"To God be the glory, great things he hath done! So loved he the world that he gave us his Son, who yielded his life an atonement for sin, and opened the lifegate that all may go in. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice! Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice! O come to the Father thru Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done!" -Fanny Crosby (Verse 1, Refrain)
It was late April last year when we received "the call." Not our calling, but "the call"--the one where the divisional commander says, "pack your bags, you're on the move!" We knew we would be moving last year, but we did not expect to move early. I can honestly say that it was only the second time in my life that I dropped to my knees sobbing in joy over a phone call. (The first was hearing of my acceptance to the college for officer training) Now today, one year to the day, we celebrate our anniversary of our first day as the corps officers in this appointment.
"O perfect redemption, the purchase of blood, to every believer the promise of God; the vilest offender who truly believes, that moment from Jesus a pardon receives." -Fanny Crosby (Verse 2)
We give God the glory for the work that has been accomplished over the last year, because we fully recognize that nothing has been done in our own strength. We celebrate just a few of our successes with much thanks to those that have helped us immensely along the way:
-Establishment of a vision for the future (our current building will someday be the parking lot!!!)
-Implementation of a teaching plan to increase spiritual maturity--and seeing the fruit in our congregation!
-Equipping saints as we are soon to enroll new soldiers!
-Increased thrift store sales (double!), started large item pick-ups, and purchased a box truck for thrift store
-Current on outstanding bills and still have money in the bank
-Increased awareness of The Salvation Army's mission in our community and a stronger bridge between social services and awareness of spiritual programs
-The ability to set goals and look forward to the future of The Salvation Army's ministry here with great joy!
"Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done, and great our rejoicing thru Jesus the Son; but purer, and higher, and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see." -Fanny Crosby (Verse 3)
This year has also been a time of great healing and learning in my personal walk with Christ. I haven't admitted this openly to many, but I was pretty much broken and destroyed in previous circumstances. I didn't even want to get out of bed in the morning and would cry as I was driving to where I needed to be because I was truly useless in what I was tasked to do. I was so angry with God because I knew in my heart of hearts that this was not His plans (don't get me wrong though--there were still things accomplished for the Kingdom in that brokenness and I tried very hard to keep my feelings to myself to not spread the disease of my negativity around to others). And these are a few of the things that I have learned on this hard journey:
-It's not about me. (Ouch!)
-I am God's child, a part of His beautiful creation, even when I feel like the ugly duckling of the bunch
-We can impact other people positively even when working according to God's plan for us is hindered by others
-God heals...in His time
-God takes away the pain of our hurts, but will not allow us to forget them because of the lessons that come out of it
-There are many things worth fighting for, some aren't worth the effort, but the ones that are worth it, you need to fight with all your might
-Great deep-down, soul-filling peace and joy are found in using the gifts that God has blessed me with
-Don't allow the past and my perception of the past to dictate how I feel today. It's a new day for God to do a great work within me!
And the most important thing that I have learned...
...there's still so much more to learn!!! It's a daily, minute-by-minute effort, and there is something new around every corner
I am so thankful to be in such a beautiful place, surrounded by loving and hard-working people, and for all of the blessings in my life--but I always have to remind myself: It's not the place, people, or our station in life that determine our happiness, but rather the condition of our heart and our walk with God. May I always be reminded of that fact when I get wrapped up in the dealings of the world!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
People Watching
Well...it might not be classified as people watching if the people come to you.
In our ministry, we have a variety of people that step over the threshold of our doors. Some are milking the system, and others are genuinely in need of a helping hand--and those are the people that we get out of bed every morning for (and the others too, because they need Jesus just as much!). Today was one of those days where, for the 9,854,234,230,456 time I was reminded that people are not always what they seem.
Some officers stick to their specific schedule and refuse to bend on their appointment times, meeting with people, etc. We try to keep a schedule--more for our sanity and protecting ourselves from burnout--but we are pretty flexible too, and always try to work with our clients to be there for them when they need us (we are not above staying late or coming early if someone needs assistance and can't get away from their job to come during our business hours). This morning was one of those cases. I found that I was spending all of my time seeing clients on a walk-in basis that I wasn't getting anything else done, so I started to designate certain days and times for assistance (our volunteers run our food pantry, but I provide vouchers to the thrift store and utility assistance). This morning I had someone come in without an appointment while I was running errands and insist on waiting until I got there. When I walked in, I looked at this couple and made some assumptions, and was very firm in my initial conversation with them. As I worked with them a bit further, I found out more of their situation and immediately felt like an idiot for my initial judgment of them, and felt like the assistance that I was authorized to provide them was not enough, so I worked with my contacts at the utility company to give them even further assistance. They were grateful and I was humbled.
