Short. To the point. Powerful in its simplicity. First John 4:19 is all that and more. I call attention to this verse as I work with my kindergarten students and as I talk with my own children each year whenever we focus on Valentine’s Day. 

Looking around at the flowers, hearts, cupids and candy that overflow from store shelves this time of year, I know I can feel overcome by the commercialism of it all. That’s when it helps me to focus attention God’s love for us. And that’s the message I work to communicate to all the children in my care every day.

This year, Ash Wednesday comes just three days after Valentine’s Day. As Christians observe both, our Savior reminds us of his love for us, despite our sins. In the weeks of Lent ahead, as we prepare our hearts for Easter, we will think often about the mercy and compassion of our Lord Jesus who died on the cross because He loved us so much.

God himself is the source of all love. He is the essence and definition of the word love. In response to all he has done and all he will do for us, both now and throughout eternity, we actively look for ways to demonstrate his love by serving others.

Check out the CTA website for some great ideas about keeping children (and adults, too) connected to their Savior throughout the Lenten/Easter season. You will find many products and projects there that will make the all-important truth of God’s love a fun and easy one for your children to learn. Now that’s something to celebrate!

The kits were easy to assemble and the children loved the experience of “creating” their own nativity set, especially since they have read and learned so much about Jesus’ birth this month. 

Traditionally, the Christmas season in liturgical churches starts on Christmas Day and extends into January, culminating with Epiphany on January 6, so it is not too late to use the nativity kits.

Christmas Day will soon come and go, but we will have some winter vacation days at home with our children before they must go back to school.  This craft would be an excellent activity for one of winter’s cold and snowy days at home! 

Enjoy your families and may God grant you all a blessed and Merry Christmas!

Just as we adults can feel bombarded by the materialism of our society at this time of year so, too, can our children. They can so easily be drawn into the glitter and bright lights of the shopping season, deceived by ads designed to help them confuse “What I truly need” with “What I really, really want.”

As Christian adults and children, we believe a relationship with Jesus fills our deepest need. We know that his love for us is the one gift that truly lasts forever. Together, we remind one another of this—in church, in our families, in our circle of friends. For example: 

• During this Advent season, we sing songs focused on God’s gift of a Savior.
• We plan ways to do kind things for those around us.
• Maybe you remember the practice of putting a handful of hay or a single straw in a small ”manger” when you do something helpful for someone else during the weeks leading up to Christmas. Children still love that practice! It works!
• In my class, we always plan a “Happy Birthday, Jesus” party as well.

CTA has been an enormous help to me, both as a mother and a teacher, in helping children keep the main things the main things during the Christmas season. I encourage you to check out CTA’s Christmas crafts and gifts for children.

The Christmas Story Pen is a meaningful gift all your students will find intriguing and fun–and for only 99 cents each when you buy a dozen! You might even buy two for each student and help them learn to use the second one to share the Good News of Jesus’ birth with a friend.

Want to know more? Check  out the video description!

 CTA has helped make this event easier and more meaningful. In fact, that’s what CTA does best!

For example, consider the Christ the Savior is Born downloadable video. The video provides a great foundation for a children’s Christmas program—on Christmas Eve or a Sunday leading up to Christmas.

At our preschool, we show the video and add in an Advent Cheer, the reading of Luke 2:1-20 by the preschool staff, and a song like Away in the Manger. We conclude with a blessing and an invitation for everyone to join us for the cookie reception!

As everyone leaves the service, consider giving  them a keepsake reminder. We’ve done that for several years.  This year you might consider giving each child (and siblings in the audience) a copy of the book on which the video is based. The book comes complete with notes for parents about ways to talk about Christmas in their family. Children will enjoy having parents read the story many times over in coming weeks and years. 

Surprise older children who attend with both a Christ the Savior Is Born book and a pencil from the Value Pack and give adults in attendance a Christ the Savior Is Born magnet  or ornament reminder. All at a price preschools can afford!

• Those volunteers at your church do so much. You want to remember them at Christmas with a meaningful gift. But what!?
• You work with a great group of professionals on your church staff. You want to share your respect and affection for them this Christmas. But how?!
• The teachers and Sunday school teachers, janitors, and teacher aides make an enormous impact on the families and young people of your church, parish school, and community. You want to encourage them all with Jesus’ love. But the budget won’t cooperate. So now what?!

Scenarios just like these led CTA to create and trademark the very first Ornaments of Faith® in 2002. Since then, they’ve become a year by year favorite of CTA customers. Are you among our fans yet?

Here’s what CTA co-founder, Steve Darr, says about these popular products:

The purpose of the Ornament of Faith® products is to provide unique and attractive ornaments to encourage the faith of believers and to plant the seeds of faith in pre-Christians.  We do this by combining traditional Christmas and biblical symbols designed in interesting and engaging ways and packaged attractively with a simple poem and corresponding Scripture. 

All these elements work together to share the truth about Christmas and the good news of Christ’s coming.  Ornaments of Faith® products include children’s ornaments, unique ornament Christmas cards, as well as a line of quality pewter –finished ornaments manufactured in the U.S.A.    

 It seems so natural now that a company like CTA would offer Christian Christmas ornaments, but seven years ago, it was unheard of—especially at a price under $4.00 per ornament. What set off the spark  that brought this idea into reality?     

Steve says:

We started very modestly with the Ornaments of Faith® line by producing a couple of unique designs in various types of materials.  We found that customers really seemed to appreciate the pewter-finish ornaments the most, and thus we have responded to that feedback by providing even more unique and purposeful designs that that could use to encourage the faith. 

