Exciting New Year Planned for Community Outreach

Community Outreach Ministry is planning new and exciting things for 2009. Not only will we continue to reach the lost and needy in our local community, we will have projects that let us be seen in the area as a vibrant ministry of believers. If you have not already signed up to be part of our team, contact us at dfederico@shorelinechurch.org or jatwell@shorelinechurch.org or call (831)655-0100. We look forward to working with you.

Community Outreach Christmas Party a Huge Success!

Over 200 adults and children had a great time at our Community Outreach Ministry’s Christmas Party. Everyone had dinner, then proceeded to fun parent and children’s activities.  We ended the evening with a program of dance, music and the Christmas story.  All children and parents were able to walk away with a new present and a picture with Santa. Take a look at some pictures of the evening. Thanks Shoreline volunteers, we couldn’t have done it without you!

Teaching Honor in The Bathroom

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Parenting Tip

Teaching Honor in The Bathroom

The bathroom is an excellent place to work on honor. In part, honor means that people do more than what’s expected. They look for things that need to be done and do them without being asked.

For a while, my (Scott) family had a sign by the light switch in our bathroom that read, “Is the bathroom ready for the next person?” All we were trying to do was get our children to turn around and look. Anyone else who walked by the bathroom could see what needed to be done.

Picking up the towel and taking out the dirty clothes were first on the list but we asked each child to think of one more thing to do to make the bathroom a little neater.

Did you remember put the new toilet paper on the roller? Is the sink clean? Are the towels hanging neatly? These are examples of ways that family members can show honor and they probably won’t get any credit or reward for them. This gave us the opportunity to teach our kids that if you do your acts of righteousness before men then you have received your reward, but if you do your acts of righteousness before God then God who sees in secret will reward you openly (Matthew 6:1-4).

God loves honor. Children benefit from learning it, and the bathroom is a great classroom.

This parenting tip comes from the book Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, In You and Your Kids, by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

New Year, New Service Times!

Shoreline Community Church is pleased to announce its new service times at 8:30, 9:45 and 11:15 am.  Starting on January 4th, 2009.  Come hear Pastor Dennis speak on hope.

Teaching Children to be Thankful

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Parenting Tip

December 24, 2008

Christmas: Don’t Forget to Say Thank You

Gratefulness is an important life quality because it helps us to be thankful for what we have instead of complaining about what we don’t have. Gratefulness is a lifestyle but it starts by saying “Thank you” to others who bless us.

Begin now to prepare your children for receiving gifts. Talk about the importance of the giver, not just the gift. Teach children to look at the nametag first so they can be thinking of the person who gave the gift while they open it.

Encourage children to express thanks to the giver, even if that person is not in the room at the time. A phone call to extended family or a thank you note to a distant friend can mean a lot.

Gift receiving sometimes provides that awkward moment when we want to ask, “What is this?” or discover that we already have one of these. Play a “What if” game with children to help them anticipate how they might say thank you in those times.

Opening gifts can happen fast and then children are off playing with new toys and games. Helping them to take time to express gratefulness can extend the true meaning of Christmas past the few hours of Christmas Day. And don’t forget to take time to thank the Lord for his special gift in Jesus Christ for us.

To learn more about teaching gratefulness, take a look at the book Parenting is Heart Work by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

Christmas Break

The C3 staff wishes you a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year. We pray you will have the opportunity to pause and reflect upon all that God has done for you.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus and the New Year, we are taking a break from our Thursday night CRAVE. We will be back on Thursday January 8th for food, games and small groups. The new year is a great time to start something new. Come check out CRAVE, make some new friends and grow in your relationship with Jesus!

Shoreline Adult Singles “Adopt a Family” Project – Update

The Shoreline Adult Singles group has adopted a family this Christmas.  This homeless family includes a seven month old baby.  We were blessed to have a camper donated, and with a little TLC, it will be a wonderful new home for them.

Special thanks to the miraculous mechanic Brian Lea, who got it running and to the amazingly gifted backhoe operator, Matt Kennedy, for picking it up and delivering it to the church! The camper is in great shape; all it needs now is a good Spring cleaning!

To join us in this project, or for more information about Shoreline Adult Singles Ministry, please contact Robin Maguire at rmaguire@shorelinechurch.org.

Community Outreach Ministry Finishes the Holiday Season

Monday night Community Outreach Ministry rounded out their Christmas season with an evening of Christmas Caroling at Candy Cane Lane in Pacific Grove. The rain didn’t put a damper on the festive spirit everyone had. We had a good size crowd and a great time was had by all!

