Care Group Project

We have a wonderful Care Group! We meet every other Friday evening, kids and all, and fellowship, study God's Word and pray for each other. This past meeting, our group decided to do a little mission project. Each family brought enough "materials" to make 40 sandwiches of either PB&J or bologna and cheese. These sandwiches would feed the hundreds of homeless on the streets of St. Louis through Larry Rice's New Life Evangelistic Center. Our small group of 6 families made over 220 sandwiches in about a half an hour. It really did not take much time, effort or money to do something worthwhile. (The jelly was a little challenging to get off the floor but whose worried??)

Our Care Group feels led to put some feet to our teachings. Our kids need to see how faith can be put into action! Remember how Pastor Phil always says "More is caught than taught"? That is so true. We can talk about God every day and that is important! However, they are going to "catch" the fact that we DID something to impact the world around us. Actions speak louder than words!

So, I challenge your Care Group, Bible study, family...to see how the Lord leads you to put some feet to your words. We can all have an impact on the world and take the Gospel out! Sometimes a piece of bread and bologna is the vehicle for someone to hear the Good News that Jesus saves!

It's dinnertime!

9 Reasons Why Dinnertime Should Be Family Time
Jim Burns, Ph.D.

I'm happy to announce that over the past few years, more and more families are making the intentional effort to have regular, family-mealtimes. Here are eight reasons why doing so is a great idea:

1) Kids who live in families that eat dinner together regularly are less likely to be involved in at-risk behaviors.

According to the 2009 study done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA), compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven family dinners per week) children who eat dinner with their families infrequently (fewer than three per week) are twice as likely to use tobacco or marijuana and more than one and a half times likelier to have used alcohol.

2) Families who eat dinner together regularly are more likely to have stronger, happier family relationships.

As families struggle to find amounts of quantity and quality time together, family dinnertime provides the opportunity for both. Teens who frequently eat dinner with their family are likelier to say they have excellent relationships with their parents, and teens who have infrequent family dinners are likelier to say they have fair or poor relationships with their parents. When families hang out together and communicate, they grow strong and healthy.

3) Kids who live in families that eat dinner regularly together perform better in school.

According to the latest research, compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week are one and a half times likelier to report getting mostly C's or lower grades in school.

4) Families who eat dinner regularly develop a stronger family identity. Eating together serves to build a family identity.

Additionally, this family "routine" provides a sense of stability and security that provides kids with a positive environment where they can grow into healthy adults.

5) Families who eat dinner together regularly can keep in touch with each others' lives.

Everyone - kids and parents alike - can keep up-to-date during your family dinnertime on what is going on with school, jobs, family life, and friends.

6) A regular family dinnertime provides natural opportunities for planning and problem solving.

Scheduling family meeting times to discuss planning, needs and problem solving can be difficult. A regular family mealtime can offer a natural solution to the challenge.

7) Eating dinner regularly fosters learning.

When families who eat dinner together engage in a variety of conversation topics, learning is encouraged. Kids who are exposed to regular family discussion times learn a broader vocabulary.

8) Kids are likely to receive better nutrition when eating dinner regularly with their families.

A simple, but true rule applies: when kids eat with their families, they eat better. A family dinnertime means kids are more likely to eat a nutritionally balanced meal, lower in sugar and fat content, than if they prepare or purchase meals on their own.

9) The benefits of regular family meals don't require a large amount of time.

Some might shy away from regular family dinners due to the busy pace of life and the concern for the amount of time a family meal requires. But, the latest research shows that the average family meal lasts just 35 minutes. That's not a lot of time to invest in order to see great some great benefits to your family!

Grateful Hearts

With the Thanksgiving holiday here, one can't help but begin counting their blessings. As I prayed with my husband this morning, we thanked the Lord for our family, the blessing of a home, provision, and most importantly for His love for us!

