A few Sunday’s ago I found myself in a mad panic trying to make it to church on time. It was one of those mornings that everything just felt as it was going wrong. I had woken up 30 minutes late, stubbed my toe twice and burnt myself with the curling iron. So by the time I was ready to leave I was in a mad dash to my car. As I ran to my car I ended up tripping over my own shoe and falling flat on my face. I laid there for a minute before rolling over in defeat and asking God why?!?! It was then that I looked up and saw the rainbow! It was BEAUTIFUL and placed perfectly in the sky! I found myself laying there for an extra five minutes just enjoying God’s work. Suddenly it didn’t matter that I was late, because I was so caught in the beauty of God.

Rainbows have always played a significant part in my walk with God. God has used them repeatedly to catch my attention and remind me of the promises he has for my life! And on this morning I needed to fall flat on my face in order to see God’s great creation and to feel his love for me.

God has been really challenging me with these thoughts recently. Even though life is crazier then ever he has been teaching me to find him and his beauty in the madness! The day’s that I do this are the sweetest day’s. They are the day’s that I shouldn’t have a smile on my face and I do. They are the day’s that I would normally give up on but I finish! This may seem like a simple idea or thought but for me it’s been inspiring and encouraging. It has changed the way I walk my life and has pushed me to find my strength in God.

My students have even caught on to this idea as well and I see them trusting and seeking God in deeper ways then ever! I also see them encouraging one another in the harder moments. I heard one say the other day that Love always win’s, over fear, stress, or pain, Love wins. What an encouraging statement! It’s been so cool to see how God has been showing them his beauty in there moments of defeat and how they have learned to pass this same hope and all on to others!

Emily Wood

Fuse Summerlin Intern

One of the things I always looked forward to as a kid and teenager was SUMMER! There wasn’t going to be any more school. No more homework. No more early mornings of having to wake up and catch the bus. No more having to be in bed by 8pm. It was a three-month break that I knew I would completely enjoy. There would be all night video-game parties. There was junk food for breakfast and lunch. It was just amazing.

Now it was an amazing time of year for ME but for my parents it was something different. It was dreadful. Stressful. There was the discussion of what I will be doing while they were at work. Would I be ok? Would I be safe? Then there was the grocery bill that drastically grew. There was the planning of the vacation. There was just that notion of the unknown.

Are you as a parent in that place? Are you stressing about summer for your child, your teenager, and your schedule? I want to encourage you that this summer the Central Family ministry wants to help! We have set up some amazing opportunities for you to send your child away…to summer camp! Below is the list of dates for summer camps!

4th and 5th Grade- July18-23
Junior High- July30-August 3
Senior High- August 4-8

Summer can be stressful for parents but at least for one week you can know that your child is having fun, learning about Jesus, and is safe! Please check out www.centralparents.com to register for camp!

Steve Petrauschke
Family Ministries- NE Campus

I follow a number of blogs about kids who are fighting battles with cancer or of parents who have lost children.

Through them, I cry when they post sad news… I cheer when they make progress and I walk away hugging my children a little tighter, playing just “one more game” of cards and spending more time praying for my children’s health. All silently from the corner of my living room, their blogs none the wiser.

There are thousands who post well wishes, prayers and thoughts on their comments. Each are little lights of hope and love prayerfully paving the way into a restoration of health and peace for each of these families.

Then I find that recently and in the past there have been people who have posted fake sites to try and gather donations from unsuspecting people who feel bad for their story.

So then… where do the little lights go? They go out… and these well-wishers are no longer beacons of hope but are poster children for bad behavior. They name-call, belittle and trash these people who have lied… hopefully paving the way into… what… exactly?

One verse in the Bible that has just echoed in my head for several weeks is Luke 5:31..but ironically when I went to look up that passage; my Bible opened to Ephesians 4:29

“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.”

Pouring into strangers, our family, our children.. it’s all the same. It is God’s words that will change their heart. Our priority is to love them and see them the way that He does. No matter what they’ve done. Is it hard? You betcha!!

I pray that I have the eyes to see everyone the way that God sees them (and sees me!)

Melissa Millwee
Central Kidz – Preschool

Going into my freshman year of college I had a plan. I had 9 semesters of my Pre-Med major planned out; I knew the date I would probably take my MCAT; and I KNEW the 5 schools I wanted to apply to for medical school. About half way into my second semester I felt God tugging at my heart. He was whispering into my life “ If you want to, I think you would make a fine Doctor, but I think you would be a lot better at this”. Well for me, “this” meant dropping out of my Pre-Med program and immediately enrolling in Bible School to one day become a Pastor. It was an unexplainably difficult decision to make as an 18 year old kid trying to find his way in life, but I did. I listened to God and made a leap.

