I Got a Pie in My Face!
As a result of losing the November Thanksgiving basket contest to Heath Davis, I had to get a pie in the face. Fun times!
source Vimeo
Sonshine Center Christmas Concert 2011
Amanda and I send our kids to the Sonshine Center for daycare on the days that Amanda works. Every year, Michelle, Susan & Judith Madison (the proprietors) organize a Christmas party for the parents and children. The kids work really hard to prepare a couple of musical numbers and were really excited to share these songs with their parents:
Deck the Halls
Jingle Bells
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
What does “I AM” want for Christmas?
What does I AM want for Christmas?
The Wisemen brought Him gold, frankincense and myrrh. Stupid Wisemen! What would a baby want with gold, frankincense and myrrh? For that matter, what would God want with gold, frankincense and myrrh?
See? It turns out that God and babies want the same thing.
They want you!
- from the description of a sermon by Peter Hiett entitled: Christmas for God
Water Surprise!
We are currently in Spokane, WA for the Christmas holiday, visiting my wife’s family. Amanda’s parents were staying at a local hotel for a concert/dance and we went over to swim with Sari and Macie. In the hotel room, the girls are standing behind some glass in front of the shower and we are turning on the water to “surprise” them! It’s funny!
You gotta wait for the “we’re not naked” comment from Amanda at the end!
source YouTube
Four Corners | Game
How to Play Four Corners:
What you need is a somewhat symmetrical box that you can make a sort of “dice” out of. I used a box my sister sent recently that housed Christmas presents. I taped up the box, wrote the numbers 1 through 4 on four sides, then placed “Roll Again” on two sides, and then let my girls “decorate” the rest of the box.
You also need a room with four corners in it. You can choose to label the four corners or, like me, you can place a leader in each corner and have them hold up a finger to designate what number the corner is (this puts a human, relational presence to the corners and makes it fun).
Have the students pick a corner, then roll the dice. The number facing up is the corner that is out. Let kids pick a new corner and roll again. Keep going until the numbers have dwindled a bit, then have the students pick a corner one final time, however when you roll the dice, the number that is facing up, will be the corner that wins!
This was the favorite game at our Junior Followers 2011 Christmas party!
The Gospel | Two Ways to Live: Who will be King?
On Wednesday, December 14, 2011 we shared The Gospel with the middle school students. We used the “Two Ways to Live” story and graphics from Matthias Media.
You can view the online presentation of the Gospel here: Who will be King?
It was a powerful presentation and response. I just wanted to share how we use it and that it went really well!
source Vimeo
March to the Manger | 2011
For the last 3 years Hayward Wesleyan Church has put on an experience during the Sunday morning service before Christmas called: March to the Manger.
March to the Manger includes a live nativity procession–shepherds and angels, Mary and Joseph and a baby Jesus, and wise men bearing gifts. The congregation is then invited to bring their gifts to Jesus. Gifts include money, things people want to give up, something sacrificial, etc.
It’s been a great tradition and a good continual discipline/practice for our church during the Christmas season.
source Vimeo
What Does 7,000,000,000 (7 Billion) People Look Like?
Dencity provides a color-coded representation of what 7 Billion people on planet earth looks like.
As you can see, the United States is sparse when it comes to population density. Just look at China, India, and Pakistan as well as Indonesia, central Mexico (near its capitol), and central Europe.
I live in a rural town in northwestern Wisconsin with a population of a little over 2,000 people in the city limits. Seeing a map like this helps give me perspective on what 7,000,000,000 people looks like.
Mark Wilson (my lead pastor) over at Revitalize Your Church wrote a post called “One in Seven Billion” where he referenced a handy tool from BBC where one can find out where they fit in that enormous number.
