Mother’s Day

Kathie Phillips

This past Mother’s Day was special for so many reasons. Here are a few highlights:

The morning began with a handmade photo collage given to me by my daughter, Kennedy.  The collage was a mix of pictures of her as a baby and as a teen; many of the pictures were of the two of us.  It is one of the most precious gifts I’ve ever received.  My son, Daniel, gave me a Starbucks gift card.  He really knows how to speak my language (hint, hint).

Once we arrived at church, we did last-minute prep for the busy morning ahead.  Because there were six (6) children being baptized, we presented each child with a handmade prayer shawl (I’ll share the back story on this in another post – it’s a really cool story!)  In addition, we had our elementary children join us in the Worship Center during the baptisms.  Not only did they witness the baptisms, they were able to accept the charge given by our Senior Pastor to be a good example to the children being baptized and doing their best to help them know and follow Jesus.  It was such a special thing to have the children join us for this special milestone event.

I should also mention that our Senior Pastor’s sermon talked about the importance of Children’s Ministry in our church and following through on the commitment during baptisms and dedications to help parents raise their children to know and love God. It was a very compelling sermon, encouraging people to get involved and serve in Children’s Ministry.  While Pastor John was speaking, photos scrolled through on the screens of our volunteers and ministry in action.  It all tied in together so beautifully. We were even blessed to meet people moved by the Pastor’s words who signed up to serve in our ministry!

Also, we had a mini recruiting campaign that asked for a few good men to sign up to serve in our ministry as a Mother’s Day gift to the moms.  Well, we wanted to give a small token of appreciation to the men who signed up.  Here’s a pic of what we offered them:

We filled a plastic tumbler with individually-wrapped Lifesavers candies and then tied on a gift tag with curling ribbon.  A simple gift that all of the men appreciated – some even cracked it open before leaving the building!

After such a wonderful day at church, our family gathered together and enjoyed good food, fun (including games with a cash prize!) and fellowship – and a few gifts.

Overall, it was a great Mother’s Day from beginning to end.  I’m so thankful.

How did you spend your Mother’s Day?

 

Choose to Speak Life!

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments
Photo Credit: cornerstonedelco.org
Photo Credit: cornerstonedelco.org

 

A month ago, my daughter and I began a weekly one-on-one Bible study.  We are working our way through Elizabeth George’s book A Young Woman After God’s Own Heart.  The conversations that have come out during our time together has far exceeded my expectations.  I get to hear her share more of her tender heart, her struggles, what matters to her more than I have by just asking her to tell me about her day.  Our time together gives me the opportunity to speak life into her, to encourage her, to pray over her and with her.  My time with her account for some of the most precious minutes of my entire week.

Yesterday I was reminded that some girls don’t have a female at home who cares for them and invests time speaking life into them.  One of my leaders came into my office, deeply burdened by something that a little girl in her small group asked this past Sunday.  Her question: “What if your Mom says you’re worthless?”

The girl’s leader expressed to me how speechless she was.  She (the leader) found it hard to believe that a child so young had ‘worthless’ as a part of her vocabulary.  As only God could orchestrate, I was able to look my heartbroken leader in the face and remind her that this is why we minister each and every week.  It’s more than just preparing and teaching a lesson.  We are building relationships with children from broken homes; children who are struggling to know that they matter and have worth because God created them for a purpose.

We have the opportunity to speak life into people in our circle of influence.  Whether we lead a staff, teams of volunteers, a small group of children at church or are parenting our own children, we have an opportunity to speak life.

What might that look like?

**Take time to listen – really listen.  Listen with your ears and your heart.

**Remind them of their worth in Christ.

  • He created them in a special way (Psalm 139:13-18).
  • He delights in them (Zephaniah 3:7).
  • He has a purpose for them (Jeremiah 29:11, Ephesians 2:10).

**Tell them how important they are to you – and do this regularly.

  • What special traits/gifts/talents do they possess?
  • What do they do well?
  • How are you seeing God work in their life?
  • What do they bring to the group?  How would the group be different if they were not a part of it?

I am so thankful to serve in a church that places a high value on Children’s Ministry.  I am thankful to serve alongside volunteers whose hearts break for hurting children.  Children today need to hear positive messages from the adults in their lives.  Our words have power.  They need us to pray regularly for them and with them.  They need us to speak life into them.

What child needs an encouraging word from you today?  Ask God to reveal that to you and then act.  Speak life!

 

{Book Review} “Power Bible”

Kathie Phillips

I love reviewing materials that offer a different spin on a classic or traditional product, so when the kind people at Green Egg Media contacted me to review two of their Power Bibles, I was thrilled.