Later in the day came my few hours of scheduled appointments, and a whole other perspective. Some clients come prepared to their appointments with everything they were told to bring, and others spend five minutes digging through papers to find their paperwork. People have very interesting filing systems (I'm one to talk, my desk looks like a paper mill explosion at the current time). Regardless of preparedness, the clients knew from the get-go what they needed to be deemed eligible for utility assistance and were ready to work with me--some received what they expected, and others sat there and sobbed because they didn't expect what little we could do (and in turn, I sit there and cry with them...I pray I never lose that tender heart).
Then there were those unexpected client events of the day. We recently started a new application process for our social services because we were not gathering the proper (or enough) information on our clients to report to the USDA and meet our national social service standards. We also added some questions to our new applications to help us in bridging that gap between social services and our corps ministry. It is now common practice for our volunteers to grab myself or my husband to pray with a client or provide them information on our programs and worship. My husband was summoned downstairs (our office is a loft above our social services) to pray with a client, and got to learn some more about this individual and her current situation. It's so interesting to learn about people and their faith walk in crisis. This woman had a tumor the size of a basketball removed from her stomach and was seeking prayer for continued healing and also for praise because yesterday she found out that the tumor wasn't cancer! (I share this as she seeks the prayers of those that will pray for her in her recovery) After going through what she has gone through, you could expect someone who was seeking sympathy and possibly even bitter over the events of her life...but instead she was so grateful for life and the assistance that she sought to make it by until she could return to work next month.
People fascinate me. They exceed or fall short of our expectations, but it's always a surprise. It is my daily prayer that my own biases do not stand in the way of me serving others and allowing them to see Christ through me. The people that come through our paths teach us daily, some serve as reminders of the way we need to love others as God loves them, and others are a reminder that sometimes loving others means to work alongside them in confronting those stumbling blocks that they have allowed to take residence in their path.
Many times in working with people, I find that they teach me in far greater ways than the assistance that I can provide benefits their current situation. My "life verse" (I've never liked that term) is Psalm 86:11 that says, "Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." This is a constant, ever changing prayer in my life. Some days it's "teach me, Lord," and other days it is "give me an undivided heart because my brain likes to get in the way." More than anything, this verse stands as a reminder in my life that it is always necessary to be teachable. I don't always want or think that I need the lesson that's put in front of me, but I know that in it all, it is God fulfilling His promise from scripture to continually teach me--to grow closer to Him, serve Him, and bring others closer to Him.
So my prayer today, as it is many days, is this:
Lord, thank you for the people that you put in my path. I'm sorry for not taking the time to always love those that You have created in Your image, and ask that today you continue to soften my heart and continue to bring those people that you have tasked (whether they know it or not) to bring me closer to You and to be a better servant of You. Amen.
In our ministry, we have a variety of people that step over the threshold of our doors. Some are milking the system, and others are genuinely in need of a helping hand--and those are the people that we get out of bed every morning for (and the others too, because they need Jesus just as much!). Today was one of those days where, for the 9,854,234,230,456 time I was reminded that people are not always what they seem.
Some officers stick to their specific schedule and refuse to bend on their appointment times, meeting with people, etc. We try to keep a schedule--more for our sanity and protecting ourselves from burnout--but we are pretty flexible too, and always try to work with our clients to be there for them when they need us (we are not above staying late or coming early if someone needs assistance and can't get away from their job to come during our business hours). This morning was one of those cases. I found that I was spending all of my time seeing clients on a walk-in basis that I wasn't getting anything else done, so I started to designate certain days and times for assistance (our volunteers run our food pantry, but I provide vouchers to the thrift store and utility assistance). This morning I had someone come in without an appointment while I was running errands and insist on waiting until I got there. When I walked in, I looked at this couple and made some assumptions, and was very firm in my initial conversation with them. As I worked with them a bit further, I found out more of their situation and immediately felt like an idiot for my initial judgment of them, and felt like the assistance that I was authorized to provide them was not enough, so I worked with my contacts at the utility company to give them even further assistance. They were grateful and I was humbled.
