Tonight was our second night of Hero Headquarters VBS. The night started MUCH more smoothly than yesterday and the night went very well! The crazy part was the weather. Last year it rained one night of VBS, and I had to scramble to create a rain schedule.
This year we have rain schedules prepared for each night "just in case". Today I thought we were going to have to use our "just in case" schedule! The rain started around 11am, and it was not just a simple sprinkling. It was an all-out downpour...for 6 hours! Around 3pm I decided to wait until 5pm to check the weather conditions and decide whether the "rain schedule" was necessary. At 4:40pm it didn't look like it was going to let up, and I was prepared to use the rain schedule. At 5:15pm the skies cleared, the sun shined, and it did not rain again for the rest of the night!
Monday night before I went to bed I checked the weather forecast. When I saw it was supposed to rain most of the day, I prayed it would not rain 5pm - 10pm. Like I said, by twenty minutes 'til 5pm today, I had accepted the fact that we would operate according to the rain schedule for the evening. It wasn't that I didn't trust God. In fact, I remembered last year (2009) when it rained, and how I had prayed all day it would not rain that night, but it still rained. We had VBS indoors and it turned out to be the smoothest night of the week. I thought maybe God had something similar in store for us this year.
I cannot tell you how excited I was when I walked around the front desk of the YMCA at 5:15pm and one of my volunteers said to me, "Look, blue skies!" I looked, and sure enough the clouds were clearing, the sun started to shine, and the blue sky became visible! It's like God was teasing me with a smile by waiting an extra 15 minutes! I couldn't help but be humored by it.
I think the lesson for tonight is that God can and will answer prayer. I mean, I know God answers prayer. He answers each of our prayers, even if the result is not what we requested. I'd have to say tonight was more in the positive light that God does answer prayers according to our requests. I am both grateful and encouraged by this!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
VBS God Lesson #1
Our church is using Hero Headquarters from Standard Publishing for our VBS theme this year. It is a GREAT program in which kids learn about the unsung heroes of the Bible who did something simple that made a HUGE impact! It helps kids understand they can be heroes to the people around them by doing the simple things instead of chasing after the big things. It's a very powerful theme and the kids are having a BLAST!
I feel like God is trying to teach me a few lessons through VBS this year. Last night (Monday) was our first night of VBS. We had quite a few glitches going into our first night. Some volunteers showed up late, the computer didn't work right so we had to switch to my laptop, some communication gaps, registration had an unbelievably long line and we ended up surpassing the number of kids we expected. To top it all off, we started our program 30 minutes late. I was ready to pull my hair out because as I was trying to solve one problem three different people came up to me with other problems to address, and I couldn't think straight. To be completely honest, I felt like a failure and just wanted to crawl into a hole and forget about the whole thing. Everyone else had a great attitude, and once I had time to gather my thoughts I checked on the schedule to see how bad of shape we were in. By the time the third activity of the night started we were running right on schedule, and everything was running smoothly!
I think this experience was God teaching me to trust Him to take care of everything. VBS is His thing, not my thing. I may coordinate the volunteers and supplies, but He's the one who works in the hearts and lives of the teens and adults serving and the children attending. He's reminding me that He goes to work when (and before) things are "out of my hands" and out of my control. All I can say is God is Good!
I feel like God is trying to teach me a few lessons through VBS this year. Last night (Monday) was our first night of VBS. We had quite a few glitches going into our first night. Some volunteers showed up late, the computer didn't work right so we had to switch to my laptop, some communication gaps, registration had an unbelievably long line and we ended up surpassing the number of kids we expected. To top it all off, we started our program 30 minutes late. I was ready to pull my hair out because as I was trying to solve one problem three different people came up to me with other problems to address, and I couldn't think straight. To be completely honest, I felt like a failure and just wanted to crawl into a hole and forget about the whole thing. Everyone else had a great attitude, and once I had time to gather my thoughts I checked on the schedule to see how bad of shape we were in. By the time the third activity of the night started we were running right on schedule, and everything was running smoothly!
I think this experience was God teaching me to trust Him to take care of everything. VBS is His thing, not my thing. I may coordinate the volunteers and supplies, but He's the one who works in the hearts and lives of the teens and adults serving and the children attending. He's reminding me that He goes to work when (and before) things are "out of my hands" and out of my control. All I can say is God is Good!
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
It may hurt now, but it will pay off in the long run
Oftentimes we are faced with tough decisions as we go through life. As we face these tough decisions, we realize we have one of two options. Option 1: Keep doing what you're doing because you don't exactly have the means to do what you need to do. Option 2: Make the sacrifice and do the thing you know you need to do. These decisions are tough because, many times, they can be life-altering. The decisions you make could change the course of your life, your career, or someone else's life.
