ways to be intentional in facilitating a child’s spiritual formation. experience and explore R.E.A.L. Learning (relational, experiential, applicable, learner-based) ways to take kids beyond learning to genuine relationship with Jesus.”

connect groups – conversation is such a key component of kidmin and i love working with the connect groups.  this IMG_3618year we have connect groups for: children’s ministry veterans, first 2 years in children’s ministry, large-church children’s ministry, small-church children’s ministry, rural children’s ministry, urban children’s ministry, early childhood ministry, preteen ministry, family ministry, multi-site ministry, burned out in children’s ministry, special needs ministry, thriving in transition, volunteers in children’s ministry, bivocational children’s ministry, married to a children’s minister,  canadian children’s ministers, international children’s ministers, men in children’s ministry, women in children’s ministry, and senior pastors.  

chrisme

once a year face time – my kidmin friends are just too spread out across the u.s.  so, when you put so many people i admire in one place, i cherish face to face talks and any insight they can share.  i love that chris yount jones and i can pick up right where we left off and weave ministry and personal topics in and out of easy conversation.  i always love a few moments to sit and glean wisdom from denise muir kjesbo. i have loved gordan and becki west for many years and i am always thrilled when our ministry paths cross.  the group staff could not be more fun and i can’t wait to see karen, laycie, celia, donna, sherri, roseanne, david, shannon, tim and sharon. i’ll have to catch time to giggle with brook, chat with mary, hang with kimberly, and oh the list goes on and on.  so many great people to connect with, so little time!

i would love to hear from any of you who are attending kidmin ’13. i would also love to grab a cup of coffee, a quick meal, or a sack chair convo with you!  can’t wait, see you there.

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