Winning Kids – Pastor Julie Sandeen

Monday, December 31, 2007

NEW BEGININGS

2008 the year of new beginnings! If you were not in church yesterday you missed it! Heard that before huh? But wait there is good news...you can still hear it. Either download it from our website, or request a CD at Our Welcome Center.

Rebuilding my temple so that I can build the Kingdom of God, that is what I am looking forward to in 08. Wow am I ever on the same page as the word Pastor Marty brought yesterday.

As you ponder the message, but sure that you don't ponder too long, though I admit there was enough content in the message to ponder all of 08. Action is what we must have. Take inventory, discard excess, add quality items that the Holy Spirit is saying to add. But for the sake of You, and the Kingdom do not stay idle or paralyzed. I don't want any of you to miss out on God's best for your life!

Happy New Year!

Pastor Julie

Posted By Julie Sandeen At 11:28 AM • Comments (58)

Saturday, December 22, 2007

Knowing God's Word

Hi this is Dan Sandeen, Pastor Julie’s husband, and guest blogger!

It is great to share with you on what’s happening in the 5/6th grade class. What happens week to week in the class? I’ll tell you.

First I teach the lesson applying it to their lives. I try to use funny voices or any other method to get their attention. I want the kids to know God for themselves so I do Bible drills so they get to know the Bible a bit. I feature themed drills such as; “love,” “honesty,” “prayer,” and “worship.” When we use candy as a reward for finding the scripture, we see a response! I also give a bible out for the top Bible “driller” of the month. I buy them the NLT2, and as an additional reward they also get their names engraved on the front of the Bible. The reason I get them an adult Bible is so that they have it to take into Junior High and beyond. After all, we’re working on discipling them for the future.

I also want them to know scripture. There are twelve scriptures memory verses.
The first group is The Books of the Bible old and New Testament. There are five salvation verses, one worship, one on how we are to live, one on wisdom and last but not least one on how God created us. This way there is no mistake about how He feels about us and how we are uniquely made, and there is no doubt they know they are special to God. (Psalm 139:13-18) The last verse is I Cor. 13:4-7. This section is on love.

They can earn a Bible or a gift certificate to any store or restaurant they want. I want them to know God is for them all the way.

I would like to end by saying I love your kids! Thank you for giving me the privilege of teaching and being a part of your children’s lives.

- Dan Sandeen

Posted By Julie Sandeen At 10:37 AM •

Monday, December 17, 2007

Are You Cheering?!?

My son Ryan is involved our local Little League program. It's always a busy time during baseball, between multiple practices, playing catch with Ryan, batting cages and games – we always seem to be running. The highlight being each week we join with other parents and cheer our kids on to personal and team victories. We have enjoyed getting to know families that don’t attend church, and having the opportunity to invite them to church.

I reflect on that as I think of our own church community and how we join together to encourage our kids to personal victories with Christ. Our discipleship programs and Sunday School are really the practices that we take our kids to. And while they learn the basics from their coaches and work on drills during these times, it is really the time spent outside the structured practices honing those skills where they begin to own the skill. It is this one on one time we spend with our kids that really prepares them for the game.

When I see Christ in my son’s actions or words I cheer or encourage him. As parents, we don’t get to help our kids on the field in a game or even practice. We can just stand on the sideline and cheer and encourage them. The same is true in their walk with God. It is our job to spend the time to develop their relationship with the Lord, and ultimately their responsibility to grasp the relationship in their own lives.

Are we cheering for our kids when they “get it”? Are we excited when they almost get it… Are we coaching them when they make a “poor” play? Our kids look to us to support them, encourage them and correct them. I have learned a lot through baseball. I learned that if you want to be a top player, you have to put in time everyday. Are you helping your kids everyday in their game?

- Lorraine Solomon

Posted By Julie Sandeen At 2:43 PM •

Friday, December 14, 2007

Tradition!

