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