Silence is Golden

“A time to hear and a time to mend.  A time to be quiet and a time to speak.”  (Ecclesiastes 3:7)

 For a time I thought I have been experiencing a complete and total burnout.  I thought I was tired from long hours of homework, car pools, house cleaning (or lack there of), driving back and forth to wherever the kids need to be, and training at work which involved many long hours of staring at documents and spreadsheets and trying to remember what each one says. School is over, car pool is over, the kids are home more to help around the house, but now I have joined the planning team for VBS at church and that is keeping me very busy.  I have missed writing every morning but I haven’t been getting up in time to do it. I have felt lonely and like something was missing.

 This week I realized that nothing was missing.  Two things occurred to me at the same time.  First, I promised myself I wouldn’t write just to write and, honestly, I haven’t felt like saying anything lately. Second, nothing at all has been missing.  My plate is most definitely full and it’s full of really great stuff.  My daughter is in an amazing musical that has been eating up my weekends but I love being down at the theater and to be able to share this with her has been a blessing for me.  I love my job and the opportunities that have presented themselves to me.  I feel slightly overwhelmed but I know I am where I need to be and it’s going to be all good.  Finally, I am excited to be a part of VBS this year.  It’s crazy, stressful, and a blessing.  I am anxious to see the kids and the leaders walk through those doors Sunday night.  So, nothing has been missing.  God just helped me lighten my load a bit so that I could find balance.

 My relationship with Jesus may have changed a bit in the last couple of months.  I guess if I were to try to explain it I would say that up until May I was sitting down and having coffee with Him as we talked about life (thank you Sally).  Now, I feel like we aren’t talking to each other as much as we are building something great together.  He has never left my side and its okay that someone isn’t always talking in any relationship.  Silence is golden, or maybe silence is me going nuts from mixing too many things together.  So, if things seem crazy or you feel kind of off take a step back and try to see the bigger picture.  I am sure that you are in the midst of an opportunity and you will enjoy it more if you see it now than if you have to constantly look back on it later.

 “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it give us assurance about the things we cannot see.” (Hebrews 11:1)

God Moments

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

 

Have I told you about the church’s Parable Project? Just in case I haven’t Oakwood is the midst of a crazy mission where someone gave the church $5000 to be handed out to 50 people. Everyone who stepped up got $100 and it was up to them to grow that money. We have people making lotions, raising money for a young lady in the hospital, making dolls for kids who are sick, teaming up with Habitat for Humanity, doing can drives in schools, starting new college scholarships, and so much more. This has been an extremely exciting time in our family of faith. Gabrielle and I went up for this mystery assignment. I had no idea what we were going to do until I saw a homeless guy on a bike by my work and I knew: bikes. Our small part of this huge Parable Project was going to have something to do with bikes.

 

Greg and I, mostly Greg, have begun the process of reconditioning and fixing up three bikes. I had no idea who to give these bikes too but I know there are a lot of people who are trying to get back to work, have no transportation, or just need a break but where do I start? We take the bikes to Rasmussen’s in Altoona when we need more extreme care done. We went there a couple weeks ago to pick up a tire and a bike that had been worked on. Part of this bike idea is that I would really love to host a Parable Bike Ride/Walk. I have never tried to set up a huge ride before so I asked the clerk how to do it. We kind of explained what we were trying to do. The guy working the counter happens to work for the Iowa Workforce Development and knew of at least one person who could really use a bike and thought that several others would probably be candidates as well. I am very excited!

 

God is so good. He came down and met me exactly where I was. I knew that bikes were our focus but I didn’t know how to get from point A to point B and who to give them too. Now, we are going to try to work with Iowa Workforce Development and figure out what the process of giving them the bikes would be so they could give them to the people who need them. I am still floundering about the bike ride but we’ll get there. I was reminded, in the most simple way, that I do not need to come up with all the answers and not every solution can be found in Google®. God will guide me and show me the way!

 

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Roman 8:28)

Into the Fire!

“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned to me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” (Acts 20:24)

 

The first time I ever served was in an auction/pig roast at our church. This would have been seven years ago, I think. I had gone to the new member gathering and our pastor had said that as members of Christ church and our church that it is important that we volunteer once every six months. The next “big” thing going on at the church was the pig roast so I volunteered to work in the kitchen, getting my first session out of the way as soon as possible. I felt out of place. I didn’t know anyone. I was nervous. And I had to sweat it out for an hour or two but most of all, I enjoyed it thoroughly and it was my gateway to many different opportunities to serve.

 

Now, my husband and I are leading our first in-home small group, which was something both of us were very uneasy about doing. We are enjoying ourselves very much. Yesterday we were talking about ministry (serving) and we got to the point where we were sharing some of our ideas and it was fun. We talked about different ways to welcome newcomers. We liked the idea of finding a way to bring our family of faith closer together and keeping us connected. There are ministries that we want to be a part of eventually but our schedules won’t permit us right now. Finally, there were ministries, or areas of serving, that we are already a part of that we want to see grow. I got very excited just talking about it and I look forward to seeing how our group changes and grows over time.

 

I am sure that many ideas have crossed the minds of multitudes that have never been put into action for one reason or another. And I am sure that there are some ideas that haven’t come to pass but have propelled other ideas in it’s wake. A good pastor once shared that a heap of coals in a fire will burn and glow but if one coal falls off the side it will grow cold and turn black. I urge everyone to go into that fire and help the flame of Jesus Christ grow. Take that risk and take that chance. Let us be the fire that sets the world ablaze and gets everything ready for Jesus’ return.

