A Whole Lot of "Stuf" Going On....

Sorry, I've been away from my blog for awhile. I've been working hard on this particular blog. My prayer is that it will be a blessing to the people I chose to write about and for those in search of God.

About ten plus years ago our son was moving from kindergarten to his first grade Sunday-school class. He always had a hard time adjusting to a new class, so Dave and I would volunteer to work in the class with him. It turned out this wasn’t your ordinary Sunday-school class. The man in charge was Kevin West, Director of Family Life at the then Sugarcreek Free Methodist Church. He made Sunday-school fun. There was something contagious about him. We decided to stay for awhile. That was ten years ago. He said if we stayed we'd be part of something big. He was right.

Kevin introduced us to his vision. He said that there was a church in Georgia that had a children's program where kids can invite their parents. The program consisted of a live show that taught virtues to kids and parents at the same time. Kevin cast his vision to more and more people. He took Dave and other church members to Atlanta to tour the program there. When they returned they were all on fire with his vision. When God put it into Kevin’s heart to build Kidstuf He gifted Kevin with the leadership qualities and influence that he needed to fulfill the vision.

God brought volunteers across Kevin’s path like Vernon Yoder. Vernon was there from the beginning and played a large role in making Kidstuf a success. He is the world’s longest living recipient of a donor kidney. He is an inspiration to everyone and a great example that God can use anyone, no matter what their limitations are. I can’t go on without mentioning the critical roll that Jim Howard played in the construction and operation of Kidstuf. His comedic talents constantly left us all in stitches. He also devoted hours upon hours writing and producing and for a time ran the whole show. There are countless others who have contributed to the success of Kidstuf (actors, camera operators, computer techs, host team members, dancers, artists, carpenters). On Sundays Kevin would scan the crowds for any undiscovered talent that would help Kidstuf to grow.

Grow it did. The whole church was bursting at the seams. God orchestrated the purchase of property and plans were made to build what is now New Pointe Community Church. Despite several attempts from Satan to derail everything, New Pointe and Kidstuf are thriving.

When you have children, you want to give them everything. You soon find out that’s not possible. Even if you could, if they’re not saved, none of it matters anyway. The best gift you can give them is to expose them to the love of Jesus Christ. Thanks to Kidstuf, our son was saved at an early age. He has returned to Kidstuf as a teenager to volunteer on the tech team.

I hope parents seize the opportunity that Kidstuf brings. Here’s how it works. You bring your children to Velocity. Velocity is where children attend age appropriate classrooms while their parents attend worship service. They are introduced to a new virtue at the beginning of every month. They work on the same virtue for the whole month. In the classroom, they are given a “God Time”. This “God Time” has four daily lessons for the kids to do at home that don’t take more than a few minutes a day to do. If your kids lose their “God Time” it can be downloaded at the churches website. The lessons reinforce the virtue they learned in the classroom. After Velocity, kids can attend Kidstuf with their parents. The same virtue is acted out in music, dancing, and a live show. If that’s not enough, you can also buy a virtue pack at the bookstore that is jam packed with a CD and all kinds of fun stuff to do, again reinforcing the same virtue. How cool is that!

If you have kids from kindergarten through fourth grade and your mission is their salvation, there’s no better place to make it happen.

Make sure you pause the Ipod music on my blog before playing this video, otherwise they both play at the same time. Enjoy!

New Links......

I added two new links for you to check out. Becky's and Lee Ann's. Great stuff!!!
Sue's and Tina's are always interesting too.

Ten things that make me smile.....

1. When I feel God’s presence.
2. When my husband is happy.
3. When my son gets a hard subject.
4. When the little girls in my Sunday school class smile at me and tell me

their stories.
5. When I see a beautiful sunrise or sunset.
6. When the humming birds visit while I’m on the porch.
7. When my cat does something funny.
8. When I paint with Sue.
9. When I watch Three Stooges, I Love Lucy, Wonder Years, Andy Griffith,

etc.

10. When I get a bargain.