Jamie Booth

Looking for a little something extra to help you as a parent?  You might want to check out ParentCue by reThink in the Apple App Store.  This great app provides you with cues throughout the week to remind you to take some moments with your kids, and lead them in their walk with Christ.

Most of us don’t leave home without our cell phone.  And if statistics are right, most of us now (51%) have a smart phone.  For those who happen to have an iPhone with access to the Apple App Store, there is a gem of an app you can download that has all sorts of parenting helps for home, and on the go.

It gives songs to sing during “Drive Time”, conversation starters for “Meal Time”, activities to do during “Hang Time” and for when the kids are not around, links to great articles and a podcast for “Parent Time.”  The cost is $1.99, but if you are looking for some cues to help you with your parenting routine throughout the week, it is well worth the cost.

You can download ParentCue here.

What other apps have you found helpful for parenting?

We need to have kids that can be sent off to the most hostile universities, toil in the greediest work enviormonments, and raise their families in the most hedonisitic communities and yet not be the least bit intimidated by their surroundings.  Furthermore, they need to be engaged in the lives of people in their culture, gracefully representing Christ’s love inside these desperate surroundings.

Photo courtesy of © flickr.com/photos/wwworks/3957311986/in/photostream/

This quote, which I didn’t write it myself and can’t remember where I got it, came to mind when I was talking with a mother recently.  She was talking about how she was afraid to let her kid ride the bus home, because “nothing good happens on the bus.” The truth is she is right, nothing good really does happen on the bus (bad language, bullying, you know the drill), but does that mean our kids shouldn’t ride on them?

I have known some outstanding parents who have said “no, my kid will not ride the bus.”  Parents who have pulled their kids off the bus, out of public school or away from non-Christian friends because they have noticed their kids being affected negatively by those environments.  I know parents who have pulled their kids out of poor school systems, because they were in fact poor school systems that were only holding their kids back.  Honestly, I think many of these parents were right in pulling their kids out.

I have also known parents who have left their kids on the bus, in the public school system and purposely made sure their kids have non-Christian friends.  I was one of these kids.  I was a bus riding, public school teenager, with several non-Christian friends.  Honestly, I think I am the better for having those experiences, and I think that many other kids would be better for having hem too.

So, when if ever, is it okay to pull your child out of these environments, or should Christian parents keep their kids in there, to grow and to represent Christ?

Should your kid ride the bus?  Should they go to private, or home school, rather than public school?  Should the not hang out with non-Christian kids?  What’s your take?

You may, or may not, remember the 1986 Basketball Eastern Conference Finals.  A young Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls were squaring off against Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics.  What many people remember from that series is Michael Jordan’s game 2 performance.  In that single game alone, Jordan scored 63 points, which still stands a playoff game record.  The thing that stands out to me, and to most of my Boston friends, is that the Bulls lost that same game.

Photo courtesy of © flickr.com/photos/arndog/3042577756/

Michael Jordan set a playoff single game scoring record that stands 25 years later, but his team lost the game, and ultimately lost the series.  I think it goes to show, that it takes more than one person to win a basketball game.

It also takes more than parents to raise a great young man or woman.  It takes a team.  Many parents try to do it all by themselves.  They try to be the superstar parent.  They may even score 63 points all by themselves.  The trouble is, parents can be the Michael Jordan of the parenting world, and still lose their kids.

I have written previously about how kids need multiple voices speaking in their life here.  Kids who have no voices speaking into their life, outside of a miracle, are not likely to grow up to be Godly men and women.  Kids who have a all-star parent have a better shot; but how much better off is the kid who also has a youth pastor, or a children’s pastor or Sunday School teacher who is investing in their life?  How much better off is the kid who has close family friends that they know they can go to when they need help with something?

The reality is, even if you are the best parent in the world, there is coming a day when your child will want to talk to someone else about their problems, not you.  In fact, in may be because you are such a great parent, and love your kid so much, that they don’t feel comfortable coming to you.  You are too close to the situation.  When this happens, will your child have not just someone, but the right someone, they feel comfortable talking to?  Will they be going to their friends who will tell them who knows what, or going to someone that you know reflects your families values and priorities?

Who they are going to go to for advice depends on the team you are building when they are young…or whether you are building a team at all.

This year we are doing our annual egg hunt a little different.  Rather than just have kids search for eggs on the front lawn of the church, we are stepping it up a few notches and renting a giant inflatable obstacle course for kids to search for all the eggs in.   To go inside the obstacle course we have over 30,000 eggs stuffed with hundreds of pounds of candy!

The egg hunt will be on Easter Sunday morning at Calvary.  If any kid (age 3-11) wants to participate, all they need to do to participate is show up at one of our 3 Sunday morning kid’s services, which are at 8:30, 10:30 or 12:30.

