Want to see what serving in the Greenhouse is all about?

We are looking to add some amazing people to our team!

And we'd love for YOU to come check out what serving in the Greenhouse is all about!

If you are a people person and a morning person, we have the check in greeter team. And you do just that! You greet families! You get the first opportunity to invite kids into a SAFE and fun environment where the kids will discover Jesus! You get face to face interaction meeting new families and welcoming them to Freedom.

We also have the infant room and toddler room--here we play with the kids, love on them, read them the bible story, worship with them, and pray with them.

We also have the pre-school class. Here the kids rotate through their craft, bible, worship, and play stations. (smiles and hugs and touching moments of when kids "get it".... lots of fun!)

We also have the K-2nd and 3-4th grades where we are able to go a little deeper with the kids but still make it age appropriate... we have high energy worship, creative bible message, fun games related to the message, and just overall have a great time.

I do ask of my team members and those who are just coming in to check it out that they attend one/serve one. It's important for everyone coming to church to get the message designed for us.. that way we're able to have something to pour out into the kiddos.
So you would need to choose which service you would attend and which you would serve :o)

Also, you are invited to our pre-service team huddles where we just rally together to get ready for the day--refreshments provided :o) We meet upstairs in room 203 and if serving first service, the huddle is at 9am and if serving 2nd service, the huddle is at 10:55am.

If you have kids, we have lots of kids who love when they get to stay for 2 services when their parents are attending one and serving one.. so no worries there! The kiddos love it! They get the same lesson but taught in a different, creative way :o)

Why do we want to add more to our team??? The more people we have the more relationships these kids can build, the more stability we can provide for the kids to enter into a positive, safe and fun environment where they are going to discover Jesus! Plus, serving means that you get to be connected and build relationships and live for the other person's good! WIN WIN FOR ALL!

Where are we praying to add some new faces to help us make a greater impact in the most fun ministry at Freedom?

4+ Greeters
8+ Nurseries
5+ Pre-K
6+ K-2nd Grade
4+ 3-4th Grade

So come join us! Come check out any area as many times as you'd like and then YOU get to CHOOSE the area that you want to get plugged into that brings you the most joy and then we get to chat about the opportunities you have to make a difference at Freedom Church!

I'd love to serve alongside you,
Pastor Tiffany
Children's Pastor at Freedom Church
tiffany@freedom-church.org
Friend me on Facebook

It's all for ONE MORE!



What a few current team members have to say about serving:

Holly Elaine Honeyman It's so much fun to play with the toddlers, and its so great to see how quickly they learn worship songs!

Shari Lyn It helped me find my calling! Cannot wait till next year now!

Tonja Padgett I love serving in the GreenHouse! I find such joy in seeing the kids each week and sharing a little of Jesus with them. It is so wonderful to see their faces light up when you can tell they "got it"!

Wendy Frutig Smith I remember how nervous I was when I first started out in the GH cause I had never done anything like that before. It's been amazing how God has just opened my heart and helped me form relationships with these kids. There is no greater privilege than getting to help a child in their walk with God!

Shauna Frutig Cole If I had never joined the Greenhouse, I dont know if I would he where I am today. Looking into the eyes of a child when they run up to you and grab you and hug you is priceless. Seeing them "get it" during worship will render you speechless.

Katelyn Yonts It is seriously so much fun! I love that I get hugs every week and get to have fun with the kids. I also love the worship! Getting up on the stage and leading them through fun worship songs is such a joy!

Amanda Shue I love building relationships with the kids and the feeling I get when they come back each week.

Le Ann Skidmore-Sheets Nothing better then knowing you had a hand in showing a child how to spend eternity in Heaven. I love seeing those smiling faces every week. there is no other area that I would rather be serving in. BEST CHILDREN'S MINISTRY EVER!!!

Greg Smith Jesus, Worship and Relationships, couldn't ask for anything more. Plus the Children's Pastor is AWESOME!! #browniepoints

7 Ways to Speak LIFE into Your Kids in 7 Days



INSPIRE them.