During my college internship at a large church in Chicago, my mentor faced a tough decision. He had a high school small group leader, who was a reformed drug addict, fall back into his old ways. My mentor did not have any "leaders in waiting" he could simply choose from to replace this guy until he got back on his feet. In fact, he had no one to replace this guy. However, he knew he had to take this guy out of his leadership position with these high school boys and figure things out later. My mentor told me that it is better to take this small group leader out of his position, even though he doesn't have a replacement, than to leave him in the leadership position and risk damaging the spiritual lives of the students. He told me we did the right thing and had to trust God would provide the person we needed. The good news is God did provide the person we needed, and the new small group leader was able to be the leader and role model these students needed.
Usually, when it comes to making a tough decision, the right or wise decision will always require some sort of sacrifice. It may mean taking a pay cut to work at a company with integrity. It may mean removing a person from leadership who is not living up to the standards expected and required of them. It may mean confronting a friend or loved one and risking them walking away from the relationship. Whatever the decision, it will always be worth the sacrifice to do the right thing. It will be painful along the way, but in the end things will work out as they should, and you will be grateful.
During my college internship at a large church in Chicago, my mentor faced a tough decision. He had a high school small group leader, who was a reformed drug addict, fall back into his old ways. My mentor did not have any "leaders in waiting" he could simply choose from to replace this guy until he got back on his feet. In fact, he had no one to replace this guy. However, he knew he had to take this guy out of his leadership position with these high school boys and figure things out later. My mentor told me that it is better to take this small group leader out of his position, even though he doesn't have a replacement, than to leave him in the leadership position and risk damaging the spiritual lives of the students. He told me we did the right thing and had to trust God would provide the person we needed. The good news is God did provide the person we needed, and the new small group leader was able to be the leader and role model these students needed.
Usually, when it comes to making a tough decision, the right or wise decision will always require some sort of sacrifice. It may mean taking a pay cut to work at a company with integrity. It may mean removing a person from leadership who is not living up to the standards expected and required of them. It may mean confronting a friend or loved one and risking them walking away from the relationship. Whatever the decision, it will always be worth the sacrifice to do the right thing. It will be painful along the way, but in the end things will work out as they should, and you will be grateful.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
There is more to life than just this
The past month has proved very challenging for me. It is the first time in my adult life (I'm in my mid-20's) where I've experienced the "when it rains it pours" scenario or what others may call Murphy's Law, "everything that can go wrong will go wrong". Usually I have one thing happen at a time and I've been able to handle things as they came. This time around was different. It's been a mixture of being sick at the most inconvenient of times, job frustration, car troubles, and a busted bathroom sink. All of that within a few week's time was overwhelming for me. I started to wonder what would happen next.
I know my "troubles" over the past month are minor compared to things others have to face day in and day out. This is not a "woe is me" entry this morning. Instead, I'm saying life is hard and it throws curve balls at us every once in a while that we're not ready for. We either take it in stride or we freak out, depending on the circumstances.
As life has become stressful or difficult over the past few weeks, I've been looking to Scripture for encouragement. I've looked in a few different places and this is what I found:
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13, NIV
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NIV
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV
These verses have given me strength and encouragement that no one's words of advice could match. Reading these passages in my Bible have helped me see that I'm not the only one going through stuff, that others have it far worse than me and they keep going, and that whatever I'm facing is only temporary. The thing to do, even though it's not easy, is to keep our focus on God. When we focus only on ourselves and what's going on in our own lives, it's like we get tunnel vision and can't see past ourselves or what's right in front of us. However, when we stay centered on Him, everything works out as it should and our burden is not as difficult to carry.
Whatever you are going through, whether major or minor, I hope you find the same encouragement from the above verses as I have, and I hope it gives you strength and encouragement to keep going in the midst of life's circumstances. Because there is more to life than this.
I know my "troubles" over the past month are minor compared to things others have to face day in and day out. This is not a "woe is me" entry this morning. Instead, I'm saying life is hard and it throws curve balls at us every once in a while that we're not ready for. We either take it in stride or we freak out, depending on the circumstances.
As life has become stressful or difficult over the past few weeks, I've been looking to Scripture for encouragement. I've looked in a few different places and this is what I found:
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13, NIV
"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith--of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire--may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." 1 Peter 1:6-7, NIV
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NIV
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV
These verses have given me strength and encouragement that no one's words of advice could match. Reading these passages in my Bible have helped me see that I'm not the only one going through stuff, that others have it far worse than me and they keep going, and that whatever I'm facing is only temporary. The thing to do, even though it's not easy, is to keep our focus on God. When we focus only on ourselves and what's going on in our own lives, it's like we get tunnel vision and can't see past ourselves or what's right in front of us. However, when we stay centered on Him, everything works out as it should and our burden is not as difficult to carry.
