The Spiritual Use of a Cricut

I could write a whole series on the subject of the many ways a Cricut could bless our lives. Click the link if you just thought, "huh"! I got my Cricut Expression with one goal in mind, a spiritual, family centered, Deuteronomy 6, type of goal, 6 months ago, that I've yet to accomplish.

I've read several books that talked about praying scripture over our children. This was a new concept for me. But, from that grew an idea to put a Scripture/blessing on each of my children's walls. I've been trying to decide just which verse to go in each of their rooms ... for a year. It would be easy to stick with praying Scripture, I wouldn't have to make a decision on one verse that will stick on their wall semi-permanently.

I want the Scripture to be in the form of a blessing ... a direction for their lives to take, a glimpse of their future spiritual selves. Otherwise, a self-serving verse such as Exodus 20:12 would work great in large 6 inch bold letters.
"Honor your father and mother so that you may live long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you".


So, my goal is to make a decision on the verse in the next day, cut it out and put it up in their rooms. What a great way to start the New Year for each of the kids! Well, at least the one that can read. The other one will probably use it as a target. But, it will be a good reminder that David and I are purposed by God to raise our children to love God with all their hearts, soul, mind and strength.

Christmas Break

This week the kids are both out of school and we don't have any Bible classes at church so I'm taking my own Christmas break. I find it helpful to take full advantage of the "down-time". When January comes, we begin planning all sorts of fun things: Art Camp, Leadership Retreat, Vicki Courtney Simulcast from Moms and Daughters, and we get to decorate "The Park" and finish some other decorations. Part of me keeps thinking of little things I could go to the church building and do now, but, then I remind myself that the kids will be back in school in 8 days, we will be traveling for part of that, my bedroom needs to be organized, and River needs to finish her Science Fair project.

Yesterday, I bought a bike. I started spin class last year and love it but I'm needing to ditch the costly gym membership so David convinced me to use my Christmas money to buy the bike I've been wanting. Reese used his money to buy his seat. This is important. My only free time is free time with Reese. I used to be able to take Reese to the gym and get to work at a reasonable hour but now that River is at her new school, I spend a lot more time dropping off and picking up. I've been paying for the right to say I am a member of a gym over the last few months. Unfortunately, the benefits only happen if I actually use the gym.

River's science fair project is on Geocaching. Geocaching is a super cheap, family fun, outdoor activity. Geocacher's hide objects all around the city and put the coordinates on a website. Other cacher's use the coordinates to find the caches and log them. For the kids, there are fun little treasures to trade. I'm thinking about hiding one at the church building as yet another way to encourage families to spend some time together.

My goal for Christmas Break is to organize a couple of seriously neglected rooms in our house so I can have people over again. Yeah, we'll see if that happens. Organization and children really don't go well together.

Today it is freezing outside. The high is supposed to be 50-ish. That is way too cold for me. There was ice in the dog bowl this morning. Tomorrow though, we should be near the 70's so the kids and I are going to go look for treasure ... and do the Science Fair project. If you see my family wandering around a greenbelt holding iPhones and GPS units, don't worry, we know what we are doing! We might be lost but we have technology to save us :-)

"What I Wished They Told Me In College" - Volunteers

So, I've been thinking about this one for quite sometime. If you are a children's minister, you do A LOT of recruiting. And, not only recruiting, but the eventual volunteer management that comes with the job of overseeing a ministry with lots of volunteers. Depending on the number of classes we are staffing and the number of children attending some of the younger classes, we have 40-60 volunteer positions to fill each week. That is a lot! A WHOLE LOT. And since some of those positions are filled by someone that only serves in that one position every 13 weeks, I've estimated that it can take 100 people or more a month to do everything that is needed to be done in the children's ministry. One last statistic and then I'll move on. In a church that has an average attendance of 400-450, that means I use 25% of those in attendance to staff a months worth of classes. And remember, we, in the Church of Christ, will count EVERY HEAD when we count our attendance, and I dare say the heads under 13 years old are  not eligible to serve many of the volunteer needs in their own classrooms. And, we have a few heads with pretty silver hair or even no hair that really couldn't serve in the ministry even if they wanted to (and some really want to) so our pool of possible "volunteers" quickly dwindles from 450 to 400 to even 350.

