Category: Children’s Ministry
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Happy Birthday Bach
Read More: Happy Birthday BachMy favorite classical composer, J.S. Bach was born on this date (Old Style date) in 1685. That would make him a whopping 328 years old today (peanuts compared to Methuselah). Enjoy this video that plays his Easter Oratorio:
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What They Didn’t Teach Me in Sunday School about Jonah
Read More: What They Didn’t Teach Me in Sunday School about JonahYou know the story of Jonah and the Whale – the story that is widely taught to children around the world about the guy who gets swallowed by a sea monster. I thought I knew it too. But in preparation for teaching it to the Milan Free Methodist (Michigan) Winterblast kids last Friday night, I…
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Busy Days
Read More: Busy DaysThis is “Upward Season”, as is known to many of us Upward entertainers. We are all criss-crossing the country, performing at some of the 3,000-4,000 Upward awards programs across the land. I’ve done 11 shows in the last two weekends alone. I love it, but it uses a good amount of energy. Today, I’m enjoying…
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A Father’s Prayer for His Daughter
Read More: A Father’s Prayer for His DaughterA Father’s Prayer for His Daughter by Jesse Joyner Father in heaven, Please help me raise my daughter, to love her with your unfailing love, and to always tell her of her God-given beauty. Please protect her from harm and trouble. Empower her with love, grace, and compassion. Strengthen her with wisdom, courage, and integrity.…
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The Best Family Ministry Event
Read More: The Best Family Ministry EventIn my opinion, the best family ministry event a church can host surprisingly doesn’t include the whole family. But in a way, it does. I’m talking about the Father/Daughter Banquet. Some churches call it the Daddy/Daughter Dance or some other similar title. My own church in Richmond, VA has been doing this for 3 years…
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Friday Trivia
Read More: Friday TriviaSince I’m in the Quad Cities, here’s a little local trivia: Name the Quad Cities area radio announcer who went on to bigger and better things in life, like leading the free world.
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Top 5 Games for Summer Camp
Read More: Top 5 Games for Summer CampI travel to a lot of summer camps around the country each year. I have seen with my own eyes what games kids are drawn to the most throughout their given week of camp. And they are the same games no matter where you go. Kids are kids! Here are the 5 games that I…
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Children and Animals in Eternity
Read More: Children and Animals in EternityI am intrigued with the fascination that children have with animals. Is it because many domestic animals are more approachable and manageable (size-wise) for children? Is it because the animals are fuzzy and furry? Are there a variety of factors? Regardless, I think we all have a little kid in us when we interact with…
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The Impossible Paper Cut
Read More: The Impossible Paper CutI asked a group of elementary schoolers if they thought I could cut a hole in a regular 8.5″x11″ piece of computer paper large enough to fit 6 kids through it at the same time. We were able to do it with no problem! Are you also skeptical? Here’s how you do it…… Step 1:…
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Friday Trivia
Read More: Friday TriviaI love trivia. I especially love random trivia that blows your mind. Here is something I recently learned that will blow your mind. Do you know the answer? Name a species of bird (that most of you have probably heard of before) that was one of the most abundant animals in North America (numbered in…
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How to Handle a Woman – Camelot the Musical
Read More: How to Handle a Woman – Camelot the MusicalIn honor of Valentine’s Day, here is some helpful sage advice for all us guys out there. You’re welcome.
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Immortality on Earth
Read More: Immortality on EarthThere is a fascinating example in science of an “eternal” living animal: the Turritopsis nutricula. It is a tiny jellyfish-like creature that reverts to a juvenile after maturing to older life stages (an so on and so forth). It is a cell development process called transdifferentiation (say that ten times fast). It tops any list…
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Less is More
Read More: Less is MoreWhen I was in Port-au-Prince, Haiti last month, I had the privilege of visiting a children’s home/orphanage of about 30 kids between the ages of 10-17. My host, Scott, asked if I would be willing to teach the kids how to juggle. I was happy to do so. The only problem is that I did…
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No Chainsaw Juggling on a Plane
Read More: No Chainsaw Juggling on a PlaneAs both a chainsaw juggler and a frequent flier on Delta, I took notice when Delta’s newest safety video showed a placard disallowing chainsaw juggling. I love it! Watch the video and notice the sign at the 1:33 mark:
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The Uncle Charlie Only144 Sale
Read More: The Uncle Charlie Only144 SaleBuy over $1500 of Uncle Charlie’s music and other resources for only $97. The first one hundred buyers get a free “Live Show” DVD of my juggling act. Click on the image to get to the sale.