Later in the day came my few hours of scheduled appointments, and a whole other perspective. Some clients come prepared to their appointments with everything they were told to bring, and others spend five minutes digging through papers to find their paperwork. People have very interesting filing systems (I'm one to talk, my desk looks like a paper mill explosion at the current time). Regardless of preparedness, the clients knew from the get-go what they needed to be deemed eligible for utility assistance and were ready to work with me--some received what they expected, and others sat there and sobbed because they didn't expect what little we could do (and in turn, I sit there and cry with them...I pray I never lose that tender heart).
Then there were those unexpected client events of the day. We recently started a new application process for our social services because we were not gathering the proper (or enough) information on our clients to report to the USDA and meet our national social service standards. We also added some questions to our new applications to help us in bridging that gap between social services and our corps ministry. It is now common practice for our volunteers to grab myself or my husband to pray with a client or provide them information on our programs and worship. My husband was summoned downstairs (our office is a loft above our social services) to pray with a client, and got to learn some more about this individual and her current situation. It's so interesting to learn about people and their faith walk in crisis. This woman had a tumor the size of a basketball removed from her stomach and was seeking prayer for continued healing and also for praise because yesterday she found out that the tumor wasn't cancer! (I share this as she seeks the prayers of those that will pray for her in her recovery) After going through what she has gone through, you could expect someone who was seeking sympathy and possibly even bitter over the events of her life...but instead she was so grateful for life and the assistance that she sought to make it by until she could return to work next month.
People fascinate me. They exceed or fall short of our expectations, but it's always a surprise. It is my daily prayer that my own biases do not stand in the way of me serving others and allowing them to see Christ through me. The people that come through our paths teach us daily, some serve as reminders of the way we need to love others as God loves them, and others are a reminder that sometimes loving others means to work alongside them in confronting those stumbling blocks that they have allowed to take residence in their path.
Many times in working with people, I find that they teach me in far greater ways than the assistance that I can provide benefits their current situation. My "life verse" (I've never liked that term) is Psalm 86:11 that says, "Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name." This is a constant, ever changing prayer in my life. Some days it's "teach me, Lord," and other days it is "give me an undivided heart because my brain likes to get in the way." More than anything, this verse stands as a reminder in my life that it is always necessary to be teachable. I don't always want or think that I need the lesson that's put in front of me, but I know that in it all, it is God fulfilling His promise from scripture to continually teach me--to grow closer to Him, serve Him, and bring others closer to Him.
So my prayer today, as it is many days, is this:
Lord, thank you for the people that you put in my path. I'm sorry for not taking the time to always love those that You have created in Your image, and ask that today you continue to soften my heart and continue to bring those people that you have tasked (whether they know it or not) to bring me closer to You and to be a better servant of You. Amen.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
GOD2UIO
This was a license place that we passed on the way home from our divisional women's ministry retreat. It was on a fancy, new sports car...immediately sent me into judgemental thoughts of prosperity gospel teaching. Perhaps it would have been more effective on a humble sedan. Granted, I didn't know the owner of the car and perhaps they have an amazing testimony, but that outward appearance soured my view of this proclamation of God's work. I'm sure there's a sermon in there somewhere...
The women's ministry retreat was an absolutely wonderful weekend--it is definitely one of my favorite events that take place over the "Army Year." I had three ladies from the corps join me--and a great time was had by all. We definitely got some bonding in together as a group that we may not have had in the minutia of daily life (and I'm sure the 7-hour drive to and from had nothing to do with it). My mom also joined us as a delegate from our corps, she's worked at DHQ for 7 years and this is her first women's retreat. It was an incredible blessing to share the weekend with her as well. I got to see my dad for just a little while as there was a Silver Star Fellowship Breakfast (SSF is a really cool recognition and support fellowship for parents of officers), and I was asked to briefly speak on behalf of the officers to thank our parents for their love and support...I think finding a way to truly encompass words of thanks to parents is far more difficult than preparing a sermon. That was definitely a privilege for me!
