A Kidmin House of Cards

One of my favorite iPad Apps for passing idle time (like on the airplane right now) is CardTower. I get to build a “real” house of cards with playing cards, and it is amazingly realistic for being on an iPad (plus its free!)

I can grab either two cards from the top of the pile to form a triangle or just one to drop a flat one, but the physics are amazing! The best thing is that there are unlimited ‘undos,’ which I really need. I try to be disciplined and only do one redo, but I watch the entire thing collaspe, and then just undo the last card I placed. Or… I go back to a time when it was sturder and build from there. But don’t be fooled, that doesn’t make the game easy. It still took me a while to build this six level tower.


One Hint: See my little stack on the lower right side? If you want to make minor adjustments to slipping cards or even nudge in a flat card in the middle, grab a solo card from the top, use it to make adjustments, like you would with your hand in real life, and then just drop it on the table.

Pretty cool picture huh? The App has a feature that lets you take pictures of your progress and save to your Pictures on the iPad.

Well, I have a little confession to make. That pic was snapped nano-seconds before the whole house came crashing down! No matter how many redos I did, I could not get that final 6th level to stay. While it was fun to watch all the various ways it collapsed, it was a lot of hard work to get to that 6th level. I finally had to accept that my work on the lower levels had made a 6th level impossible. As hard as I worked, I had to accept that I would never get a perfect card castle. I would have to settle for a nice picture to show, and get back to work. My only choice was a ton of undos and reworking. I may never have a solid card castle that stands all on its own, and when (if) I do, it probably won’t be that pretty, like the ideal I have in my head.


No matter how hard I try to build this ‘perfect’ castle, it always ends up crashing down! Undos and start-overs are constant.


It reminded me a lot of Children’s Ministry.

We can print some pretty nice brochures for the Visitor’s Center and put up some great CM websites for prospective families to check out, but the reality is, we are constantly building, experiencing crashes, and redoing. Once in awhile we are able to snap a great picture to show the world. I’m not saying we are dishonest, just that those are the highlights. Those rare moments of feeling like we’ve really acheived something, when the rest of the time we are nudging and adjusting and just trying to keep the whole thing from coming crashing down.


I just want my kidmin friends out there to know, I see your perfect looking pictures and websites and brochures, and I celebrate those moments with you. But I also know that feeling of hoping no breeze will come along that might knock it all down. Breezes like volunteers quitting, pastors adding more levels your foundation can’t support, card (budget) cuts, dropped cards (balls) – and the list goes on and on.

I’m praying for you. My house is in constant repair and a little shaky too, as I seek to help build the Kingdom.


But it’s fun at the same time. Keep on keeping on!

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One Comment:

  1. Thank you just what I needed today.

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