It seems to take so many details to organize and implement any class offered. The teachers must be enlisted. The roster must be finalized. The curriculum has to be written. The rooms have to be prepared. The information has to be shared with friends.

One of the things you may not consider is the prayer that goes into each gathering, no matter how informal it may be. Cornerstone KIDS / Bitty KIDS workers are especially fond of YOU!!! Cornerstone families are greatly cherished.

So with that being said here are some details to consider for the upcoming weeks….

Wednesday nights

5:45

Dinner

6:15-7:30

KIDS Club/Bitty KIDS club

In The Spot

Pre-K thru 6th grade

(Baby/Toddler nursery also

provided in The Meadow)

Sunday Morning

9:40

Sunday School for all ages

Don’t be late!

10:30

Extended Session in

The Meadow

Babies—Pre-K

KIDS K—6th grade

Participate in Worship and leave for KIDS church during sermon.

KIDS church is for ages K-4th grade.

The Lollipop team is always looking for friends, who are passionate about KIDS, to join us in all capacities. Contact Teri.

KIDS Celebrate Luncheon

Sunday, August 14 @ 12pm
Lunch will be served.

All families are welcome and encouraged to stay. This will be a time when students will be recognized for their participation in memorizing Word this past year.
All families with preschool/elementary kids

PLEASE RSVP to
Teri@cornerstone4u.org
Regrets only

Promotion Sunday for Elementary
August 14th

On this day some students will be moving to new classes.
-All Kindergarteners will move to The Spot, room 205, where they will join the 1st-4th graders.
Your teachers are Vicki Bullard, Gina Menard and Kristy Wopata
-All 5th and 6th graders will report to The Z'ONE, room 208
Your teachers are Sharon Clouse and Tim Rutherford.

Overwhelmed

Often we find ourselves in situations where we are overwhelmed as families. We book too many events in one day. The baby decides to be clingy on the day before your in-laws are arriving for an inspection--I mean visit. The babysitter cancels last-minute for a long-awaited night out. The doctor can't tell us what is wrong with us. The car breaks down...again!!! The electric bill was double what you expected. The kids need new school clothes and school supplies. Everyone is hungry and you have not even started dinner. The boss tells you that you no longer have a job. You get the picture. There are many overwhelming situations in our everyday lives.

I recently experienced a great sense of being overwhelmed, yet in a way I had not expected. I found myself totally overwhelmed with the nearness of God. It brought me to tears. Such a rare occurence, I am sad to say. But this day, I had to just stop and cry and try to find a way to dwell in the moment. The nearness of God is overwhelming. Moses witnessed this many times in his life: the burning bush, on Mt. Sinai. I have always wanted more of those moments in my life. This week I was granted one. I pray you will be as well.

God created the world "so we could seek after God, and not just grope around in the dark but actually find Him. He doesn't play hide-and-seek with us. He's not remote; he's near. We live and move in him, can't get away from him. We're God created." Acts 17:27-28 (emphasis added)

I pray that you will be overwhelmed by God's nearness this week.

--Ms. Teri

The Z'ONE Swim Party!

On Wednesday, August 3, 2011, the Z'ONE class will have a family Swim Party and Meet & Greet at the Rutherford household. The party starts at 6 PM, with dinner at 6:30 PM. The hope of this get-together is for all the kids to meet Mr. Tim and Ms. Sharon, for the parents to get to know the vision of The Z'ONE, and for all of us to talk about the goals we have for growing our middle- school kids' faith at Cornerstone.

Please bring a side dish and dessert to share. Mr. Tim and Ms. Sandra will be providing hot dogs and hamburgers with the fixin's.

RSVP to Mr. Tim (call or text: 816.914.5007; email: timr@sandy-creek.com) so we have an estimate of how many dogs and burgers.

Hope to see you there!

From KIDS at the Lake

I woke up this morning with the cutest little girl on the foot of my bed. She looked at me with big eyes and declared, "You usually see me at church!" My reply was, "Yes, but it sure is fun seeing you at the Lake!" (Even if I did not expect to see her on my bed.) She had on a princess nightgown which she twirled hurriedly in her fingers while she continued the conversation. "Shhh!" she whispered, "my daddy is still sleeping." Then she skipped off loudly down the hall talking about upcoming plans for the morning.

I had to smile to myself as I thought about what it's like to have KIDS at the Lake. It is a time of sharing everyday life--cooking, eating, bathing in the lake (for some), visiting about our lives, sharing "kid duty," and just generally being encouraged that we can be ourselves and that there is still someone who will hang out with us for the whole weekend. The feeling of belonging just can't be explained. Cornerstone's mission of finding friends does not always take us outside the Cornerstone family. There are plenty of us who pass each other week after week, smiling and greeting each other sincerely, yet never creating the space to truly belong to each other.

So that's what KIDS at the Lake had provided: the space and time to belong to each other like family. A huge Thank You! to Chuck, Tina and their family for graciously providing us the place to make that happen. The memories will last a lifetime!