Be So Very Careful . . . Don't Be A "Sponge"!

When we serve in Children's Ministry - or any area of the church - it can become very easy for us to accept the kindness of others . . . 

Our Special Summer Sale is the Perfect Time to get Grasshopper Mice, Laughing Kookaburras, Jawfish & More!

Today I am happy to share some information about the last book in the Life on the Goldilocks Planet book series - Grasshopper Mice, Laughing Kookaburras, Jawfish & More! In this book you will find  Grasshopper Mice, Glasswing Butterflies, Bee Hummingbirds, Servals, Laughing Kookaburras, Spectacled Bears, Cuban Painted Snails, Hooded Seals, Marbled Polecats, Keas, Jawfish, and Green Basilisk Lizards - which have you never heard of before? I was afraid I would not find interesting, surprising animals for the final book, but these are all very interesting and surprising - especially the Grasshopper Mice - yes, the Grasshopper Mice! They are fierce predators - even venomous spiders, scorpions, centipedes, and snakes are afraid of these tiny mice!

Treasure Your Volunteers . . . What If I Have to "Remove" a Volunteer?

We all want to be people who treasure our volunteers, but what do we do if we need to "remove" a volunteer from the Children's Ministry? This is a very, very difficult situation to find yourself in. Removing a volunteer may result in the volunteer feeling hurt, rejected and unwanted . . . they will likely leave your church and be "scarred" from the experience. Removing a volunteer should be avoided if at all possible, but if you must, what should you do to cause as little damage as possible? Consider the following -

Our Special Summer Sale Makes it Easy & Fun to Learn about Surprising Animals

Have you ever heard of a Coelacanth? They were thought to be extinct - the oldest fossils of them date back 410 million years! But, imagine their surprise when a live Coelacanth was discovered off the coast of South Africa in 1938! From time to time they are found, but not often as they live in deep waters.  Aside from still being alive, two more surprising things about Coelacanths are they typically live 100 years and mom Coelacanths are pregnant for five years!

Treasure Your Volunteers . . . Do They Really Feel Treasured?

We may think we "treasure our volunteers", but our volunteers may not actually "feel" very treasured. Consider the following situations where a volunteer might not feel "treasured" -

Let Our Special Summer Sale Help You Teach the "Whys" with Jaguars, Lilac-Breasted Rollers, Nautiluses & More!

We parents and grandparents tend to do a decent job when it comes to teaching the "whats" - what the Bible says and therefore "what" we believe. But, we do not teach the "whys" - why we are able to believe God is real, the Bible is true, God and science DO go together, and God is good. When we do not teach the "whys" we open the door for someone to question what we believe and for the ones we love to turn away from their faith when they do not know the answers. We must teach the "whys" so they know the answers and are able to have a confident faith.

Treasure Your Volunteers . . . "Notice"!

Do you treasure your volunteers? Volunteers are a gift from the hand of God . . . it is completely appropriate for us to appreciate these "gifts". Today I want to focus on some things we might do to "notice" our volunteers so they know - beyond a shadow of a doubt - they are most sincerely appreciated! Consider the following ideas -

Our Special Summer Sale Helps You Do What Really Matters with Polar Bears, Purple Gallinules, Numbats & More!

This morning as I worked on a blog post for my blog, About the Children's Department, I thought about why Children's Ministry matters to me. I wrote, "Today I'm inspired and motivated by remembering Juan, my children, and my grandsons and by knowing the children in my church and community and in yours, are loved by Jesus even more than I could ever love them! Children's Ministry matters. We need to have vision, passion and a plan so our ministries reach children TODAY!" We certainly are able to also be inspired and motivated by this to hand down confident faith to the children we love - yes, it absolutely matters today what we do with them to hand down confident faith - the Life on the Goldilocks Planet books will help you do exactly this!

What Inspired You to Become Involved in Children's Ministry? What Inspires You to Continue in Children's Ministry?

On CM Connect I saw a question posted by a man named David - he said he was being given the opportunity in an upcoming service to speak on behalf of the Children's Ministry. He asked fellow kidmins to "inspire" him. This got me to thinking about what inspired me to be involved in Children's Ministry in the first place and what inspires me to continue to do so.

Special Summer Sale - Interesting & Surprising Animals, Fun Activities in Cheetahs, Mimic Octopuses, Hoatzins & More!

Our Special Summer Sale allows you to save quite a bit on the purchase of the Life on the Goldilocks Planet books - they were $15.99 for each single book and are now just $11.99! The four-book combo books were $48.99 and are not just $43.99 - another fantastic savings for sure! So, what will you get at these special reduced prices?

So . . . A Few Thoughts About Why We Should Dream a Little!

I've been writing about dreaming a little . . . encouraged you to think about what you'd do if you weren't limited by money, time, space and staffing, gave you some affordable . . . and in some cases free . . . ideas of ways to see some of your "dreams" come true in your ministry and encouraged you to involve others in your church and larger community in seeing those dreams come true. I'd like to give you a couple additional things to think about when it comes to dreams . . .

The Summer Sale & the Best Reason of All to Get Giant Anteaters, Peacock Mantis Shrimp, Rufous Potoos & More!

