Kid Junction
A Ministry Assisting Families with Children
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What is Kid Junction?
It is a local mission provided by and operated through the
Galax First United Methodist Church on W. Center St. (across from the Fire Department).
It is funded by donations and staffed by volunteers.
It serves families with children (birth through middle school age)
once every four months if needed.
Each child in the family receives personal hygiene items: toothbrush, toothpaste,
body wash, a washcloth, diapers, wipes, lotion for babies, one set of clothing
(new or slightly used), underwear, shoes, socks, etc. at NO CHARGE!
Backpacks if needed and available.
It is open from 10:00-12 Noon on the 3rd Monday of each month.
TEXT OR CALL DIANNE at 276-233-7841 OR call the church office at 276-236-9937.
“But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Hebrews 13:16 (NKJV)
HAPPENINGS WITH KID’S JUNCTION
THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL
“And when they had come into the house they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh.” [Matthew 2:11 N.K.J.V.]
Christmas is the time of gift giving. This practice is traced directly back to the gifts the Three Wise Men gave to Baby Jesus. Sometimes the practice of giving gifts causes more problems than it offers benefits. Many families overspend on Christmas and wreck their financial well-being in an attempt to keep up with their friends. I can remember as a teenager hating to go back to school after Christmas when all my friends would brag about all they had gotten for Christmas, and I never got as much. Up until that time I really did not realize that by material standards how poor my family really was. I was embarrassed to have to admit that I only received one small gift, and there were years I did not get that much, while my friends had gotten so much more. Sometimes I was tempted to lie about what I had gotten, but I knew lying was wrong.
Looking back on my life, I now can see that while my family was lacking in material things, they were able to give me the greatest gift of all. Realizing now that, even as a teenager facing all the peer pressure that teenagers face, I was still able to know that lying was wrong was a great gift indeed. Telling a lie might have made me be better accepted, but not giving in to that temptation speaks volumes of how rich spiritually my family really was. The greatest gift of all that my family gave to me was faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
I cannot remember a time when prayer was not a part of our life. Blessings were said before each meal. Children were taught to pray as the last thing you did at night and the first thing you did the next morning. There was never a question of if we were going to church—if the church doors were open, we went. Some of my earliest memories are of my playing around my mother’s feet as she worked on a quilt and told me the stories from the Bible. I honestly cannot remember a time when I did not know about Jesus. The strength and the comfort of the Christian faith sustained and kept me, even during those times I rebelled against that faith. What a great gift my parents were able to give me.
So this Christmas give your children, your grandchildren, or the neighborhood children, the gift of faith. Take the time to tell them the stories of Jesus. Live a life that brings honor and glory to God before them. Be their example of who a Christian really is. Long after the material gifts that you may give them are broken, lost, or worn out, or become “boring”, the Christian faith will still be with them and it can change their lives. God gave the world His Only Begotten Son at that first Christmas and that is the greatest gift that ever was. The greatest gift that you can give is to share Jesus with others.
Richard
HOPE
“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:14 NRSV.
The theme for Resurrection 2014 was hope. The key verse of scripture was Psalm 27:14 quoted above. As you may notice the word hope is not found in the key verse, but certainly the theme of hope is all through it. Our speaker was Andy Nixon senior pastor of the Loft United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas; incidentally he was, in my opinion, the best speaker we have had for Resurrection. Here are some of my thoughts on what Andy had to say.
Hope is the thing that keeps us going. Our faith in the goodness of God allows us to live hope filled lives even during those times we are struggling to get by. Sometimes keeping hope alive is not an easy thing for us to do.
Twice in this verse the Psalmist tells us to “wait on the LORD.” As a society we do not wait well. We tend to want what we want when we want it and get really impatient when we have to wait. We even upgrade our devices when a newer, faster model comes out. The idea of spending time with God and quietly waiting for God’s guidance is totally foreign to our way of thinking. Busyness has become our idol. In fact often we are so used to multitasking that we feel guilty when we are only doing one thing at a time. To do nothing and simply wait for God seems like a complete waste of time.
Yet when we do that we often are truly blessed. For you see, God’s time is sometimes different than our time. I know that many times I fail when I run ahead of God. So let us wait on the Lord and seek God’s will in all parts of our lives.
Another key element in our verse is the encouragement to be strong and to take heart. One of the great mysteries of faith is that often we are strongest when we are at our weakest point. One reason this is true is that when we think we are strong we assume that we can do it ourselves and God gets pushed aside. On the other hand when we are weak we realize how much we need God’s help. God is always there to see us through whatever we may be facing. It has often been said we stand our tallest when we are down on our knees in prayer.
So always let your heart be filled with hope for when we wait on the Lord, when we know that God’s strength can see us through we never lose heart, we never give up and we can change the world.
Richard
WALKING WITH JESUS
Luke records an interesting story in the twenty-fourth chapter of his gospel about two disciples who were on their way to the village of Emmaus. This was just after Jesus had been crucified and they were still confused and sad over the events that had happened. I imagine they had based their acceptance of Jesus on the fact that he was the Promised Messiah. Yet now, for them, he was gone! They were defeated!
Then Jesus was walking with them. The interesting thing about this text is that they failed to recognize him. Jesus walked with, he talked with them, and they still did not know who Jesus was.
Many times we are exactly the same way. Jesus promised never to leave us alone. He walks with us, and if we would only listen, Jesus talks with us as well. Yet we fail to recognize Jesus when we encounter him.
However this story ends on a high note. Jesus shares a meal with these disciples. In the breaking of the bread they were able to recognize who Jesus was. Then they remembered how their hearts had been warmed when he shared the scriptures with as they walked along together.