 

About the Books

The Power Bible is a set of 10 illustrated comic book-style bibles featuring stories and characters from the Old and New Testaments.  The series brings bible stories to life for children ages 6 to 12.  The stories are easy to follow and understand and create a strong emotional connection that will hold kids’ attention from beginning to end.  The books reference scripture verses from the NASB version.

The publishers outline why a comic style was used:

Visual.  Pictures tell a better story.  Comics bring ideas to life, creating an intimate, emotional connection between the reader and the story.

Individualized.  The reader determines the pace of the story by lingering on images or reviewing pages to better understand the story.

Learning tool.  Comics make difficult ideas easy to understand.  Educators today use comics to help young readers, especially to engage those who don’t like to read.

Fun.  Kids enjoy reading a comic so much that learning becomes effortless and fun.

What I Liked

If you combine a bible storybook and a comic book, you’d have the Power Bible.  Kids who love comic books will absolutely love the graphics and layout.  (Note: The colorful, attention-grabbing Asian-style graphics stems from the fact that the books were first published in Korea.)

I also like that mini character biographies are included at the beginning of each book.  Having that information will help the children connect better with the characters and just might teach them a thing or two (but don’t tell your children that!)

What I Think Was Missing

While the graphics were indeed bold and colorful, some of them were a bit scary.  The bulging eyes and facial details on some characters were, in my opinion, a little too dramatic.

I also would’ve loved if the chapter titles and scripture passages were a little larger.  To me, the smaller text was lost on the page with the graphics and conversation bubbles.

I also would’ve liked to see the scripture passages listed with the chapter names in the Table of Contents.  I think that would help the children better develop their bible literacy skills.

My Recommendation

Overall, I think middle to older elementary children (2nd-5th graders) will enjoy reading the series.  Check it out for yourself at www.greeneggmediagroup.com.  Each of the 10 volumes sells individually for $14.99.  The complete set of 10 books sells for $149.90.  The Old Testament series (Books 1-6) sells for $89.90, while the New Testament series (Books 7-10) sells for $59.90.

Have you seen the Power Bible?  What were your thoughts?

Green Egg Media provided me two free copies of books in the series in exchange for an honest review.

Connected to the Vine

Kathie Phillips 5 Comments
Photo Credit: www.versexverse.com
Photo Credit: www.versexverse.com

A few weeks ago, I ate a bunch of grapes and when I had eaten them all, something grabbed my attention.  The empty vine that I held was so tightly intertwined, I’m surprised I was able to free any grapes to enjoy!  A very familiar scripture passage popped into my mind:

“Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit…”

John 15:5

I didn’t think much about the empty grapevine after that evening, but this morning, I was again reminded of the same scripture.  You see, I was out running errands but came across some beautiful plants that I thought would be perfect to plant in the planters on my front porch.  I couldn’t wait to get home and plant them in the lackluster planters.

As I cleared out what was left of the mums I had planted months earlier, I notice that while the branches broke off easily, pulling the root out of the planters was a bit of a struggle.  Again, the above scripture came to mind.  The passage continues:

“Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers…”

John 15:6

Staying connected to God (the Vine) is a vital element of a growing relationship with God.  So often, those of us in ministry work in the name of the Lord without realizing that we might not be spending adequate time in the Word and the presence of our Savior.

At our staff meeting that same week, our Senior Pastor encouraged us to stay connected to the Vine by incorporating the following into our regular spiritual practices:

The First 30: We were encouraged to find a quiet place (the Sanctuary, the Worship Center, the prayer chapel or our office) and spend the first 30 minutes of our day with the Lord before we jump into our work.  When he suggested this, I realized that even though I work in a church, I rarely sit in the prayer chapel or Sanctuary to pray or read my Bible.  This was a great suggestion.

Attending staff prayer: Three times a week, our entire staff gathers for 30 minutes to pray.  The time isn’t required but it’s highly encouraged.  It’s a time to take a break and connect with each other about personal and ministry needs.

Retreat Day: The last thing that our Pastor encouraged was for us to take a personal retreat day monthly, quarterly or a few times a year.  The retreat day should include time for solitude, prayer, Bible reading and just sitting in the presence of God.

During Holy Week, I was able to take a few days away to for prayer, planning, reading and studying.  While the time included some distractions (ugh!), I was able to read some of George Barna’s The Power of Team Leadership as well as think through a volunteer orientation program I’d like to re-launch this fall.  My time in the Word was extra special because my Mom wrote a devotional for me to use each day.  You can download the devotional here and use it in your own quiet time.

I am so thankful for a leader who not only cares about the ministries we lead but also cares for us personally.

Whether you lead a ministry, lead children as a volunteer or lead your family, it is important – or rather imperative – that you stay connected to the Vine.

What does this look like in your life?  How do you stay connected to the Vine while leading a busy life?