Yes I know its August but we are kicking off all of our new programs for the new church year.  Our Sunday morning Bible Study just kicked off their new year last Sunday August 22nd.  On September 8th all of our Wednesday night programs will kick off.

New this year is Hide and Seek Clubhouse: this is a Bible Memory program for pre-k and kindergarten boys and girls. This program is designed to help your child learn to “hide Gods Word in their hearts..” in developmentally appropriate ways so that they can have a solid foundation as they grow in their understanding of Who God is.

We use Psalm 119:11 as our guiding point for our program. This verse says: ” I will hide God’s Word in my heart that I may not sin against God. ” Memorizing God’s Word, the Bible, is a vital means for spiritual development for us all.

We will be having a come and go registration night on September 8th in room 111. Cost for this program is $15 this includes all materials, a backpack, and a theme t-shirt.  There are no dues.  During this time we will be having some fun activities for your child while you register them for their new class.  Please check out our website for more information: http://www.fbclewisville.org/programs-and-opportunities

Do you need a laugh break? Then come on out to our church on September 17th at 7:30 pm. Bring tissues not because you will be weeping but because you will be laughing so hard you will be crying. Cost is $12 per person in advance other details listed below.

Got some bored kiddoes around your house? There are some great free and inexpensive activities in and around our area this summer. Check out area e-guide online to see whats coming up. For example Lowes has theirBuild and Grow workshops this Saturday at your area Lowes stores. And its free!  Also there is a fun summer safety event at Grapevine Mills Mall this Saturday and its free!! Going bonkers has a free play day…just check out their details to register.

So don’t give up your sanity, get out of the house and get moving

Check out some of the images from WOW aka extended VBS on the photo page.  You can also get there by clicking here. I will be uploading more each day so be sure to come back. Click on pics to enlarge and if you can’t see it all after you click on it, click on it again.

Hope you enjoy seeing some of our fun from last week.

Roy Lessin, the co-founder of Dayspring Cards, has a wonderful blog. His latest post is about Father’s. With Father’s day coming up this is a great post. Here is a snippit :

The Heart of a Father
“See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children, and we really are!…” I JOHN 3:1 NLT
The heart of a father is found in the heart of God. In order for a man to be the kind of father that his children need, a man must understand what kind of a father God is to his children. Here are four important areas to consider:

1. Leadership

Children need leadership. A father has been called by God to instruct his child, point his child to the path of life, and show his child how to walk upon it. A father is a child’s spiritual leader. From a father’s lips, a child needs to hear wise words and wise counsel; from a father’s steps, a child needs to see the importance of wise choices and good decisions; from a father’s love, a child needs to discover his purpose, his identity, and his true worth.

A Dad is respected because he gives his children leadership.
Check out the rest of it here: http://bit.ly/blD5iU

We had a fabulous time tonight! It all began with our hot dog supper…yummmy. And then the highlight of the night was Critterman. He always does a fabulous time not just showing us “critters” from our “neck of the woods” but from all over the world that are unique. He also reminds us that what we may think isn’t pretty or creepy was created by God for a greater purpose. That all animals and bugs have a purpose in our world. Now, someone still has to convince me that Tarantula’s have a real purpose, smile, but as he said Tarantula’s help eat bugs and other crawling pests so that we don’t have to deal with them.

He showed us a tortoise; an animal that resembled a hedgehog that is from Madagascar; a Tarantula from Chile (which he is holding in the picture) a lizard that really did look like a snake; a beetle like critter from Madagascar; and then last but not least was a Python that was at least 9 ft long. He said she weighed 25 lbs.

After Critterman left us we started having fun with painting our own wooden snakes; bouncing in the bounce house; hearing a story around the campfire; going on a flashlight walk around our church  in the dark…ooooo; going on a bug hunt; and making our snack for the movie we would see later( we  made trail mix and s’mores).  All in all it was a fabulous night of fun.

Of course as I am posting this its not over. We have about 20 little boys and their mommies snuggled in their beds, cots, etc. (hopefully) sleeping now. Which is really where I need to be as well. Hoping to post even more pics later.

