I am the parson's wife. That always makes me smile. Half the time, I call my dear husband, Parson. I love it. It's making me smile right now!
We are part of a small, developing church. The people with whom God gave us the privilege to share fellowship are incredible. I love them. Yesterday, my daughter noticed that one of the older gentlemen wasn't at church. When she asked us about it, and we told her that he had moved (she new this, but she hadn't put 2 + 2 together yet) and was probably going to be attending closer to his new home (seriously, 89 year old men don't drive 30 minutes to go to church), she nearly cried. In our short seven months here at Fargo Wesleyan, our whole family has come to love this congregation of believers. I think be trying to have this fellow over for dinner soon because our girl is very, very sad (as are we!).
Because of the current size of our church, I teach a very small Sunday School class with two little boys, one of whom was at home yesterday due to sickness. Sunday School with only a 2 year old is a very different experience. We sang some fun songs and did cool motions (when your only critic is 2 years old, any motions are cool), and we played with matchbox cars on the slide and talked about Jesus. I was thinking about my teaching philosophy, that pre-schoolers learn best through play, and I decided to not try to make this little guy fit into the Sunday School mold. We had a blast together. It's been too long since I got to make the engine of a matchbox car roar!
I'm doing a Bible study right now that is currently focused on finding communion within the local church. I value this highly, and I am glad to have been a part of several incredible congregations. Community looks a little different in each one, but it's there if you look for it.
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ministry. Show all posts
09 February 2015
19 November 2013
The Part Where I Learned
Our ladie's group at church is reading a fantastic book called The Unexpected Adventure, co-authored by Lee Strobel and Mark Mittleberg. When I read the synopsis of the book and saw who authored it, I got excited, and, I have to tell you, these two men have definitely delivered for me.
The premise of the book is fairly simple. Evangelism should happen everyday, and we should not be intimidated by it. We might even mess it up at times, but that's okay. God is bigger than our mistakes and can even use them for His work.
A week and a half ago, when I was only a week into the 42 days of the reading plan, I made my weekly stop at our local Hardees where I enjoy a 45 minute coffee break while my kids take a phys ed class. On the way there, I was praying.
Errrr,
complaining to God.
You know those kinds of chats with the Lord? "God, where are you? I am frustrated! I am discontent. We have legitimate needs. We're being good stewards. What in the world are you up to?" I was laying it all out, but, as you can see, I honestly stated to the Lord, "I am discontent." That might be for another upcoming blog post, but we all know that we are not given the choice to be discontent.
Anyway, I walked to the counter at Hardees and immediately found a pile of cash sitting there waiting for the taking.
Of course, I wouldn't be telling you this story if I had taken the cash.
The clerk came to take my order, and I reported the cash to her. Now, I was not being a hero here. I was just doing what I saw as the common sense response, so don't get stuck there. It wasn't mine. I wasn't going to take it.
The clerk was stunned. She just looked at me in silence for about 15 seconds, and then she said, "You know you could have just taken that money?"
Yes, I knew, but the thought didn't occur to me.
That is not the part of the story that I wish to tell, but that is the part of the story that leads to the real story, the part where I learned.
A few minutes later, the gentlemen to whom the cash belonged came to thank me for not taking his money since the clerk had assumed it to be his and returned it to him. We exchanged courteous greetings and went about our business, him to his breakfast, and me to my coffee and Bible. Not too long had passed before this kind man came to me a second time to tell me how grateful he was again. He had done this same thing before and once even lost $100 by leaving it on the counter at Big Lots! Now, it wasn't a lot of money he left this time, but he was glad to have it back, none the less.
A third time, the man came to my table. This time, as we were chatting, he revealed that he was blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. He has had macular degeneration for 10 years. Knowing how hard it was for my mom to give up driving and my dad to lose his driving privileges for a few months while he awaited surgery, I can imagine what this man has experienced over the past 10 years of his life. I'm sure it hasn't been easy.
