Austin Icepocolypse 2014 - Did you survive??!!!

It's still soo cold outside, I hope you're staying warm!

In the spirit of winter and family fun time, I've got a winter themed verse/devotional, plus another fun craft to share.  :)

The Verse I want to share with you is Psalm 51:7 "

Psalm 51:7

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ ...wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

 

"When God forgives my sin, he makes my life as clean as the snow. When God looks at me, through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, He sees a soul as pure as the snow on the ground outside my front door.

When you have a snow day, take advantage of the moment to memorize Psalm 51:7 with your kids and to talk about what it means to be washed “whiter than snow.”

• Look at pictures of snowy banks and fields. Talk about how a sinless life looks like an untouched field of snow.

 

• Now look at pictures of played in, dirty snow, and, take another look at the snow. It will be churned up and dirty in places. Talk about how when we sin, our life looks like the churned up snow. Ask your kids what happens when new snow falls. The yard will look beautiful again. Jesus’ death on the cross allows God to see our lives as if they were that untouched, sinless field of snow. He forgives our sins and wipes away the dirt and holes left in our lives by that sin.

• Create a snowman with your kids. As you do, talk about how Jesus’ sacrifice cleared away our sin and made us whiter than snow. God then uses those lives to build something new, just like you’re building a snowman.

• Have a snowball fight. When you’re done and everyone is covered in snow, talk with your kids about how Jesus’ sacrifice covers us and makes us look like we’re whiter than snow (without sin) to God.
• If you live somewhere where it doesn’t snow, buy some of the fake snow, and demonstrate the same lesson with your kids.

As you enjoy your next snow day, remember to look at the time with your kids as a gift. Take advantage of the opportunity to spend some unexpected time together and use the opportunity to provide an object lesson about how God makes us “whiter than snow.”"

Devotional courtesy of Everyday Truth.

Still feeling like having some COLD fun?!  Check out this neat craft and make a BASE CAMP ICE LANTERN!  Full instructions found at D6 Kids!

Happy Wednesday, Friends!  I pray that you are having a blessed week, and that you are staying WARM. Thank you, thank you, Lord - that we may be washed and make new again.  Amen.
Many Smiles,
Elisabeth

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

We are having some CRAZY weather here in the Hill Country this past week.  Nothing like a snow ice day and 20 degree temps on Friday, 70+ degree weekend (thank you, Lord!), and now back to chilly temps on Monday.  What a roller coaster!

I hope you're all staying warm, and thought I'd share some fun recipes - with a "snowball" theme - for you to share with your family this week. In Sunday School and Treehouse, we are talking about acts of service and kindness.  This week, in particular, we focused on our ACTIONS.  Use this family time/recipe making to put our lesson into practice.  Make up a few extras and share with your friends, neighbors, or even a stranger!  This is a great way to show the love of God, through our ACTION of sharing food with someone else.  Maybe wrap up a few of the goodies, and attach a note that says "Happy Winter - Jesus loves you!!"

Pizza Puffballs

Ingredients:
2 cans Pillsbury Grands Buttermilk Biscuits
5oz. package pepperoni
3-4 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions:
1. Generously spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Cut each biscuit into fourths, and chop the pepperoni into small pieces.
3. Fill both your hands with pepperoni pieces, a sprinkling of cheese, and three biscuit pieces.  Pack the ingredients together (like making a snowball!) and place into one of the muffin tin openings.  Repeat this step until the entire pan is full.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve with pizza sauce for dipping.


Cake Batter Popcorn Balls

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
10oz. mini marshmallows
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Funfetti cake mix
12 cups POPPED popcorn

Instructions:
1. Remove any unpopped kernels from the popcorn.
2. In a large pot on low heat, warm the butter, marshmallows, and salt until the butter and marshmallows are completely melted.  Stir occasionally.
3. Stir in the cake mix, little by little.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and pour in the popcorn.  Stir gently until its coated.
5. Spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray and form the popcorn mixture into balls.  Set them on wax paper to cool.

Bonus: Roll the popcorn balls in white sugar sprinkles to give them a glistening snowy look!

I hope you enjoy the recipes, and find a way to share with others!  Our actions are one of the best ways to share the love of God with everyone we meet!  Let me know if you try any of these recipes.  I can't wait - they sound super yummy. :)

Many Smiles, Elisabeth

Recipes courtesy of the Winter 2013 explorer's GUIDE from D6 Magazines.