Yesterday was getting back to life after a weekend away...it's always hard to face that "day after syndrome" from attending a spectacular event. As always, God had some great things to show me this weekend. The theme for the weekend was "God's Glamour Girls"...definitely much food for thought as I am a person who does not often find ways to love who I am, so I try to make up for it by taking the love I have and investing it in others. So much to learn...
I really missed my husband this weekend. Neither of us are much for talking on the phone, except when we were dating, so it was long three days without him. He's been so wonderful since I got home too...even though it was late on Sunday when I got home, he still had a full dinner cooked for us, and then today he ran things at the corps so I could work from home and try to relax a little. I have been in excruciating pain the last couple days in my shoulder blade. I need to get to the doctor and have it looked at again. It started to bug me at Christmas time, and the doctor attributed it to increased driving and prescribed medical massage therapy that I went through for several months, but it doesn't seem to loosen up the pain in the muscle anymore. I think it may be more involved than that--it may have gotten messed up from our car accident last February or from falling off an ATV last summer (yeah, great trend huh?). Not looking forward to what this could be now...such a hassle.
Busy rest of the week ahead--lots to do in the office tomorrow and then I have a meeting in Albuquerque (3-hour drive each way for a 3-hour meeting) with the electric company regarding our assistance program on Thursday. Thursday is also the 1-year anniversary of us living here in Alamogordo--such an amazing year, we pray for several (okay, many) more! Friday night we're going to have a special date night to celebrate :-)
Been a bit discouraged this week from a few small slights that may or may not have been intentional, one I knew is not a fan of women officers as leaders, but the other I thought was a friend--I know there's a lot of not happy changes in this person's life right now, but it doesn't give them the right to pull the "holier than thou" card on me because they feel they are entitled to have their hand in everything. I may be reading too much into their comments in different places regarding me, but I don't appreciate the insinuation that I'm not good enough to do the things that I do. Way to help support my self esteem people...get over yourself, because I'm on the verge of telling one of these individuals exactly how wrong they are to judge me solely on the fact of my role in the corps and their bias against working with female officers, and it's probably not going to be in a pretty or Christ-like manner in any sense of the word. I'll be completely straight on this one--I am past the point of ticked because of judgements against me on my age, gender, and experience (again, I'm not an expert--and am willing to admit when I don't know something, but I do know what I'm doing regardless of their opinions)
Wow...I'm rather negative tonight, and definitely not attractive in my venting. Probably a good place to stop since I'm in a rotten mood from the get-go today with being in pain. Here's praying for a brighter day tomorrow...
The women's ministry retreat was an absolutely wonderful weekend--it is definitely one of my favorite events that take place over the "Army Year." I had three ladies from the corps join me--and a great time was had by all. We definitely got some bonding in together as a group that we may not have had in the minutia of daily life (and I'm sure the 7-hour drive to and from had nothing to do with it). My mom also joined us as a delegate from our corps, she's worked at DHQ for 7 years and this is her first women's retreat. It was an incredible blessing to share the weekend with her as well. I got to see my dad for just a little while as there was a Silver Star Fellowship Breakfast (SSF is a really cool recognition and support fellowship for parents of officers), and I was asked to briefly speak on behalf of the officers to thank our parents for their love and support...I think finding a way to truly encompass words of thanks to parents is far more difficult than preparing a sermon. That was definitely a privilege for me!
Yesterday was getting back to life after a weekend away...it's always hard to face that "day after syndrome" from attending a spectacular event. As always, God had some great things to show me this weekend. The theme for the weekend was "God's Glamour Girls"...definitely much food for thought as I am a person who does not often find ways to love who I am, so I try to make up for it by taking the love I have and investing it in others. So much to learn...
I really missed my husband this weekend. Neither of us are much for talking on the phone, except when we were dating, so it was long three days without him. He's been so wonderful since I got home too...even though it was late on Sunday when I got home, he still had a full dinner cooked for us, and then today he ran things at the corps so I could work from home and try to relax a little. I have been in excruciating pain the last couple days in my shoulder blade. I need to get to the doctor and have it looked at again. It started to bug me at Christmas time, and the doctor attributed it to increased driving and prescribed medical massage therapy that I went through for several months, but it doesn't seem to loosen up the pain in the muscle anymore. I think it may be more involved than that--it may have gotten messed up from our car accident last February or from falling off an ATV last summer (yeah, great trend huh?). Not looking forward to what this could be now...such a hassle.
