How do you help your kids finish well?

Some tips for helping your kids finish out the school year strong.

(From a Focus on the Family article)



Have your children been infected with a case of spring fever?

The weather lately has been unusually nice, so this might be the case!

What’s a parent to do? How can you help your distracted student finish the school year strong? What’s the best way to prevent your son or daughter from gazing out the window and mentally checking out for the remainder of the school year?



Here are some suggestions that may help you:



· Maintain Your Evening Routine: It can be tempting to let kids go to bed later as the daylight extends longer, and it begins feeling more like summer. But keeping to the same routine and bed time helps keep children in the school year mindset.

· Establish a Countdown: You might consider stapling twenty or so pieces of paper together and assigning each one with a number representing a remaining day of school. You can then ceremoniously tear each paper off day by day and maybe even burn it in the barbeque.

· Stay Interested and Engaged: As it’s only natural for children to lose focus, so it is with parents. Keep asking them questions about classroom life, their friends and about upcoming end-of-year activities. Whenever possible, use the names of their friends and ask specific questions. Don’t expect them to share unsolicited information.

· Cater to and Capitalize on their Interests and Yours: If you’re home schooling, don’t be afraid to be flexible with the curriculum in the final days. One such mom said she sits down with the kids and makes a list of things they are interested in. She then comes up with ways to play to those strengths in their reading assignments or field trips. But even if your children attend school outside the home, this tip still applies. By cultivating a home environment that stimulates their intellect and interests, you’ll find that summer can be an educational season, too, not just a time to play Farmville on Facebook.

· Incentives Always Work Well: Working toward a big goal can be made more exciting for a child if there’s a reward attached to its ultimate completion. A trip to Sonic (especially when the drinks are half-price!) always seems to work well. Dairy Queen is another popular destination. And no, it’s not bribery – it’s calculated encouragement.


One of the most significant things we can teach our children is to finish what they start and to do so with strength and enthusiasm. Somebody once said that genius begins great works, but it’s the labor alone that finishes them.

Who does my stuff belong to, anyway?

Who does my stuff belong to, anyway?

The American Dream encourages us to become rich and prosperous. The American Dream teaches us that we are owners of things, which teaches us that stuff is ours. We like words such as, mine, my, ours and these words support the idea that it is ALL ours. The reality of this false idea lacks the truth that God owns everything and that it ALL belongs to Him. Everything you can see, touch, smell and taste was created by God which gives Him complete ownership of it ALL. Our heavenly Father, has the permission to say, that is mine, and speak the truth.

Think about these verses from the NLT:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1

He did all this so you would never say to yourself, ‘I have achieved this wealth with my own strength and energy.’ Remember the LORD your God. He is the one who gives you power to be successful, in order to fulfill the covenant he confirmed to your ancestors with an oath. Deuteronomy 8:17-18

The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.
The world and all its people belong to him. Psalm 24:1

The LORD, the Mighty One, is God,
and he has spoken;
he has summoned all humanity
from where the sun rises to where it sets. Psalm 50:1

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Haggai 2:8

He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs. He himself gives life and breath to everything, and he satisfies every need. Acts 17:24-25

This leads us to understand our role better. God has called each of us to be a steward. A steward is someone who has been entrusted and given responsibility with someone else’s stuff to manage. This is with the expectation that we with have the owners best interests at heart and mind. God has given us some clear expectation as to how we ought to manage His stuff.

The Bible teaches that everything we ultimately have belongs to God and is given to us for our joy and that we are given the big responsibility to manage these gifts from God to further His Kingdom.

Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2

For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? 1 Corinthians 4:7

Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:17

Let us commit to challenge one another to give God our best and do our best with the stuff He has asked us to be stewards of.

Why do we talk about money at church?

Whenever the subject of money is talked about tension is created and people start to feel a little uncomfortable. This tension is understandable in the times we live because of the abuses, scams and wrong doings by the corporate world and the church. There have been people in the name of Jesus who have abused cheated and manipulated people for money. Good hearted folks have been hurt by these kinds of issues.

Regardless, Jesus had a lot to say about money. Jesus spoke a lot about how money is connected to our hearts, what we ought to do with our money and ultimately what our role with money is. The Bible speaks about money and how it affects our relationship with Jesus, our goal to be fully devoted followers of Christ, our worship and our mission in the world. For example, there are 500 verses in the Bible which deal with faith and prayer each. Yet, there are over 2,300 verses in the Bible and 16 of Jesus’ 38 parable deal with money and finances. Jesus taught on it and addressed it more than the subjects of heaven, hell and prayer combined. Jesus didn’t talk about this because He wanted our money. Jesus talked about this because He didn’t want our money to have us.

Therefore, we must teach on the subject of money, generosity, and Biblical stewardship not in an effort to raise dollars. We must teach on the subject to raise devoted followers of Jesus Christ because that’s what it really comes down to. We want to be holistic followers of Jesus who worship Him with every aspect of our lives. It is a problem to assume we can live Godly lives and focus on the mission of Christ without honoring God with our money and possessions. We were created to worship God with our whole life and this includes everything from how we handle our time, our talents, our families, our money and possessions.

