SPEAKER_01: You guys introduce yourselves real quick.
SPEAKER_05: Good morning.
SPEAKER_05: This is Sherry, the preschool ministry director at Celebration.
SPEAKER_02: Hey guys, how's it going?
SPEAKER_02: This is Landon, the Children's Ministry Director here.
SPEAKER_01: Hope you guys had a good New Year's.
SPEAKER_01: We've made it to 2022.
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Just sounds weird to say 2022, right?
SPEAKER_01: Oh man.
SPEAKER_01: But we made it.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, you know, this is gonna be great because walking into the new year, uh, starting this next series we're gonna be doing, it's called Monsters Under the Bed.
SPEAKER_01: Monsters Under the Bed.
SPEAKER_01: That's kind of cool.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, there's plenty of stuff people can be stressed out about.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, anxiety from COVID to inflation to, I don't know, politics.
SPEAKER_01: You name it.
SPEAKER_01: There's just always a lot that people could be scared of.
SPEAKER_01: But in the kid world, what are some things maybe you guys were scared of as kids?
SPEAKER_01: Anything scared of you guys when you were little?
SPEAKER_02: Uh Sasquatch, Bigfoot.
SPEAKER_01: Bigfoot.
SPEAKER_05: Um, The Dark, and actually before the days of um, what's that clown movie?
SPEAKER_01: Oh, it?
SPEAKER_05: Yes, the those drains, walking by those drains.
SPEAKER_05: I was always afraid something was gonna pop.
SPEAKER_01: The street water drains?
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
SPEAKER_05: I've never even seen it, but yeah.
SPEAKER_02: You don't want to.
SPEAKER_05: I used to walk home from the school bus and I would the guy's name.
SPEAKER_05: I would jump over it.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I would jump over them because I was afraid to directly walk by.
SPEAKER_01: Better take them sorry.
SPEAKER_01: Well, the title of the series, Monsters Under the Bed, makes me think about Monsters Inc.
SPEAKER_01: You guys seen that movie, right?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, that's one of my favorites.
SPEAKER_01: Who's one of your favorite characters from that movie?
SPEAKER_05: Um Mike Wazowski.
SPEAKER_01: Mike Wazowski, yeah.
SPEAKER_02: Boo.
SPEAKER_05: Boo.
SPEAKER_01: That's the little girl.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
SPEAKER_01: So what's the main guy?
SPEAKER_01: Sully?
SPEAKER_01: Sully.
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: So they think in the movie the monsters think the best way to get the energy is by scaring the kids.
SPEAKER_01: But throughout the movie, they come to discover that there's actually more power by making kids laugh.
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: I love that concept.
SPEAKER_04: Right.
SPEAKER_01: You know, something that maybe we're scared of can actually make us stronger when you understand what it is.
SPEAKER_05: Speaking of monsters, I have some jokes.
SPEAKER_01: Well you got it.
SPEAKER_05: Um, why did the monster eat a mini flashlight?
SPEAKER_01: Ooh, eat a mini flashlight.
SPEAKER_01: You know, we got those at the Christmas Eve services.
SPEAKER_01: Yes, those were fun.
SPEAKER_01: To introduce this.
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: Why did the monster eat a mini flashlight?
SPEAKER_05: Because he wanted a light snack.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: All right.
SPEAKER_01: Well, since we're going to be talking about these things, we thought it'd be fun to have somebody outside our circle to come and share as well.
SPEAKER_01: So, Sherry, why don't you introduce our guest speaker who we're going to have today?
SPEAKER_05: Um, we have Christy Thomas, who is actually a former children's ministry director.
SPEAKER_05: Um, and she's a children's book author as well.
SPEAKER_05: And so one of the books that she'll probably be talking about with us is Quinn's Promise Rock.
SPEAKER_05: And it's just about anxiety and it's written at a kid's level.
SPEAKER_01: So let's go ahead and bring her in.
SPEAKER_01: So we're going to have her on the phone, ask some questions, and so hopefully I'll enjoy our conversation.
