It's getting quieter at our house

With these two girlies leaving the house, it's going to be pretty quiet around here.
There are so many thoughts and feelings surrounding this momentous time in our lives. So proud of how they've turned out, sad that I won't see them every day, excited for all that's ahead for them and a bit (very little bit) concerned that they still need me too much to be out in the big world all alone.
Seriously, we are so proud of all of our kids. God has blessed us with fun, independent, compassionate and kind young people who are actually one another's best friends.
The next several months are going to bring even more change to the Albrecht house...one more daughter is likely to leave home and our son will finish his first year of high school. While there is so much change, there is also the assurance that no matter where my children live...they are most at home when they are together.

I might be the world's worst blogger

The best of intentions:
I start out thinking that I am going to do this thing regularly, and then....

life takes over!

Oh, please don't feel bad for me.  I have an amazing life and it really isn't more busy than most.  It's just full enough to allow me to think that introspection and sharing what I'm thinking about is not that important. 

Here's to a new year; with more introspection, more sharing of new thoughts and better attention to following up on good intentions.

A Review of Smack-Dab in the Middle of God's Love - A children's book

Smack-Dab in the Middle of God's Love by Brennan Manning & John Blase. Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell
Please note that I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com; http://BookSneeze®.com; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I love everything Brennan Manning writes. So, when the opportunity to read and review this book for children came along I thought "great!  I get to combine two loves: reaching out to kids with God's love and reading another book by Brennan Manning."

While it is a sweet book, I'm not sure who the appropriate audience is. The illustrations would be great for young children but there is too much text on each page for their attention span. Older children would appreciate the storyline but would want more detail. 

A review of Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus

Erwin McManus has long been known as a passionate, creative and unrestrained follower of Christ.   Unleashed is dedicated to challenging us to do the same.  Erwin's greatest strength, as an author, is his ability to draw you into the story and he does this well in this short book.

When I first signed up to review this book I assumed it was a new work; upon receiving it realized that it is a re-release of The Barbarian Way. The cover art has been changed and seems intended to appeal to women. That said, I think that if you were unlikely to resonate with the original work it is also highly unlikely that you will find this any more motivating.

This work is filled with stories of his family and personal ministry experiences. Initially I found myself appreciating everything he had to say but eventually it all started to sound the same. His challenge is to just take a risk, nearly any risk will do.

I agree that the way of a Christ-follower is not intended to be insulated and safe, in scripture we see times when God definitely calls people to do the "unsafe" thing: John the Baptist is used as the example of this. There are also times when God promises to keep us safe...to uphold us with His mighty right hand, to care for us as the Shepherd cares for his sheep.

In the end, the challenge seems to be to trust God completely and to be willing to follow even when it doesn't seem safe or make sense.  A great challenge for every follower of the barbarian way. 

Please note that I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Milestone 1 - Parent-Child Dedication (our timeline)

 

Last week I wrote a bit about Parent-Child Dedication and promised to add some information about our process.  Here's the timeline we follow, over the next few days I will add more information about some of the things referenced here.  One of the most meaningful is the covenant that parents write...I'll post the template we give to parents, along with a couple of samples.

I would absolutely love to hear about how you make this event in the lives of families in your church more meaningful!

Dedication Timeline

8-10 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Publicize dedication dates in several places:

            Bulletin

            Website

            Kids communication                  

6-8 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Mail dedication packets to all who are interested - this may actually be done at any time.

Begin scheduling pre-dedication meetings with parents and Kid’s Directors (campus or global)

3-6 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Campus or Global Director will meet individually with parents who desire to dedicate their children.

During this meeting we will cover:

Biblical precedents for parent-child dedication

Parent’s role in their child’s spiritual growth

Spiritual Mentor’s role in the child’s life

Church’s role in the spiritual development of their child

Some hints for writing the family covenant

Details of the parent-child dedication process and service

10 days - 3 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Parents write family covenant and send copy to Kids Ministry office at least 10 days previous to dedication

Family picture settings to be available at least 2 weeks prior to dedication Sunday (prefer at least 2 time/date options)

Dedication Sunday:

            30 minutes prior to service:

                        Private prayer of dedication with parents and family (church leaders to assist)

                        Certificate, framed family covenant and photo to be given to parents

            10 minutes before the service:

                        Parents, Children and guests in Worship Area (designated seating)

            During service:

Parents, child and mentors will come up on stage at end of communion

Pastor will briefly introduce each one (child’s name and parents first name, asking them to  

step forward)

Pastor will talk about the purpose of the day, mostly directed at the parents

We will do vows/response from parents as a group

Will do final vow with congregation (standing) and spiritual mentors, then offer a prayer.

Will ask people to encourage the families with applause as they leave the stage, congregation will be seated

Parent/Child Dedication

Our next Parent/Child Dedication at Suncrest is on Father's Day!
One of the really terrific parts of our process is that I get to meet with each parent who wishes to dedicate their child.  I love this part of my job!

• One of our Campus Kid's Directors and I sit down and listen to each parent's faith story. Wow! this is amazing!  We get to hear about all that God has done in the lives of these parents of little people...love it!

•  I get to talk about how we want to partner with them, to be the "other voice" helping their kid learn to love Jesus.  I get to tell them about how excited our leaders are to participate in this milestone in the life of their family. Love this too!

• Every family who dedicates a child will write a covenant - a promise to their child and to God.  This serves as a tangible reminder of this day and the commitment they are making.  Can't wait to read them...we have some amazing parents who are very passionate about loving Jesus and loving their kids.  Love this one, too!

Tomorrow I get to meet with three more families and two Campus Kid's Directors...expecting a great day!

For those of you who are in kids ministry, I will be posting the details of our process later this week. Hope you find it helpful.

  

what am I thinking?: finished another trip around the sun

what am I thinking?: finished another trip around the sun