Children's Choir Resumes in February!

Back by popular demand! Children's choir will resume February 10 for Kindergarteners through Sixth Grade. In December, our musical was only 20 minutes long, and our Kindergarteners did great, but this musical is a little longer (about 35 minutes) and a little more challenging, but we have an extra special job for them, so I think it's going to be great!

The next musical we're going to begin working on is called "Sermon on the Mound" by my all time favorite children's composer, Celeste Clydesdale. This musical is actually a few years old, but it's still a favorite of mine, and we've never done it here at LFC! (My kids Stephen and Emily were both in this musical when they were in 2nd grade, and it was a blast!)
Here's what Celeste has to say about "Sermon on the Mound."
"For quite some time it has been my desire to write about the importance for believers to put on the armor of God. (Ephesians 6:10-18) The baseball uniform correlated perfectly - then the musical seemed to take shape. In Matthew, chapter four and five, we see that Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the desert, praying and being tempted by Satan. He defeated Satan by standing firm and responding with the very Word of God. After these victories, He began His public ministry by teaching the Sermon on the Mount, and teaching us how to pray. Our "Head Coach" is the Lord. We are the team (the church), encouraging one another and uniting our hearts to stand firm in this spiritual battlefiedl. We need to take time out to train and pray before we can be effective Christians in this world. Every one of God's children need to know the incredible value of hiding God's Word in their hearts. How else can we possibly put on the "Helmet of Salvation," hold up our "Shield of Faith," and be ready to respond at the appropriate times with the "Sword of the Spirit"? Through SERMON ON THE MOUND I pray that God will use the baseball analogy to help our children see the battle that is reality... is your armor on?

So kids, I really hope you can join us beginning February 10, at 4:00 pm. The musical will be performed on May 18 in our morning service. More details soon about auditions, etc. BATTER UP!

There's SNOW in Long Beach!

The final day of extra special fun that we planned for our kids at Lakewood Family Church during the month of December was a SNOW DAY on Dec. 23. We brought in 5 tons of real snow (well actually, a company called "The Ice Man" in Bellflower brought in huge blocks of ice, shredded it and BLEW it all over our play area.It was a little expensive, but our kids and families sure had a blast. We served free hot chocolate, and let the kids play in shifts. After a couple of hours, most of the families and kids had gone home, and we just let everyone have at it! The Snowman was provided by "The Ice Man" company. They also do movie sets and in Santa Clause 3 they had to make a ton of these snowmen identically, and quickly, so they discovered a way to make them in a large barrel, remove the barrel, a bucket of snow for the head, add the eyes, nose, pipe, hat, etc, and wa-la! Instant snowman! The snow was very packed, and so not really adequate for making snow angels, but here's one of our Jr. Highers, Alyssa, trying to make one anyway! I don't know who had more fun, the kids, or the parents who were taking pictures!

Way Too Cute

Couldn't resist posting this picture of some of our adorable toddlers! Each of our classrooms in our early childhood hallway depict a different part of God's creation, and this room is called the Fish Room. Here are some of the kids having their snack.

Our KidStuf Drama Team ROCKS

Here are some photos of our KidStuf Drama Team... their talent and dedication blow me away each and every week.

This is Kevin Fernandez, the youngest of our team. Kevin is in 7th grade, and is the sweetest young man in the world. His mom was actually our DESIGNER on this entire project, so it is especially sweet to have him a part of our team. Here is playing one of his many "egos"... he plays a variety of characters...

We also have a group of children who help us lead worship each week. I have the fun job of working with them once a month to teach them a new "Virtue Song" or "song of the month" we call it, and then they get up and teach the rest of the kids at KidStuf. I would have NEVER gotten up on stage to sing and dance when I was their age, so I am so impressed with them. It's also fun to sit and talk about what all the words of the songs mean, giving us another opportunity to connect with Jesus. This picture is of some of our fabulous High School girls, that I've had the privilege of knowing and teaching and leading since they were in 2nd grade, who sometimes help us lead worship as well. Love these girls!

December Fun at Lakewood Family Church

We decided to make December an extra special month for all the kids at Lakewood Family Church and our community. We wanted the kids to have an extra reason to invite their friends to church and to know how much Jesus loves them!

We started the month with our Preschool Angel Breakfast, on Saturday, Dec. 2. There were 35 Preschoolers and their parents who came to hear the Christmas Story told just on a preschool level. There was a craft, a simple breakfast, and a visit from several angels who came to sing to the children and give them a special gift.

On December 9, our playground was turned into a Petting Zoo, as we brought

in a truck load of "Nativity" type animals for our children and families to experience. We used a company called Giddy Up Ponies in Palmdale. We encouraged kids and families to have their pictures taken together in the nativity scene that one of our wonderful dads built. It was a precious day and so fun to watch the kids play with these little goats and bunnies. The donkey was hysterical. You could tell he was used to having his picture taken!

The following Sunday was our Children's Choir Musical. Actually it wasn't a full musical, it was just a 20 minute "Mini Musical." This is the first time we've done a mini musical, and it worked out very well. Only 5 songs for the kids to learn, 4 main characters in the drama and very little dialogue to memorize. One of the most precious parts of the program was the "living nativity" scene created by several of the kids. What I love about leading a Children's Choir, is that I get to spend quality time teaching kids the truths of Scripture throught songs that will stick in their heads for a very long time, and also the fact that Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins who might not normally come to church will come and see these children sing about Jesus. It doesn't get much better than that. Great job kids! You were amazing!

Gotta get to work. I'll post some pictures from our SNOW DAY later on. Talk about FUN!

Thanks Everyone!

After a crazy day on Halloween running our church Fall Festival (on my feet literally for 13 hours!) I had 2 days off to relax and get caught up on stuff at home. ... Well, here is a giant thank you to everyone who helped make Fall Festival such a huge success. There were about 140 volunteers, and 1475 people in attendance. The weather was great, the atmosphere was fun and festive, and everyone had a great time. This was our 17th year. We hope everyone who came will come back to visit our church if they don't already have a church home.

We love our Clubhouse!

Everyone who walks into the Kid Connection Clubhouse for the first time has the same reaction... WOW! People who've heard about it still can't believe how awesome it is when they see it for the first time. One of the greatest thrills of my week is when I'm out in the CMC and a few of our elementary school wander through the hallway, poke their head in. I hear the squeels of delight, the ooohs and aaahs, and I get a chance to chat with those kids and invite them to church/ KidStuf! Sometimes I even get to talk to their parents, and invite them too. I love my job! Here are those pictures I've been trying to upload!