Environment continued: Worlds of Wow

We have had the pleasure over the past year and a half to work with 3 great companies.
The first company I want to talk about is Worlds of Wow. They are building and installing our indoor playground. They are a great company that does everything from mural work, 3D sculpted elements to indoor playgrounds.

Reagan Hillier is the head honcho over there he is a great guy and a class act. I have nothing but good things to say about him and his company. It has been a pleasure to work with him along the way.

I know from talking to them they really have a passion for transforming environments for kids and families. I talked to many people who have used them in the past all of them were more that pleased with what Worlds of Wow did for them.

If you are interested in transforming your environment give Reagan and his team a call the are great to work with.

Great Quotes: Barry Goldwater

Barry Goldwater – “A government that is big enough to give you all you want is big enough to take it all away.”

Go Sens Go

I don’t know if it is being in Canada or that my father-in-law has a 46″ HDTV LCD TV. But I watched more than 3 minutes of hockey for the first time in my life. In fact I watched 1 whole period plus overtime.

I found myself routing for the senators I don’t even know why. Perhaps I have been reading Jason’s blog a bit to much. It was a great game the Senators came back from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in O.T. great game.

YouTube Friday: Random Week

Hey everyone. I had a bit of a sporadic week posting to my blog. I was at our church’s highschool camp it was awesome. Pastor Mark and his team did a great job. Many lives transformed despite the cold temps.

I will pick up on environment next week. So I though a random week blogging deserved a random youtube video. So here it is.

Power of Environment. (2 of 4)

I have had some people say to me environment doesn’t matter. To that I usually say “if environment doesn’t matter than why don’t we set up a few metal chairs in the middle of a corn field, not tell anyone where we are and God will bring who he wants there.” Crazy answer to a crazy question: Environment matters.
As much as we may not like it man first sees the externals long before the internals. Our own physical appearance is a testament to what we value and how we feel about ourselves.

I have been asked (just to clarify, by only a few) why we are putting so much time, effort and money into our children’s wing. My reply is we believe in the value of a soul. Each kid matters to God we need to do our best and be our best each kid each family needs to know we value them and more importantly God values them.

We want kids to come to church and feel safe. If they feel safe they will stay if they stay they will hear if they hear they will do and if they do the will become (lifechange).

If we do our part, create the environment. God will do his part, lifechange.

Bottom line as much as we have our opinions Environment matters.

What about you what are the subtle changes you can make to make your environment matter more. I am in the midst of two projects one has a budget of thousands of dollars one has no budget at all it isn’t about money it’s about creativity. If you can do something with nothing:creativity you will be able to masssive cool stuff when you have more resources.

One last random thought: You get attract what you are. You want more creative people. Value creativity and Do it.

Power of Environment. (1 of 4)

This week I want to discuss something I have been thinking a lot about the past year or so. The power of environment. How our surroundings affect us in ways we don’t even realize. How we let trivial things effect the important ones.

We are in the midst of a monumental time in Mt. Zion. So many people in our church have been working for the past year and a half to get to this point. It has been a logistical, spiritual and emotional taxing time for many of us, because we so want everything to be perfect.

I sense that we are really on the verge of something amazing Pastor Servello preached a great message this week challenging us about what really matters and what matters most to God.

I know that many people in our church especially initially were very excited as they should be, about our new kids wing, and how it would effect their own kids. I would be lying if I told you that doesn’t cross my mind often. I am so excited to see my son tell people where the “tubes” (3 year old for indoor playground) are going.

All that aside what has been dominating my thinking the year is how will this effect the lives of kids who have never been to church before. How will this effect families that would never have come through the doors of our church before. Often times it is environment that we create that opens the door for God bring transformation to the lives of those who need it most.

I have been thinking about this over and over. Let me know what you think.

Our mission is to “Create environments where lifechange can take place.”

YouTube Friday: Grammys

Watched some of the Grammy Awards Sunday. I watched Ann Marie Calhoun play a ten second violin solo. She was amazing. I was captivated by her ability and energy. Here is a clip of here trying out for the “My Grammy Moment” Contest.

Happy Valentines Day.

Valentine’s Day: February 14

One legend has it that Valentine’s Day originated to commemorate the anniversary of the death of St. Valentine, a Roman clergyman who was executed on Feb. 14, about 270 A.D., for secretly marrying couples in defiance of the emperor. According to another, the holiday began as a Roman fertility festival. Americans probably began exchanging handmade valentines in the early 1700s. In the 1840s, Esther Howland, a native of Massachusetts, began to sell the nation’s first mass-produced valentine cards.

Top Ways to Celebrate Valentine’s Day

Household participation rates
Greeting Cards 65%
Date Night 44%
Candy 38%
Flowers 32%
Gift Cards 29%
Plush 21%
Other Gifts 17%
Perfume/Cologne 12%
Jewelry 11%

For more facts on Valentine’s Day click here.

How do you celebrate?

How to Deal (How I deal with grief)

Here is a list of resources that have helped me the past year.

A grief observed C.S.Lewis
When we hurt Philip Yancey
Changes that Heal Henry Cloud
The problem of Pain C.S. Lewis
Second Guessing God
The Bible (Mainly Job and Psalms)
Also I would add that most funeral homes have great resources about talking with kids about death, how to deal with loss ect.

Lastly it’s not a resource that you can buy but being able to talk through stuff and receive prayer all within healthy community. We all need others and that need is never more evident than when you are hurting.

How to Deal (Talking to kids about death)

One of the harder moments in the tragic day I referred to yesterday was going with the father to tell the siblings that their brother had died. I went back to the house with the father I was with him when he told the 8 year old sister 10 and 3 year old brothers. It was so sad, I was very proud of the father he told them strait up what happened was compassionate and factual. I had never been faced with something like this before. I had no idea that this was the beginning of a journey. On the car ride to the house I began thinking how do you talk to kids about death? I think there is things we can do to prepare our kids because the sad fact of life is people we love at some point will die. Here is my list so far.

Pointers on talking to kids about death

1. Don’t LIE tell them the truth. It is so easy for us to make things up that may even sound plausible don’t do it. For example grandpa is “on vacation in florida”. Don’t do it.

2. Use moments to teach. When a pet dies use that opportunity to walk your child through the steps of healthy grief.

3. Pay close attention to what kids say and don’t say.

4. Don’t give pat answers because they are kids. If you don’t know say you don’t know. The 10 year old brother to the boy who died asked me this “God can do anything pray for my brother to come back to life. God can do it because he can do anything.”

5. Seek appropriate help from books and professionals

6. Use plain age appropriate language.