What am I saying? No one ever said that recruiting volunteers to staff a children's ministry is not only a HARD task but is an almost IMPOSSIBLE task at times.

I know, you are probably thinking, "In God, nothing is impossible". Yeah, your right. It's not impossible. It's almost impossible. And anything that is sticking it's little toe over into the almost impossible category can be a lot overwhelming for, well, anyone that is a Mom, Wife, and Minister.

So, what would I tell anyone fresh in ministry about the almost impossible task of recruiting volunteers.
1) Develop a list of priorities for your ministry. What is most important to the spiritual growth of children, the churches numerical growth and to the parents? Rank it. Be ready to let go of what ranks lowers so the most important tasks receives both the financial and human resources that are needed.
2) Start from a resource management point of view. We all know it, but, hate to admit it. Sometimes we just have more classes than our church is able to staff. Some special events pull volunteers from places they are needed. Do what you can and let go of the rest.
3) Pray, pray, pray. Probably should be #1. You get the gist. God is in control.
4) Develop an Ephesians 4 culture. God has given each person a ministry. Don't look at the holes to be filled. Look at the giftedness of the person and ask them what they need to best serve God.
5) Understand that everyone is in a different place. That's ok. Maybe someone feels that they have "done their time". Could they give a Sunday a quarter in the nursery? Maybe someone is an excellent teacher but has little time. Could you use a curriculum system that minimizes preparation?
6) Be flexible. We can't have all the classes we want to have. We can't go as "all-out" as we want to go. Let go of what must be let-go of so that the tasks that are within reach are done well. Then, take the next step.
7) Don't be afraid to ask. Most people just want to be noticed. They may not know that they are qualified for a particular volunteer position. Just ask. Talk. Encourage. Equip. Speak God's blessings into their lives. You will only get a handful of "ready" volunteers. The rest, need your investment.

Prayer Retreat for Women "Pastors"

This past Friday, I had the privilege of attending a prayer retreat for women "pastors". I put "pastors" in quotes, because, in our faith tradition we reserve this title to be interchanged with "elder", a man's role.

But, this prayer retreat was for women in many different faith traditions, and for most of those traditions, pastor is the title given to the women leading the church or serving in a ministry role.

Now that I've helped my one reader, if that, understand the audience of the retreat, I'll explain some things I took away from the retreat.

The prayer retreat was held at Cenacle House, a spiritual retreat center in Houston. Lead by the nun's (I guess) of the Cenacle tradition that founded the retreat many years ago with a primary mission to serve others women, the Cenacle is now a place for any Christian to come and center themselves in God.

While I've been exposed to the idea of spiritual guides and personal spiritual retreats, it's still a concept I'm not very familiar with and I'm clumsy with the terminology. However, I love some very basic ideas of 1) going with there are no phones 2) having a place to focus only on the personal relationship with Christ 3) having mentors as resources to help one pray more deeply, commune more thoroughly and even understand the idea of personal and community discernment.

So, I was invited to this retreat at the Cenacle. The retreat was interesting in that many faith traditions were represented so worship was very different. Responsive reading and singing. Candles. Exhortation gave way to discussion which gave way to personal meditation and then the cycle repeated. And before I knew it, the hours that I was certain could not be filled up with prayer (almost 6 hours in total) were done and I felt that I'd barely scratched the surface. We even used a "visual aid", a bowl, cluttered, that we emptied and re-ordered throughout the day to symbolize how God can be lost among the clutter and we have to let go of the clutter to find Him, center on Him, and then place the clutter with God in the center.

I also felt, that I had a few defining conversations with women I don't even know and may never see again. One, was about the "role of women". These two women did not grow up CofC, they grew up in another faith tradition. They are not CofC now. In fact, they talked of the pain of leaving their "home" to seek out a tradition in which would allow them to minister, pastor, preach, teach, and lead the way they feel God had gifted them lead. The pain of choosing to leave was still in their voices, many years after the decision. Their conclusion, should they had stayed, and not used their gifts, they would not be in the will of God for their lives. So they felt they had no choice, though the sadness was still there.