I challenge each one of you today in the midst of the cooking and cleaning, driving and shopping, to make sure that you are truly celebrating this Thanksgiving the way it was intended. Being THANKFUL! We are so blessed in America to have so much and want for very little compared to the majority of countries around the world. Believe me, I've been there. Americans have it all! In Chile, on our first mission journey, we ministered to a village where families lived in small shacks with dirt floors. In Poland, we walked through train stations filled with people begging for coins. Yes, we do have needs in America but the majority of us have never felt the sting of hunger having gone days without food or been cold and could not find shelter. BE THANKFUL! God has blessed us with so much. He is the source of all good things. James 1:17 states "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

Happy Thanksgiving West County Families and Friends!

Christmas Project

Looking for something fun for your kiddos to do that will get them away from the TV??? Aren't we all! This is a fun project that you can do with your children for Christmas. Childrensministry.com has some great insights and ideas and I discovered these little gift boxes that your kids can make. Check out this web page http://www.childrensministry.com/magazine/extras/2009/1109/boxes.html for templates you can print off and cut and fold. I printed them on card stock in fun colors and they turned out really great.

Have fun!

Creating A Keepsake

Have you ever had anything passed down from a grandmother or grandfather or maybe even a GREAT grandmother or GREAT grandfather? If you have, then you know how special that item is to you. It helps you understand their love for you. I found a wonderful idea this week online for creating a treasured keepsake for you children.

Purchase a Bible and begin reading it for your child. Not TO your child, FOR them! As you read through this Bible, make notes in the margins specifically for your child. "I prayed this Scripture for you today, Rachel." "May you always follow God's desires for your life, Ben." As you read, allow the Holy Spirit to direct your thoughts for your child. And, after reading through the entire Bible, you will be able to present it to your child as a keepsake they will treasure forever.

Here are some words of advice for creating this keepsake:

1. Choose wisely. Wide margins are the most important factor in choosing a Bible for this purpose. You need room to write comments or personal prayers. For readability, you may want to choose one with large print.

2. Personalize your Bible. Most Christian bookstores will imprint your loved one's name on the cover, either free or for a nominal charge.

3. Seek God's guidance. Ask God to bless your reading and to show you how to pray for your loved one.

4. Think through a reading plan. It might be fine for most people to read the Bible from front to back, but you may soon realize—somewhere in the Old Testament genealogies, that you need a different strategy. You might find that it works better for you to skip around a bit. At one sitting, you might read a chapter each from the Old and New Testaments, and then you might read a Proverb and a Psalm. Another time, you might read a book in the New Testament in its entirety. Keep track of what you read by marking the table of contents.

5. Write from the heart. While the Bible is God's love letter to us, write your own love notes in the margins or at the end of the chapter—whispers from a mother to her child. "Today I prayed that you would have the courage of Queen Esther—that you would allow God to work in your life in a mighty way." Or, "Please, Lord, give Lindsey a passion for your Word and a heart for your people."

What a precious gift we could give our children to show them not only how much WE love them but more importantly, how much GOD loves them!

Mom's In Touch Meeting

You are invited to a
Mom’s In Touch Informational Meeting

Come learn more about
Moms In Touch
and meet other moms
who have a heart for prayer.

Tuesday, Oct 6, 2009

9:00 a.m. for Coffee
or
7:00 p.m. for Dessert

16523 Hunters Crossing Drive

RSVP ~ Rosanne McCoy ~ 636-898-3762

Please feel free to invite a friend.
For more information visit http://www.momsintouch.org/


Arise…
pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children.
Lamentations 2:19

Teach Your Kids to Take Out The Trash

I found this awesome article written on an Awana blog site. Thought I would share since it was so interesting and inspiring to me. We have to take responsibility for the ones God has given us!

"There's a lot of garbage in our world, and I'm not talking about landfills. Our eyes, ears and minds are bombarded daily with all kinds of trash.