Money has a lot of power, which means it can be a great temptation to be an idol in our culture. Jesus taught that we are to love God with all things. Jesus also taught that we can’t love both God and money. Read Matthew 22:36-38 and Matthew 6:19-24.

We talk about money, because money is one of the few things that can trip us up, strap us down, and tangle us as we become more like Jesus Christ.

Summer 2012 Band of Brothers Classes

For any additional information, please contact Craig Ziese at craig@mvcclive.com



Band of Brothers
Summer Session Classes 2012
Mountainview Christian Church

You are invited to join us on a journey this summer: A journey of discovery. We want to help you discover a new skill as a father, or a new path that is different from the one you experienced as a child and a young man, or a new spiritual truth.
Class begins at 7:00 p.m. each Wednesday beginning June 6th and runs for 12 weeks, ending August 29th. We know you will be gone on vacation for a Wednesday or two, but for the remainder of the summer, we want you to join us on the journey!

Personal Growth:
Wild at Heart – by John Eldredge
Wild at Heart invites men to recover their masculine heart, defined in the image of a passionate God. And he invites women to discover the secret of a man’s soul and to delight in the strength and wildness men were created to offer.

Way of the Wild Heart – by John Eldredge
This study reveals how God comes to a man and takes him on the masculine journey, how nearly all the events of a man’s life can come together to provide the initiation he never received. And how parents can offer that initiation to their sons. Whatever your age may be, your Father is ready to take up your journey. For you are His son.

Fatherhood:
Raising A Modern Day Knight – by Robert Lewis
What does it mean to be a man? This study will show how you, too, can confidently guide your son to the kind of authentic, biblical manhood that can change our world.

That’s My Girl – by Rick Johnson
This study will show you how to develop the close relationship with your daughter that you both crave. His plainspoken common sense, humor, and advice will give you the confidence and the encouragement you need to take up the active, positive role that can change your daughter’s life – starting now.

Rite of Passage: A Father’s Blessing – by Jim McBride
The author explains how we can equip our children to want to grow up – not when the video game’s over, or “someday” – but at an appointed place and time. Dads, moms, and other mentoring adults have the unique opportunity to guide young people toward adulthood.

Spiritual Growth:
The New Testament Bible Book of 1 Peter
An exegetical study through the epistle to the Christians in Asia Minor.

April 29th Message

Listen as Pastor Dave speaks to us about the Ekklessia.

Middle School Reach - an overview

Last summer our Middle School Ministry started a program called Summer REACH: Portland. REACH was a week long experience during which we lived out the Christian faith by serving the broken in the city of Portland. One day we went and worked at the Ronald McDonald House, cleaning and getting rooms ready for new families that would be starting some hard journeys. One day we sanitized donated books that would go to elementary school children whose parents couldn’t afford to buy them any. Another day we removed graffiti in a North Portland neighborhood and then went downtown to partner alongside Bridgetown Ministries in feeding and clothing the homeless. During the week our group racked up a combined total of 300 hours spent serving the broken in our city.

This year, REACH is going to happen July 15th-20th. We are going to be spending two more nights in Portland than we did last year and we already have the Ronald McDonald House and the Oregon Food Bank on the docket to partner alongside. Our theme this year is ‘The Kingdom of God is Near.’ One of the most exciting things about REACH is to see Middle School Students recognize that they can make a difference in the Kingdom RIGHT NOW, not just when they ‘grow up.’

If you know any Middle School Students, encourage them to talk to Cameron (Cameron@mvcclive.com) about signing up. If you aren’t a Middle School Student, we ask that you would pray for this unique opportunity for the Middle School Students at Mountainview and that God would prompt them to sign up and use the week to transform them into young men and women that will see all the parts of their lives as opportunities to be workers in God’s Kingdom.

Kidz Zone for May

What's next for MVCC Kidz Zone (Elementary kids) in May: Responsibility!

Think about all you saw when you stepped outside this morning. Was the sun shining or the rain drops falling? Did you hear birds or see squirrels making the most of their morning? Did you take a deep breath? Without our thinking about it, life happens.
The sun keeps shining. The rain comes down. The seasons change. We have air to breathe.
From the beginning, when God created the world, He set systems in motion. If He decided to ignore those, our world would quickly turn chaotic. God takes responsibility for what He creates. Even when we fail Him, He promises a way of escape through Jesus. He made good on this promise, and after we take our last breath we can trust that we’ll be with Him forever. God has proven that you can trust Him with every moment of your life.
But God doesn’t want for us to move through life simply trusting Him. He wants us to become more like Him by showing others that we can be trusted as well. Every day, you have opportunities to take what God has given to you—your stuff, your words, your relationships—and use them wisely. When you respond to God with the abilities He has given to you, you are responsible. And when you are responsible with a little, the Bible says you will be given more: more opportunities, more relationships, more ways that you can use what God has given you to reflect His character to the world around you.

This month Kidz will be learning that:

God has proven He can be trusted.
When we trust Him and we respond to Him with our abilities, we are responsible.
When we are responsible, we live a good story and we are a light to others.

Help your kids memorize May's Bible Verse: "Whoever can be trusted with very little, can also be trusted with much." Luke 16:10