Day 1: I – Involve your children in positive conversation. Avoid using negative words, like no, not, don’t, etc. Simply changing a firm “no” to “I’m sorry, but now is not a good time. We can do it ___________.” Be sure that the language you use is uplifting and creates a pleasant environment.

Day 2: N – Notice what makes your child smile. When you see that positive outward response to your words of praise, then take particular note of the time, the words you used, and as many of the circumstances surrounding the event as you can remember. And be sure to use them again. Repetition reinforces positive outcomes.

Day 3: S – Salute your child’s achievements. When Susie brings home a great report card and you know she worked hard for that “B”, then take the moment to say how proud you are of her hard work! Celebrate milestones- they pass quickly!

Day 4: P -Praise the efforts. If I expect my children to do a chore perfectly the first time, I’m going to be disappointed. An 8 year old is learning how to wipe down the bathroom sink and mirror. A half a smudge of toothpaste glossed over isn’t going to kill anyone. I can praise for obedience in performing the action to the best of his/her ability.

Day 5: I – Initiate genuine words. Praising your child for something about which you are not earnest will set the wrong pattern. Be sure the words you choose to use come from a genuine heart- kids can read pretense like no one.

Day 6: R – Reinforce positive behavior with rewards. I don’t mean bribe them in the heat of the moment. Set rules that give opportunity for success; success then has its rewards.

Day 7: E- Encourage your child with smiles, hugs and laughter. When there are no words, either because you’re too tired to think of any, or the situation makes you feel like crying for whatever reason, the simple choice to smile and hug your child in the moment can make all the difference in the world.

5 Ways to Draw Your Little One Closer to God

Five Ways to Draw Your Little One Closer to God

February 29, 2012 By Jenae

We all want to raise good kids. We want our children to be kind and compassionate, loving and forgiving.
How in the world do we teach them these things??? From my experience, we simply cannot do it on our own. But we can point them to the One who is good, just, and perfect!
Here are just a few tangible practices that I have found helpful in attempting to draw our little children closer to God.
1. Pray… for yourself. Let’s face it. There is no way that we can show the love of God to our children 24/7 without His help! There are way too many tantrums, spilled glasses of milk, and altercations between siblings to keep us from losing our head in our own humanness. In addition to praying fervently for our children, we also need to pray that we can be the parents God has called us to be!
My favorite prayer lately has been adapted from Romans 8:11. “Lord, the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is living inside of me this very minute. Surely you, Oh God, can help me handle this (tantrum, fight, vomit-fest) with grace and love!”
Talk to God throughout the day. Although I think it is still beneficial to have a chunk of time dedicated to prayer during the day (like in the morning or right before bed), I’ve found it’s essential to pray ‘breath prayers’ throughout the day (which often are uttered more like pleas for help).
2. Pray with your children. There is nothing more precious than hearing a prayer from the mouth of a child! Even when my 2-year old’s prayer consists only of “Dear God, In Jesus Name, Amen,” my heart still leaps for joy that he is beginning a lifelong process of being in communication with our Creator.
Children need to hear prayers demonstrated in a variety of settings and from a variety of people. They also need opportunities to say their own prayers, even though they might not fully understand what prayer really is just yet. After Christmas this year, we saved all of the Christmas cards and put them in a drawer in our kitchen. Every now and then, we will pull out one of those cards and pray for that specific family. Just the other day, my 4-year old son came to me in the middle of the day with a Christmas card in his hand, asking to pray for that specific family because he had heard one of their children was sick.

