Family Time

Malachi Chatting with Gee (as in Gee & Gigi

VBS Geyser

Too Sweet

more pictures on facebook

Malachi Visits Gigi (that's me)

Me on Facebook

Experimenting!
I'm on facebook. Seems like it is easier to post pictures.
It's more fun than I thought! I chatted this morning with some one who I had in Jr. Worship over 10 years ago!
Now she is all grown up and looking for a Children's Ministry job.

Card Board Testimony

Davis Family Adventure

Aquarium - done
Today the ZOOOOOO

Last Day O' School

More Malachi

Malachi

Summer Verse

I have found that I love to sit on my front porch on summer mornings before the kids wake up. I read my Bible, consider my life and wait for my hummingbird to come visit me. Well, today was my first summer quiet time and guess who met me right on schedule! My little hummingbird friend!

I have also gotten into the habit of selecting a verse to guide me through the summer. Last year it was James 3:17. It served me well. This summer it is Philippians 1:9-11
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God

MAD SCIENCE!

I haven't posted for a while. So many exciting things going on in children's ministry. I have an intern to help me with Jr Worship, we just started new curriculum for the summer, VBS preparations, and tonight...

MAD SCIENCE!

We are really excited about this event! Flashy, Fun Science experiment live on stage!
We've sent out 2500 flyers in kids backpacks just before school let out for the summer ~ hoping this will be a great bridge to VBS.

Personally, I'm really happy to get to sing with my husband tonight (the VBS band is playing.) We haven't gotten to do that for quite a while. It's what we love to do together ~ like some people like to fish, do home renovations, play cards, ski - we like to sing together... even more fun with a cool band.

I heard a neat story yesterday.
Our receptionist told me that we had some little visitors checking our our building - a dad w/ about 4 kids with him. He saw the information about Mad Science on our web site. Long story short ~ he's bringing his family tonight and to church on Sunday.

That's what it's all about ~ helping families find a church family that will help them grow their love and faith in Jesus.

Shaun ~ This is for your enjoyment

Mamma

Mamma passed away Sunday morning.
Velva Garland Harris ~ isn't that a great name?
My mind is reeling with memories, so I'll have to make a post later to tell you some stories about her.
I will say this... Mamma always made me feel special.

Dedicated to my mom...

and all preacher's wives.
Perhaps the next one will be about PKs.

sobering thought.

I must confess, my anxiety level is quite high right now.
My mind is continually racing thinking about ways to improve children's ministry at River Hills. That's not necessarily bad. But, combined with my desire to be a good wife, mom and now grandma... well you get the idea.

The most important part of my job is recruitment.
It's also the most challenging. It's kinda like trying to put hair and a beard on the face of this magnet toy... just when you get close to what you want... it gets messed up.

or
steering a huge ship with a tiny rudder.
or
pushing one of those big shopping carts with the blue double kid seat extension - seriously - it's like driving a school bus down through the grocery.

Well considering my options on creative ways to help people develop a passion for children's ministry, I had a very sobering thought. With the exception of Clark who faithfully serves each week, I am currently the OLDEST person working in children's ministry at our church. It would be my dream to have more mature volunteers to be examples for the younger people to look up to - to say, "I would like to be like _______________. They have been teaching kids their whole life." BTW - we can say that about Clark :) I know we all have role models from our childhood of tireless volunteers who made our church family special.
I'll be 45 very soon. Is that old? Feeling old today.
I hope that I can be one of those role models that people look up to and say, "I want to teach kids, just like her."

Saying Good Bye

It's been a few days since our little friends got back on the road, but they are still on our minds.
Meeting the kids from the African Children's was such a great experience for my family. We will never forget them.

JOY

Kids R Kids

My favorite thing about being a host family for the African Children's Choir was not the fact the that Rose, Lynate and Barbara were wonderfully polite and respectful. Indeed, that was refreshing. The many, "Thank you Auntie." and "Yes, please Auntie." were delightful - especially with their accent. However, what really had the greatest impact on me was seeing with my own eyes that children really are the same no matter what country is their home.

Heading off to Hope's bus stop.

After school playing with foam letters.
The girls loved spelling their names. We didn't plan this activity - the girls found the letters in our storage bench.

After dinner (3 servings of pot roast, rice, gravy and green beans) we got out the paint pens and glitter glue. Uncle Ray had a great time as the "Creative Assistant."

Bedtime! But not not without singing Auntie Robin's favorite song Salt and Light (in honor of the many dashes of salt the girls added to their dinner) and a story about Too Many Frogs."

