Click here to view the embedded video.

As you can see, we have a lot of fun and would love for more friends to join us, grown-ups and children alike! So invite a child in your neighborhood to join us or consider coming to serve with us. No experience necessary, just the ability to laugh and have fun with some really awesome kids!

VIRTUE VIDEO: FORGIVENESS (May 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Bucket List
Few things are more useful than a bucket. A bucket is simple genius, really. There’s almost no end to what you can do with a bucket. Put it on your head and you’re ready to go jousting. Turn it upside down and you can reach the cookies on the top shelf. Bail water out of your boat, slop the pigs, or play trashketball with one – what you put IN the bucket is key.

We tend to put things in buckets that are important to us. Things that we don’t want to let go of, burdensome things, as often as not, like pain, hurt, disappointment, and disillusionment. And we tend to accumulate those things, adding them to the bucket until we need a bigger bucket or even multiple buckets. We may dedicate our buckets, labeling them with people’s names, especially if they keep on doing us wrong. Eventually we are trapped, weighed down emotionally by buckets we can’t seem to let go of. We can’t move on, enjoying relationships to their fullest and participating with both hands in enjoyable and worthwhile activities, till we let go of the bucket, till we forgive. Forgiveness is all about letting go of the bucket. It may have to be done on a gradual basis, even intentionally done every day. But when you let go of your bucket, you are then free to jump in with both hands and feet and live as God intended.

So in May, we’ll be focusing on forgiveness, which is deciding that someone who has wronged you doesn’t have to pay. Here’s the line-up:

• Since God forgives you, you should forgive others. (Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant, Matt 18)
• When people are forgiven, it can change them. (Jesus and Zacchaeus, Luke 19)
• When you want to get even, do the opposite. (Joseph and his brothers, Genesis 45)
• Don’t wait to start making things right with others. (Jesus teaches about forgiveness, Matthew 5)

And for the fifth week of May, we’ll be focusing on the faith skill of prayer:

• You can talk to God about anything. (Philippians 4)

For a powerful true story of forgiveness, check out Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand. It’s about Louis Zamperini, the Olympic distance runner and WWII POW survivor. 60 Minutes did a story on him a few years back, which you can find online. But don’t miss out on the book. You won’t be sorry.

Peace to you,
Melanie Williams, Editor in chief, 252 Basics, The reThink Group

By Melanie Williams. © 2011 The reThink Group * www.rethinkgroup.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

July 10/11: Love Your Enemies
Through the story of Joseph loving his brothers despite their intent to hurt him, kids will learn what it means to love others. Just as Joseph loved his brothers, we need to love everyone, even when it seems impossible.
July 17/18: Forgive Everyone
Kids will hear the story of the servant who wouldn’t forgive a fellow servant of his debt, even after the king forgave all of his debts. They will see that we need to forgive others because Jesus has forgiven so much in us.
July 24/25: Let’s Move a Mountain
When God told Noah to build a boat and gather two of each kind of animal, Noah had faith that God was up to something amazing. They will learn that having faith gives us hope and a purpose to do anything.
July 31/Aug 1: I Love Money
A rich man asked Jesus what he needed to do to have eternal life. Jesus told him to sell everything he owned, give the money to the poor, and follow Him. Kids will hear the importance of making God the number one priority in their lives.
Aug 7/8: Pass the Salt
Kids will hear the story of how Elijah, through God’s help, started a fire with water. Just as Elijah stood up for God, we too can set an example by doing the right thing and obeying God.
Aug 14/15: I Came In Last!
By listening to the story of Jesus washing the feet of the disciples, kids will learn how to serve others. Through this act of service, Jesus showed them what is valuable to God. They can learn to show others the same respect and kindness.
Aug 21/22: Do Your Part
King Saul was searching for David in order to hurt him. When he stopped to rest, David had the opportunity to hurt the king first, but instead he chose not to fight. Kids will learn that they too can be peaceful rather than hurtful toward others.
Aug 28/29: Just Be Perfect, That’s All
When it was time for Abram and Lot to divide their land, Abram let Lot choose which part of the land he wanted. Through hearing this story, Kids will learn that they too can show maturity by thinking of God and others first, and then themselves.

