Mark your calendar for a fun-filled day for the whole UBC Family on Saturday, February 25th. FamJamz will be hosting a 5K to benefit the homeless in our community. Following the run/walk, a church-wide picnic with games and activities for kids will be enjoyed by all. You’re not gonna want to miss the fun, food, and fellowship! The event will be hosted at Westminster School from 9am - 1pm.

All ages are welcome to participate in the 5K. Click here to register.

This is a year of breakthrough! Have you heard our Pastor Bill say that? Well, we believe it is. We see a church multiplying its influence across this city and to the nations. A church that leverages today’s technology to spread the Gospel near and far. A church inspiring marriages to be great. We see a church of people serving and giving in Jesus’ name. A church where generations are redirected because parents are choosing Christ.

That’s right, Parents. Remember what Deuteronomy 6:5-8 tells us:

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Tell your kids about God and the wonderful things He has done for you. An hour a week at church is not enough. They are watching you and doing life with you every day. You’re the spiritual leader in their lives. You have a responsibility to them, a key role to play in their spiritual development. We want to come alongside you… that’s what thinking orange is all about.

We are praying for breakthrough for you and your family. May this year be one of growth in Christ. We want to see generations changed because parents are choosing Christ. 100 years from now all that will matter is whether kids have a relationship with God or not.

Be in the know of what your kids are learning about God. Use every day moments to talk about virtues. Use every day moments to tell your kids about God.

January is a great time to work on changing the way we play this game of life. It feels like a fresh, crisp start to a new year! Are you ready? We’re going to spend the month in Proverbs, a book packed with wisdom—especially about the topic of Self-Control.

Self-control means choosing to do what you should do and not what you want to do. This is a way to display to the world around us that we have God in our lives. And He’s present every hour of every day, ready to help us take control of our thoughts, words and actions.

Each week, we’ll talk specifically about choosing to have self-control in areas where we know kids (and adults) typically struggle.

In week one, the Proverbs principle we’re focusing on compares someone without self-control to a city with broken down walls—defenseless (Proverbs 25:28 NIrV). Our Bottom Line is: God can give you the power to control yourself.

In week two, we’re studying a young and new king, Solomon, who was smart enough to ask God to make him wise. The Bottom Line is: Pause before you lose your temper. We want to be slow to anger, to make the best choice for the future too, instead of just reacting based on how we feel and what we want right now.

In week three, we’re continuing to see the destruction that happens when we don’t have self-control. We want kids to know that God wants better for us and wants to protect us. So, we’ll focus on the hurt that’s caused when we use our words without thinking about what we’re saying. We need to be slow to speak because wise people’s words can bring healing to a situation (Proverbs 12:8). The Bottom Line is: Select your words carefully.

Finally, in week four, we continue to see that sometimes God says things a certain way to grab our attention and hold it long enough to make His point. Proverbs 25:16 clearly says we better be cautious or we’ll end up in a stinky mess. None of us like getting sick (or cleaning up), that’s why our Bottom Line is: Know when to stop.

We can’t wait to hear what you think about Self-control: Changing the way you play! God is the key ingredient in self-control and He’ll help us have the power to control ourselves.

By Cara Martens. ©2011 Orange. All rights reserved. www.WhatIsOrange.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Welcome to December’s Toolbox! Hopefully, you’ve caught on by now that we’re gonna be doing this on the first week of every month. The purpose of this segment in FamJamz is to give you tools and ideas to implement at home with your kids.

A couple of weeks ago, if you went to Family Worship service with your kids, they should have received a small piece of paper that talked about advent. It also had a challenge for them that ties into what Pastor Bill is teaching this month in church. So, here’s what we want you do in December:

As a family, we want YOU to be a gift to others. As a family, we want you to think of something you can do TOGETHER to make a difference in someone else’s day.

For example, as a family, you can volunteer at our next CityServe (December 10th) and help our local mission partners. Or as a family, think about someone who wouldn’t expect to get a present from you and get them one. Use this month’s widget to wrap it and make their day! Of course, you can also come up with your own ideas, too. The whole point is to make someone else’s day by giving something away.

And finally, write about your experience in your family yearbooks. We want to be celebrating what God is doing in the lives of our families as we put these virtues into practice and allow them to change the world around us. If you have stories you’d like to share with us, email us at famjamz@ubcmiami.org

It’s official—the holidays are around the corner. Relatives are asking for Christmas lists so they can get their shopping done and the commercials on TV are rolling out their latest toy temptations to get children drooling.

