Sam and Esther
Very moving…overwhelming is a better word.
We have to get involved and make a difference. We must move from our comfortable world.
Tag Archive - kids
To The Depths….SOLD OUT!
Really the event isn’t sold out… we gave away all the tickets for the event.
That means we are at capacity for the Multi-Purpose Facility. You, the families of FBCSmyrna, have really done a great job of partnering with the staff to invite your friends to this I2I event. We want to make it as smooth as possible.
Here are a couple of very important things to remember about the event;
Remember this is time change weekend…fall back and hour. This could affect us in the second hour programming (10:45 am) if we forget to set our clocks back.
Please attend the time on your ticket…both hours are full.
Remember to bring your ticket with you. One ticket per family and those with tickets are allowed in first. After families with tickets are seated others will be allowed into the Multi-Purpose facility.
If you have a family coming that you invited by all means sit with that family, you are the link to the church.
Be prepared to be flexible. This is one of our Core Values as a church. If we are in need of seats so a guest can be seated please be flexible enough to offer your seat so someone who is not apart of our fellowship can take part in the event. Our church body exhibits this value wonderfully. We need to be mindful of this on Sunday.
There will not be an overflow area for this event, but we will try to create an area for Standing Room Only.
We will offer Kid’s Club for children and Creation Celebration for Preschool children whose parents are on campus for 2 (two) hours on Sunday. Invite the families that are attending for the first time to go and view the Preschool and Children’s area so they will feel comfortable with where their child is on Sundays.
Help us spread the word about Sunday and how we can make it a positive experience for everyone.
If you have questions about Sunday and the To The Depths event please call the office (615-459-3311) and speak with Allen, Brittany, or Dana.
FBCSmyrna is a wonderful place to serve and I am looking forward to what God has in store for Sunday.
Jordan & Peyton are Stars
Some of you have asked about Jordan’s and Peyton’s performance in the school musical…….
The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow…
“Annie” May 2 & 3 7:00 p.m.
Tickets are available in the school office. Come in and purchase for friends & family!
Adults $8.00 Children 5-12 $6.00
Under 5 free Family price $30.00
Jordan will play Annie
Peyton will star as Sandy
Amy has tickets or you can go by the school office. Would love to see you on Friday night (Jordan’s performance).
Get in touch with Amy if you need or want tickets.
Dumbing Down
Charles Sykes is the author of DUMBING DOWN OUR KIDS. The following is a list he created for high school and college graduates of things he did not learn in school. In his book, he talks about how the “system” may have created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair; get used to it.
Rule 2: The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will not make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school. You won’t be a vice president with a car phone until you “earn” both.
Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. He doesn’t have tenure.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger-flipping; they called it opportunity.
Rule 6: If you screw up, it’s not your parents’ fault so don’t whine about your mistakes. Learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning your room, and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. So before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents’ generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers but life has not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades, they’ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This, of course, bears not the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.
Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don’t get summers off, and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is not real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
(Dumbing down our kids : Why America’s children feel good about themselves but can’t read, write, or add. by Charles J. Sykes)
Happy Birthday Amy
This past Sunday (8/19) my wonderful wife celebrated a 30-something birthday. I am not about to reveal the number that is for Amy to do if she chooses. (I’m not a smart man, but I do know when to be quiet) Because I’m a little more visible than she is due to my job and ministry, I wanted you to know how wonderful she is and how blessed I am to have her.
We have been married almost seventeen years. God has blessed me with someone who is as called to ministry as I am. She is first and foremost the greatest wife in the world. She cares for me more than anyone else. She laughs at my dumb jokes and silly songs that I make up on the fly. When I get my colloquialisms jumbled and create new ones she goes right along. She is always there to encourage me when I need it and to give me a “swift kick in the rear” when I am hard headed about something. She is my best friend and I couldn’t live without her.
Amy is a wonderful and patient mom to our three kids. She laughs with them and loves to play whatever they are playing at the moment. The kids love to be around their mom. She is always there to help with homework, even when she has her own work that must be accomplished as a 4th grade teacher. Mom is always ready to give hugs, bandage wounds, throw the football with the boys, make things with our daughter, or sit and read with the kids.
Amy loves the Lord more than she loves her family. I am so thankful for her example to our family. She is so diligent to meet with Him and talk about her day, her family, and then to listen to what He desires for her life. The relationship she has with God is what drew me to her almost seventeen years ago. I realized quickly that if I was going to even have the opportunity to date Amy I had better follow the Lord closely, because it was very evident who was first in her life. Even today I know that my walk with the Lord needs to stay fresh, clean, and close because she is counting on me.
I am going to get in trouble for this post. Don’t get me wrong, she isn’t perfect, but she is close in my book. I love my wife and I thank God for her each day. Happy birthday Amy.
Day of Kids
Incredible day! These are the only words that come to mind right now about yesterday. Mother’s Day is pretty special at our Church. It is mom’s day but the kids make it special. We utilize our children’s ministry to lead out in worship as a way for the mothers to see what is going on in the children’s ministry on Sunday while they (moms) are worshipping. Our children’s pastor, Allen Bishop, and the Soul Station team did an incredible job of leading us in during worship. We learned that “true heroes never give up on doing good”. Our kids were very engaged during worship and the way Allen and the team involved everyone was really special.
We also had the opportunity to dedicate nearly 50 children to the Lord. Thirty-four families committed to lead their homes in a manner that would honor God and lead their children to faith in Christ. We know the kids will eventually have to submit their lives to Christ personally, but as parents we can help set the context for them to see Christ lived out daily in our homes. It was a great day for our body to see how God is moving in our preschool and children’s ministry.
We also got to be involved in the adoption process with our pastor, Pat Hood and his family. Go to this blog (thanks Alison) and see how that happened during our services. Wow, technology is amazing.
See you this week somewhere in Smyrna.
Incredible Experience
I would love for you to see a great picture of life change.
Back To It
I have been out of touch for a while. This week has been really crazy with trying to catch up and refocus after being out of town for a few days last week.
Yesterday in staff meeting Chris relayed a story that I wanted you to know about.
A mom came to him a few weeks ago and asked him, “What have you done to my son?” Chris asked her, “What do you mean?” She continued by telling Chris that her son had participated in Arms around Smyrna, the middle school missions experience. The entire weekend had made a real impact on him in all areas of his life. He is different around the house as far as helping out and being more considerate and he is having quiet times of devotion each day with the Lord and wants to be a better witness for Christ. Chris thanked her for the encouraging words about the weekend and the update on her son.
The next week during a time of Communion the young man didn’t participate with the rest of the students in the Lord’s Supper. Chris spoke with him about this and the young man told him he realized there was un-confessed sin in his life and really felt he needed to make that right before going any further with the Lord’s Supper. Chris had the opportunity to pray with the young man and help him through that time in his walk.
This a great picture of how God is moving in the lives of middle school students here at FBCSmyrna. This young man’s life was impacted by serving with other students and it affected his home life and his walk with Jesus. Each week we minister to around 400 teenagers through the student environments offered at FBCSmyrna. If you know a middle or high school student that isn’t connected to a church invite them to check out what is going on here. Also, please pray for Chris and David as they lead teenagers, parents, and student ministry volunteers to make a difference in Middle Tennessee for the kingdom of God.