Then, as it has other times, the question was turned to me, "will you leave?". "No", I answered, almost immediately, with perhaps a sound of guilt in my voice that had come from hearing their pain and not wanting to sound better, or, entrapped. "Why?", they ask. Almost apologetically, though not quite, I said, "because this is my home, God put me here to carry out His Will to the best of my ability." I wonder how they felt, I felt awkward. As if I could have been seen as passing judgement, though, I know they did not feel that I was doing any such thing. "Maybe it would be different if I was called to preach. But, I am not. I feel very strongly about my ministry calling, to help children love God with all of their hearts, souls, minds, and strength. In order to fulfill that passion, though, I do have to teach and equip parents, teachers and church leaders. That can be a quite confusing task. Sometimes it doesn't seem fair, but, it is where God has put me. Maybe I would have arrived at a different place if I was not clear about my task in life. But, I am clear about it, and, I cannot confuse one issue with another".

In a church that has seemed to become "label friendly", I hope that no one ever tries to guess which label I wear. Because, they will find out that I do not know. I arrived to a decision many years ago that God knew, in His infinite wisdom, that the teachings in the Bible are going to be hard. He knew, that Paul, writing those oft-discussed topics a woman's place in the church would set off centuries of discussion, inquiry, hurt. God had to have known. Sometimes, I think He did this to keep us interested, for, if the Bible was "easy" we'd master it in the early years and never look back. But, it is not. So, if it is not possible to understand God, His every command and desire, through the text ... if we will always have questions and decision ... then we have to decide where to stand. For me, I stand with my calling, to be missional in my life, and to fight for the next generation and the next. For everything else, I submit to those that God has raised up to lead us, to discern with them how to best carry out my role, and to continue to be part of the tradition that is like family to me.

An Ode to My To-Do List

A girl's best friend
may not be diamonds or gold
that's quite a bummer
so, I'm told.
But, they don't  know
how it feels to dig oneself out of a mountain
of things.
At home, at work, and even in my sleep,
I often think of all the items that make me feel
like I'm in too deep!
So, I have a new best friend
my yellow pad that isn't far
from where I'm sitting at all.
And when the mountain feels too high to climb,
I scribble on this little notepad of mine.
All the things that I need to-do!
Funny, that didn't take so much time.
But, now, I have, conquered the biggest problem of all.
Realizing that God hasn't made any task too tall.
It's a matter of perspective, and now that it's organized, I find
That those lines through each item gives me peace of mind!

Bad poetry. You are right! Back to work now ...... Just thought I'd have a little fun.

Part 2 - What I Wish They Would Have Told Me In College

That the spring and summer are so crazy busy that Mom, Wife and Minister is three full-time jobs and we should give up the ideas of dating, scrapbooking or blogging. I gave up cleaning house too but that gets a little disgusting after awhile! The last post dated in March is now full explained.

What I Wish They Told Me About Ministry In College - Part 1

Most of my friends and family know that my dream job after this dream job is to teach children's ministry on the college level. Ok, I'll just say it, I dream frequently of teaching children's ministry at my alma mater, ACU! Who knows, it could happen.

I've been in children's ministry just long enough that only a handful of people in the CofC has been at this alot longer than I have been already. Not that I know everything or even anything, but, I do have some ministry experience behind me at this point.

So, I often have those moments in ministry that a light bulbs goes off and I think ... should I ever have the opportunity ... here is something I'd tell college students and new ministers about ministry, because, I wish someone told me but they didn't.

Everytime I think of one of these "wish I'd known thats", I'll write it here and then, should I ever get the chance to share with those preparing for ministry, at least I'll remember what it is that I wanted to share!

Here's my first "wish I'd known thats" ... either you are a big picture person or a detail person but you are seldom both. Don't pretend, just figure it out and surround yourself with your opposite. Leading a children's ministry is a rather big job, lots of activities, lots of volunteers, and lots of leaders. It's not just about what fits on the calendar or what people might like or even what the church down the road finds successful, it's about spiritual growth of children. And that is when things get tricky. Because we all have our opinions on how a child will grow spiritually and what will contribute to that growth. Most ministers are vision casters, big picture people. Most volunteers are the details people. We need each other. But, we speak two different languages.