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Five Things You Should Know About Haiti
Read More: Five Things You Should Know About HaitiHaiti is on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola (shared with the Dominican Republic) in between the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico. I had the chance to visit two weekends ago and perform my juggling show six times in three days for children at various events (a school, some orphanages, and a church). My hosts…
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The Easiest Large Group Game Ever
Read More: The Easiest Large Group Game EverThis is probably the easiest large group game ever invented. If you can think of an easier one, please let me know in the comments. Heads or Tails! This game of heads or tails involves EVERYONE in your large group. It is actually better the larger the group gets. There is an elimination factor to…
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This Is Why I Love My Job
Read More: This Is Why I Love My JobEvery so often I hear feedback from people who see my show. And over the years, I’ve heard the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s amazing, though, just how powerful some stories can be in inspiring you to continue doing the job/ministry/vocation you do. This is one of those letters….. I recently got this…
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The Flight 93 National Memorial
Read More: The Flight 93 National MemorialI drove to a show in Pittsburgh yesterday. Instead of taking the Pennsylvania Turnpike across PA (which is narrow, congested, and expensive), I opted to take the parallel four and two-lane state route 30 (a little mountainous, but otherwise clear of traffic and free). While driving on Route 30, I passed a sign that said,…
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Top 5 Posts of 2012
Read More: Top 5 Posts of 2012These are my top 5 posts from 2012 – based on number of hits to each post. I had no idea my top post would be about Facebook’s little favicon, but apparently I struck a chord with the curious computer geeks out there. Next were some resources for Children’s Ministry, including my top ten songs…
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When Children Grieve: From Bethlehem to Newtown
Read More: When Children Grieve: From Bethlehem to NewtownOn a mild autumn morning twelve years ago, I found myself in front of a primary school class full of grieving children. I was their entertainment for the day – a juggler from halfway across the world, doing whatever I could to bring a little joy to their lives. The children were Palestinian kids from…
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My Take: Dumb Ways to Die
Read More: My Take: Dumb Ways to DieThis catchy and artsy music video will either make you laugh or make you a little creeped out, depending on your sense of humor. I thought it was hilarious, especially the character who “sold both kidneys on the internet.” Would you believe that this is a public service announcement from the rail Metro in Melbourne,…
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Free Photo Editing Resource
Read More: Free Photo Editing ResourceIf you’re like me, then you know enough about photo editing to use basic programs like iPhoto but other big programs like Photoshop scare the begeebees out of you. You see, I want the versatility that Photoshop provides with the ease of use that iPhoto provides. Plus, I don’t need 98% of the bells and…
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How to Save Three Dollars
Read More: How to Save Three DollarsSo you want to learn how to juggle but you don’t quite have the budget to go out and buy $5 balls, $7 rings, and $30 clubs. I have the answer for you. You could just use anything currently lying around the house, like balled-up socks, tomatoes, or kittens. But if you use socks, you…
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Popular Posts
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“Holy Fools”: Exploring the Journey of Calling for Christian Variety Performers
I am happy to announce that my PhD dissertation has been published to ProQuest, an academic database for published research. I have made the dissertation open source, which means anyone anywhere can access the full content free of charge. Here is the full dissertation: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/holy-fools-exploring-journey-calling-christian/docview/2622316783/se-2 Please share far and wide. I am very much excited…
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The Easiest Large Group Game Ever
This is probably the easiest large group game ever invented. If you can think of an easier one, please let me know in the comments. Heads or Tails! This game of heads or tails involves EVERYONE in your large group. It is actually better the larger the group gets. There is an elimination factor to…
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Merry Christmas from the Joyners!
Greetings from our family in Richmond, Virginia! We are thankful for you, our friends and family. We are also thankful to the Lord for His gift of the love to us all this season. This past year has been a roller coaster of experiences and emotions, specifically regarding our spunky little Annie, who is now…
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Book Release! Incredibly Bad Dad Jokes
I have been writing down my original Dad jokes for several years now, but recently they dramatically increased. While the past five months of my life have been the toughest for me as a Dad (with Annie’s medical crisis), the Dad jokes actually came out in full force during this season. You see, in my…
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A Children’s Ministry Poem
From the mouths of children come questions galore about heaven and angels and Satan and more. They speak what their hearts say without holding back, so the wonder of God is something they never lack. Oh God, who are you? Who inspires the minds of little ones many, so that they may find this Jesus…