March 1st Landon L. 4th Jake P. 8th Mary R. 21st Ethan T. 26th Hayden H. You can place info in the Kids News box in the church office or email Inside this issue: Happy Birthday 1 Library Spotlight 2 From the Desk of Mrs. Nancy 2 Words of Encouragement 3 Upcoming Events 3 Kids Corner 4 Family Connection 4

When I Say I’m A Christian... When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that 'I am clean living. I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.' When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide. When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong. I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on. When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess. When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it. When I say 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name. When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou, I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow! What’s The BIG Idea? B.I.G. Theme: God is always with us! B.I.G. Idea: We believe God promises to always be with us. Lesson One: Abraham and Sarah Lesson Two: Jacob’s Ladder Lesson Three: Joseph Goes To Egypt Lesson Four: Psalm 23

		From The Desk of Mrs. Nancy...
“Going the Distance With God…,” By Lori Salierno How can you live a life of faith without giving up? What can you do to pursue God’s will? How can you renew your commitment to the Lord? The author challenges youth to seek answers to these questions, as well as many others, as they begin their walk in faith. The book starts out with the following quote from page 8: “Many people believe that the Christian life is dull. Some Christians even believe they are missing out on the fun because they serve the Lord.” But as the book goes on, you realize that it’s a privilege to know God. You have to make an effort to come to church and open up to God. If you know a young person (or even an adult) who needs some extra encouragement or hope for their walk, this book would make a great gift.		As you may know by now, Mrs. Nancy has been feeling quite a bit under the weather lately. By the time you get this, we are hopeful that she will be home and feeling much better! Nancy is very appreciative of all the thoughts and prayers you have been sending her way. We miss her spirit and enthusiasm, but we want her to have plenty of time to recuperate and recover before returning to see all her kids. A special thanks goes out to all of those volunteers who have stepped forward to help out while Mrs. Nancy is out of commission! It takes a whole lot of people to fill Mrs. Nancy’s very capable shoes. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue our children’s programming in Mrs. Nancy’s absence
“The winter prepares the earth for the spring, so do afflictions sanctified prepare the soul for glory.” —Richard Sibbes— Special thanks to the following Expressions of Faith students who helped prepare this special edition of the Kids For Christ newsletter. Austin, Courtney, Justin, Kaleb, and Kylen
WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT “But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today.” Hebrews 3:13, NIV Blessings, Kim Whipkey How many of you can say that you tend to not worry? If you count yourself in that group, the three of you can go to a quiet spot and count your blessings while the rest us worry about how much we worry! Believe it or not, I used to be one of those people who didn’t worry. My mom was the worrier, and she worried enough for ten people, so I didn’t bother. Then, I found out I was going to have a baby. Oddly, when I announced my news, nobody mentioned that, when I brought home my little bundle of joy, I would also likely bring home an advanced degree in worrying. In Matthew 6:25, Jesus says, “Therefore...do not worry about your life, whatyou will eat or drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?” I find this verse difficult to apply to my life. I know God loves me and will take care of me, but I can’t seem to stop worrying. As I write this, our community is mourning the loss of three young people killed in a tragic crash, every parent’s worst fear. How can we stop worrying in the face of this potent reminder that bad things can and do happen? At the end of Matthew 6, Jesus gives us a remedy for worrying. “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” When we place our needs in God’s hands, he blesses us in ways we can’t even imagine. Bad things can and will happen in our lives, but we have the confidence that God’s strength can see us through even our worst fears. He will be with us always.

UPCOMING EVENTS March 7-11th Spring Break-No BIG   March 16th *BIG After-school Program 2:45-5:30 March 23rd *BIG After-school Program 2:45-5:30 March 30th *BIG After-school Program 2:45-5:30     *Please note that BIG will end all programming at 5:30 for the rest of the year. They will need to be picked up at 5:30 after they have eaten dinner

Family Connection 1. Create an obedient atmosphere. The whole “do as I say, not as do” approach just does not work. If you want your children to obey rules, they need to see you obeying rules. Point out examples of people obeying rules, even when it seems to put them at a disadvantage. After all, life isn’t always fair, and children need to see that doing the right thing can be difficult. 2. Make A Game of Obedience. Although obedience is a serious topic, lessons in obedience can be fun. Play a round of Simon Says, pick up your family’s favorite board game, or participate in a relay where children have to follow rules to win. 3. Hold A Family Convention. If you find yourself continually having to enforce the same rules, it might be a good idea to hold a family convention. Work together to devise a family constitution, write out a set of laws, and design a list of rewards for positive behavior and consequences for disobedience. Have each family member sign the document and post in a central location. When it comes to raising children, obedience and discipline are two of the most necessary but disliked words we know. Even though we know obedience to authority is a good thing, we understand how hard it can be to suppress our will when faced with a request from a superior. Here are suggestions on how to handle the “Bad Guy Blues.”

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