Whatever you are going through, whether major or minor, I hope you find the same encouragement from the above verses as I have, and I hope it gives you strength and encouragement to keep going in the midst of life's circumstances. Because there is more to life than this.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Easter Eggstravaganza
Coming up on Saturday, March 27th, I will be co-leading our church's annual Easter Eggstravaganza at the Coffman YMCA in Springboro, Ohio. This is my third year of doing this massive egg hunt, and it is always well worth the effort! Last year we had somewhere around 1,000 people attend, half of which were children participating in the activities. This year we expect just as big of a crowd. It's a great way for us to share God's love with the community through providing a FREE and fun family event. Oftentimes, we'll see families come to Southwest Church to check us out after the event is over. It is an awesome experience!
Most people do not realize all the details that go into making this event happen. The Eggstravaganza is always on a Saturday one week before Easter, which means we start prepping the plastic eggs mid-January. Yep, that's right. When there are inches and sometimes feet of snow on the ground, we are pulling the eggs out from the shed, scraping off last year's tape, throwing away broken eggs pieces and year-old candy, and sorting thousands of eggs! After we prep the eggs, then we have "egg stuffing parties" in which people from the church help fill the plastic eggs with pre-wrapped candy and tape them shut so the eggs don't bust open when we lay them out in the field. All those hours of work boil down to 45 minutes of activities and, maybe, 5 minutes of scrambling for eggs. Many hours of work for just a few minutes of fun.
Who would be crazy enough to do that year after year? Well, apparently I am...and the person who started this event before me...and the people who faithfully volunteer each year. See, for us it's more than just an egg hunt. It's an invitation to those who might have a bad taste in their mouth in regards to church. Because maybe, just maybe, through this event they might see that we, as Christians, genuinely care about them, and we're really not as scary as they may have thought.
Last year at one of our "egg stuffing parties" a volunteer, who is both a mom and serves in the church, asked why we have an egg hunt if it is a pagan tradition, not a Christian tradition. She didn't expect a response; she was just bringing it up in conversation. However, I thought about her question and my response because it's important for us to know the purpose behind what we do as a church. And if we're not sure why we do things, we should, I believe, get rid of it. So, after thinking about it for a few minutes, I remembered a Bible passage written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. Here is what he said:
"Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings." --1 Corinthians 9:19-23, NLT (bold and italics mine)
Our annual egg hunt is not just an event we plan every year so people can simply have fun. We purposely host the Easter Eggstravaganza each year because we want to find a common ground with the people in the community so that we might open doors for opportunities to share the message of Jesus with them. It's plain and simple. We are not hiding anything. And because of this singular purpose, we will continue to do the Eggstravaganza each year unless the Lord directs us elsewhere.
Most people do not realize all the details that go into making this event happen. The Eggstravaganza is always on a Saturday one week before Easter, which means we start prepping the plastic eggs mid-January. Yep, that's right. When there are inches and sometimes feet of snow on the ground, we are pulling the eggs out from the shed, scraping off last year's tape, throwing away broken eggs pieces and year-old candy, and sorting thousands of eggs! After we prep the eggs, then we have "egg stuffing parties" in which people from the church help fill the plastic eggs with pre-wrapped candy and tape them shut so the eggs don't bust open when we lay them out in the field. All those hours of work boil down to 45 minutes of activities and, maybe, 5 minutes of scrambling for eggs. Many hours of work for just a few minutes of fun.
Who would be crazy enough to do that year after year? Well, apparently I am...and the person who started this event before me...and the people who faithfully volunteer each year. See, for us it's more than just an egg hunt. It's an invitation to those who might have a bad taste in their mouth in regards to church. Because maybe, just maybe, through this event they might see that we, as Christians, genuinely care about them, and we're really not as scary as they may have thought.
Last year at one of our "egg stuffing parties" a volunteer, who is both a mom and serves in the church, asked why we have an egg hunt if it is a pagan tradition, not a Christian tradition. She didn't expect a response; she was just bringing it up in conversation. However, I thought about her question and my response because it's important for us to know the purpose behind what we do as a church. And if we're not sure why we do things, we should, I believe, get rid of it. So, after thinking about it for a few minutes, I remembered a Bible passage written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. Here is what he said:
"Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ. When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings." --1 Corinthians 9:19-23, NLT (bold and italics mine)
Our annual egg hunt is not just an event we plan every year so people can simply have fun. We purposely host the Easter Eggstravaganza each year because we want to find a common ground with the people in the community so that we might open doors for opportunities to share the message of Jesus with them. It's plain and simple. We are not hiding anything. And because of this singular purpose, we will continue to do the Eggstravaganza each year unless the Lord directs us elsewhere.
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