buck denver coming soon to a church near you!

last week, phil vischer announced his brand new project - a dvd series for children and families titled "what's in the bible?" this is an excerpt from his blog:

we have begun production on a 13-dvd series starring all the characters from jellytelly that will walk kids all the way through the bible - from genesis to revelation - and explain our faith and what it means to live it.  the project is called "what's in the bible?"   and we will bring it to market with tyndale house publishers, the folks that brought us the living bible, as well as all those early focus on the family videos like mcgee & me and last chance detectives.

i am monstrously excited about this project, because we're attempting to do something no one has really done before.  we taught a lot of bible stories over the years with veggie tales, but we never really taught the bible.  i mean, the whole thing.  where did it come from?  what does it mean?  how does it affect our lives?  and that's what we're going to do with what's in the bible? -  hosted by buck denver and friends, as well as, ahem, yours truly.  (yes, i'm going to be in it, too.  it seemed like at certain points we need a real person talking about god.)

this project really has the potential to change how we teach our faith to our kids...i think everyone recognizes how badly we need something like this to keep our kids engaged in our faith.

i met phil a few years ago while we were working together on the conspire conference and ever since then i have been one of his biggest fans. he is humble and creative and all-out committed to raising the next generation of christians.

well, you can imagine how thrilled i was when phil contacted me to help with this new project! he has a passion to not only create great resources for children and their families, but for children's church leaders. so, that is exactly what we are going to do! lori bethran and myself will be responsible for creating a strategic plan along with curriculum and family resources for the church so that along with using the "what's in the bible" dvds in church, children's leaders will have access to a variety of curriculum elements perfect for growing faith in children. we believe in phil's creativity, and his ability to connect with kids and families, and we believe that in partnering together - we can create resources just right for the church and home!

but we need your help! a lot of the resources will need feedback and trial test runs done by YOU - children's ministry directors, pastors and volunteers. if you are interested in helping shape this project, leave me a comment or send me an email and we'll be sure to include you!

looking forward to creating new ways of teaching faith to our children together!

my favorite book of the year

donald miller's brand new book a million miles in a thousand years is my choice for best book of the year. this book has completely changed the way i approach my life, and has given me a new hope and freedom to explore the central characters, plot, themes, and conflict that when combined together tell the story of my life.

a short excerpt from the book:

years after writing a best-selling memoir, donald miller went into a funk and spent months sleeping in and avoiding his publisher. one story had ended, and don was unsure how to start another.

but he gets rescued by two movie producers who want to make a movie based on his memoir. when they start fictionalizing don's life for film--changing a meandering memoir into a structured narrative--the real-life don starts a journey to edit his actual life into a better story. a million miles in a thousand years details that journey and challenges readers to reconsider what they strive for in life. it shows how to get a second chance at life the first time around.

while reading the book, i started a journal so that i could have a place to record my thoughts and keep a log for questions for future processing. these are just the beginning thoughts in the process of recreating my story:

how can i be a remarkable character? "i’ve wondered, though, if one of the reasons we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life is because we don’t want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgment. we don’t want to be characters in a story because characters have to move and breathe and face conflict with courage. and if life isn’t remarkable, then we don’t have to do any of that; we can be unwilling victims rather than grateful participants." (p.59)

i must learn to embrace pain & difficulty in my life and view it as a beautiful gift. "the pain made the city more beautiful. the story made us different characters than if we’d showed up at the ending an easier way." (p. 143)

i want to surround myself with fascinating stories - people living out bold stories. "you become like the people you interact with. and if your friends are living boring stories, you probably will too. we teach our children good or bad stories, what is worth living for and what is worth dying for, what is worth pursuing, and the dignity with which a character engages his own narrative." (p. 160)

maybe life is about simply enjoying the experience with god. "you get a feeling when you look back on life that that’s all god really wants from us, to live inside a body he made and enjoy the story and bond with us through the experience." (p. 7)

eliminate their pain!

3 years ago, my husband and i bought a condo in a downtown area that we love with our whole hearts. a friend once claimed that we might just be a tad bit obsessed with our town.  that's fine. we are not offended at all. in fact, that's probably an entirely true statement.

and while we love almost everything about where we live, for the past 3 years there has been one thing that consistently frustrates us. our condo management company. or shall i say companies plural. in the last 3 years, we have had 3 different management companies and until yesterday - each one bothered and frustrated me more than the last. the constant stream of unreturned phone calls, lack of repair or actual maintenance, and overall bad customer service really got to me.

i tried every way i could to solve the problem - like constantly telling my sister how frustrated i was, and shooting angry glares when the management came around to visit, and leaving my "seasonal wreath" up longer than the allowed 1 month time period. suprisingly, none of my methods worked. my dad suggested actually joining the homeowners' association board, he told me that's where real change happens.

but there was no need for that drastic step because yesterday everything changed. just a few weeks ago we were notified that a new management company had taken over, and since then we've seen them out and about several times. already a noticeable difference. and then yesterday, we woke up to find the company was taking care of a huge issue that affects all residents. just like that. years of complaining and no results, and then just like that - problem solved!

in a brilliant move, the company found the greatest source of pain for the people and instantly fixed it as their very first display of loyalty and commitment. fantastic!

what if we did the same in our churches? what if we could identify the greatest source of pain and frustration for our volunteers and then we did all we could to quickly solve that problem?

imagine our volunteers free to love and serve and give because their frustration has been eliminated!

"it might turn into a bossy world"

i love these short videos from jellytelly. adorable. and honest. and simple.

in the videos, jellytelly interviews kids by asking them to share their thoughts on topics like forgiveness and patience. once again, phil vischer is at work inspiring us to discover creative and budget friendly ways to connect with children. i love these videos as an intro to a children's sunday morning program - or even for adult worship services. love them!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MniS2ptF0DU]

has god left the building?

i've been surprised at the number of conversations that i've had lately with friends who are currently confused by their faith and are wondering where god is in the midst of their life circumstances. of course, i've wondered where god has been lately, but usually i assume that i'm the only one who feels this way. it's interesting, isn't it, how we naturally lean towards isolation instead of community when faced with questions and fear?

but talking and listening and doing life with others who share the same fears and concerns - this idea that maybe god really  has taken a break from overseeing the world - somehow makes my situation feel more real and authentic.

last week during a conversation with some friends, i actually got lost in my thoughts imagining god on a beach somewhere enjoying the sun and a well-deserved vacation and a break from walking with his people every single day.

now i did graduate from bible college so i know none of this is actually true, and deep down in my spirit i do believe that god is still with me and my friends, and that he cares about my life, and that really this whole world isn't just about what god is or isn't doing in my life.

but what sometimes gets confusing is what to do when god's voice and presence feel extremely quiet. right now the best i can do is to keep walking and moving forward each day searching desperately for any evidence of his love and grace.

today i saw just an inkling of him during a brief conversation with a woman at church.

and tomorrow i'm hoping for an even slightly larger inkling.

because in all of this confusion - my hope is what remains.