Valentine Craft For Volunteer Appreciation...

How do you show appreciation to your #kidmin volunteers?

Since Valentine's Day is next Monday, I thought this would be a great opportunity to show our team how much they are appreciated. We have about 70 Small Group Leaders on our K-5  Team. They work hard, really, really hard, and I just want them to know how thankful I am for their hard work.

I came up with the slogan, "Thank You For Your Heart Work". I know that they are planting the seeds in the hearts of the kids and I know that they put their whole heart into the kids so I thought it was kind of a catchy slogan.

I decided to bake brownies and I found the cutest Wilton Heart  Combo Cutter at JoAnn's that was absolutely perfect for making heart shaped brownies.

 

The best part of the project was definitely trying to figure out how to present the brownies in a cute way.
I cut out a bunch of hearts from red card stock and wrote the slogan on each of them. I used CD Sleeves which I found at Target and put the hearts on the sleeves using small round circle stickies. Here is how it looked:

 


I actually decided to do cookies as well as brownies since I had so many to make. Here is the finished project:

Total cost for this project was less than 20.00!!!


I hope this makes their heart smile!! I can't wait to hear what you are doing for your volunteers or your family and friends for Valentine's Day! Post a comment below and let me know!!






Have a blessed day!

Running with Him,

Lori

A Twitter Challenge From Beth Moore

Today, Beth Moore posted a challenge to all of her followers on  Twitter . The challenge was this: See if you can go all day without criticizing anyone or complaining at all. Hmmm. I reluctantly took on the challenge and would like you to know that it isn't as easy as it sounds, especially if you, like me, are dealing with daily issues such as traffic (Atlanta)! I know you know what I mean! I was a ready and willing participant of the challenge because frankly, I do tend to complain way too much! 

Well, during the challenge today, God reminded me of our 252 Basics kids curriculum virtue for the month-Kindness and The Golden Rule-Do Unto others ( Luke 6:31). My prayer was that God would fill me with His spirit of kindness during the day and that I would treat others the way Jesus would treat them. Easy enough, huh? Well, it was easy the first few hours, but as the day grew longer and longer it became harder and harder! God had a lot to teach me during my challenge and boy did I have a lot to learn! Here are a few of the lessons I learned:

•  I learned to take my complaints to God! Too often I take my complaints to others. Maybe it is because I think they will join me in my complaining and in some way that will validate that I am right about the issue. 
• I  learned that there are some complaints that are truly legitimate complaints or issues which need to be solved and then there are others that are not legitimate! The others are more like whines. Again, I know you know what I mean! 
• Third, I learned that I want to bring value and encouragement to others, not stress and discouragement. 

Well, I made it almost the whole day without complaining but alas I lost the challenge towards the end of the day. I am going to try the challenge again tomorrow and then the next day and the next! Who knows, maybe it will become a habit! I think it would make God smile, don't you? 

So, are you up for a challenge? This week, I am challenging all of you to try going one day without criticizing or complaining. Maybe even throw in a random act of kindness for someone who may need it. It may be exactly what they need at the exact time! For some of you it will be an easy task. For others it may be a little more difficult. But I promise, like me, you will learn a lot. It may be a good teaching experience to share with your family. 

Let me know if you decide to take on the challenge. Seriously, comment below and let me know! Then come back and tell me how you did and what you learned! 

I am praying that you will all be filled with the kindness of Christ this week!

Running with Him,

Lori