I have heard among some churches that VBS (Vacation Bible School) is out of date, it no longer works, or is not effective. I do agree with these statements on one account only: if you do VBS in your church like your grandma did VBS in 1968, then YES, it is absolutely not effective. My kids listen to ipods, play with XBOX and PSPs. They know how to work the TiVo remote control on my television, and play with their stuffed animals called Webkinz on the computer. VBS is still enormously effective as long as you bring your VBS into the 21st century.
This past week our church had its annual VBS. This year was called POWER WEEK. We saw over 700 kids attend the week, and over 50 professions of faith in Christ! It was high impact, high energy, modern, entertaining, and - hold on, here it comes - EFFECTIVE! On top of all that, our Children's Minister has only been at our church for 4 months! I can't wait to see what he will do next year when he has a whole year under his belt.
Not only where we able to reach kids for Christ, we are counseling about 21 different families who either made a decision to follow Christ or are interested in joining our church. The next few weeks will be exciting as we see kid after kid go through the baptismal waters. My kids (who I happen to think are a pretty good barometer of what is "cool" and "not cool") absolutely loved it!
Kudos to Chris Norman (Children's Minister), his wife Tami, his kid's ministry staff, and the countless number of volunteers who put hours into making it a great week. Thanks for setting the example that VBS is alive and well!
Monday, June 30, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
Give Me My Space Bro!
I enjoy watching Seinfeld. It was a creative show that made you laugh about the simple every day habits of 4 Americans living in New York. If you are familiar with the show, you know that Jerry (the main character) always found something wrong with his dates/girlfriends. One girl had "man hands". One girl was a "low talker". One girl kept using silly nicknames like "Shmoopy".
Well, in one particular episode that I remember, Jerry met a friend
that became known as the "close talker". You know what I mean - the individual that has absolutely no stinking clue how CLOSE they are when they are talking to you. You get very uncomfortable and back away, and they just move in. It is very uncomfortable when you encounter a "close talker" of the opposite gender, as was the case with me this past Sunday.
The whole time this woman is talking to me, I literally am thinking, "Is she going to kiss me!? Holy COW! BACK OFF!!" But of course, I just smile and do the polite thing - end the conversation as quickly as possible. It seems I have been having trouble lately with the whole personal space issue. During the last Texas Rangers game that we attended, a very LARGE man sat down next to me. Now please hear me out. I have nothing against large people - I myself am not Matthew McConaughey (I know that will come as a shock!). However, this individual did not care that his shoulder, elbow, and forearm were all sitting in my rib cage while he was eating his 2 foot hot dog loaded with cheese, chili, relish, and onions. No "excuse me", or "pardon me" - Just giant elbow to the face!
Of course I gave the customary "Hello" with a forced smile.
Then, made a huge deal out of the fact that I literally was leaning over the other side of my chair (see picture to the right). That didn't work. Finally, I did what anyone would do in that sitaution... I made my nine year old daughter switch seats with me! (Had to buy her a $5.00 Lemon chill for that one!).
What is it with certain people. Do they not know the rule about standing 5 feet behind you when you are at the ATM machine? Do they not understand that it is not nice to go to an amusement park without bathing, sweat like a mule, ride the water ride, then rub up against you while you are waiting to ride the swings? Why can't people realize they are almost touching your nose with their nose when they are talking to you in a noraml conversation? My thought: we change the culture. To me, there is only one man who can do it.....
Barack Obama! Might as well, everyone else thinks he walks on water. Surely he can fix this problem too!
Well, in one particular episode that I remember, Jerry met a friend
that became known as the "close talker". You know what I mean - the individual that has absolutely no stinking clue how CLOSE they are when they are talking to you. You get very uncomfortable and back away, and they just move in. It is very uncomfortable when you encounter a "close talker" of the opposite gender, as was the case with me this past Sunday.
The whole time this woman is talking to me, I literally am thinking, "Is she going to kiss me!? Holy COW! BACK OFF!!" But of course, I just smile and do the polite thing - end the conversation as quickly as possible. It seems I have been having trouble lately with the whole personal space issue. During the last Texas Rangers game that we attended, a very LARGE man sat down next to me. Now please hear me out. I have nothing against large people - I myself am not Matthew McConaughey (I know that will come as a shock!). However, this individual did not care that his shoulder, elbow, and forearm were all sitting in my rib cage while he was eating his 2 foot hot dog loaded with cheese, chili, relish, and onions. No "excuse me", or "pardon me" - Just giant elbow to the face!