It was during this third conversation that this man said something that I didn't think a lot of at the time. He said, "Not being able to see makes things really hard for me, but I love the Lord, and I know He loves me, and He just keeps telling me to never give up. So you remember that, young lady (I loved that part). Never give up!" And then he walked away and left the restaurant.
It was a few minutes later that the clerk was cleaning the dining room. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me and said, "I can't believe you didn't take that money. Most people would have," and she shook her head from side to side.
From there stemmed a conversation that lead from one thing to the next. Eventually, she began to talk about her 30 year old son who lives on disability as he suffers from a blood clotting disorder that has destroyed his liver.
Now, here is something you don't know about me. Like many Christians, I am really, really great at asking my fellow believers for ways to pray for them, but I am really, really weak when it comes to offering to the same for the people who truly need it the most, people I don't know, people who may not know Jesus. I had no idea if this woman was a believer or not, and I still can't answer that question. I have seen her almost every week for a year, but I don't really know her. She knows my order before I walk up to the counter and has my coffee cup waiting, and we always exchange polite hellos. That's the extent of our relationship prior to this day.
This time was different. One little gesture that really meant nothing to me, lead to this woman sharing a part of her private life with me, and I knew that was a privilege that only comes from the Lord. I asked her if I could know her son's name and if I could pray for him.
Again, she stopped what she was doing to look right at me. She said yes and gave me his name, and then she said a few things about praying for her son and some other details about his pending liver transplant followed by, "I told my son that he has come through three major medical scares, and he pulled through all of them, and that he should never give up." In the course of this brief exchange, she repeated that phrase, "never give up," twice more.
So.
Yes, God. I got it.
5 times I got it. Maybe even 6.
When she walked away, I physically looked up as if I could see the face of God, which is my way of doing things as crazy as it might make me appear, and I shook my head briefly as I smiled and said quietly, "I hear You, Lord. I hear You."
Never.Give.Up.
I haven't, though I still feel like doing so at times.
I am holding tightly to God's promises for me. I am reaching out only to find that God is reaching in.
Evangelism. It's for me.
The premise of the book is fairly simple. Evangelism should happen everyday, and we should not be intimidated by it. We might even mess it up at times, but that's okay. God is bigger than our mistakes and can even use them for His work.
A week and a half ago, when I was only a week into the 42 days of the reading plan, I made my weekly stop at our local Hardees where I enjoy a 45 minute coffee break while my kids take a phys ed class. On the way there, I was praying.
Errrr,
complaining to God.
You know those kinds of chats with the Lord? "God, where are you? I am frustrated! I am discontent. We have legitimate needs. We're being good stewards. What in the world are you up to?" I was laying it all out, but, as you can see, I honestly stated to the Lord, "I am discontent." That might be for another upcoming blog post, but we all know that we are not given the choice to be discontent.
Anyway, I walked to the counter at Hardees and immediately found a pile of cash sitting there waiting for the taking.
Of course, I wouldn't be telling you this story if I had taken the cash.
The clerk came to take my order, and I reported the cash to her. Now, I was not being a hero here. I was just doing what I saw as the common sense response, so don't get stuck there. It wasn't mine. I wasn't going to take it.
The clerk was stunned. She just looked at me in silence for about 15 seconds, and then she said, "You know you could have just taken that money?"
Yes, I knew, but the thought didn't occur to me.
That is not the part of the story that I wish to tell, but that is the part of the story that leads to the real story, the part where I learned.
A few minutes later, the gentlemen to whom the cash belonged came to thank me for not taking his money since the clerk had assumed it to be his and returned it to him. We exchanged courteous greetings and went about our business, him to his breakfast, and me to my coffee and Bible. Not too long had passed before this kind man came to me a second time to tell me how grateful he was again. He had done this same thing before and once even lost $100 by leaving it on the counter at Big Lots! Now, it wasn't a lot of money he left this time, but he was glad to have it back, none the less.
