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Grand Prize Gingerbread Champs!

And the GRAND PRIZE, “The Bastian Family!” We couldn’t believe our ears! We were at our church’s Family Gingerbread House making event, and there were well over 100 families making yummy houses. When they announced there was a competition and my wife saw my face slightly change she said, “You’re not competing are you?” I answered, “Of course!” (Men, you understand.) But I didn’t seriously think we had a chance, after all, I had a four year old on my team who I was not going to cut out of the process to increase my chances. We struggled away with our house, since we didn’t cheat and use a kit (!) and even added shingles and a chimney! When we heard the ten minute warning three sides were still blank! I then realized that the chimney look a little like a steeple, so I quickly added a triangle and a cross just as we slapped on frosting and stuck candy all over the sides! When I got to the tables and saw all the amazing creations I thought we don’t have a chance but as I was setting ours down I overheard the judges say, “Look at that and its…

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Bastian Christmas Letter 2010

Merry Christmas! Once again it is time to post the Bastian Christmas Letter! We hope you are in the midst of enjoying a wonderful Christmas Season! As usual we are getting our letter out the week of Christmas! (Ahhhhhh!) We mail it to family and some friends, but to save on postage I also post it here on my blog so anyone interested can also download the PDF and enjoy it, just click on the image here: Bastian Christmas Letter 2010 (3.1MB) 2010 was our first full year in Colorado and while I don’t feel I have taken advantage yet of all the reasons I move here, it was a fantastic year. I’m glad it wasn’t as busy as 2009 was! In January, of course CPC is always a blast! Then, in February, I went on a personal solo sabbatical to experience “Yosemite in Winter” snowshoeing the valley. It was incredible. I didn’t blog about it, as it was a personal time between me and God. But I did make this highlight video: March saw another CPC – I’ve lost track how many I’ve been to, but I’ve been to every single once since 1995, so I’ve been to over…

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Will the Real Santa Please Kneel

On the center table of our home is a figurine of Santa kneeling down and worshiping Jesus. It was the one thing I wanted from my childhood. My mom promised it to me as a little boy. To me, it summarizes the role Santa plays in our home. He is a part of Christmas, but he is subservient to Jesus. Over on Kidology.org we have a thread the gets action ever December: How to answer Kids questions about Santa. I invite you to chime in! My story is a funny one, because in my home, we enjoyed Santa – but not only did I not “believe” in Santa, I didn’t know any kids actually believed in him until my first Christmas as a children’s pastor! I found out in the most horrible way. Teaching on the “true meaning of Christmas” in kids church I must have mentioned that Santa wasn’t real… (well, he isn’t!) I didn’t intend any harm to children, it wasn’t the point of my lesson, I also said it wasn’t presents or lights or snowmen or trees! I don’t even remember exactly how it came up! Maybe I was asked by a child. But Monday morning I…

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They Read My Mind

O.K. – I’ll be honest. There WAS one thing I hated about being a children’s pastor. I avoided it like the black plague. It was pure evil. Satan, I thought, must have come up with the idea. It was a plot to keep me from ministering to kids, sharing the Gospel, doing visitation, and equipping and encouraging my volunteers. Database Management. And it wasn’t my fault! The church’s database stunk too! If they couldn’t even keep theirs up to date, what hope did I have?! So I’d create my own, I thought. I bought every software sold on the market. Even programmed my own once. (that was a nightmare!) For seasons at a time, I didn’t bother, or I’d let it look I was keeping track of the kids – but God knew I didn’t have a clue who had really been there or not. Don’t worry – I made sure the person who dropped off the kid picked up the kid and that we had a “never alone” policy in place. Sunday morning security was a priority. But beyond keeping the kids safe on Sunday – my data was usually a mess! Please tell me, I’m not the only…

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Kidology Crash Course – ONE DAY ONLY

You’ve Always Wanted to Become a Kidologist, and Master the Ways of Kidology! Now is your chance to spend an entire day with me and learn my ministry secrets in person! What are my secrets for connecting with kids? How can you make your classroom one that kids will talk about years from now… and tell their kids about? How do share the Gospel with kids in more creative and effective ways? And how can you Unleash your own creativity? Take your own personal ministry technique up several notches in 2011! ON MARCH 15th, 2011 – you can spend an entire day with me in San Diego at the Town and Country Resort in a very informal learning environment as I takes you on a learning journey through my four favorite training sessions! The cost is only $69 and I can tell you that I will make it well worth your investment with the resources you will receive that day! (I am under-promising and will over deliver!) This is a MUST-ATTEND EVENT you do NOT want to miss! HOW IS IT POSSIBLE? I’ll be doing a PRE-CONFERENCE as part of the Children’s Pastor’s Conference – BUT – you do not…

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