Generosity- Making Someone's Day by Giving Something Away

It’s official—the holidays are around the corner. December has finally begun and the busyness of the Holiday season has started! Not only has it begun at home with Christmas parties, presents to buy, Christmas break beginning, etc, it has begun within 4:12 Kids as well! I have been looking forward to this month for a long time, even counting down the days until Dec. 1st. This month, your children will learn about Generosity and what it means to truly give this Christmas season.

It’s so easy to lose perspective and get wrapped up in all the hustle and bustle of the Holidays. That’s why I’m excited to focus on Generosity this December—so kids (and adults like me) can be reminded about what we should get all wrapped up in this year! In fact, James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” So, we know that God is the giver of all good things. But we also know that God’s generosity has a purpose. In one of the busiest times of year it’s important to take time to remember who gave first. We can stop and remember how amazing it is that God sent His Son to show us a new way to live and later make it possible for us to live with Him forever if we just believe .Other people should be valuable to us because they are valuable to God. When we give to others it shows God that we value the people He loves so much that He sent His son. So many times we think that our ability to be generous is connected to our riches. We are afraid to give because we don’t know if we have enough, and we think generosity is for those who have more than we do to give. But the cool thing about generosity is that we’re not generous because we are rich, we are rich because we are generous. When we choose to give generously to others, we are blessed with everything that really matters in life! Below I have listed some of the announcements for December. Be sure to check back throughout the month for more announcements and to find out what the kids are doing each Sunday!

ANNOUNCEMENTS:
KIDstuf is our Family Worship Environment that will begin on Christmas Eve at the 5:00 service. Beginning in January, KidStuf will be the last Sunday of each month during the 11:00 hour. KIDstuf is our opportunity to put the parents in the kids’ shoes. This worship environment is where families learn about character and faith together. It’s a fast, noisy, zany, multimedia, kid-focused, parent-centered, virtue-driven 40 minute extravaganza that creatively combines music, drama, and storytelling to teach God’s Word in a relevant way! This is our opportunity to partner with parents to help us, help their kids grow in wisdom, faith, and friendship. Please join me in prayer as we prepare to bring back this great ministry! Mark your calendars for 5:00 Christmas Eve to join as we kick off the First KIDstuf and invite everyone you know!

Painting Crew Needed- The set for KIDstuf is be built this week and volunteers are needed to help paint the set and decorate once it is complete. If you are creative and would like to volunteer to help, please contact Emily as soon as possible!

Bible Studies- There will be no Kindergarten-2nd Grade Bible Study or 3rd and 4th grade Bible Study this Sunday, Dec. 4th due to the International Children’s Choir. I encourage you to attend the service instead!

Preschool Story Time- The International Children’s Choir will be at the church all day on Monday,. Dec. 5th so there will be no Preschool Story Time, We will resume on Monday, Dec. 12th from 10:00-11:00 and will have a special Christmas themed Story Time on Monday, December 19th! All preschool aged children are invited to for an hour of songs, stories, fun, and fellowship

FAMILY WORSHIP SUNDAY– December 25th and January 1st will both be Family Worship Sundays. Enjoy your Holidays together as a Family!

My prayer for you through this Holiday Season, is that as a family you may be blessed beyond measures and become wrapped up in what truly matters this season! Don’t forget that we have Sunday School every Sunday at 9:30 for children 2yrs-6th grade! If you have any questions about things coming up, feel free to email me at emilym@fumcmaumelle.org. I pray everyone is having a great week!

-Emily

Day 5 Video

Day 4 Video

Day 3 Video

Day 2 Video

Day 3 Photos

Day 2 Photos

And the winner is.....

Lime Green Girls take home the Golden Broom Award for cleanest cabin!!!!

Camp 3456 Day 1 Videp

Good Morning from Camp 3456!

We had an awesome first day of camp and the kids were super excited to get started this morning. They've had breakfast and just finished energizers (fun dances that the kids LOVE). Today, the kids will tackle the low ropes course, have crafts, nature walks and then a little bit of swimming. They were all smiles this morning and don't even seem to mind the heat. I will post a video from last night soon so be on the lookout for it. Now, off to the low ropes!!!!

My Camp - Day 1 Photos

My Camp kicks off our Jam-Packed July

Today was an amazing day! We kicked off our crazy July with the first day of My Camp Day Camp and it was such a great time. The theme for My Camp is HIS world is MY world. We are learning all about God's creation and how He has entrusted us to be caretakers of all He has created for us. Today, we heard the story of creation and talked about how God gave us all these things and we must take care of them. The highlight of our day was a nature walk around Lake Valencia. The kids had a great time finding "treasures" from nature. We also had a wonderful discussion about the massive amounts of litter we found around the lake (most of it left from 4th of July festivities). The kids were all very upset that so much litter covered the areas around Lake Valencia!