A third time, the man came to my table. This time, as we were chatting, he revealed that he was blind in one eye and partially blind in the other. He has had macular degeneration for 10 years. Knowing how hard it was for my mom to give up driving and my dad to lose his driving privileges for a few months while he awaited surgery, I can imagine what this man has experienced over the past 10 years of his life. I'm sure it hasn't been easy.
It was during this third conversation that this man said something that I didn't think a lot of at the time. He said, "Not being able to see makes things really hard for me, but I love the Lord, and I know He loves me, and He just keeps telling me to never give up. So you remember that, young lady (I loved that part). Never give up!" And then he walked away and left the restaurant.
It was a few minutes later that the clerk was cleaning the dining room. She stopped what she was doing and looked at me and said, "I can't believe you didn't take that money. Most people would have," and she shook her head from side to side.
From there stemmed a conversation that lead from one thing to the next. Eventually, she began to talk about her 30 year old son who lives on disability as he suffers from a blood clotting disorder that has destroyed his liver.
Now, here is something you don't know about me. Like many Christians, I am really, really great at asking my fellow believers for ways to pray for them, but I am really, really weak when it comes to offering to the same for the people who truly need it the most, people I don't know, people who may not know Jesus. I had no idea if this woman was a believer or not, and I still can't answer that question. I have seen her almost every week for a year, but I don't really know her. She knows my order before I walk up to the counter and has my coffee cup waiting, and we always exchange polite hellos. That's the extent of our relationship prior to this day.
This time was different. One little gesture that really meant nothing to me, lead to this woman sharing a part of her private life with me, and I knew that was a privilege that only comes from the Lord. I asked her if I could know her son's name and if I could pray for him.
Again, she stopped what she was doing to look right at me. She said yes and gave me his name, and then she said a few things about praying for her son and some other details about his pending liver transplant followed by, "I told my son that he has come through three major medical scares, and he pulled through all of them, and that he should never give up." In the course of this brief exchange, she repeated that phrase, "never give up," twice more.
So.
Yes, God. I got it.
5 times I got it. Maybe even 6.
When she walked away, I physically looked up as if I could see the face of God, which is my way of doing things as crazy as it might make me appear, and I shook my head briefly as I smiled and said quietly, "I hear You, Lord. I hear You."
Never.Give.Up.
I haven't, though I still feel like doing so at times.
I am holding tightly to God's promises for me. I am reaching out only to find that God is reaching in.
Evangelism. It's for me.
20 December 2010
Back to the Manger
It was nothing short of a privilege that I was able to direct our church's children's choir in their annual Christmas musical, and it was made even better because Eric assisted me. We started rehearsals the first week of September after reviewing several musicals and deciding on this one, which was created by Christy Semsen, who was mentored by the Clydesdales. I love Clydesdale musicals, so I knew this was going to be the perfect musical for our kids to perform. When Eric and I were discussing it yesterday, I concluded that, of all the musicals I have directed or with which I have assisted, this is my favorite. The plot is well-written, and the music is a blast.
Anyway, our kids did a great job. Lukas was cast as Jackson, who does not enjoy Christmas caroling and also does not understand the point in giving at Christmas. A time machine malfunctions taking Jackson and three friends on a journey that bounces them around from decade to decade until they finally end up back at the manger. The story is fun. The lines were delivered better than I could have imagined(and the ad-libbed lines were the best!). The four main characters were cast perfectly. The entire cast came together so well. Everyone knew their lines. The soloists sang like angels.
Since this is my blog, I will be a little self-indulgent and say that my children were amazing. Lukas had never played a role this large. He did a lot of memorization to play this role! I was never concerned about him memorizing it all. I knew he could do it. What surprised me was his ability to act, I mean really, really act. His facial expressions and body language came naturally. This boy is talented. I believe the Lord is leading him to his sweet spot in ministry already. His favorite part of the role was the chance he had to rap in the middle of one of the songs. Jackson had a solo rap part, and Lukas definitely embraced it! He had a blast!
