And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. Ephesians 6:18 NIV
Over the past few weeks, I have been made aware. Painfully aware that we live in a fallen world, that there are people who live with evil, that there are people who are hurt and broken by evil, that we have to cling all the more to God.
From my own family which has had its share of broken promises, bad examples, and shattered dreams to the people I come in contact with on a daily basis, we are all in need of hope. Most of us in the US have decent lives but there is always something just under the surface which informs our decisions, our futures, and our hopes. Our hope is in our risen Savior Jesus. We have to cling to the Resurrection for that's where our hope lies. We can rise again to serve in spite of the way yesterday turned out.
I know it may seem like a daunting task to rise to hope. I have the same reluctance to get out of bed because I know the evil from yesterday will try to cling to today. Some days, it is just too hard to bear. Too hard to think about. But I will because I am called to keep going. I have friends to lean on and prayer partners to hold me up when I am overwhelmed.
Paul reminds us in his letter from prison to the Ephesians to continue to pray. The New International Version says, "be alert." That is our call always to be alert and prayerful as we encounter the world. We need that high alert in the broken world we live in.
"Keep on Praying for the Lord's people."
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Ten Things I Learned In The Past 7 Years
I began working at ECUMC on June 1, 2005. To my amazement, they hired me to be their Director of Children's Ministry. I was clueless. Really clueless from the moment that I said yes to this job what it would require or what it would bring. I have learned many more things but you would not want to hear everything I've learned. So here are 10 things I learned in 7 years:
1) Relationships are the most important thing. Allowing people to see you as a human with vulnerable, squishy spots is as important as letting them know you are a leader, strong and capable. Knowing every kid's name is very important because they will know you cared enough to find out.
2) Remembering the baptismal covenant that we make with the families when their children are baptized is crucial when you have to correct a child's behavior and even more important when you have to tell the parent what happened. We have an agreement between us, the parents, and God to help them bring their children to a life of faith. Sometimes we have to give bad news but we can give it in love.
3) Being prepared is for more than Scouts. Children's workers have to be prepared. Either be prepared with lots of activities or be prepared to the fallout when you aren't.
4) God's Word is digestible, and I am not just talking about Bible board books.. Infants can learn "God is love" from the smile and coos of a parent or a nursery worker. Toddlers can sing along to Jesus Loves Me and learn Bible stories if we "feed" them a regular diet of God's Word. The stuff they learn as babies stays with them the longest.
5) Little kids' prayers can make me laugh or cry. Little kids' will pray about anything and everything. They need to know that they can pray about anything and everything. They have stuff to tell God. Let them tell God their hearts desire and teach them to say thank you. Kids' prayers reveal a lot of about them and their families.
6) I will never sing a solo in church but I can sing with little kids. They don't care if I am off tune or off beat. They just love to sing and make a joyful noise. I can't sing with big kids. They know me.
7) Big kids surprise me by the what they think about. They begin looking at the Bible differently when they are in 4th and 5th grades. They ask hard questions. They make me look up stuff more. They see the world differently too. They see our incongruousness and they shake their heads at us.
8) Big kids want to know that God will forgive if their brother or sister won't. They want to know how to calm their bodies so that they can pray. They want to use their words to pray, not our stuffy churchy words. It's ok. God is big enough to hear messy prayers.
9) Big kids are helpers. They want to participate and they are waiting for someone to tell them how. Can they be missionaries in their community - YES! Can they pass the offering plate - YES! Can they read scripture - YES! Can they pray aloud - YES!
10) Parents who live out their Christian faith in front of their kids - the good, the bad, the ugly, the return - are the best kind of parents. If they allow their humanness show and then let their faith in God shine through all of the circumstances, they can be great role models. The life of faith is like a path through a bed of roses. There are thorns if you get off the path. Parents: I've got your back. Thank you for having mine.
.
I began working at ECUMC on June 1, 2005. To my amazement, they hired me to be their Director of Children's Ministry. I was clueless. Really clueless from the moment that I said yes to this job what it would require or what it would bring. I have learned many more things but you would not want to hear everything I've learned. So here are 10 things I learned in 7 years:
1) Relationships are the most important thing. Allowing people to see you as a human with vulnerable, squishy spots is as important as letting them know you are a leader, strong and capable. Knowing every kid's name is very important because they will know you cared enough to find out.
2) Remembering the baptismal covenant that we make with the families when their children are baptized is crucial when you have to correct a child's behavior and even more important when you have to tell the parent what happened. We have an agreement between us, the parents, and God to help them bring their children to a life of faith. Sometimes we have to give bad news but we can give it in love.
3) Being prepared is for more than Scouts. Children's workers have to be prepared. Either be prepared with lots of activities or be prepared to the fallout when you aren't.
4) God's Word is digestible, and I am not just talking about Bible board books.. Infants can learn "God is love" from the smile and coos of a parent or a nursery worker. Toddlers can sing along to Jesus Loves Me and learn Bible stories if we "feed" them a regular diet of God's Word. The stuff they learn as babies stays with them the longest.
5) Little kids' prayers can make me laugh or cry. Little kids' will pray about anything and everything. They need to know that they can pray about anything and everything. They have stuff to tell God. Let them tell God their hearts desire and teach them to say thank you. Kids' prayers reveal a lot of about them and their families.
6) I will never sing a solo in church but I can sing with little kids. They don't care if I am off tune or off beat. They just love to sing and make a joyful noise. I can't sing with big kids. They know me.
7) Big kids surprise me by the what they think about. They begin looking at the Bible differently when they are in 4th and 5th grades. They ask hard questions. They make me look up stuff more. They see the world differently too. They see our incongruousness and they shake their heads at us.
8) Big kids want to know that God will forgive if their brother or sister won't. They want to know how to calm their bodies so that they can pray. They want to use their words to pray, not our stuffy churchy words. It's ok. God is big enough to hear messy prayers.
9) Big kids are helpers. They want to participate and they are waiting for someone to tell them how. Can they be missionaries in their community - YES! Can they pass the offering plate - YES! Can they read scripture - YES! Can they pray aloud - YES!
10) Parents who live out their Christian faith in front of their kids - the good, the bad, the ugly, the return - are the best kind of parents. If they allow their humanness show and then let their faith in God shine through all of the circumstances, they can be great role models. The life of faith is like a path through a bed of roses. There are thorns if you get off the path. Parents: I've got your back. Thank you for having mine.
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