I’m always looking for easy and fairly healthy snack ideas, like these apple chips, for my kids to enjoy after school, if it were up to them they would inhale a plate of triple chocolate brownies and never think twice. Having healthy snacks on hand is always a good idea, we like to make homemade applesauce fruit leather too! They love both of these recipes!

These apple chips are pretty darn easy to make, and boy do they make your house smell good too! This is one of those recipes that my kids can make on their own too, I just have to supervise when they’re cutting the apples! It’s a great recipe to start them out helping with in the kitchen because of how simple it is.

My youngest kiddo loves to take these in his lunch and says that all the kids ask to try them. They’re just a fun snack to make and eat!

How to Make Homemade Apple Chips

Ingredients You Need

• 2 Apples
• 3 TBSP Sugar
• 1 tsp Cinnamon
• Non-Stick Spray
• Apple Corer

Instructions for making

Start by coring your apples, I picked up a very inexpensive apple corer last time I was out shopping and it works great! Next, slice your apples thinly to form round chips and place them in a bowl. Add the sugar and cinnamon and toss to cover the apples. Spray a cookie sheet with the non-stick spray and place the apples on the cookie sheet, spread out as much as possible. Bake at 200 degrees for 2 hours.  Enjoy!

What types of healthy snacks do you make for your kids? Do they have something that they ask for over and over like these apple chips? Be sure to check out our post with 15 Perfectly Healthy Snack ideas while you’re here, you’ll find lots of inspiration and things to make!

The post Kids Snacks: Apple Chips appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

Brother Matei Naulivou is a brother in Sigatoka and hails from the village of Matainananu in Bureiwai, Ra. His village was severely damaged by TC Winston with a total of about 23 houses damaged and completely destroyed by the Hurricane.

Recently some of the Sigatoka young people, armed with some financial support from our Mission fund, headed north to help the family clean up and rebuild parts of his home. 

As reported by Pastor Apenisa  the young people have come back and according to Bro Matei who stayed back, it was a great testimony to the villagers. 

You certainly have got to hand it to our Fijian Brothers and Sisters – an adverse situation turned into an outreach and testimony!

Well Done!

   
    
    
    
 

The post TC Winston Fiji Rebuild appeared first on Revival Centres Church.

‘Tense anticipation’ may well be the expression to describe waiting for this year’s youth camp to start.

Youths, parents and leaders came from Australia (all NSW assemblies, QLD, Tasmania) and New Zealand. All converging at Camp Elim on the Saturday in the July School Holidays for a five day combined public school and high school camp.

Revival meetings, singing, ministry, prayer times, one water baptism and two younger ones receiving the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues (see Acts 2:4).

General activities included crafts, “the tower” the swing, vertical climbing courses, basketball and volley ball in free times. The “war” concluded the activities for an eventful and packed schedule.

Thanks to our leaders for their support and organisation, the parents and the NSW youth for an excellent camp.

New Horizons

What if New Horizons hits my car?

—Robin Sheat

The New Horizons spacecraft is currently flying past Pluto.[1]Ever since astrophysicist Katie Mack pointed out that "New Horizons" appears in the lyrics to A Whole New World, I've gotten it stuck in my head every time I've seen something about Pluto. For the last few days, it's been giving us our first clear look at the world, and it should be making its closest approach at the moment this article is posted. Either that, or hitting your car, I guess.

It's hard to imagine how that could happen, even if New Horizons had headed to Earth by mistake. Unless there's been an especially strange freeway accident, your car is currently within the Earth's atmosphere. All that air stops spacecraft from flying into the ground at full speed. But maybe you took a wrong turn and ended up near Charon, or maybe you drove into a freak extremely-low-pressure system, leaving no atmosphere above you. It could happen!​[2]It really, really couldn't.

New Horizons is about the size and weight of a grand piano, and is currently screaming along at about 14 kilometers per second. If it hit your car, it would be pretty bad for both vehicles.

