Each of my children’s birthdays involves the typical cake, gift, and balloons. I also story tell recalling the day each was born. Their birth is such a part of my life story, my faith story, and my family story that I’m thrilled to stroll down those memory lanes. Even our grandchildren love hearing the stories of the day they were born because their mothers are warriors, their dads are super heroes, and one was born on the side of the road during rush hour traffic making international news.

My friend Glenys Nellist has actually published a children’s book celebrating the birth of her eldest child entitled The Wonder That Is You, illustrated by Aurelie Blanz. This book is beautiful and a wonderful gift for any new mom or grandmother. The rhyme is tender and the images are delightfully soft, diverse, and colorful.

One of my favorite things to do with the grands is to read aloud. Thankfully, Glenys has also just published Snuggle Time Fall Blessings. Her rhyming is simple and oh so playful for little ones. I read aloud to our Children’s Church students at the end of each Sunday and her prayer books are some of our favorites. Glenys has written five board books of rhyming Snuggle Time Blessings.

Fall Fun!
On a windy, crisp fall day,
Leaves race down the street.
Orange, red, and yellow,
Falling at my feet.
We stomp and crunch and kick them
And swish them as we run.
Thank you, God, for autumn.
It’s really so much fun!

Reading children’s books in church is a favorite time of each Sunday with our students. Thank you, Glenys, for continuing to pen some delightful ones.

What are you reading?

“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story.” Psalm 107:2

Horst Schulze is the co-founder of The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. I’ve been a student of his teachings about hospitality, service, and organizational science from the beginning of my call into professional ministry. Drawn to the hotel industry as a young teenager, he has practiced and consulted with organizations for improvement his entire career. He’s practical and shares how to lead rather than manage. His new book, Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise, puts this wisdom in one place.

With stories of successes and failures, Schulze shares the art of constant improvement by asking questions, trusting staff to be excellent, responding to the comments of many rather than one, and measurements that matter. His pursuit of excellence in the hospitality industry is based on his mantra of ‘training ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.’ We in the local church are equipping followers of Jesus in service to equip new followers of Jesus. I can relate.

On page 202, he asks, “Well, do you want to stay alive, or not?” Of course, we do. I don’t want to only survive from Sunday to Sunday, but rather thrive in the details that can make ministry with children a place of excellence.  I know what I FEEL like, but I can’t trust my feelings. I think every Sunday is fabulous! Yet further down the page, he makes the statement, “You won’t accomplish what you don’t measure.”

“Measurement is how we determine the gap between where we think we are and where we actually are.” (pg 188) Here are just a few metrics to consider:
• Attendance (comparing year to year, season to season, girls/boys, etc.)
• Volunteer retention from year to year (VBS, Sunday morning team, special events, etc.)
• Attendance of volunteer leaders at continuing education opportunities
• Percentage of children attending compared to congregation worship numbers
• First connection + 1; Second connection +1 (when a family/child comes in by one area then gets connected to another over a specific period of time)
• If t-shirts are part of the promoting of the ministry, how often am I seeing those t-shirts being worn? (I was thrilled to see tshirt worn in a collage of family pictures on their Christmas card. Every time I see anyone wearing one, I make a positive comment.)
• Percentage of children who have aged out coming back to serve on a consistent basis (taking on places of leadership to learn to lead and build relationships with the littles coming up behind them)
• Percentage of guests returning
• Children engaging in sacred conversations as well as moving away from responding in a critical and/or contrary way
• Individual growth as expressed through anecdotal examples from parents and children

Other prompts for thoughts and worthy of discussion from the book include…
• “Tell me what ‘being the best’ means to you.” (pg 113)
• “The more a staff interacts, talking to each other and supporting one another, the more smoothly the operation goes.” (pg 133)
• “The organization you want is the one with energy and initiative, even joy.” (Pg 170)
• “Actually to be the ‘best’ of anything is not the same as being ‘excellent.’ You can be better than all your competitors and still have a gap to deal with when it comes to achieving excellence. Excellence is what secures your future.” (pg 208)
• “Whether I’m interacting with an employee, a customer, an investor, or even a competitor, I am aware that this person is one of the ‘others’ Jesus had in mind when He gave the Golden Rule about treating them as I would want to be treated.” (pg 218)

“Finally, brothers and sisters…if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Families with rising kindergartners are in shock. They are shocked their baby is old enough for school, may be riding a bus, and will be spending a long day away. These amazing families are wondering who their little one will sit by, have lunch with, and play with on the playground. We want to make this milestone a smooth one on Sunday morning especially if their kindergartner will be transitioning from the nursery into Children’s Ministry.