SPEAKER_05: I'd like to welcome and especially like to have a name, Christy Thomas.
SPEAKER_05: Um, Christy, would you like to explain a little bit about who you are?
SPEAKER_03: Sure.
SPEAKER_03: Hi, families.
SPEAKER_03: My name is Christy Thomas.
SPEAKER_03: I'm from Western Alberta, which is in Canada, and I have three boys, 10, 12, and 7.
SPEAKER_03: And I used to be the children's ministry director at my church for over 10 years.
SPEAKER_03: So currently I'm homeschooling my boys and working mostly online with writing and serving families through my online ministry.
SPEAKER_05: Oh wow, that's great.
SPEAKER_05: Um, so we did get your book, Quinn's Promise Rock, and I read through it.
SPEAKER_05: It's a great book, it's very cute.
SPEAKER_05: Um, I'm sure the kids are gonna love it too, and we get to read it to them.
SPEAKER_05: What inspired you to write this book?
SPEAKER_03: Um, it was actually a friend.
SPEAKER_03: She had posted on Facebook that her son had been really anxious about going to school, and he wasn't, he didn't want to leave her.
SPEAKER_03: He was little, I think he was in kindergarten.
SPEAKER_03: And so she had put a rock in his pocket, and she said, you know what, every time you touch this rock, I want you to remember that God is with you.
SPEAKER_03: And I thought that was so beautiful.
SPEAKER_03: Um it's not, you know, obviously the rocky isn't God.
SPEAKER_03: It's a tangible reminder of something that we often forget because our God is visible, right?
SPEAKER_03: So I came home that day and I wrote this story and I sent it to her.
SPEAKER_03: And she said, I love this, and you have to fully.
SPEAKER_03: And so that's that was kind of the beginning of the journey, and it's a lot of other little children.
SPEAKER_03: And even parents, other adults, often when I tell the storyline to adults, their eyes will hear us because we just forget that our God is big and amazing and wonderful, but he's also so personal.
SPEAKER_03: And sometimes we forget that.
SPEAKER_03: We need that reminder, right?
SPEAKER_05: Right, definitely.
SPEAKER_05: Um what would you say is probably your favorite Bible verse for kids on anxiety?
SPEAKER_03: Oh, Olympian 4607 is my favorite.
SPEAKER_03: So I had to post it a bit verse over my son.
SPEAKER_03: And so we had to put this verse over his bed and I started praying information every time.
SPEAKER_03: Um talking to him about it, so it's uh situation by transportation with Thanksgiving, and then you're requesting God is a piece of that self-understanding.
SPEAKER_03: So it would take that for him everything.
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I would talk about little people surrounding his brain to protect him uh from the bad thought.
SPEAKER_03: And um a lot of time to do it a little bit in there about bringing with thinking, but it is I think very powerful.
SPEAKER_03: I think we're doing research and realize that um gratitude is almost like a perfect method of inviting that even reminded us that when we are thankful and start making our gratitude, it's often making something like a way to realize how much you give them.
SPEAKER_03: But then you know, if you would're anxious, and we start making money of the things that you can handle that work.
SPEAKER_03: So between bringing that verse over him, reminding him, you know, God he solders in his brain and guarding his brain, and then also the gratitude, it really helped so much.
SPEAKER_03: And so that's the verse that I recommend for not one, my favorite.
SPEAKER_05: Yes, I um I remember also seeing on your website, Little Shoots Deep Roots, that that's one thing that you had talked about was instead of parents just telling the kids everything's gonna be okay, um, you basically had answered that.
SPEAKER_05: What could parents say instead?
SPEAKER_05: And that's what you guys do is the you know, replace it with some kind of gratitude.
SPEAKER_05: And you make a list.
SPEAKER_03: Telling anybody who's feeling anxious, well, it's all gonna be okay, don't worry.
SPEAKER_03: None of that works, right?
SPEAKER_03: Don't worry, never stop anybody from worrying.