How fast is 14 kilometers per second? Here's my favorite comparison for putting that speed in perspective: If you were standing at one end of a football field and fired a gun toward the other end, right while New Horizons flew past you, the spacecraft would reach the far end zone before the bullet made it to the 10-yard line.[3]In that same amount of time, a speeding car would travel about an inch.

This high speed means that by this afternoon, New Horizons will be on its way out of the Pluto system,[4]People often ask why New Horizons is just doing a flyby, and not sticking around to orbit Pluto. The answer is: If you can figure out a way to do that, go for it. Pluto is really far away, and to get a probe there before your career ends, you have to go really fast. When you're going that fast, it's hard to stop. (At least, if you want to stop in one piece.) and over the coming days and weeks it will let us know what it saw today. It can't talk to Earth and take photos at the same time, so right now it's spending all its time taking pictures and gathering data.

Later today, the spacecraft will pause the data-gathering for a moment to send a brief message to Earth. No results—just, "Hey, I'm still alive". If it is still alive, that is. It's flying at terrifying speed through a part of the Solar System we've never visited. There could be, say, a bunch of small rocks there.[5]In case of disaster, New Horizons has sent back a few snapshots and data dumps right before the encounter, so at least we'll have those. Or a car.

New Horizons will send the "I'm okay" message in the afternoon, but it takes light four and a half hours to get back to Earth, so it will get here around 8:53pm Eastern US time—so if you're going to have a Pluto party, that's the time to do it. You can tune in to NASA TV to watch the nervous people in mission control wait for the signal. You'll know it worked if there's lots of cheering and hugging.

For more details on the mission, check out Emily Lakdawalla's comprehensive Planetary Society post, What to expect when you're expecting a flyby, which has dates, times, and background on all the equipment. (For up-to-the-minute coverage, her Twitter feed is probably the best place to go for updates, context, and excitement.)

So what does all this mean for your car?

Passenger cars have "crumple zones," which are areas of the car designed to fold up and absorb some of the force of an impact before it reaches the passenger cabin. Unfortunately, in a hypervelocity impact, materials like metal aren't nearly strong enough to hold together. Instead of crumpling, they splash. New Horizons and your car's crumple zone would splash as bits of them passed through each other, and the resulting spray of metal would do the same to the rest of your car. From a distance, it would probably look approximately like this.

Here's the good news: NASA will have to pay for your car. Under the Convention on the International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Object, NASA and the US government would clearly be on the hook for the damage. And, since you wouldn't be considered at fault in the accident, in most states insurance companies would be legally prohibited from raising your premiums.

The situation would be slightly complicated by the fact that this would be a nuclear accident. New Horizons flies too far from the Sun to use solar panels, so it's powered by the heat from a bunch of lumps of plutonium-238. The container holding the plutonium is sturdy, since it's designed to survive atmospheric reentry (and has done so). However, it's not designed to survive entry into a Chevy. The container and the plutonium inside it would be splattered across the landscape. The US government will not only have to replace your car, it will probably have to replace much of your neighborhood.

This has actually happened before. In 1978, the Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, which carried a nuclear reactor, reentered the atmosphere and disintegrated over Canada. The Canadian government spent millions cleaning up the radioactive debris near Yellowknife. They demanded over $6 million (CAD) from the Soviets for the cleanup, and were eventually paid $3 million.

Hopefully, New Horizons is currently flying past Pluto. But don't worry; if it somehow hits your car instead, the US government will cover things. To find out which one it is—Pluto or your car—tune in to NASA TV.

And watch your driveway.

 

Speaker: Pastor Bruce Judkins.

Précis: Keep your eyes focused on the Day of the Lord. The Lord is returning for those that are striving towards the mark of the high calling.

Scriptures used:

(Matthew 24)

(2 Peter 3)

Zephaniah 1:1-6, 14-18, 2:3

2 Kings 22:1-8, 15-20

Date given: 5 May 2014

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

Play the talk by clicking on the play arrow directly under the picture above. Or download by right-click – “save target as”, here: Talk: Zephaniah and Joseph (mp3, 5mb).