It is challenging enough as Christian adults to combat the forces of culture. But the amount of junk thrown at our kids is vastly different than when we were their age. Consider what our children are facing:

In 2000, $2 billion was spent on advertising to children in America. Today, that figure has increased to $15 billion.
One-third of young children have a television in their bedroom, as do two-thirds of pre-teens and teens.
The average child may view as many as 40,000 commercials every year.
Four hours of TV programming contain approximately 100 ads.
According to research firm EMarketer Inc., as many as 20 million children and teens will visit virtual worlds by 2011, up from 8.2 million in 2007.
A 2005 report counted 29 million U.S. kids between the ages of 8 to 14. Nearly 90 percent of these children are now online.
Up to 40 percent of the books sold at a typical school book fair are linked to a movie, TV show or video game.
Advertisers spent close to $164 million reaching consumers on mobile devices in 2007. By 2011, this amount is expected to grow to $2.3 billion.
MySpace and Facebook are experimenting with customized advertising based on the information provided by users’ personal profiles.
In June 2006, the Journal of Adolescent Health reported that teens who absorbed sexually explicit entertainment most frequently were up to 2.2 times more likely to have had sexual intercourse by ages 14 to 16 than those who had been exposed the least.
Our culture sends mixed and increasingly dangerous messages to our kids that are in total opposition to the Christian faith.
We are the primary spiritual influencers in our kids’ lives. How can we protect and equip our children from cultural assaults and help them make God-honoring decisions that will keep them safe?

Here are a few ideas:
● Review videos, music and media choices. Use resources like www.pluggedinonline.com or www.realworldparents.com to read media reviews and to stay current on what your kids might be watching at the theater or listening to on their iPod.
● Train kids to make wise choices according to God’s standards. Teach them God’s view of cultural messages and what He would think about particular songs or TV shows. Talk about it as a family.
● Memorize Philippians 4:8 with your kids: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Implement the ‘TNRPLA’ method to make godly choices: is what I’m about to watch, read or listen to true, noble, right, pure, lovely or admirable?
● Install media safeguards on your TV and computer. Try one of these helpful resources:
For social networking safety:
YouDiligence™
For Internet safety:
Bsecure™ Family Protection
Covenant Eyes® Accountability and Filtering
Safe Eyes® Internet Parental Control
Safe Eyes Mobile™ iPhone & iPod Touch Internet Filtering
For media safety:
ClearPlay®
TiVo® KidZone
I recently read a quote on a blog that sums up perfectly what I think Christian parents desire for their children: “We can teach our kids not to fear the culture, but to turn things around — to capture the culture for Christ.”
And I think that’s the best way to get rid of the trash. What do you think?"

Written by Kim Anderson who is a Web copywriter at Awana. She and her husband have two daughters. She has also co-written six books on youth ministry.

Conversation Starters With Your Kids

Hard to get your kids to talk to you??? Tired of having the same conversation? "How was school? Response-"good." "What did you do today at school?" Response - "nothing." "Anything fun happen today?" Response - "No." I understand your plight! Here are some great suggestions for some conversation starters. Try them out and post how it goes for the enjoyment of all!


1. What do you know how to do that you can teach to others?
2. If you could be a sound, what would it be?
3. What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you?
4. What do you think your life will be like in the future?
5. What is the most wonderful thing that ever happened to you?
6. Who is your best friend and why?
7. If you could choose a new name for yourself, what would it be, and why?
8. What's the coolest thing you saw someone do today?
9. How would you change the world if you could?

"Raising Great Kids: Divided on Discipline"

I love finding great insight from parenting experts that have "been there, done that". I ran across this article today in MomSense online by Dr. Henry Cloud & Dr. John Townsend and wanted to share part of it with you. Dads, don't stop reading...this is good!

"Q: My husband and I have a strong marriage, yet we still disagree about discipline. He thinks I'm too easy on the kids, I think he's too hard. How can we find some middle ground?

