This year Kidzu will take rising 3rd through 6th graders to Camp KidJam.  This will be the 3rd year we have taken kids to this amazing camp.  All who have been want to go back!  Please consider this summer option as you are planning your budget for 2012.  Camp KidJam goes right along with what we do on Sunday mornings.  It is an awesome opportunity for our kids to grow spiritually this summer.  Below are detail of Camp KidJam.  A depost of $50 is required by Jan. 31st to reserve your child’s spot.

Who can attend Camp KidJam?

Camp KidJam is for kids entering the 3rd, 4th, 5th or 6th grades in the Fall of 2012.

Price includes: 

Meals 

Day 1 – Dinner ONLY

Days 2 & 3 – Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner

Day 4 – Breakfast ONLY

Lodging for 3 nights 

Basic activity fees

T-shirt

Small Group supplies (includes evening snack)

Where

Lander University

Greenwood, SC

When

June 19-22, 2012

Pricing

Deposit of $50 due On or BEFORE January 31st, total call $263.  $213 due after deposit made.

Deposit of $85 paid On or AFTER February 1st, total call $298.  $213 due after deposit is made.

Payment plans available for remaining balance.

Campus Details

Lander University was founded in 1872, and has called Greenwood home for more than 100 years. Their beautiful 123-acre campus offers a blend of traditional and contemporary buildings where 3,000 students pursue a quality education. For more information about Lander, please visit their website at http://www.lander.edu.

Housing Details

Two campers or two leaders per room, hall or suite bathrooms

Single rooms in some buildings. These will be assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Free Time Options

Swimming, volleyball and intramural field games.

Registration forms available in your child’s smallgroup room or at the Kidzu Guest Service desk.

Please email me any question you have or visit campkidjam.com for more information.

Thanks,

Liz Walters

January is a great time to work on changing the way we play this game of life. It feels like a fresh, crisp start to a new year! We’ve been listening to leaders like you asking us to spend more time in one book so we can take kids deeper, as well as focusing even more on the faith skills they need to connect to a really big God. So, we’re going to spend the month in Proverbs, a book packed full of wise and visual verses to challenge our thinking—especially about the topic of Self-Control.

Self-control means choosing to do what you should do—and not what you want to do. In the moment, that’s hard for a lot of us. The good news is that God doesn’t ask us to do anything all on our own. We’ll share verses like 2 Peter 1:3 that say: “God’s given us everything we need to lead a godly life.” Self-control is a way to display to the world around us that we have God in our lives. And He’s present every hour of every day, ready to help us take control of our thoughts, words and actions.

Each week, we’ll talk specifically about choosing to have self-control in areas where we know kids (and adults) typically struggle, plus we’ll focus on faith skills like navigating the Bible and personalizing Scripture in their everyday lives.

In week one, the Proverbs principle we’re focusing on compares someone without self-control to a city with broken down walls—defenseless (Proverbs 25:28 NIrV).In our monthly memory verse, the very beginning of James 1:19 begs us to pay attention and be quick to listen. Our Bottom Line is: God can give you the power to control yourself.

In week two, we’re studying a young and new king, Solomon, who was smart enough to ask God to make him wise. What he learned is recorded for us in the book of Proverbs. We’ll talk about the biblical principle that it’s better to be patient than to fight (Proverbs 16:32). The Bottom Line is: Pause before you lose your temper. We want to be slow to anger, to make the best choice for the future too, instead of just reacting based on how we feel and what we want right now.

In week three, we’re continuing to see the destruction that happens when we don’t have self-control. We want kids to know that God wants better for us and wants to protect us. So, we’ll focus on the hurt that’s caused when we use our words thoughtlessly like a sharp sword. We need to be slow to speak because wise people’s words can bring healing to a situation (Proverbs 12:8). The Bottom Line is: Select your words carefully.

In week four, we continue to see that sometimes God says things a certain way to grab our attention and hold it long enough to make His point. He’ll use words to create a picture that’s really hard to get out of our mind and show us that it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. Proverbs 25:16 clearly says we better be cautious or we’ll end up in a stinky mess. None of us like getting sick (or cleaning up), that’s why our Bottom Line is: Know when to stop.

Maybe that’s why Galatians 5:22-23 says: “But the fruit of God’s spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” The only thing you can’t get too much of is God!

In week five as we wrap up, we really get to the heart of what gets us in trouble most. It’s not really our temper or our words or our choices like we’ve talked earlier this month. No, it’s what comes before all that and can happen so fast that it’s hard to catch. We want kids to understand that our thoughts lead to all our actions.