Busy rest of the week ahead--lots to do in the office tomorrow and then I have a meeting in Albuquerque (3-hour drive each way for a 3-hour meeting) with the electric company regarding our assistance program on Thursday. Thursday is also the 1-year anniversary of us living here in Alamogordo--such an amazing year, we pray for several (okay, many) more! Friday night we're going to have a special date night to celebrate :-)
Been a bit discouraged this week from a few small slights that may or may not have been intentional, one I knew is not a fan of women officers as leaders, but the other I thought was a friend--I know there's a lot of not happy changes in this person's life right now, but it doesn't give them the right to pull the "holier than thou" card on me because they feel they are entitled to have their hand in everything. I may be reading too much into their comments in different places regarding me, but I don't appreciate the insinuation that I'm not good enough to do the things that I do. Way to help support my self esteem people...get over yourself, because I'm on the verge of telling one of these individuals exactly how wrong they are to judge me solely on the fact of my role in the corps and their bias against working with female officers, and it's probably not going to be in a pretty or Christ-like manner in any sense of the word. I'll be completely straight on this one--I am past the point of ticked because of judgements against me on my age, gender, and experience (again, I'm not an expert--and am willing to admit when I don't know something, but I do know what I'm doing regardless of their opinions)
Wow...I'm rather negative tonight, and definitely not attractive in my venting. Probably a good place to stop since I'm in a rotten mood from the get-go today with being in pain. Here's praying for a brighter day tomorrow...
Thursday, May 20, 2010
A Sigh of Relief!
Despite the fact that I have a million things to do and my calendar looks like a pen exploded all over it, I am at peace this evening. A peace that I didn't have this morning, and results to a poopy situation that we didn't expect to be resolved as quickly as it has--well, there's still work to be done, but you know how things get worse before they get better? The worst part of it hit rock bottom today--and the part about it getting better is going to take time and effort, but be a cakewalk compared to the descent. (Cryptic enough for you? Good.)
I have found my peace today in a faith lesson learned-a simple promise that we always claim, that God answers prayer.
This has been the conversation, almost a year of time as it progresses:
Me: This is my petition
God: Wait
Me: Okay, You know I'm not good at this waiting stuff, but I want to do this right, so I'll give it a try.
God: Wait
Me: So, I've been waiting awhile now...remember that petition, it's still there, but then again, You know that--I pray it often
God: Wait
Me: That petition again, I see how things have been placed in my path to make this change, but can you give me an idea of how this is going to change?
God: Nope. But you're doing okay. Just wait
Me: God, I don't understand this. I see you working, but I also see no outcome, and I can't see when that outcome will be.
God: *cricket cricket*
Me: I can't do this anymore! This situation plagues my thoughts, exasperates me to no end, has brought me to tears, and I want it to change--I've done everything I'm supposed to do, done all of the right things, sought counsel and advice, made every best effort. I'm at the end of my rope and really see no hope in this situation.
God: Hello? Is this thing on? WAIT
Me: *frustrated* Here's a few snarky remarks for you...
God: That's okay, I can take it. Still, wait
Me: I have no choice--all I can do is wait!
God: Exactly
...As time goes by, frustrations still exist, prayers of petition are still lifted by me and close friends, and at the culmination today...
Me: God! I see it! You did it! This totally came from left field--out of every possible result I could have had for the events today, this was not even on the radar.
God: Yep. See, while you were doing all that waiting and complaining, I was still working it out, according to MY will and not your desires
Me: *jaw on floor in awe* *slap upside the head of "lesson learned"* *lots and lots of praising and rejoicing*
Now, don't get me wrong--I don't converse in an audible voice with God as portrayed here, and this conversation has been made quite simplistic, but it doesn't diminish the meaning. I was doing what I knew to do: bring my frustration to the foot of the cross. I was also doing what I knew not to do: complain, whine, try to make the solutions happen myself, make God move in my timing (just to name a few). Even in my mistakes, God used this situation to show His power in my life. He worked, even when I doubted He was working, and His result was far greater than one I could have ever imagined or come to on my own.