Of course I gave the customary "Hello" with a forced smile.
Then, made a huge deal out of the fact that I literally was leaning over the other side of my chair (see picture to the right). That didn't work. Finally, I did what anyone would do in that sitaution... I made my nine year old daughter switch seats with me! (Had to buy her a $5.00 Lemon chill for that one!).
What is it with certain people. Do they not know the rule about standing 5 feet behind you when you are at the ATM machine? Do they not understand that it is not nice to go to an amusement park without bathing, sweat like a mule, ride the water ride, then rub up against you while you are waiting to ride the swings? Why can't people realize they are almost touching your nose with their nose when they are talking to you in a noraml conversation? My thought: we change the culture. To me, there is only one man who can do it.....
Barack Obama! Might as well, everyone else thinks he walks on water. Surely he can fix this problem too!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Why didn't I think of that?!
Have you ever seen something and thought, "Why didn't I think of that?!" It could be something small or unique, but usually not too difficult. It can be something life changing and pretty cool, but it could also be something stupid. For example, here is my list of things I wish I had thought of.....
1. Facebook - unreal. I have been on it now for 4 days and have talked to more people from my past than ever before. It's like a constant online reunion. It can be addictive though....
2. Thumb drives - simple yet so functional
3. TIVO/DVR - I honestly don't know what my life was like before it. You know we live in a tech world when my kids look at me and say, "TIVO it daddy!" I can remember as a kid getting excited when my dad bought this thing called a VCR!
4. The car clicker thingy bob - I never lock my car doors the normal way anymore - I always click and listen for the horn to confirm that it is locked.
5. Webkinz - somewhere in the world there is some dude making millions all because he thought, "Why don't I sell a bunch of small stuffed animals and let kids create lives for them on the internet!" Unreal.... My kids have 10 of these things. I think the Beardens have like 47!
6. Starbucks - I guarantee you somebody somewhere once said, "It will never work. People won't go to a place that sells only coffee and pay $4.00 a cup for it....forget it!"
7. Cordless home phones - does anyone have a phone in your home with a cord attached to it that is NOT in your kitchen?
8. The little cat doors that go into your garage or utility room. I wish we had one. I am tired of my cat whining to go into the garage!!
9. Fanny packs - make fun of them all you want, but they are very efficient when you are in a foreign country. I have yet to lose my wallet or passport!
10. Glow light necklaces - they sell them at amusement parks and 4th of July firework shows. I bet they cost 5 cents to make, yet they sell them for $5.00. Again, someone somewhere is laughing their head off all the way to the bank.
What's on your list? Post a comment and let me know....maybe we can collect a bunch of them, write a book on it and make millions - wait! Someone already did that....
1. Facebook - unreal. I have been on it now for 4 days and have talked to more people from my past than ever before. It's like a constant online reunion. It can be addictive though....
2. Thumb drives - simple yet so functional
3. TIVO/DVR - I honestly don't know what my life was like before it. You know we live in a tech world when my kids look at me and say, "TIVO it daddy!" I can remember as a kid getting excited when my dad bought this thing called a VCR!
4. The car clicker thingy bob - I never lock my car doors the normal way anymore - I always click and listen for the horn to confirm that it is locked.
5. Webkinz - somewhere in the world there is some dude making millions all because he thought, "Why don't I sell a bunch of small stuffed animals and let kids create lives for them on the internet!" Unreal.... My kids have 10 of these things. I think the Beardens have like 47!
6. Starbucks - I guarantee you somebody somewhere once said, "It will never work. People won't go to a place that sells only coffee and pay $4.00 a cup for it....forget it!"
7. Cordless home phones - does anyone have a phone in your home with a cord attached to it that is NOT in your kitchen?
8. The little cat doors that go into your garage or utility room. I wish we had one. I am tired of my cat whining to go into the garage!!
9. Fanny packs - make fun of them all you want, but they are very efficient when you are in a foreign country. I have yet to lose my wallet or passport!
10. Glow light necklaces - they sell them at amusement parks and 4th of July firework shows. I bet they cost 5 cents to make, yet they sell them for $5.00. Again, someone somewhere is laughing their head off all the way to the bank.
What's on your list? Post a comment and let me know....maybe we can collect a bunch of them, write a book on it and make millions - wait! Someone already did that....
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