Who do you need him to be this season?

I like to write blogs, but more than that I like to read blogs. I follow a LOT of blogs about different things. Blogs about creative ideas, blogs about kids, blogs about leadership, blogs about church, blogs about family, blogs about animals, blogs about books. I love to read blogs. While reading one of my favorite blogs (Northpoint Church's Kids blog) I came across a question that completely stopped me. "Who do you need Jesus to be for your family this Christmas?" Each year, this church sends each family home with all of the ingredients to bake Jesus a birthday cake. In their blog, they made the point that Jesus came on Christmas to be our Savior, but he also meets the needs of his people every day.

So my question for YOU, is who do you need Jesus to be? For yourself? For your family? For your children? Who do you need him to be? Mighty God? Wonderful Counselor? Everlasting Father? Prince of Peace?

Isaiah 9:6 tells us that he is ALL of these... "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

My prayer is that God will show up exactly the way you need him to this Christmas season. That he will make the impossible possible. That he will give you wisdom. That he will show you how to forgive. That he will give you courage. Whatever you need, my friends, I pray that God shows himself to you in that precise way.


(If you're a parent at the Stirring, and would like to get our monthly e-mail that lists current events and contains a copy of our monthly take-home packet, please e-mail me at emily@thestirring.org.)

Worship

All of our classes this Sunday learned all about Worship. The Toddlers made Praise-a-phones, as did the Pre-K class, and the 1st-5th graders made some pretty sweet Praise-shakers. The kids had a blast. I could hear singing and laughter from all of the rooms. It brought me so much joy. There's something so incredibly genuine and pure about children singing their praises to God. They don't hold back. They worship with their whole hearts. I captured the last little bit of the 1st-5th graders Worship time with Heide Cox. They were all having such a fun time, including the teachers. In fact, I'm not sure who was more into the song...

Why we worship.

I spent a little bit of time in the Pre-K/Kindergarten classroom this past Sunday. What a fun age. These kids are so excited to learn, to share, to enjoy God and his promises for them. On Sunday, the kids were learning about Solomon and David, and their journey of building a temple for God. The lesson really landed on the idea of giving God our praise because He is SO worthy and SO good. At the end of the lesson, there was a response time, where children could come forward and collect a paper heart... here is what that heart signified to these kids:
"Today, if you feel that God is worthy of all your worship, then when you’re ready, you can come up, take a heart, and place it on the magnetic board. This heart is a way of telling others—and God—that you choose to worship God because He deserves your worship." -TruWonder Curriculum.

Our kids wanted to decorate their hearts first, so we whipped out the craft supplies, and had a God-heart decorating party!

I was so touch and moved to see these kids so freely giving their Worship to God, without hesitation. I asked one little girl what she was doing with the heart, and she simply replied "We are Worshiping God because he loves us. He ALWAYS loves us!" WOW. That blew my mind. These three, four and five year-olds get it. They're grasping ideas it takes adults YEARS to fully understand and believe. The things these kids are learning now are shaping their futures. What an honor and blessing to be part of each Sunday.

I was able to snap a few pictures of the kids decorating their God-hearts.






On a different note: We're looking for kid-sized (preK-elementary aged) animal costumes for a small "performance" the Stirring Kids will be doing for Christmas. Send me an e-mail if you have anything you think might work, and you'd be willing to let us borrow - emily@thestirring.org.

My favorite part of Sunday...

I'm going to let you in on a little secret; I love snack time. There are so many parts to a Sunday morning in any given classroom: craft time, story time, activity/game time, Worship time, free play, bathroom time, and of course snack time. Here's my reason behind my love for snack time; there a distinct hush that falls over a group of children when a hand full of cheese-its are placed in front of them. Don't get me wrong, we've got some amazing teachers who truly captivate their classes during story time, leaving the children hanging on every word they speak, but it's just not the same as snack time. While in the Toddler room this Sunday morning, one of the teachers announced that it was snack time and that all of the children needed to begin cleaning up their toys before finding a seat at the large, colorful tables. I've never seen a classroom cleaned faster. Those toddlers scurried to get their puzzles, blocks and play-dough put away and raced for the snack table. Once seated, they waited patiently for their napkin, sippy up and snack to arrive. Like I said before, there are a number or parts to a typical Sunday in every class, but I'd venture to say that the most fine-tuned of these parts is the beloved snack time. Here are a few shots I snapped during my visit in the Toddler room. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!!

Holy, Holy, Holy....