In Jeremiah 33:3, The Lord has just come to Jeremiah a second time and says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (NIV) God doesn't say that I'll answer right away, and those "great and unsearchable things" aren't the answers that we see or think we want.
So tonight I sit here with a bundle of emotions--elation, total peace, humbled before God, praising Him, satisfied, relieved in the weight that has been lifted, and renewed in a lesson that all of us need to learn once, and usually have to be re-taught several times through our walk with Christ.
So, I end with this tonight...
Me: There's not even the words in coherent language to properly thank you for not only working, but showing me again the importance of faith in You and Your Word.
God: My child, acknowledge Me, and serve Me with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for I search every heart and understand every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Me, I will be found by you; but if you forsake Me, I will reject you forever. Consider now, for I have chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I am with you. I will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. (Paraphrase made personal; 1 Chronicles 28:9-10,20)
Me: I will try to carry our Your admonition, but in reality, You know that I'm likely to mess up again.
God: I know, my child. And I will still be here, right alongside you, when you do
I have found my peace today in a faith lesson learned-a simple promise that we always claim, that God answers prayer.
This has been the conversation, almost a year of time as it progresses:
Me: This is my petition
God: Wait
Me: Okay, You know I'm not good at this waiting stuff, but I want to do this right, so I'll give it a try.
God: Wait
Me: So, I've been waiting awhile now...remember that petition, it's still there, but then again, You know that--I pray it often
God: Wait
Me: That petition again, I see how things have been placed in my path to make this change, but can you give me an idea of how this is going to change?
God: Nope. But you're doing okay. Just wait
Me: God, I don't understand this. I see you working, but I also see no outcome, and I can't see when that outcome will be.
God: *cricket cricket*
Me: I can't do this anymore! This situation plagues my thoughts, exasperates me to no end, has brought me to tears, and I want it to change--I've done everything I'm supposed to do, done all of the right things, sought counsel and advice, made every best effort. I'm at the end of my rope and really see no hope in this situation.
God: Hello? Is this thing on? WAIT
Me: *frustrated* Here's a few snarky remarks for you...
God: That's okay, I can take it. Still, wait
Me: I have no choice--all I can do is wait!
God: Exactly
...As time goes by, frustrations still exist, prayers of petition are still lifted by me and close friends, and at the culmination today...
Me: God! I see it! You did it! This totally came from left field--out of every possible result I could have had for the events today, this was not even on the radar.
God: Yep. See, while you were doing all that waiting and complaining, I was still working it out, according to MY will and not your desires
Me: *jaw on floor in awe* *slap upside the head of "lesson learned"* *lots and lots of praising and rejoicing*
Now, don't get me wrong--I don't converse in an audible voice with God as portrayed here, and this conversation has been made quite simplistic, but it doesn't diminish the meaning. I was doing what I knew to do: bring my frustration to the foot of the cross. I was also doing what I knew not to do: complain, whine, try to make the solutions happen myself, make God move in my timing (just to name a few). Even in my mistakes, God used this situation to show His power in my life. He worked, even when I doubted He was working, and His result was far greater than one I could have ever imagined or come to on my own.
In Jeremiah 33:3, The Lord has just come to Jeremiah a second time and says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (NIV) God doesn't say that I'll answer right away, and those "great and unsearchable things" aren't the answers that we see or think we want.
So tonight I sit here with a bundle of emotions--elation, total peace, humbled before God, praising Him, satisfied, relieved in the weight that has been lifted, and renewed in a lesson that all of us need to learn once, and usually have to be re-taught several times through our walk with Christ.
So, I end with this tonight...
Me: There's not even the words in coherent language to properly thank you for not only working, but showing me again the importance of faith in You and Your Word.
God: My child, acknowledge Me, and serve Me with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for I search every heart and understand every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek Me, I will be found by you; but if you forsake Me, I will reject you forever. Consider now, for I have chosen you to build a temple as a sanctuary. Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for I am with you. I will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. (Paraphrase made personal; 1 Chronicles 28:9-10,20)
Me: I will try to carry our Your admonition, but in reality, You know that I'm likely to mess up again.
God: I know, my child. And I will still be here, right alongside you, when you do
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
What a Day...
