Wearing God's Armor Well!

This morning we continued our review of the Armor of God before we push ahead with more next week. They broke into their small groups to for a game to help them remember the pieces we've studied so far and the scriptures that go with them. When we gathered for large group we asked the question:
"What pieces of God's Armor have you been using and how?" Here is some of what they said -

 - I resisted temptation to sneak in and open my presents before Christmas by remembering that the Breastplate of Righteousness protects my heart from sin and temptation

- My Mom was stressed out getting ready for our family to come visit so i did what i could to help so she we wouldn't be stressed out - so i think i was wearing the sandals of peace, being ready to help.

- I took a cookie i wasn't supposed to have and instead of lying when i was i asked i confessed - the belt of truth helped me to tell the truth.

- My brother/sister was being mean to me but the belt of truth protected me from believing the mean things they were saying to me/about me.

We had an especially good time of worship this morning! We talked (as we always do) about listening and being on purpose to love God with our songs and with our attention. I know i'm a little biased, but something sweet and special happens when our kids sing out in worship. They sang with such passion this morning and it moved each person in the room. When we asked what they heard God saying to them during the worship - this is what they had to say:

GOD TOLD ME THAT:
- I am loyal
- I am beautiful
- He loves us and is never going to leave us
- He is going to protect us forever
- He is going to bless us and give us good things
- He is going to give us peace and a calm spirit
- He is our protector
- He wants us spend more time with Him (prayer and reading the bible)
- He wants us to be kind to people we don't like


GOD SHOWED ME:
- He is a lion
- a purple donkey - (help us pray on this to see if God speaks some explanation for it)



SOMETHING SPECIAL THAT HAPPENED! When we asked for prayer requests today, one of our 4th grade girls wanted us to pray for Afghanistan. I asked her if there was something specific we should pray or why she wanted to pray for Afghanistan, she said she didn't know, just that she felt we should pray for Afghanistan. Immediately two hands went up in the air - a pair of sisters told us that their Dad was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan on Feb. 1st. We asked if anyone else had family or friends who were currently there or were headed there soon. MORE THAN HALF OF OUR ODYSSEY KIDS/LEADERS HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY IN AFGHANISTAN! We spent some time praying for soldiers, families, the country and what God wants to do there. We've marked Afghanistan on our map in the Odyssey room and are going to be intentional about praying over these people every week.

This was such a great example and lesson about speaking out what we think we hear God saying because it may be for other people in the room too! Our kids got a first hand taste of good and sweet God is! They got to see how He uses each of us for the good of the whole! We are so grateful, thankful and proud our kids for speaking out with boldness, trusting that God is speaking to them and seeking help to figure out how to hear and how to move in it. We are so incredibly blessed to see our kids make the connection that God was showing them He was aware of this specific need and how we need to be in prayer for each other. We invite you to share in this example of God making His heart known and join us in prayer for Afghanistan -for our friends and family serving there. that God would give them favor and protection, that God would protect the people of Afghanistan, that His kingdom would come and there would be peace!

much love
rae/mi

What Do You See When You Look At Me?

      Yesterday was our first Sunday back in Odyssey since Dec. 23rd! We were so glad to get back into our normal flow and reconnect. We had a combined worship time with our mid-high youth peeps and then came back to the Odyssey room. One of the things Raenette and i feel passionately about is helping our kids find their voice and identity in our church community. So before we started our recap and review of the Armor of God (we're back to bible boot camp now - so send your kids in their camouflage on Sundays) we talked a little about goals and resolutions.

      We asked our kids what goals they had for our Children's Ministry. We asked them what they wanted the "big church" to know about them - what they wanted the people in "big church" to see when they looked at the kids of our community. I'm so glad we asked because they had some great things to share and its clear they've been thinking about how to be a valuable part of the Riverside community. Here's what they said: 

What Goals Do You Have for our Children's Ministry?

- Service! Our kids (from Kinder to 5th grade) want the opportunity to serve and do missions! Several talked about wanting to be allowed to go on a mission trip. Others wanted to find ways to serve locally and with their families. 