It's like pieces to a giant jigsaw puzzle. Some of us look at the box before we work on the puzzle, we find the right pieces, and lo and behold, the picture we always imagined appears. Others, grab the puzzle pieces and start to work and then marvel at the picture as it is realized for the first time. Both approaches are great! But, they are both different! I wish, in college, someone would have explained this to me. It would have saved years of frustration.

So, what to do with this information. Here's some ideas:
1) Big picture people, talk about the parts of your vision that is closest to being realized. Too much too soon and you'll seem like a dreamer and not a vision caster.
2) Detail people, try to think past the activity, the class, the month and the year. I don't know how you do it, but, paint a picture of the future in your mind. It is ok to dream.
3) Big picture people, seek out your detail people, fully communicate your vision and ask them how they can help acheive it. They are great at finding all the missing puzzle pieces and they will be excited about their work.
4) Detail people, try not to be frustrated at what seems to be disorganization. Realize the vision caster is likely doing exactly what they were asked to do, they need you to get it done.
5) Vision casters, here's the toughfy, never view your volunteers as short sighted because they can't see the future like you can. You need to do a better job as breaking it down for them.
6) Detail people, don't allow the details to be the walls that become excuses for continued growth. Have faith, step out and let God do the work.

Well, that's all from Shannon's book of ministry know-how ... more next time.

Eating Healthy

Several years ago, I was very involved in a nutritional supplement company (Mannatech) and learned lot's of great things about nutrition from going to the meetings. Then, I went back to work and was just happy to get food to my children before they are "starving to death". River has been really struggling this year with allergies. We have all seemed to catch everything that has gone around. She seems to have issues keeping attention in class. The typical "cure" for these things is more drugs. I loved the saying I heard at Mannatech years ago, "God didn't create us to with bodies that would suffer from a drug deficiency." However, He did create our bodies to need some things, certain minerals, vitamins, exercise, and other things.

So, fed up this week, I told David we are changing our diets to add more fruits and veggies, less (much less) processed foods, lot's less sugar, and whole grains. Yeah, that is a change.

Today, I'm looking for websites that will shorten the process of figuring out healthy foods to cook or not cook. Thanks to Marnae, one has been found. Wish me luck!

What time is it? Is it time for _____?

As a Mom, Wife and Minister, I often wonder what I can do to make my time more efficient. Because, frequently I find that it's difficult to compartmentalize my time into my various hats.

For example, today, is a school holiday. The extended care at CSK, where my daughter attends private school, used to meet on most school holiday's for us working parents. Now, they don't. Probably because 90% of our children at extended care are made up of teachers kids.

So, we do the kid juggle. River went with David this morning. She's with me this afternoon. Reese got to go to his MDO this morning, so I could have staff meeting at the office. But, by the time staff meeting was done, it was lunch time.

Now we are home. Reese is refusing a nap, River is playing on the floor. I need to take the dog to the vet.

I have updated the Children's Ministry blog, answered a bunch of emails, made several ministry related phone calls and feel "caught up" on the pressing needs. The next big items on my list are vision/planning items that require some things in the office and a little more quiet than I have right now.

So, my clock on my computer says "work hours" and I'm trying to decide what needs to be done. But, my daughter is scrapbooking and would love some well deserved Mommy time. And ... I can't help but think her bathroom, just a few feet from where I'm sitting, needs disinfecting.

I sometimes wish ministry could be compartmentalize like my husbands work. He goes to work, he does his job, and he comes home. I wonder if I worked harder to control my schedule to keep the lines from blurring if it would be possible to compartmentalize my life.

In reality, I'm certain the answer is "no". Ministry, as some friends like to say, is a 24/7 type of job. Even when office hours are done, emergencies happen. In Children's Ministry, with so many volunteers to oversee (70+ serving in any given month) a lot of follow up happens in the evenings, on weekends, and before and after church during traditional "family time". For me, the office can be so distracting that it is easier for me to think deeply about the curriculum and vision casting responsibilities late at night when everyone is asleep.

