Wow, its crazy to think that this Sunday will be when Harvest turns 1 year old. It has truly been a blessing to be a part of what God is doing here. I was thinking that this would be a perfect time to celebrate with you the results of our Back2School Backpack Drive.

In the month of July, our kids learned all about service! We learned that service is “lending a hand to help someone else.” When we heard about the backpack opportunity we just had to help anyway we could. So we decided, with the help from everyone at Harvest to partner with Canyon Rim Elementary School and help provide backpacks and school supplies for kids who needed them.

I truly didn’t know what to expect, and you guys blew me and Canyon Rim Elementary away. With your help we provided backpacks and supplies for 75 kids! Now that is something to celebrate! Here are a few pictures of us delivering the backpacks. Enjoy and Thank You!

When I started working in Children’s Ministries over 5 years ago I had all these “ideas” about what working with kids was. Before I began working with kids, I thought I had a pretty good idea of how things should work and how I was going to teach and lead kids through their spiritual journey. Somewhere along the way something changed for me though, I realized something. The more I worked in Children’s Ministry I realized that as a church we couldn’t do it alone.

I truly believe one of the most important pieces in the Church is the family. I came across a phrase that has stuck with me for some time now and I find it to be true. What happens at home is more important than what happens at church. That phrase has changed the way I do ministry. Yes, what we teach the kids for the hour that they are with us is important, but what they learn from being part of their family at home is far more important!

Another thing I found is that families are busy and finding time to connect with each other can be difficult at times. What we have tried to do as a ministry is provide opportunities for families to come together and connect with each other and with other families. That’s why we have provided events like Family Movie in the Park, Church Picnics, and Toy Story 3. We feel if we can help families connect it will help them take one step closer to connecting at home and continuing what they learn on Sundays, at home during the week.

So this Saturday at 11:00 AM we are having our first Family Swim Event. This is going to be a great time to cool off and have some fun with your families. Please join us, introduce yourself to myself or another family you may not have met yet. Detailed information on the Family Swim Event is below. I look forward to the next few weeks and months as I continue to share how Harvest and Clubhouse Kids can partner with you the family to continue what your kids are learning church, at home.

“What happens at home is more important than what happens at Church.”

Family Swim Event

Where: Mesquite Groves Aquatic Center

Time: 11:00 AM

Cost: $2 per adult and .75 per child

I know we will be there around lunch time. The pool does allow lunches in, be sure to check the pool rules on this matter! Also, we are going to the pool during public hours, we will try to put all our stuff together as a group. I look forward to seeing you all there!

The previous post from Micah pretty much summed up what the second half of Proverbs 6 is all about. I felt his words really captured the authors message. So I am going to focus on the beginning of Proverbs 6 and a section of verses later on that really sum up what I have learned throughout this Proverbial readings.

The author begins chapter 6 with a multitude of warnings. If you are like me you have probably said one maybe two (or more) things in your life that you wish you wouldn’t have said. Verses 2 through 5 jumped out to me immediately, they read;

“if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.“

Have you ever been snared by your own words? Said something that you can’t take back and not really have a clue of how to fix the situation. These verse put it clearly that we are to plead with those who we have wronged with out words. When I think of the word plead I picture someone on their hands and knees begging. And perhaps thats what we should do. I mean the verses continue urging us to go with out sleep or even rest until we have saved rectified the situation.

As I read through my notes on this passage it makes the comparison to a wild animal caught in a trap. Have you ever seen one? They fight with all their might to get out of the trap, because they know that the trap will lead to their ultimate death. The same is with us, if we choose to not watch our words, they can trap us into situations that may lead to death. Maybe not actual death, but maybe death of a friendship or relationship.

This next set of verses come from the second half of Proverbs. They seem capture what I feel we should do with these words of wisdom we have been learning. Proverbs 6:20-22:

20 “My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching. 21 Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. 22 When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.”

As I read those words, I feel a sense of encouragement. Those words feel like a promise. A promise that if I can hold onto these teachings they will be there when I need them most, when i’m scared, alone, happy, in temptation, whatever! So these last few verses are my encouragement to you, take them, memorize them, “Bind them to your hearts” so that when you and I need them most with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, they will be there to guide and watch over us.

As I was reading through Proverbs 3, I came across a couple of verses that really stung. Proverbs 3:27-28 says;

“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back later; I’ll give it tomorrow” – when you now have it with you.”

Do you ever feel as if life is so busy that you can’t stop and help those who are in need or even the people who live next to you? I can think back to my own life and see how God has blessed Tirsa and I through the hands of others. Where would we be if people had withheld gifts, funds and even the occasional hug from us?

As I think back I find it funny how I try to justify to myself the reasons for not helping someone out when I am perfectly capable of doing so!! This verse is calling me, you and every believer out there to a higher standard.  How often do we sit back and do nothing because we think that someone else will? I can’t even recall the amount of times that I have had that conversation in my own head.

I am a sports guy, basketball is one sport that I love above the rest. Growing up I had this poster that hung on my door with a quote that read “You will always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”

Everyday we have opportunities to share God’s love and God’s blessings with others. But you know what “You are always going to miss 100% of the opportunities that you don’t take.”

Let’s get in the game together. God has blessed each of us in some way, shape or form and we have the power to act! Let us not wait till tomorrow, but do it today.