- Prayer!! Our kids want to pray more especially for healing! They want to learn more and get more comfortable praying for each other and for others. Our kids are becoming powerful worshipers and want to expand that love for God and belief that God is making Himself known into their prayer lives. 

- Giving! Our kids want to learn and start taking up an offering (really, this came from a couple of our kids). We will begin teaching how our tithe is also an act of worship. It will be important to understand that our giving isn't always money - sometimes it will be whatever we have, or how we are helping to meet the needs of the community. 

If you have any thoughts or ideas how to help us bring these goals to action, please contact Raenette or myself (rklein@gvtc.net or michelle.vernone@att.net) 

What Do Want the "Big Church" to Know About You (the kids in our Children's Ministry)?  

- We love God

- We love each other

- We are about the Truth of God

- We want to get closer to God

- We serve others

- We worship and pray

- We are thankful 

- We are respectful

- We love others more than ourselves

- We always forgive

- We are faithful

- We listen to and for God's voice

- We are peaceful (and peace filled) 

- We won't give up 

- God thinks we are awesome! 

I want to make it clear, that these are the words of our kids - not their leaders, not Raenette or I. This is what the children of Riverside Community Church believe and hold as precious about themselves and who they want to be. These kids are passionate about Jesus. It's hard not to get teary-eyed when you listen to them talk about who they know God to be and what He says they are can be. My question now is, 'how do we help them continue growing in these things?' Please share your thoughts and heart about your kids with us and with them. 

REMINDERS! 

Hill Country Kidz of Faith Dodge Ball Tournament - registration for is available on our facebook ministry page :)

Raenette and I are diligently working on completing our 2013 calendar! Hopefully we will have that posted soon. 

much love and many blessings

rae/mi

Taste and See that the Lord is Good!!!

Merry Christmas and Almost Happy New Year!
Well - as you can see we haven't posted in quite awhile! However, as you all know we have had a million things happening and going on. This Fall we transformed our Odyssey hall into Bible Bootcamp Headquarters and began studying The Armor of God! We took a break from Bible Bootcamp during Advent, but we will be returning to it in January and getting right back to the Armor of God.

Reflecting on this past year, we have seen God do amazing things in our children and in our Children's Ministry. God is so good. One of the greatest things we're seeing is how they are being empowered by the Holy Spirit to experience the presence of God and hear His voice. I hope you all were able to see our video that kicked off Advent "My Christmas Prayer" at our Family Worship Sunday in December. Our kids shared their hearts with the congregation. Our kids have a deep desire to see the hungry fed, the homeless given a home, the broken hearted and sick healed, the world to know peace and for the children in Africa. We as a community were invited into their prayers and we saw a great time of families praying together.

Something else that we will keep pursuing is the heart of worship our kids are developing. It is so exciting to hear them love God out loud. They've come to understand that it isn't the singing, its the expression of how they love God that we after during our worship time. If you were at the 5:00pm service on Christmas Eve you saw 30 of our Odyssey kids who volunteered to lead worship through a couple of songs that we have been doing in worship at Odyssey. Last year at Christmas, we only had 11 kids volunteer. What was the difference? Last year they thought they were singing for the congregation - a performance. Almost none of our boys were willing to participate last year unless they were on a drum because boys "don't like to sing." This year, however, our kids have come to realize that it wasn't about "performing" for the congregation, it was about leading and sharing worship. At least half of those singing this year were in fact BOYS! I want to take a minute to brag on our boys. Our girls are great and they seem to move quite naturally in worship and prayer. But something i have seen this year is how our boys are stepping into leadership in worship. We have a handful of boys who sing out at the top of their lungs when we worship. They are the first to stand and lift their hands to God during worship (without any prompting) and they eagerly encourage the kids around them join in. We are so excited to see what all God wants to do through this group of kids.