At the time I thought to myself, well I guess it’s time for Plan B. It’s been a full 2 years since that day and now I know in my heart that this isn’t Plan B: it’s Plan A. This has been God’s plan the whole time. The trajectory of my life has dramatically changed and I love every second of it. As a Doctor I might live somewhere else, met a different girl, and had a completely different set of people pouring into my life, but God did things on His terms instead of mine as He always does.

Things might not always go OUR way. We may think to ourselves “well, on to Plan B, I guess”, but God’s plan is always Plan A. Our plans might change a little or they may dramatically alter the trajectory of your life, but whatever happens, God is always present and always in control. Trust in Him.

In Him,

Brad Brittain

Fuse Junior High Team

My 4 year old son was recently asked to be video taped for a college English class. He of course said yes and stood there beaming, waiting for the questions.

Her first question was “Who is your favorite superhero?” He immediately said “Jesus!”

Of course I stood there beaming thrilled at the answer he just gave. It was his first thought – not Spiderman, Batman, or even my first thought for him – Bumblebee from Transformers. He chose the one true Superhero – he gets it!

As a parent we are always thrilled to hear our good teaching habits echoed in our children’s voices. We are there pointing and saying “that’s my kid!!!” But I had to stop and pray about my teaching habits. I asked myself, “Do I also take credit for all the bad stuff he does too?” The whining, tantrums, disobedient child he (err, I) can be as well.

I smiled and stood beaming again. Because Jesus is my Superhero too! And he takes me just how I am. What an amazing and giving God we serve. I thank him for being the God of second, third and a million chances.

Lori Aguirre
Children’s Ministry

Last weekend we started a new series in Fuse that’s all about stress.  The reality for students is that they live with a crazy amount of worry, tension and stress in their lives.  One key way to diffuse stress is to just talk about it.  Substantive conversations about stuff like this will be helpful for your student.

Have a conversation with your kid about stress.  Just jump in with these kinds of questions:

• What parts of your life stress you out?  Be honest.
• Is there anything I can do to help you through stuff that worries you?
• How can your friendship with God help you with stress?

If you’d like to check out some key passages of Scripture with your son/daughter – talk through these:

• Philippians 4:6-7
• 1 Peter 5:6-7
• Matthew 11:28-30
• Matthew 6:25-34

One concept we’re teaching through is that stress is a part of life.  It will always be present in our world.  Learning to deal with it using God’s strength in your life is one of the most important skills you can learn.  Help your child build great habits in dealing with stress.  It will serve them throughout their whole lives.

As always, if anyone on our staff can help you with this, give us a call!

Tony Schwartz

Fuse Junior High Team

So we’re kicking off a series called Relax in Fuse this  coming weekend.  Its going to be talking about the everyday stress that high school and junior highers encounter and how the bible says they should handle that stress.

Heading into the home stretch of this school year, I think its going to be a great time for lessons like these.  With all the stress of finals, social life, seniors looking at colleges, ect. It will be great to dive into the Word for some encouragement and guidance to help our students finish the year strong.

Thanks again to you all for allowing us to partner with you in disciplining you’re kids! We appreciate all that you parents do and it is a true blessing to be able to come along side of you!

Tiffany Becerra

Worship/Tech Intern

Fuse | Southwest

Over the past couple of days, I’ve spent some time out at the dry lake bed doing some 4-wheeling with my husband.  Over one particular smooth stretch of the many trails and roads we were hitting, I started thinking about my kids, my husband, my job, my relationship with God…life in general. It was a God moment and I was immediately struck by the parallels that exist between the trails we were on and the lives we live.

Obviously my favorite trails were the smooth ones with very few bumps and turns to worry about.  The days where everything seems to be going as planned, kids getting along with each other, running on time…those days feel like the smooth trails and I really wish that’s where life happened the most.  Then there are the trails with moguls.  Some of the moguls are the small rolling moguls where you can stay seated without it jarring your body too much.  Those trails feel like normal everyday life where small annoyances pop up here and there, but it doesn’t mess up the whole day.  You basically learn to get beyond those annoyances and move on. But then there are the trails that have what I like to refer to as the demon moguls! Some have deep dips in them, others make you feel like you’re going to roll over at any moment, and to top it all off, it’s one mogul after another…and another…and another…and you have to stand up while navigating through these unless you want to live in a chiropractor’s office.  Those trails remind me of seasons that we go through in life. Seasons in life, where as a parent, it feels like nothing we do is right.  Seasons where relationships we have can be strained because of situations that have happened that are out of our control, and we know we all like to be in control! Seasons where we question everything about our life.

I would love to live a life of smooth trails, but the reality is, life is full of moguls, some big…some small, and the only way to truly navigate through those is by maintaining a daily relationship with God.  So why not let go of the controls, hop on behind him and enjoy the ride!

What’s your trail like today?

Laura Murphy

Central Kidz