We’ll finish up by discussing the important principle in Philippians 4:8 about watching carefully what we think about. Whatever we focus on most will take over and fill our minds. That’s why God encourages us to think about only what’s true and right, what’s excellent and worthy of our praise. Bottom Line, we will learn: Use the Bible to guide your thoughts.

We are so excited about this month in Proverbs with a different principle each week addressing real life situations where we need self-control. Isn’t it great to know that God’s given us everything we need to live a godly life and to grow in wisdom?We can’t wait to hear what you think about Self-control: Changing the way you play!

By Cara Martens. ©2011 Orange. All rights reserved. www.WhatIsOrange.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Donation Suggestion:

make-up set

bath set

bath robe/slippers

jewlery

clothing

It’s official—the holidays are around the corner. How do I know? Relatives are asking for Christmas lists so they can get their shopping done and the commercials on TV are rolling out their latest toy temptations to get my children drooling.

It’s so easy to lose perspective in all the hustle and bustle. That’s why I’m excited to focus on Generosity this December—so kids (and adults like me) can be reminded about what we should get all wrapped up in this year! (This is the same fitting theme from several years ago, but the content itself—scripts and activities—are all fresh and new.)

In fact, James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” So, we know that God is the giver of all good things. But we also know that God’s generosity has a purpose.

In Week 1, we listen as Jesus tells the parable of a rich man in Luke 12:13-21. He gets wrapped up in storing more and more stuff and ends up losing everything that really matters. Bottom Line: People are always more important than stuff.

The brother did what we all have a tendency to do—to focus on what God can do for us, instead of thinking about ways we’ve already been blessed or how we can bless others. That’s why our monthly memory verse says, “Be rich in good deeds . . . be generous and willing to share.” (1 Timothy 6:18, NIV).

When we realize that it’s really a lie that stuff makes our lives better, then it’s easier for us to be generous. We define generosity as making someone’s day by giving something away. We can’t really live generously unless we believe this Basic Truth: I should treat others the way I want to be treated.

In Week 2, we learn that you can’t take it with you! A rich young ruler has a big question in our Luke 18:18-25. It’s interesting because Jesus really wasn’t after the guy’s stuff; He was after his heart. Jesus knew that this guy was trapped and He wanted to set the guy free. Bottom Line: Don’t let stuff get in the way of loving Jesus. Living generously shows the people around us what we love and trust in most.

In week 3, we read two different accounts in John 3:16-17 and Luke 2:1-18 about the Greatest Gift Exchange ever—when Jesus is born. God is the ultimate example of generosity. We give because God’s given to us. God’s original gift is our motivation for giving freely to others. Bottom Line: God gave the greatest gift when He gave us Jesus.

In one of the busiest times of year it’s important to take time to remember who gave first. We can stop and remember how amazing it is that God sent His Son to show us a new way to live and later make it possible for us to live with Him forever if we just believe.

In week 4, we learn that wise men know how to be generous. Three men come to visit a young Jesus in Matthew 2:1-12. They go to great efforts and travel a long distance in order to be generous. We will focus on all the ways the wise men gave to Jesus—not just the physical gifts, but their time, energy, money and intentionality. Bottom Line: When you give, it shows others how valuable they are.

Other people should be valuable to us because they are valuable to God. When we give to others it shows God that we value the people He loves so much that He sent His son.

God gives generously to us so that we may be generous toward others. The Bible says, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11, NIV)

In other words, God gives generously to us so we will have time, emotional energy, patience, and a wealth of resources to give to others. Then, when we are generous with all we have been given, others will see us and be thankful to God.

So many times we think that our ability to be generous is connected to our riches. We are afraid to give because we don’t know if we have enough, and we think generosity is for those who have more than we do to give. But the cool thing about generosity is that we’re not generous because we are rich, we are rich because we are generous. When we choose to give generously to others, we are blessed with everything that really matters in life!

Hello First Look Friends!

It’s hard to believe it, but the stores are filling up with red and green. That can only mean one thing. Christmas is coming! Let’s get ready to celebrate!

This December we will celebrate with our children that God gave us Jesus. God loves us SO much that He sent His Son to live among us and ultimately die for our sins. We will tremble with Mary as she hears of her coming child. We will give thanks with Mary and Joseph when they find a stable in which to deliver their first child. We will rejoice with the angels who came to deliver the good news. We will honor our Savior with gifts along with the wise men. As we work through the amazing Christmas story, we will celebrate the most amazing gift of love ever given, God’s Son Jesus.

Our team will be praying for you to have moments filled with wonder as you give preschoolers a “first look” at the God who loves them, made them, and wants to be their friend forever.