Ava played a small role as a 1940s war volunteer, and she also did very well. It was the first time she had any kind of part in a play. Her scene was with Lukas, which made it even better for me as their mama. She also had a solo in the play. She sang half a verse of Away in a Manger. During dress rehearsal, she ended the verse with a very loud, "Hey!" It was hilariously cute, and I wish we had been recording that.
All of the kids did a great job. I had one child drop out at the last minute because of sickness, and another girl learned her part in just a few days. There were some other last minute things that came up, but we worked it out. The kids were amazing. All of them. I couldn't be more proud of this choir of children who are using their gifts to serve the Lord.
The behind-the-scenes team was also amazing. I had an exceptional team of volunteers serving with me to make this production happen. I am grateful to them. Rehearsals went smoothly because of these people. Props were found. Costumes were found, created or discovered in parts of the church which I didn't know existed. I was repeatedly reminded by one volunteer that everything was fine during dress rehearsal. I needed that. I am so appreciative to so many people. This musical wouldn't have happened without them.
Most importantly, this musical wouldn't have happened without Eric. He began the journey calling himself the "drama coach" and was then re-titled by me as the assistant director. Co-director is probably more like it. Yes, I technically made the final decisions, but he kept me sane and took on anything I asked of him. We have never done anything like this together in quite this capacity. It was a blessing.
29 October 2010
Shine the Light
Our church does great things. It's one of many, many reasons why we love serving and worshiping there. Shine the Light is one of those great things. Instead of asking the community to come to our church on Beggar's Night, volunteer families offer their homes as Shine the Light locations at which they literally light up their little part of the neighborhood with bright lights while also sharing the light of Jesus with their neighbors and friends. It's a fantastic idea. I don't know why we didn't get involved with this before this year. We had a blast!
We have never been big trick-or-treaters at our house. We usually do fall festivals instead. The last two years, we allowed our kids to do a little door-to-door begging, but this year, Eric really wanted us to do Shine the Light, and we all agreed to give it a try. After spending the evening passing out cotton candy, popcorn, glow sticks, treat bags, balloons and prizes for the game we had while blasting some of our favorite kid-approved music (Pure NRG, VeggieTales), our kids announced that they want to host Shine the Light every year!!! I was proud of them for this decision. They could have complained about missing the door-to-door thing, but they didn't. They both embraced this ministry opportunity and had a great time doing so!
It was a blessing to meet new people and have the chance to visit with our neighbors. Several people asked us if there was a charge for the popcorn and cotton candy. Nope. It's all provided by the church. It most definitely blessed our neighbors. It opened doors that we've been trying to open since moving here with a couple of our neighbors. For that we are eternally grateful!
Next year, we'll do this much better now that we know what we're doing. I can't tell you how grateful we are to Mike and Becky and their very helpful daughter, Gabby, who volunteered to help us tonight and probably filled 75 bags of cotton candy with me. The Smiths also showed up and started helping immediately. Their unexpected help was not just appreciated; it was needed! The Stones were with us as things were wrapping up, and Jamie helped Eric finish cleaning up. This is not a one-family ministry, which makes it all the more fun!
16 December 2006
Homeless Outreach
Today was a busy day for us. My mom stayed here with our kiddos while Eric and I headed downtown to help out with a homeless ministry. My Dad has a ministry called Spice of Life Ministries, and one of their outreaches is to the homeless community here in Columbus. This was the first time that they had been to this particular area of Columbus to distribute food, clothing, blankets, batteries, small propane tanks, and countless other items that these people need just to survive the winter.
The place where we were is near a set of railroad tracks. You can't see the homeless camp from the street. You have to climb the hill to the railroad tracks and look over the other side, and then you will see many, many little make-shift campsites where the homeless of Columbus live. I did not go to see the site myself because I felt that it would be intruding on their privacy, but we did have a couple of people walk up to the tracks so that they knew we were there to distribute items.
We didn't have as many people come today as I would have liked. We had so many, many things left to give. Tons of clothing was left over, but the good news is that a local ministry was able to take all of the leftover clothing to distribute at other sites around the city. We know that it will be given to those who need it.