We've been loving watching the kids grow and learn more about God and His great love for them. One of our Preschool teachers had the great idea of recording some of the kids doing their "Remember Verse." Each month, the kids learn a new "Remember Verse" and are given the chance each week to recite it. Here's a group of the Preschoolers doing last week's. I love how excited they all get when it's their turn to say it, and the pride on their little faces when they've successfully completed their verse. I've got to say, our team is pretty amazing. I am so thankful for the men and women who are giving their lives to show these kids what it means to love God, love each other, love the world and love the least.

Best. Toy. Ever.

A big shout out to Kathy Stainbrook! Our Toddler Room was rockin' on Sunday morning at both gatherings, and all because Kathy brought the world's greatest toy for the kids to play with: A GIANT cardboard box. They used it as an airplane, a cave, a fort, a hiding place, a napping place... and so much more. Here's a picture of some of our 11:00 kids exploring the wonders of the box.

Stirring Kids Happenings

We're now a month into our new curriculum, Tru, and the kids, teachers and parents alike are loving it! Here's a picture of our 11:00 first - fifth grade class in a fort they built for their lesson on Abraham and Isaac. I'm not sure who had more fun; the kids or the teachers!



We are also two weeks into our back-to-back services with Stirring Kids. Both Sundays we've had 100+ kids, so needless to say we've been busy, but the Stirring Kids team has been on it, making the overlap pretty much flawless!

I'm still finding it hard to believe that it's October (well, as of tomorrow) and we're seeing 100* weather!

So long Summer!

Change is in the air, and the Stirring Kids team couldn’t be more excited! Here are a few dates to put on the calendar:

-August 29th: the 5:00 Stirring Kids (Toddlers-5th Grade) will be having a Water Day to end the summer with a SPLASH! Kids need to bring a towel and a dry change of clothes.

-September 5th kicks off the Fall semester. We are looking for people to help with Stirring Kids this Fall. If you love kids and you're wanting to get more involved, this would be a great way to give your life away! E-mail emily@thestirring.org for more information.

-September 7th: Stirring Life- An informational meeting to hear the heart and vision of the Stirring. We will be meeting from 6:00-8:00 at Vineyard Church on Bechelli Lane. Childcare will be provided for children through 5 years of age. Please contact amy@thestirring.org if you are planning to bring your kids.

-September 19th: We will be moving to 4 gatherings (9am, 11am, 5pm, 7pm) with Stirring Kids offered only at the 9am and 11am gatherings.
This week will also kick off our Fall Life Groups! Be sure to grab a Life Group list, and get connected!

As always, here are a couple pictures I snapped...

Summer Happenings

It's hard to believe it's July already! June seemed to whiz right on by, bringing with it crazy rain storms, and scorching heat! The Stirring Kids stayed busy with Father's Day and Graduation festivities. We took a day to celebrate all of our children completing a year in school. As a team, we prayed over all of the kids, asking the Lord to continue growing them in wisdom, in stature and in favor with God and all the people. It was a sweet moment to see the excitement in their faces as they realized they were growing just the way Luke 2:52 says Jesus grew!

Coming this month:
-Jesus Party (for Jr. High students) is in full swing.
-Our summer Baptism will be happening July 30th.

Visit the website for more information on both.

Here are a few pictures of what the Stirring Kids have been up to the past few months.

Spring Time

Spring has sprung! The sun is out, quickly followed by the cloudy cover of rain, only to be followed by the warmth of the sun once again. The good news about the spring time is that it's not summer heat yet (and if you've been in Redding for the summer, you know what I'm talking about!!), but it's still sunny enough to get the kids outside to play. One of the treasures we adults often forget about during the cold winter months is the novelty of bubbles. Kids LOVE bubbles. While cleaning out our outdoor toy box, we stumbled upon a pack of bubbles. I thought it would be fun to pull them out for the kids, not thinking they would be much of a hit but figured I'd give it a try. Boy, was I way wrong. The kids FLIPPED for those bubbles. The Toddler class especially spent the entire outdoor time blowing, chasing and popping bubbles. I love the joy and laughter that come with the determination each time a new batch of bubbles is released. Think about what the world would be like if bubbles had the same effect on everyone... Here's a picture of Emilee, one of our AMAZING leaders at our PM campus entertaining a group of Toddlers. I could have sat out there all day and snapped pictures!


One thing for Stirring parents to remember: We're going to be setting aside time at our May 23rd gathering for Child Dedication. If you're interested in dedicating your child to God or have any questions please shoot me an email at emily@thestirring.org