Northwood Parents

It’s almost here again…Sunday!  We work really hard each week to make sure your child has a great experience at church learning through an interactive story and presentation of spiritual truth.  We need your help!  Take a look below and take some time after Sunday to talk to your child about what we talk about here at church!  We need you to help us guide your child spiritually!

Preschoolers begin a month of learning that God is always with us — no matter what we’re doing or where we go.  This month, we want preschoolers to get a grasp on the incredible truth that God will never leave us!  We may have to leave our parents and our friends but, wherever we are, God is right there with us.  Preschoolers will be in Exodus 2:1-10.  Your child will learn that God is always with him, just like God was with baby Moses in the basket.  God protected baby Moses and He protects us.  Sometime after Sunday, take some time to hold your preschooler close to you and have some “snuggling” time.  Talk to your child about how much you love him.  Remind him that God is always with him and loves him too.

Elementary kids begin a new virtue on Sunday.  We’re talking about honor all month - letting someone know you see how valuable they really are.  Kids will learn Sunday that they need to show honor to those who are over them.  We really want kids to understand that it is a part of God’s plan for some of us to lead and some of us to follow.  It’s important for kids to respect those who are in charge (teachers, leaders, parents) because God has given us those people to help us — not to harm us!  Kids will be hearing the story of Jesus turning water into wine from John 2:1 -11.  You may want to read the story for yourself before Sunday to help generate some discussion with your child.  At lunch on Sunday, ask your child to think of and name three ways he can honor someone who is in charge.  Encourage him to begin showing honor now!  Talk about a time in your life when you had to honor someone in charge even when you didn’t want to.  Explain why it was important for you to honor that person.

I’m looking forward to Sunday!  Hope you can be here!  Remember…we only have one chance each week to make an impact on your child.  Don’t let your child miss his chance this week!

Tonight, we continue MythBusters with our kids here at Northwood!  Tonight, we’re looking at the myth:  “Have It Your Way!”  Can we have it our way?  Can we always have it our way?  Can we have it our way some of the time? 

Before Jesus was arrested and crucified, He spent the night praying in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Even though Jesus knew that what He would be going through would be horrible, He was willing to do it.  He wanted to do things his Father’s way.  We like to have our own way.  Tonight kids will learn that Jesus didn’t model self-centeredness, He modeled God-centeredness.  He wants us to be unselfish and patient.  He wants us to think of others before ourselves.  Kids will learn that when we realize that we are wanting things our way, we need to ask Jesus to help us focus him instead of ourselves.

On the ride home tonight, talk to your child about a time when he wanted it his way.  Ask your child if, after being at MythBusters tonight, he realizes why he doesn’t always get his way.  Help your child understand that our focus always needs to be on Jesus, not ourselves.

It’s hard to believe…camp is almost over.  It has been a great week!  I asked the kids tonight what their favorite part of camp was.  Here are some answers…

“learning that the spotlight should be on Jesus”

“getting to make new friends from other churches”

“getting to spend time with other kids from Northwood that we usually don’t get to spend time with”

“getting away from our parents”

“getting to do stuff on our own”

“getting to spend time with adults that don”t nag us all the time…but just have fun”

It has been a great week!  I love getting to know our kids on a personal level every year at camp.  Northwood is a great church full of great people!  Our church has the best kids on the planet!  Lives have been changed this week as Centri-Kid staff and Northwood volunteers have poured themselves into your child all week!  Sally Jones, Keishia Wilson, and Will Reid have been incredible!  They have given of themselves and sacrificed to make our kids’ week at camp the best!  Thank them every time you see them!  They made the difference this week!

We will see you tomorrow at 1:30!  We are headed home!  Can’t wait to sleep in my own bed tomorrow night!!!!!!

It’s been a great day today!  Kids heard how they have a purpose — that God has designed them for a specific purpose and that they need to discover that purpose!  Tonight, during worship, kids learned not to focus on themselves and what they can accomplish, but focus on the incredible power of Jesus!  When our focus is on Him, we can discover our purpose. 

Tomorrow during worship, kids are going to get the opportunity to give a missions offering to the Roma people that they have been hearing about all week!  Our girls came up with the idea of making friendship bracelets and selling them to other campers here at camp.  The money will then go to the Roma people.  Our kids have incredible hearts!  It is an incredible blessing for me to watch them come up with their own ideas of how to serve others and tell others about the love they get to experience!

We have also been jamming to the music of The Lads.  They are our worship leaders for the week!  The kids have comics of The Lads, DVD’s and Cd’s of The Lads!  They are great!  Our kids are rocking to the music every morning and afternoon here at Toccoa Falls!

Keep praying for us!  Our kids are doing great … you would be very proud!  I know I am!  Don’t forget…we will be recapping the week this Sunday night at Northwood at 6:00!  You’ll want to be there!

It has been a great day at camp!  The kids are having a great time!  It’s about 10:45 on Tuesday night and the kids are in their beds asleep - exhausted!  The kids began the day in the Worship Center here at Toccoa Falls worshipping God and enjoying spending time together.  They then went outside for recreation and Bible study where they heard the incredible news of the importance of the Bible!  The Bible is like a movie script!  Just like actors have to know the script before they can be great actors, we have to know God’s Word before we can be great Christians!  Kids then went to their track times (the activities they chose)!  We finished up the day with more worship and some wild and crazy games in the Worship Center!

Continue to pray for us.  God is already doing some great things in the lives of kids here at camp!  I love to see kids finally “get it” — sometimes for the first time!  We are definitely getting some one-on-one time with the kids to find out what’s going on in their lives!  You guys are parents of some great kids.  You should be very proud!