Listen to this episode

In April of 1938, representatives from the USSR approached the Finnish government and expressed a concern that Nazi Germany could attempt to invade Russia, and such an attack might come through parts of Finland. The Finns replied that they were officially neutral, but any Nazi incursion on Finland’s borders would be resisted. This did not mollify the Soviets. Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kampf, was published thirteen years previous with specific note that the Nazis would need to invade the Soviet Union. The Red Army was determined to “advance to meet the enemy” and refused to accept promises from the smaller country. As negotiations continued, the Soviets tried to coax Finland into leasing or ceding some area to serve as a buffer to Leningrad. In November 1939, however, all negotiations ceased, and on 30 November 1939 the Soviet Red Army invaded Finland.

In the municipality of Rautjärvi near the Soviet/Finnish border, 34-year-old Simo Häyhä was a farmer and hunter leading a flagrantly unexciting life. Upon news of the hostilities, he gathered up food, plain white camouflage, and his iron-sighted SAKO M/28-30–a variant of the Soviet Mosin-Nagant rifle–and went to defend his country. Before the four-month war ended, humble Häyhä would gain infamy among the Russian invaders, and come to be known as the “White Death.”

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Pastor Cooper Gallimah has returned from Malawi (where he had been visiting with Pastor John and Pastor Darcy) to his home city of Monrovia. He had the opportunity to bring his experiences of visiting the assemblies in Malawi back to his home assembly. The church in Monrovia is growing fast and their 2nd centre is about to be open at Battery Station

 

Monrovia – main centre

 

 

 

Sometimes it’s difficult to convey such a time, as we’ve just had in Norwich, in the United Kingdom.

Set against the backdrop of a medieval castle, saints from around England, Australia, and New Zealand have outreached, shared testimonies, preached, prayed for people needing healing, and for new converts to receive the Holy Spirit.

A busy two days have just concluded with people returning to their home assemblies around the country with a heightened desire to grow the Work in the United Kingdom.

Between events in the busy outreach program, Pastor Simon met with Pastor Carl (RCI Midlands), Robbie (RCI London), and Bryan (RCI Norwich) to discuss growing the Church in the UK. Plans in the future include a rally in the Midlands in 2014; a rally in London in 2015; greater coordination of resources between the three centres – this includes access to pamphlets, music, and a more cohesive programming of events nationwide.

It’s was an absolute thrill to see visitors at every meeting that were drawn in directly from the witnessing boards in front of the ‘Forum’ centre in central Norwich – a number of these folk later seeking to receive the Holy Spirit – one lady did receive! Others are still seeking to receive!

Well done Bryan and Tracy Robson and your handful of diligent workers – an unforgettable weekend! With the follow up of many interested folk over the coming weeks, what a superb way to really put RCI Norwich on the Revival Centres International map!

God bless the Work in the United Kingdom

Pastor Simon

Pastor Simon was delighted to spend Sunday with the saints in the Midlands UK, where they regularly gather in the Olney Ambulance Hall.

Recently appointed, Pastor Carl Gibbard leads the work here, where he is supported by his wife Di and son Natt, and an ensemble of folk who travel large distances to gather together to praise The Lord.

The timber floored hall lends itself acoustically to chorus singing and it was a delight to share testimonies, ministry, and fellowship afterwards with such a tightly knit group of folk who are very keen to grow the Church in this part of the world.

In transit from London through parts of the Cotswalds and into the Midlands it was amazing to see so many picturesque and historically interesting sites in the amazing United Kingdom.

God Bless the work in the UK

Pastor Simon

This year saw our 5 day combined Primary and High school kids camp move to a new facility and location from previous years.

