VBS is coming ... July 12-16 ... SAVE THE DATE!

Sign up today at the sign-up sheet in the lobby if you're interested in helping out with this year's High Seas Expedition Vacation Bible School! For more information, please contact kids@capitalcitychurch.org .

Parenting Tip: The Conscience Needs Training

In 1 Corinthians 4:4 Paul says, “My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t make me innocent.” The reality is that just because the conscience prompts a person, doesn’t mean that it’s right. Children need to be careful to obey God first in everything they do.



The conscience looks for convictions in order to prompt a person to do what’s right. Most children already have convictions, but many of those convictions are inappropriate or need some adjustment. For example, some children believe that if they're playing with a video game and Mom asks them to do something, they should be able to wait until they get to the next level to obey. Your daughter may believe that she has the right to hit her annoying brother. After all, he deserves it.



You have convictions and part of your God-given responsibility is to pass those convictions on to your child. One of the greatest ways to do that is by analyzing your family rules. Each rule, whether it’s written down or just understood, has a conviction behind it. 



Spend some time evaluating the convictions behind your rules and then talking with your kids about them. 



Children may be tempted to rebel against rules but sharing them as convictions makes them easier to accept. “Son, we don’t allow that kind of movie in our home. The reason is because we have a conviction that what goes into our minds affects our hearts. We’re Christians. That’s who we are and this movie isn’t consistent with the conviction we have. So, we have to say no. I’m sorry.”



As much as possible, tie your convictions to God’s Word. After all, you can’t let your conscience be your guide. It’s the scriptures that are our authority in life. The determining factor as to whether something is right or wrong rests on the authority of God’s Word.

Share with us some ways that you see your convictions demonstrated in family rules. How might the rules make the convictions easier to teach?

Baptisms and Missionaries

On Sunday, I had the privilege of baptizing 4 of my kids -- Jeremiah, Makaylee, Emily and Jessica! I'm so proud of you all! I'm waiting for the pics to post.

After the baptisms, we all came back up to have our praise and worship time. During the last song, one of my favorites, Blessed, the lamp in our projector burned out! 

But even in the midst of that, the kids kept worshiping and after we prayed, they told me about the lamp! It made things a little bit difficult for our guests, Peter and Sandy Jorgensen, and their kids, Christy and David. They had a power point of pictures to show the kids, so the kids turned their chairs around to view the computer which we turned to face them.

Peter and Sandy shared with us several stories about their lives as missionionaries in Mali, West Africa. They shared how they are translating the Bible into the Mali language. They have some books already translated, but still have a long way to go. They shared about Paul and the poisonous snake bite and about how one Muslim city had never heard the story of Moses. Now they all come together to listen. God continues to work through their lives!

Thank you, Peter, Sandy, Christy and David, for coming to share your hearts with us. We will continue to pray for you.

Parenting Tip: Why do you do what's right?

It’s fun to ask this question of children. When you ask, “Why do you do what’s right?” the common answer from kids is, “So I don’t get in trouble.” That’s when you can take them to Romans 13:5 which says, “Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.”

Punishment is external. Conscience is internal. So what does that mean for parents?

Good news. God has created inside the heart of your child a piece of standard operating equipment that helps you do your job as a parent. Of course, the conscience isn’t a lot of help until it’s trained. But daily life regularly provides the opportunities to train the conscience.

Look for ways to get kids thinking about the conscience in their own lives. You can do that in part by talking about their motivations for doing what’s right. After all, if they only do what’s right to avoid punishment or to get a reward then they’re missing out on the benefits of the internal prompting of the conscience.

The reality is that maturity and responsibility require that a person do what’s right when no one is watching and when no apparent reward is available. The child just does it because it’s right. Now, children have the key to growing up and being responsible, and that's to do what’s right even without external prompters.

Of course children still need parents to help them know what’s right in any given situation but as parents work along with the God-given equipment in a child’s heart, they transfer the responsibility to the child. That’s great news and something we all look forward to. 

This parenting tip comes from the Everyday Parents Can Raise Extraordinary Kids series by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN,BSN.

Parents' Night Out

On Valentine's Night, from 5:00-8:00 pm, we had the opportunity to hang out with some great kids while their parents enjoyed some quality time together! Thank you to the Chi Alpha OSU college students who helped provide childcare for the Preschool/Toddler aged kids. Thank you, Miss Jill, for helping in the Elementary aged kids. The 10 kids had a great time -- and so did all of the adults! Here are a few pics of our fun time!!

Happy Belated Valentine's Day!

On Sunday, February 14th, Valentine's Day, we made Valentine's for our parents, friends and neighbors -- it was a special way to share God's love with others. We also watched "This Silly Little Thing Called Love" -- which reminded us to:

1. Love our Neighbors

2. Love our Families

3. Love God

Basically what we are to do is to love God and love others!

BGMC Reward Night!

Here's some of the PreK students holding their Buddy Barrels! Way to go Preschool Sparks! So proud of you for beating the elementary boys AND girls this year! (I have to say the picture of them on the couch is my favorite!)

Keep saving your change (and your parents change) and maybe, just maybe you'll do it again this year!