It’s almost here!  We leave tomorrow morning for Toccoa, Georgia for Centri-Kid Summer Camp!  It’s one of my favorite weeks of the year!  I love taking the opportunity to invest some one-on-one time in the lives of our kids for this week!  it will be an exhausting, exciting week for all of us!  It’s awesome to see the excitement in their faces during camp week!

I’m going to try my best to keep you updated on what’s going on throughout the week!  It all just depends on the Internet service available at the college where we will be staying!  I will definitely be updating the “What’s Mr. David Doing?” side of the blog throughout the day, so you can keep up with what’s going on!  Check it often!  I hope to update it as much as possible throughout the day!

Pray for us as we leave tomorrow and pray that our kids’ lives will be changed!  Thanks for allowing me to be your Children’s Minister!  It is a great honor!

Can you believe it?  Another week has come and gone and here’s what we’re talking about with your children this week at Northwood…

At 8:45, preschoolers are learning that God loves them and wants them to do the right thing.  This week, your preschooler will discover that sometimes doing the right thing means forgiving other people.  We’ll be continuing to look at the story of Joseph.  Joseph forgave his brothers years after they sold him into slavery.  You can read the story that your child will learn this week in Genesis 42:1-6 and Genesis 45:1 - 46:7.  Sometime after Sunday, at bedtime, ask your preschooler if there is someone she needs to forgive.  Let your child “write” in the air the name of the person who hurt him.  You may want to help your preschooler think of some people she needs to forgive — maybe someone who took her toy or someone who won’t be her friend.  Then “erase” the name.  Explain to your child that when you forgive, you choose to erase from your mind the bad thoughts and feelings.  That’s exactly what Joseph did and what God wants us to do. 

Elementary kids are continuing to learn about self-control - choosing to do what you should do, not what you want to do.  This week, kids are specifically learning to tame their tongues.  The words we choose to say and not to say are important.  This week, kids will learn specifically how to watch the words that they choose to say.  Sometime after Sunday, talk to your child about why he thinks it’s hard to control his tongue.  Without being judgmental, talk about a time in the past when your child hurt someone else because of the way he used his tongue.  Talk about how he can prevent that from ever happening again.  Tell your child about a time when you said something you later regretted.  I think it’s important for kids to understand that their parents make mistakes too.  Clearly explain your past mistakes with your words and what you have done and are doing to correct it. 

I will see you on Sunday!  Don’t forget to be in prayer for me, our volunteers, and our third through sixth graders as we head out to Centri-Kid next week!  I hope to be able to blog next week (depending on Internet capability) and will update you on what’s going on!

Thanks again for your constant encouragement and for your words about lst Sunday’s message!  It’s incredible to hear the difference it has already made!

It is Wednesday night!  Tonight, we continue our summer children’s ministry program Myth Busters!  Tonight we are looking at:  God helps those who help themselves!  Is it true?  Is it a myth?  Your kids will find out the answer tonight!  That particular myth is everywhere!  We, as adults, even teach it to our kids.  Some people even think it’s in the Bible!  Tonight, we’ll discover where that phrase came from and whether we need to apply it to our lives or not. 

On the ride home tonight, talk to your child about the myth that he heard about tonight!  We, as Christians, know that God helps us whether we help ourselves or not!  Talk to your child about a specific time in your life when you couldn’t help yourself and you had to rely totally on God to help you.  Help your child think about something in his life that is impossible for him to do without God.  Talk about the truth that there are times in our lives when our only option is to rely on God!  God does not expect us to help ourselves.  He knows we can’t anyway!  Re-emphasize this truth to your child on the ride home tonight!

Thank you so much for your comments about my message yesterday!  I was nervous yesterday to be presenting such a harsh warning to parents and it is incredible to think that God used that word that I nervously prepared to make a difference.  I am so glad it’s making a difference in your life and in the life of your family.  Several people have asked me about DVDs and CDs of yesterday’s worship service.  You can feel free to email me at david@rightdirections.org and I’ll get in touch with someone who can take care of that for you or you can feel free to see Keith Rumsey here at church and he can help you out.

Several of you have also asked for copies of my notes from yesterday.  I will be glad to email those to you if you’ll shoot me an email at david@rightdirections.org.  Our Scripture yesterday really is one of the most terrifying but humbling Scriptures in the entire Bible.  I pray that you continue to lead your family so that they do not suffer because of their parent’s unfaithfulness.

If you missed it, take a look at Judges 2:6-10 and Numbers 14:33.  Are our children suffering too?  I believe so!  We can make a difference in the lives of our families!  Start doing something today!  I am here to help.  Let me know if I can!

Our Pastor will be away this Sunday morning and I will be bringing the message “Rated PG.”  It’s a message all parents need to hear.  I want you to know that I have a clear, direct word from the Scripture and I am so pumped to be bringing it to you on Sunday.  If you are a parent, grandparent, or have a kid somewhere in your life, you will want to be here!  Invite your friends who are parents to come with you this week.  I’m telling you — this Sunday could change your family forever!

We are going to be looking in depth at the current generation of kids and their views of Scripture and the things of God!  Here’s a warning though … it’s not going to be an easy week for parents.  As a matter of fact, the Scripture that I share Sunday may keep you up at night until you get it right (seriously!!!)  Do not miss it!  Be here — whatever you have to do to get here– do it!  God will be speaking to families and especially parents!  If you absolutely can’t be here, make sure you get a recording of Sunday’s message and get it to every parent you know!

Can you tell I’m excited?  I am so passioante about this generation and believe that, together, we can change it!  I’ll see you Sunday!  Pray for me!  I believe God is going to do something incredible!