What is First Blessing?  In 2015, Pastor John, Glenn Lackey, and Kellee Parish brought First Blessing to our church.  I had no idea what it was, other than giving new shoes to children. 

 

The Saturday for First Blessing finally arrived. I walked into the Family Life Center and there was  excitement in the air.  The committee chairmen had their committees ready to their assigned jobs. Tables were set and servers were ready. The kitchen was a busy place with the food preparation. The Chapel was full of boxes of shoes. 

 

Before the doors were opened to the families that were invited, Pastor John had us stand in a large prayer circle around the Family Life Center. That circle included every age from children to senior adults.  I looked around at all the people who had woke up early on a Saturday morning ready to share the love of Jesus. 

 

First Blessing is so much more than a new pair of shoes and breakfast.  First Blessing is sharing the plan of salvation with people who might have  never stepped into our church otherwise.

 

Last year we gave out over 300 pairs of shoes.  We had over 150 people  volunteering to make this possible.  First Blessing is a chance to do missions right here in our church for the Kerrville area children!

 

 

Summer is winding down and we are gearing up to start another year of CDO, our Children’s Day Out program here at Trinity.  We love offering a two day a week option on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s for parents who are seeking out opportunities to introduce their children to an affordable school setting without a full time commitment. 

 

While children do learn their colors, numbers, and letters while here are at CDO, we also get to help lay a biblical foundation by teaching them about God’s love for them, as well as how ordinary people played key roles throughout the Bible.  We have monthly Bible verses and focus on individual people of the Bible throughout the year.  I believe this will be my tenth year at CDO and there is something so special about going back to the basics of God’s love each year with these children. I get to be reminded over and over, right alongside them.

 

Each week children not only get to learn and grow in their classrooms, but they get to learn from our Trinity staff during chapel, they get to run around and work on gross motor skills in the gym. We have library time focusing on books and songs and we are looking forward to seeing how we can best use our outdoor space for some hands-on learning. 

 

Please join me in praying for the teachers and for each child that will come through the doors this year.  It is sure to be a great one! 

 

 

 

Last summer, Trinity held its Pizza, Parents & Snowballs party.  Our family attended the event, mainly so that our 4 boys could have a snowball fight in the middle of summer.  The party was a blast!  Trinity prepared Christmas crafts for all to do, from ornament making, snowman building, and other fun Christmas crafts.  After crafts was the snowball fight, that was done with soft fluffy snowballs.  Then we finished off the event with Kona Ice snow cones.  The boys all enjoyed it, as well as all who attended.

 

This year, Trinity is planning to host the same event on July 13^th at 5:30pm.  They are going to have pizza, crafts, and games just like last year.  Bring your whole family for a fun Christmas in July party.

 

 

We are coming up on a fun, busy, and great summer. We start off with Vacation Bible School June 12 – 15th from 9am-noon. Come join us for an adventure in Babylon and explore Daniel’s courage and captivity. Sign up at www.tbck.org and also email Kellee at kparish@tbck.org to help minister to kids.

 

Pre-Teen Camp is at Alto Frio July 24-27. This summer our theme is “Code Breakers”. Pre-Teen Camp is for children who have completed 3rd through 5th grade. The cost is $200 (a $50 deposit and TBCK form reserves your spot). Jeremiah 33:3 is our theme verse for the week.

 

Children’s Day Camp is August 4th for children who have completed 1st through 3rd grade. The theme is “Created by God” and the cost is $25. The TBCK form and $25 is needed to register.

 

Parents, Pizza, and Snowballs returns with an ultimate game of Parents vs Kids snowball fight on July 13 at 5:30pm. Children who have completed PK – 5th grade will enjoy this awesome time with their family. Childcare will be provided for the younger children. They can enjoy the pizza time before going to the children’s area for their own fun time. Please let Paula know you’ll be attending (RSVP) so we can have plenty of pizza.

 

 

I have two core memories from my early childhood in church. The first is waving palm branches on Palm Sunday. The other is Vacation Bible School. It was my favorite week of the summer!  I loved the music with hand motions, cookies with Kool-Aid, pledges to the flags and Bible, crafts, and getting to see my church friends every day. I was also learning Bible stories and memorizing verses I can still quote. I can still remember the first summer I was in the youth group and got promoted to worker. I got to help my mom go all out decorating her classroom and imparted Biblical wisdom on children SO much younger than my very mature 12-year-old self. (I also discovered that the snacks for teachers are far superior to the kids’ snacks.)

 

As an adult, VBS is still one of my favorite weeks. I have taught the Bible story for several years now. Like my mom, I fully theme my room so that the kids can become immersed in the story. I have enjoyed lightly spraying the kids with water when teaching about Paul being shipwrecked, playing sound effects, and dressing up in costumes. I pray that all of these sensory experiences can help the Bible stories come alive and imprint on kids the way that it did for me.

 

It is time to consider what role you will play in VBS this year. There are several ways you can help. We need Family Leaders who rotate with the children. You don’t have to plan anything and you get to build relationships with precious children as you guide them through activities. We also need teachers for crafts, recreation, snacks, missions, music, and Bible study. Please contact Paula for more details and Kellee to sign up to help. The dates are Monday, June 12 to Thursday, June 15 from 9am to noon. Kids who have completed kindergarten through 5th grade will be able to participate and register beginning in May. The theme this year is “Babylon: Daniel’s Story” and the theme verse is 1 Chronicles 16:34 “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”  

 

I can’t wait to see how God is going to show us his goodness and faithful love during VBS this summer!

 

One of my favorite events our church does is coming up.  Join us Saturday, April 8th at 10:00 am for Walk Thru the Easter Story.  Come to the east side parking area off Bluebell as children stamp their passports traveling from Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem to the Empty Tomb!  Each station will have a craft or hands-on activity for them to participate in. This provides a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel with our children, neighbors, grandchildren and friends!  The morning ends with a fun Easter egg hunt for the children.  See you there!