along, and you would not come.” She saw that God, as the parent, was completely in love with His children; but at the same time, His children did not always respond well. There was a lot of

frustration, heartache and sorrow – a true picture of parenting that God Himself has experienced.

According to God, parenting is much bigger than me because God is bigger than my strengths and weaknesses and will use them to shape my soul and my child’s. No matter how hard it is at a

point in time, this will be worth it and it is not nearly as much for me as I tend to think.

Children have a divine purpose. God is at work in fulfilling their purpose and mine. As I reflect on the day mothering felt like a drudgery, I’m

reminded that being made into Christ’s image is never comfortable.

Dear Lord, Please help me to see "the other side of the tapestry," to glimpse at what You may be doing in my child and in my life through the everyday. You may not always use parenting to make me happy, but you are using it to make me holy – more Christ-like and joyful! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

FJIF Take it Home events:

April 18, 2010 Kindergarten – You want me to worship Where?

May 16, 2010 2nd Grade – Bringing Missions Home

Faith @ Home Parenting Workshop : May 2, 2010 from 5:00 -

7:00 PM At Colonial Woods, Mark Holmen, formerly of Ventura (CA) Missionary

Church, and Jeff Hoyle from Focus on the Family will be presenting a Parenting Workshop

for any and ALL ages. Children’s Ministry Provided: Birth—5th Grade! Cost: Free Will

Offering.

Visionary Parenting Conference : February 18-19, 2011:

Featuring Dr. Rob Rienow

Pinewood Derby! April 30, 2010 - Registration - 5:00 - 6:00 PM/Race Time - 6:30 PM/Early Check In -

Thursday, April 29, 2010 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM. Cost is $5, and that includes the car kit. THE

CAR KIT WE PROVIDE MUST BE THE ONE USED IN THE RACE.

Mom, Dad and Me! Worship Event Sunday, June 6th 2nd Service @ 10:50

CWMC’s Gymna

wzadults and

Pastor Dean Butterfield is our Children’s Ministry Pastor at The Woods. He is passionate about children’s ministry and has built a solid, excellent,

cutting edge ministry for our children. Dean Lori’s husband and a father of 5. He can be reached via email at Dean@colonialwoodsmc.com. Check out

his blog at www.anchorchildrensministry.blogspot.com or give a call to the church at 810.984.5571

to the church at 810.984.5571

Danielle G. with 2 of her sons at an Anchor family worship event, Fall, 2009

events...

The Blessing of Children Destiny Eldred, Editor

Thanks for turning to this issue of The Journey. In this edition, we want to encourage

parents to be reminded of the ways our children bless our lives. We have an exciting line-

up of new and returning writers with inspiring and informational stories.

Chime In What are the funniest things your kids or

grandkids have said? e-mail Journey editor,

Destiny Eldred, at

destinyeldred@yahoo.com.

I want to wrestle with the concept of “the blessing of children” because while the idea of children being a blessing is a Biblical one, it doesn’t always feel like it, does it? This was very obvious to me on a recent day I had with my almost two-year-old. Things had come to a head for me in my potty training her

and a couple months of consistent night waking for no known reason. It was like pulling teeth to get through that day and my duties as a mom felt like drudgery. “And you call parenting a blessing, God?” As I wrestled with these thoughts, I heard a recent broadcast on Christian radio on Family Life Today, where author and speaker Leslie

Fields discussed the myth that children make us happy. Leslie Fields distinctly remembers the day she had had it “up to here” with being a parent. She went into the woods that day and cried out to God saying, “Where are you in this parenting, God.” Fields had an epiphany – God was the

Father of Israel. .and knew all about parenting. God has been there himself. God says, “I’ve held My arms out to you all

Journeyn

Jay and Scout McCullogh

Mom’s in Touch CONTINUED:

Q: How did you become a praying

woman?

Having been brought up in the "church",

prayer was always a part of my life, but it

was not until the birth of our first born that

I realized the importance of prayer. He had

many severe health issues the first 3 years

of his life. The awesome part of prayer is

that as the weeks passed, the doctors could actually see his health transform! We give

all the praise to God and believe He heard

our prayers.

Does it take something like this to become

a praying parent? Sometimes. But why

wait for illness? Why not cover your child

in prayer from the moment they are laid in

your arms? The legacy of love and prayer

and showing them by example what

prayers can do. Nothing you do for your children is more powerful than prayer and

it’s never too late to start!

Continued Stories >>>

Q: What are some resources that have

inspired and encouraged you to pray?

"The Power of the Praying Parent"- Stormie Omartian

"Praying Scriptures for Your Children/Teenagers"-

Jodie Berndt

"When Families Pray"- Cheri Fuller

"When Moms Pray Together"- Fern Nichols

(Founder of Moms in Touch International)

"107 Questions Children Ask About Prayer"- Tyndale

House Publishers

Verse: Lamentations 2:19 "Pour our your heart like

water before the face of the Lord, lift up your hands

towards Him for the lives of your children."

Q: How can women get involved with

M.I.T.I?

