The Legacy Fall 2010

8/8/2019 The Legacy Fall 2010

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Walking Wounded

I can still picture the classroom in mymind, the smell of the chalkboard mixedwith musty books. The hum of the airconditioner cooling off fifteen sweatylittle bodies just returned from recess. Iam sitting in my assigned chair strugglingnot to fidget because it is Friday and theteacher is about to return all of ourquizzes and tests from the week before. Istare at the chart at the front of theroom, while my stomach churns withanxiety.

That chart (at the front of the room)serves to remind my little heart that I amnot very smart. This is my first year in anew school and it is pretty obvious thatmy old school either didn’t teach mewell, or I am just dumb! I assume thelatter option. After all, that chart seemsto affirm my stupidity. You see, for everythree A’s a student receives in a given

week, they get to put a sticker on thechart by their name. At the end of theyear whoever has the most stickers getsto go out to eat with the teacher and herhusband. Some students get to put fourstickers on the chart a week. I am luckythat I have four. I have studied really hardand worked to make up for what I lack,but most weeks I fail to produce threeA’s.

The teacher hands me my stack ofpapers. With my stomach churning, Ilook at my hard work. My eyes begin toburn with unshed tears. Will I have asticker this week? I cautiously look downat the stack and begin to go throughthem. Did I really count three A’s? I thinkto myself, “I must have counted wrong.”So I carefully count again. Yep, three A’s!This week I get to proudly make my fourstickers into five. “Maybe, I’m not so

dumb after all.” I think to myself. Ihappily wait for my name to be called formy sticker. It never is!

The teacher calls out each name that“made the grade” giving each child thestickers they have earned, but my nameis not among them. When she is finishedshe asks if she has missed anyone, andmy hand proudly shoots up. She looksover at me and in a tone of amazementsays, “You got three A’s?” I nod my headand give a little smile. She shakes her

FALL 2 01 0

VOL 2 , ISSUE 2

BY JENNIFER CONLEY, DIRECTOR OF CHILDREN’S MINISTRIES

i n s

i d e Walking Wounded pp. 1,3

Get Moving p. 2Love, Dad p. 3Mustard Seeds p. 4Holidays & Everydays p. 5



Overly’s Country ChristmasNovember 19 ‐ January 1

Westmoreland Fairgrounds

Greensburg Palace TheatreNovember 19 ‐ 21

Stage Right Presents: Madeline’sChristmas

December 11 and 12

Westmoreland Symphony

Orchestra presents The Nutcracker

Ligonier Ice FestJanuary 22 and 23

On the Ligonier Diamond

Does your family dosomething special inWestmoreland County?

Please share anyinformation about funfamily outing ideas!

Email us at:[email protected]

A Child’s Prayer for Morning

Now, before I run to play,Let me not forget to prayTo God who kept me through the nightAnd waked me with the morning light.Help me, Lord, to love thee moreThan I ever loved before,In my work and in my playBe thou with me through the day.Amen.

‐ Author Unknown

You may have noticed the computer

screens and keyboards on theRegistration Desk in the children’s

wing. For the last three years, thechildren’s ministry team (aka

Captains) has been diligently

researching computer securitysystems for churches to better

facilitate our growing children’sministry.

Why is this necessary? As we

grow, it becomes increasingly difficultto become acquainted with

everyone, and especially difficult toidentify which child belongs to which

adult. With child molestation and

custody battles becoming anincreasing societal occurrence, the

thought of releasing a child to thewrong person or subjecting a child to

someone who does not have his best

interest at heart turns our bloodcold.

As such, in September we beganrequiring all parents who registered

their children in AWANA to sign in

using the computers at theRegistration Desk. Currently, each

child enrolled in the programreceives a name badge with a

security code which they wear

throughout the night. Their parentsreceive a corresponding label that

they must present to the teacher inorder to pick up the child at the end

of the evening. This security code

changes every week and is only goodfor the night that it is issued. This has

gone a long way to ensure that yourchildren are safe while in our care.

The security system is a much‐

needed answer to prayer and we aregrateful to God for providing us with

the funds to make this happen. If youhave any questions or concerns,

please do not hesitate to contact

Jennifer Conley at the church office(724‐837‐1122).