I can't really say that today's experience was eye-opening for me because I've experienced homeless ministry before. The first time was at a shelter in Florida when I was 15 years old. That was eye-opening and shocking to me. What impacted me today was the fact that our family has been so, so blessed. Eric was without a good job for two and a half years. I babysat to bring in some money and later worked in our church's childcare program very part-time, but we were by no means making it. Bills didn't get paid. It was humbling, to say the least, especially for a the perfectionist in me who prior to that point didn't believe in paying anything late.
Anyway, looking back on that time in our lives made me realize that we were only a few steps away from the lives that these people were living, and we both have college degrees! (Of course, an out of date teaching certificate gets you nowhere, especially in a state where you've never been certified.) At any rate, I think that people judge people too harshly. Who's to say that you and I won't have to join them some day?
I know a man who used to be a pastor. Several years ago he left his family and the church. Since then he has wandered from place to place and job to job, and at times, he has been homeless, living out of his car. I know someone else who is perfectly capable and willing to work any job, and his family would never allow him to end up on the streets if they could prevent it. Yet, for a time in his life, he fell so far away from his family that he did indeed live on the streets.
Who knows why they are on the streets? It's not our place to say, but it is our place to serve these people, to minister to them as Jesus would, and to shine light into their lives. For whatever reason, they are living on the streets, under viaducts, behind railroad tracks, or wherever they can find shelter from the cold winter winds and harsh sunlight of July. Maybe they are too proud to turn to a loving family member, or maybe they don't have a family member to turn to. Yes, I'm sure there are the stereotypical homeless people who have just made poor choices, but that isn't the case with all of them.
I wonder what their stories are. I wonder why they are living where they are. And I wonder why we are letting them live this way.
The place where we were is near a set of railroad tracks. You can't see the homeless camp from the street. You have to climb the hill to the railroad tracks and look over the other side, and then you will see many, many little make-shift campsites where the homeless of Columbus live. I did not go to see the site myself because I felt that it would be intruding on their privacy, but we did have a couple of people walk up to the tracks so that they knew we were there to distribute items.
We didn't have as many people come today as I would have liked. We had so many, many things left to give. Tons of clothing was left over, but the good news is that a local ministry was able to take all of the leftover clothing to distribute at other sites around the city. We know that it will be given to those who need it.
I can't really say that today's experience was eye-opening for me because I've experienced homeless ministry before. The first time was at a shelter in Florida when I was 15 years old. That was eye-opening and shocking to me. What impacted me today was the fact that our family has been so, so blessed. Eric was without a good job for two and a half years. I babysat to bring in some money and later worked in our church's childcare program very part-time, but we were by no means making it. Bills didn't get paid. It was humbling, to say the least, especially for a the perfectionist in me who prior to that point didn't believe in paying anything late.
Anyway, looking back on that time in our lives made me realize that we were only a few steps away from the lives that these people were living, and we both have college degrees! (Of course, an out of date teaching certificate gets you nowhere, especially in a state where you've never been certified.) At any rate, I think that people judge people too harshly. Who's to say that you and I won't have to join them some day?
I know a man who used to be a pastor. Several years ago he left his family and the church. Since then he has wandered from place to place and job to job, and at times, he has been homeless, living out of his car. I know someone else who is perfectly capable and willing to work any job, and his family would never allow him to end up on the streets if they could prevent it. Yet, for a time in his life, he fell so far away from his family that he did indeed live on the streets.
Who knows why they are on the streets? It's not our place to say, but it is our place to serve these people, to minister to them as Jesus would, and to shine light into their lives. For whatever reason, they are living on the streets, under viaducts, behind railroad tracks, or wherever they can find shelter from the cold winter winds and harsh sunlight of July. Maybe they are too proud to turn to a loving family member, or maybe they don't have a family member to turn to. Yes, I'm sure there are the stereotypical homeless people who have just made poor choices, but that isn't the case with all of them.
I wonder what their stories are. I wonder why they are living where they are. And I wonder why we are letting them live this way.
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