SPEAKER_03: And I know that Jesus says that don't worry, but he also gives us some tools to work with that, right?
SPEAKER_03: When we're worried, we can't just say, don't worry, it'll be okay.
SPEAKER_03: We need to speak truth to the lies.
SPEAKER_03: We need to recognize the lies, and we need to also recognize, I find it really powerful, even just to recognize the way God made our brain, is that we have this part of our brain called the amygdala, which is designed to um make us afraid when in situations where we need to be afraid.
SPEAKER_03: Let's say you're walking through the forest and a bear pops up.
SPEAKER_03: Your amygdala goes, red alert, red alert, you need to be afraid right now.
SPEAKER_03: But sometimes you're walking through the forest and you're seeing all these dark things, and your amygdala is thinking, Well, that's a bear, that's the bear, you need to be afraid right now when really you don't need to be.
SPEAKER_03: So our amygdala can can overwork.
SPEAKER_03: And that's the way God made our brain.
SPEAKER_03: He he made them that we would be afraid and react appropriately in bad situations, but then we can overreact.
unknown: Just like anything in this fallen world, it can be committed.
SPEAKER_03: And um, that we need to help our children recognize that their fears are not truth.
SPEAKER_03: Like that their fears are often lies, that our our brain might be speaking to us, um, or the world might be speaking to us, and then to counteract that with the truth.
SPEAKER_03: So the truth might be as simple as, hey, this is not a bear, this is just a stone.
SPEAKER_03: And then it might also be that we need to be speaking Bible verses.
unknown: Right.
SPEAKER_05: Well, and that that was um something you were talking about in one of your articles too.
SPEAKER_05: You were basically telling us the difference between um fear versus anxiety, and you know, your example you just gave about the bear, you know, is a rightful fear because it could send off the flight or fight's response inside of us.
SPEAKER_05: Um but then anxiety, as you had said, said, um, but anxiety occurs when we begin to fear things that haven't happened yet.
SPEAKER_05: Um, so that's the whole what-if syndrome that suddenly starts taking over our mind.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_03: And it can be debilitating, right?
SPEAKER_03: Because when our body is in, when we're afraid and we go into that fight, flight, or freeze mode, that's designed to help us get away from that, right?
SPEAKER_03: Did we have anything to freeze with the bear, or we need to run away, or we need to fight smaller.
SPEAKER_03: And then if we're experiencing anxiety, then our bodies are constantly in that fight, flight, or freeze mode.
SPEAKER_03: So our children can really pay the price for that.
SPEAKER_03: So like our digestive system slows down.
SPEAKER_03: So you'll find that a lot of kids who are in anxiety, living with anxiety, have stomach aches and patients because they're constantly living in that heightened mode, right?
SPEAKER_03: Where their body is actually not able to relax properly.
SPEAKER_05: Right, that makes sense.
SPEAKER_01: Christy, how how did you get into this?
SPEAKER_01: I know you told about the book that you wrote for the friend, but uh just the idea to encourage moms and families, uh, how did you get to this point?
SPEAKER_03: Um well, I talked about a lot about it.
SPEAKER_03: That made a big difference, right?
SPEAKER_03: Just being able to create a universe who knows my children and and you know was able to remind me of little things about my children along the way.
SPEAKER_03: Also, you know, I spent a lot of time in the library reading every book that I could find on child anxiety that made a big difference.
SPEAKER_03: And then I I took a course on how to help my child with anxiety because I wasn't that dealt with it a lot more than the other.
SPEAKER_01: So you've got three kids.
SPEAKER_01: How about your husband in this picture?
SPEAKER_01: How does he support you?
SPEAKER_01: What's that look like?
SPEAKER_03: Oh, he is like the utmost self-supportive.
SPEAKER_03: He is he is a um quite fabulous amount of youth integrity.
SPEAKER_03: He works as a teacher, and there was a while there where we we kind of tossed over like well, I tossed over.
