Since God made everything, He knows how to use everything - naturally or supernaturally!

This week in the C.W. Playhouse, New Frontiers presents the THE PLAGUES on Egypt as we look at how God not only answers prayer super-naturally, but naturally, using the things of creation to accomplish his good purposes and rescue his people. Join Cookie, the wagon-train chef and the rest of our western round-up as we explore the next exciting chapter of Moses' life.

THIS WEEK IS ALSO BGMC SUNDAY!! There will be donuts for everyone if we bring in $50 or more in BGMC offering so bring those Buddy Barrels and Boxes this Sunday!

VBS Lesson #3 Week 2: God Made You

Tomorrow night is week two of our 3rd lesson in our VBS: CAMP! Campers will be learning that God Made Us while playing games and eating tasty snacks. Then we'll close out the lesson with campfire songs, Kodiak bear, another lesson-illustrating skit from the Muskrat Cabin Comedy Team, and finally Bryan, the camp groundskeeper will bring a lesson illustration that the kids won't soon forget! The fun ramps up starting at 6:15pm! Don't let your kids miss out!

And remember, the cabin that brings the most offering for BGMC wins candy bars at the end of the night!

SPECIAL NOTICE! Starting next week, VBS time will cut back to normal mid-week service times: 6:30pm to 8pm! Please make a note of it.

5 Ways to be a Good Listener to your Kids

According to research on listening skills, being a good listener means focusing attention on the message and reviewing the important information. Parents can model good listening behavior for their children and advise them on ways to listen as an active learner, pick out highlights of a conversation, and ask relevant questions. Sometimes it helps to "show" children that an active listener is one who looks the speaker in the eye and is willing to turn the television off to make sure that the listener is not distracted by outside interference.

1. Be interested and attentive. Children can tell whether they have a parent's interest and attention by the way the parent replies or does not reply. Forget about the telephone and other distractions. Maintain eye contact to show that you really are with the child.

2. Encourage talking. Some children need an invitation to start talking. Children are more likely to share their ideas and feelings when others think them important.

3. Listen patiently. People think faster than they speak. Children often take longer than adults to find the right word. Listen as though you have plenty of time.

4. Hear children out. Avoid cutting children off before they have finished speaking. It is easy to form an opinion or reject children's views before they finish what they have to say. It may be difficult to listen respectfully and not correct misconceptions, but respect their right to have and express their opinions.

5. Listen to nonverbal messages. Many messages children send are communicated nonverbally by their tone of voice, their facial expressions, their energy level, their posture, or changes in their behavior patterns. You can often tell more from the way a child says something than from what is said. When a child comes in obviously upset, be sure to find a quiet time then or sometime later.

Even when my eyes can't see, I know God wants what's best for me.

Bricks without straw is the focus of this week's lesson in the C.W. Playhouse: New Frontiers. We'll be looking at the disappointment the Israelites faced when Pharoah made things harder on them after God's deliverer showed up to help them. How often do we face similar disappointment, wondering why things get worse before they get better when we pray or obey God on something? That is the tough subject we'll be addressing this Sunday with the kids as we continue in the life of Moses. Don't let your kids miss out! 10:30am at Prayer House!

When Your Toddler Hits

Toddlers hit out of frustration, anger, or for mere entertainment. What should a parent do? Sometimes the solution is simply to distract your child with a different activity. But if the problem persists and you feel like discipline is necessary, we recommend that you take consistent, firm action. Keep in mind that a firm approach doesn't require harshness.

Immediately set your child down on the floor, with a firm statement like, "Be gentle" and step back to avoid getting hit again. Don't display anger but be deliberate and firm. Your child needs to learn that hitting doesn't work. She can't stay in your arms or on your lap. If she hits you will remove her from that place immediately.

But that's not the end. The next thing your child does is come to you for a hug. This is the precursor to the Positive Conclusion you will use later. "Are you ready to get up. Come over and give me a hug. Show me what gentle is." Allow the child to give a hug or stroke your arm with her hand in a gentle way. Praise her for her gentleness.

When you set your son down after hitting, he may have a temper tantrum. If you're in a situation that allows, the best thing is to ignore him until he's calmed down and then encourage him to come back for a reuniting time.

Immediate, consistent, temporary separation like this followed by a Positive Conclusion will discourage the hitting and replace it with something else. A careful balance is needed here between a firm approach and a loving relationship.

Children who can't yet talk or communicate well, often get frustrated and act out with violence. Don't just ignore it. While you're teaching communication skills, also teach limits on hitting, biting, pushing, and other forms of physical meanness.

This parenting tip comes from the audio series, Parenting Toddlers. You can listen to Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller teach that series on CD or MP3. Make this summer a growing experience for Mom and Dad.

God Gives Us Purpose. That's Why He Equips Us.

Cookie, the wacky Wagon Train Cook is back this Sunday at the C.W. Playhouse with the next exciting lesson from the life of Moses, BRUSH FIRE! This week's lesson focuses on the Burning Bush experience and kids will learn that God calls us and equips us. See you Sunday morning at 10:30am for all the fun and more importantly, for an encounter with God!