Confirmation 2014: Class now forming!

Parents,

Rolling Hills Community church is about to begin registration for their 2014 Youth Confirmation Class.  This will be my (Judy Geddes) fourth year to teach the class, and I always look forward to this time with our youth.   The five week program is designed for grades 6-8, but we will consider 5th graders provided they are “ready” for this class.  The 5-week class this year will begin Sunday, March 16 and end April 13.  The class is held at 9:30am each Sunday morning in the RHCC Fellowship Hall. 

 

 

For five Sunday’s our youth will meet to go a little deeper into their faith and at the end they will be given the opportunity to proclaim their faith and be baptized with the group.  Each Confirmand will have their own mentor, one you choose or one that is provided by the church.  This person will “follow” your youth throughout Confirmation and be present with them on Confirmation Sunday, May 4.  Your entire family will be invited to attend Confirmation Sunday for this special time of celebration. 

Each class session has a different topic, and each class is important.  Commitment is important and if they miss a class, a makeup time is required.  The makeup class is normally after school on the Wednesday following the absence. The curriculum is from the UMC program, "Claim the Name".   We begin with the Trinity and what it means and with that as our foundation we cover sin, Grace, Salvation, books of the Bible, Baptism, Communion, fruits of the spirit, and the importance of belonging to a Christian fellowship.  Along the way there are countless questions that they are encouraged to ask and we try to make sure they have all their facts straight so they can make good choices for themselves.

I would like to invite your youth to participate in the 2014 Confirmation program.  This is a decision for you to make with your youth, and I ask that each of you be aware of the commitment of your time.  The Confirmation Registration Form is available on the Youth page of the RHCC Family Life website, as well as on the main church website and in the office, for your convenience.  If you and your youth decide to make this commitment, please fill out and return the form to me or the church office by March 9.  This should give you plenty of time to pray about it and make the right decision for your family.

 

Blessings,

Judy Geddes

Kids Choir and Treehouse - TODAY!

Hi Friends!

I just wanted to let you all know that we are starting up our Kids Church Choir - for Spring!  For the past few years I have directed the Kids Choir for our Christmas musical, but I have always thought about doing Spring, SPECIFICALLY to do one of my favorite shows: "Psalty's Singalongathon, Maranatha! Marathon, Hallelujah Jubilee!"

If any of you sang in Kids Choir in the 80's, then you probably know this one!  A few of my favorite songs (that I still get stuck in my head, 20+ years later) are "Clap De Hands", "Seek Ye First", "Arky, Arky", and "I Love You Lord".  These songs were a pretty big deal for me in my "churching" as a child, so I am super excited to bring them back here!

Anyway - our Kids Choir is open to ANYONE who wants to come and sing some God songs, and participate in a church musical.  We'll also be inviting the kids to sing in a worship service or two.  :)  We have choir on Sunday afternoon, from 4:00-5:00, and then have our Treehouse Fellowship right after, from 5:00-6:00 - in Fellowship Hall.

I'd love to see some of you there!  Feel free to call/text/email me with any questions - or just stop by for a bit.  :)  You can also check our our family ministry website at rhcc4family.com and get lots of info (including weekly blog posts on ways to be intentional at home as a family!)

Many Smiles,
Elisabeth

Elisabeth Hunter

Rolling Hills Community Church                     

Family Life Ministry Coordinator        

www.rhcc4family.com                             

www.rhcc4.org                                                

Facebook: RHCC Family Life                                             

"The only disability in life is a bad attitude." - Scott Hamilton

Made Right With God

Here's a quick devotional for you, from Splink!:

 Read or tell the following story:

Andrea listened carefully as her mom explained, “You may play with this jewelry, but don’t touch the jewelry in this box.”

“Thank you, Mom!” Andrea excitedly said.

Every time Andrea’s friend, Sarah came over, they pulled out the jewelry and played dress-up. They imagined themselves in all different places going to parties and having fun. One day, Andrea was looking for something special to wear so she went into her mom’s room and borrowed a beautiful necklace from her mom’s jewelry box. Sarah oohed and aahed when Andrea put it on. What a fun time they had! When Sarah’s mom arrived to drive her home, they quickly changed out of their dress-up clothes. Andrea was hurrying and broke the clasp on her mother’s necklace.

Andrea hid the necklace under her bed and stayed in her room the rest of the day. She didn’t even want to see her mom. Mom noticed that Andrea was quiet at dinner, so she asked at bedtime, “Are you feeling okay?”