BRING IT HOME:
Enter into action with your kids using our Family EnterAction Guide, a resource filled with ideas and family activities to use at home to reinforce what we’re teaching. Pick up a copy from your child’s class.

Responsibility. This is the virtue for June and the theme that ran throughout the KIDstuff show that was performed on Sunday, June 6th. As defined for the audience, responsibility is showing you can be trusted with what is expected of you.
Ironically, as a parent and evangelical believer, I was able to demonstrate this virtue for my children before we learned about it at KIDstuff. See, between attending the 10:45 service and coming back to the Loudoun Campus for the 2:00 show, we went over to Costco for some of their delightful (and inexpensive) hot dogs, as well as to get some of our grocery shopping done. While we were eating, one of my five-year old daughter’s friends, Maddy, ran up to our table to greet us. Her family was there for the same reasons.
After a few moments of bouncing around and giggling like little hyenas, the girls asked me if they could have a play date that afternoon. I told them that we had plans at church and just as I was getting ready to say, “but maybe I can talk to your mom about some other time,” I felt a tug that I needed to invite this girl to come with us.
So I obediently asked Maddy if she would like to join us. She was thrilled and began jumping around again. She dragged her mom over to our table and I explained the situation. We ended up agreeing to take Maddy with us when we were done shopping so that we could drop off the refrigerated items at our home and then go straight to church.
We arrived just as the music was getting started. The volume of the music intimidated all of us as we walked in, but Brynn (my daughter) and Maddy soon began bouncing with the beat. They quickly found a place to stand up and dance with the other children up near the front of the stage. It was so adorable to see them interact with each other and with the show. It just seemed so natural for them to be learning about God and what He expects of us.
After the show, it was the girls’ turn to demonstrate responsibility to me. We were enjoying some snacks in one of the corners of the café when Brynn dripped some of her watermelon juice on the table. When we were gathering our plates and napkins for the garbage, Maddy saw the mess Brynn had made and said, “Brynn, you have to clean up your mess and be responsible!” WOW!!! She got the message! I was so thrilled!
We had such a great time together that I asked Maddy and her mother if she could join us for each KIDstuff performance AND for church each week. Both of them were enthusiastic about the offer and this step of faith has encouraged all of my family members to be less fearful about sharing our faith in Jesus with others.
I have to chuckle when I think about how true the KIDstuff tag line truly is: it’s where kids bring their parents to learn. I know I did.

Eating delicious food…

Making Easter crafts…

Fellowshipping together…

Having special time with family…

Playing games…

Hunting for Easter eggs…

And of course, enjoying the prize…

Thank you to everyone who came out to our Family Easter Egg Hunt! Want to see more pictures? Check out the Kid’s Quest newsletter on our website: http://mbcloudoun.org/kqfamily.

One of my favorite things about spring is the Easter season. We are reminded of the deity of Jesus and can relish in what He did for us on the cross. To celebrate Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem the kids participated in Palm Processional. Our MBC Loudoun worship team (led by Jason Grate) sang along with the kids as they jumped up and down and shouted Hosanna to honor our Lord!
The children waiting in line patiently for their entry.

“Jumping up and down!” (this was a workout for our leaders!)

“Here comes Jesus riding on a donkey…Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna to the King!”

The kids we’re so excited to see Mom and Dad and even take a celebratory palm home with them!

Thanks to all of our leaders and volunteers that made palm processional possible! And thanks to our smiling children who helped us celebrate our King!

The Saturday Preschoolers sang a song for the adults celebrating Jesus’ love for us!