A: One of the best ways to dislodge your logjam with your husband is to stop talking about how to discipline your kids while you're doing it and decide what to do "in the moment" before the need to discipline actually occurs.

First, discover the "no brainers" you both agree on — things such as wanting your kids to obey your requests, treating you and others with respect, doing their chores on time, and disciplining your kids with a combination of love and limits while avoiding being "squishy" on either side (i.e., only love and no limits or only limits and no loving attitude). You most likely agree on wanting to avoid anger or guilt when disciplining them and to give your kids freedom, choices and then consequences for their choices. Most parents can avoid arguments in the heat of the moment by agreeing ahead of time on these big-picture discipline issues.

Next, establish a specific plan for your discipline principles and for the consequences when they're not followed. For example, "When one of us asks Johnny to turn off the DVD and pick up his toys and he doesn't obey, what will WE do?" Agree beforehand on what you'll do, such as saying, "Sorry, Johnny, bad decision. That means you won't get to watch any DVDs tomorrow." Also include your kids on the expectations and rules and consequences. Then, everyone will be on the same page — you, your husband and your kids."

Great wisdom there, don't ya think??

Back to School!

If you are like me, the summer just flew by! All of a sudden it was time for back to school shopping and packing lunches. The summer was just too short! Although, my kids (for the most part) were ready to return to school to see friends and be out of the house. There is only so much "time together" that siblings can handle. As Beth Moore says, "Can anyone relate??"

With the start of school comes early schedules, late dinners, homework and sports practice. In the busyness of life, sometimes we fail to do the most important things. Our family has by no means got this all figured out but I would like to share how we start our school days with our children.

In the mornings, before the kids get out the door and on the bus, we take 15 minutes to read Scripture, talk and pray together. Currently, we are using a book entitled "Dinner Table Devotions". Don't let "dinner" throw you! You can use it anytime. It is simply a good way to get spiritual conversations started, read Scripture together and get focused for the day. We really enjoy this time with our kids in the mornings. It brings us all together if only for a few minutes to keep the most important thing, the most important thing.

For those of you with younger children, you might want to focus on a memory verse for the week that you can put on the refrigerator and talk about over their bowl of Cheerios. Then, take time to pray with them before they are off and running! These will be lessons that they will remember all of their lives.

Family devotions may not be an easy habit to get into but once you do, you will reap the benefits! God calls us moms and dads to be the primary individuals teaching our children the ways of God. We need to step up and take that responsibility seriously.

FamTime

Do you ever think about or actually do family devotional activities with your kids? Sometimes it is difficult to find age-appropriate activities to engage our children. Thank you Nancy Johnson for passing on this excellent website for some great ideas for guiding children spiritually at home. Check out www.famtime.com for some excellent ideas. You kind of have to work your way around the site to find what you want, but I found some wonderful activities. Have a look and tell me what you think. When you do an activity, post your "results" on our blog so everyone can share!

MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) Meeting

For those of you with preschoolers, you will want to be involved in this exciting new ministry that we will begin in the Fall. We are planning on kicking off a MOPS ministry in September. If you are not familiar with MOPS, you can go to their website for all the info you need. We will be having an informational meeting on Wednesday, May 6th at 6:00 p.m. in the WCCC conference room. If you have any questions, please call Vicki in the church office at 636-230-8900. Hope to see you there!

Vicki

New Beginnings Easter Celebration

For those of you who were able to attend the New Beginnings Easter Celebration a few weekends ago, didn't we have a blast?? There were lots of new faces and many of our own WCCC families who participated. Here are a few photos that captured the events of the day!

Noteworthy Notions

Have you ever gotten a little note from someone special to you? I have! And man did it feel great. My daughter, Rachel, is great at note writing and surprising her dad and I. Make it a goal this week to leave a little note for someone to show them how important they are to you! Here are some idea taken from ParentLife magazine:
1. Put a note in a lunch box.
2. Slip one into a math book or flute case.
3. Leave a note on the mirror Dad uses when he shaves.
4. Tie a note to the steering wheel or handlebars someone will hold on the way to school or work.
5. Tuck a note under the pillow when you make the bed.
6. Place a note at each person's special place at the table.
7. String a note around a favorite stuffed animal's neck.
8. Put a note in Mom's makeup case.
9. Tie a note around one of Dad or Mom's golf clubs or tennis rackets.

