Safe Sanctuary training is good for kids

Everyone knows our fastest-growing Horizons ministry is DiscoveryZone. We have kids as young as two all the way through fourth grade learning weekly about God, Jesus and the Bible. Today's lesson with the first through fourth graders was about sacrifice and how Jesus was called "the lamb of God."

On Saturday, lots of DiscoveryZone and other youth ministry servants sacrificed an entire Saturday morning for training to help make the Horizons youth programs not only the best hour of each kid's week, but the safest hour. Safe Sanctuary training gave us information we need to be truly vigilant when it comes to the safe-keeping of the kids entrusted to us. It's a huge responsibility and it feels good to be trusted by the families that come to Horizons whether they consider Horizons their home or they're just checking us out.

Help us keep that trust. When you check in your kids, take the wrist band. Wear it. When you're leaving with your kiddos from The BOB or their classrooms, be prepared to show a volunteer at the door your matching numbers. If you're picking up babes and toddlers, hang back at the counter and let the caretakers bring your child to you. It'll take longer, but you can use that time to chat with other parents and get to know someone new. Make the best of it and realize that we are tracking dozens of kiddos all at once.

If you have any questions about the Safe Sanctuary training or future training dates, talk with our Director of Children's Ministry Erin Dutter.

LMF

DiscoveryZone is good for your health

One of my new accessories is a pedometer.

The goal of 10,000 steps a day isn't the easiest to accomplish now that our niece has gone back home (shopping apparently is heart-friendly) and exercise seems an odd companion to eating non-stop so that I can keep on the additional 15 pounds I gained during recovery.

Without shopping, I've had a hard time getting to 2000 steps a day. But today I realized that DiscoveryZone is not only good for the soul, but good for the heart! In my 3 hours at Horizons today (and we're not known for our calisthenics during Worship!) I had nearly 2200 steps. That's all DiscoveryZone plus a little running around after Mace.

So that's my unscientific report for the day: Serve in DiscoveryZone -- it's good for you!

LMF

Horizons making news

It's been a busy media week for Horizons...

First up was the Channel 8/KLKN piece on Candie's house makeover that ran a few days after her home was unveiled. It featured an interview with Candie and video footage by Trever Rook. It was a good spot and Candie did a great job talking on camera.

Then Saturday, Pastor Steve was one of two sources in a Lincoln Journal Star story (Values section cover) on making big new year's resolutions and how to keep them. If you missed it, you can read it online.

Of course, the most recent splash was the Jan. 1, front page Lincoln Journal Star story about Candie's home makeover. There was a picture on page 2 and the writer, Colleen Kenney, did a nice job of telling Candie's story. If you want to really have some fun, pull up the story online watch Trever's video, look at Eric's pictures and then at the end of the story, read the online comments. The story is ranking high with more than 20 comments and they are all good. There was a lot of community interest in the story and support for what God is doing through Horizons!

The other media exposure right now is our Horizons commercial running on 1480 ESPN radio. The spot will be running day and night through February. Let me know if you hear it or if you get any feedback from friends or co-workers who have mentioned it. If you're dying to hear it and keep missing it on the air, shoot me an email and I'll send you an mp3 file.

Happy New Year Horizons!
LMF