Pray for boo-boos, pray for fears during the night, pray for sick pets… nothing is too small to pray for, especially when your child initiates it!
3. Hide God’s Word in their Hearts. Up until this last year, I was not all that convicted of the need to memorize scripture. After all, we can open the Bible whenever we need to, right? In the last several months after a series of circumstances; however, I now see the great and lasting benefits of memorizing God’s Word. I want our children to grow up with a love for the Word and simple passages that they can recall whenever faced with a situation or problem… or perhaps when they just need some encouragement! We have been working on memorizing one new scripture each week with our two boys (4 and 2).
We are currently working through these ABC Scripture Cards I created, with one scripture for every letter of the alphabet. We typically work on it together as a family immediately after dinner a few nights each week, while we’re all still sitting at the table, for a total of 5 minutes or less. And much to our embarrassment, we are normally asking our 4-year old for help! He remembers the scriptures, along with their references, MUCH better than we can!

4. Make Bible stories come to life. Move over fairy tales… the stories and miracles recorded in the inspired text are extremely captivating to little ones and they are all true (we especially love reading the Jesus Storybook Bible with our boys)! Our boys want to hear the same story over and over again. Knowing we have two boys, you could probably guess that their favorite story is ‘David and Goliath.’ We can’t just read David and Goliath anymore, though… now it must be dramatically recreated in our living room. You can see for yourself… and please disregard the fact that each boy is playing both David and Goliath!
Can’t see the video? Watch it here.
5. Demonstrate small acts of kindness every day. I am currently working on a goal of doing a small but intentional act of kindness each and every day. I am extremely selfish by nature, so this is something that God and I are working through together… and so far, I’m not doing very well!
Involving our kids in small acts of kindness, whether planned or spontaneous, shows our children how to think outside of themselves and their desires. Perhaps it’s delivering brownies to an elderly neighbor or making a “get well” card, or taking time to call a friend… we all need opportunities to put someone else first!

What about you? What do you do to draw your little one closer to our God?

How to Be a Calm Parent

Original Photo by Tanya_Little via Flickr

I found this article and thought it was a great reminder!

