from the first day..........

Philippians 1:3-6
I thank my god in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

This weekend Clear Creek Community Church will open another campus in the Clear Lake area. We have been preparing and ordering stuff for the past few weeks. As all the preparations were under way....... I read these verses. I thought about the people who will be a part of this campus from the first day...........oh the stories they will have to share! It makes my heart skip a beat to think about the people who will come to this campus and hear about God's love for the first time. The families that will come to this campus to worship together for the first time. The kids that will experience God in PeeWeeVille or Creek Kids for the first time.

And the volunteers that will be there t0 serve and to soak in all these stories from the first day! God is so good to us to allow us to be a part of his perfect plan - to allow us the privilege of serving in His ministries. To allow us to minister to families and share God's love with them.

I will be there the first day. It will be fun, hectic, exciting, hard, and glorious all at the same time! I'm so thankful that God is blessing me in that way!

So if you live in the Clear Lake area - join us! If you are going to attend the Clear Lake campus - bring some friends and neighbors - and get ready for the ride of your life as you are there from the first day.

Perfection

PeeWee School started today! WooHoo!! It was a great day. It was the beginning of new relationships and learnings. It was a great day! It was also fairly quiet - which is a big marker of how great a year it will be!

The beginning of PeeWee School reminds me of new things like this new year. And yet the lessons on Sunday for preschoolers and Elementary kids are about the Ten Commandments which are really old.................In some ways I just want to throw away the old and just concentrate on new. But I am learning so much as I think about and study the Ten Commandments.

• I am learning about how great God is! God is perfect at each commandment. Each commandment shows me God's character. He is the one God. He is valuable and worthy of praise and worship. He can protect me so I can rest. He is my greatest authority and worthy of honor. He is the Creator of life. He is faithful. He is wise and knows how to give us what we need. He does not lie.



• I am seeing more and more clearly what a sinner I am. I can't keep any of these commandments - perfectly.



• I am praising God for His rescue plan that rescues me - a sinner deserving death. I am thanking God for giving His perfect son as a sacrifice for me.

I hope you will contemplate these learnings as you help your child understand God's perfect laws and His most perfect rescue plan.

I went to Alaska last week.

Last week I was cruising around Alaska.............totally amazed by God's creation. Everything was so big and majestic: mountains, glaciers, whales. They say everything in Texas is big - I think everything in Alaska is bigger. I felt so small.

God's grace seemed even more real to me in Alaska. Just thinking about how a God that can create such a masterpiece......why would He even care about me. And definitely why would He send His son to die for me. God can create perfection.........He chooses to save the imperfect - ME. I felt small - but very loved.

God who sees me as small as I am in this big beautiful world. He loves me and saves me.

I had a wonderful vacation. It was a great place to go - I recommend it highly. It was also a very worshipful place for me. Thank you God for creating the beauty I saw and thank you for saving me - and for wanting to use even me.

Last week I was cruising around Alaska........... and awestruck again by God.

What makes you beautiful?

This week in PeeWees and Creek Kids your child talked about being beautiful.

PeeWees learned that saying good and beautiful things makes you beautiful on the inside. We talked about saying things that point people to God - those are beautiful things. (Proverbs 21:23)

Creek Kids learned that outward beauty is temporary............inner beauty is everlasting. (Proverbs 31:30)

I was watching TV last night and they were showing all of these celebrities that had plastic surgery. They showed the before and after pictures - all of them looked better before the surgery to me. It made me think about all the hundreds of thousands of dollars that are spent to make people look beautiful.

Real beauty doesn't cost a dime, but it does take work:

• Choosing to say the right thing



• Choosing to do the right thing



• Choosing to act like Christ



• Choosing to be Jesus to someone

Doesn't cost a dime..............just takes making the right choice.

Lessons from July 17

Your PeeWee learned...........
Through the story of David (the lowly shepherd) becoming King, your PeeWee learned that God sees people differently than we do. We need to try to see the world - and people - the way God does and love each one for their uniqueness.

You can reinforce this lesson by reading the story to your child from a children's Bible. It is found in 1 Samuel 16. Also - bless your child this week by telling them the qualities you see in them and how God could use them to tell others about Him.



Your Creek Kids learned..........
We discussed boasting in Creek Kids this week. Help your child see how he can "boast in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:31). Show him how to thank God for the gifts and talents he has, and to ask God how to best use them for Him. Help him think about how God could use that talent to share His love with others. God gives us gifts for the common good - how can your child's talents be used for God?

Read the following verses with your Creek Kid to reinforce this lesson:

• 1Corinthians 1:31


• 1Corinthians 4:7


• Psalm 44:8

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Each week at Clear Creek Community Church your child is exposed to Bible truths, stories, and lessons. Each week in the hour they are at church they hear how Christ died for them and what that means for their daily living. We pack as much as we can into the hour they are in our services. But it is just 1 hour - even if you attend every week, that's just 52 hours a year. Sounds like a lot until you figure there are 8760 hours in a year!!! 52 is just .6%..........

Use your hours parents, please don't just depend on our .6%

Lessons from July 10

PeeWee Ministry:
Your PeeWee learned about having a strong foundation in God. We sang the "Wise Man and Foolish Man" song. You can find this story in your Bible - Matthew 7: 24 - 27. I hope you will read this story with your children. Let them sing the song for you.

Creek Kids Ministry:
Your Creek Kids learned about being self centered this week. Please follow up with their lesson by helping them complete the Take Home Worksheet. You can also discuss the following:

• Thinking highly of yourself - Romans 12:3


• Thinking of God instead of ourself - Hebrews 12:2

I hope that each week you take the time to discuss the lessons with your child. I hope that our lessons give you an open door for great conversations during the week. So how are we doing????? Do you find our lessons helpful as you disciple your children? What could we do better?

You are the primary disciple maker in your home.............we want to partner with you.

So what does it mean to disciple your child??

Well............ a disciple is a learner or follower. When we disciple our kids we are helping them become followers of Christ or learners about Christ.

What are you doing to help your child be a learner or follower of Christ?

• Share your ideas - so we can all learn from you


• The easiest thing you can do is show them your growth - tell them your story of faith, read the Bible with them, pray........

God has given them to you for discipling.............what are you doing with that assignment?

Promotion Sunday - June 5

This Sunday marks a milestone in a lot of kids - and families - lives.............we promote our school age kids up to the next grade. That means...........
If you are going to Kindergarten in the Fall - you go to Creek Kids
If you are going to Junior High in the Fall - you go to Matrix

All the kids in Elementary School will promote up to the next grade.

It's a big deal. It means you have finished something really big whether it's preschool or 3rd grade. It means you are growing.....maturing?.........ready to make new friends......ready to try new things. It's a milestone.

Celebrate it with your kids. Let them be at church on Sunday to start that new beginning with everyone else. Celebrate their accomplishments this year over the weekend. Begin the summer with new expectations of them and/or new freedoms. Your kids growing up is all part of the plan - remember you aren't raising kids you are raising adults. These milestones are a good chance to move them that way - and to share that with them.

Tell your kids what you see in them - share with them the unique gifts, talents, and personality God has given them. Bless them by sharing what you see in store for their future. Tie the new responsibilities and freedoms to that future. Pray for them. Thank God for them and what a blessing they are to your family. Promotion weekend is a great reminder to bless and encourage our kids - so don't let it slip by.