I'm Busy.

I am not sure if you have heard, but it is March. Actually it is dangerously close to the middle of March. And even when I have a really quiet moment, and think about it really hard I can not figure out for the life of me where February went.
In February I celebrated my husband's birthday, helped lead a 10 day trip to Kenya, recovered from the worst jet lag I have ever experienced, attended a week long conference, made a giant life decision, all while continuing on with my normal day-to-day tasks. Phew! It is making me tired just thinking about it. So in the blink of an eye and just like that February was gone and we were on to March.

I heard a Spanish Proverb the other day...
"Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the year"

Well doesn't that speak straight to my heart.
There are very few days where I DON'T think "I am busy."

Because isn't that how it always is? I have got places to go, people to see, tasks to accomplish. And if I am being honest the part of my life that usually takes the biggest hit when I am busy making sure all the plates are spinning in ministry and home is my personal relationships with friends.

My friends get the left overs - if there are any.
And when I literally do not have any hours left in the day to lunch or sip coffee while having a conversation...I realize it is still really important for me to stay connected to my friends. Because my friends keep me connected to the outside (read: non-ministry) world. Because my friends fill up my soul with laughter and joy. Because if I am not maintaining healthy relationships how can I expect my students and volunteers to have healthy relationships.

So here are the three ways I make sure my friendships don't get neglected when ministry is ruling my life:
1. I connect virtually. Pick your poison: email, Facebook, text. Whatever it is...however impersonal it feels to you...it is still better than nothing. I promise. A quick post on a Facebook wall "Life is crazy. I am thinking about you. Next week is slower. Coffee on Thursday?" is better than just waiting the extra week to connect. It communicates that even though you are busy you are thinking about the person, you are not ignoring them, and you do not think your time is more important than them.

2. I look ahead and anticipate busyness. What do you have coming up? Launching small groups? Planning camp? Entering into a busy season? Prepare the important people in your life. Send an email letting everyone know it is coming, set up times to meet before the storm hits. I ate every meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner) the three days I left before Kenya with a friend. I made sure that that my friends knew that I wanted to see them, whatever they had happening in their life was important to me, and I made sure they knew I wouldn't be ignoring them the whole month of February.

3. When I do finally connect, I shut up and listen. When I do finally get to see my friends I have to make a conscious effort to not just dump all over them. I ask questions about them and what is going in their life...then I listen. Sometimes it is hard, because when you are busy you have a lot to talk about. You are processing a lot, you have some really great stories to tell, you want to vent, and you are drained from listening to other people. But before you do all of that make sure you are giving and not just taking. Be a good friend.

Having healthy relationships is so important when it comes to ministry. They keep us balanced and are necessary for the "Love Others" part of our walk as a Christian....so we need to protect and nurture our friendships.

A Meek and Thankful Heart

"God has two dwellings: one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart." Izaak Walton

I have been thinking a lot about meekness lately.

Especially what it means to be a leader who is meek.

Because although the two words seem like they contradict each other I think it is very possible to be a meek leader. The funny thing is based on the dictionary definition of meek - I am far from it. I can be patient, but I don't really do submissive and I am definitely not tame.

However, as I have been praying for my team, my volunteers, and my students I think they have enough LOUD leadership in their life. I want to help them make decisions on their own, not on what the loudest influence in their life is.

Stories

Today I saw a student became a fan of "You know my name not my story" on Facebook.

What a statement that is.

This is the VERY reason we use "stories" a lot in our ministry.

There is a never ending pool of students waiting to share a hurt, pain, or experience that they have gone through. They are hoping that even though many might know their name, that when someone hears their story they will not only understand them more but be filled with the overflowing feeling that one feels when they realize they are not the "only one".

Fall Kickoff School Supply Bags

This is a fun little series where I can poke fun at Josh Griffin, my friend and boss. He is a much better (read: quicker) blogger than I am so sometimes he blogs about favorite ideas before I get the chance to.

Fall Kickoff is the biggest weekend of the year in our ministry, and we always blow it out with our biggest and best ideas. This year we gave School Supply bags to every student that visited our service at the Fall Kickoff weekend.

It had two purposes:

1. A fun USEFUL giveaway that a regular and a first-timer would like.

2. A way for our students to "advertise" High School Ministry at their school (even if they don't know they are doing it).

You can read more about what was in the bags and see pictures on Josh's blog.

Thank You

Part of my job is to say Thank You to people. Well really I am supposed to appreciate and encourage people in such a way that they they know I am saying "Thank You!"


Thank You for loving students.
Thank You for taking time off of work to come on this trip with us.
Thank You for giving tirelessly EVERY week to your small group even though your students never acknowledge this.
Thank You for showing up at that freshman baseball game and sitting in the ninety degree weather in your business suit so that one student had a fan.
Thank You for calming that parent down...for praying with that student...for inviting him over for family dinner...for listening to her talk about her break-up with her boyfriend.
Thank You.
Thank You.
Thank You.

Generally these Thank Yous come in the form of handwritten notes or a small token of my affection. I would rather be sending them on all expense paid vacation to Tahiti where they could sleep in a hut over the ocean while basking in the beauty of God's creation...but I can't.

So instead I buy stationary, and $5 Starbucks cards, and little trinkets that remind me of that person and I mail it to them.
How do you say Thank You?

Worth Keeping

I have a folder in my inbox titled "Worth Keeping".
In order for an email to be placed in here it has to meet one of two criteria:
Encouraging - especially directly to me.
Makes me laugh - especially an inside joke or something only I would get.


It is full to the brim with emails from my husband, my friends, my boss, my mentors, my team members, and maybe even one from a student.

Sometimes I peruse it when I am having a really tough week or feeling a little burnt out or need a little reminder that God called me to ministry.

Do you have one of these? If not start one today. Your soul will thank you.

Inspired

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”  -William Arthur Ward
 

I came across this quote the other day. I immediately thought of our small group leaders. My dream is that our small group leaders would teach the bible to our students in such a way that our students are INSPIRED. Inspired to fall in love with Jesus. Inspired to live like Jesus. Inspired to share Jesus with their friends. Inspired to serve the world for Jesus.