Dragon, Ox, Rooster and Dog?

This week my daughter had some homework about the Chinese New Year and she had to figure out what animal she was on the Chinese Zodiac. We had a bunch of fun talking about each one of us as the animals assigned to us. And while there are a fun similarities, I know that the zodiac is not where I find truth.
But it got me thinking about how important it is to take time as a family to point out each others' strengths and celebrate those together. God designs and grows each one of His children (that means us grownups, too) so uniquely. If we don't teach our kids how to celebrate that, who will?

Axioms

I listened to a pod cast this week, "The Power of Leading with Axioms" a conversation with Bill Hybels. It has given me some good thoughts this week of how we can use axioms with our family.
Dictionary definition: ax⋅i⋅om
1. a self-evident truth that requires no proof.
2. a universally accepted principle or rule.
Example:
No pain, no gain.

Here's one from the Bible:
Proverbs 22:6
Direct your children onto the right path,
and when they are older, they will not leave it.
One I'm going to try today is "together is better" as we tackle cleaning up the house and getting the ice off the driveway. Let me know about some of your axioms that help you in your life and family.
By the way, I listened to this while I was cleaning the kitchen, you don't have to take 45 minutes out of your day, just encorporate it into your busy day.

Psyched Third Graders

How cool to have over 100 people gather for the Third Grade Bible Class on Tuesday night in the cold. We used every chair that was available in the Lion's Park Building. Rave reviews on Katie Johnson's teaching overview of the bible. I know the third grader that I tucked into bed that night was feeling quite grown up that she had underlined special verses in her brand new bible. This particular bible was chosen for our new bible users because it has so many great ideas embedded right in it to make the bible come alive for them. In fact I always warn the kids that they might not be able to find their bibles sometimes . . . because their moms and dads might sneak it out of their bedrooms because they fancy it for themselves!

A New Format for SPLASH!

So excited to be working with Jenny Larson to ramp up the SPLASH! ministry for families with little ones(birth to three years). She's got some great ideas and is pulling together a great team. If you're interested in being involved in the planning let me know. At the heart of all of this is a real commitment to support one another in raising our kids to know who they are as children of God. Watch for more specifics next week . . .

Summer's Comin' - Mark Your Calendar for Camp

Camp Onomia summer camp dates are:
Children's Camp (third - fifth graders) June 14-19
Pioneer Camp (first - third graders) August 9-11
Looking forward to some great fun! Watch for more info to follow

One Big Happy Family

I love my job. Some days I love it more than others. Today was one of those days.

This morning hanging out in the lobby just felt like a big, happy, family gathering, and I just felt so privileged that I get to be a part of such a great family at CLC. The Uganda team was excited to share about how great God is. The people who are getting fired up about going to Brazil were rollerblading about trying to drum up support to buy their cinnamon rolls. There were just enough babies to be oogled over and just enough of us baby-worshippers to do the oogling. People were connecting in fun and real ways. And I thought, "I get to be a part of this three times every Sunday."

This morning was really no different than any other morning, I just had time to wallow in the majesty of it. Sort like people who live by the ocean or the mountains and go weeks without taking it in - this morning I took it in. OOOHH! AAHHH!