Legand of the Poinsettia

We have a special treat for you today! Our guest blogger is our own TCE Program Director, Lynne Herlein. Lynne has written some thoughts about the beautiful Christmas flower, the poinsettia. We trust you will enjoy reading her post and that it will help you further enjoy the beauty of this season.

Do you enjoy seeing the festive lights and decorations at Christmas? I do! Lights, trees, Christmas ornaments, manger scenes, candy canes, etc. begin popping up sometime in November and everywhere we turn we are reminded of Christmas.

One Christmas decoration we see a lot are the festive potted poinsettias. Their showy display of red and green seem custom-made for Christmas. But have you ever wondered how the poinsettia became part of our Christmas tradition?

The poinsettia was found growing wild in Mexico by Dr. Joel Roberts Poinsett, America’s first foreign minister to Mexico. In the late 1820’s, the avid gardener brought this flower, known as the “Flower of the Holy Night,” with him to the U.S. The flower later came to be known by the name we call it today, “Poinsettia.” The following is a legend that has come to be part of the story of the poinsettia.

The Legend of the Poinsettia

Many years ago in Mexico there lived a little girl named Pepita. Pepita and her cousin, Pedro, were very poor. It was nearly Christmas so, as usual, a manger scene was on display at the church. All of the children talked excitedly about what gifts they wantedto bring to the Christ child on Christmas Eve. However, because Pepita andPedro had no money, they had nothing they could bring to lay at the manger.

Christmas Eve arrived and, rather than feeling joyful as she walked towards the service, Pepita was very sad. Pedro saw the sadness and said, “I’m sure that even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in his eyes.” Not sure what to do, but believing her cousin, Pepita stopped and picked some common weeds along the roadside and formed them into a bouquet of sorts.

As Pepita walked towards the manger she remembered the words Pedro had spoken and humbly laid her “bouquet” at the manger. Suddenly, the bouquet burst into beautiful red flowers. The people attending the service that night felt as if they had witnessed a Christmas miracle! From that time on the flowers were known as the “Flower of the Holy Night” because they bloomed each Christmas.

Although this is merely a legend, the message is applicable today. Perhaps this year has been especially difficult for you. With the recession came loss of jobs or cutbacks. Perhaps you have had personal or family struggles, lost a loved one or heard devastating news about your health. At times the harshness of life may have nearly robbed you of your joy. It may be that your gift-giving is going to be a bit sparse this year...and it brings a certain sadness because you want to do more than you are able. It may be helpful to remember the nugget of truth found in Pedro’s wise words: “...even the most humble gift, given in love, will be acceptable in His eyes.”

We often say that Christmas isn’t about the gifts, but has it become that to us? What kinds of things could you do this Christmas that show your love for Christ to others? Perhaps it is giving baked goods or spending time doing things the people you love enjoy (reading books, playing games, watching a movie, taking a walk, sharing a cup of coffee.) Maybe it is volunteering to help those who are less fortunate.

Perhaps you can share the good news of Christmas with the children who live around you or send a note of encouragement to your TCE graduates. Maybe you have received a blessing that could be shared with someone else...making it even more special! Although your “bouquet” may not spring forth into beautiful red flowers...it will be received with love and joy, and Christ will be pleased because your gift was given in love.

We are so thankful for each of you, our IOTs, and the gift you are to our ministry. Thank you for giving your time and creativity to your TCE students. They have surely benefitted from your “bouquets!”

Peace on Earth

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill to men” (Luke 2:14).

Peace is rare in our world! According to the Personnel Journal, “Less than 8% of the time since the beginning of recorded time has the world been entirely at peace.” Now that’s a depressing thought!

One observer put it this way: “Peace is the brief glorious moment in history when everybody stands around reloading.” (Lloyd Cory, Quote Unquote)

So, what happened to the peace promised by the angels on the night of our Savior’s birth? It is not a peace brought about by a treaty between nations. This is a peace given to individuals. It is a deep, inner calm in the hearts of those who know the Prince of Peace, the Lord Jesus Christ, as their Savior.