SPEAKER_03: You know, I really felt like he should be leading the kids in devotions, but seemed to be kind of the message that I was getting.
SPEAKER_03: But he kept saying, you know what, you are gifted in this, this is where God is gifted.
SPEAKER_03: So he has been amazing.
SPEAKER_03: I didn't ask for a better husband, honestly.
SPEAKER_03: He's really supported me in any research that I want to do, working in the evenings, um, and just loving our kids in the way that God made me to love them.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's good stuff.
SPEAKER_01: So for your your husband, I was reading on it, it says he does the videos or at least at least pushes record.
SPEAKER_01: It says he was videoing daddy on the the stuff I read.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
unknown: Oh yeah, so that's another thing that he did.
unknown: He sent me up with a video studio in the basement at one point.
SPEAKER_03: Now mostly I just use the webcam on my cam on my on my um computer, but yeah, he brought home equipment from work, he brought home a teleprompter and an iPad.
SPEAKER_03: Oh wow, yeah.
SPEAKER_03: That's great.
SPEAKER_03: And he set me up, he he he bought me lights, like he was like, We're gonna do this, you do this well.
SPEAKER_01: Alright.
SPEAKER_05: Oh that's awesome.
SPEAKER_01: Well, I know, you know, as as parents ourselves here, you know, talking to our kids is always tough.
SPEAKER_01: And uh your kids are getting older, you know, as they climb the ladder, the topics get bigger.
SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, bigger the kid, the bigger the problems is kind of what I've always been taught.
SPEAKER_01: And so just what encouragement do you give to parents?
SPEAKER_01: You know, if you start now, obviously it's easier to talk when they get older.
SPEAKER_01: But uh have you have you discovered you've been doing this for a few years now?
SPEAKER_01: Uh is it easier to have conversations with your kids?
SPEAKER_01: What's that look like as you climb the ladder?
SPEAKER_03: No, it absolutely is easier to have conversations with my kids.
unknown: Yes, since we we set that stage early and we talked about well, are you talking like specifically about anxiety or are you just talking about spiritual conversations in general?
SPEAKER_01: Just conversations.
SPEAKER_01: Kids are gonna have different fears and worries as they get bigger and get older, the topics change.
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I I have found that so we started that when my oldest was about six years old, and he's 12 now.
SPEAKER_03: He's almost 13.
SPEAKER_03: So we've been doing this for six, almost seven years.
SPEAKER_03: And as he grows, you know, you know, he'll be he'll worry about something, and I don't even realize you know what's going on until talk to him about it, and then I just feel like we're poking me and be like, hey, hey, what this is like I think we're reading that again.
SPEAKER_03: And then I'm able to you know re-talking through these steps, you know, let's notice that this is already bad talking, this is not you.
SPEAKER_03: Are there some lies there that maybe we need to address?
SPEAKER_03: Let's see what the Bible says look there, let's see um what other truths that we can tell that is why.
SPEAKER_03: And so having had those conversations before makes it a lot easier to have now.
SPEAKER_03: Now he hasn't had, I mean, he's 12 and a half, so we haven't had any of those really big teenager moments yet.
SPEAKER_03: I'm sure we will.
SPEAKER_03: But I'm really glad you'll you know set that stage for those conversations.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think that's the encouragement we want to give parents and families here is just, you know, even if you don't know, you still have to talk.
SPEAKER_01: You gotta go find out, like you said, research, talk to others, find resources.
SPEAKER_01: And that's really what we're trying to do on this podcast, is a point, especially with little ones, you know, at home, you still got plenty of time to start now to dig into your kids.
SPEAKER_01: So, Christy, I want to ask you if you're okay with um, we're getting ready to wrap up here in just a couple minutes, but would you pray for us over our parents listening to this podcast?
SPEAKER_01: Maybe just a short prayer of talking to the kids about fears and worries.
unknown: Yeah, absolutely.
unknown: Sure.
