We are blessed to celebrate the 4th of July and rejoice in our freedom in the USA. Thank you to the many military men and women who work daily to provide us a free country in which to live.
God bless America! Watch the video below:
I remember as a kid running down the street to my friends’ houses to knock on the door and ask if they can come outside to play. There were several other kids who lived on my street. We built a clubhouse in one neighbor’s yard. We played football. We rode bicycles. I remember having bike races up and down the street. This was the decade when CHiPs was a popular television show about California Highway Patrol officers. We pretended to be the main characters, Ponce and Jon, on that show and our bikes were our patrol motorcycles. We would also pretend to be The Dukes of Hazzard and we all had t-shirts with pictures of Bo, Luke, Daisy, and the General Lee. We would run around in the orange grove behind our house and try to climb trees.
What fun times we had running around the neighborhood back in the day. Nowadays, kids are experimenting with play-dates online. For various reasons, kids are unable to get outside for play time: lack of time at home, not enough neighborhood kids nearby, not safe in their neighborhoods. Read this article on kids experimenting with online play-dates using Skype.
Kids as young as toddlers and 2 year olds are Skyping friends down the street when the weather isn’t permitting for them to play face-to-face. It is interesting in the article that young kids are discovering ways to interact with one another online. They are playing with toys together over the internet. They are quoted as saying this playtime is not as good as being together in the same room but it works for a time.
One psychologist “cautions against parents thinking of it as a replacement for face-to-face playdates, which are more valuable for kids.”
I can see one major benefit of Skype playdates being more for long distance family and friends rather than friends within close driving distances. What do you think about this?
The preschool to children’s worship transition book is in the final stages of the publishing process. It won’t be long now!
In my early childhood lesson plans each week, I have illustrated children’s books to help teach each lesson and go along with each theme. I have an awesome theme lesson on apples where we learn about different kinds of apples, make applesauce, learn about Johnny Appleseed and even pretend to be Johnny Appleseed by wearing pots on our heads and scattering grass seed in the backyard of the school (Johnny scattered apple seeds, but I think my school owner would prefer we do grass seeds.)
I have books to read each day during the apple theme. I have books to read for almost every other theme planned at school, too.
That made me think about something in my children’s worship lesson plans. I don’t have very many books to read along with those plans. Books are great for preschool children. Often even the most active and rowdy preschoolers will express an interest in hearing stories from books. Why not use story books to go along with the theme of the week?
So with that in mind, next up in my publishing notebook: Noah and the flood.
I have written out the text for an illustrated children’s book on Noah and the flood. The illustrations are in process. Check out this image — and it’s only a rough sketch. Just think what it will look like finished and in color!
Young children learn something from all activities: from learning how to tie their shoes to learning how to help cook dinner. Here are ways to help them learn. Click here for learning opportunities.
Are you looking for activities to do with your children when it is too hot to play outside? Check out these online activities: games, books, stories. But remember to teach Internet safety. Check out this Internet Safety tool.
Have fun together and learn something, too.
We are always looking for new and fun games to play with groups of children. Here is an excellent list of games. Outside games. Relay games. Team games. Inside games. Hand games. Click here for game entertainment.
Many children’s worship sessions are high-energy and upbeat with loud music and big screens. Those changes can be intimidating to young preschoolers moving up to that age group of children.
I have an illustrated children’s book coming soon to help tell the story of a preschool girl graduating from her church preschool class. The preschool classroom is smaller with small chairs and many shelves filled with toys. Now the young girl is ready for a new stage in her growing-up years. She’s old enough for children’s worship.
This book will help her to know what to expect in a larger room with bigger chairs, louder music, more children who are older than she is.
Here is a sneak peek at the cover:
Story by Brenna Phillips Illustrations by Buddy Earnest
A friend and her husband attended a denominational meeting and expressed her frustration regarding comments she received from others at this meeting.
She is a minister and serves as a Collegiate Minister at their church. People they met at this denominational meeting did not recognize her as being in ministry herself. She was seen as the ‘babe on the arm’ of a man. She was tagging along beside her husband. People asked her the typical wife questions: “How many babies did you leave at home to attend this meeting?” People would ask him the typical minister questions: “What’s going on at your church? How many people do you have attending now?” They never considered the wife/woman to be the ministry leader, too, until they found out that she is a minister. Then they assumed she must be the children’s minister. There is definitely nothing wrong with being the children’s minister (I am a children’s-family minister and proud to be called to follow God in that role), but the traditional views of some of these people are that if a female is going to be a minister then she must be the children’s minister; there is no other position available or suitable for a female.
Another friend commented about these frustrations by sharing her own frustrations over the prejudices in her career, not only gender but racial as well. She is a mission center director. She attended a conference and was scheduled to be the missions speaker. When the group discovered she was the speaker, they literally had to have a meeting to decide if there was someone else to deliver the talk. Then they discovered that the only other alternative was an African-American man. The group had to have another meeting to decide the ‘lesser of two evils’ to be the speaker.
These two examples of the prejudices in the business of sharing Jesus are sickening. Jesus is not prejudice. Jesus loved all people and treated them equally, regardless of gender or race or social status.
Here is a Bible study lesson from Mother’s Day. It is worth re-posting and reading again.
On one of Paul’s missionary journeys (Acts 16), he wanted to go east to Asia to share with others about Jesus. But he couldn’t go east. He had to go west. On his journey west, he met a woman named Lydia. She was a wealthy individual in town, very influential, probably the family leader and money-maker. Her husband’s name is not mentioned in the text.
Paul shared about Jesus with her and she believed then invited him to HER house. It was probably her house since she was the leader and money-maker of the family.
These thoughts about Lydia’s important stand in society makes us think about interactions with other women in the Bible. Think about Mary. Why did the angel appear to Mary first and not Joseph? After Jesus’ resurrection, he appeared first to the woman. Why not John or Peter?
Although Biblical society didn’t elevate women so much in the Bible readings, women are of high importance in the life of Jesus and his followers.
We need to see ministers and ministry positions as Jesus sees them.
Many children’s worship sessions are high-energy and upbeat with loud music and big screens. Those changes can be intimidating to young preschoolers moving up to that age group of children.
I have an illustrated children’s book coming soon to help tell the story of a preschool girl graduating from her church preschool class. The preschool classroom is smaller with small chairs and many shelves filled with toys. Now the young girl is ready for a new stage in her growing-up years. She’s old enough for children’s worship.
This book will help her to know what to expect in a larger room with bigger chairs, louder music, more children who are older than she is.
Here is a sneak peek at the cover: Story by Brenna Phillips Illustrations by Buddy Earnest
I have blogged before about my mom staying in the rehab center during her hip therapy sessions and how much she is able to minister to the therapy staff.
She called me recently with another story about the children of one staff member. This lady who works at the rehab center is from Haiti. We aren’t sure how long she has been living in the USA, but her children are still in Haiti to go to school.
Mom and dad asked her how things are and how her family is after the recent earthquake. She said her 10-year-old daughter came home from school and was about to open the door and go in her house when the entire house fell down because of the earthquake. Everyone inside the house was killed from the collapse.
The mom is trying to find out about her daughter and who is taking care of her and how she is living. She is trying to find out how to bring her daughter to the USA. She hasn’t been able to get in touch with her and doesn’t know how she is getting along.
Please pray for this mother that she will soon be reunited with her little girl and that she is safe. Pray for my mom and dad that they will be able to minister to this mother in her time of questions and uncertainty.