Knowing the peace of God doesn’t mean living free of stress and pressure! God’s inward peace comes in the midst of trouble. It is what keeps us level when all around us is tilted by turmoil. Theologian A.T. Pierson said, “The peace of God is that eternal calm which lies far too deep in the praying, trusting soul to be reached by any external disturbances.” This is not a peace understood by the world. That’s why there is so little peace in our world! But it is a peace available to every person who seeks it.

Contrary to what some people think, being in ministry does not automatically guarantee a peaceful path! Preparing classes and working with TCE students, along with all the other things you do in ministry can be stressful and exhausting! But as you look back over this past year, can you trace the peace of God in your life, even through the stressful times? And isn't it wonderful to know that His peace goes with us into 2010!

As we enter this most special season, our prayer for you is that the peace of God would rule in your heart, in your home and in your place of ministry. No matter what the year ahead may hold, may our Lord Jesus Christ fill you with His heavenly peace!

Living a Life of Thanksgiving to the Lord

It's Thanksgiving time here in America. We at the Cafe pray that God will bless you and your family with hearts of gratitude to the Lord. Today's post comes courtesy of Back to the Bible broadcast.

For God's people, Thanksgiving is far more than a special day on the calendar. The Bible urges us to live a life of thanksgiving each day. Being thankful to God for all of His blessings is truly a mark of the Christian. So let me give you four biblical ways to express your thanksgiving to the Lord at this wonderful season of the year. The base I want to build on is Psalm 100, a song of praise to God as our Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer.

I see at least four ways that Psalm 100 instructs us to praise and worship God. Some may be a little scary to those who are not used to joyously expressing praise, but I encourage you not to be afraid!

1. Don't Be Afraid to Shout Praise to the Lord. The Bible says, "Make a joyful shout to the LORD" (Ps. 100:1). In the Bible, shouting is associated with great achievement or joy. Joshua told Israel to march around Jericho for six days and on the seventh day to lift a great shout. When they did, the walls fell down (Josh. 6).

When you are thanking and praising God, don't be afraid to be a little loud. God loves to hear our praises, and it will also make you biblical!

2. Don't Be Afraid to Serve the Lord with Gladness. "Serve the LORD with gladness" (Ps. 100:2). Gladness means mirth, gaiety and happiness. No service to the Lord, whether great or small, should be done grudgingly.

Sincere and true delight in service to God should accompany our words and deeds of worship. When you are serving the Lord, don't be afraid to do it with a glad heart—and don't be afraid to smile!

3. Don't Be Afraid to Come into the Lord's Presence. "Come before His presence with singing" (Ps. 100:2). God calls us to come into His presence privately each day and together in corporate worship. "Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice" (Ps. 55:17).

It was said of the fledgling New Testament church that they met daily in the temple for teaching from the Word, fellowship, worship and praise. Little wonder that Hebrews 10:25 begs us not to fail to regularly assemble with other believers in thanksgiving, hearing the Word and worship.

4. Don't Be Afraid to Get to Know the Lord. The rest of Ps. 100:3 says, "Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture" (emphasis added). The psalmist calls the people to recognize and "know" God's words, works and ways.

He wants us to know that He is Jehovah God and we are not, that He is the Creator and we are His creatures and that we are His sheep and He is our Shepherd. The heart-longing of every godly person is to get to know God more intimately.

Let's make it our determination to praise and worship God this holiday season!

Copyright © 2009 The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc. (Back to the Bible) Lincoln, Nebraska, USA Used by permission. All rights reserved http://www.backtothebible.org

Culture Point #4 - Evangelizing Children

Over the past few months, we have been examining our six CEF culture points – principles that guide all we do in our ministries around the world. So far, we have discussed godly leadership, the spiritual welfare of our workers and the importance of prayer. Today we take a closer look at the heart of our ministry—evangelizing children!