For many parents when their children ask this question or any question related to salvation,  it strikes terror and panic in their hearts. So what do you do when your child asks this question or any question related to salvation?  How can you as a parent be certain you can lead them to do one of the most important things you will ever lead them  to do? Rest assured you CAN do this. Too many parents give in to fear and tell me many times that they are so afraid they are going to “mess their child up” spiritually if they do it. Why? They ask, “what if Ican’t answer their questions? What if I pray with them and they really weren’t ready?” and on and on the panic filled questions go… Bottom line you can with the Holy Spirit’s help do this.

However,before we start with this, I have to ask, have you made this choice and asked Jesus into your heart? Do you know the Jesus that your child is asking about? If you don’t then the things below might help you some, but you must have a relationship with the One your child wants to know and have with Him before you can ultimately introduce your child to Him.  Rather than take up room with more information for you about how to ask Jesus into your heart here is a great link that will give you the steps  on how to do this.

So, lets get started. Below are a few reminders, affirmations and suggestions that will hopefully rid you of the fears and insecurity concerning talking with your child about salvation.

• Step 1 TAKE A DEEP BREATH! Really it will be okay. Remember YOU aren’t “saving” your child from Sin, God is. He can handle anything.
• Step 2 Pray This sounds so simplistic but is such a powerful gift that God has given to us. Bottom line, remember to ask God to give you the ears to hear and  to discern what your child is really asking about and also give you the words to say; ask Him also to open your ears to recognize those teachable moments that your child is offering you even before they drop the blog title’s question on you.
• Step 3 Begin Asking Questions:  Ask them the open ended questions. But let them tell you what they are thinking, don’t answer the questions for them, allow them to take their time to think it through and answer you without your prodding or leading them. This is the only way you will know what they are thinking. As preschoolers or young children they really won’t know how to answer some questions so make sure you

Before you ask , here are some sample open ended questions you can use: “Where did you hear about asking Jesus in your heart?”  “Why do you want to do this?”  “Tell me how you think you get ‘Jesus in your heart. What do you think asking Jesus in your heart means? Why do you need to do this?’ “

• Step 4: LISTEN! As they are answering the questions. I can’t emphasize this enough. Your child may not be asking you to lead them in the “sinner’s prayer” to be “saved” they just heard this phrase from someone’s older brother or sister or even in church and they just want to know how it all works. Children are very literal.

In Part Two we  will cover:

Salvation terms and their meanings; how to talk about these with your child so they will understand.

We wanted to let you know about some new parenting resources available to you.

On our Preschool Ministry Website Pages there are some new links for you to explore that include

advice and idea links for parents.

Check out our Milestones page on the website as well for upcoming events and even more

links to parenting information that includes faith development.

Are you on Facebook? If so then become a fan of our Everlasting Seed Co. We will post information about upcoming events,

notifications about CDC and information that we hope will help you on your journey of parent-hood.

As always if you would like more information please let me know: sshaw@fbclewisville.org

Here is a great article from Tommy Sanders on LifeWay’s website,  originally written for Sunday School teachers,

this article also gives direction to parents regarding talking with your Children about Easter.

Bringing Easter Into Focus

Written by Thomas L. Sanders

The Easter season is an amazing time of year for children and adults. Even God’s

creation celebrates this season.Easter is filled with many events–hunting Easter

eggs, decorating baskets, performing passion plays, and, of course,

the annually occurring pilgrimage of people who never attend church any other

time of year.Easter is the most significant holy day celebrated by Christians each year.

This special day offers Christiansthe opportunity to reflect on God’s fulfillment of His

covenant through the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

During this array of events and celebrations, it is possible to overlook the opportunity to focus on the significance of

Easter for children. In a world where time is a precious commodity and people are pushed to the limits, churches can

easily allow secular traditions or commercial marketing to cloud or confuse the message of Easter. This celebration can

become what the commercial world makes of it. This is especially true with the heightened interest of the

pilgrimage of “once-a-yearers. Begin planning early how you can bring Easter into focus for boys and girls.

Every teacher must first consider what the child has learned from his previous experiences. What teaching and

learning experiences have prepared the child for this Easter season? A child must have a grasp of foundational

truths about Jesus, God, and self before he can truly grasp the significance of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

to read more….click here to go LifeWay’s original article.