You might be wondering why I am posting each day about the Life on the Goldilocks Planet books - well, there are a few reasons why . . . first of all, this is a fantastic time to get a book, or two, with our Special Summer Sale! Secondly, it is a fantastic time to get a book, or two, with Summer beginning - these books will provide you a fun and engaging way to help the children you love learn throughout the summer. Thirdly, these books are a fantastic tool to help you hand down confident faith as you teach the "whys" - why we are able to believe God is real and God and science DO go together! And, finally, I thought you might enjoy these posts (and the questions/photos which go with them) as they show you some of the interesting animals and information you will find in the books.

Our Special Summer Sale Makes it Even Better to Learn the "Whys" with Scorpionfish, Clouded Leopards, Pygmy Hippos & More!

Yesterday I wrote about how vital it is for us to hand down confident faith to the children we love by teaching them the "whys" - why we are able to believe God is real and God and science DO go together. Today I want to write about what it may look like for us to do this!

Dream a Little - Part Two - Get Others In On the Dreaming!

In my earlier post,    Dream a Little!, I encouraged you to dream about what you'd like to do in and with your ministry if money, time,space and volunteers were not an issue. I'd like to take this thought a little farther and encourage you to dream, but when you do, let others in on the "dreaming" with you!

Special Summer Sale is a Great Time to Get Megabats, Bengal Tigers, Quetzals & More!

As a grandma/mom I know there is nothing more important than handing down confident faith to the ones I love. I wish I knew when my children were young and when my grandchildren were younger, handing down confident faith must include teaching the "whys" - why we are able to believe God is real, the Bible is true, God and science DO go together, and God is good - just as we teach the "whats" - what the Bible says and therefore what we believe. It is essential for us to teach the "whys", but sadly, there are not many resources to help us do this. There are some, but not many.

Special Summer Sale - Get Red-Lipped Batfish, Giant Purple Squirrels, Kakapos & More! and Hand Down Confident Faith

I have truly enjoyed learning more about animals with which I am familiar - such as  Komodo Dragons, Blue Whales, and Whale Sharks. I have also enjoyed learning about animals I did not know existed - such as  Red-Lipped Batfish, Rufous Hummingbirds, Gharials, Asiatic Lions, Giant Purple Squirrels, Dumbo Octopuses, Sumatran Rhinoceros, Baikal Seals, Guanacos, and Kakapos! Yes, all of these are real animals and you will find all of them are in Red-Lipped Batfish, Giant Purple Squirrels, Kakapos & More!

Use Our Special Summer Sale to get Civets, Tree Kangaroos, Batoids & More! and Hand Down Confident Faith

If you could do something which has the potential to equip the children you love with a confident faith, would you do it? Well, the Life on the Goldilocks Planet books are not only engaging, interesting, surprising, and fun books, but they are a tool which will help you connect with your children/ grandchildren as you learn together the "whys" - why you are able to believe God is real and God and science DO go together!

Dream a Little!

It can be easy to get so involved with all we have to do with Children's Ministry . . . recruiting, training, teaching, etc . . . we find ourselves focusing on those things and don't ever take a moment to dream. Certainly we want to be sure we are taking care of the things we need to do, but we also need to make time to think about what we might like to see happen in our ministries as well. If money, time, space and staffing were not an issue, what would you like to be able to do in and with your Children's Ministry?  

Special Summer Sale is a Great Time to Get Eyelash Vipers, Pygmy Elephants, Pangolins & More!

I have always found learning about animals to be interesting and fun - as do most people - especially children, so what could possibly be a better way to help the children we love learn the "whys" - why they are able to believe God is real and God and science DO go together? The Life on the Goldilocks Planet books are a fantastic tool to help parents and grandparents hand down confident faith because as they help the children they love learn about interesting animals - many of which they may never have heard of before - they will also be learning the "whys"! And with our Special Summer Sale, it is the perfect time to get a book, or two!

Absolutely More Fun Than a Barrel of Monkeys . . . Encouraging & Supporting Our Volunteers!

Today I am writing about encouraging and supporting your volunteers! Volunteer encouragement and support are two of my favorite parts of children's ministry! Your church and my church have each been gifted with volunteers who faithfully serve in the various areas of our ministries. While these people certainly do not serve for our thanks, it absolutely is appropriate to take the time to thank them! I have always enjoyed the ministry of appreciation - what could possibly be more fun than taking the time to thank and encourage those who serve as volunteers in our churches? 

Special Summer Sale to Help You Hand Down Confident Faith with Blue Dragons, Red Pandas, Hoopoes & More!

Please share the following with the parents and grandparents in your church - 

For the past couple weeks I've been encouraging you to make this Summer a time where you are intentional when it comes to handing down confident faith by teaching the "whys" - why we are able to believe God is real and God and science DO go together - and posting how the Life on the Goldilocks Planet books will help you do exactly this. I am so happy to offer a Special Summer Sale to help you get these books - the price has been reduced to $11.99 for each single book and $43.99 for each four book combo book - a savings of $4 and $5 per book!

Special Summer Sale - Makes Handing Down Confident Faith Even Better!

Yesterday I announced a Special Summer Sale for of the Life on the Goldilocks Planet books - making them an even better resource to help parents and grandparents hand down confident faith as they teach - and learn about - the "whys" - why you are able to believe God is real and God and science DO go together! As they and the children they love learn about animals - such as Platypuses, Hawksbill Sea Turtles, and Flying Squirrels - read quotes from scientists, participate in fun activities together they will be able to have important conversations with them which have the potential to influence the rest of their lives. What could be a better way to spend their summer?