It maybe Black Friday, but it's one of my favorite days of the year. My mom and sister and me left home at 4:30am to hit the stores in search of great deals on toys that we could buy for Toys for Tots and for a nearby foundation, The AIDS Resource Foundation which helps kids affected by HIV/AIDS. We're going to a party where we will bring the gifts.
It was a crazy day, but we got good stuff. And we had a good time with each other, which is awesome. Tomorrow we're having our colors done with our friend the Mary Kay lady. And then I'm going to make rice krispy holiday treats.
I need to do something relatively fun to bring me out of the depression from the Texas-A&M game. Why can't we beat our rivals????
23 November 2007
22 November 2007
Thanks-Giving Hooray-ness
Continuing a tradition started last year when my dad was recovering from surgery and couldn't cook, my siblings and I worked together to put our feast on the table this afternoon. We had a great Whole Foods turkey, and an array of side dishes, some we've had before, some we tried for the first time. And Dad was able to help with a couple of things, making a crazy apple pie, his homemade gravy and a chestnut stuffing with dried cranberries and granny smith apples. And it was mostly stress-free!
Tomorrow morning my sister, mother, and me will get up at 4am and head out for the Black Friday sales to take advantage of the prices on toys that we can get for our donations to the AIDS Resource Center for Children. My mom and sister first tried the sales about three years ago because they had never done it and managed to get several great gifts that they normally wouldn't have been able to afford. Last year I went along for kicks and watched as there was almost a riot outside the Target we went to. Seriously, the police were called. We're not going to that Target this year.
I had to nudge myself a little to come up with things I'm grateful for because this depression is really weighing me down. (I called the IOP social worker and will hopefully get back in there for a couple of weeks to just get me over this hump. They told me it was good that I was reaching out. I just know that I feel like I'm on a slippery slope and I refuse to end up back in the hospital.)
So here are some things I'm grateful for:
1. my family
2. my medication. say what you want about pharmaceuticals, I praise God that they do the work they do, because I'd be a madwoman without them. The pain medication is good, too.
3. my church. i am so blessed to have a community of faith that lifts me up and loves me like they do. AND for my pastor who is always there for me and lets me do most of the crazy ministry ideas I come up with.
4. good music/my iPod greatest material gift ever given to me
5. General Hospital. For 30 years I have loved that show, and to this very day it makes me happy. Plus, Steve Burton is HOT.
6. access to good, fresh food -- an incredible blessing
7. my girls
8. wikipedia
9. the blogworld
I hope you all have had a wonderful Thanks-Giving!
Tomorrow morning my sister, mother, and me will get up at 4am and head out for the Black Friday sales to take advantage of the prices on toys that we can get for our donations to the AIDS Resource Center for Children. My mom and sister first tried the sales about three years ago because they had never done it and managed to get several great gifts that they normally wouldn't have been able to afford. Last year I went along for kicks and watched as there was almost a riot outside the Target we went to. Seriously, the police were called. We're not going to that Target this year.
I had to nudge myself a little to come up with things I'm grateful for because this depression is really weighing me down. (I called the IOP social worker and will hopefully get back in there for a couple of weeks to just get me over this hump. They told me it was good that I was reaching out. I just know that I feel like I'm on a slippery slope and I refuse to end up back in the hospital.)
So here are some things I'm grateful for:
1. my family
2. my medication. say what you want about pharmaceuticals, I praise God that they do the work they do, because I'd be a madwoman without them. The pain medication is good, too.
3. my church. i am so blessed to have a community of faith that lifts me up and loves me like they do. AND for my pastor who is always there for me and lets me do most of the crazy ministry ideas I come up with.
4. good music/my iPod greatest material gift ever given to me
5. General Hospital. For 30 years I have loved that show, and to this very day it makes me happy. Plus, Steve Burton is HOT.
6. access to good, fresh food -- an incredible blessing
7. my girls
8. wikipedia
9. the blogworld
I hope you all have had a wonderful Thanks-Giving!
14 November 2007
A New View
We've never done it that way.
We can't do it.
They'll never go for it.
As pastors and leaders know, these phrases are passed around church meetings all the time. Last night at a meeting I had to endure those all over again. It made me very, very frustrated, and really feeling hopeless. I've just spent 5 weeks teaching a church renewal book, and now we have great ideas that could really impact the church, and I'm getting stonewalled.
