January 18, 2020
January 25, 2020
February 15, 2020
February 29, 2020
March 7, 2020
March 28, 2020
April 18, 2020
April 25, 2020
October 12, 2019
November 9, 2019
November 16, 2019/DEEP Sabbath
at Oakwood University
December 7, 2019
December 14, 2019
We are urging our pastoral staff to work from home wherever possible. To contact the pastor on call, dial 423.236.7136.
PARENT RESOURCES
Check here often for COVID-19 resources for parents from Pastor Carole and Amanda Ancheta, school counselor at Collegedale Academy.ls
Talking to Kids about Coronavirus
Dear Family and Friends,
Our kids are experiencing this challenging time right along with us. It is important that we help them to process what is happening, allow them to ask questions, and reassure them that our God is still in control. This link provides a short video explaining the Coronavirus in language a child can understand. Please watch it yourselves first and then decide whether it would be helpful for you to share it with your children. There are also some articles on this link that include helpful tips and information for parents to use when seeking ways to answer your children’s questions about the virus and the current climate of our nation.
I hope you find them as helpful as I did.
Keeping you in prayer.
Blessings,
Pastor Carole Verrill
Sermon Notes
Dear Friends,
Th Sermon Journaling activity resources provided by SDA artist Gina Graham provides a beautiful way for children to stay engaged while watching a sermon. Please take a moment to download, give it a try, and let me know your thoughts.
Blessings,
Pastor Carole
Resilience
Hello Collegedale Church families,
This week has come with some challenges and hopefully some opportunities to grow also! Maybe you're looking for something to do at home with your families and below you will find some resources about resilience. What is resilience? It's your ability to bounce back when things are tough. If you were to drop a tennis ball from waist high, what would happen? It would bounce up. If you drop a golf ball from waist high, what would happen? It wouldn't bounce. Let's be like the tennis ball and bounce back, let's be resilient.
How can we learn about resilience through God's nature. Consider going on a nature walk with your family (idea from Chelsea Lee Smith-Moments a Day, link below). You can ask your child to share their observations. Ms. Chelsea explains, "The sun is the love we receive in this world (God’s love, our parent’s love, whatever you choose!), the rain is the challenges we face, and the roots are our experiences. If we only have love without challenges, we will shrivel up from the heat. If we only have rain and hide from the sun, we will get washed out. But if we have a good balance of sun and rain, then we can learn from our experiences and grow our roots deep into the earth to make us strong and steadfast."
http://www.momentsaday.com/learning-resilience-outdoors-activity-for-kids/
Amanda Ancheta
Collegedale Academy
School Counselor, elementary & middle schools
Resources & Activities
materials created by
Carol Miller
Resiliency Parent Handout
5 Keys of Resilience
Kindness
Parents,
The focus for this week is kindness. We can read in Ephesians 4 verses 29 and 33 the following counsel on how to live as a Christian...
(vs. 29) "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
(vs. 33) "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
This week model kindness within your family by choosing to do random acts of kindness for each other. Parents, you can give your younger children a few ideas and let them choose what they'd like to do. You can get inspired at this website https://www.randomactsofkindness.org/kindness-ideas . You can even choose the option "online" to see ideas of things you can do for others right from your home.
Feel free to watch this short video with your family and discuss how you can color the world with kindness. https://youtu.be/rwelE8yyY0U
Amanda Ancheta
Collegedale Academy
School Counselor, elementary & middle schools
Words of Affirmation
Hello families,
How has it been going so far? Have you played board games together to practice resilience, did you go on a nature walk to see examples of resilience in nature? Did you have a blast doing random acts of kindness for each other?
This week we are focusing on Words of Affirmation. This is taken from Gary Chapman's 5 Love Languages. Feel free to check out the image that gives examples of the 5 love languages with your family.
An activity you can do together is a family interview. You can get as involved as you want.... create a backdrop, have someone in your family be the film crew and you can take turns being interviewed, interviewing, or recording the video. Ask your family questions like: What is something you have done that you are proud of? What is something that was hard for you, that you overcame? What would your ideal day be like? What is something you want to get better at?
Have someone read Psalm 139:14 ("I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well"). God made everyone in your family different. Discuss what you appreciate about each person in your family. Pray together thanking God for making your family a unique creation.
Adapted from 52 Uncommon Family Adventures by Randy Southern.
Amanda Ancheta
Collegedale Academy
School Counselor, elementary & middle schools
Creating Memories
Hello families,
I hope you are all doing well. I know the last few weeks have impacted everyone differently. Some of you may have damage from the tornadoes, some may have sick family members from the coronavirus, some of you may have gone out to do tornado relief, and some of you may be overwhelmed with job changes and uncertainty. We know that we are in the best hands possible. My prayer is that we come closer to God and closer to our families. If you need anything please reach out to the pastor staff so they know how best to support. Below is a fun and creative activity you can do with your families. Please email us a picture of your family doing the activity and tell us how it went. Send the email to: cverrill@southern.edu. We'd love to see your family connecting and creating memories together!
Camera Art- Go on a walk and have each person take pictures of different things. Ideally each person has their own device/camera, but you could also take turns (Monday- mom and middle son take pictures, Tuesday- dad with oldest daughter, etc.). Explain that the purpose of this adventure is to discover how each of you sees the world. At the end of the week each person chooses their favorite picture and you can create a slideshow of everyone's top picture. Each family member would share what inspired them to take that picture and what they enjoy most about it. At the end of the presentations everyone should learn a little more about each member of the family.
If you're able to print the pictures that would be fantastic. If your family loved this, consider doing it annually. Then you can create a book that reflects your family's creativity and progress over the years.
Family Devotion: Have someone read Colossians 3:23. What should we do with the creativity God has given to us? How we can bless others with our creativity. Think about how you can serve God with the gifts and talents He has given you this week.
Activity from: 52 Uncommon Family Adventures by Randy Southern
Amanda Ancheta
Collegedale Academy
School Counselor, elementary & middle schools