Top Blog Posts of 2015

Hello readers! Like many other sites, I’d like to offer you the top ten posts of the year from right here at jessejoyner.com

top blog posts

Thank you to all of you who take time to read my blog. I’m not a professional writer. I hope to provide blog content that is helpful to people who work with children, serve in ministry, or who are generally interested in creativity and the circus arts. These 2015 posts are ranked by total number of page views over the course of the past year. Thank YOU, the readers, who read these posts and caused these following posts to rise to the top…..

I’ll count down backwards. So here they are, drumroll please!

10. Father Abraham for Today’s Kids – A review of a great video song resource from CrossKid Nation.

9. Fire and Ice Festival in Somerset, PA – A look at this fun winter festival at which I juggled the chainsaw and fire in very cold weather!

8. WinterBlast 2015 at Camp Orchard Hill – Gearing up for this annual youth camp in the snowy mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

7. Expect the Unexpected – My favorite ministry moment of 2015. I guess you have to read it to find out!

6. Fun and Easy Summer Camp Games – A simple list of games that are simple yet powerful in summer camp settings.

5. Object Lessons and Props are Biblical – My discovery that object lessons are nothing new! They’re all over the Bible.

4. Where Do Kids Belong in Church? – Apparently this struck a chord. That doesn’t surprise me. Is intergenerational worship to be preferred over age-segregated worship?

3. A Great Mother-Daughter Event Idea – Thanks to my pastor friend Alan Phillips, I learned about this neat idea and got to participate in one myself.

2. The Power of Mister Rogers’ Shoes – Mister Rogers has left an impression on anyone over thirty in America. My observation as to why I think that is the case.

1. Five Ways to Redeem Halloween – I’m somewhat surprised that this was the hottest topic on my blog this year. I’m glad people found it helpful. In the post I try to offer suggestions as to how we as Christians should respond to/buy back a celebration that some Christians shun altogether.

 

Juggling and the Meaning of “Immanuel”

Having fun at the Christmas Eve service at Commonwealth Chapel a few nights ago. This is a video of Jacob and I knocking the candy cane out of Pastor Rob’s mouth while passing around him! The teaching focus was on the fact that Jesus entered the world as a gift to community (Immanuel means, ‘God with us,’ as opposed to ‘God with me‘).  Thus, Jacob and I juggled together to represent community. We grow together, we worship together, and we receive God’s grace together. Just look at all the first person plurals used in the New Testament (especially 1 John) for the people of God.

And below is a shot of how I finished – balancing the ladder. Jesus is the ladder between us and the Father in heaven – just like Jacob dreamed and then Jesus declared to Nathaniel.

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Merry Christmas from Jesse Joyner Juggling!

My buddy Jacob Clarke and I got to share some juggling at the Christmas Eve service at Commonwealth Chapel in Richmond, VA a few nights ago. Here is a video of us practicing at my house before the service.

May you and your family have a wonderful Christmas season as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is God with us!