Here is culture point #4:

Importance of Evangelizing Children There is no limit to the number of organizations that do many good things that are important to boys and girls in need. We are thankful for them and believe that God uses them to help hurting children. CEF, however, has been called by God to exclusively present the Gospel so children may be saved and discipled in God’s Word. We must stay on point.

When we consider today's children around the world, we can identify many profound needs. There is poverty, hunger, AIDS, homelessness, illiteracy, abuse and children without parents or families just to name a few. Our hearts go out to the masses of hurting children. We all wish we could do something that would take away the pain so that every child could be adequately fed, clothed and cared for. And certainly most of us try to do what we can for children who are in our immediate sphere of influence.

This culture point, however, reminds us of our primary mission. As this point states, there are many good organizations seeking to meet the physical needs of children—and CEF has often partnered with them, but our God-given task is to meet the child's spiritual need. Our call from God as an organization is to present the message of salvation clearly and simply, to lead boys and girls to the Savior, to disciple them in the Word of God and direct them into the local body of believers. There is not another Christian organization to our knowledge with that specific aim.

Since our founding in 1937, CEF has been a beacon shining in a dark world. We have been used of God in many places to be a change-agent, helping the Church see that the Great Commission cannot be fulfilled without sharing the Gospel with the little ones, and that children must be evangelized before they can be taught to demonstrate Christian character traits. And our task is time-sensitive! George Barna reminds us from his studies that, “If people do not embrace Jesus Christ as their Savior before they reach their teenage years, the chance of their doing so at all is slim.” (Transforming Children into Spiritual Champions, p. 34)

Eternity is at stake! Scripture puts it this way, “For what shall it profit a man [or a child], if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). In discussing the need for believers to return to the priority of evangelism, Christianity Today editor, Ajith Fernando writes, “The stark fact of lostness places before us the urgency of evangelism.”

When we have an opportunity and the means to meet a physical need, we are compelled by Scripture to do so. But, we must encourage our TCE students to stay true to the purpose for which our ministry exists—to, first and foremost, evangelize and disciple children. We all know that Christians, in general, do not focus ministry on evangelizing children. If we drift from our purpose, who will be there to clearly and consistently present the Gospel? Let’s be sure we are staying on point—let’s keep the main thing the main thing!

We're Back!

Have you been searching for us? We’ve had to take some time away from the Café to handle other things in the Department of Education – we hope you missed us!

Now that we’re back, we want to update you on some exciting things happening at CMI Online!

Apply Now for January 2010 courses!

Enrolling in Understanding Today's Child or Teaching Children Effectively Level 1 requires application and acceptance to the Children's Ministries Institute. The approval process takes 3-4 weeks from the time the application is submitted and must be completed before students can register for either course.

Don’t delay! Prospective students should Apply Now!

Understanding Today’s Child
Dates: Jan 17 - Mar 13, 2010
Registration Open: Nov 21 - Dec 13
Cost: $330 plus books

Teaching Children Effectively™ Level 1
Dates: Jan 17 - Mar 27, 2010
Registration Open: Nov 21 - Dec 13
Cost: $330 plus books

For a complete listing of all upcoming courses at CMI Online, see the sidebar, CMI Online News!

Announcing: Teaching Preschoolers to Know and Love God

The newest addition to the Teaching to Transform seminar series on CMI Online, Teaching Preschoolers to Know and Love God is a 30 minute seminar designed to provide preschool teachers with valuable information to be considered as they prepare for and teach their class. Parents of preschoolers may also benefit from this seminar. What are preschoolers like? Can a preschool child really be saved? What are important characteristics of a preschool class session? How do you teach preschoolers? These questions will be answered during this seminar. At the end of the seminar, you will be equipped with information that can help you become a more effective preschool teacher.

Cost – only $5!! (groups up to 50 people can take this training for only $25!)