African Children's Choir

Sunday was a great night!
We were blessed with a wonderful concert by the African Children's Choir.
After the concert we brought 3 beautiful little girls home to spend two nights with us. Rose, Barbara and Lynate were lots of fun to spend time with. I have lots more to say about them in the next post.

Squeaky

video

Uncle Micah & Aunt Hope

The First Visit

Already Laughing?

Brad & Hilary

Malachi Christian Estep

May 10, 2008
8 lbs. 6.oz.
turn down volume ~ the background noise is a bit chaotic.

My Handsome Men

Our family got to go to a wedding Saturday night.
As you can see Hope and I were escorted by two very good looking men.

Shopping Spree

What could be better than a shopping spree with your cousin?
It was a girlie afternoon last Saturday. Spending too much money at Justice for Girls with Jane and Darci - We justified our purchases by using our 20% our entire purchase and GUESS WHAT! It was Webkins Day. Every girl got a free Webkins!! Of course we had to pick on out for Micah too.
Then a late lunch at Bob Evans.
Good Time :D

Our Pet

Now that the kids are getting older, they are being asked more and more often if they have a pet. I can only imagine that they get tired of telling people, "No, daddy and Micah are allergic to furry animals." Truth be told... I'm a little allergic to animals too. Hope and Micah have been asking for a fish for a long time. I finally caved. It does seem a little nicer when asked, "Do you have any pets?" to say, "Why yes! We have a fish."

His name is Goldie. To be honest, he really is quite cute. He has the funniest lips! Almost looks like he has on orange lipstick. If we are really getting honest here... the kids could really care less at this point. But, I've grown quite fond of him. I swear he gets excited when I get close to his bowl! He comes to the the side of the bowl and looks right at me. Of course, then I feed him ~ too much I'm sure. I also think I traumatized him during our photo shoot.

My question is...
What is the value of a little fish life? Surely at least $2.95.
Poor little Goldie. We only paid 15 cents for him. What a deal!

Louis Favreau Duets

Perhaps you need a little laugh today :D

African Children's Choir - Lean On Me

I'm very excited about this opportunity for our church and community family. One of the things I'm most excited about is that to book the concert we need be host families as well. 26 children and 8 adults will be staying 2 two nights in the homes of our River Hills family. I can't wait to get to know these children personally and hear their stories and watch them play with Hope and Micah.

Funny... doesn't this stage look very similar to River Hills? BTW - The African Children's Choir was on Ellen yesterday.

In case you were wondering...
The choir that will be coming to visit us is this year's new choir (they tour for one year) Our choir will be landing in Chicago on April 14.

More info to come later :D

African Children's Choir™

I'm happy to announce that the African Children's Choir will be appearing at River Hills Christian Church on May 18, 6:00 PM

Be Prepared

I don't think I can stomach any more of the New Earth. I've been watching Youtube videos from Oprah and Eckart's web classes. It's sickening and sad.

So this is what I think:
I Peter 3:15
"But in your heart set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, "

A New Earth?

Photo of C.S. Lewis holding his head... imagine him shaking his head saying, "Oprah, Oprah, Oprah."


Well...
I have been trying to read the book A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle. Oprah is so taken by this author that she is teaching an internet class with him from her website. So... I thought I might read it just to educate myself incase the subject came up with friends. Truth is a lot of people respect Oprah ~ many of those people are so desperate to find a way to improve their life, they will try or believe just about anything.

I didn't get past the first sentence before I wanted to hurl.
"Earth, 114 million years ago, one morning, just after sunrise: The first flower ever to appear on the planet opens up to receive the rays of the sun. Prior to this momentous event that heralds an evolutionary transformation in the life of plants, the planet had already been covered in vegetation for millions of years. The first flower probably didn't survive for long, and flowers must have remained rare and isolated phenomena, since..." Do I need to go on?

The very next page he references Jesus. "Jesus tells us to contemplate the flowers and learn from them how to live." THEN ~ in the very next sentence he references the Buddha. Give be a break!!! This poor guy is truly confused. There are at least 20 cited Biblical references in this book.

My question for Oprah and Mr. Tolle: Is Jesus LIAR, LUNATIC, or LORD?
You cannot have a three way - (not a slam against Skyline of course)

C.S. Lewis said it best:
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: "I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God." That is the one thing we must not say. A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic--on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg--or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." CS Lewis ~ Mere Christianity

Now wouldn't it be interesting if Mere Christianity had the Oprah's Book Club sticker on it?