Welcome to Camp Elim: This purpose built facility for groups just 10 minutes south of Forster on the Lakes Way road is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Lakes. Here we enjoyed a large modern dining and meeting hall, clean amenities, comfortable unit and cabin accommodation, level compact grounds and a much used basketball court. All this plus access to the lakes edge and canoeing. Camp Elim is fully catered for arrangement and this untested concept proved to be a success. Thankfully fine weather prevailed.

The camp theme “we believe” was taken from Hebrews 10: 39. The camp team names Jonathan, Jehoshaphat, Hezekiah, Rahab, Josiah and Joseph were bible characters chosen to help amplify this theme.

All RCI assemblies in NSW were represented along with the Sunshine and Gold Coast, Brisbane City and our beloved NZ brethren from across the Tasman. A great host of parents, leaders and Pastors (Graham, Mike and Steve) all ably supported and directed this annual endeavour.

A full program of Revival meetings, bible talks, music, prayer times, plays, crafts, games, suppers, hot meals and plenty of “hang time” added to the feeling of abundance. God’s blessing was further evident with 7 plus of our youth receiving the Holy Spirit, speaking in other tongues and 3 of these were baptised in water while at camp. We do have a signs following ministry and Acts chapter 2 verse 4, 37 and 38 continue to be fulfilled.

Many thanks to our camp Pastor and co-ordinator Pastor Brian, Xavier and others for their organisation, time and direction.

 

The 2013 PNG National Rally was held in Maprik, which is located about 105km inland of Wewak, the capital of the East Sepik province of PNG.

Brothers and sisters attended the Rally from all around the PNG church; with an estimated attendance of 3,500 people. During the week of the Rally 184 people where baptised and many were miraculously healed.

The whole congregation headed down to the river, behind the rally venue, singing songs as people were baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit. It was a great sight to behold.

Many people were miraculously healed, and testified. The rally was a great success, not only for the baptisms but for the fellowship of the saints, friendship, unity and the glory of the Lord.

Juggling three balls is a big accomplishment for a kid.  But it can be hard to find three balls around your house that are all the same size and weight so we have an easy way to make your own.  Kids Activities Blog loves how easy these filled balloon juggling balls are to make and we hope you like them too.  Thanks to Sali from Zak and Nayu for being a Quirky Momma for the day!

Juggling Three Balls

It is really easy to make good quality juggling balls and start learning how to juggle. The best thing about these juggling balls is the rubbery surface which gives them a good grip while learning to juggle. They can be decorated in many different ways.

Make Your Own

You will need:

• x9 balloons (makes 3 balls)
• Lentils (dry, of course!)
• Scissors
• A cup of tea

Filled Balloon

Begin by cutting the tip off each balloon (the bit you use to blow it up) so you’re left with only the round bit. Open up one balloon and pour in the lentils (you can also use rice) until it is as full as it can get. Keep pressing down on it from all angles. This rearranges the lentils inside to create more space.

Now take another cut up balloon and stretch it over the lentil filled balloon. Make sure you place it the other way around, so that the hole is facing the other side. This means the hole in the first lentil filled balloon is completely covered.

Now take a third balloon and do the same again, making sure the hole is facing another direction to the first and second.

Juggling Balls

Your first ball is done!

Now make two more balls. You can use the cut off pieces of balloon to decorate, or use a permanent marker to draw on them.

More Kids Activities

Has your child been able to master juggling three balls in the air?  Have you ever tried to make your own juggling balls?  For more fun kids activities, you may want to toss a look over some of these great ideas:

• Juggling Three Balls (for beginners)
• 101 Ways to Make Your Own Toys and Gifts
• Water Filled Balloon and Other Pool Games

The post Juggling Three Balls: Make Your Own {Filled Balloon} appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.

 

Speaker: Pastor John Andrews.

Précis: The glory of God – give up the old life so that you can take hold of the new life. Let the glory of God shine in your life.

Scriptures used

1 Thessalonians 1:5-6

John 7:37-39

2 Corinthians 3:14-18

1 Peter 5:7

Date given: 14 April 2013

Location: Melbourne, Australia.