Enroll Now!!!

Brand new CMI Online promotional

If you know people who want training, but wonder if online training will work for them, you’ll want to show them this video. In this two-minute video, a recent student explains how the online training works and why she feels it is valuable training for teachers. View this video promotional at: http://online.cefcmi.com/videos/promos/cmionlinepromo/cmionlinepromo.swf

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We are excited about what God is doing through CMI Online! The program continues to grow as new courses are added and new students discover us. And there's lots more to come! Be sure to let folks in your area know about our online training. If they can't come to your training courses, CMI Online is the next best thing! Help us spread the word about this convenient, quality training!

Be-Attitudes for Teachers

We’re going to take a little break from our look at the CEF culture points for the following special treat! Recently, we came across a Web site called the Ministry Tools Resource Center. They have lots of very interesting articles and resources for teachers. We recommend you check them out.

One of their resources is a book called, Be-Attitudes for Teachers, that contains 30 devotionals. They have given us special permission to reprint one of those devotionals here at the Café. This special permission was granted to us for this one-time printing. Please do not copy this article for other use. You can visit their Web site to see all they have to offer.

We wanted to share this article with you to continue inspiring you to be creative in teaching your TCE courses—and other training as well. So read and enjoy—then go visit the Ministry Tools Resource Center!

Be-Attitudes for Teachers

“Who ... me? Be creative?”

Yes, everyone has the potential to be creative! That bold assertion can be made because in Genesis 1:26-27 God said “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness . . .” Certainly that would include His creative quality.

When you were a preschooler you were imaginative. You could make play toys from almost anything. You may have even created imaginary friends. You were curious, investigative, inquisitive, filled with wonder and awe. You were very sensory-oriented.

But it wasn’t long before significant adults in your life would say “No. Don’t touch.” Even when what you were doing was not harmful or inappropriate, they may have halted your inquiry because they didn’t want to be bothered or inconvenienced.

You went to school and encountered teachers who would penalize you for taking initiative, for deviating from their expectations. Perhaps you heard your parents say something like --- "Why can’t you be like other children?"

On into adolescence you went and discovered a term called peer pressure. You wanted to be liked and accepted by your peers so you would dress, act, and talk like them.

Think about it: Is the problem that you have no creative ability or that your creativity has been stifled?

Perhaps you need to travel back to the days when you learned by touching, looking, listening, tasting, and smelling. Allow yourself to wonder, to question, to brainstorm, to expose yourself to new ideas. Get out of your rut and try something new. When you do, you will find the joy of discovery. Learning will take on a new dimension.

As a teacher, you must remember that your students learn best this way too. They also were made in the image of God and consequently have creative resources. Are you going to work within or against God’s design?

At the root of a teacher’s aptness toward creativity lies his/her philosophy or view of the teaching-learning process. How you believe people learn will determine how you will structure the learning experience.

The traditional, non-creative teacher believes people learn by sitting still, listening to what is being said, and acquiring facts. Consequently, this teacher will see his role as an authoritarian, a teller, and a fact-giver.

The more innovative, creative teacher, on the other hand, believes people learn by getting involved (doing), personally discovering truths, and understanding meanings behind facts. As a result, this teacher will structure lessons to include opportunity for interaction and participation. The teacher’s role will be that of a guide and motivator, stimulating students through the use of audiovisuals and meaningful activities to explore God’s Word and discover His truth. Learning becomes exciting, fun, relevant, and meaningful.

For the sake of your students, let go of those fears and be who God made you to be —a creative person.

© 2001 Ministry Tools Resource Center, http://mintools.com/ Special permission has been granted to CEF only to copy this Be-Attitude onto our blog. This devotional is taken from the Ministry Tools Resource Center’s book, Be-Attitudes for Teachers.

