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Ministry with Balloons is a blast!

Ever since I was the house magician at the Rock ‘n Roll McDonald’s in downtown Chicago (in college) I’ve been twisting balloons for kids at church, birthday parties, magic shows, etc. But my use of them in my ministry for teaching was pretty minimal and limited to one balloon creatures. That was until very recently. “Master Ron” as he is known, is a Christian children’s entertainer and awesome juggler and balloon artist. I have used him for years to sub for me in Kids Church when I’m out of town, and he is the only sub I’ve had that the kids just don’t seem to miss me at all when I get back. (is that good, or not?) :-) A computer systems analyst by day, and a balloon twistin’ juggler by evenings and weekends, Master Ron is a great teacher and communicator with kids…. and an inspiration to me. This summer I had him teach all our grade school kids at our church for Sunday School in June. We found ourselves with three weeks to ‘fill’ between our regular Sunday School and when our summer Family Sunday School class could start, and I needed something easy for me and fun…

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The Missionary Game! How many villages will YOU reach?

The Jungle is Calling…. PLAY: http://www.themissionarygame.comYou have 30 days to get the Gospel to as many villages as possible! But, BEWARE of many dangers! What do you do when confronted by a Lion?!?! (I got eaten three times before I remembered Daniel!) PRAY! (or hit the ‘P’ key!) and the lion falls asleep! Watch the church being built and the happy natives who get a copy of the Bible and the supplies they need to survive! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

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Gimmie a "U" !! Gimmie a "W" !! What’s that spell?

UPDATE: Bad Link to photo gallery corrected! Gimmie a “U” !! Gimmie a “W” !! What’s that spell? UNCHARTED WATERS! Uncharted Waters is the Sports Camp Ministry we have used for the past two years to reach out to the kids in our church and community. (see last year) We had 50 kids come divided between basketball… and cheerleading. GO! GO! GO! We had at least six kids make a decision to give their lives to Jesus and GO FOR THE GOLD that will last for all eternity! The secret to the success of these sports camps is NOT me… I could never lead a sports camp (unless it was sport stacking!) What I love about the ministry of UW is that they do most of the work for us. Here is the UW Team: Coaches Josh, Catie, Lindsay and Lisa! Of course, a lot of work was also done and thanks are due to our Sports Camp director, Cherie and a bunch of volunteers. Anna Maria, Barb and Cherie (not pictured: many more!) What did I do all week? Worked on my six foot unicycle shooting…. (still needs much work) And my “Air Karl” moves!Were you there? SEE ALL…

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My First Father’s Day – My 13th Anniversary – And Baby Luke’s First….

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY (to me) HAPPY ANNIVESARY (to me) HAPPY FIRST TIME SWIMMING (to Lukie) HAPPY HAPPY WEEKEND (to me and sara) YES! It was my FIRST Father’s Day as a DAD, and it was a wonderful day. Luke headed off to church with me early as usual to ‘help’ me with my morning set up duties and then we caught the first service so we could watch the video I made on the big screen! It was a very nice Sunday… glad to finally be in a part of “Club Dad.” After church it was off to Sara’s parents home for a DELICIOUS steak lunch and visit with my other awesome Dad. Sara’s dad is truly a father to me in every way… except that I don’t have any embarrassing pictures of him from when I was a kid. Luke is so blessed to have the heritage of a Grandpa who loves God and has given his life to serve Him. Who knows, maybe Luke will be a third generation preacher? But even if not, what a blessing to be adopted into a family where both sides know and love God. It can’t help but be a wonderful influence…

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A Tribute to My Dad

Yes, it is FATHER’S DAY today… so what better reason to post some sentimental pictures of my dad – a DAD of DADS… MY DAD: A great Nap Buddy… Fisherman! (with me and big sister) Handyman, and builder of his son’s first puppet stage! A man of toys… here seen fighting over a toy with the boy who one day would do Toybox Tales. Man of the Sea… well, paddleboat anyway. A man at one with his car… A man a fashion… even matching his car! A man comfortable in the kitchen… (did I actually EAT that?!?!?) A man one with nature… Camper Extraordinaire…Athlete of Athletes! A persistant man who never gives up even in the face of disaster! An avid swimmer… Ping-Pong Champion… A man of many awards… But the greatest award: World’s Greatest Dad.Yes, I had a great dad growing up. Not a perfect dad, but I had something better… a REAL dad. A dad who made time for me. A dad who sometimes helped me and other times let me learn the hard way, and always seemed to know which would be the better teacher. A dad who sometimes went before me, other times backed me up,…

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