Play the talk by clicking on the play arrow directly under the picture above. Or download by right-click – “save target as”, here: Talk: The Glory of God (mp3, 6.0mb).

On a wonderful evening in the park, my kids and their friends embarked on a challenge. Breaking into teams of two, they raced around slides and over streams searching for objects starting with each letter of the alphabet. Once found, each team snapped a digital picture of the representative object and then hunted for the next letter. After all 26 were accounted for, we compared our collections and determined who won the race.

All of this activity came about after paging through Keri Smith’s latest journal offering, The Pocket Scavenger. You and your kids can have a chance to win a copy of Smith’s book, plus a matching smartphone app, by conducting a scavenger hunt of your own (see below).

Smith is the creator of Wreck This Journal, much-loved additions to each of our kids’ bookshelves (even in their warped and soiled state). The author grants an irreverent license to physically interact with her book in ways traditional journals would not. Other offerings by Smith—such as Finish This Book and This Is Not a Book—are equally effective at empowering kids’ creativity.

The same is true of The Pocket Scavenger. Each page prompts a scavenger hunt to find a different item from a list of 72 things. The owner of the journal is encouraged to capture not only the object but the story about where and how it was found. This geeky journal goes further, though, by challenging the reader to use the item as creative material in some random way, such as adding polka dots or inspiring a soundtrack. Smith pushes kids (and adults) to break convention by seeing the world as inspiration, rather than simply “things.”

A companion to the book is a $5 smartphone app available for iPhone and Android. The digital version takes advantage of the things computers do well to lower barriers to action and amplify the social aspects of the activity.

Prompted to hunt for a random item, you can capture time and location automatically when recording the details of the find. The suggested alteration is also random, although you are able to browse through prompts to find one that fits the scavenge. A digital photo can be added, and the record of the hunt can then be shared with others on Twitter and Facebook. The location information for the scavenges can be used to discover other activity going on around you.

Filling all of those pages takes longer than an afternoon in the park. Smith does include some one-off themed challenges (such as an alphabet scavenge) that are great for groups with some time constraints. Our own A-to-Z scavenger hunt drew from some things Smith suggests, but our rules were altered to fit the interests of those involved.

Geek Dad Scavenge Challenge

On your next long walk through a nearby park this week, find eleven items (all good geeks go to eleven) and use those materials to construct an ideal “Geek Dad.” You can use glue, duct tape or other means of affixing these parts to each other, but all eleven pieces must be visible in the final creation. In keeping with the spirit of the book, encourage your kids to write down their story of how they came to each find, or create a backstory for the object itself.

After you finish, tweet a picture of your Geek Dad creation using the hashtag #GeekScavenge by July 5 for a chance to win a copy of The Pocket Scavenger book and app. You can also upload your picture to Facebook or Flickr using the same #GeekScavenge tag.

A winner will be selected by the publishers on July 6 from any tagged entries and announced through @wreckthistwit.

Thanks for reading GeekDad. Please consider clicking through to our site, we'd love to have you become more involved in our community!

(Post by Seth M. Rodriquez)

At first glance, our picture of the week looks like a peaceful, pleasant Mediterranean beach. However, there is more here than meets the eye. This is the site of a famous battle waged by Alexander the Great, and the place still bears the marks of Alexander's army. In fact before 332 B.C., this beach didn't even exist.


In antiquity, the city of Tyre was comprised of a fortified settlement on the mainland and another settlement on an island about half a mile off the coast. What you are looking at is the southern side of the isthmus that was created when Alexander's army built a causeway between the mainland and the island. The image below from the maps of the Survey of Western Palestine provides a bird's eye view of the former island with the narrow isthmus. (These maps are available here in digital form for only $35.)


The Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands describes the confrontation between the inhabitants of Tyre and Alexander the Great in this way:

Tyre alone opposed Alexander. The Tyrians initially offered submission and tribute to him, thinking they would thereby gain substantial freedom, as they had before. But when they saw that Alexander intended personally to occupy the city, they determined to resist.