Security a priority with new check‐in systemat Greensburg Alliance

mailto:[email protected]




We live in a digital world that increases in complexity everyday. A friend of mine said he walked into where hisgranddaughter was sitting one day and she was watching twoTV shows via split screen, had her laptop open which also

had several screens open, plus she was listening to her iPodand also doing her homework! Daniel 12:4 says that in thelast days "knowledge will greatly increase". If only wisdomwould also exponentially increase also! How do we handlethis as parents? One way is reading to your children. We

read a lot to all three of our children. They belonged to the library'ssummer reading club and read a wide variety of good books. All three are active readers as adults and oneeven says she one day wants to be an author. You will expand their world, create a bond with them andincrease their vocabulary. Read widely and include biographies of famous Christians.

‐Dr. Bob Statler

head in disbelief and asks to see mystack of papers. She needs to makesure that I actually got three A’s stating“It is not every week that you get goodgrades” and my heart sinks. My teacherdoesn’t seem to believe in me, how willI ever believe in myself?

Why do I share this story with you?It is not to make you feel sorry for mylittle girl self. It is simply to indicate in astory format that some of the deepestwounds that we receive in life aredelivered when we are children. Myteacher was a good woman that meantwell, but her words and actionswounded my tender heart and mademe believe that nothing less then an Awas acceptable and to fail was anabomination.

Never mind the reality that there isgrowth in failure or that God delights intaking our feeble attempts to serve andknow Him and making a beautifultapestry of His grace in our lives.Through the actions of my teacher, Ibegan to believe that I would nevermeasure up or accomplish anything ofvalue. After all, I could barely achieve asticker.

As teachers and parents of little

ones, we have a huge responsibility notdo anything that would cause theseprecious ones to stumble. Our actionsand words can either bring peace, love

and healing to a child’s hurt heart, orthey can communicate disgust, anger,resentment and doubt. We have achoice to either tear down or build up!

In many cases the adults in achild’s life will determinehow that child relatesto God. This is ascary prospectwhen yourealize that youare one of thefirst examples ofJesus thatyour childencounters. I cannot tell you how manyof my friends, grown adults, struggle tosee God as a loving or forgiving Fatherbecause of the wounds of their parentsor the scar of a well meaning teacheror family friend.

I share this not to scare you ormake you feel the impossibility ofraising your little ones. Wounds willhappen; it is just the nature of thisfallen world. Yet, when we strive dailyto surrender our will, actions, andthoughts to our Heavenly Father,getting an A in parenting is not nearlyas important as living a life for Christ

before them. I write this to encourageyou to daily seek God’s wisdom inraising and training the children in yourlives. To make you aware, if you aren’t

already, that you have tremendousinfluence in shaping the road they willwalk. When we commit our way to theLord, He has an uncanny ability to takeeven our failures and use them for

good in our children’s lives.A friend gave me the following

quote a number of monthsago and it never fails toremind me of theawesome responsibility

that God has given me.Perhaps it will inspire and

motivate you as you interactdaily with the children in your lives.

“I’ve come to a frighteningconclusion that I am the decisiveelement in the classroom [or home] It’smy personal approach that creates theclimate. It’s my daily mood that makesthe weather. As a teacher [or parent]Ihave a tremendous power to make[children’s lives] miserable or joyous. Ican be a tool of torture or aninstrument of inspiration. I canhumiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In allsituations, it is my response thatdecides whether a crisis will beescalated or deescalated and a childhumanized or dehumanized.”

‐‐H. Ginott

“Getting an ‘A’ in parentingis not nearly as important asliving a life for Christ before[your children].”

Soundings from the hear ts o f Chris tia n fa the rs

Walking Wounded ‐ Cont’d from p. 1



Mustard Seeds

Scripture references: Genesis 8:22,Proverbs 10:5

Fall is upon us again and schedules are

slowing down! Have you had a chance to

capture some sunny days, have some

outdoor fun, or explore nature's

splendor? God shows us His amazing

artwork in each season of the year and

lucky for us, part of that artwork in the

fall, are all the amazing foods that we

have harvested ‐ even in our ownbackyards! God tells us in Proverbs 10:5

that “He who gathers crops…is a wise

son...” And when there is a kitchen full

of garden produce, you’ve gotta make

something!