The Elementary kids shared about this month’s virtue – Honesty. When team leaders Jerry and John starting fibbing about the very, very big fish they’ve caught…

the Elementary kids rushed to the rescue to tape their mouths shut…

and shared this month’s memory verse: “The Lord detests lying lips but delights in men who are truthful.” ~Proverbs 12:22

Thanks, Kid’s Quest kids, for a great evening! It was a fun time of fellowship, pizza, and the preciousness of God’s truth conveyed through kids.

by Kathy Scherrer, Kid’s Quest Parent

On Sunday, February 14th the KIDStuff crew performed with all the energy and excitement that we’ve grown to enjoy. It was football themed, since it was originally supposed to be delivered on Super Bowl Sunday. The dilemma in this show was that the neighborhood kids were getting ready for the highly competitive annual football game. The Tinkerbell’s secret weapon this year was their quarterback, whose performance was certain to gain the team’s first victory in nearly a decade. However, the star of the team couldn’t play because of an injury. The kids were so caught up in finding a solution on their own that they failed to realize that Mrs. F had played as quarterback during her high school days. Not only was she good, she was prize winning! They realized, in the nick of time, what was available to them. They ended up wining the big game!
Then the kids in the audience were told about Honor: Letting someone know you see how valuable they really are. The kids in the audience were told that they would each receive a medal to be given to anyone they wanted. However, they had to explain to the recipient why they were getting the medal. What was it about that person that makes him or her valuable?
I have to admit that the idea of giving away this medal was initially quite difficult for my five- and nine-year old daughters. They wanted to keep the medal for themselves. It gave their father and me the chance to do a reality check with the girls. We began by explaining that the medal wouldn’t be meaningful to them since it hadn’t been “awarded” to them for a specific reason. We then reminded them about how they are surrounded by some really special people that would get great joy from having someone recognize them for what they do. Then we waited.
I picked up my five-year old from day care on Monday evening, holding my breath to hear about her experience. She was so excited to tell me who she had given the medal to and how excited her friend was to receive it. She then said that all the other children wanted a medal as well.
My nine-year old had a similar experience. She awarded one of her closest friends for being very caring and very kind. This girl was so impressed that she went home and made a special box for her medal. I was so thrilled with the responses that I told the girls we would go buy a whole box of medals that they could present to their other friends for being honorable. My hope is that the children around my kids will behave in more honorable ways, knowing that they will get “the medal” someday. Honorable behavior will then become more of a habit then something done every once in a while.
I so love that we have been able to attend the past couple of KIDStuff shows. Each one helps us as parents explain a significant element of life that wouldn’t be as easily explained or understood had we not attended. I want to encourage other parents to take advantage of these moments. Our children really need us to be examples to them .The KIDStuff shows offer situations that may not be part of our everyday lives, yet it is in a safe and fun environment. See you at the next show, which is Sunday, April 11, at 2:00.

Hello Preschool & Toddler Friends!

In February we will be teaching our young children “With God all things are possible,” (Matthew 19:26). Through the stories of Jesus doing miraculous things like walking on water and calming the storm, we hope to show children that Jesus can do anything. Jesus is God’s son, and He has the power of God behind Him. When Jesus is our friend, we have an amazing friend who can do anything.

Luke 5:11
Jesus tells Simon to put out his nets to catch fish after he’s been fishing all night with no luck. Amazingly, this time the nets are full of fish.

Mark 6:30-44
Jesus fed 5000 with two fish and five loaves of bread. There were even leftovers!

Mark 6:45-51
Jesus is so amazing. He even walked out onto the water and met his friends who were on a boat.

Matthew 8:23-27
Jesus was asleep on a boat during a huge storm. His friends were very afraid. They woke Jesus up to help them, and He stopped the storm. Jesus can do anything!

When was the last time you really thought about the miracles Jesus performed while here on earth? Spend some time in the gospels. You will be in awe all over again. Imagine your child knowing and trusting ~ Jesus can do anything!

Our team will be praying for you to have moments filled with wonder as you give toddlers and preschoolers a ‘first look’ at the God who loves them, made them, and wants to be their friend forever.

Is anything too hard for JESUS? Jesus can do anything!

Want to hear the writers give you the ‘why’ behind the curriculum?
Go to http://www.myfirstlook.org and play vision video #2. (Note: the videos change as each month passes and a new bible truth is introduced.)