The Bastian Year In Review 2011

Instead of a Christmas Letter this year (December was just to crazy this year!) I opted for a more electronically savvy method, and created a video to reflect on 2011. Besides, it was too hard to choose which pictures to put into a letter – we started one, and which pictures to choose, was so hard! This year included a trip to California to see my childhood best friend, Andy, get married, (and a trip to DisneyLand while there) and another trip back later in the year to perform my first wedding for his little sister, Lindsay! We enjoyed many visits from friends coming to enjoy Colorado and stay with us (when are YOU coming?) and enjoying this beautiful state ourselves as we still discover its vast beauty! Luke turned 5, and wanted a “real Jeep” for his birthday, so I rented a Jeep for the day! I started “Dad School” a mini-home school to focus on the areas he needed help, and also “Family Pit Stops,” our evening family devotional times as he got old enough for intentional spiritual input from Dad. Sara is a table leader for MOPS at our church and I continue to write a children’s…

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The Training Cycle

When I was a young boy my dad had a framed sign in his office that he had made himself. It read: I do. You watch. I do. You help. You do. I help. You do. I watch. It summarizes the process of discipleship or training it a nutshell. This summer I volunteered at my church to teach the preschool Bible stories for our churches sports camp because my son was attending. (I knew that fit my skills better than volunteering to coach sports!) I used props and objects to illustrate the Bible stories. For my own self-training purposes I video taped the sessions with my flip camera. (I like to watch and learn to improve.) One of the leaders had to teach the same Bible stories a few weeks later for the second week of sports camp when I was off to teach at a camp and couldn’t volunteer. I boxed up all my props and spent a little time coaching her on how to do it and gave her copies of the flip videos to watch and study. She did great! This week she is on a mission trip to Nairobi and I just got this picture posted…

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Kidmin Toolbox

Kidmin Toolkit? Let’s suppose you had to pack for a week of teaching and ministry and all you could pack was a small “Kidmin Toolkit” – what would you pack into YOUR travel kit? A Bible? Naturally. An iPad? Perhaps. A yo-yo? A small puppet? I’d pack a bag of jolly ranchers and a sling shot! Some action figures? Remember, this is ALL you will have for a WEEK of ministry. What will you need? I’m gonna mail the best responses in COMMENTS a prize and then I’ll post what I’d put in MY Kidmin Toolkit – and then I’d encourage you to PACK YOUR OWN Kidmin Toolkit and have it READY TO GO, because you never know when you might just need it! UPDATE: THE $50 PRIZE PACK Very soon… someone in comments, is going to WIN this prize pack I’ve assembled: (Note: It all packs flat to fit in your Kidmin Toolkit!) UPDATE: I was overwhelmed by the response to this blog post. Everyone submitted Great Ideas! However, I could pick but ONE winner, and the Kidmin Toolkit Winner is: Joan Eppehimer SEE ALL THE RESPONSES & COMPILE YOUR OWN KIT! We have compiled ALL THE RESPONSES into…

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A Deal for All You Bean Counters

O.K. – fess up! You’ve been a Basic Member of Kidology.org for awhile… lurking in the forums reading and not posting… coming every to the site every day to see snag the latest free post… but never joining. $.16 a day is just too much to slap down in this economy, I know. Times are rough. So for all you bean counters out there who have been waiting for a deal, HERE IT IS! In the next 52 hours, if you JUMP and take advantage of the ONLY144.com sale, you will get a TOP SECRET CODE that will give you an EXTRA THREE MONTHS FREE to a Premium Membership to Kidology.org! It’s the deal you’ve been waiting for. PLUS – you’ll get all the goodies below! Keep reading, it’s just our way of partnering with the good folks at Only 144.com as we try to lure you, er, I mean, equip and encourage you in your children’s ministry! We know Kidology readers are always looking for a great deal.  Here’s your chance to turn $97 into $1,074 worth of children’s ministry resources for your ministry. Hop over to Only144.com… but there’s not much time left. The good folks there help…

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