I'm back

Wow. I haven't posted in awhile, so I guess I should catch up on things.

Fear Not Festival went really well. We actually had enough time to let the parents rotate through the storytelling stations, and that was a big hit. Parents were glad to have experienced exactly what their kids experienced, and it made for great family conversation that evening--exactly what you want out of a church festival.

Halloween night, I was able to be home passing out candy to the kids. The numbers were low this year on trick or treating. I think they were all out at YMCA festivals and such. It kind of makes me sad, but in this crazy world, I can see why parents would want to take their kids somewhere safe. Still, what a sad tradition to lose.

After Halloween was my birthday. I took some much needed vacation time and went to Austin to meet up with some friends for a 5 day excursion. I wish I could say I rested, but when you haven't seen your friends in 2 years, not much sleep is going to happen! I came back to find that some little birthday fairies had decorated my office with signs, streamers, and much much much confetti. Brought such a smile to my face that when I was sitting in a very serious staff meeting, the interim pastor called me out for smiling: "Well, it looks like you are sitting over there with a post birthday smile. Why don't you tell us what you think about this serious issue we are discussing." It was like I was back in school again, and I just smiled and said, "Yep, looks like we've got a tough situation on our hands," and went back to my smiling. He wasn't happy.

Now, it's back to the grind again, planning for advent. I would've planned advent months ago, but for some reason, it hasn't been a high priority at the church. In fact, we still haven't had a full meeting about what we're doing.

This reminds me, does anyone have a cool preteen activity for advent? The church family is making wreaths together and having a "What is advent" night. In SS we've got thousands of things going on for advent, including a birthday party for Jesus where we're collecting diapers and formula, etc, for a local pregnancy center. The kids are also doing a Tree of Lights, where they can dedicate a light on a tree in honor or memory of someone. Each color costs a certain amount (1 penny, 1 nickel, 1 dime, 1 quarter and then an angel ornament is a dollar). The money goes to a charity that they vote upon.

But for the KidsInC program, I'm trying to think of something cool to do. We're having a tree trimming party and are making welcome mugs with hot chocolate and candy for visitors during the Christmas season at church. We're also making cookie jars for teachers and shepherds in SS--the cookie mix is layered in the mason jar so that the recipient only has to add eggs and oil.

But I want them to make a nativity scene for their own rooms or an advent calendar of their own--something that is theirs and connects them personally to Christ's birth. Any ideas?