“Sure,” she answered without looking her in the face.

Why didn't Andrea want to see her mom? (Because she was guilty; because she disobeyed; etc.)

What does Andrea need to do to reconcile (be close to) her mom again? (She needs to confess, to tell her what she did, ask forgiveness, etc.)

Our sins separate us from God. How can we be close to Him? (Through Jesus’ death on the cross; through confessing our sin; etc.)

Jesus’ death reconciled (brought us close) to God.

 

 

I pray that you and your family has had a blessed week. 

As we've studied and  prayed on the topics of serving others and reconciliation,

I hope that you've been able to have some good conversation, and great family time. 

We are so, incredibly blessed that Jesus came for us. 

I am overwhelmed sometimes by His love, and even more by His grace. 

His grace is REAL.  We are forgiven.

Many Smiles,

Elisabeth

Serve It Up

 

For your Family Time this week, choose an act of service that you can do together - then do it! 

 

 

Be sure to comment and let us know how your family chose to serve this week.  We can be the hands and feet of Jesus through our love, kindness and service to others.  I can't wait to hear the stories of how you all have blessed others!

 

Many Smiles,

Elisabeth

 

Doing Our Own Thing

It's Devotional Time!

Doing Our Own Thing Pose the question to your kids: Why is it easier to sin than to do what is right? Because of Adam and Eve’s sin, we are all born with a desire to sin. From the time we were little, we wanted our own way. No one had to teach us to be selfish, lie, or disobey. It is easier to sin than to do what is right. We need Jesus’ help to bring us closer to God.   Subscribe to Splink! here.     From Externally Focused Life:     Look up and read the following Scriptures in a Bible:   Matthew 20:26-27 Romans 14:18 Galatians 5:13   What do you learn from these Scriptures?     Have an awesome week!  Come back tomorrow for your weekly family night activity suggestions!  And don't forget - Treehouse & Kids Choir now meet on Sunday evening, from 4:00-6:00pm in Fellowship Hall.  I hope to see some of you there. Many Smiles, Elisabeth

God Still Loves

Happy Wednesday Friends!   This week in Sunday School, we focused on Reconciliation in our D6 Curriculum, and the theme of "It's All About People" and serving others from our series "The Externally Focused Life".    Here are a few conversation starters for your family meal times, car rides, or just little chats you can have with your family, kids, and friends.  I hope you find these little bits helpful!    From Splink (D6 Curriculum):   January 12 - 18 Reconciliation

God Still Loves Read and act out the story of the first sin from Genesis 3:1-6, 22-23. Ask: Did God still love Adam and Eve after they sinned? Adam and Eve chose their own way instead of God’s way. God wanted to be close to them, but their sins separated them from God. Even though they sinned, God still loved them and promised to send His Son to take away their sin.   From Externally Focused Life:   "So be good servants and use your gifts to serve each other." (1 Peter 4:10)   Look up the word "serve" in the dictionary.  What does it mean? Make a list of some ways that you can love and serve others.

Family Fun!

So here's a fun activity for this weekend:

Make a toy water-balloon yo-yo!  Make several of these and deliver them to kids in your neighborhood.

Image & additional directions from: http://www.kiwicrate.com/projects/Water-Balloon-Yo-yo/2112

 You will need:
small balloons
puffy paint or markers
large rubber bands
water

First, decorate the balloons.  Then, cut the rubber bands in half.  Fill the balloons half full with water.  Parents and older kids can blow up the balloons to the size of a small ball.  Tie the balloons shut.  Tie one end of each rubber band around the knot of the balloon.  Tie a loop on the other end of the rubber band.  Place the loop around your finger and gently throw the balloon and watch it come back to you!

Have fun!!

And...coming up this Sunday in Roots Troop...we will learn that "it's about Jesus."  Jesus set an example for us.  Read how Jesus helped (Luke 7:36-50), healed (Matthew 15:30, 31), fed those who were hungry (John 6:1-14), served (John 13:1-17), and was a friend to others (John 15:12-17).

I can't wait to see all of you on Sunday morning!  

Have an AWESOME weekend with your family and friends!

Many Smiles,

Elisabeth

Activity and scripture suggestions taken from The Externally Focused Life.  Copyright 2009.  

LifeBridge Christian Church.  All rights reserved.

Family Night Activity: God made us and knows us.