Be Careful with Triangles

Triangles in relationships happen often in family life. Conflict between two people can become an invitation for another person to join in. If parents aren't careful, and create triangles inappropriately, people get hurt. But if triangles are used properly, they become great opportunities for healing and learning. Here are some examples to watch out for:

• A child who is unhappy with Dad's discipline may go to Mom and try to get her to overrule a decision.

• A dad may criticize the way Mom is handling a situation.

• A child may go to Dad with a proposal to get around Mom's instructions.

• A teen may get angry with Mom for the way she’s treating his brother.

• One child may tattle on another.

Each of these situations represents an opportunity. Some advice suggests that triangles are always wrong and warn not to get involved. We don't believe that's the answer. Rather we suggest you triangle in as a counselor or coach instead of a critic. When you decide to triangle into a relationship, be careful. You may be right, but being right is not enough. You also need to be wise. Be careful about taking sides and creating more division in the strained relationship. Instead, look for ways to do some teaching and bring about healing.

The key is to focus on the issues of the person who comes to you. When Billy tattles on his brother by saying, "Mom, Sam left the light on again," take time to talk to Billy about how he should handle the situation. Maybe the right thing is for Billy to go turn off the light. Your role in the situation is important because you work with the problem from the perspective of the person who comes to you. Invariably, that person needs help and guidance to know how to respond to the challenge.

If Sarah believes Mom is being unfair, Dad can draw out the conversation with Sarah so she begins to see Mom’s perspective in addition to her own. Healthy dialogue can equip others to solve the conflict or at least see it differently. An empathetic response from a third party can open doors of dialogue.

Triangles are common in relationships, particularly in single parent families and blended families. They are opportunities for people to learn and grow. Identify them and take advantage of them, but be careful not to get sucked into the conflict in unhealthy ways.

This parenting tip is taken from the book, Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, In You and Your Kids by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.
In Chapter 5 you’ll find more helpful ways to think about family dynamics.

VBS Lesson #2 Week 2: God is Strong!

VBS fires up again tomorrow night! Don't forget that it starts at 6:15 for the summer! Tomorrow is our game/snack night and will end with our drama team skit and a visit from the groundskeeper! Your kids won't want to miss the fun! See you tomorrow!

Ugly Ties 2011 Showcase

1st Place: Anastacia Tisdale ($62.00 for BGMC)

2n Place: Mikey Tisdale

3rd Place: Kiersten Hall

4th Place: Rebekah Robinson

5th Place: Hunter Hall

6th Place: Adrianna Miller

7th Place: Noah Britten

Our Ugly Tie Contest was a great success bringing in almost $250 for missions. We missed getting pictures of a couple of the guys in their ties and we didn't catch all the kids to take pictures with the men before they left, but congrats to all of our participants. Every tie helped bring in something!

Here's a list of all the participants not listed above in alphabetical order:

Mary Britten

Ariana & Callie Hubing

Carrianna Miller

Jackie & Natalie Siver

Thanks, everyone!

A Child's Primary Job

Here's an interesting dialogue we had with a seven-year-old boy we'll call Jeff. "What would you think of a mailman who picks up trash on all the streets as he goes around the neighborhood?"

"That would be pretty good."

"But what if he didn't get the mail delivered?"

"He'd get fired!"

"That's right. Delivering the mail is his job."

"What would you think about the car mechanic who likes to talk to people and socialize but doesn't get the cars fixed?"

"He'd get in trouble."

"Yes, you're probably right because repairing cars is his job. You know, children have a job to do but sometimes they get distracted and do other things."

"What's a child's job?"

"According to Ephesians 6:1 a child's primary job is to learn to obey."

"Yeah, right."

"You don't seem too excited about that job."

"I'm not. My parents are always telling me what to do."

"Well that's their job. Let me help you understand why God gave you that job. Hidden within obedience are all kinds of principles that will make you successful when you get older. You will learn how to be a better student, employee, or boss by learning how to obey when you're young. You’ll also learn to obey God, and that’s very important."

"Oh yeah, how?"

"Well, some employees can't do a simple task without arguing about it. If they would have learned to obey when younger, they might not have such a problem following directions. Or, some students can't accept an assignment without complaining about it. If they had learned obedience when younger, they might be able to do a hard job without complaining. There's nothing wrong with evaluating instructions or helping parents with alternatives, but there's a lot of benefit to obeying just to learn obedience. God knew that and he hid many character qualities inside of obedience that will help you do well in life."

"That's interesting."

"The next time you're given an instruction, especially one you don't want to do, maybe you ought to think about obeying with a good attitude just because of what it will teach you."

The point of this conversation is that obedience has more benefits than many children realize and that they have opportunities now to prepare themselves for life in future.

This parenting tip comes from the book Home Improvement, the Parenting Book You Can Read to Your Kids by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.