Every Sunday as part of our worship time in Odyssey we take some time to purposefully listen to what God is saying and encourage our kids to share what they've heard. It is powerful and humbling to hear what our kids are hearing from the Lord. In the coming year, I will post these things in our blog weekly so that we as a community can continue to pray and claim these things with our children.

Thank you for sharing your children with us! They are blessings to us and we love them deeply and dearly!

Looking forward to all God is doing in the New Year!

much love
mi/rae

Reminders!

No Odyssey or Student Ministries Dec. 30
Family Worship Jan. 6th
Odyssey and Student Ministries resume Jan. 13th
Hill Country Kids of Faith Dodgeball Tournament Jan. 26th

THE FALL IS ALMOST HERE!!

I keep saying that to myself to make believe cooler weather is at hand! However, Summer Funday Sundays are quickly coming to an end and we start looking ahead to all that God is doing and putting in motion for the Fall. We've had a great summer of movies, games, worship dance,VBS, Welcome to 6th Grade retreat and so much more!

There is so much information to share with you all - please keep checking the blog, email, Facebook, bulletin and webpage! We're doing our best to put out as much information so everyone can join the fun!

Here's what's coming up!

August 5th & September 2nd - Family Worship - No Odyssey, but we will have Nursery as usual. As a community of faith we value the expression and experience of families worshiping together. The first Sunday of every month is Family worship.

August 12th, 19th, and 26th - we will be finishing up our Summer Funday Sundays - more bible trivia, games, and possibly one last movie :)

August 26th - Kidcheck Launch!! Kidcheck is the check-in system we will be using for both Nursery and Odyssey. We need all our parents to go online to www.kidcheck.com and create a parent account for login. Its free and simple! You will have to have a Kidcheck parent account to check your children into Nursery and/or Odyssey. Children will only be released to those listed on your Kidcheck profile.


September 9th - BIBLE BOOT CAMP KICK OFF!!!! GET YOUR CAMO GEAR READY!! Rae and I are so excited about this! We will be teaching about Salvation and the Armor of God. There will be great teachings, scripture memory, games, crafts, testimonies, worship, and small group discipleship for our kids about walking in the protection and power of God's word and as always how we do our part in bringing heaven to earth.



There's so much more that will be coming up - so please keep checking back and checking in! 




WHAT WE NEED?? YOU!!!!
There is no greater joy than loving and serving our kids and knowing you are making an eternal difference. We have so many, many ways for you to serve - some long term commitments (the school year) some shorter term commitments (weekly, monthly, occasionally). A few ways you can serve are:

Greeter/Check-In person
Helping Hands
Nursery Volunteer
Child Care Volunteer (for Monday Morning bible studies and Wednesday Evening worship and studies)
Small Group Leaders  - we are currently in need of small group leaders for Kinder and 5th Grade
Subs for Odyssey
Subs for Nursery
Children's Worship

Please contact Rae and/or myself if you are willing to serve!

SUMMER FUN!!!!

Good Morning Friends!! It's just the first week of June and already we are off to a great Summer! We had a great River Camp with Hill Country Kidz of Faith out at Guadalupe State Park! Great fun and so many great lessons and devotionals. I'm already excited for next year! Family float trip was awesome! Check out the pics floating around (pun intended) on Facebook.

Sunday June 10th will be another Family Worship Sunday - so kids ages 5yrs through 5th grade will be in worship with our Riverside Church family. Nursery, of course, will still be available.

Summer Funday Sundays start June 17th. Odyssey breaks for the Summer but we will be having what Rae and I are loving calling Funday Sundays during our usual Odyssey time. We are giving our regular, faithful leaders a well deserved Summer Break. If you would be willing to help Rae and I with our elementary aged kids this Summer we would love to have you. In fact, WE REALLY NEED YOU!!! Odyssey will resume the second Sunday of September!! Our first movie will be Prince of Egypt! Please bring your bibles.

July 14th is our Welcome to 6th Grade Retreat! The date is confirmed, more information on times and activities to come!!!