If you are failing to see Jesus, if you think you are traveling the road of life alone, may I suggest this Easter Season you do what these disciples did. Join us for worship where we share the scriptures together. Join us for our Fellowship Meals where we break bread together. Join us at Holy Communion where the Bread of Life is shared together. These disciples felt their hearts burn within them as realized they had been with Jesus. Worship can still do that for you. Join us and see for yourself!
Richard
THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL
“And when they had come into the house they saw the young child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh.” [Matthew 2:11 N.K.J.V.]
Christmas is the time of gift giving. This practice is traced directly back to the gifts the Three Wise Men gave to Baby Jesus. Sometimes the practice of giving gifts causes more problems than it offers benefits. Many families overspend on Christmas and wreck their financial well-being in an attempt to keep up with their friends. I can remember as a teenager hating to go back to school after Christmas when all my friends would brag about all they had gotten for Christmas, and I never got as much. Up until that time I really did not realize that by material standards how poor my family really was. I was embarrassed to have to admit that I only received one small gift, and there were years I did not get that much, while my friends had gotten so much more. Sometimes I was tempted to lie about what I had gotten, but I knew lying was wrong.
Looking back on my life, I now can see that while my family was lacking in material things, they were able to give me the greatest gift of all. Realizing now that, even as a teenager facing all the peer pressure that teenagers face, I was still able to know that lying was wrong was a great gift indeed. Telling a lie might have made me be better accepted, but not giving in to that temptation speaks volumes of how rich spiritually my family really was. The greatest gift of all that my family gave to me was faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
I cannot remember a time when prayer was not a part of our life. Blessings were said before each meal. Children were taught to pray as the last thing you did at night and the first thing you did the next morning. There was never a question of if we were going to church—if the church doors were open, we went. Some of my earliest memories are of my playing around my mother’s feet as she worked on a quilt and told me the stories from the Bible. I honestly cannot remember a time when I did not know about Jesus. The strength and the comfort of the Christian faith sustained and kept me, even during those times I rebelled against that faith. What a great gift my parents were able to give me.
So this Christmas give your children, your grandchildren, or the neighborhood children, the gift of faith. Take the time to tell them the stories of Jesus. Live a life that brings honor and glory to God before them. Be their example of who a Christian really is. Long after the material gifts that you may give them are broken, lost, or worn out, or become “boring”, the Christian faith will still be with them and it can change their lives. God gave the world His Only Begotten Son at that first Christmas and that is the greatest gift that ever was. The greatest gift that you can give is to share Jesus with others.
Richard
HOPE
“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD! Psalm 27:14 NRSV.
The theme for Resurrection 2014 was hope. The key verse of scripture was Psalm 27:14 quoted above. As you may notice the word hope is not found in the key verse, but certainly the theme of hope is all through it. Our speaker was Andy Nixon senior pastor of the Loft United Methodist Church in Houston, Texas; incidentally he was, in my opinion, the best speaker we have had for Resurrection. Here are some of my thoughts on what Andy had to say.
Hope is the thing that keeps us going. Our faith in the goodness of God allows us to live hope filled lives even during those times we are struggling to get by. Sometimes keeping hope alive is not an easy thing for us to do.
Twice in this verse the Psalmist tells us to “wait on the LORD.” As a society we do not wait well. We tend to want what we want when we want it and get really impatient when we have to wait. We even upgrade our devices when a newer, faster model comes out. The idea of spending time with God and quietly waiting for God’s guidance is totally foreign to our way of thinking. Busyness has become our idol. In fact often we are so used to multitasking that we feel guilty when we are only doing one thing at a time. To do nothing and simply wait for God seems like a complete waste of time.
Yet when we do that we often are truly blessed. For you see, God’s time is sometimes different than our time. I know that many times I fail when I run ahead of God. So let us wait on the Lord and seek God’s will in all parts of our lives.
Another key element in our verse is the encouragement to be strong and to take heart. One of the great mysteries of faith is that often we are strongest when we are at our weakest point. One reason this is true is that when we think we are strong we assume that we can do it ourselves and God gets pushed aside. On the other hand when we are weak we realize how much we need God’s help. God is always there to see us through whatever we may be facing. It has often been said we stand our tallest when we are down on our knees in prayer.
So always let your heart be filled with hope for when we wait on the Lord, when we know that God’s strength can see us through we never lose heart, we never give up and we can change the world.
Richard
WALKING WITH JESUS
Luke records an interesting story in the twenty-fourth chapter of his gospel about two disciples who were on their way to the village of Emmaus. This was just after Jesus had been crucified and they were still confused and sad over the events that had happened. I imagine they had based their acceptance of Jesus on the fact that he was the Promised Messiah. Yet now, for them, he was gone! They were defeated!
Then Jesus was walking with them. The interesting thing about this text is that they failed to recognize him. Jesus walked with, he talked with them, and they still did not know who Jesus was.
Many times we are exactly the same way. Jesus promised never to leave us alone. He walks with us, and if we would only listen, Jesus talks with us as well. Yet we fail to recognize Jesus when we encounter him.
However this story ends on a high note. Jesus shares a meal with these disciples. In the breaking of the bread they were able to recognize who Jesus was. Then they remembered how their hearts had been warmed when he shared the scriptures with as they walked along together.
If you are failing to see Jesus, if you think you are traveling the road of life alone, may I suggest this Easter Season you do what these disciples did. Join us for worship where we share the scriptures together. Join us for our Fellowship Meals where we break bread together. Join us at Holy Communion where the Bread of Life is shared together. These disciples felt their hearts burn within them as realized they had been with Jesus. Worship can still do that for you. Join us and see for yourself!
Richard