Also, for the younger kids, who might be intimidated by the obstacle course, we have a simple bounce house, or they can simply pick some eggs up out of the grass.

Looking forward to Easter Sunday morning!  This is going to be a ton of fun!  Be sure to pass the word along, and invite all the kids you know to join us!

This coming month in KidZone is all about humility.  Each week our kids will be learning about putting others first, and giving them what they think they deserve.

God created new born babies to demand attention, to insure that they get everything they need.  Ideally as kids grow, mature, and become less dependent, they also learn to be less demanding and more giving.  Reality is though this transition doesn’t always take place, and so, many kids continue to be as selfish at age 8, 38, and 68, as the day they they were born.  This month is about addressing this issue.

Our theme verse for the month is “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or van conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”  Philippians 2:3, NIV.  If your a parent and you are interested in following along with what we are talking about in KidZone, our lessons this month are….

April 3rd – Served (Jesus washes the disciples feet) – John 13:1-17 – Treat other people like they are more important than you.

April 10th – Arrested (Jesus prays and is arrested) – Luke 22:39-44, John 18:2-11 – To put others first, you need to put God first.

April 17th – Crucified (Jesus is tried and crucified) – March 14:53-65 & 15:1-39 – Jesus put us first when he died on the cross.

April 24th – Resurrected (Jesus is buried and resurrected) – Matthew 28:1-10, 16-20 – We should put others first because Jesus is alive.

Whether you feel your kid has learned this lesson, or needs to hear it desperately, be sure to bring them out this coming Sunday. KidZone services start at 8:30, 10:30, and 12:30.

I have heard it more than once.  ”Can you pray for my son.   He is just going through that tough time in life that all kids go through and rebel?”  It is a statement that surrenders to the idea that every kid, with few exceptions, has to go through a difficult time where they rebel against their parents.  But, why is it that so many teens seem to hit a time where they want to do their own thing, and go their own direction?

I know that every kid is different, and no doubt there are many reasons kids rebel, but I think that one reason some teenagers rebel against their parents is because their families are simply boring.  Here is what I mean…

Think about the average family for a minute.  They wake up late, leaving no time to spend together in the morning, except to argue  about who needs in the bathroom.  Then off to work and school, typically sitting in the car in complete silence, or perhaps with the radio on.  They spend their days separated, then the kids return home after school to an empty house that is full of nothing to do except passively watching TV and updating their Facebook status.   Then there is taco night for dinner, followed by dad heading off to the living room to watch TV, mom to clean the house, and the teenage son or daughter bored out of their mind heads out to hang out with friends.  When they return home, the TV is still on, like it has been for 6 hours straight.  Before everyone starts winding down and heading to bed, there is some light arguing about how there is still homework to complete.   The teenager slams their door shut, talks to their friends on the phone, sends a few (hundred) text messages, then falls asleep.   The next day, and almost every day thereafter, the same boring routine is repeated…again…and again.

Think about this routine for a minute.  It’s boring.  It’s mundane.  It lacks a sense of purpose.   And it drives kids to look for something better to do.  The trouble is they often find something more exciting in all the wrong places.

Tim Kimmel in Grace Based Parenting writes,

If we fail to address our children’s need for a significant purpose, it doesn’t mean they will necessarily end up living useless and unproductive lives.  In most cases, our lack of deliberateness in grooming their sense of purpose sends them into the future with a foreboding sense of irrelevancy and far more vulnerable to Satan’s counterfeits.

Read that line again, “Sends them into the future with a foreboding sense of irrelevancy and far more vulnerable to Satan’s counterfeits.”  That I believe is why many teens rebel.  Searching for purpose that their family doesn’t provide, they have went out looking for it, and have stumbled across something fake.  It might be a person, an activity, a substance, or something else, but they have found something that offers them greater purpose and joy than sitting around bored, watching TV all day, and arguing over homework.

What if families offered something better though?  What if families offered something that catches the imagination of their kids? What if rather than sitting glued to the TV every day, they served together in a soup kitchen once a month feeding the homeless?  What if families gave up their vacation one year to go on a missions trip together?  What if rather than ignoring each other at home, families spent time serving in their church and community together?   What if parents spent time showing their kids there is a God ordained purpose for their lives, a purpose that cheap substitutes cannot fulfill?

If this happened, I think Satan’s counterfeits would seem far less appealing to teens.  I think less kids would rebel.

I don’t want to oversimplify a complex problem.  Again, I realize that there may be many reasons kids decide to rebel against their parents and their values.  I wonder, though, if one of the reasons kids do rebel is because their families are just so boring?  Because their family lack a sense of purpose, and the counterfeits seem to offer something their family does not?  What do you think?

