Pumpkin Fun! Ministry Fun!

Tonight was the night for our annual family pumpkin carving. Which means, I carve two pumpkins and Sara carves out hers. (I’m not letting Luke handle a sharp knife just yet!) But we did let him design his pumpkin on paper first. It was fun looking at pumpkin designs online first – and boy oh boy are there some amazing pumpkin designs out there! So much potential in a simple pumpkin! You start with this plain ol’ pumpkin, and yet it can become anything you want it to be. It all depends on how creative you are willing to be, how patient you are willing to be, how careful you are willing to cut away at it, how much time you willing to spend on it, and how unique you want it to be. You can settle for something like everyone else – or you can decide to be different and unique. And of course, practice helps you improve over time. My least favorite part is cleaning out the insides – but it is a necessary evil if you want the light inside to shine out! It kind of reminds me of how we build our ministries. There is so…

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What Are You Teaching Sunday?

How are you handling Halloween? Kids are seeing a lot of scary images. Our culture is obsessed with evil. As you probably know, I wrote a Halloween Series this year. I just got this e-mail in from someone who just finished it: We just finished up our final Spooky Lessons of the Bible last night. The kids LOVED it! Great lesson series Pastor Karl. The kids really enjoyed the gross guessing game. We used peeled grapes for eyeballs, a loofah sponge and jello for a brain, REAL pigs feet from the meat section of the grocery and for the final night, we used pickles and pistachio nuts for gorilla fingers. But most important, our kids better understand that they don’t have to fear death if they have a relationship with Jesus Christ. The most powerful story in the series was the final night – the lesson of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. Again, thank you for this fun and powerful series. I look forward to seeing what else you have in store for us! Lori Clark Gainesville Church of God, Florida Lori mentions the last lesson. Well, I have taken that last lesson, and made it available as a SINGLE LESSON…

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The Freedom of Childhood

And Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3 Children are free from so much. Unlike adults, their default is play not work, imagination not reality, exploration not explanation, curiosity not cautiousness, and best of all they worry about nothing other than their immediate needs and loved ones. No thoughts are weighed down by the future or world affairs. They can swing for an hour with no thought to the things still undone on a task list. They accept complete dependance on those who care for them without question. Perhaps these are a few of the reasons Jesus asked us to come to Him as children. Then we would be free indeed.

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The Mountains Are Calling…

John Muir said it best years ago… The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go! As I reflect on the upcoming 6th annual Yosemite Summit, I am amazed at all that God has done in my life and in the lives of so many men who have traveled with me to this amazing place over the past five years. Many have asked me, “How long will you keep doing this?” I usually answer, “at least until next year,” because I don’t ever want to assume to plan ahead of the Lord (James 4:13-15). But I know this:  I need this time away, and I have seen the incredible impact it has had on other men. Let me just share a few of the things the guys last year shared with me: The greatest impact was hearing God’s voice and calling me to a personal mountain top experience.  This experience allowed God to change my life there at that moment.  He drew me close to Him, and there He freed me from the bondage that filled my soul.  This spiritual impact has allowed me to continue on a journey daily to be in complete oneness with God. The biggest “take away”…

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How Are YOU Appreciating Your Pastor?

I have an awesome little sister! Just had to share this YouTube video that my sister made. She may not be a children’s pastor – but she has to be one of THE most awesome volunteers in kids ministry I have ever known. (And, of course, we both had the same mom!) Every church she is at, is blessed to have her, as are the kids she always pours into. While she may never have a kidmin website or blog – she is living out what I write about on Kidology and my blog with her life. And not always in a church setting, she invests in the kids in her community and in the families of those she knows, raising funds for a bike for a kid that got beat up and his bike stolen, to countless other stories. And so I just wanted to brag on my little sister a bit and show you the Pastor Appreciation video she made for her pastor with the kids in her Sunday School Class. It made my day! If you enjoyed it, post a comment her that she can read, or comment on the video on YouTube! WAY TO GO SIS!

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