If you want something changed, you're going to have to change what you do. And in the case of churchwork, it must always be focused on one simple aim: making disciples of Christ. If what you want or need doesn't ultimately have that goal, you need to re-evaluate what you're focus is. In everything a church does, they must filter it through the lens of seeing it's impact upon disciples. Further, if something isn't working, reconsider how you're doing it. If you're bible studies don't have attendees, or your stewardship campaign shows that people are not being generous, analyze why. Ask for help if you need to.
One of the things I struggle with in the United Methodist church is that with so many rules, how do you actually break out of the box when necessary to make disciples. I consistently feel like my hands are tied.
It just makes me so sad when the leaders of the church, the ones who should have the most faith, the strongest walk with Christ, can't conjure the energy to get to a meeting, can't hold forth their faith to believe that God is near and the Spirit is working in the church and just might have wonderful things for us, if only we let the Spirit reign.
We can't do it.
They'll never go for it.
As pastors and leaders know, these phrases are passed around church meetings all the time. Last night at a meeting I had to endure those all over again. It made me very, very frustrated, and really feeling hopeless. I've just spent 5 weeks teaching a church renewal book, and now we have great ideas that could really impact the church, and I'm getting stonewalled.
If you want something changed, you're going to have to change what you do. And in the case of churchwork, it must always be focused on one simple aim: making disciples of Christ. If what you want or need doesn't ultimately have that goal, you need to re-evaluate what you're focus is. In everything a church does, they must filter it through the lens of seeing it's impact upon disciples. Further, if something isn't working, reconsider how you're doing it. If you're bible studies don't have attendees, or your stewardship campaign shows that people are not being generous, analyze why. Ask for help if you need to.
One of the things I struggle with in the United Methodist church is that with so many rules, how do you actually break out of the box when necessary to make disciples. I consistently feel like my hands are tied.
It just makes me so sad when the leaders of the church, the ones who should have the most faith, the strongest walk with Christ, can't conjure the energy to get to a meeting, can't hold forth their faith to believe that God is near and the Spirit is working in the church and just might have wonderful things for us, if only we let the Spirit reign.
11 November 2007
Here Is Not There (Praise God!)
To say that the last three weeks have been hectic is to say my dependence upon caffeine is only a little concerning. (I truly, deeply, madly love Coca-Cola). I spent a week with my aunt while my uncle was in the hospital awaiting results from tests determining the health of his heart (he will need a heart transplant relatively soon, but their are great concerns about whether he can even survive an operation like that.) Then my pastor's father died, so I was trying to pitch in as much as I could to assist her family. And this past week I was working hard on future ideas for our faith education program (VERY exciting stuff!!), in addition to writing study guides for our 5 practices study. Oh, and preparing the worship service and sermon for today.
Whew. Breathing, that's what I need. This week is full of studies and meetings, a work project and another trip to help out my uncle. Then there's Thanksgiving.
Whew.
I am so grateful for my church, though. Worship today had a million extra components, but the Spirit was moving and people were talking about how good it was. Praise God!
Today is one of those days when a servant of Christ is exhausted but totally exhilarated by what the Spirit can do.
Whew. Breathing, that's what I need. This week is full of studies and meetings, a work project and another trip to help out my uncle. Then there's Thanksgiving.
Whew.
I am so grateful for my church, though. Worship today had a million extra components, but the Spirit was moving and people were talking about how good it was. Praise God!
Today is one of those days when a servant of Christ is exhausted but totally exhilarated by what the Spirit can do.
16 October 2007
Life is harder now, experts say - Gut_Check - MSNBC.com
A very interesting read about the state of the middle class. Maybe some of our assumptions need to be checked at the door. And how does this information affect something like stewardship?
Life is harder now, experts say - Gut_Check - MSNBC.com
Life is harder now, experts say - Gut_Check - MSNBC.com
15 October 2007
Notes from the recent WCC meeting
The WCC executive committee recently met in a very significant place: Armenia, where a genocide occurred nearly a century ago. (This has recently been in the news because there is a growing call for a public recognition of the genocide, which Turkey as perpetually denied.) Meeting in Armenia and seeing how it has survived and made strides was a perfect background to the topics of conversation -- the most high-risk areas in the world, and how membership churches should respond.
The most vulnerable:
World Council of Churches addresses at-risk areas
The most vulnerable:
World Council of Churches addresses at-risk areas
Thoughts about membership
GEN-X RISING: Consumerism leads to cheating on your church
Interesting ideas about membership. I've been thinking about creating some brochures for our evangelism team to use, and I think I might incorporate some of these ideas.
Interesting ideas about membership. I've been thinking about creating some brochures for our evangelism team to use, and I think I might incorporate some of these ideas.
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