One is to go to: www.MomsInTouch.org to see if their school is listed. Another is ask the secretary at their school- they usually have the

list of names. Or Contact me at kandtswenson@comcast.net and I will either get them connected or if their school does not offer this, perhaps they would like to start a group.

Dad’s Den CONTINUED - so much

grace that I didn't have to have it all

figured out, that doing my best to model

Christ's love was the perfect start and that

having a wife that was full of God's grace

was a really good thing!

I also began to develop relationships with

other godly men, and a couple of years ago

began a small group Bible study with a

few other families. Having this kind of

network of folks that I could share life

with, be encouraged by, and

occasionally corrected by has

helped so much.

Jeff Weldon grew up in Livonia and holds a music degree from CMU. He has been married to Brooke for 10 years and they have 3 daughters under age 7. He is studying to be a children’s pastor and works in property management.

Children’s ministry leaders Jeff and Brooke W.

Issue 2

4/10 Church and Children’s Ministries

Coming soon >>>

In this issue >>>

In The Next Issue

The Praying Parent An Interview with Mom’s In Touch’s Trish Swenson

The Indispensible Role of a Father

Are Children REALLY a blessing?

One Dad Catches a Vision

One Mom Counts Her Blessings

Renee Morris Wins Give-Away

Interview with Mom’s In Touch Leader

Plus, More!

Calendar/

The quarterly newsletter of Family Journey in Faith Ministry · Colonial Woods Missionary Church

Q: How did you get involved with Moms in

Touch? What is your position? What do you

appreciate about this ministry?

I became involved when my children started

at New Life Christian Academy; I was

looking for other moms that had a passion to

pray and discovered a group there. I am

currently the Area Coordinator for the Thumb

Area of Michigan and I try to start new

groups in schools or churches that do not

currently have MITI groups. The most

important benefit is having women of faith

coming together to pray for our children.

There is something so special when another

woman holds your child at the feet of Jesus

and prays over them. You see real answers to

prayer and your own prayer life becomes

deeper. In the past we have had school

principals call us and ask us to start a group at

their school, because they have seen and

heard what prayer can do. What a glorious

testimony to the power of prayer!

CONTINUED on last page…

he

Q: How did you and Brooke catch a

vision for discipling your kids?

Prior to having kids, I was drifting along

as a lukewarm Christian. As we were

preparing for Anne's birth, we started to

really feel like we needed to be more

serious in our own walks with Jesus, and

began to attend church regularly. Shortly

after Anne's birth, I remember looking

down at her in a worship service, and

thinking that I had this responsibility to

share and model Christ's love to this little baby. I had to take an inventory of my

relationship with Christ, my relationship

with my wife, my relationship with my

job, etc., and align these relationships

with this new responsibility. Neither

Brooke nor I grew up knowing Christ and

our desire was that this would be

different for our kids.

Becoming a student of my kids Jeni Wurmlinger’s

Humor - Kids laugh so easily. I wish I

were a better student of my children and just

laughed at life more! Kids just tend to see the

"funny" in life and their laughter can be so

contagious! Life gets so busy and I can

easily get wrapped up in "what's next on the list" but I try to laugh at the day-to-day

things that happen at home.

I remember once when my oldest child was a

toddler he opened the refrigerator and poured

out every condiment all over the floor and on

himself and we have it on video and I really

could have been mad or disgusted but I can

still picture his face. He stopped what he was

doing, looked at me with the most serious

expression and when I pulled out the

camcorder and starting laughing, he laughed right along with me. Our kids are waiting for

us to laugh with them and I hope I do a good

job of that!

The Bible tells us in Ecclesiastes 3 there is a

time for "every activity under heaven!" and

in verse four it says, a time to laugh! So I am

trying to work on laughing more and more

and if you have kids, I am sure there is

plenty of opportunity to do so! I am sure it is

music to a child's ears to hear their parents laughing with them!

Rest - Life can get so busy and we can

easily get caught up in getting this done or

going here and there. My kids have taught

me to stop, and sit a minute!

There are so many things my kids teach me everyday! We can be great students of our kids. In the Bible, people tried to get the children away from Jesus so they would not bother Him but he called for them to come to him and he also calls us to pray like little children. I want to be genuine like that too! Here are the top three things my children have taught me:

Resource Review Parenting is Your Highest Calling and Eight Other Myths That Trap Us in Worry and Guilt (Paperback) by Leslie Leyland Fields

Parenting Is Your Highest Calling (Paperback)

In this provocative book, Leslie Fields explores with refreshing honesty the myths that can lead to unrealistic expectations and distract us from God’s purposes for our children and for us.

Order at www.familylife.org

I had a chance to chat with Jeff Weldon.

Many of you see him in the children’s

department Sunday mornings.

Q: How did you find the Lord?

I grew up in a Catholic family, but never

accepted that faith as my own. By the

time I reached college, I had rejected it

completely, and was really open to the

secular humanist philosophy that was

promoted by the professors and students

on campus. It didn't fill what I was

looking for, and when year two of college

rolled around, I was a depressed and

angry guy. I met Brooke that year, and

she had a joy and peace that I was

desperate for. She shared her new faith in

Jesus Christ with me that year, and I

began my relationship with Him.

