Thursday, December 22, 2011

Your Kid is Singing Christmas Eve?!?

by Mollie

  We are very excited to announce that David is going to be doing a song with the kids on Christmas Eve.  (ages 5 & up)   



It wont be as cheesy as this picture I promise. David already went back in the Sunday School classrooms last Sunday and practiced the song with the kids.  During the Christmas Eve service he is going to call up the kiddos and everyone can come up to the stage (ages 5 & up).  He will sing a song with them and will even be featuring some soloists (you know who you are)!  Its going to be great! I can't wait to see all those smiling faces up there singing about Christmas. 

**Childcare is provided for ages 4 & under ONLY, everyone else is asked to sit with their families.**


 It's almost Christmas Eve, which means its almost Christmas!!  

Blessings,
  

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

# 21 - 25

by Mollie

 We are almost through all 30 of the ways to pray over your kiddos.  Last week, #20 was compassion.  It kind of piggy backs the idea of generosity and was really cool to pray over Zoie & Pennie.  I am in the process of cleaning out our garage (big STINK!) but hopefully we can be generous with the things that we no longer use!

  On to the task at hand:

 #21: Responsibility. "Grant that they may learn responsibility, 'for each of you should carry your own load'" (Gal 6:5)

 #22: Contentment. "Father, teach them 'the secret of being content in any and every situation...through him who gives [them] good strength" (Phil 4:12-13)

 #23: Faith. "I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children's hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them" (Luke 17:5-6, Heb 11:1-40)

 #24:  A servant heart, "God, please help them develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly, 'as if [they] were serving the Lord, not people" (Eph 6:7)

 #25: Hope. "May the God of hope grant that they may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit" (Rom 15:13)

 Hope you have a great week getting ready for Christmas!



Blessings,

Thursday, December 15, 2011

"Jingle Bells, Batman Smells..."

by Mollie

Family Caroling is TOMORROW!!! (12/16)

" Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and sing joyfully about his glorious acts. " Psalm 107:22

Friday December 16th @ 6:30pm at Green Valley Church.  Come bundled up and ready to sing! We are going to meet at the church and get warmed up by singing a couple songs together, then break off into groups and bless the Westwood neighborhood with some caroling! We will also be passing out invitations to our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day services! It's going to be great.

  After all the singing fun, come back to the church to enjoy some hot cocoa and dessert.

 We are asking that each family come dressed warm and bring a dessert to share. 

Any questions or comments please contact Mollie or Nicole (gvckidsministry@gmail.com)  or leave a comment here!

Can't wait to sing with you! 





ALSO

Kids Song for Christmas Eve - We are very excited to announce that David is going to be doing a song with the kids on Christmas Eve.  


It wont be as cheesy as this picture I promise.  If you are planning on attending our Christmas Eve services and your kids are interested then its really simple! David will be practicing the song with the kids (ages 5 & up) on Sunday December 18th during service so make sure you are there.  Then on Christmas Eve, he will call the kids up to the stage (they will be sitting with you!) and they can sing their song. Easy peasy. 

  If you have any questions please email me (mollie) or leave a comment here!

Blessings,
  

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

#16-20 of Praying for your child

by Mollie

   Last week #15 was about generosity.  That is something that is really hitting home with my family.  Almost 4 years ago Ronnie and I lost our home in a fire. Not the San Diego fires, but an apartment fire in Costa Mesa.  To top it off it was the day of our 1st wedding anniversary.




   There was a 15 yr old kid who left a lamp turned over on the bed.  It got to hot and started the fire.  Ronnie and I got out with our lives and the clothes on our back.  We moved in that night with my in-laws here in San Diego and started rebuilding our lives.  The people at GVC blessed us tremendously, they blessed us with clothing, furniture, appliances, everything. They were generous.

  That is something that Ronnie and I are seeking to teach our girls.  To be generous with our time and our resources.  Watoto taught me that.  I blogged about it on Monday, click HERE.  I think it is SO important to pray that over our children, I want their lives to be a blessing.