I chose ministry, in part, because I wanted to have a career that would not just be a job, but, a lifestyle. I just wonder if I do that lifestyle thing right? I loved the idea that my undivided attention was on God's work and my passion to teach his children about Him. I wonder, though, if my undivided attention is sometimes on the job and not on God's work? Because, we all know that His work is much bigger than the career He gives any of us, but, that it has to start inside us, spread to our family and then into all the world. I wonder how I often I might neglect the "me" and "family" portion of that just to help Him out with the "all the world" part of it.

Hmmm ... something to keep thinking about.

Just One More Money Ramble - Debt Free (someday)

As David and I are adjusting our banks, I realized that should we budget our money even close to wisely, we should be out of credit card debt in 24 months. Two little years!

Maybe we will make it this time! Of course, we have a few potential setbacks hanging out there. But, I have one thing going for me. We made an agreement. My paycheck goes in one account and I pay all the bills (and only bills) from that account. He doesn't use it.

His paycheck goes in the other account and he provides all the essentials, like food, gas for the car, and Starbucks.

Never the two shall meet ... we hope. Unless our fun money is donated to our bill money so that we can have a lot more fun sooner!!!!

If just this one little thing is accomplished, we should easily be debt free in 24 months. But, if we are good, wise, and just a little bit cunning, we might even be debt free sooner than that. Well, credit card debt that is. We won't even think about student loans or the house for a while!

Just one more way to get out from under the big bank thumb and lessen someone's bonus by a few pennies.

Move Your Money

So, David and I decided that we had been nickled and dimed long enough by a bank who doesn't really care to have our business. They just want to find ways to keep our money, and trust me, they did! So, we decided recently that we would find a hometown bank or credit union, you know, one the size that when you walk in, they recognize that you are a customer and greet you with a smile.

We chose our new bank through internet research, emails to the bank, and then personal visits. We asked about their policies. We timed their responses by email and phone. We looked for the bank that wanted a customer bad enough that they were willing to serve the customer not one that thought we should feel priveleged that they would possibly allow us to bank with them.

So, today, I found a website that encourages others to "move your money" to a bank that cares about the person, that practices good business, and that isn't taking risks that affect the entire country.

You can check out their page at: www.moveyourmoney.info. Just one little way to get involved in making positive changes for America.

Rethinking My Philosophy of Children's Ministry

A few years ago I went to a Children's Ministry conference presented by a curriculum company called ReThink. This group of committed ministers had begun to "rethink" the way Christian education and spiritual formation is pursued within our churches. They had some really good stuff. It fit with what I knew. For me, I probably hadn't been in ministry long enough to "rethink" my philosophy of ministry, I was still thinking quite hard on the one that I thought was the best.

Now, a few years later, I can say that I have and will continue to go through the process of "rethinking" what ministry looks like to children. There are several running themes that drive my questions:
1) Why do 8 out of 10 kids drop out of church, most walking away from God altogether, by the time they are 18 years old?
2) Why do I have youth minister and adult minister friends who constantly say they are concerned about the Biblical illiteracy they find in our classooms?
3) And, the follow up to that question, are they trying to say children's ministry isn't doing the job right, either?
4) What should kids know about the Bible, about faith, about God's work in the world, about rightful living, and absolute truth?
5) If spiritual formation occurs when we "practice being a Christian over and over again" as a book I'm reading by Ivy Beckwith suggests, what does that look like in the home, in Bible class, in worship, and in extracurricular activities that we have designed to bring children closer to Christ?

I'm going to keep thinking about these questions. But, I think I'm coming to a few conclusions based on one assumption, each activity that attempts to teach our children to be fully devoted Christians, must have a role in the life of the child.

I recently wrote a response to a couple of chapters in a Beckwith's book, Formational Children's Ministry, for a book club I'm part of in which I was trying to describe the result of this inward struggle.