These little notes take all of 30 seconds to write and can be the best investment in your relationships at home. They tell that person that they are loved, thought of, and that they are a special part of the family. Tell those around you how they make you laugh or thank them for all their hard work. The possibilities are endless.

If you do take this challenge, post the results and share how you made someone feel important and loved!

Vicki

Church Potluck

Sunday was a great day of worship and fellowship. I really enjoyed sharing a meal with all of you at the potluck. I was thrilled with the turnout! There was such good food and conversation that we will have to do it again soon. The food was so good that I have to have your recipes! If you would like to post a recipe to share with everyone, please comment on this post and leave it there. Or, you can post it to your own blog like Mistie Thompson has done and share it that way. I would love all of your secret recipes for my own collection. Oh, btw, when I remember to bring the recipe for the Santa Fe Chili I made (I stole it from someone too!) I will post it here.

Blessings to each of you!

JellyTelly

Hey all you TV junkies! You may be like me and don't allow your kids to watch TOO much TV but from time to time, you need a little R&R and so the tube comes on! Well, a little birdie told me (that would be my husband, go figure) that he heard of a website called Jelly Telly that sounded interesting. This may not be news to some of you but it was to me. So, I got on the web and discovered something wonderful and I had to share. Jelly Telly is awesome! Instead of sitting your kids down in front of the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon, let them view some wholesome, Bible-teaching programming designed just for them. I am totally impressed and Matthew will be thrilled to know that he is going to get some additional TV time on the computer. I think your kids will love it. Go check it out http://www.jellytelly.com/ and let me know what you think!

Blessings,
Vicki

Go Go Go Joe!!

For those of you who missed the performance this weekend, you missed a great show.  Here are some pictures of our famous students showing off their God-given talents.   Great job kids!!  Enjoy!

Upcoming Events

Family Potluck- March 29th immediately following the 11:00 a.m. Worship Service we will gather in the commons for a time of food and fellowship. A-G brings salads/sides, H-R brings main dish/soup, and S-Z brings (my favorite part!) desserts.

New Beginnings Easter Celebration - April 4th from 10:30 - Noon we will have our annual Easter egg hunt! We are asking each family to bring 2 dozen filled eggs and drop them off at the church before March 29th. Our goal is to collect 2000 eggs from 80 families so please take part in making our Easter Celebration a big hit! We are also giving away prizes and one prize will go to the child who brings the most visitors! Load up your van and come for a great time!

Boomerang Express

VBC recruiting has begun! If you served last year and know already where you would like to serve this year, please reply to this post and let me know. If you did not serve last year and are interested in knowing about the positions, let me know and I will give you all the information you could ever want! I appreciate your help in this! Reply and save me a few phone calls because, trust me, I will be calling you!

Blessings,
Vicki

VBC and Children's Camp

Mark your calendars! The theme this year for VBC is Boomerang Express and will be held June 22-26 from 9:00 - noon.

CentriKid Camp this year is going to be held July 20-24, 2009 for children who have completed 3rd - 6th grade. Stay tuned for more information!

Have a great day!
Vicki

New Beginnings

In order to better communicate to you as parents, I have begun a blog! This is the place where you can come to see what is happening in Children's ministry, get ideas for family devotional time, see pictures of events and lots more! I am so excited to be able to get to know each of you personally so if you would like to sit down to visit, please post a response or email me at vicki@wccchurch.org. I look forward to this new addition to our Children's ministry and bringing us together as a ministry team.

Blessings,
Vicki Shattuck
Children's Minister
West County Community Church