Spend time together.
In this week's lesson, we focused on the fact that God made us and knows us.  He made each person special and God's picture, His puzzle, isn't complete without each of our pieces.  Dig out a puzzle from your closet, or buy or borrow a new one, and spend time putting the puzzle together.  As you work, talk about what makes your family special and how your family wouldn't be complete without each family member.

We love puzzles ~ My mom, aunt & son at Thanksgiving!

 

A puzzling way to reinforce scripture.
Another fun way to spend time together, continue on the path of our puzzle activity, AND reinforce our memory verse, is to create your own puzzle.  Find a piece of cardboard, or cardstock.  Write the memory verse and decorate the picture.  Then, have someone cut it all apart in different shapes.  (Make sure the pieces are large enough to handle, but small enough to create a challenge!)  If you'd like, you can even download a puzzle template, just print it out, decorate, then laminate before you cut!  It will last even longer. Once it's all cut up, put it back together again.  You could even repeat this each week and have a set of puzzles to help you remember key verses!

If you participate in any of our activity suggestions - let me know!  

Leave a comment, or post on our Facebook page.  

Or - just tell me how it all goes!

Many Smiles,

Elisabeth

Portions of this blog post were taken from The Externally Focused Life.  Copyright 2009.  
LifeBridge Christian Church.  All rights reserved.

It's About God!

Hi everyone!

First of all, thank you for sharing your children with us at Rolling Hills!  We are blessed to be a small part of their spiritual formation, and absolutely love to see their sweet faces each week.  Over the next several weeks, we will be lining up our Sunday School and Treehouse curriculum with Pastor Gary's sermon series based on the book by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson, The Externally Focused Life from Group Publishing.  Each week while you are hearing the lessons taught during the Sermon, your kids will be hearing a similar message - participating in worship, Bible learning, crafts and activities that center around the fact that God gave us life to serve Him and others!

Image from www.group.com.

Yesterday, we learned that "it's about God" as we studied the life of Joseph - in Genesis.  Just as God had plans for Joseph, God has plans for each of us; and we need to allow ourselves to be a part of His story.  In order to do that, we need to be in a relationship with Him.  The kids decorated a blank canvas (with only the outline of a person), to reflect themselves.  We saw how we each look different - because God created us all to be unique and different.  How special!  We also colored pictures of Joseph and his AMAZING multi-colored coat.  The kids has fun doing this while hearing the story told. Be sure to ask your kids about the story - and what they remember about it.

This week, at home, here are some suggestions for you to engage your kiddo's in conversation:

Review the Bible Memory Verse for this week:  Ephesians 2:10

"God has made us what we are."

Ask these questions:

• Who made us and knows all about us?
• In what ways is each of us the same?
• In what ways is each of us different?
• What good things can we do for others?
• What good things can we do for each other?
• Make a list of some of the good things that you can do as a family to help others, and do them!

I challenged the kids, in class, to do at least one good thing each day - ask them what they've done today?  Or, maybe you've witnessed them doing something good - remind them of their actions, and encourage them to keep up the good work!

Image from http://www.jeremiandamyrichardson.com.

I hope you all have an AWESOME week - and stay warm!  It's cold out there. 

Check back on Wednesday & Friday for some fun 

family activities that will help reinforce these ideas!

Many Smiles,

Elisabeth

Study Questions and Devotional taken from Group Publishing, The Externally Focused Life - Children's Edition Study Guide - copyright 2009.  

LifeBridge Christian Church.  All Rights Reserved.

Family Night Activity: The Greatest Exchange

The Greatest Exchange

Items Needed: nice gift that your kids might want (or a $5 bill); box of junk—smelly trash, broken toys, dirty rag or sock, empty cartons or cans

Share an object lesson to talk about the great exchange—our sin for Jesus’ righteousness.

Invite one child to receive the box of junk and ask him or her to open it. 

This box represents us and the wrong things we do. The Bible even says that the GOOD deeds we do are like filthy, dirty rags compared to God’s righteousness. (Isaiah 64:6)

What are some wrong things kids do? (lying, stealing, disobeying, etc.)

Ask the child, “Would you like to trade that box for this box (with the nice gift or money)?” 

If he/she says yes, make the exchange.

Jesus wants to make a much GREATER exchange with us. We can exchange our sin for His righteousness. When God sees us, He sees not our sinfulness, but Jesus’ completely pure, clean, holy, righteousness! What a great exchange!