We have a tradition at Christmas that I would like to share with you. We have a very ornate red plate and goblet that we would set out for the family member celebrating a birthday or other special occasion. Christmas morning breakfast is with china, candles, the same menu every year and that red plate and goblet set at the place of honor in our dining room. We invite Jesus to please be our guest and let us honor Him as we celebrate His birthday. Since breakfast is always before present opening, it helps align us to the true focus of the holiday. And yes, even though the “boys” are almost 22 & 20 years old, the same tradition is still followed!

Kathy Reid

Posted By Julie Sandeen At 2:49 PM •

Sunday, December 09, 2007

Living Water!!!

Hello To You,
From: Ken White, Anthony White, Myles White & Brandon Maddux,
(the 2nd service teaching team in The Living Water Room)

In The Living Water Room we have the privilege of teaching God’s Word to 1st and 2nd graders.

Years ago God gave Pastor Marty a vision for the theme and focus of each of the classrooms down the kid’s wing of the church. Thus the water theme of The LivingWater Room was born. The water represents God’s life giving word. The focus of the Living Water Room is to invite every child to accept Jesus into their heart, and God is doing just that. In the past year we have seen over 30 1st and 2nd graders pray to receive Jesus into their hearts!!! Thank you for laying a godly foundation in you children’s lives and then bringing them to church. Also thank you for giving of yourselves to support our church which makes all this possible.

All the Praise To God!

Posted By Julie Sandeen At 9:03 PM •

Friday, December 07, 2007

The Gift of Prayer

The other day, my daughter Lauren asked me how many times a day that I pray. She was curious to know if I prayed more than at meal times, family prayer and church. My response was that I didn’t know how many times in a day I prayed, because I was always praying (1 Thes. 5:17). It was hard for her to understand because the concept of continual prayer was new to her.

I explained that although I have a regular prayer time most every morning, I also pray when the Lord brings people and situations to mind that need prayer. I also pray when I see police cars, fire trucks and ambulances racing down the street. When I see a homeless person or someone that looks like they're in a desperate situation, prayer becomes an automatic response. When the Lord prompts my heart that I might be involved in a possible ministry situation I pray.

In thinking about her question I realized the importance of instilling in my children the importance of being people of prayer not just at meals and family prayer time. It's essential for them to know that communication with God throughout the day, every day, is a huge key to staying rooted in their faith in Christ, that keeping things on a real and personal level with God is a powerful way to stay on track and keep in God’s will.

What kind of a job are we doing equipping our children to communicate with God, to tap into His power and practice His presence daily throughout the day?

This Christmas, let's give (teach) the gift of prayer to our children. It will far outlast every other gift!

Ralph Milliken

Posted By Julie Sandeen At 10:40 PM •

Monday, December 03, 2007

Rest, Recovery, Renewal

Tomorrow morning I am going to have surgery on my right shoulder. Most of us, would like to make it through life without ever having an accident, or injury, avoiding surgeries and healing times that are not planned for. Mine is a bittersweet deal! I have been living with shoulder pain for about 3 years. Every day I have some level of pain in my right shoulder, neck area. After 3 rounds of physical therapy and 1 X-Ray and 2 MRI's, the results were in, showing 2 tears in my labrum. I can't honestly tell you what a labrum is, although I've looked it up, I'm still perplexed as to how something so minute, can cause so much pain and discomfort. (boy that is an analogy for a message if I've ever seen one, oh...but for another time)

While I'm not looking forward to the surgery or the recovery time (I'm told 6 weeks) I am looking forward to living my life free of physical pain. I do covet your prayers during this time. I believe in the power of prayer and God's healing touch. So thanks in advance for saying a prayer or two over the next several weeks!

During my absence I have asked several others who serve in CHAMPS if they would be my guest "blog" speakers. You all will be blessed by their insight and stories. I trust they will encourage you, inspire you and challenge you.

I will be praying for all of you to have a joyous, peaceful Christmas season! GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST! Till next time.....

Pastor Julie

Posted By Julie Sandeen At 5:16 PM •