$5 Free Amazon, Thanks Swagbucks!

I've read a lot of people posting recently about Swagbucks and so I finally clicked to see what it was about.  Pretty much, its a search engine reward site that allows you to "earn" Swagbucks for completing online searching, watching video's, and other random things to earn rewards.  I log on every morning, make a few clicks, watch a few minute long videos and earn swagbucks.

I have been using Swagbucks for 10 days now and have earned my first $5 Amazon gift card.  Being that I shop on amazon about once a week, I'm excited about some free spending money.  If you're an internet junkie like me and want to spend about 5 minutes a day to earn some cool rewards, then click my referral link to sign up!

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/coreyjonesbatman

And then let me know what you redeem your swagbucks for!

The Eric Trap

I love the approach of "The Eric Trap" because the writing style and variation between Eric's story and personal testimony, coupled with the challenging reflection, really gets you as a pastor involved in working through the traps. I love how each chapter concludes: "Don't fall into the same trap as Eric. Go beyond reading inspirational words and stories, and measure your life and ministry agains the traps many in ministry fall into as did Eric. Open up your journal or notebook, and take time to answer the questions below. Allow the principles in this chapter to translate into the context of your life and ministry." The book does just that. We read about the mistakes of Eric, learn how to work through those mistakes, and then take a look at our own context to see how we can improve.

The chapter that touched my life and ministry most was, "Leadership Under Authority."  In this chapter we learn about how our dreams and visions drive us. We want to find the newest resources and tools because we want our ministry to be the best. Often times we become absorbed in these driving forces and lose sight of God's call or the direction our Pastor is driving. We need to avoid this trap!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is new to ministry, and not just children's ministry, or to anyone who is feeling the weight and pressure of working in a church. Maybe you too are falling into the traps that Eric faced. I encourage you to grab this book, and begin the process of getting out of the trap and back on track!

There Goes The Neighborhood

My wifey and I purchased a house in the Mountain Creek Subdivision. We chose this location because it is close to work, in a nice city schools neighborhood, and a good deal. We really like our new home and are very happy with our purchase. Come visit us, we finally have space!
One of the things that I was most looking forward to was sharing Jesus with our neighbors. Being that I moved to Carrollton knowing no one, and that I work in the church, I know very few people who don't know Jesus. Well, that was until we moved to a new community. One of the first things we did after moving in was to go door to door meeting as many people as we could. We introduced ourselves and got to know something about them. This was semi awkward but we had a goal, to share Jesus, and so it was worth it. After getting to know them, we invited them to our house for a block party. Some were skeptical, others were excited. It was easy to see those who weren't interested, but also equally easy to see those who were looking to make a new friend. Well the day arrived for our party and honestly I was quite skeptical if people would really come hang out. At first, a slow trickle of people flowed onto the property to grab some food and make some friends, but eventually the crowd arrived. With 80+ homes in the subdivision, we had no idea what to expect. 5 people could have shown up, or 200 people. I spent the next could of hours making new friends, serving, shaking hands, smiling, and sharing Jesus. The party was successful, in my eyes and the eyes of my savior.
Now comes the fun part, continually being a good neighbor, being someone to talk to about life, being a smiling face, and hopefully being a safe place to come to know Christ. If you're still reading this, pray for my neighbors to see Nicole and I as a light.

Matthew 5:14-16

The Message

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing our the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hid you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand - SHINE! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Coffee - The Greatest Addiction Ever

For me, everyday begins with a cup of coffee.  I enjoy the flavor, the energy, the smell, and the feel of a cup of coffee in my hand.  If I get into office conversation, I find that I drink more.  And if my day finds time, I'll end up at a coffee shop reading with my wifey.  I have very specific coffee favorites such as Ethiopia Yirga Chefe!  Bold, Strong, Coffee!  Espresso is also a preferred taste of mine but it costs so much for such a little cup, so I stick to the bold cup of joe.  Since moving to Carrollton, I have used the same coffee mug everyday.  It is stained brown and has only been washed a handful of times, but I believe that it gives it character!  As I sip on my freshly brewed coffee for today, I encourage you to grav a mug and enjoy this video as you sip on God's gift.