SPEAKER_01: We need to do that right now.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, go ahead and leave us.
unknown: All right.
unknown: Larry, we thank you that in you we have peace.
unknown: Thank you that that is one of the efforts of the spirit, and the peace that you give is beyond all understanding.
SPEAKER_03: And I just pray for the parents who are listening to this now, the parents who might be dealing with this with this with their children now or with themselves, or participating, dealing with it as their kids get older.
SPEAKER_03: You would remind them, turn their hearts to you every time for inspiration and insight, and the patience they need to deal with the children because the anxiety comes out in complex.
SPEAKER_03: Um, pray that you would get lots of patience, and just pray that as a continued parent, that they would not be anxious about anything, but that in every situation that arises in their family, by prayer and petition, and with a lot of thanksgiving, they would present their request to you and then it would be which transcends all understanding with guard their heart and their mind with their whole family and Christian.
SPEAKER_05: Amen.
SPEAKER_05: Thank you so much, Christy, for taking the time out to call us and um work with us on our podcast today.
SPEAKER_03: No problem.
SPEAKER_03: Thanks for having me.
SPEAKER_05: Um and if I wanted to point people to your books, could they just go to the Little Shoots Deep Roots website or just to Amazon?
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, if you go there, there's a menu at the top, you can find my books or you can find my online resources.
SPEAKER_03: Hopefully, it's pretty easy to navigate.
SPEAKER_05: Okay, all right, great.
SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
SPEAKER_01: Chrissy, thank you so much.
SPEAKER_01: We appreciate it.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
SPEAKER_01: Well, that was a great conversation.
SPEAKER_01: I think she had a lot to say.
SPEAKER_01: That was a lot of fun.
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, a lot of great information.
SPEAKER_01: And so, our goal for the next few weeks and blast through this series is really to help kids and families understand there are lots of things we can be scared of, but obviously we have a God that is bigger than any of those fears.
SPEAKER_01: And a few passages kind of bring this home that we're gonna be focusing on is Philippians 4, 4 through 8.
SPEAKER_01: Leon, I want you to read that one for us.
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02: It says, Rejoice in the Lord always.
SPEAKER_02: I will say it again, rejoice.
SPEAKER_02: Let your graciousness be known to everyone.
SPEAKER_02: The Lord is near, do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.
SPEAKER_02: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
SPEAKER_02: Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence, and if there's anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things.
SPEAKER_01: I love it.
SPEAKER_01: Think about such things in that passage.
SPEAKER_01: I didn't mention to you guys one of the things I was scared of when I was a kid.
SPEAKER_01: I was scared of eternity.
SPEAKER_01: About age 8, 9, 10, I can remember sitting in my bed thinking about, man, we're gonna live forever.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, what are we gonna do after we sing Amazing Grace a thousand times and play baseball, you know, for like a thousand years?
SPEAKER_01: What are we gonna do?
SPEAKER_01: I remember I would cry, I would run to my grandma and ask my granny, Granny, help me because I'm scared.
SPEAKER_01: And she'd always go to verses like this.
SPEAKER_01: And Psalm 23 was one of those verses that she'd read to me.
SPEAKER_01: It says, Look, you just have to trust God that no matter what you walk through, you're in the valley of death, that God is always with you.
SPEAKER_01: And he knows more than us, and we have to trust him.
SPEAKER_01: What does Psalm 23 say, Mr.
SPEAKER_01: Landon?
SPEAKER_01: You know that one?
SPEAKER_02: Yes, sir.
SPEAKER_02: It says, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
SPEAKER_02: He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, and he restores my soul, and guides me in paths of righteousness.
SPEAKER_02: For his name's sake.
SPEAKER_02: And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff.
SPEAKER_02: They comfort me.
SPEAKER_02: You prepare a table before me, and the presence of my enemies.
SPEAKER_02: You anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows, and surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
SPEAKER_02: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: Amen.
SPEAKER_01: So one of those things that give me peace is the fact that, you know what, I'm gonna be with him forever.
SPEAKER_01: And the other option to me is even scarier.
