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SSTN # 41 - March 28, 2003


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IN THIS ISSUE OF THE SSTN e-NEWSLETTER:


--> Before and after Easter: Activities and Ideas for Lent to Pentecost    
--> Easter Bunny Are You For Real?

1) Evolution / hominids
2) Discipline?
3) Room decor   
4) Room Decor Suggestion   
5) Twenty-third Psalm Activities

--> Armor of God Playing Cube

6) Keeping Older Youth Interested?
7) Children's time ideas needed?
8) Wilm's Tumor Survivor
9) VBS Nursery Craft Ideas?
10) VBS Birth of Jesus?

--> NEW-LIFE PUPPETS 

11) Lots of music...lots of friendship
12) Let the rocks cry out - song
13) Words to song
14) Also burnt out
15) Confused...

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Before and after Easter: Activities and Ideas for Lent to Pentecost    

AND

Easter Bunny Are You For Real?

In the Bookstore: 
http://www.christiancrafters.com/bookstore_holidays.html 

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1) Evolution / hominids

I would like to ask your annonymous contributer of March 11th. (SSTN 33)
how he/she knows that the supposed cavemen or  "hominids" did not have
spirits? Since these "creatures" are not mentioned in the Bible, I can
only conclude that their remains have been examined, and no Spirit has
been found. How strange !!

I am afraid I find it very hard to reconcile the word "Christian" with
"old earth." If the earth really is millions or even hundreds of thousands
years old, then death has been around for a long time, and cannot have
anything to do with Adam's fall in the Garden of Eden. Thus, if death is
not a consequence of sin, there was no reason at all for Jesus ( " the
second Adam" ) to deal with sin once and for all by dying on the cross in
our place. Thus, the whole of the Gospel is undermined.

It always amazes me how ready people are to believe the speculations of
others if they are prefaced with the word "science."  If it is
"scientific" it must be true !  But what is "Science." ?  Real science is
only concerned with the present.  It involves observations and the
repeatability of experiments ( e.g. if I drop a book, it will always fall
to the ground at the same speed). Anything concerned with the past is not
science but speculation. If , for example, I want to know how old the
earth is, there are about eighty methods I could use to test it. Some
methods point to a young earth, and some to an old earth. However, as they
are dealing with the past, they all involve untestable assumptions, in
particular that the conditions on the earth have always been the same. But
no one can know this. Naturally, Evolutionists choose to believe the
methods that fit their worldview (old earth), whilst Christians ( at least
those who understand the implications of Adam's "fall") choose to believe
the "young earth" methods.

As a Christian, I do not need to speculate about the past because, I know
Someone who was there in the beginning, and He has written me a Book that
tells me exactly what happened. No, sorry, I am going to continue to
believe the simple words of God, rather than the fanciful speculations of
,I am sure, well meaning, but nevertheless misguided people - even if they
do have a program on T.V.

Maurice Sweetsur.

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2) Discipline?

Hello,
I have a question reguarding dicipline. 
In our last teachers meeting we discussed possible solutions to the
discipline problems we are having.  It is mostly with the boys, junior
church age and up.
The main problem is that most of the 10-12 children causing the "worst"
trouble are kids from our bus ministry.  Issues such as talking all
through the class, to using foul language , to complete disrespect of
teachers and church property.  The parents are not there to lend a hand
and when teachers visit the homes most are apathetic to the problem . A
couple of kids tell us that they are "forced" to go by their parents.
Honestly,  I think some are simply using the church as a 2 hour
babysitting service on Sunday mornings.

    We are very concerned that more of our time is spent diciplining the
few "bad eggs" than teaching the children who are interested in learning
about God.   We have just enough teachers to cover our classes as it is
and  many are complaining of not feeling "effective" at all .

As far as dicipline goes, when a child acts up he gets a couple of chances
to straigten up , if he doesnt,  he spends time talking with the ss
director in the hallway.
This is just not doing the trick, especially with parents who so not seem
to care or do not beleive that their child is "that much of a problem"
And sometimes there are several at once that need "the talk" and we just
do not have the "manpower" to handle them all .
Does anyone have any ideas on this?  We do not want to end up telling
these kids they cannot come,  but they are making it so hard for the other
90% who are truly thirsting for God.  Our pastor suggested giving them a 2
week "time out" from church and then trying again but these kids need all
the church and prayers they can get. and we want them there as much as
possible.
Any sugggestions would be greatly appreciated!       
In Christ, Scarlett Sterczlea  

--from SSTN: there are many great ideas on this subject in the Archives:
http://christiancrafters.com/archives.html 

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3) Room decor   

Our church all pitched in to decorate the nursery of our church several
years back without any artists in the group.  We wanted to do a Noah's Ark
theme.  So we found pictures we liked in a coloring book, took copies
(minimizing the size by at least 75%).  Then we placed the picture under
an image projector (that projects the image onto a wall).  Someone traced
the image onto the walls, then everyone pitched in to paint the pictures.
It turned out beautifully!  Then to tie in to the theme, we painted all
the wooden chair seats with stencils of Noah's Ark.  Cute!!!
YSIC, Jody in Michigan

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4) Room Decor Suggestion   

The murals could really be easy to do.  Find the scene you want for each
room and put it on a transparency.  Use a projector to place it on the
wall......outline with paint pens or pencil then let the kids help paint
it. 