"As church leaders have worked so hard to make the Bible relevant and to engage and support parents , I think we have blurred the lines of responsibility in the process of spiritual formation, creating a system that produces moral and maybe even spiritual children, but many times, Biblically illiterate children. And, in some cases, I think we are, perhaps unintentionally, still communicating to parents, "we don't trust you to do this yourself".

So, I'm rethinking. I'm rethinking the role of the educational classes at our church and what responsibilities do I as the minister leading their class have to our children. I'm rethinking what I expect our parents to do in their homes, perhaps holding them to even a higher standard, knowing that a majority of the example of Christian living for the child comes from the parents, as well as instruction, accountability and teaching spiritual disciplines. I'm rethinking the role of extra-curricular events in light of the idea that Beckwith presents in her book that spiritual formation occurs when we "practice being Christian over and over again". Perhaps, activities of service and fellowship are a great environment for this "practice" to occur.

More to come ...

I Don't Want To Be A Canaannite

I'm fairly sure the song "I Just Want To Be A Sheep" does not have this verse, "I don't want to be a canaanite ...".

Tonight, River said, "Mommy, I know why the verse says "I don't want to be a Canaanite". It's because Cain killed Able and he must be a knight but we don't want to be that type of knight because he killed his brother". Then she burst out in song.

This is what I get for deciding to read the Bible to my daughter this year. At least she is remembering the stories.

Empty Bag and Baby Hands

What does it mean when my 11 month old digs in my office trash can and chooses the Starbucks pastry bag? Then, with sad little eyes, he shows it to me, empty and tries to tell me about it! I can only imagine him thinking, "Mom, really? You ate it all? No Mom, the 'you'll get it in the breastmilk' excuse is no longer working. I want a real, chocolate chunk cookie!"

Sorry, kid, I ate all the wonderful chocolate chip cookie! All gone. But, I have some great Cheerio's just for you. They are yummy. 

Yeah, I do feel just a little rotten.

UNTIL OUR ASSISTANT AND JANITOR WALK IN AND ASK IF I NEED MY FLOOR VACUUMED.

"No", I say as I roll around my desk.

  And there is Reese, surrounded by cheerio's, with a great big grin that could only mean he was thinking, "Surprise, Mommy, I dumped the cheerio's all over your office floor! The whole bag. Next time, maybe you will share with me after all."

Possessed or Hormones

Ever so often, I think my perfectly fine, sweet, innocent and well behaved daughter has become possessed. They say the hormonal swings of a teenage girl is pretty bad. River is almost 7, so, I can't blame it on teenage hormones. My perfect child, the one that is told she is a "little young lady" and "has great manners" suddenly becomes very fond of the word "no" and other words of disdain.  "No Mommy", "UGGGGHHHH", and "AHHHHHH" all accompanied by body language that other kids might tag a four letter word onto but she doesn't know any so we get grunts. Eye's narrowed, feet stomp, nose in the air, and back to us, she gets her message across, "I don't like not being in control of my life".

Possession happened sometime at school on Wednesday. Not sure what happened at school, I wish I'd asked her teacher because she says she had a great day. But, in Bible class, it got really bad. I teach River's class on Wednesday nights, so, after a few minutes of disrespect, she got to visit her Daddy in the hallway for a time out. Time out then turned into screams at the top of her lungs which sounded like a beating was in progress. It wasn't, of course, but I was just waiting for an elder to come running down the hallway, panicked, afraid someone had lost an arm to child friendly scissors. I'd have to say, "No, really, it's all right, it's just the Children's Minister daughter letting the WHOLE CHURCH know she didn't get her way".

Today is Sunday afternoon and she's spent a good portion of the weekend in time out and other punishments. And even though the revenge of punishment feels good in the midst of disrespect, we have tried as many positive approaches as possible, too. She's spent time with each of us, with her favorite hobby, helping me make things for the church classroom, and watching a movie. What do we get in return? Cave man grunts.

But, hey, this too shall pass, right? In a little while, she'll remember how fun it was to be a good girl, how she got praise, time with parents, and fun activities instead of time out in her room. She just has to check out life on the wild side until she remembers that it is not so wild. Better at 6 than 16. At least she'll know as a teenager that our word is golden.