SPEAKER_01: So I'm just gonna say, you know what, I'm gonna trust that God's got this, and if eternity with him is in his hands, then I'm good to go.
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna trust what he says.
SPEAKER_01: So that's our series on monsters under the bed.
SPEAKER_01: Coming out of that January, February 6th, and February 13th, we start the next series, which really kind of go hand in hand.
SPEAKER_01: So after we talk about things we're scared of and how to get over those fears, now we come and we talk about God.
SPEAKER_01: And we're gonna talk about the character of God.
SPEAKER_01: Do you guys ever drink powder drinks?
SPEAKER_05: Not usually.
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I do.
SPEAKER_01: What's your favorite powder drink?
SPEAKER_02: Uh next quick chocolate milk.
SPEAKER_02: Do you really drink chocolate milk?
SPEAKER_01: The powder.
SPEAKER_01: No, sir.
SPEAKER_01: You don't drink that.
SPEAKER_01: You're just saying.
SPEAKER_01: I'm just helping you out for the podcast.
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, no, the powder drinks actually came from the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: Did you know that?
SPEAKER_01: Really?
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, the first powder drink way back in the book of Exodus.
SPEAKER_01: Please explain.
SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, for this series, we're talking about the passage from Exodus chapter 34, verse 6.
SPEAKER_01: It's the most taught verse from the Bible when it comes to biblical authors talking about theology and who God is.
SPEAKER_01: So it's one verse.
SPEAKER_01: There's literally thousands of books written on this verse.
SPEAKER_01: But you gotta back up to chapter 32 to see where this verse starts coming from.
SPEAKER_01: So this is Moses.
SPEAKER_01: He has led the people out of Egypt.
SPEAKER_01: They're beginning their journey.
SPEAKER_01: He's gone up Mount Sinai, he's got the Ten Commandments, he's on his way back down, and he sees Joshua, and Joshua hears the noise of the people as they're down on the ground, and it sounds like a party.
SPEAKER_01: You guys ever been to a good party, right?
SPEAKER_01: People dancing around, screaming, yelling, having a good time.
SPEAKER_01: That's what it sounds like.
SPEAKER_01: And they're thinking, what is this?
SPEAKER_01: War chant?
SPEAKER_01: And as they go down the mountain, Moses realizes the people have made an idol.
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: You guys know what that idol was?
SPEAKER_02: The calf.
SPEAKER_01: The what?
SPEAKER_02: The calf?
SPEAKER_01: The golden calf.
SPEAKER_01: So while he was gone, the people thought, oh no, maybe he's dead.
SPEAKER_01: He's been gone so long.
SPEAKER_01: Where'd he go?
SPEAKER_01: So they're looking at Aaron, his brother, and Aaron says, Okay, I'm gonna do these people.
SPEAKER_01: So he says, Let's just make something.
SPEAKER_01: So he collects all their gold jewelry and they melt it down, and he has the people there make it into a statue, a golden calf.
SPEAKER_01: And when Moses shows up, he is hot, he is furious.
SPEAKER_01: And I love this what he does.
SPEAKER_01: If you like illustrations or object lessons, Moses was.
SPEAKER_01: The king here, right?
SPEAKER_01: That's right.
SPEAKER_01: He took that golden calf and he melted it down to powder.
SPEAKER_01: Then he took that powder and he put it in the water and he made the people drink the water.
SPEAKER_01: I think that was a good, healthy protein shake there.
SPEAKER_01: So that's the first powder drink came from the Old Testament there.
SPEAKER_01: But you know, that's not all that Moses did.
SPEAKER_01: Moses said, you know what?
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna have to decide.
SPEAKER_01: Are we gonna be like God and follow him?
SPEAKER_01: You better choose this day whom you're gonna serve, is his tone of voice.
SPEAKER_01: He says, Hey, if you're on God's side, come over here and stand by me.
SPEAKER_01: So the Bible literally says the Levites came and stood by him.