Kathy Hill
Editor in Chief, First Look
Orange

Pitstop! (Gratitude)

It’s a little strange to be working on curriculum for next winter when the temperature outside is still pushing 100 plus degrees every day! In fact, my daughter now regularly (and dramatically) thanks God for air conditioning whenever she enters a building. It never fails to amuse people who overhear her.

But it is really hard for kids (and adults) to consistently slow down long enough to express any kind of gratitude for both the big and the small things in our lives. So the theme for this November is taking a “Pitstop” so we can remember that because of what God has done, we always have a reason to be grateful.

Showing gratitude is a natural response to God’s good character and is talked about throughout the Bible. It’s interesting to realize that God doesn’t actually express gratitude—because God doesn’t need anything. In fact, we can’t do anything to help God because He is completely omnipotent. He has the power to do anything that needs to be done. He is the only One who is truly self-reliant.

But God made us so that we are not self-reliant. We need God, and we need other people. We are all sinners in need of a Savior, and God met that need when He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins (which we will start talking about the last week of this month with the Last Supper and continue all next month as we prepare for Jesus’ birth at Christmas time). Because of God’s sacrifice, we can have eternal life with Him in heaven. So that means we can be grateful to God for saving us and preparing a place for us in eternity.

And that’s not all—there are other things to be grateful for as well. Do you have shelter? Food? Clean Water? Clothes? Shoes? School? Work? What about friends and family? These things can be easily taken for granted—like air conditioning or fans! But imagine what our lives would be like without them! God wants us to remember that every good and perfect gift comes from Him, and that we should be grateful to Him for what He has given.

The Bible also tells us that it’s not enough just to show gratitude to God. We should also use the same gratitude to show our appreciation to all the people who help us every day. We don’t do as much by ourselves as we think we do. Sometimes it’s as simple as remembering to say “Thank you.” Sometimes it’s writing a special note or giving someone a hug. The important thing is that we remember and recognize what others do for us as we thank them for their help.

In week one, we will look for the silver lining in every situation. Bottom Line: You always have something to be grateful for. To do this, we will unpack our monthly memory verse: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV

The second week we will focus on a group of vineyard workers (Matthew 20:1-15) who agreed to do a job but were disappointed by the way things turned out. Bottom Line: Take time to adjust your attitude.

In week three’s familiar story, we’ll study Jesus’ healing of the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19) and think about why only one came back. Bottom Line: Take time to say thank you.

And in the final week, we’ll learn about the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:14-20) to focus on what Jesus was about to go through because He loved us so much. Bottom Line: Take time to celebrate what God has done.

We all need a gratitude adjustment from time to time—especially when we’re hot or hungry or tired. So I can’t wait to hear what you think of this month’s curriculum. One of the things I’m most grateful for is passionate leaders like you who invest so much in the next generation, so they can discover what God’s done for them in His big story and see the adventure that He invites all of us to experience as we try to follow Him every day.

Many blessings, Cara Martens

Hello First Look Friends!

November is “Happy Helper” month in First Look! That’s right, Happy Helpers. Are you a Happy Helper? Do you look for others who need help, and give it to them gladly? Do you see a problem that needs to be fixed and see if you have the tools to fix it? If you do, then you ARE a Happy Helper!

During Large Group this month, our host will discover that he loves being a Happy Helper. He and his Happy Helper apron find places all over his house and neighborhood to help others while learning that God made people to help us and people for us to help. Culminate this month by making Happy Helper aprons with your preschoolers so they can be Happy Helpers at home too.

Your preschoolers will learn that there are many Happy Helpers in the Bible. First, they will hear how Ruth helped Naomi and then Boaz helped Ruth. That was one happy helping family. Then, they will learn of the great friends David and Jonathan and how Jonathan helped David by saving his live. Then, David helped Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. Through all these stories, your preschoolers will learn that God places people in our lives to help us. He also places us in people’s lives in order for them to help us.

Our team will be praying for you to have moments filled with wonder as you give preschoolers a “first look” at the God who loves them, made them, and wants to be their friend forever.

Kathy Hill
Editor in Chief, First Look
Orange

Beginning on November 13, we will be collecting gifts that your children would buy for a parent.  We will also collect wrapping paper and card supplies.  On Saturday, December 17, we will be providing the children at The Garden with an opportunity to select one of these gifts for their parent or guardian.  We will also be helping them wrap the gifts and make cards. 

This will be a fun time for you and your child to serve other children together!

Please contact Margo Skalon at mskalon@hotmail.com if you would like to join us at The Garden.