It is also easy to do on paper.  This is how we always made our
backgrounds for VBS.  Really easy.
Hope that helps

God Bless
BelovedDove

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5) Twenty-third Psalm Activities

We just finished the Twenty-third Psalm not too long ago at our church. We
used white balloons purchased at Party City to represent sheep, and glued
cotton balls on them for fur and on some only as tails. We then drew faces
with Sharpie permanent markers on all of the "sheep" and placed them on
the floor in the room. Using the cardboard blocks (the large ones in our
room) we made a sheep pen, and put a green full sized sheet in the center
of the pen. The kids then got on the carpeted area of our room, and had to
round up (close to 80) sheep that were all over the floor in the room, and
get them all in the pen. They had to do so like sheep, being on all fours,
either by pushing into them, or  by using their heads, they could not use
their mouths, their hands, or their feet. The children were continually
reminded that every sheep in the room was important, and that snack (which
follows game time in our class) could not be served until each and every
sheep was in the pen. The kids really liked this game, and it was a great
"get the wiggles game out" which is important in my class of
pre-kindergartener's who seem to have more wiggles now than ever before.
For a craft we made shepherds using a printable pattern on Dltk
printable's online, and the kids colored them (I cut them out ahead of
time) then the kids glued, while some taped, the shepherd pieces around a
toiler paper roll. The kids had a good time making them, and an even
better time showing them off when their parent's came. For snack time we
made sheep out of graham crackers, spread marshmallow spread over the
graham crackers, and then put mini marshmallows all over the top to look
like sheep. During coloring time, the kids had a coloring sheet depicting
a bunch of sheep in a pasture with a shepherd watching over them, the kids
glued cotton balls to the sheep in the pasture, and a pretzel stick to the
shepherds hand as a staff.
Hope this helps.
Love, Sarah
California

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Armor of God Playing Cube

Kids can make it and take it home. A great memory tool!
Only $3.00 to download and print out as many as you need!
Go to the following webpage to get the free lesson and to learn more: 

http://www.christiancrafters.com/game_armor.html 


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6) Keeping Older Youth Interested?

Hi, I teach grades 2nd thru 4th.  I keep their interest with a craft idea,
a game, or role playing.  Our teacher teaching 5th thru high school is
having a tough time keeping their interest.  They don't want to come anymore.  I
have a daughter in that class.  I suggested to divide the class. The age
groups are too wide spread.  I suggested to have them pair up and do some
kind of project in small groups.  The teacher says my class in the baby
class cause we do crafts.  She says she won't do crafts.  I wanted her
group to read during church time. That lasted one month.  I thought to get
the kids involved in their church would be good and they would understand
why it's important to know God.  If you have any suggestions on what to do
with the older classes to keep the interest.  Lois

--from SSTN: For starters, invite her to join SSTN:
http://www.christiancrafters.com/page3.html 

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7) Children's time ideas needed?

I have been teaching the nursery at our church since November, and am now
looking at helping out once a month during the kids time in church, ie as
in preparing and doing an object lesson with the children 10 and under.  I
would love to do something with my class of two and three year olds...any
suggestions?  Would be great if there was a song that could go with it!

One of my kidlets fave songs is There is no end to God's love, so that
would be a great idea for an object lesson but I am drawing a blank.  Any
and all suggestions most welcome.
Shan in Canada


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8) Wilm's Tumor Survivor

Praise the Lord!  Can you let Sandy know I am also a Wilm's tumor survivor
of 46 years.  If she needs to contact me she's more than welcome to.  I
had Wilms at the age of 11 months in 1956.  I know this is devastating to
a family and I'd be more than happy to talk to her if she'd like to chat.
I have met several long-term survivors of Wilms on the internet.  God has
been very good to me.
Bren in Ohio
www.homestead.com/brenspages
bernie@neo.rr.com

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9) VBS Nursery Craft Ideas?

I would like to have 2-3 crafts for the nursery class during our VBS this
year.  Most of our "babies" will be 1 to 1-1/2 years old during VBS.  Our
theme this year is the "SonHarvest County Fair" by Gospel Light, and we
are teaching the Fruits of the Spirits.  Any ideas that my two nursery workers
could do with our "babies" would be appreciated.  

Thanks,
Kim in WV

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10) VBS Birth of Jesus?

After praying about VBS and searching for the theme/kit we felt God was
leading us to use we came up with nothing. But God had something different
in mind. We are now writing our own VBS and the theme is based on the
birth of Jesus Christ. December is such a hectic time. I know I don't need
to go into detail about how everyone is so busy. What an awesome time to
teach the children about the birth of Jesus, during VBS. How many
children, yes even those from Christian families, really know about the
birth of Jesus. I am so excited about VBS. It is one of my favorite times
of the year. God has inspired us so much and everything is coming together
so wonderfully.