SPEAKER_01: And Moses said, I want you now to strap on your sword, go through the people, and I want you to kill anyone who's against our Lord.
SPEAKER_04: Right.
SPEAKER_01: Even if it's your brother, even if it's your friend or your neighbor, kill them.
SPEAKER_01: The Bible says that day about 3,000 were sliced down.
SPEAKER_01: They were killed.
SPEAKER_01: So God is serious when he says, You know what, my people are to be set apart.
SPEAKER_01: We're to be different.
SPEAKER_01: And if there's sin in the camp, we've got to get rid of that sin.
SPEAKER_01: Then he goes back up the mountain, he's having a conversation with God.
SPEAKER_01: As he comes back down, he's literally seeing the glory of the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And this is where we read those verses in chapter 34, verses 30, verses 5 and 6.
SPEAKER_01: It says, Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him, Moses, and proclaimed his name, the Lord.
SPEAKER_01: And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin.
SPEAKER_01: Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished.
SPEAKER_01: He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.
SPEAKER_01: Moses bowed down to the ground at once and worshiped him.
SPEAKER_01: Man, you talk about that passage.
SPEAKER_01: It just describes many characteristics of who God is.
SPEAKER_01: So let's walk through those real quick.
SPEAKER_01: First of all, God is compassionate.
SPEAKER_01: Don't you guys agree that God shows compassion?
SPEAKER_05: Absolutely, yes.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know if you guys talk with your kids or if we're talking to kids and blast.
SPEAKER_01: You know, at home we have a lot of conversations how you know God sometimes is the judge, and it seems like he's quick to judge.
SPEAKER_01: But this verse here says, no, he's actually compassionate.
SPEAKER_01: It says he's slow to anger.
SPEAKER_01: Uh you think about the flood.
SPEAKER_01: People say, Well, look at the flood, man.
SPEAKER_01: I mean, God, how could God kill all those people?
SPEAKER_01: Right.
SPEAKER_01: Y'all know how long it took Noah to build that ark?
SPEAKER_01: How long?
SPEAKER_05: 40 years.
SPEAKER_01: 40?
SPEAKER_01: What do you think?
SPEAKER_01: It's 120 years.
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
SPEAKER_01: So he's building this ark for 120 years.
SPEAKER_01: The people who were giving 120 years to repent and to come back to God, and they don't.
SPEAKER_01: But yet people say, Well, God is so mean.
SPEAKER_01: How could he wipe all those people out?
SPEAKER_01: Well, I don't know.
SPEAKER_01: I call that patience.
SPEAKER_01: 120 years.
SPEAKER_01: That's being pretty patient.
SPEAKER_01: That's a lot of patience.
SPEAKER_01: So I think what we can learn from the character of God here is that God is a judge.
SPEAKER_01: He will judge.
SPEAKER_01: He has to do that.
SPEAKER_01: That's part of his character, but he's also a very patient, a very slow to anger type of God.
SPEAKER_01: And so this one and only Lord, it also says that he's abounding in love, that he is forgiving, but in the end, he has to be the holy and righteous judge.
SPEAKER_01: So there will come a time when he does separate, if you will, those who are on his side and those who aren't.
SPEAKER_01: We've got some resources we want to give you on this one.
SPEAKER_01: So you guys know about the Bible Project?
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
SPEAKER_01: Tell me what you know about the Bible Project.
SPEAKER_02: Oh man, we love the Bible Project.
SPEAKER_02: We use their videos a lot in our kids' world.
SPEAKER_02: Tim Mackey has a podcast resource on the Bible Project that you can check out.
SPEAKER_01: So Bibleproject.com, like Landa said, lots of videos.
SPEAKER_01: They're on right now me as well.
SPEAKER_01: We use them for books of the Bible.
SPEAKER_01: So for every book of the Bible, he's got an intro video that really does a good job explaining it.
SPEAKER_01: But he's also got a series on there about this passage.
SPEAKER_01: So if you go to the Bibleproject.com and search for Exodus 34, verse 6 or the character of God, they're also going to be on our church website and links to the in our podcast as well.