I'd like to thank our youth volunteers that are helping us with My Camp - Reed Burroughs, Camryn & Carly Roberts, Iselin Hagevik and Wolffe Bonewell. They are all so wonderful with the kids and are a big help! Another thank you to our church intern - Emily McElroy for all her help! Be sure to check back each day for photos from My Camp! You can also find photos on the FUMC 4:12 Kids Facebook Page!

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/An-Important-Announcement-From-First-Church.html?soid=1103573873533&aid=-npWLzIEzc0

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/An-Important-Announcement-From-First-Church.html?soid=1103573873533&aid=-npWLzIEzc0

"Don't Worry, I Got This Mom!"

It's hard being on the outside of the bus. Really hard. Today, I was on the outside of the bus and Wolffe, my 9-year-old, was on the inside excited about the week ahead of him at Camp Good News. A week without parents, just Wolffe and 287 other excited kids and 6 members of the CM staff of The Woodlands United Methodist Church. A week where Wolffe is without Mom and Mom is without Wolffe. I am not going to lie - I cried. As the buses pulled away, I said a prayer for Wolffe and the campers and then, I pulled away in tears. It's not the first time Wolffe has gone to camp, but it's the first time I wasn't going with him. I have no doubt that he is safe. He is in good hands. The CM staff at TWUMC are family to us so I wasn't worried about that. I have no doubt he is having fun. I've been there - it is nothing but fun! I have no doubt he will leave camp changed. God is doing awesome things this week. Bet on it. So...what's my problem? I keep thinking about our conversation in the car this morning: 

Me: "I'm going to miss you. Like REALLY miss you. Like REALLY REALLY REALLY miss you."

Wolffe: "I know, Mom. I'm going to miss you, too, but don't worry, I've got this!"

Me: "What do you mean?"

Wolffe: "I am going to miss you, but I know I am going to have so much fun that it won't be so bad. I also know you will be ok."

Me: "How do you know that?"

Wolffe: "Because I prayed for you this morning. And I will pray everyday that I am at camp. God's going to take care of you."

"I prayed for you this morning." Those words keep running through my head...and my heart. My son is praying for me. Wow. He is praying for me. This child that I pray for each and every day is praying for me. This really isn't new. I have heard Wolffe pray for me before during bedtime prayers. In fact, I hear it every night. What is new, was that I wasn't there. I didn't hear it. He was on his own and I was...on the outside of the bus. And, to be honest with you, as hard as it is to be on the outside - it's also a wonderful feeling! Proverbs 22:6 tells us "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." As my child gets older, it is becoming more and more evident that all those years of "training" are sticking. Despite sometimes feeling like he isn't listening - he really is. He is listening, soaking it all in and, following the path God has set for him. Yes, he will make mistakes, but he is listening. He is learning. He is making choice. Choices only he can make. Yes, I'm on the outside of the bus, but that's ok because his Father is on the inside. 

And you can help make this happen!

"The next generation will see one of the greatest awakenings the world has ever seen. I really do believe the Lord is setting them up for it. (Which is why I believe the greatest investment in "missions" that the church can make today is the one to have a dynamic youth and children's ministry)"  - Perry Noble

Don't Forget!!!!

Sunday School Lessons for Sunday, May 22

Discover 4:12

In the Beginning . . . Jumping into God’s Story

Peter Escapes from Prison

Objectives:

KEY CONCEPT: God wants us to pray together about everything.

KNOW WHAT: Children will hear how people prayed for Peter while he was in prison. As they prayed, God sent an angel to help Peter escape.

SO WHAT: Children will learn God wants us to pray about everything.

Bible Verse - “. . . Tell God about everything. Ask and pray.” Philippians 4:6

Summary: Acts 12:1-17  - Peter loved telling people about Jesus. King Herod arrested followers of Jesus, so he put Peter in jail and planned to bring him to trial after the Passover. Peter’s friends, who were a part of the church, prayed for him in their home. While Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, an angel of the Lord was sent to help Peter out of jail. Peter’s chains fell off and the angel led him out. Peter then went to his friends’ house. He told them how the Lord helped him.

Journey 4:12

iWorship

Lesson 1 – Why worship?

Big Idea: God created us to worship Him and we should remember to give God all the glory. We were created to worship God. God is waiting for us to worship Him. We can't keep it to ourselves.