It’s so easy to lose perspective in all the hustle and bustle. So this December we’re gonna focus on Generosity. We need to be reminded about what we should get all wrapped up in this year!

We define generosity as making someone’s day by giving something away. James 1:17 says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights.” So, we know that God is the giver of all good things. But we also know that God’s generosity has a purpose.

In Week 1, we listen as Jesus tells the parable of a rich man in Luke 12:13-21. He gets wrapped up in storing more and more stuff and ends up losing everything that really matters. Bottom Line: People are always more important than stuff.

In Week 2, we learn that you can’t take it with you! A rich young ruler has a big question in our Luke 18:18-25. It’s interesting because Jesus really wasn’t after the guy’s stuff; He was after his heart. Jesus knew that this guy was trapped and He wanted to set the guy free. Bottom Line: Don’t let stuff get in the way of loving Jesus. Living generously shows the people around us what we love and trust in most.

In week 3, get ready for a very special FamJamz, the last one of 2011. In one of the busiest times of year, we’re gonna pause and be reminded of the Christmas story in a way you haven’t heard it told before. It’s important to take time to remember who gave first. We can stop and remember how amazing it is that God sent His Son to show us a new way to live and later make it possible for us to live with Him forever if we just believe.

By Cara Martens. ©2011 Orange. All rights reserved. www.WhatIsOrange.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

December 17 & 18, save that date! FamJamz will be hosting a very special production that weekend. We’ll be telling the Christmas story in a way you have not heard it told before. Invite friends and family to this one.

For more information, come out to FamJamz this weekend and next!

November kicks off Feed Miami month! UBC has established an on-going food pantry which had provided emergency food to many UBC families and individuals around the community. As we distribute food though, there is the need to collect more and for volunteers to sort and maintain the food in the pantry. So, we’re on it again this November!

We have a couple different opportunities for you to participate:
1. Bring non-perishables to UBC over the next few weeks and drop them off at the collection bins you’ll find by the check-in kiosks.

2. Come out to the Feed Miami Benefit Concert on November 4th!

For more information on our food pantry, visit feedmiami.com

It’s hard for kids (and adults) to consistently slow down long enough to express gratitude. So, the theme for this November is taking a “Pitstop” so we can remember that because of what God has done, we always have a reason to be grateful.

It’s interesting to realize that God doesn’t actually express gratitude—because God doesn’t need anything. He is the only One who is truly self-reliant. But God made us so that we are not self-reliant. We need God, and we need other people. We are all sinners in need of a Savior, and God met that need when He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins. Because of God’s sacrifice, we can have eternal life with Him in heaven. So that means we can be grateful to God for saving us and preparing a place for us in eternity.

And that’s not all—there are other things to be grateful for as well. Do you have shelter? Food? Clean Water? Clothes? Work? What about friends and family? These things can be easily taken for granted. But imagine what our lives would be like without them. God wants us to remember that every good and perfect gift comes from Him, and that we should be grateful to Him for what He has given.

In week one, we will look for the silver lining in every situation. Bottom Line: You always have something to be grateful for. To do this, we will unpack our monthly memory verse: “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18, NIV

The second week we will focus on a group of vineyard workers (Matthew 20:1-15) who agreed to do a job but were disappointed by the way things turned out. Bottom Line: Take time to adjust your attitude.

And in the final week, we’ll study Jesus’ healing of the 10 lepers (Luke 17:11-19) and think about why only one came back. Bottom Line: Take time to say thank you.

We all need a gratitude adjustment from time to time. This month, we’re gonna pause and remember to thank those who have helped us. We will also pause and remember those we need to help.

Til next time!

Cara Martens. ©2011 Orange. All rights reserved. www.WhatIsOrange.org * All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Mark your calendars for this Friday evening, November 4th!

UBC is hosting a benefit concert to replenish our Feed Miami food pantry. Young talent from our community is coming together to showcase their gifts and talents. Performers range from singers, dancers, and even video editors.

The event will take place at UBC (624 Anastasia Avenue, Coral Gables) on November 4th.
7 - 9pm
UBC Worship Center
Admission: 5 cans of non-perishables per adult, 3 cans of non-perishables per child.

Come out and help support Feed Miami through the arts! For more information, email alison.bisesi@ubcmiami.org or cindy.cohen@ubcmiami.org