1. Own your Nos. There are times when I say no without even thinking and then one no leads to another no and soon we’re in a vicious cycle. I’ve learned that by really thinking before I respond I feel authentic power when I do say no — or yes. Try hard to not rush to saying no to your child just because of inconvenience.
2. Be open to Yes. There’s a ton of power in the word YES. Y-E-S. Conscious Yeses are beautiful. Conscious Yeses transform families. Conscious Yeses are cause for celebration.
3. Read. Read everything you can that makes you feel good and that reminds you to remain calm. For me, it started with Momma Zen by Karen Maezen Miller but it’s hardly ended there. I have a whole nightstand filled with books that I pull out when I need a pick-me-up or as a reminder to remain calm and relaxed as a parent. Some are parenting books. Some are inspirational books. Others are just beautiful and get me thinking creatively, which is the best way to parent, in my experience.
4. Solitude. I suspect that many of us who struggle with staying calm in the chaos also struggle with noise. Some people — extroverts — are happy with a ton of noise. I am not. Silence is often the medicine we need to replenish and rejuvenate ourselves and yet it may be the hardest to make happen. There are many other ways to stay at peace.
5. Take a deep breath. Never ever punish when angry. Just don’t. Heed this advice and you’ll always be a calm parent. Separate the kids and then walk away. Step outside. Or, go to your room and close the door and lay on your bed until you are calm. Run down to the basement. Put on some music in your ear buds. Something. Anything. Just breathe and calm down before you even attempt to react.
6. Get up early. Having time to yourself is absolutely essential. Period.
7. Go to bed early. Being fully rested is key. You can’t be a good parent if you are too tired to think, too tired to come up with creative responses and solutions or too tired to ignore the small things.
8. Get a hobby. I write therefore I am. For others, it’s cooking or sewing or quilting or crocheting. Even more are finding a love in photography, baking, blogging, or gardening. We all have that one thing that just fills us up, that gives us a different purpose in life. Devote yourself to yours.
9. Energize yourself. This is my all-time favorite thing to do in my day. Choose the things that you love and that make you happy and do them every day. In my e-course, I’ll share my own list.
10. Ignore the small stuff. What’s that book say, it’s all small stuff? I don’t know about that. But I do know that some parents — myself included — can get wrapped up in micromanaging their children and their every move. Delegate some of that worry and stress to the Universe. this includes NOT arguing back with a child.
11. Think of the Big Picture. A few mentioned this on the Facebook page as important and I agree. Will this tiny infraction of behavior like drinking the bathtub water and spitting it out matter in the long run? No. Will it delay bedtime, yes. So what. Move on. Nothing to see here.
12. Clean. When your children are frustrating the bejeezus out of you, clean. Do those things that you need to do and work off the frustrations by cleaning. This is the only time that I stress the importance of cleaning. It gives you something productive to do instead of micromanaging the children. While your at it, think of the chores they will have to do as a result of their bad behavior. Some call it an uh-oh chore. I just call it a chore to help fill my bucket back up.
13. Speak your mantra. Each of us has phrases that give us comfort, sayings that we can say over and over again in our heads until the difficult moment passes. Some of you suggested mantras like “I am the adult” or “Mommy is the greatest!” I have a whole list of mantras that I use.
14. Exercise. Walk. Do yoga. Run. Whatever you can do to feel good on the inside will make parenting from the heart a lot better.
15. Slow down. Don’t plan a ton of things because the minute you want to get a long list of things done is the very minute that you will find things blow up. Stress is what causes us to lose our cool so the less we have to stress about, the less crazy we’ll become.
16. Get silly. I’ve said this before but doing something entirely out of the ordinary is a great way to turn things around quickly. Tell jokes. Just act nutty. You’ll laugh. SING. DANCE. Laugh. Deal with the consequences later, when everyone’s thinking more clearly.
17. Talk it out. Establish a talk-it-out rule. In this house, we talk out our problems with soft words, not our hands and not by yelling. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
18. Role model. If you want your children to grow up calm, cool and collected than keep that in your head at all times. What you say to your children becomes what they hear in their heads. That’s powerful stuff to consider.
19. Eat. There have been many times when I’ve been starving and not taking care of myself. Stop and make sure you’re not feeling the result of low blood sugar.
20. Set your rules. This is a really big deal and something I didn’t really do early on. The sooner your establish your household rules the better off you will be as a parent. Our rules are on our refrigerator so that when a rule is broken we can immediately point to it and say look here, you’ve broken Rule No. 2, keep your hands and feet to yourself. When you are confident about the rules in your house, you are confident in enforcing those rules.
21. Don’t set too many rules. Seriously. Children are still learning and experimenting. We can’t expect them to never make mistakes. To stay calm, stick to no more than five rules at a time and make those the important ones. Let little infractions go by with teachable moments rather than discipline.
22. Change your routine. If you find yourself in a stressed out rut, perhaps it’s time to change things around and do something exciting and different. A change in fresh air or environment is enough to keep me feeling calm and peaceful a lot longer than going through the motions of the same-old, same-old.
23. Be Grateful. Many of you mentioned that reminding yourself of how special it is to have a child is the best way to calm yourself down. Savoring the little moments. Being grateful for the time we have with our children. These are all big, heart-filled reminders of what it really means to be a parent, even when times are challenging.
24. Replenish your spirit. For some this means prayer or meditation. For others it might be sinking into a hot bath at night. Taking care of your spirit is as important as taking care of your body. Whatever you use to de-stress and center yourself, do it often.
25. When all else fails, hug it out. I love this one that came up on the Facebook page. Too often what our children need — and what we need in return — is that close connection and touch of the ones we love. My very spirited daughter responds positively to touch and so we snuggle often. So, instead of yelling or hurting, hug it out. If only we could pass this tip along to the rest of the world, right?