I love it when my youngest wants to sit

with me in the patch of sun streaming

through the front door and soak up the

sun.

My teenage son will often come into

our room at night and I make sure I am

there available to watch TV with him or

listen to him talk. My middle daughter

loves to read and I try to sit with her

with a book and read along side her as

often as I can. All of these things are a

struggle sometimes because I just want

to "get done" or push on to the next

thing but I realize I create busyness for

myself and my kids help to remind me to just "be still!"

Faith - When I sit and listen to my

kids pray, I realize how intentional their

prayers are. They believe what they are

praying is going to be heard and

answered!

Jeni Wurmlinger’s heart is in her home. She’s

a wife and mom to 3. She loves helping

with crafts at the Take-It-Home events.

Dad’s Den >>>

Dad’s Den: Q&A with Jeff Weldon Destiny Eldred

Nicole H. (Daughter of Pastor Dan and Stephanie)

I couldn’t rely on myself at all! I

needed God and I had to come just as I was. That was when I truly understood that it was by grace that I

was saved and that I needed to accept His great gift! My children, while they are young,

are able to see and hear things that are important, but I have somehow tuned out of my life. They hear the

ambulance far off and start praying for the people who need help. They see the beauty and wonder in nature.

They see the simple things in a children’s story Bible that are really important, but I may have forgotten. Young children love life and live it to

the fullest. One of my daughters begins every

prayer with the words, “thank you”. It is a good reminder to me that even in the hard times of life, I can put my trust in God with thanksgiving. I love

how forgiving my children are too. They don’t hold on to hurts. They might fight back still, but they are

quick to forgive each other and let go of injustices. The most important thing my children always remind me is that Jesus loves me!

Leanne Palmateer is a busy mom as she and husband Dan are raising 6 children. She serves in children’s ministry and enjoys blogging and staying fit. She holds a degree

from CMU.

But, it takes you as their

parent to “shoot” them in

the right direction and at the

proper target. We need to

learn how to “use the bow” to launch our kids towards

Christ.

Blessed – Would we call

our children a blessing? Do

we treat them such? There

are certainly times when I

need to remind myself of

this! Parenting is hard

work! But I am the one

God called on to raise my

kids – no one else! My children bless me by all

they teach me about God

and they are the ones that

will remember me after I

am gone. Children are a

blessing because we can

launch them at the target of

Jesus and watch them

become something greater

than what we are.

two things that are unique

to only us – being a parent

to OUR kids and a

spouse! Anybody else can

do my job, anybody else

can play my position on

the baseball team, any

body else can watch a

giant screen TV! But only

YOU can be the God-

given parent to your kids!

Arrows – Arrows are only

designed for one purpose: to be shot at a target! But

they cannot shoot

themselves! It takes a

skilled warrior to shoot

them with precision. It

takes the proper training

to make sure the warrior

knows how to use the

bow! Your children have

a specific purpose, too: to

become a Disciple of

Jesus Christ.

Q: What practical things work for your

family in passing along your faith at

home?

I think the biggest thing is that we try to

incorporate faith into any situation. Faith

in Jesus is not just a compartment of our

lives. About a year ago, we began

dinnertime devotionals, and that has been

a really cool way to spend intentional time

together every day talking about God.

Q: What factors have contributed most in

being successful in your

marriage/parenting?

Getting intentional in my relationship with

Christ was the first step in exploring what

it means to be a Christian husband and

dad. I realized that God had

Continued on last page…

Give away! >>>

In the January Journey, we offered a chance to win a Virtue Pack by sharing how your kids have taught you about God. The winner is Renee Morris. Thanks, Renee! Here is her story.

Thoughtful parent

Leanne Palmateer on the value of kids

God has definitely used my children to

draw me to himself. From the time our

firstborn was an infant and his life was

so miraculous to me, I was overwhelmed

with my responsibility of being his

mother. I knew then that I could never

do it!

Brad and I have four children. It's so easy to see attributes of God shown even through the day-to-day routines. I think because of their young ages, patience is one that stands out as one often noticed. So often it seems I simply want one of them to grasp what I’d like for them to be doing or responding in a way I think they should. However, how often does my Heavenly Father also

patiently wait for me to seek Him first and follow through with His will? Our children’s trust in the Lord is also so amazing. With child-like faith, they do not doubt, and that is definitely an attribute I’d love to remain close to my heart. It’s my continued prayer for them that their trust and faith in Him not waiver yet stay strong through their growing years.

Are Children Really a Blessing? Pastor Dean Butterfield

Devotional >>>

In Psalm 127:3-5 we

read, “Behold, children

are a heritage from

the Lord, the fruit of the

womb, a reward. Like

arrows in the hand of a

warrior are the children

of one's youth. Blessed is

the man who fills his

quiver with them! He

shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his

enemies in the gate”

(ESV). Have you ever

taken the time to really

think about that?!

Heritage – Your heritage

will be the thing that

lives on long after you

are no longer on earth.

With the many hats that

we wear, there are only

The older Morris children doing a craft at home.