Culture Point #3 - Prayer

We have been taking a close look at the six principles that comprise the culture of Child Evangelism Fellowship. Earlier, we examined the first two culture points—the Importance of Godly Leadership at Every Level and the Importance of the Spiritual Welfare of our Workers. Both of these points are significant in our ministry as instructors of teachers.

Today, we want to focus on the third culture point:

Importance of Prayer as Our Foundation It is not the work we do, the meetings we hold or the decisions we make that bring the greatest advances in the work; it is the time spent before the throne of God in prayer, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that brings power, laborers and resources into the ministry.

If we were to take an informal poll, asking our CEF family to rate the importance of prayer in our ministry, it would undoubtedly rank at the top of the list, right alongside reading the Bible. Yet, for all our talk about prayer and its importance to our task, how many of us have a deep and consistent prayer life?

This culture point states that prayer is “our foundation.” This is true of our ministry, both in a literal as well as in a spiritual sense. D. L. Moody once said, “Every great movement of God can be traced to a kneeling figure.” If you go back to the beginning of CEF’s history, you find our founder, Mr. O, was that kneeling figure—a man of prayer. He knew that the great task of building a ministry to children could not succeed without it!

In the book, The Indomitable Mr. O, his biographer tells about how, from the very beginning, Mr. O bathed this ministry in prayer. He would rise every morning at 4:00 and go to his “prayer closet” in a grove of trees on his property and pour out his heart to God for the children. As the work grew, he used a world globe to pray for the children of the nations. Even toward the end of his life, Mr. O was still actively and consistently praying for the workers in CEF around the world—by name!

In his book, Everything by Prayer, Mr. O makes his prayer philosophy very clear:

“Every spiritual program must be defended and supported by definite believing prayer. Every God-called man and every God-planned enterprise must have praying folk to pray out the problems. To carry on the work of God is to wage a terrific warfare with Satan and all his hosts. Before the battle there must be preparation wrought in prayer; during the battle the warriors must be upheld by those guided of God to be intercessors; after the battle there should be praise.”

Scripture teaches many principles about prayer. We are to pray in the will of God and with confidence (1 John 5:14-15); we are to pray in the name of Christ (John 14:12-15); we are to pray in faith (Js. 1:5-8); we are to pray for definite things (Rom. 8:26-27); we are to pray with a grateful heart (Phil. 4:4-7). These are just a few of God’s prayer principles.

As instructors of teachers, we need to be leaders who set the example in prayer. Do you pray for the children in your area and around the world? Do you pray for your TCE students? Do you pray for your TCE graduates? Do you pray for the clubs your students are teaching? Do you pray for God to give you more students? Do you pray that God will raise up more IOTs from your courses? Do you pray for the financial needs of the ministry? These are just some of the areas of prayer we should be involved in.

Many of you are very conscientious in praying for your students. Some IOTs set aside definite prayer times during their TCE courses. Some secure prayer partners outside of the courses to pray for individual students. One IOT shared how he and his family keep the names of their TCE students on index cards and pray for them at family meals. How encouraging it would be for your students—and graduates—to know that you are remembering them in prayer on a regular basis!

If you ask most CEF workers what the greatest need is in their ministry, they will mention two things: workers and finances. Please notice the last statement in our culture point on prayer: “It is the time spent before the throne of God in prayer, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that brings power, laborers and resources into the ministry.” Clearly the answer to our ministry needs is found in prayer.

Mr. O said, “It is wonderful to know that God is still the owner and sovereign, and He is a friend of mine. When we pray we ask an omnipotent Friend, the owner of all, for the thing we need, or we commit to Him the problem.”

As IOTs and ministry leaders, let’s be people of prayer. Let’s pray for the children. Let’s pray for our students. Let’s pray for more workers. Let’s pray for our financial needs. Let’s pray for each other. And then let’s rejoice together as we see our faithful God at work!

Do you have a special way to pray for your TCE students and grads? Click the "comment" link below and share it with us. You might have a great idea that will inspire another IOT to be more dilligent in prayer!