Here are numbers 16 - 20

 #16:  Peace, peaceability. "Father, may they 'make every effort to do what leads to peace" (Rom 14:19)

 #17: Joy. "May they be filled 'with joy given by the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess 1:6)

 #18: Perseverance.  "Lord, teach them perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to 'run with perseverance the race marked out for {them}" (Heb 12:1)

 #19:  Humility.  "God, please cultivate in my children the ability to 'show true humility toward all" (Titus 3:2)

 #20: Compassion. "Lord, please clothe them with the virtue of compassion" (Col 3:12)


   I would LOVE to hear if you and your family are participating in these prayers.  Just leave a comment here or email me (mollie@greenvalleychurch.com)

  THIS FRIDAY is Family Caroling!  There will be a post tomorrow about it OR click on the left sidebar to find out more info.. Hope to see you there!

Blessings,
 

Friday, December 9, 2011

What's New & Happening

by Mollie.

  We have some exciting things coming up for Kids Ministry and want to make sure ALL OF YOU are in on the fun!

  THIS SUNDAY - Watoto is coming to GVC.  If you haven't seen these amazing kids perform before, you need to be here.  Its incredible! Each service is identical, but we are expecting a lot of people so make sure to get here early! (Sunday School is still offered each service)

 NEXT FRIDAY - December 16th @ 6pm.  Family Caroling!  We are meeting in the youth room at GVC and heading out into the Westwood neighborhood to sing Christmas carols.  We will also be passing out packets of "Snowman Soup"  (fancy hot cocoa)  with an invitation to our Christmas Eve & Christmas Day services.  Then heading back to GVC to warm up and eat dessert!  If you are going to join us (which I hope you will)  Please bring a dessert to share, a flashlight, and dress warm!


 Kids Song for Christmas Eve - We are very excited to announce that David is going to be doing a song with the kids on Christmas Eve.  


It wont be as cheesy as this picture I promise.  If you are planning on attending our Christmas Eve services and your kids are interested then its really simple! David will be practicing the song with the kids (ages 5 & up) on Sunday December 18th during service so make sure you are there.  Then on Christmas Eve, he will call the kids up to the stage (they will be sitting with you!) and they can sing their song. Easy peasy. 

  If you have any questions please email me (mollie) or leave a comment here!

 Blessings!






Thursday, December 8, 2011

More ways to Pray

by Mollie

    I hope that you are having a fantastic week.  I know that our Christmas tree is up, our lights are up (thanks honey!), and we have been enjoying Christmas movies almost nightly. I'm a little over "Prep & Landing" at this point, but Zoie LOVES it so it will continue!

   In my previous post about prayer I covered the first 10 ways to pray for your children.  If you didn't catch those click HERE


   I hope that you are already seeing a difference in the way you are praying for your kiddos and its starting to bless your family.  Here are numbers 11-15.

  #11:  Faithfulness. "Let love and faithfulness never leave {them},' but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts" (Prov 3:3)

 #12: Courage.  "May they always 'be strong and courageous' in their character and in their action" (Deut 3:16)

 #13: Purity.  "Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,' and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions" (Ps 51:10)

 #14: Kindness. "Lord, may they 'always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else" (1 Thess 5:15)

 #15: Generosity. "Grant that they may 'be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age" (1 Tim 6:18-19)


 The author, Bob Hostetler, end the article saying this: "I discovered an additional benefit: as I prayed with my children each night, the Lord brought to mid the quality I'd prayed for that morning, and I would repeat my request in their hearing.  Before long, they began to echo my praying and pour out their own hearts in prayer for the very virtues I desired to see in them.  Thus, my simple prayer program changed not only how I pray, but also how my children pray...and, by God's grace, how they live as well."

  I hope you and your family have a very blessed week!



Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Family Service Day!

by Mollie

  Family Service day was a hit!


We set up all the peanut butter, jelly, bags, and gloves and patiently waited for everyone to show up


AND THEY DID!




