First Day Of School

My entry today is a little later in the morning. Today was my kid's first day back to school. Per our routine that we have done since Peyton was in 3rd grade....I had a 6:45 breakfast "meeting" with him. We do this most every Thursday morning while he is in school. Good time to chat and discuss what is happening in his life. Today, when we arrived at the school I parked and was starting to walk with him into school. Peyton said..."dad, what are you doing? I am in 5th grade, you did not walk me in when I was in 1st grade?"

I told him I was not walking in for him.....but for Ellie who starts her first day at Queens Grant. We were blessed that Queens Grant has a special class for special kids like Ellie. The home where she lives has agreed to bring her and pick her up so that she can attend the same school as Peyton. This is great for us as it will allow us to see Ellie even more and of course Peyton will see her every day!

Thanks so much to our church family that has prayed for our family in the transition time of us needing to place Ellie in a new home where she can get 24/7 special care. We are blessed beyond measure with how God has allowed Ellie to get into all the special places she needs to thrive.

Many schools started this week. All will have started by next week. As school starts I wanted to encourage parents to take advantage of the great new ministry schedule we have for your kids.

TeamKid will be on Wednesday nights in the up stairs kids auditorium area at 6:30 for 1st -5th grade. This will be a high energy fun time of learning the truths about God from the Bible that they can apply to their everyday life. It will be a time that your kids wont want to miss!

The Pursuit will also be on Wednesday nights in the main auditorium at 6:30. This will be a great time for 6th - 12th graders to hang out with friends in our cafe and atrium area! Then enjoy a great time with our live High School band in worship, teaching and fun in the main auditorium. (Our High School band is awesome!) This will be a needed mid-week experience that your teenager will not want to miss! The pressures to teenagers is high....you need to get them here so they can have a place of encouragement to live godly lives.

School is in......lets get ready for a great new ministry year with our kids!

Today's Bible Reading 1 John Chapter 2

What does the Bible mean when it says "do not love the world?" Well, we know that it does not mean we should not love the people in the world. We know that the Bible is not against "Going Green" to preserve the beauty of nature. We know that it does not mean we should go live in a cabin in the woods and become a hermit for Jesus. So....what does it mean?

It means that we should not adore and embrace the values set by people that go against God's values. John defines it for us in verse 16. (The cravings of sinful man, lust of the eyes, boasting of accomplishments) All these things are not eternal and have no real value. We are to Love the values of Jesus. Not everything is bad, but when it takes precedence over God's values and commands...it is wrong. Here are some practical questions....not an exhaustive list, but one to get you thinking:

Do you love golf so much that you miss church and spending personal time with God?
Do you love sexual lust so much that you wont get an Internet filter?
Do you love "Stuff" so much that you don't set aside a monthly tithe to give back to God?
DO you love climbing the ladder and the accolades that come with it so much....that you don't serve in the local church?
Do you love personal success so much that you hardly see your spouse & kids and are just hoping things don't crumble at home!

I know those are "hard" questions...but that is what John was talking about.