What does your family do with Santa Claus?

Christmas Family Devotional Series
The Real St. Nicholas
This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt

Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
1 Corinthians 11:1

Many families choose not to include Santa Claus as a part of their Christmas celebrations. The legend of Santa, the North Pole, flying reindeer, keeping naughty and nice lists, and coming down the chimney can seem as just too much distraction from the true meaning of Christmas for many Christian families. But, whatever your family chooses to do with Santa Claus, it may be worthwhile to consider the historical St. Nicholas.

“Nicholas lived long ago, in the third century, in a place called Asia Minor, what is now the country of Turkey. His parents died from an illness while Nicholas was a teenager and left him a large inheritance of money. Nicholas’ parents taught him about Jesus. As he grew older, he followed the teachings of Jesus and sold all his possessions, secretly giving money to those in need.

“Nicholas became well-loved by the people and later became the Bishop of Myra. He died on December 6, 343 A.D. The anniversary of his death became a day of celebration in his honor, called St. Nicholas Day. On this day, children would give and receive small gifts of candy, chocolate initial letters, or riddles hidden in baked goods or in elaborate packaging. Children also hung stockings by the fire or placed shoes filled with carrots and hay for the horse, eagerly awaiting gifts from St. Nicholas. Gold balls or oranges were given to represent the gifts of gold once given by St. Nicholas.” ¹

Influenced by St. Nicholas’ popularity in Europe, immigrants brought his story and tradition to America. Over the years, legend was wedded to historical elements and developed into our modern day Santa Claus.

While we celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus, we can have an appropriate appreciation for the lives He has touched. This includes those whose lives demonstrated compassion and selflessness out of their love for Jesus. St. Nicholas was such a person.

GOING DEEPER:
1. What is your family’s stance on Santa Claus as part of your Christmas celebrations? Why?

2. How might considering the historical St. Nicholas actually add to your family’s Christmas celebration rather than distract from it?

FAMILY TIME:
Even if Santa Claus isn’t part of your family’s Christmas celebrations, it’s certain that they will be exposed to images and messages of Santa (television, movies, stores, decorations, family traditions) during the holiday season. At an appropriate point, use the content above to engage your family in a discussion about the historical St. Nicholas and the wonderful example he set as a follower of Jesus. As a family, show some compassion and selflessness by choosing someone (perhaps someone needy) and decide on a meaningful gift you can give this person for Christmas. Together, deliver the gift to this person.

Jim Liebelt is Senior Editor of Publications at HomeWord.

¹The Real Santa Claus: The Wonderful Story of St. Nicholas by Jim Burns and Leslie Snyder.

Printed by permission of HomeWord.  For additional information on HomeWord, visit www.homeword.com or call 800-397-9725

What’s the size of your heart?

Christmas: When Your
Heart Grows Three Sizes
This devotional was written by Jim Liebelt

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. – Ezekiel 36:26

In Dr. Seuss’ classic Christmas tale, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the Grinch suffers from having a small heart. The source of his heart problem is his lack of understanding the meaning of Christmas. As the story goes, the Grinch tries to put a stop to Christmas, but in the end, he comes to understand what Christmas is all about and his heart grows three sizes! This heart change makes a big difference in his life.

I’m not sure what Dr. Seuss’ intentions were when he wrote the story back in 1957, but it certainly comes across as a Christian parable to me that parallels the change that takes place in a person’s life when he or she comes to understand the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of Jesus, God’s Son, who was born to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). When the light of the Good News of Jesus dawns upon the heart of a person, God replaces the old heart of stone, with a new, fleshy heart – and a new person emerges. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Welcome Christmas – While we stand – Heart to heart – And hand in hand.”¹ It might just make all the difference in the world.

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin and enter in;
Be born in us today!
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!
(from O Little Town of Bethlehem)

We celebrate Christmas because of the power Jesus brought to change our hearts.

GOING DEEPER:
1. Give an example of a time when you changed your mind about something.

2. How did the words or actions of others influence your change of heart?

3. Towards the end of the story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” what happened that caused the Grinch to change his mind about Christmas? What lessons might we learn from the story?

4. How has understanding the true meaning of Christmas made a difference in your life?FAMILY TIME:Gather your family together and watch the classic half-hour Christmas cartoon, How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Then, using the content above, lead your family in a discussion about how Jesus has the power to change our hearts.

¹How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Copyright © 1957, Dr. Seuss.

Jim Liebelt is Senior Editor of Publications at HomeWord.

Printed by permission of HomeWord.  For additional information on HomeWord, visit www.homeword.com or call 800-397-9725.

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