Everyone worked so well together and we ended up with over 100 lunches.  These lunches were then taken and dropped off to Interfaith Ministries.  They will be responsible for passing them out to those that need them. 


  Mr. Mizel gave us an awesome talk about the importance of service and loving the unlovely.  Something that has resonated with me and Ronnie and I are seeking to live out.


David was great and provided us with some Christmas worship music.  And of course an opportunity to get silly.  This is everyone doing the "O" of Gloria.  


GVC kids ministry is totally blessed by everyone who came to support our service day.  Thanks! 


 

Saturday, December 3, 2011

TODAY!

Family Service Day is TODAY!!


Hope you see you there!!



Thursday, December 1, 2011

The Power of Prayer

by Mollie

  Welcome to GVC kids ministry blog!!  I am thrilled that you are here, make sure you follow the blog or sign up to have the posts delivered to your inbox so that you are up on the latest things happening here in Kids Ministry!

Check out the links on the left side of the blog for our upcoming events!

 I hope that all of you are recovering from Thanksgiving and gearing up for Christmas!  Last week I sent out an email about the power of prayer and praying for our kids.  Nicole, our new co-director, gave me an article titled "31 Ways to Pray for Your Children" and it has been great! I shared that first 5 with you last week.  Quick recap..
 
    The author, Bob Hostetler, said "Each day of the month, in addition to praying for their safety ad for the concerns of that day, I also ask God to plant and nurture in them a specific character trait, virtue, or fruit of the Spirit, through my and my wife's efforts, through the influence of others, and through their own actions and decisions."

  The first 5 are:

  #1: Salvation. "Lord, let salvation spring up within them, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory" (Isa 45:8, 2 Tim 2:10)

 #2: Growth in grace: "I pray that they may 'grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 3:18)

 #3: Love. "Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to 'live a life of love,' through the Spirit who dwells in them" (Eph 5:2, Gal 5:22)

 #4: Honest and Integrity. "May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection" (Ps 25:21)

 #5: Self-control. "Father, help them to be 'alert and self-controlled' in all they do" (1 Thess 5:6)


   I don't know about you, but praying those five things for my children really challenged me.  Beyond the fact that I want my children to have these five qualities in their life and I can PRAY for these things to come about, my children need an example. I SHOULD BE THAT EXAMPLE.  I think when I realized that in its entirety my stomach hit the floor, and then my knees.  I need to be dousing my children with prayer and the protection of the Holy Spirit AND praying these things to be true in my husband and my life as well.

  Here are your next 5:

 #6: A love for God's Word. "May they grow to find your Word 'more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb" (Ps 19:10)

 #7: Justice. "God, help them to love justice as you do and 'act justly' in all they do" (Ps 11:7, Micah 6:8)

 #8: Mercy.  "May they always 'be merciful,, as [their] Father is merciful" (Luke 6:36)

 #9: Respect (for self, others, and authority).  "Father, grant that they may 'show proper respect to everyone,' as your Word commands" (1 Pet 2:17a)

#10: Strong, biblical self-esteem. "help them to develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are 'God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:10)

  I hope that you find the opportunity this week to pray these specific prayers over your kiddos, it will bless YOU more than you know.

Blessings,
 

Saturday, November 26, 2011

WELCOME!

by Mollie

  Welcome to our new GVC Kids Ministry Blog!  We are hoping that this can be an easy, fun, and fast way to get you (the parents!)  any new and exciting information happening with our ministry as well as being able to share our heart and passion for your kiddos with you!!

  We have bios at the top of the leadership in the ministry as well as buttons on the left side of upcoming events for the ministry! Just click on any of those buttons and it will give you more information about each event!

  On the right side there are options to follow the blog if you are an avid blog reader OR an option to sign up via email and have the latest posts delivered right to your inbox (in my opinion... the easier choice!)

  Please feel free to comment and contact Nicole or me anytime! We would love to interact with you and have the opportunity to get to know you and your families more!!

I feel BLESSED to be able to serve you and your kiddos in the ministry... and again WELCOME!!