Many customer have started collecting these ornaments and purchase them annually to give each Christmas. Our customers really seem to appreciate the value and the purposeful designs of the Ornaments of Faith® that our product development team creates each year.

Looking for a unique and meaningful gift for all those colleagues who mean so much to you and add so much to your ministry? Take a look at this year’s Ornaments of Faith® collection. You won’t be disappointed!

View a video about this year’s Ornaments of Faith®.

View a video about how one pastor has built a tradition around Ornaments of Faith®.

Starbuck’s employees take pride in knowing what time their customers come in, being able to name their favorite drink, and knowing which table they pick. Employees strive to “surprise and delight” their customers, turning an ordinary cup of coffee into an extraordinary experience. Starbuck’s is a place to relax, a place where someone knows your name. 

That’s what we try to do with our Parent’s Day Out program. We want to care—physically, spiritually, and emotionally—for a community. 

As a leader in this program, part of my job involves knowing and caring for each child. I love to see the surprise and delight in the children’s eyes and on each child’s face as we sing a new song or master a new skill. 

When one of our children has been blessed with a new sibling, we intentionally work to help the big brother or sister feel special. We realize that all the attention at home may seem to focus on the new baby. Mom may well have less time for the older child(ren). And so we make an intentional effort to care for that child. 

Throughout the year, we stay as connected as possible to families, striving to learn what is going on in their lives so we can support parents and affirm the special role God has given them in the lives of their children. We look for ways to show them a God who turns life’s ordinary details into extraordinary blessings. 

We want to model a personal God, a Savior who knows, loves, and forgives each of us personally. We want every family member to know they matter—individually—to him.

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. . . . Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Be alert servants of the Master, cheerfully expectant. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder. Help needy Christians; be inventive in hospitality.

Romans 12:10-12, 13-15 (The Message)

I find this to be a very special time of year, yet another beautiful season God sends us to enjoy. With these changes, we also begin to see pumpkins and scarecrows. Whether we live in a farming community or not, we begin to hear talk about the fall harvest.

In my classroom this time of year, we talk about the differences between fall and summer. Although many of my kindergarteners prefer summer, talking about all the positive aspects of fall helps them discover God’s glory in every season. As they name their own fall favorites, cooler days, raking leaves, bonfires, and going apple-picking almost always find their way onto our class list. We talk about the harvest, and about how God has blessed us with food for the winter months ahead.

Children love pumpkins, especially carving them and decorating them. I teach that just as a pumpkin with a candle inside shines with light from one end of the neighborhood to the other, we can shine with the light and love of Jesus. He lives in us and that means his love radiates from us into the lives of all the people we see every day.

CTA has some wonderful resources to help reinforce this theme. Check them out on CTA’s Fall Festival pages or look for G.L.O.W. or S.H.I.N.E. products.

Happy autumn!

Pumpkin Prayer Bookmark

Halloween is a great example! This year, I plan to cut out bright-colored fish, a heart, and cross shapes similar to those on CTA’s Pumpkin Prayer bookmark. I also plan to cut pumpkins out of construction paper in proportion to the fish, hearts, and crosses. 

Then, using the symbols, the children can create their own pumpkin faces. If I send home the Pumpkin Prayer Activity kit or bookmark from CTA, it will explain the project and the symbols in a way most parents will notice. 

This can also work a larger scale. If you are responsible for a children’s message or devotion for children’s church in October, think about creating a giant Prayer Pumpkin in front of the group. Then send home a Pumpkin Prayer bookmark or Pumpkin Prayer Activity kit with each child. It is a great way to help equip families with tools they can use to guide them in their child’s faith formation.

Have a fun, friendly, and faith filled fall!

Before I mislead you too much, let me explain. Last Sunday, after attending church, I went to Busch Stadium where I work as an usher for the St. Louis Cardinals baseball games. That particular day, I worked The Giveaway. The first 25,000 fans received an Adam Wainwright (Cardinal pitcher) bobble head. A give-away at the stadium draws extra people. Fans come early to make sure they’re part of the first 25,000 (or whatever the number is that day). They’re excited about getting a free gift that reminds them of their team, a player, or the special memory of attending a major league baseball game. And yes, some collect them simply to sell for a profit.

The bottom line is that most people love giveaways – at the ballpark and at church. When I served as a pastor I loved to give worshipers take-home gifts. They were sometimes remembrances of the message or series and Jesus Christ, the focus of the message. The gift often provided ideas for prayer, outreach, Bible Study, or personal growth. Most times it served as a faith encourager.

Over the years I’ve gone into people’s homes to find some of those give-ways still there. Sometimes they’ve been there for years and years, serving as an encouragement or faith aid.

Most CTA – Christian Tools of Affirmation – products and gifts are used in churches, schools, and personal ministries as giveaways. Ushers might hand them out at the door as people come out of church. Teachers give CTA products to students. Leaders give them to . Children’s ministry and youth leaders give them out. Pastors and other leaders use them in children’s messages. People give CTA gifts to neighbors and even people they have never met. Leaders have giveaways for their staff and volunteers to encourage them in their faith and service. Retreat leaders use CTA products as remembrance giveaways. The list could go on and on.

People love giveaways. People love receiving a gift that encourages them in their faith. People love giveaways that point them to the love of their Savior, Jesus Christ. And ministry leaders and others love CTA gifts of faith, gifts of encouragement for God’s people.

Gifts you see in CTA’s catalog, online/website, or maybe in stores can impact lives and faith for days, years, or for eternity!