There are certainly many other ways to stay calm, cool and collected as a parent and I expect anyone who reads this post to add their own positive ideas that are meant to help inspire parents. These are ideas I wish I had on that second and third month home with twin infants, and again when those infants moved into their terrible twos. But, no matter where you are on your parenting journey, I suspect this list will at least be worth keeping, for one of those days. You can now download and print this list for yourself to keep close at hand.

are you ready?



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Parenting Tip: Understanding Obedience

We live in a society where an emphasis on teaching obedience sounds to some like heavy-handed authoritarianism. Parents don't want to be dictators so they sometimes move far away from anything that looks like being controlling. This is unfortunate since God is the one who gave the instructions for children to learn obedience. Hidden within this quality are the principles that will make children successful as they get older.

When children learn to obey they learn to give up their own agenda for someone else. They learn to listen to an instruction and follow through with it. They learn how to be responsible, check back, and complete a task. In short, when children learn obedience, they not only make family life easier but they also develop the character that will make them more valuable in the work place, the community, and the world. In fact, learning to obey parents teaches kids what they need in order to obey God.

We say that obedience is "doing what someone says, right away, without being reminded." Children as young as three years old can memorize this simple definition and understand what it means. Parents sometimes think that obedience is the same as compliance. When a parent says, "I can get my children to obey eventually," that's not obedience. Compliance is only part of obedience. When you say to your son, "It’s time to go to bed now," and he says, "As soon as I'm done with this game," that's not obedience; it's an excuse for disobedience.

As parents, it's okay to negotiate and compromise with our children sometimes, but too often children aren't mature enough for this. In fact, they may be demanding, unable to give up their agenda for someone else. Cooperation requires that both people give and take. In order to get to that stage, children must first learn how to sacrifice or follow. Once they learn that, true cooperation can take place.

Teach obedience and you’ll give your children a valuable gift that will be used for the rest of their lives.

This parenting tip comes from the book Home Improvement, the Parenting Book You Can Read to Your Kids by Dr Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

19 Things We Should Say to Our Kids

{19 Things we should say to our Children}1. I love you! There is nothing that will make me stop loving you. Nothing you could do or say or think will ever change that.



2. You are amazing! I look at you with wonder! Not just at what you can do, but who you are. There is no one like you. No one!



3. It’s all right to cry. People cry for all kinds of reasons: when they are hurt, sad, glad, or worried; when they are angry, afraid, or lonely. Big people cry too. I do.



4. You’ve made a mistake. That was wrong. People make mistakes. I do. Is it something we can fix? What can we do? It’s all over. You can start fresh. I know you are sorry. I forgive you.



5. You did the right thing. That was scary or hard. Even though it wasn’t easy, you did it. I am proud of you; you should be too.



6. I’m sorry. Forgive me. I made a mistake.



7. You can change your mind. It’s good to decide, but it is also fine to change.



8. What a great idea! You were really thinking! How did you come up with that? Tell me more. Your mind is clever!



9. That was kind. You did something helpful and thoughtful for that person. That must make you feel good inside. Thank you!



10. I have a surprise for you. It’s not your birthday. It’s for no reason at all. Just a surprise, a little one, but a surprise.



11. I can wait. We have time. You don’t have to hurry this time.



12. What would you like to do? It’s your turn to pick. You have great ideas. It’s important to follow your special interests.



13. Tell me about it. I’d like to hear more. And then what happened? I’ll listen.



14. I’m right here. I won’t leave without saying good-bye. I am watching you. I am listening to you.



15. Please and Thank You. These are important words. If I forget to use them, will you remind me?



16. I missed you. I think about you when we are not together!



17. Just try. A little bit. One taste, one step. You might like it. Let’s see. I’ll help you if you need it. I think you can do it.



18. I’ll help you. I heard you call me, here I am. How can I help you? If we both work together, we can get this done. I know you can do it by yourself, but I’m glad to help since you asked.



19. What do you wish for? Even if it’s not yet time for birthday candles and we don’t have a wishbone, it’s still fun to hear about what you wish for, hope for, and dream about.