This year Calvary is hoping to send more kids and youth to summer camp than ever before. In order to do this we are offering a $100 scholarship for every single camper. Hopefully this will make camp affordable for every family. To qualify all you have to do is be a family who attends Calvary, fill out the camp registration form for your child (which can be found in the church lobby), and turn in the completed form. It’s that easy.

This deal is for every camper, so if you are a family of 2, 3, 4 or more kids, they all can save $100 if they register through the church.  In fact, if you send 2 kids from the same household you get $105 off, and 3 or more kids and you get $110 off per kid.

The dates for camps this year are as follows:

Kid’s Camp (3rd through 6th grade in fall of 2011) – July 4th – 8th
Senior High Camp (9th – 12th grade in the fall of 2011) – July 11th – 15th
Junior High Camp (6th -8th grade in the fall of 2011) – July 18th – 22nd

No, that is not a typo.  Both Kids and Jr. High Camp is for 6th graders. They have a choice. If you are unsure of what camp to send them to feel free to contact me or Pastor Clark.

Hurry up and register.  To meet the early registration deadline we need to have your completed application, which includes a physical dated within 2 years of the start of camp, by April 24th.  The early registration cost is only $155, for one kid with the discount, after that it goes up to $180.

Parents, you do not want your kids to miss camp.  There will be swimming, canoeing, paddle boats, archery, tubing, hiking, bonfires, a game room, tons of fun and competition, but most importantly an opportunity for your kid to connect with God. You don’t want them to miss out!

Strap on your helmets, and get ready for another awesome week with Kidzturn! It will have been 2 years since we had then them here at Calvary last. I have missed all the Lussiers, Elmer, games and especially the foam machine. So, I am super excited to have them back with us this year from May 1st to 4th.

Each night beginning at 6:30 everyone will be meeting in the sanctuary for a time of worship, games, a sermon and altar time. Everything is designed for kids, but for the whole family (kids, moms, dads, guardians, grandparents, great aunts twice removed, everyone). Here is a little glimpse at what each night is all about…

If you can’t see the video click here.

For those of you who have been out to this event before I know that you are already writing the dates on your families calendar. For those of you who haven’t been out to this before, trust me you do not want your kids to miss any of these services. Again, the dates are May 1st – 4th beginning at 6:30 each night.

Also, be sure to invite every kid you know. There will be some wicked nice prizes for the kid that brings the most visitors.

We have been having a ton of fun talking about kindness in kid’s church this month.  This past week we had the kids write up a want ad for a fake newspaper, asking them to describe what an ideal kind person would be like.  All the responses were great, but this was my favorite…

As the father of a 3 year old, who typically picks the most inopportune times to need use the restroom, I am always thankful for a kind person who gives a bathroom to the bathroomless!

This coming Sunday is the last week we are talking about kindness.  In March, we move on to courage.  Also, if you haven’t heard yet, our Sunday morning service times will be changing in March to 8:30, 10:30, 12:30 & 6:30.  So be sure to be on time!

Kids are pretty stinkin’ amazing.  It blows my mind what they are capable of.  In fact, if you asked me what the biggest mistake I have made in children’s ministry is, I would tell you it is underestimating kids potential.  Whether it is memorizing scripture, raising money for missions, serving in ministry or whatever else, I don’t think kids are pressed to their full potential.  Too often they are simply minimized and marginalized.

That being said I also realize that kids also need help, and lots of it.  They need people speaking into their lives.  People coaching them.  People teaching them.  People mentoring them.  Sometimes, like the kid in the video below, they need someone to give them a little help…

If you can’t see the video click here.

Again, sometimes kids need that extra push, the extra encouragement to do their homework, or read their Bible.  They need involved moms and dads, and children’s pastors who care about them.  They need Sunday School teachers, and Royal Ranger commanders.  They need people who will help them reach their full potential and to figure out their problems.

The trouble is most people don’t take the time to speak into children’s lives.  Maybe it is because they don’t feel like they are good with kids, or maybe it is because they think they are too old to relate to kids.  Whatever the reason, it’s wrong.  The reality is kids need introverted non-wild people speaking into their lives just as much as they need the super kid friendly people.  They need more than just their friends and their parents generation speaking into their lives, they need to hear about the experiences of people from every age in the church.

In Deuteronomy 6 Moses states, “Hear O Israel, The Lord Our God The Lord is One….These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.”  Did you notice how this passage starts?  Moses begins by saying “Hear or Israel.”  Yes, this would have included parents, but it would have included everyone else in the community as well.  Raising a kid, although primarily the parents responsibility, was designed to be community event. But, again, too often often it doesn’t happen.  The trouble is most people in the church don’t take the time to speak into children’s lives.

What about you, when was the last time you spoke into a child’s life?  When was the last time you gave a kid a little help and guidance?