Comments for Kidologist.com

Comment on Blessing Faith Remembered, 31 Years Later by Glen Alan Woods

Glen Alan Woods — Sat, 12 May 2012 15:44:07 +0000

Powerful. Heart-touching. First time I have heard about this. Thank you so much for sharing. Life is precious no matter the age of the person.

Comment on Blessing Faith Remembered, 31 Years Later by Todd McKeever

Todd McKeever — Sat, 12 May 2012 13:28:52 +0000

Karl this is a fantastic post. Thanks for sharing.

Comment on What Makes Kidology.org Different? by Barney Kinard

Barney Kinard — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:48:09 +0000

Good to be thinking like this…tithing and investing in those that follow years after the writing. Good post, I think this is important to talk about with my students, so I will, the Kidhelper.

Comment on YOU! by Janet B

Janet B — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 13:56:51 +0000

I’m a Children’s Pastor who is extremely thankful for gifted people such as yourself who encourage, share ideas, love kids, and embrace this awesome calling. Thanks!

Comment on Hungry for a Savior? by Laura

Laura — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:29:29 +0000

And for all the adults out there, I can’t wait when we can start to remember those forgotten virtues again. Really looking forward to Craig Groeschel’s new book- Soul Detox: Clean Living in a Contaminated World. I hope that churches begin to attack this problem.

Comment on Hungry for a Savior? by Daniel

Daniel — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:22:45 +0000

Great points- I think that Katniss stood up to fight for the innocence of her sister. We need to be deliberate in telling kids they need to stand up for their own innocence.

Comment on Hunger Games Titled Wrong? by kidologist

kidologist — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:30:52 +0000

Thanks for your comment, now you’ve got me wanting to read the books!

Comment on Hunger Games Titled Wrong? by Daniel

Daniel — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:49:00 +0000

Mirror Mirror indeed. Let’s hope that kids are looking in the “mirror” and are realizing what is going on in our culture like Katniss does in the books. I’m just hoping, and have confirmed with a few teens at my church, that this is a chance to point to an example and say violence, abortion, and sin is “wrong”- because, let’s face it, some kids have never heard that…EVER! Life still looks polished for them, but they don’t see what’s really happening: evil is winning. Maybe they can see that in the mirror. Teens, not kids. Thankfully didn’t see anyone under 14 when I went to see it. And good to know Spoiler: There’s actually a part in the 3rd book which I just finished reading where you find out that “Panem” (the countries name) comes from the Roman phrase “panem et circenses” which means “Bread and circuses”. Katniss realizes it’s all just repeated history from the Roman empire and that the bread and the hunger games kept everyone from asking questions and seeing what was happening- everyone was loosing their humanity.
Hopefully we will wake up and stop being Rome. Or we will follow in Rome and the Capitals footsteps.

Comment on Undercover Sox Fan Survives Mission! by joe

joe — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 02:10:15 +0000

looks like an interesting trip, i was strolling through pictures of US Cellular Field and happened to pass by this. Nice!

Comment on YOU! by Gina Graham

Gina Graham — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:18:29 +0000

Love this blog – and your energetic spirit. May the LORD continue to bless. I’d be delighted if you visited my website. There are over 150 free children’s ministry printables to download. Blessings – Gina

Comment on MOVIE REVIEW: October Baby by Rochelle

Rochelle — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:08:51 +0000

The film was inspired by Gianna Jessen, who herself is a true life abortion survivor. She also sang the song “Ocean Floor” which is featured in the movie. She boldly proclaims her belief in the love and mercy of God.
Thanks for writing the review! I can’t wait to see it.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Brenda Winslow

Brenda Winslow — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 04:00:51 +0000

This is a good review and sounds like possibly a good resource for people working with hurting kids in their churches. I am always looking for good resources. It reminded me of a time my husband and I were camping in a tent with our 2 springer spaniel dogs. We were the only ones in the Eastern Oregon camp ground and a pack of coyotes came to the edge of the campsite after dark. They were howling and trying to call our dogs out. We brought them in the tent and all night they slept on top of us, scared to death (such brave dogs). Needless to say neither of us or the dogs got a lick of sleep that night. To this day I shiver at the sound of a coyote howl.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Frank Tan

Frank Tan — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 02:15:35 +0000

Karl may want to censor this story, as it’s not exactly PG.

I found a snake one day outside the front doors of the church. Since we had children at the church preschool, I decided to do something about it. I went and got a long wooden pole (custodial mop) and stomped on its head. It writhe quite a bit and then stopped moving. Using the pole, I moved the snake into a box and left it outside the church building to dispose of later. Some of the preschool kids came by and looked at it. Then I came out and as I was getting ready to dispose of it, I noticed that the snake was actually alive and playing possum. I thought of how dangerous it could have been if the kids had been there when it decided to stop playing dead. Needless to say, I struck its head a few more times, then taped the box together, before wrapping it in a trash bag to dispose.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Cherie Smith