 

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)

High School

“I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he [God] accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of the Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:34a-36)

 

 Toward the end of the election I started getting stuck on talk radio and it’s still on my dial. After the fourth teen suicide at a local school an afternoon program spent days talking with school officials, the superintendent, parents, and students about what is going on in that school. The DJ and others really brought me back to high school in my mind. I think any adult who wants to go back and relive high school is crazy. Even for the most successful student it could have been very rough. The peer pressure, the drama, the clicks, the expectations and the rejection of those crazy teenage years is not something I would want to revisit any time soon or at all.

 

As adults we need to remember how hard we worked in school. Not only did we go to school for eight hours but we brought home homework and by the crazy teen years we were either working or spending hours after school working out for sports (which, of course, was before or after a couples hours worth of homework). Gosh! Can you imagine that now?!? And to top that off teenagers are full of hormones, think they know everything, and every emotion and situation is intensified 100 times over again from what it really may be. We keep telling our children to just wait until they are adults and life gets really tough. I don’t know. Maybe adulthood is a reprieve from those teenage years.

 

What can we do? We can listen. We can offer an ear or a shoulder for the youth in our lives. We can live by example and be the mentors they need. We can be leaders in youth programs and we can pray. We can live our faith with our children and we can discipline them to teach them accountability and consequences. We can stay involved in our community and church so that are children are constantly surrounded by good example. We can ask our kids about their day, who they are hanging out with, and if they need any help. There is so much we can do but the one thing we can’t do is turn a blind eye. We cannot just assume our children are making the right choices. We have to stay involved. We have to stay connected. Our kids don’t need us any less just because they are older and independent. In some cases they may need us more. I need God in my life everyday and I need Him to walk with me, talk with me, correct me, comfort me, and lead me. If we are supposed to be like God should we do any less than He does for us?

 

“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including new bodies he has promised us.” (Romans 8:23)

The Force

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:6)

 

I gave myself a chuckle this morning while I was doing my prayers. I have felt kind of off all week. I think we have just been too busy and it’s kept my mind away from God. Every morning this week, as I start this devotion process, I have had no idea what to write about and the words still flow. (This is further proof that God is writing these devotions and not me!) Anyway, about my chuckle: I was asking God what to write about because I didn’t have a clue. And then I started talking to Him about my fears of running out of things to say (can you imagine?) or not saying what He needs me to say. Then I stepped it up and was asking Him, once again, why did He choose me for this task? And then the voice from a Star Wars movie came into mind: The force is strong with this one. Isn’t that hilarious? I laughed and thanked God for the time He was spending with me.

 

I believe we can decide how strong “the force” is within each of us. We are all called to touch lives and change the world and I know so many people who do this so well. Teachers, daycare providers, nurses, business owners, pastors, secretaries, design artists, homemakers, firefighters, managers, drivers, painters, builders, administrators, accountants, general laborers and so many more who I have seen truly claim the gifts that God has given them and watch out for those opportunities to show Jesus to someone. When we accept God’s call for our lives and spend time in prayer and His Word, then “the force” will grow stronger within us and those mountains in our lives that we are having trouble moving will jump out of the way! And the more we reach out the closer we get to Jesus’ return because we will be helping win all the souls that He is waiting for.

 

“And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. as the scriptures say,

 

‘They share freely and give generously to the pour.

    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.’” (2 Corinthians 9:8-9)

Give them a Gift

 

“A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other.” (1 Corinthians 12:7)

 

I had taken a huge step back from children’s ministries this past year or two. I had been a part of wonderful ministries for a long while but that was also while I was running a daycare and working on my Associate degree. I was tired, burned out, and, honestly, sick of it. I had gotten to the point where all the effort I put in to preparing was never rewarded because I left each session with these kids left me tired and annoyed. I was saturated in little ones and I was so exhausted. By my own mindset I needed to step back and take a break.

 

I had planned to see what our Christian Ed program needed next year after I finish up school in 2009. As I have moved into the core of my degree program I have found that it is hard for me to add to that load, especially with my husband being gone every weeknight and rushing our three children here and there. However, I have always encouraged my children to be a part of Sunday school and Wednesday night youth programs and they enjoy both very much. In fact, there is very little I would limit them from doing at church. I like that they want to be there because our church home is full of great leaders, role models, inspiration, and love.

 

For some reason, when there was a call out for brainstorming session for Wednesday nights for kids, I jumped on it. I had no idea why. During the meeting I felt as if my heals were dragging on cement. I loved the ideas and the passion flowing in that room that night and I had the greatest urge to jump up and say, “put me in a group. I’ll lead!” But then my brain would pipe in, “no, you can’t do that. You have school and what if Kyle can’t do it”. The urge did not dissipate and even the next day, when I woke up, I felt that I was going to be incredibly blessed by leading/teaching this year but I still didn’t want to do it.

 

Then this past weekend some of our church kids got confirmed. Pastor Craig said it’s not one class that will encourage our youth to follow Jesus, it’s all the opportunities for them to learn, grow, fellowship, and lead that will build a beautiful relationship with God. My heart’s desire is to grow Jesus loving kids, and not just my own, but all the kids. However, it’s hard to make that happen if we don’t have the leaders and teachers to pull that through. So, I am more confident than ever that God is walking me, and has talked me, into volunteering for our Christian Ed program this year.

 

Right now my almost desperate prayer every day has been that God will move the other adults in our church to find Jesus’ passion for our children to grow in light and love, to be surrounded by encouragement, and lead by good role models. God has great plans for our family of faith but we need hands and feet to put them into action.

 

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of services, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)