Nicaragua

This past week I served in Nicaragua with Southern Hills Christian Church and the Mustard Seed Mission.  Here are my highlights:

• Traveling late into the night and getting to know our team better through Nicole's favorite questions.
• Seeing the beauty of the Perkins property.
• Mixing concrete with Scott and moving the ladder for Nicole.
• GREAT FOOD!!!
• Playing soccer and volleyball with the kids.
• Teaching VBS about how Noah sawed, and chopped, and he didn't stop.  And how Daniel obeyed God even though there were hungry lions and a mean king.
• Yelling Gloria Dios!
• Joy filled kids who have never heard Sunday school lesson stories and seeing them learn it for the first time!
• Seeing the kids love my wife and her blue hair.
• Mud/River "roads"
• Talking with Michael on the lounge.
• Playing soccer with Yader.
• The huge toads and scorpion.
• Serving the community a meal as they watched the Jesus film.
• Zip Linning and the boat cruze with Lucy.
• Crazy luggage people hitting the plane and resting in Fort Lauderdale for the day.
• Attempting to write a letter in Spanish and thinking of those far away.

Thank you for your many prayers, for your support, and for your love.  If you would still like to help with our expenses, that would be amazing.  Or if you want to join our golf tournament on June 20th facebook me!

For more photos click here,

Many great memories and totally glad to be a part of Nicaragua!

My Favorite Blogs

I currently follow 81 different blogs.  I enjoy information and reading the thoughts of great children's pastors.  I enjoy laughing at people failing.  I enjoy keeping up with friends.  And I enjoy being reminded of great things, like Lost, Batman, and Geocaching.  Blogs help me stay relevant with children's ministry posts, youtube trends, church stage designs.  And blogs challenge me with great sermons, podcasts, and webisodes.  My all time FAVORITE blog is hands down THIS ONE! 

I hope you enjoy my blog on blogs and feel free to check out some of my subscriptions from Google Reader:

(I typed them ALL out, and linked them but can't post because it's considered SPAM, and so if you want a full list, I'll have to email it to you, just ask).  

Here are some of my favorites:

Batman-News

Ben Terry

Children's Ministry Online

Failblog

Free CM Stuff

Kidologist.com

Latitude 47

Leader2Leader

MoreThanDodgeball.com

Neatorama

Perry Noble

Socialnomics - Social Media Blog

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff

TeeFury Daily Tee

the Life of rich meister.

YEAHLOST.com

YouTube Trends

My Office at Southern Hills Christian Church

Most of my time in the week is spent in my office working on current projects and preparing for future ministry. I thought it would be nice this week to give you a sneak peak at where the magic happens.

When you walk in, you'll instantly notice that I like having an open office where you can walk in and feel welcomed. You can have a seat on the sweet couch, or maybe be a little more adventurous and sit in my massage chair. I almost always have some sweets on the shelf to encourage visitors and you may even notice that I like batman!

I will spare you from opening the closet. As a children's pastor I am always working on our future stage set, costumes, and object lessons to teach the kids about Jesus in creative ways and so it is FULL! I have a modest book collection, but have read pretty much everything on my shelves. I try to read at least a book a month now that I have graduated college.

If you notice on my desk, I am currently reading 9 Things They Didn't Teach Me in College About Children's Ministry, Leadership by the Book: Tools to Transform Your Workplace, and by recommendation of Perry Noble Choosing to Cheat: Who Wins When Family and Work Collide?.

So, there's my office. I must say, I really enjoy working in this room and especially love working at Southern Hills Christian Church!!!

Stop by sometime, grab a piece of candy, get a massage, and let's hang out. I would love to have you!