Cherie Smith — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:06:36 +0000

I am looking forward to reading this book, hopefully it will help others here that are in this very same situation. We lost a staff member last year to cancer and this would help us & others going through it.
My husband and I were in Australia staying with family recently. One night we were asked to set up the outside area for a barbecue. We set up all the seats, tables etc and were just about to sit down, when my husband’s auntie screamed at us from inside. She ran out threw us aside and tipped our chairs upside down. Then she sprayed them liberally with bug spray. Inside the folds of the plastic chairs were poisonous spiders with their webs. I sure am glad she killed them before we sat down, otherwise our butts and lives were in jeopardy.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Donna Leventakis

Donna Leventakis — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 21:05:57 +0000

My son died in a car accident 8 years ago at the age of 27. Nearly a year later my husband died at the age of 52. My husband asked me why God had taken Bill and not him since he was the “bad” guy. I told him that God was giving him the chance to repent. We had a very difficult life with my husband before and especially after my son’s death.
We once fed a stray dog and from that day on she was our guard. I am not an animal lover but Lella showed me how faithful she was to our whole family and it made me feel bad when I saw how little I love my Master. She would leave everything behind even her new-born babies to follow us. She taught me many valuable lessons.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by kidologist

kidologist — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:17:56 +0000

Thanks you everyone for taking the tine to share your wonderful stories. I am really enjoying them. Keep them coming! I won’t choose the winner for a few days, and then will announce here so the rest can hurry up and order the book! I also talk about Emory’s Gift on my podcast this week: http://tinyurl.com/kidmintalk022

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Nicole Heck

Nicole Heck — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:37:58 +0000

Thank you for letting us know about this book. It sounds like a great story!
Last year we were considering getting another dog. We went to the local humane society and they had mostly large dogs and we needed a smaller one because our current dog was small and we didn’t want him to be intimidated (which he easily is). They told us they would be getting more dogs in a couple of days so we came back and met a perfect sized yorkie poo named Baxter. He had a family that had already put in adoption papers on him, but they weren’t final so we decided to meet with him anyway. As soon as he came in the room,he was so happy to see us and such a fun energetic guy,I wanted him immediately. But my sons, all teenage boys weren’t sure a “yorkie-poo” was manly enough to have at our house. I was able to get one of them on board (the youngest, I figured the 2 older ones would be out on their own soon anyway) and we put in an application but still there was not much of a chance of getting him because the other family just needed one more thing and they had first choice. We really didn’t think there was anyway that we would get him. But I guess he is the right dog for us because they called the next day and said the other family didn’t take him and all we had to do was bring our dog in so they could meet and make sure they would get along. Everything went well and we brought him home. Now the boys (including their dad) that thought he was too much of a “girl” dog, love him more than I thought they could. He takes turns sleeping with them, they take him with them whenever they can, they even ask if they can keep him when they move out. (The answer is NO!) We had to teach him a lot about manners and such when he came to live with us, but the joy and love he brings is well worth it!

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Sandy DeHaan

Sandy DeHaan — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 17:40:41 +0000

Our family, too, along with so many others have had the experience of dealing with cancer. My husband found out 3 years ago he had a rare liver disease, Primary Schlerosing Colingitis. The doctors told him to get a colonoscopy, as many patients with PSC will get colon cancer. He had no symptoms, however when the tests were taken, he found out he had stage 3 colon cancer. After a very difficult surgery and recovery where they removed his entire colon, chemotherapy treatments, etc., he has now been cancer free for 3 years!! Praise God! At the time of all of this, our youngest son, Jason, was a senior in high school and going through all those “final senior activities”. It was very hard on him, as I was down in Seattle with my husband for over a month. We returned home just prior to his graduation. I know it was really affecting him, as he really didn’t want to talk about it and tried to go about each day as if nothing was wrong. Avoidance was his coping mechanism. He loved our dog and took him for walks every day during this time. I know it was God and our dog, Cody, that helped him get through all of this without his parents around.
Our family has a dairy farm and along with cows, had sheep, pigs, dogs, cats. Our kids were 4-H members and raised animals for showing at fairs, etc. They were just a big part of our lives! Jason, in particular, always was close to the animals he raised. I still remember one of his sheep, who followed him around by putting his nose in Jason’s hand was supposed to be sold after the fair. I found Jason laying beside his sheep in the pen saying goodbye.
Important life lessons were learned through all of this. Whether animals or family or friends, we know that in all things, God gives us strength to bear whatever we go through in life. My husband has spoken to many different groups about going through difficult times. He’s a high school teacher and has shared with so many kids and families about what God does to help us bear the things that seem unbearable. He’s one Almighty and loving God!!