God built many lessons into this job called parenting, and, this must be one of those lessons. How many times have I read God's word, said a prayer and felt His leading, but still kicked, scream, grunted, and turned my back on Him instead of doing His way? His response doesn't change, He just waits patiently until I get over myself and start relying on Him again. Jesus was His answer to our desire to test the waters and thankfully, He took the punishment for us. But, on parenting days like today, I can't help but think that God gets a little kick out of watching one of His babies teach her parents a lesson about sacrifice, unconditional love, and discipline.

She's napping now. I'm praying that she wakes up sweet River and not her evil twin!

Saturday's and Ministry

Minister friends, I'd like to know how you get to Saturday and find it a true day off? Because for me, it's crunch day. All the things I wanted to do to prepare for classes all week, well, now it's Saturday! They haven't been done so it's time to do it, and, convince my family it's fun to do it with me. I remind myself, if I didn't work in full-time ministry, I'd be teaching class and would only have a Saturday to do all the preparation. So, putting together lessons on a Saturday isn't anything different than how I'd spend my Saturday's if I was a teacher, doctor, or corporate employee. But, there is something to going back to the place I office, worship, and work on my "day off". Maybe, minister friends, you have some ideas?

Scrapbook Night

Mommy Me - can't wait to scrapbook and be away from the kids for just a bit, but, find out after getting to scrapbooking that I'm too tired to scrapbook and think it would be better for me to be in bed. So much for me time.

Minister Me - thinking of all the details that we still need to do to be prepared for Sunday morning, panicked feelings about not hearing from all the teachers, and looking for last minute instructions for crafts in the curriculum with no details. But, oh yeah, I'm going to scrapbooking.

Wife Me - come home. Kids in bed. Husband is HAPPILY playing Mario. How come he isn't this tired?

The Value of Priorities

Last year, I was on bed rest at this time of the year. It was nice. It was quiet (yes that was the last quiet I had). I got lot's done because Jeff and Kevin, our worship and youth ministers, couldn't come sit on my bed like they do my couch in my office. That would be odd.  I knew that I had set myself up for a difficult year. I was going to have a baby, a six year, a ministry, and of course, a husband that needed my attention.  Mom and wife being the first priorities in my life, I knew it would take focus to accomplish anything new and exciting in ministry. And help! Lot's and lot's of help.

So, I set goals. Five in fact. Simple goals of where I was going to spend a majority of my working hours. These were based on our "Love God, Love Others and Serve the World" process of discipleship. They were done knowing that we have some incrediable leaders in our ministry at Kingwood Church of Christ and I should stay out of their way and focus on the ministries that need leadership. After all, God has called us all to minister. So, I resolved to serve the other leaders in ministry at Kingwood and focus my leadership on five items. I don't know if it matters in this post which five I chose.

As I look back on 2009 and I'm wowed by what God has done. By seeking God's will for our ministry, writing down the priorities I believed He had in mind for us, and working towards those for 365 days, I know that God can do immeasuably more than what we can ask or imagine. Best of all, I can look back on 2009 and know, for a fact, that my time and effort made a difference. It's not perfect. We still have work to do. But, things changed! Kids grew in faith. I grew in confidence in my ability to lead effectively. We had some incredible successes!

A long time ago, I heard a sermon by Andy Stanley, I believe, that talked about "keeping margins" in life. In other words, protecting the people God will hold you accountable to by making time and keeping some of the best of yourself for your family. Because, if you are successful as a minister, teacher, lawyer, or hamburger flipper, but your family never sees you and gets the leftovers, it is all for naught. Setting priorities, for me, allowed me to leave margins. It gave me the ability to say "no" when needed. It also gave me the ability to push just a little harder because the importance of an activity had been identified and had significance.

This year, I will again evaluate my priorities for my career with the liaison elders that have been so great to encourage and support the children's ministry and me personally. I am also thinking about priorities for my family, such as maybe actually taking a vacation this year and reading the whole Bible with River this year. Soon, those will be written down, and I'll live by them, because at the end of 2010, I will be able to look at those and know exactly how God has used me for His purpose.