In the local church where I serve, I’m responsible for kindergarten through fifth grade. Moving from the nursery into a more formal Sunday school setting involves many more children and movement among spaces. The best way for this transition to be smooth for parents and children is to offer the Faith Milestone: I Can Go To Sunday School. This Faith Milestone takes place the week before Promotion Sunday, immediately after all Sunday services. It’s calm, quiet, and everything is still set up.

We meet in the Children’s Welcome Center since that is where they will begin and end their Sunday experience from this point on. We introduce the family to the self-check in kiosks and explain the security stickers/tags because Nursery has been manned-check in. Their amazing Sunday School teachers are present and introduce themselves.

We walk through a Sunday morning by moving first to their Sunday school room for small groups and the large group worship space. The children walk on the stage and touch things that are new. Parents and families are in-tow. We walk to the bathrooms and the water fountain, then return to the Sunday school room and sit at a chair and circle up to sing a song.

We return to the Children’s Welcome Center for the end of Sunday school, and then ring the bell which lets them know we are gathering to move to the Sanctuary for big church. We enter the Sanctuary just like we would if they stayed for Children’s Church and sit in the front pews. We look around us and talk about what we see and hear. We chat. We stand up for singing and we move to where we’d sit for the Children’s Moment, then walk as we would be dismissed on a Sunday morning returning to the Children’s Welcome Center for water and snack.

This precious time ends in prayer and with two gifts:
1. A 5×7 paper-framed picture of Jesus for each child (and any siblings who attend), and
2. A copy of “Little Steps Big Faith: How the Science of Early Childhood Development Can Help You Grow Your Child’s Faith” by Dawn Rundman for parents

How do you help families transition from the Nursery to Sunday school?

“When your child learns that church is a place where they are embraced by members of the whole body of Christ who love them dearly, they can make deeper associations with God’s tender love for them.” – Dawn Rundman from Little Steps Big Faith

It’s Preschool Staff training season and these are my roots. I started my career in professional Christian Education in weekday ministry as a preschool teacher, then a preschool director. When I’m invited to present it’s usually for the cause of encouraging preschool staff to love their kids to Jesus as they teach colors, fine motor skills, pre-math skills and play well.

An easy way to share the love of Jesus and the power of His word with children and their families is to add scripture to artwork. As a preschool teacher every single piece of paper or communication included scripture. Nothing left my classroom without scripture. I learned to use a concordance well because this is the stuff that makes the refrigerator, the magnet board, and becomes the framed art hung on the walls of children’s homes.

This is a list of bible verses I used to add a little ‘something’ to artwork and other communication from my preschool classroom:

A Acorn They will be called oaks of righteousness. Isaiah 61:3
Apple A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11
Keep me as the apple of the eye. Psalm 17:8a
B Bear Bear witness to God’s love.
Bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15:49
Bird A bird of the air may carry your words. Ecclesiastes 10:20
Body I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14
C Cloud He makes the clouds His chariot and rides on the wings of the wind. Psalm 104:3
The cloud of the Lord was upon them by day. Numbers 10:34
He spread a cloud for a covering. Psalm 105:39
D Delight thyself also in the Lord. Psalm 37:4
Door The Lord has opened a door. 2 Corinthians 2:12
Behold I stand at the door and knock. Revelation 3:20
Dino Look at the behemoth, which I made along with you. Job 40:15-19
His back has rows of shields…His snorting throws out flashes of light. Job 41:15-33
Nothing on earth is his equal – a creature without fear. Job 41:34
E Egg Is there any taste in the white of an egg? Job 6:6b
As one gathered eggs that are let, have I gathered all the earth. Isaiah 10:14
Excellent How excellent is thy lovingkindness. Psalm 36:7a
F Fish “Come follow me,” Jesus said, ‘And I will make you fishers of men.” Matthew 4:19
Flower Like a flower of the field. Psalm 103:15
Feet How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news. Romans 10:15
G Good Good news gives health. Proverbs 15:30
The Lord is good to all. Psalm 145:9
Gifts We have different gifts. Romans 12:6
Garden The Lord God planted a garden in Eden. Genesis 2:8
H Heart God is the strength of my heart. Psalm 73:26
Hair Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matthew 10:30
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Luke 12:7
Honey Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones. Proverbs 16:24
I I I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13
I will be with you always. Matthew 28:20
J Joy Always pray with joy. Philippians 1:4
Jesus You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:12
K Kings Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him. Psalm 72:11
All kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of thy mouth. Psalm 138:4
L Little Let the little children come to me. Matthew 19:14
Light God is light. In Him there is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
Lips The lips of the wise spread knowledge. Proverbs 15:7
Lemon Their drink is sour. Hosea 4:18a
M Mirror Look to the Lord. Psalm 105:4
Music The Lord is my strength and my song. Isaiah 12:2
Me How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! Psalm 139:17
N Noodle soup I am warm. Isaiah 44:16
Nest That thou should make thy nest as high as the eagle. Jeremiah 49:16
Night God called the night day, and the darkness He called night. Genesis 1:5
O Ocean I stood upon the sand of the sea. Revelation 13:1
The sand is upon the seashore. Genesis 22:17
P Peace The Lord blesses His people with peace. Psalm 29:11
Be at peace with each other. Mark 9:50
Pray Pray to the Lord. Jeremiah 29:7
Pumpkin Offer unto God thanksgiving. Psalm 50:14a
For in the days of old, there were songs of praise and thanksgiving. Nehemiah 12:46
Q Quiet Study to be quiet and to work with you own hands. 1 Thessalonians 4:11
He will quiet you with His love. Zephaniah 3:17
In quietness and trust is your strength. Isaiah 30:15
R Rock The Lord is my rock, my fortress. 2 Samuel 22:2
He is my rock. Psalm 92:15
Right The Lord is right and true. Psalm 33:4
S Salt You are the salt of the earth. Matthew 5:13
Sun The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another, and the stars another. 1 Corinthians 15:41
Spider The spider taketh hold with her hands. Proverbs 30:28
T Trust Trust in the Lord forever. Isaiah 26:4
Tree The pine, the fir, and the cypress together. Isaiah 60:13
Then all of the trees of the forest will sing. Psalm 96:12
Birds of every kind will net in it; they will find shelter in the shade of its branches. Ezekiel 17:23
U Upper He will show you a large upper room. Mark 14:15
Umbrella The rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. Genesis 7:12
I will give you rain in due season. Leviticus 26:4
The Lord send rain upon the earth. 1 Kings 17:14
V Valentines A cheerful heart is good medicine. Proverbs 17:22
Blessed are the pure in heart. Matthew 5:8
The Lord searches every heart. 1 Chronicles 28:9
W Worm God prepared a worm. Jonah 4:7
X Excellent How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! Psalm 36:7
Let them praise the name of the Lord; for His name alone is excellent. Psalm 148:13
O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. Psalm 8:9
Y Yellow The yellow gold of the land is good. Genesis 2:12
The streets of Heaven are pure yellow gold. Revelation 21:21
Z Zoo And all the wild animals play nearby. Job 40:20
Shapes:
Circle It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth. Isaiah 40:22
Square All the doors and posts were square. 1 Kings 7:5
Rectangle They went upon their four sides. Ezekiel 1:17
Triangle The great city was divided into three parts. Revelation 16:19
Oval Walk and go round about her. Psalm 48:12
Lift up thine eyes round about and see. Isaiah 60:4
Heart My heart is steadfast O God. Psalm 108:1
Star Celebrate and be glad. Luke 15:32
Star differs from star in splendor. 1 Corinthians 15:41

How else can you share scripture with your families?

“My word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11