I do need some fresh ideas on how we can do our Family Night. Usually we
have the families come and we pass out certificates to the children and
the children sing and then we go downstairs for an ice cream social. I
just don't think that is what we need to do AGAIN this year. I would
greatly appreciate any ideas that would go along with our theme.

  Also, the past couple of years that I have directed VBS we have given
the children an incentive to learn their scriptures, inviting other
children, bringing their Bible, etc. Last year we had crowns/tiaras and we
crowned the children who received the most points by doing what I
mentioned above. Using the different age groups we had a king/queen of the
jungle, prince/princess; tiny prince/tiny princess of the jungle. The
children loved it. We made sure that every one got to take home something
because they all did so well and we didn't want anyone to feel left out.
The year before that we gave out real medals with inscriptions on the
back. We purchased them through Oriental Trading. However, I don't feel
like either one of those ideas will work for this year. I would like to do
something again, but I just don't know what. All of the children will take
home a little something. Once again, any ideas would be greatly
appreciated.

In Christ,
Karla


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NEW-LIFE PUPPET patterns 


When assembled, New Life Puppets turn inside out to change from a tadpole
to a frog, or a caterpillar to a butterfly. They're easy-to-make and
children will learn about becoming new creatures in Christ! Get a free
puppet skit too! In our Curriculum section:

http://www.christiancrafters.com/curriculum.html 

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11) Lots of music...lots of friendship

> I've always found that, if there's lost of music,
> there's lots of friendship!

I hope you do not look for a church on that basis. We do not have the
greatest music in the world, but we have a friendly church. I cannot see a
connection between music and friends.

AND - perhaps the Lord lead you to this church so you could start a caring
ministry maybe a nurturing ministry is what He wants you to begin, so you
can train the others in he church and reach out to new people.

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12) Let the rocks cry out - song

It's from "Down by the CreekbanK" by Dottie Rambo.

I aint gonna let the rocks cry out of me,
I aint gonna let the rocks cry out for me
I'll lift my voice and shout, so the rocks will not cry out
no I aint gonna let the rocks cry out for me.

Email me and I will listen to the tape and email you the rest of the song.
Teresa
La Marque, TX
Puppetworkshop@aol.com   

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13) Words to song

Re. SSTN 35
Could this possibly be the song Kari was looking for?  
Although it does not mention mountains...Rebecca
http://webpages.charter.net/aandbarrowood/Brenda/holy.htm

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14) Also burnt out

First I would like to say that your dedication to those boys and your
ministry is not going unnoticed. God KNOWS what you have sacrificed and
where your heart is.  Your situation definitely requires prayer but I
would like to make some suggestions also. Please forgive me if I'm blunt,
your letter got me very emotional.

a.  Your church is sponsoring this program? If the rector and to heads of
the program don't know you, INTRODUCE yourself to them.  Let them know
that you would like to set up an appointment to meet with them to discuss
all aspects of the planning of this program as it is in need of revision.

b.  Tell your "needy" boyfriend that only CHRIST can fill his empty spots
and then take a hiatus from that relationship.  It sounds brutal I know,
but you can do more for him by praying for him then you ever can by
getting pulled down by him.

c. Prayerfully consider stepping out of this ministry, if only
temporarily.  I say that because there is only so much pressure anyone can
take.  Perhaps a break is what you need the most.  The boys will still be
on you mind, but you can continue to pray for them.

d.  Pray for God to equip you with volunteers.  Don't go crazy trying to
do this by yourself. God calls us to ministry, he knows the perfect person
to fill every position you have.  Trust him to bring them to you.

e.  Don't take having doubts, even doubts about your faith too hard.  I
think it is no accident that the message in this Sunday's service at my
church was on having doubts! Even when Jesus stood with his disciples
that very last time, right before he rose to be with the father, some
still doubted.  They had seen him perform miracles, fulfill scriptural
prophecies, and essentially were standing there talking to a man who had
been killed.  And yet the bible says, some still doubted.  Jesus was aware
of this and basically ignored it. There was a job to do, and they were
chosen to do it.  So too are you.  Even if this particular ministry is not
the only job you are being called to, GOD HAS CHOSEN YOU.  Even when you
doubt he will not leave you!! Feel free to email me if you'd like
prof_joat@hotmail.com  I will be praying
for you.

For His Glory!
Diane

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15) Confused...

Dear sister,
I know how a big church can make you feel unwelcome...but we i.e. my
husband Ralph and I have found fellowship and love and support as well as
an opportunity to serve our Lord through a family renewal ministry called
Couples for Christ in our church. CFC or couples for christ is a
recognised Catholic organisation and has many opportunities for faith renewal and
build-up for every member of the family from kids, to teens, to working
youth, to couples to single men and women and widowed people....it is
virtually a womb to tomb minstry and so there is something for every one
in the family. do check out if there is a CFC unit in your locality....(CFC
is a worldwide organisation) I truly believe you will find brotherhood and
sisterhood there and fulfillment.If you would like to know more about CFC
do feel free to mail me at gracias@vsnl.net.
Yours truly,
Frances Rebello,
Mumbai, India.

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