Kids Talk About God September 2005 eNews
FROM: Carey and Lisa (Shimonauff) Kinsolving, Kids Talk About God
Hello Family & Friends…
We pray this newsletter finds you well. We are settling into the post-Labor-Day lull here on South Padre Island. The seagulls hardly know what to do without tourists to feed them cheese puffs and stale popcorn!
We are enjoying married life immensely! Between the two of us, we’ve experienced 94 years of singleness. That’s 658 in dog years! So we’ve both been-there-done-that, and this new phase of our lives is such a HUGE blessing. Praise God!
Being new to Texas AND to beach living, I (Lisa) have been experiencing some unique (to me) encounters these past few months. Allow me to share…
FREAKISHLY HUGE MOTH
Carey went out in the corridor and came back in telling me there was a dead bird out there. I went out to see what it was… seemed a bit larger than a sparrow. Then it started flying!! (Eek!) For a moment, I thought it was a bat. Then we finally realized it was a freakishly huge moth!
Yes… everything IS bigger in Texas.
In California, I had this hand-held rechargeable bug-zapping vacuum. That moth would have slapped it right out of my hand and smacked me upside the head with it… never mind any part of him fitting down the tube!
KITE-BOARDER RUN AMOK
They have this water sport that’s quite popular here called kite-boarding. The board is something like a cross between a surfboard and a snowboard. It holds their feet somewhat. They wear a harness with cables attached to a large, arc-shaped kite. So they get out there in the surf and the wind is pulling them, but they can steer. They can really do some amazing aerial tricks, sometimes staying airborne for 5-10 seconds at a time.
One day, I was out for a beach walk on a more-windy-than-normal day. This kite-boarder tried to come ashore with too much momentum. Usually, they just surf coolly in and hop off their board as it bottoms out on the sand. But this guy was out of control! He hit the beach, left his board and just kept going.
At first, he was being dragged on his stomach. Then he finally got his feet under him and it was like Fred Flintstone stopping his car. He just kept digging in his heels as he traveled another 100 feet or so.
The amazing thing was that, on a very crowded day at the beach, he managed to avoid mowing anybody down. He had to really thread the needle between some sunbathers and a canopy structure! He did stop before hitting the nearby buildings, and appeared to be unhurt, earning a round of applause from the beach crowd.
KITE BALLET
People take their kite-flying very seriously here. I can see why it would be a popular activity, as the breeze is good every day. One day on the beach, I saw this couple flying these “zooming” kites that have two strings with handles on them. They are especially maneuverable, apparently.
This couple had a boom box with music playing, and they each had a kite and were executing a choreographed aerial routine! It was amazing. I think there’s some kind of kite contest around here.
Also on the subject of kites… Carey and I met this guy on the beach who was flying the same two-handled type of kite. He said these big kite festivals also do kite battling contests. Two kites will go head-to-head. They each have a BLADE on them, and they try to cut the other one’s tail off! I am not making this up. (Do NOT try this at home!)
SAND CASTLES
Another thing people take very seriously here is their sandcastles. Check out this site about the annual event (here on the island) called Sand Castle Days: www.sandcastledays.com. Really cool and fun!
BEST LITTLE WAREHOUSE IN TEXAS
Yes… there is a self-storage place that actually has this sign out front.
GULF SUNRISES
I have been treated to SO many amazingly gorgeous sunrises over the Gulf of Mexico in the five months I’ve been here. My mother-in-law gave me a digital camera, and now I can hardly stop taking sunrise photos. I have put the choice ones in a photo album on the Kodak Gallery site: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=19nly3pc.9bguvho&x=1&y=l5nfwn. Check it out. You can even get a T-shirt, mug or mouse pad there with one of my sunrise shots on it!
MORE WEDDING PHOTOS
If you haven’t looked yet, a selection of our wedding photos can also be viewed on Kodak Gallery: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=19nly3pc.ytu87og&x=1&y=-n1ivdy. Even if you already saw them… we added a few more (and hopefully we’ll continue to add… because I haven’t gotten any from the reception in there yet!), so you might want to check it again.
KIDS TALK ABOUT GOD
We’ve been working diligently on the new homepage design for our website. It has been such a labor of love, and we think it is a huge improvement. Compare for yourself! The old version is still active at www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org. Sneak preview alert! The new version is viewable, but not operational, at http://www.kidstalkaboutgod.org/testhomepage. Let us know what you think.
We’ve done a TON of reading about online marketing, and all that info is now coming into play. We’re basically building a new, auxiliary website that will be designed to draw traffic to our main site. The anticipation is really building as we get closer to the actual construction and submission of all our new pages. There is HUGE potential to reach many more people with the Good News through Kids Talk About God!! Please keep us in prayer, as many major decisions are involved.
The other big project we’ve poured ourselves into is the Kids Color Me Bible. This is a more activity-oriented addition to the features on our website. Carey has worked diligently to acquire a license for us to use the VERY kid-friendly Easy-To-Read Version of the Bible for this book.
Each chapter begins with a Bible story illustrated by a child artist, followed by a related question and several of the most interesting answers from kids. There’s also a space for the reader to fill in his/her own answer to the question. Carey adds some fun, upbeat commentary, after which we’ve included a newspaper-style page called Heaven Herald. We’ve dedicated this full page for the child to draw their own picture below a headline of the featured Bible story and included a place to fill in the name and age of the artist.
The Kids Color Me Bible (affectionately known as the KCMB) is jam-packed with excellent material that can be used in homeschool, Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Christian school or family time for activities, devotionals, art projects or assignments. After children have completed several chapters, they can assemble them into their very own book. This is something we hope many parents will treasure as a keepsake.
Sneak preview alert! A sample lesson may be viewed at http://www.kidstalkaboutgod.org/colorme/01/. You are part of an elite group who is seeing this before it becomes available to the general public. So… we would greatly appreciate your feedback.
We hope you will enjoy receiving periodic personal/ministry email newsletters from us. If you don’t wish to continue receiving them (or if you have a different email address you’d prefer us to use), please reply to this email and let us know.
Again, thank you SO much for all your prayers! Keep them coming! Pray for us as a couple (especially on days when the Kings play the Spurs!), and also for our ministry.
We hope to hear from you soon. Give us the scoop about what’s going on with you!
Loads of blessings!
Carey & Lisa Kinsolving
Helping Christians Inspire Children
Kids Talk About God
P.O. Box 3846
South Padre Island, TX 78597
956-772-1920
www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org
“Let the little children come to Me…” (Mark 10:14).
P.S. – Please pray about supporting our ministry. If God leads you to do so, please send checks to: Kids Talk About God, P.O. Box 3846, South Padre Island, TX 78597. A giving receipt will come from AMG International, the mission organization under which Kids Talk About God operates. We need your help, and anything you can do would be a huge blessing.
Financial report: The Kids Talk About God marketing and licensing program is just starting out, and we only have a few paying clients at this point. We are currently receiving $525/month in licensing fees and $270/month in donations. Neither of us is taking a salary. We are trusting God to increase the support so that this ministry He has given us can continue and grow.
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June 2005