SPEAKER_01: But it's a great extra resource for digging in really deep about the character of God from this one verse.
SPEAKER_01: We get a great description of who our God is.
SPEAKER_01: So those are our two sermon series.
SPEAKER_01: So starting in January, talking about fear, anxiety, monsters under the bed, and then come back in February 13th, all the way up to spring break.
SPEAKER_01: You're talking about the character of God.
SPEAKER_01: So I think it's a great one-two series.
SPEAKER_01: You're talking about fears, how we can overcome them, and then talking about who God is and how we can trust God with all of our fears, anxieties, and our life.
SPEAKER_01: Again, we want to say thank you to Christy for taking the time to share with us.
SPEAKER_01: And so just another resource we want to give you if you're dealing with any kind of topic with your kids, whether they're small or big.
SPEAKER_01: Another great resource is called Focus on the Family.
SPEAKER_01: You may have heard of it, you may not, but just go to focusonthefamily.com.
SPEAKER_01: And what I love about their website is they have an article search.
SPEAKER_01: So pretty much any topic you can think about, whether it be kids are scared of dying, scared of eternity, like I was, uh, whatever you're dealing with, Focus on the Family is going to have some great articles.
SPEAKER_01: Many people have already been there, done that, walked through that.
SPEAKER_01: And so it's always a good thing to research, like Christy said, she sounds like a researcher.
SPEAKER_01: Hey parents, just go read.
SPEAKER_01: Get you a good book, get you some articles, get equipped, you know, so that we can have these conversations with our kids about anxieties and fears and what they're dealing with.
SPEAKER_01: Alright, as we wrap up these two sermon series and last and blast junior lessons, uh guys, we got anything we want to give away, something we can um you can text in, something and maybe get some prizes again this time.
SPEAKER_05: Sure, we have um a parent packet of books.
SPEAKER_05: So there's one by Max Locato, it's Anxious for Nothing.
SPEAKER_05: It's a young reader's edition.
SPEAKER_05: Um, some of you may have already read the adult version, but they actually have a young reader's edition, and there's even a parent um packet that you can follow along with to help your children online.
SPEAKER_05: Um, and we have a couple of kids' books too that are very kid friendly, but um even all the way up through elementary age, uh kids love the picture books.
SPEAKER_05: There's a lot of content in there that you could just even open up conversations with your kids about it.
SPEAKER_01: So then how do I get this parent pack?
SPEAKER_01: You're gonna give away three of them.
SPEAKER_01: What I gotta do to get this thing?
SPEAKER_05: Um text a keyword.
SPEAKER_01: What's the keyword?
SPEAKER_01: Land, what do we got?
SPEAKER_01: Keyword this time.
SPEAKER_01: Monsters Inc.
SPEAKER_01: INC Monsters Inc.
SPEAKER_01: Alright, so I'm texting the keyword monsters ink to what number?
SPEAKER_05: 678-522-9355.
SPEAKER_01: Alright, give me that number one more time.
SPEAKER_05: 678-522-9355.
SPEAKER_01: Alright, so we texted Monsters Inc.
SPEAKER_01: to that number.
SPEAKER_01: We're gonna give away three pair packs of books on these two Starman series that's coming out.
SPEAKER_01: All right, you got one more joke for us, and we're out.
SPEAKER_05: I do.
SPEAKER_05: Um, what's a monster's favorite variety of bean?
SPEAKER_01: Hmm.
SPEAKER_01: Green bean, lama bean, pento bean, red bean.
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what we got.
SPEAKER_05: Human bean.
SPEAKER_01: Human bean.
SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_01: Well, on that note, we're out of here.
SPEAKER_01: Hey, thanks for listening today and hope you guys enjoy our lessons for January and February.
SPEAKER_01: Excited about teaching about uh who God is and how God can comfort all of our fears and we can trust him everything in the world.
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
SPEAKER_01: See you next time.