What a great time of the year to

spend a little time with your children in

the kitchen. Make every effort to carveout a little time to prepare a dish

together…it will keep them busy and

create a memory at the same time!

God has a recipe for our lives and

he gives it to us, in the Bible! When

we accept God’s Son, Jesus, as our

Lord and Savior, and taste His

goodness and love, then we can

know the One in whom we believe

and follow. We can be certain that

His “recipe” for our lives can be trusted.

Here is a refreshing recipe that you can

enjoy on a warm fall day!

BY MELISSA BARTELS

Pum pkin Pie ‐sicle s

In gre d ie n t s2 1 / 2

lbs. butternut squash1 / 2 cup pure maple syrup2 / 3 cup light cream1 / 2 to 3 / 4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In st ruct io nsCut a butternut squash into quarters and scoop outthe seeds.Boil, bake , or microwave the squash until it 's sof t . Letthe squash cool a bit bef ore scooping its f leshinto a medium‐size bowl.

Add pure maple syrup, light cream, and pumpkin piespice to the bowl. Use a potato masher (ormixer) to mash the squash and blend all of theingredients!Spoon the mixture into ice pop molds, add st icks, andf reeze f or at least 6 hours bef ore serving.

Here are a f ew books about pumpkins to check outthis f all!

P l um pl y , Dum pl y P um pk i n ‐ Mary Serf ozoT he P um pk i n Book – Gail GibbonsP um pk i n , P um pk i n – Jeanne T itherington

Af ter reading these books, have your child pick whichwas their f avorite and ask him / her why. T hen, draw af avorite scene of the book and cut it up into puzzleshaped pieces! T ry to put it back together, then, see if someone else in the f amily can put it together!



l e g a c y

t h e

A newsletter publishedin the interests ofGreensburg AllianceChurch and themissionary, educationalwork of the Children’sMinistries of GreensburgAlliance Church

EDITOR: Jennifer Conley;MANAGING EDITOR:Christine Johns

WEBSITE:www.greensburgalliancechurch.com .

The Legacy is publishedonline seasonally.Subscription is free and

available to all membersof Greensburg AllianceChurch.

To subscribe, contactChristine Johns [email protected] .

Have a flair for writing?A passion for children’sministry and families?Submit your story ideas toJen Conley or Christine

Johns [email protected]!

is looking for your ideas...

I didn’t begin thinking of startingmy own family traditions until myfirst son was born. While some ofour traditions got passed downfrom older generations, otherswere born out of a desire for us todo something new and meaningfulin our own little family. Some stuckand some didn’t!

Your own cherished memorieswere created by traditions uniqueto your family. Now it’s your turn asthe parent to set in motion thememories that will last a lifetimefor your children. ChristmasTraditions do not have to bedifficult, expensive, or timeconsuming. Some families havevery simple traditions that theyrepeat every Christmas for theirchildren and you can be sure thatthese mo men ts are treasured farmore than the gifts bene ath thetree. Long after the wrapping paperand toys are gone, your children(and grandchildren) will rememberthe family traditions that you tookthe time to create for them andrepeat year after year!

Listed are traditions that somefrien ds from GAC do with their ownfamilies. Remember, th e importan tpart of your holiday tradition isn’twhat you decide to do; rather, it’sthat you choose an activity andcarry it out year after year!

• Make a one special ornamentfor the tree each year

• Sing Happy Birthday to Jesus onChristmas morning

• Drive around to look atChristmas lights

• Stocking stuffers from Dec. 1until Christmas

• One special breakfast treat(made on Christmas morning)

• Family time putting together apuzzle

• Choosing and cutting down aChristmas tree as a family

• Read about Christ’s birth onChristmas Eve

• Decorate the house as a family• Give to others in need (services

or gifts)• Attend a Christmas Eve church

service• Sing Christ mas Carols at

bedtime instead of re adingstories

BY MELISSA BARTELS

H O L I D A Y S E V E R Y D A Y S andh

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I d e a s f o r c re a t i n g m e a n i n g fu l a n d l a s t i n g fa m i l y t r ad i t i o n s

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The Legacy Fall 2010