I just received my second issue of “Thriving Family’ by Focus on the Family. It is packed with great information for the entire family.I am finding it to be one of my best resources. There are four sections: family stages, family media, family faith and family life. Come to our next EPIC night or go here  to check it out. Here are two quotesamong many that stood out to me:

“Setting standards for respectful behavior early is important in a child’s life. If a child speaks to authority in a tone that’s less than respectful, and his behavior is excussed, the issue is being avoided. It may be called “age-appropriate behavior”, but it’s never appropriate.” Fromthe book ”Giving Your Child the Excellence Edge” by Vicki Caruana

“The primary goal for 9 – to 11- year-olds is to receive God’s grace. The majority of people who trust Christ as Savior do so before they are teens. Said another way, if your children do not come to faith in Christ by the time they are teens, the likelihood begins to quickly decrease that they will do so. That means you must do two things: First, make certain that your children fully understand the Gospel. Second, ask God to help you discern the authenticity of their decision. Countless kids “respond” to the Gospel outwardly because of pressure from a Sunday school teacher or parent, while in their hearts they remain reluctant to submit to Christ. To understand your children’s faith, ask questions: “Can you explain why Jesus died on the Cross?” “What does someone have to do to go to heaven?” “Why do you think you are a Christian?” Responses such as “I prayed a prayer” or “The teacher told me I was a Christian” may indicate they are trusting in the wrong thing.” From the article “Introducing you children to God” by Larry Fowler

On Sunday’s our first to fourth grade children are learning about Cooperation and Compassion. To practice caring for others in need and working together to provide for that need we are joining with Compassion International to buy mosquito nets for people in Africa. Please consider joining our first to fourth grade children as they donate their own money and ask other to donate as well. Visit www.biteback.net for more information. Our goal is to raise $1,000 to buy 100 nets by the end of December. So far we have raised $250. Together we can end Malaria!

Hillsong has some great worship music for kids, especially for older elementary kids. We use their DVD’s for the 5 & 6 grade class on Sunday’s, which you can buy from our online amazon store.

Have you ever thought “I don’t want to waste anymore time”. God gave us all a certain amount of time, so how are we using the time we have? I know that I have limited time until my end on earth comes and I know that when that time comes one of two things will happen to me. I will either live with God in eternity or will be sent away from Him for eternity. So what will I do with the time that I have left? Is it any different than if I knew I only had six months until my life on earth ended? When people know their time is short on earth they figure out what is most important to them and make sure they do everything they can to accomplish those things before it is too late. Being raised in American culture gives me the tendency to desire things like a house, cars, retirement, savings, vacations, comfort, safety, etc. Yet God calls us to give generously to those who cannot repay us, and to store up treasures in heaven. Should not my love for God be the most important thing on earth as it will be in heaven? And should I not also make sharing the news of the future with others a priority despite the cost? Whether I have six months left to live or 75 years my priorities and immediacy should be the same. But how do I let go of my natural tendencies of this world and replace it with what I know is important? The truth is if it is important enough then we just find a way to make it happen. So let’s make it happen! If you have any specific ideas or examples please let me know.

One idea is to serve children and families with us to leave a spiritual legacy that will last for eternity! What a wonderful way to not waste time but to create time.

I am so appreciative of all those who serve on Sunday’s! And I am also appreciative for those who are flexible to move around and be substitutes when needed. This Sunday we experienced a lot of both. Thank you Dwight for subbing in Galaxy, Suzanne for subbing in Creative Creation, Sarah Hom for subbing in Motion Ocean, Rebecca Cates for being flexible to move to Small Wonders, Mandy Howell for subbing in attendance, Lindsey Snyder for subbing in Small Wonders, Dottie Lofftis for subbing in Small Wonders at the last minute and Rosalie Button for serving in Small Wonders for the first time. As our first to fourth grade kids are learning about “Cooperation”, I am reminded how much cooperation it takes for our church to minister to children and families. I am blessed to have so many people to cooperate with!

Sun, November 15, 4:30pm – 8:30pm at Steele Canyon High School

I am looking forward to coming together with the families in our church as one large church family to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving potluck has been a tradition of Jamul Community Church that has been around for as long as I have been a part of this church. It seems like the last two months of the year are filled with lots of traditions for both the church and individual families. What traditions does your family have? Which of those traditions was part of your family as you grew up and which ones are new? We will be discussing these topics at our next EPIC family night so I hope to see you there. But until then we will have an opportunity to celebrate the tradition of Thanksgiving together and separate. So what is it that you are thankful for? I am most thankful for God’s love for me that led Him to be willing to go to extreme lengths to bring me into His family for eternity. I am also very grateful for my wife and the opportunity to be in the Bethel Seminary to study children and family ministry.

This year we have trimmed down the AWANA schedule to make room for “EPIC Family Night”, which will take place the first Wed. of every month. EPIC stands for Equipping Parents to Influence their Children. We believe that we should not only make the time we have with kids at church the best it can be but that we must also partner with parents to make the time they have with their kids the best it can be. When the church and family work together to spiritually form children, a much greater legacy will be passed on.

What is something epic you have done or want to do in your lifetime? And what can we do to get those epic things to happen? Epic things are not the everyday ordinary things that we do. Rather they are rare or once in a lifetime events that are bigger than life.  Yet most of the time epic things don’t just happen; they take lots of planning, thought, practice, money, patience and some luck. Some epic things may be meeting your favorite celebrity, attending your favorite sports final game with your team winning a closely fought battle, landing on the moon, traveling to a special part of the world, the things people accomplish at the XGames, etc.

Of course being a Christian I know that the most epic thing will be to spend eternity with Jesus. When we work together to spiritually form children so that they can live with Jesus, we leave a vibrant long-term legacy! Now that’s epic! That is why I am so excited to begin EPIC family nights. EPIC is not another children’s ministry night, it’s an entire family night that will help each family plan, think, practice and implement everyday life that includes their faith so that children can be spiritually formed and one day the most epic thing will happen – we will live with Jesus!

You can see more Tim Hawkins comedy at http://www.timhawkins.net