VBS is July 23rd - July 26th! Daniel's Courage in Captivity!! It will be held on our Riverside campus in the evenings. Go here to register https://www.groupvbspro.com/vbs/hl/kingzkidzriverside

KID CHECK is coming!! At long last, we have decided on a check in system. We will begin introducing and laying ground work this Summer. We'll need parents to fill out their information profiles this Summer so we can launch in the Fall. More info to come!


Volunteers Needed - this means YOU :) We have kids that need your love, time and example!! We are currently looking for small group leaders for our 5th Grade class (awesome couple preferred) as well as subs for both our Nursery and Odyssey leaders. We also are looking for friendly, warm and welcoming people to help with our Children's Ministry hospitality team. Please contact me:  michelle.vernone@att.net or Raenette Klein: rklein@gvtc.net

Summer Fun Headed Our Way!!!

Good Afternoon Friends!

It's hard to believe we are quickly approaching SUMMER!!! We have so much good stuff to enjoy!

Hill Country Kidz of Faith 2 Day Retreat MADE TO LOVE @ Guadalupe State Park!  Check out the registration form! May 31st and June 1st! Sign up today!!!

Family Float Trip - June 3rd

VBS - week of July 23rd

Hill Country Kidz of Faith Back to School Bash  - August


Be on the lookout for Sunday Fun-Days - coming this Summer during our 9:00am worship hour!!


love and blessings -


rae/mi

March Madness!

 Ok - i couldn't resist the basketball reference - but March is shaping up to be a very busy beginning to a very busy Spring. This post is going to be long - so please read all the way down!  We're settling in to our new church home, putting things up on the walls and seeing the great things God has in store. We've had our first Odyssey with our very own worship team and they are doing great and i expect the team to grow! It was great to see our kids play games and start to feel at home in their new space.

We have a picture of Gary helping lead worship! We need to get a couple of Camron and Brandon this week!


Things you should be aware of for March:

FAMILY GAME NIGHT MARCH 30TH!
6:00pm - 9:00pm All donations will go to the Middle School Girls Acacia mission trip to Mission, Texas! 

5th GRADE SERVICE PROJECT MARCH 22nd
A week from Thursday, March 22nd, we will be heading down to CuB to serve our homeless community by serving a meal and/or passing out clothing. We will caravan from the Loft. Meeting there at 5:00pm sharp! We will be cooking and serving the meal on this night, and will need to provide the meal/ side dish/ and a dessert for approx 200 people.


Opportunities to jump in:

1. Determining the meal (for example: somebody loves to cook spaghetti! :-) this needs to be a team of 2 or 3 families.
       *all pots/pans/ utensils are provided there in the chef's kitchen*
2. Purchasing salad from Costco ($15)
3. Purchasing salad dressing (2 large bottles of Italian)
4. Purchasing or baking a dessert (brownies/cookies/rice Krispy treats)
5. Purchasing bread sticks/ pasta/ pasta sauce/butter/ garlic salt/ Parmesan cheese

MEN- please go through your clothing and bring any new/used underwear (not too used! :-)), socks, blue jeans, shirts. 90% of our homeless are men and the clothing closet gets depleted.

LADIES- please do not wear shorts or flashy jewelry. This includes our daughters.

Let's all "reply all" to this email and get it under way. Plan to be there until about 9:00pm.

This is a perfect opportunity for our kids to be the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need in our community, and they are excited about it.  Let's get involved and knock this out of the park. This is a perfect opportunity to serve along side our children and let them see our faith in action.

Blessings,
Steve & Cecily Breig

PRINCESS MINISTRIES!
Princess Ministries will be meeting this Sunday at 1:00. Come join us in the Odyssey room for a time of discipleship and quilting. The girls will be decorating quilt squares. We will be in prayer about the special new home for the quilt when we finish. 
Lunch will be served so please RSVP so we can plan accordingly. 
We could also use a few more fabric markers for this project. 

See you Sunday!

Angie, Aimee & Kim 

There is so much more that you will need to know! So please, keep checking the blog! 


much love and many blessings,


rae/mi