Planning A Luau

On Friday, Southern Hills Christian Church held a banquet for the 5th graders who will be moving from All Stars to the Fusion Ministry. Over the past couple of week, a lot has gone into planning this banquet and so I thought it would be fun to backtrack some. So starting with now and going to the beginning:

Close out expenses for this year.
Evaluation and planning for next year.
Thank you's.
Sleep.
Clean up.
Pray.
Give out gifts.
Shannon speak.
Coaches speak.
Speak.
Games.
Food.
Welcome.
Enjoy the event.
Greet guests.
Start music and slides.
Final preparations.
Final food.
Finalize music.
Finalize slide show.
Print name plates for bibles.
Double check spelling of names.
Clean up mess from decoration.
Decorate the room and tables.
Table clothes and layout.
Purchase game equipment.
Create and Print tshirt vouchers.
Purchase gift for Abby.
Clean off the stage.
Hook up computer/sound/lights.
Set up the room with tables and chairs.
Create alphabetical list of kids.
Finalize RSVP's and pictures.
Get bibles from Shannon.
Give bibles to Shannon.
Write in gift bibles.
Purchase music.
Create slide show.
Get prizes for the games.
Give Shannon room layout sheet.
Purchase last decorations.
Determine layout of the room.
Finalize food.
Give numbers to Susan.
Finalize number estimates.
Send followup emails.
Call and email for RSVP's.
Finalize coaches who will attend.
Create RSVP database.
Announcement in connect.
Graphic and info to Andrew.
Remind kids and parents with reminder cards.
Order Bibles.
Think of prizes for the games.
Order decorations and bonus food stuff.
Inform coaches.
Meet with Susan about food.
Announce the event.
Put event in bulletin.
Permission for bible purchase.
Bible research.
Send out information and RSVP's.
Proofing, printing, mailing.
Create reminder cards.
Create RSVP cards.
Create event invitations.
Graphics and look for event.
Create list of 5th grade prospects.
Create schedule for event.
Meet with Susan about food.
Ask for decoration equipment.
Talk with CM team, Shannon, and Susan about ideas.
Food Ideas.
Decoration Ideas.
Tentative Schedule.
Game Ideas.
Meet with CM staff for ideas.
Determine the theme for the event.
Reserve the facility.
Give dates for food and to other staff.
Pray about the event/purpose/goals/ideas.
Talk with Shannon about the event in past, event now, and purpose.
Talk with CM staff about the event in past, event now, and purpose.

Set Budget.
Set Date.
Finalize Event.

Well, I'm sure that I'm missing something, but this is a look at what goes into planning an event. While it may seem like a lot of work, it is definitely worth every second of it!

Here are some pics/graphics and stuff:

Screen It

This weekend I went with Nicole to watch Thor. I'm a geek and really like comic book style movies and so I was very excited. Overall it was a great movie, but one thought that I had throughout a lot of the movie was, "Why are there so many young kids here?" The movie wasn't one of those "bad" movies, but it is about War and there is significan violence therefore is rated pg-13 (curious why? see here).

Anyway, this got me thinking about our rating system for movies and games. The Motion Picture Association of America sets the rating for movies. This is a system set up in America. And you may have noticed that America is not the most pure system. And so when this system even says that you should not take your kids and you do...there seems to be a problem there.

Also, in talking the kids, even church kids, most of their favorite video games are Rated Mature...which means you need to be 17 to purchase...so why let them play?

Anyways, just a few thoughts from my weekend and my I just encourage you to think twice and check out a site like http://www.screenit.com/search_movies.html before bringing the kids along.

Sunday Checklists

Sunday mornings are very busy for me. I get up early and begin thinking through a mental and sometimes written checklist. There is a lot going on all at once and so it is sometimes difficult to manage. Recently, I began thinking about how busy I feel on Sunday's and how while there is a ton going on, I need to stay focused.

Who do I need to talk with today? What area's need evaluation? Who needs encouraging? What needs delegated? What needs done this week? Who needs prayer? And then all of the stuff with lessons, skits, main points, memory verses and everything in between.

I don't remember where I read about this struggle, but since reading about it, I have placed a lot of emphasis on making sure that I connect with people. Making sure I take the time to connect, build others up, and listen. This has made me feel much better come Sunday afternoon and I will continue with this priority.