Hope of Tyrian success in withstanding the siege was not unfounded. Their city was located on an island a half mile from shore; the current in the channel which separated it from land was swift. Their fleet controlled the sea. The city wall on the landside rose to 150 feet. There were assurances of help from Carthage and elsewhere. But Alexander devised unexpected tactics. He resolved to construct a causeway 200 feet wide out to the island, on which he could plant his siege engines. Ruins of mainland Tyre furnished material for the causeway. The Tyrians fought heroically. They destroyed the engines of war by fire-ships and damaged the mole, or causeway. They hurled pots of burning naphtha, sulfur, and red-hot sand from catapults.  Seeing that the battle could not be won without the use of a fleet, Alexander obtained contingents from Sidon, Greek allies, and Cyprus. After a siege of seven months, the wall was breached and the city taken after savage fighting.

Many people see this as the part of the fulfillment of Ezekiel's prophesies about Tyre found in Ezekiel 26-28, especially these verses:

Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will bring up many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves. They shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers, and I will scrape her soil from her and make her a bare rock. (Ezek. 26:3-4, ESV)

Our picture of the week was taken by A.D. Riddle, and is available in Volume 8 of the Pictorial Library of Bible Lands. This photo and over 700 others are available here for $34 (with free shipping). Additional photos and information about Tyre can be found here on the BiblePlaces website, and here on LifeintheHolyLand.com.  The quote above was taken from The Wycliffe Historical Geography of Bible Lands by Charles F. Pfeiffer and Howard F. Vos (Chicago: Moody Press, 1967), 210-211.

Fun activities abound here at Kids Activities Blog.  Today we are featuring great ideas for those busy little 2 year olds.  Kids Activities Blog hopes you enjoy these 10 favorite activities to share with your little one.

Fun Activities 

Gasp! My Mr. E will be turning three soon. He no longer toddles around. He runs. He jumps. He runs some more, and he talks! And he’s always looking for new fun activities to explore.  Being the third of four children, he has such spunk to him. He wants to be just like his older twin brothers. When I ask him if he’s a little boy, he replies, “No! I’m {E}!”

Before my no longer little boy E pummels through his next year of life, it’s so great to pause and reflect on the year that has been. Two year olds have many little moments of play that help them discover their world and themselves within it. They’re constantly playing, observing, learning and growing.

2 Year Olds

To embrace the wonder of 2 year olds, I am thrilled to feature some amazing play for two year olds from some fun loving moms who are also Aussie Mummy Bloggers.

In this list of ten favorite fun activities for two year olds, you’ll find stuff that two year olds adore: art & craft; movement games; messy play; activities to exercise those fine motor skills; outdoor play; and play for those days you just can’t get out. Free play is great, but with all that boundless energy two year olds have, these fun activities will surely brighten up their day too.

10 Favorite 

	< Feet Painting by Lessons Learnt Journal > Tape Track & Cars by Learning to Play and Playing to Learn
	< Easy Water Play by Picklebums > 4 Messy Plays with Rice by Lessons Learnt Journal
	< Marbles & Wall Suckers by Learning to Play and Playing to Learn > Egg Carton Poke & Thread by Mummy Musings & Mayhem
	< Fun with Styrofoam by Boy Mama Teacher Mama > Digging for Dinosaurs by Adventures at Home with Mum
	< DIY Kid’s Kitchen for under $10 by Childhood 101 > What’s that Noise? by My Little Bookcase

More Kids Activities

We hope you and your child enjoyed these fun activities.  What are some of your 2 year olds favorite activities?  For more great kids activities and family fun, take a look at these ideas:

• Fun Activities for the Whole Family
• 40+ Activities for 2 Year Olds
• 10 Favorite Bedtime Stories for Toddlers

The post Fun Activities for 2 Year Olds {10 Favorite} appeared first on Kids Activities Blog.