[Kid Inspiration]

So this blog functions as a repository for most ideas I come across. I found this little thing on better behaviour. Not sure where it came from, but if I stole it from you, let me know and I will attribute it!

Building Better Behavior

Disruptive behavior may come from a child feeling ignored or misunderstood. Sometimes reflective listening may be all that’s needed.

Children need to feel accepted and understood, especially cialis wholesale prices when they’re upset. This frees them to relax their guard and look at other options and points of view. (Remember, acceptance doesn’t have to include
approval.)

Reflective listening can have three parts:

* inviting children to express themselves
* listening
* reflecting back what we hear

Inviting. Let the child know you understand he or she has a problem. Offer to listen if the child is open to that invitation. This means offering, but not pushing.

Listening. First listen—whether or not you agree, whether or not the child is “right,” whether or not the feelings are “ugly.” Say things like “Hmmm” and “I see” to show you’re listening. Ask questions to clarify and make sure you understand.

Reflecting back. Share with the child the feelings you have heard him or her express. It’s best to show empathy, not sympathy or pity. Empathy means letting the child know you can understand how he or she
feels. It’s important not to insist an attitude or feeling is wrong, since the child will then want to defend it.

When children feel understood, positive behavior slowly replaces negative behavior.

A few Monday surfing/blog/tidbits:

Forever Strong – An american movie about Rugby? Strange but true… I have a suspicion that Lord of the Rings has something to do with this. Sean Austin is in both movies and would have seen Rubgy with cialis wholesale online his time in New Zealand.

Leadership Summit 2008 – Lotsa a juicy leadership videos to wrap your head around from WIllow Creeks recent summit.

Mygazines.com – Check out magazines from all over the world in PDF.

Enjoy.

Last week our team flew to Melbourne to the Kidshaper conference.

We took most of the staff, and a bunch of volunteers, about 20 people all up.

There is MUCH that could be said about the week. The fantastic input from Glen cialis viagra sale Berteau, the awesome worship from the Planetshakers band and the team from Citikidz in Brisbane. Being massively inspired by the ever youthful Rob Bradbury who is more passionate about reaching kids for Christ than he ever was!

One of the afternoons we sat down as a team and talked about what we felt God was saying to us and others. I really felt that God is pounding the point into my somewhat slow cranium, that I need to pray, believe and expect for miracles with our kids and powerful encounters with God each service!

It’s not just about teaching the word of God, but it is also His presence!

In a country with very few full time ministers to children I am VERY excited to see over one thousand at a conference like this.

So here’s to next year with the statesman that is Jim WIdeman and daughter Yancy!

Even though I didn’t blog much during the conference, I did twitter a bunch, so check the stream out.

So thanks Rob and Team… and I guess I have to write a book now?

I love books about being dangerous, wild and crazy. I loved ‘Wild at Heart’ by John Eldredge, it awakened in me a sense of adventure and life!

The same effect is being felt as I read ‘Wild Goose Chase’ by Mark Batterson.

I recieved a copy today and started reading it tonight. Mark is a clever man and has given away a bunch of copies to bloggers to review to generate some buzz. So here goes some buzz for ya!

I love it already!

Any book that takes the subject of pursuing God and cialis viagra online turns it into an adventure is my kind of book.

“I would like to think that…at the end of our church services, I am sending dangerous people back into their natural habitat to wreak havoc on the enemy.”

Bring it on!

I have said it before that our kids need to know deep down in their bones that to follow Christ is an unpredictable adventure!

I am posting this from my phone and as I mentioned, have not finished the book so a more thorough review is forth coming. Stay tuned.

At some ungodly hour I will awaken tomorrow and get on a little bus and make my way down south… Way down South to Melbourne to Kidshaper, our annual national Children’s ministry conference.

We are taking not just our staff this year, but a whole bunch of volunteers so it will be a blast!!!

I plan to cialis to buy Twitter the conference which will hopefully be a better experience than the one at our Colour conference a few months ago.

It turns out it’s hard to blog a conference while serving at it! (who knew).

I am speaking in just one elective so I will have a lot more time to comment on the messages and ministry.

So follow the Twitter stream at http://Twitter.com/kidinspiration

If you are coming, see you there! My elective is on Thursday afternoon, come and say hi!

I have three questions for you today.

And I’m not giving you the answers.

They relate to you as a leader and more importantly someone who is shaping the world view of a generation.

1. Why do I need to know all the answers?

Lost creator and Cloverfield producer J.J. Abrams has a “mystery box” from New York’s Tannen’s Magic store. This is what he says about it: It’s a cardboard box with a question mark printed on it. It’s one of those things you buy for $15 and they advertise that it has at least $20 worth of stuff inside.

He’s never opened it.

“I love the fact that it has this mysterious value as long as I don’t open it.” – J.J. Abrams

Our job is cialis softtabs prescription to instill into children a sense of wonder and mystery about God. (Romans 11:25; 16:25, 1 Cor 15:51, Eph 1:9) He can never be completely comprehended, but he reveals himself to us.

Knowable, yet completely unknowable.

Mystery.

2. Why is the part of church life that should be the easiest to build is the hardest?

Community should be easy. Why do we have to work so hard to be relevant?

A group of people connecting around a common goal and purpose.

I think it may be about moving people out of comfort into discomfort. During the aftermath of a tragedy no one complains about the air conditioning – you just want to stay alive and will connect with whoever you can to do so. And that is the most uncomfortable you could ever be.

Community

3. Have I ignored beauty because it was from a non-approved source?

Beautiful art can come from other religions… even Hollywood.

All beauty comes from God.

No matter the human source, they are acknowledging the creator (without even knowing it sometimes).

Beauty

A person like this is interesting.

I like helping kids become interesting.

“Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men.” –  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

NOTE: These are some fairly unrelated thoughts. If you find them confusing, I probably will in the morning.

It’s 10:51 PM Sunday night.

I feel like writing something down.

I feel a little quirky. It might just be the album I just bought (on the itunes store on my iPhone – didn’t even leave my bed) (the fact I just told you that makes me a little sad).

Medeski, Martin and Wood are one of my favourite bands. Hard to categorise… they are kinda Jazz, Groove, Funk etc.

They released a kids album at the beginning of the year… ‘Let’s go Everywhere‘.

I just found out about it!

It’s GREAT. Just a bunch of REALLY Flippin’ awesome musicians playing music their kids will love.

Very timely, as we write cialis softabs generic songs for this years kids album – don’t be surprised if this next album features some funk grooves.

So click this link right here to check out all the Video Accompaniment Tracks for Tell The World you can download right now to use in your Children’s Ministry!

These videos cialis sale are in MP4 format you can either burn to DVD, or use a software program like Mediashout to play from your computer!