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Debbie Swanson

Debbie Swanson — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:33:47 +0000

We would love to have a copy of this book for sure! We live in Charlottesville, Virginia and are at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains. We have had several animal encounters. The most memorable was with bees – yellow jackets! We had a Children’s Ministry Campout at the foot of the mountain. We met on Friday night and set up tents and a great campfire. Early the next morning we hiked to the top of the mountain with 15 kids and 6 leaders/parents. When we reached the top of the mountain, we stopped for a picnic. The children loved the view from a large rock area and we really enjoyed the time there. However, our trip down the mountain became very eventful! Our guide decided to go off the path. About half way down we had a little boy who began to scream and “dance” around. I went over and bent over beside him to see what the problem was. Immediately I was covered in yellow jackets. Kids began screaming and running in all directions. My husband said to walk off from the crowd about 50-100 yards and stand very quietly. I did so, praying every step. Praying for the children, for the adults, for myself and for the entire situation. God was merciful and blessed! I had recently gone through a round of chemotherapy and was unsure of how my body was going to react. My husband and the other adults gathered the children, while I quickly made my way the rest of the way down the mountain. We did not know who had any bee allergies or was unsure of whether or not they knew if they did or not. I knew that we would need immediate help if that became an issue. I went directly to the house and called 911. We had first responders on scene within two minutes. We were so very blessed that we only had two children with stings. Everyone else was fine! This gave us a wonderful opportunity to talk about bees, nature, natural responses, and the concept of fight/flight. This trip was very memorable. Most of those children are now 18+ years old. They still talk about it and the lessons of nature that we have learned.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Cari Myers

Cari Myers — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:16:36 +0000

This book sounds great. I love a good read, so can’t wait to give it a try.

As for my animal story-I cried like a baby when I had to put our dog of 15 years down. And no one in my family would go with me and share in my grief:) For as much as he angered us when he would steal food off the counter or table, he was loyal and wanted to be where we were. I miss him.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Carolyn Thauer

Carolyn Thauer — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:13:39 +0000

Hi Karl,
One of my favorite (really!) animal stories occured while I was teaching MKs in Tanzania. I was attending Swahili language school and one evening some of the other students and I had gathered in a screened-in room on campus for a heated game of Uno. Halfway into the game, a Tanzanian man – the night guard at the school – came up to the screened window and said something to us in Swahili. “Great,” we said to ourselves, “a chance to practice.” But as we looked around the group at one another it was clear that none of us had understood what he said. So we asked him to repeat it (“tena” – ‘again’ in Swahili), which he did… several times, much to our embarassment. Finally, my pride kicked in and I decided to go outside and talk to him face to face. I would greet him in proper Tanzanian fashion, figure out what he was saying and be the hero. But as soon as I walked over to the door and began to open it, he reached in, put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me firmly backwards! I was stunned. (Tanzanians are very gracious, hospitable people and this was extremely uncharacteristic behavior.)
That is, until I looked down at the ground just outside the door, where he was pointing… and all of a sudden I figured out what he had been saying to us (over and over) through the window:
“Don’t open the door; there’s a snake out here!”

I was pretty embarassed… and relieved that he had done what was necessary to rescue me from stepping on the snake. He was trying to help us and keep us safe and we didn’t understand him because he was speaking another language.
After my heart rate returned to normal, I began to think about that incident and why I was in Tanzania in the first place — to support Bible translation.
God has a message for the world – to protect us and keep us safe – and millions of people don’t understand the message because the Bible hasn’t (yet!) been translated into their language.

And that’s my animal story.
Carolyn

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Megan

Megan — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:11:44 +0000

I have an 8 year old silky terrier named Bailey. I found it amazing that 2 years ago when I was pregnant with my son, Bailey somehow knew and would lay his paws and head on my stomach everyday, almost as if “incubating” the baby. My son, who will soon be 2 years old adores Bailey!

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Katey Hage

Katey Hage — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:03:18 +0000

When I was in junior high, my family rented an RV and traveled around Canada. What was supposed to be a grand trip turned into a bit of a nightmare. I got food poisoning (or a 24 hour bug!), dad’s wallet got stolen, we lost the breaks on the RV at the top of a mountain and rolled into van, that had it’s door open with kids sitting inside (yep that was terrifying!) but the craziest memory for me was getting chased by a deer! We were in a campground where the deer were very friendly to the humans, so I, naively, thought I could pet it! When I was only a few feet away from the deer, I realized the foolishness of the idea, but it was too late. He didn’t charge me, but he definitely chased me around a few RV’s until he got distracted by something else. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time! I cannot WAIT to read this book!

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Sue Bolander

Sue Bolander — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:58:29 +0000

Childhood animal adventures were a constant part of my childhood. I loved animals, any kind in fact. One of my vivid memories happened in 4th grade. Steven, a student in my class, said he was selling snakes for $1.00 and I knew I needed one. The first problem I encountered was getting a dollar, I unfortunately decided the easiest way was to to take it from my mother’s purse. Once I bought it, I discovered my next problem – telling my folks I had a snake. Much to my surprise they did let me keep it for a couple of days in a fish tank, but later made me release it into the wild. I am not sure if I ever told them I stole the dollar or not.

Comment on Book Review: Emory’s Gift by Eleanor Robinson

Eleanor Robinson — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:52:14 +0000

We use our dog Lucy as an example all the time, as to how you should be obedient and loyal to God and your church attendance.
She has a collar that keeps her in the yard, which we explain for lessons that, we put collar on but when she gets schocked from it, she never blames us she trust us. She is loyal and obedient just like we should be to God, even during tough times and during times when we need discipline from God.
We talk about learning how to be a Lucy!!

Thanks for sharing with us.