Verse: “Worship the LORD in the splendor of His holiness; tremble before Him, all the earth.”    - Psalm 96: 9  

May Announcements From 4:12 Kids

ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM 4:12 KIDS

REGISTRATION DAY - Want to register your child or student for Summer events, but don’t have internet access? Then you’re in luck!  THIS SUNDAY, May 15th, is Registration Day for 4:12 Kids, Merge 4:12 and Instill 4:12. Before and after the 9:30 and 11:00 services, Michele and Alli will be in the front lobby ready to assist you with online registrations. We can help you register your child as well as collect any payments/deposits that are due. Many of our registrations will close on May 31^st so we encourage you to use this time to get your kids registered! You can also register to be a VBS volunteer!!!!!!!!!!

CRAFTY KIDS SUMMER PROGRAM - Children ages 3-4 years are invited to join us from 10-11:30 a.m. Mondays in June for our new Crafty Kids workshop! Each Monday, we'll explore a different Bible Story and do a fun craft that corresponds with the story. This class is limited to 15 children and registration is required.  Cost is $25 per child and includes all supplies. Registration may be done via the online registration site. You can find the link on the church website. This event will meet June 6, 13, 20 and 27 in Room 203. Because of the hands-on nature of this event, we ask that at least one adult accompany your children.

VBS VOLUNTEERS DESPERATELY NEEDED - Yes, Michele is desperate for volunteers! To date, only 15 people have registered to be VBS Volunteers. As you know, VBS is a huge endeavor and we cannot do it without the help of our volunteers. We need adult as well as “Mergie”/Student volunteers. A special registration has been set up for volunteers on the registration page. If you need assistance registering, you can call or email Michele or you can register in the front lobby today!!! Even if you have verbally told Michele you’d like to volunteer, please register!

VBS DATE CHANGE - Please note, due to a conflict, Café VBS will now end on Thursday, July 28^th instead of Friday, July 29^th.

STORY TIME - Due to a recent decline in participation, Story Time has concluded for the Summer. Thank you to those of you who have supported this new outreach ministry. We will start up again in the Fall!

  

NO SUNDAY SCHOOL MAY 15th & 29^th - There will be no Sunday School on May 15th due to Confirmation Sunday. Also, there will be no Sunday School on May 29^th. This falls during Memorial Day weekend and many of our kids and volunteers will be out.

SUMMER VOLUNTEERS NEEDED- 4:12 Kids and Merge 4:12 are both in need of volunteers to teach Sunday School this Summer in our Discover 4:12, Journey 4:12 and Merge 4:12 classes. If you are interested in teaching one to two times a month for any of these age groups, please contact Michele at michele @fumcmaumelle.org

Reasons To Register Online For Summer Splash Events!

1. It's the ONLY way to register!
2. It allows us to order enough supplies, food, etc for the events.
3. It keeps us from purchasing TOO many supplies.
4. It only takes about 10 minutes of your time.
5. Typing is less work than using pen and paper!
6. You will make sure your child gets a spot in one of our camps!
7. Michele has to let Ferncliff know how many kids will be attending Camp 3456 so they can make sure we are adequately staffed.
8. Once you do it, you'll be able to mark it off your to-do list!
9. Technology is cool!
10. Everyone + Online Registrations + Summer Splash Events = Happy Children's Minister!!!!!


So what are you waiting for? CLICK HERE today and get your kids registered. Having problems with the system? No worries, call or e-mail Michele at 501-851-2377 or michele@fumcmaumelle.org and I can help you!

Today's Lessons May, 1, 2011

Here's what the kids of 4:12 Kids learned today in Sunday School.

Discover 4:12 
Jesus Joins His Friends for Breakfast - John 21: 1-19
Key Concept: Jesus is our friend and He wants us to be His friend, too.
Objectives:
     Know What: We heard the story of Jesus helping His friends catch fish and eating breakfast with them.
     So What: We learned that Jesus wants to be our friend.
Verse: "I have loved you with an everlasting love..." Jeremiah 31:3

Journey 4:12

Theme: Share Jesus

Topic: Jesus Gives The Great Commission

Bible Topic: God paid the price for sin and those who believe in Him can have eternal life

Focus: Tell people who have not heard about Christ…all about Him

Life Point: Share the Good News

Scripture: “…Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone.”

Day In The Son

Don't forget to join us this Sunday, April 17th from 4-6 PM for  Day In The Son. It's sure to be an afternoon of fun for the entire family! There will be games, music, food, an Easter drama, pony rides and an egg hunt. Bring your family, friends, neighbors...EVERYONE!

Welcome!

Welcome to the Children's Ministry of FUMC Maumelle's new blog!