A day of meetings, frustration, venting (appropriately), and being made to feel about 2" tall.
Then came a great afternoon of lunch at a yummy citch-y restaurant with my mentor (the guys went to Mexican food) and an afternoon of just chilling, chatting, and laughing. Total stress melt.
I was skeptical at first of this whole mentoring program opportunity (me, skeptical? Never!) but I find myself now to be very thankful for this opportunity. It's great to be able to celebrate the successes and share the hard stuff. We've found in our mentors that they don't just give us advice, but (in a gentler way) say "What are you going to do about it?" or "Let me tell you a story about when we..." They don't just feed us the answers in life. Hubby and I were talking about that this evening...we really appreciate that in them.
Sad that tomorrow's our last day with them until our next visit that we scheduled with them in September. We're going to hit White Sands in the morning, spend a bit of time at the corps, drive out to El Paso, have supper, and say our "see you laters" as they prepare to board their plane.
Then back to reality--lots to do on Thursday to make sure all is getting caught up as we leave for Women's Ministry Retreat on Friday morning, my desk is an avalanche waiting to happen I am so far behind. Can't wait...my ladies are beside themselves excited and my mommy is coming too! 2 ladies and my mom have never been to retreat, and one hasn't been able to go for several years due to health. I think I'm more excited to see how they react to the event than actually experiencing it myself. Going to be a great weekend.
I need to hear some praises from others today--how are you blessed today?
Then came a great afternoon of lunch at a yummy citch-y restaurant with my mentor (the guys went to Mexican food) and an afternoon of just chilling, chatting, and laughing. Total stress melt.
I was skeptical at first of this whole mentoring program opportunity (me, skeptical? Never!) but I find myself now to be very thankful for this opportunity. It's great to be able to celebrate the successes and share the hard stuff. We've found in our mentors that they don't just give us advice, but (in a gentler way) say "What are you going to do about it?" or "Let me tell you a story about when we..." They don't just feed us the answers in life. Hubby and I were talking about that this evening...we really appreciate that in them.
Sad that tomorrow's our last day with them until our next visit that we scheduled with them in September. We're going to hit White Sands in the morning, spend a bit of time at the corps, drive out to El Paso, have supper, and say our "see you laters" as they prepare to board their plane.
Then back to reality--lots to do on Thursday to make sure all is getting caught up as we leave for Women's Ministry Retreat on Friday morning, my desk is an avalanche waiting to happen I am so far behind. Can't wait...my ladies are beside themselves excited and my mommy is coming too! 2 ladies and my mom have never been to retreat, and one hasn't been able to go for several years due to health. I think I'm more excited to see how they react to the event than actually experiencing it myself. Going to be a great weekend.
I need to hear some praises from others today--how are you blessed today?
Monday, May 17, 2010
A day with my hubby
We had to go to El Paso to pick up our mentors that are here for a visit yesterday, so we decided to make a day of it. After church yesterday we had lunch, changed, and hit the road. First stop, of course, was Costco--I won the checkout line contest of "predict how much our cart full will cost" (was within $25!). Had a phenomenally yummy dinner at Olive Garden (gotta hit those restaurants we don't have here!). Then checked in to our hotel (mentors' flight didn't get in until late). We had a little pool/hot tub time and just had a relaxing evening. So nice to get away from "life" and spend some time with my husband.
We've had a great day with our mentors so far. Drove back from El Paso, stopped at the corps to fix a glitch, stopped at the Christian bookstore while the boys fussed with one of the vehicles, had a lovely lunch, went to the thrift store, rested a bit, and had a great supper. Tomorrow we're spending a "business" day with our mentors as there's a few things we couldn't reschedule around their visit, but we're very eager to have some input on some of the meetings of tomorrow. Then in the afternoon we'll have a little individual time (wife/wife, husband/husband) and get back together for the evening.
For those that don't know, The Salvation Army has a pretty awesome program where during your first five years of officership, you chose mentors (other officers with experience) that you visit with twice a year to learn, vent, fellowship, etc. Our mentors are wonderful retired officers that my husband worked with for several years. We have blast together! We've really had to make our meetings a priority, as we've been officers almost 2 years and this is only our second visit. We've gotten better--we figured out that we need to schedule our visits for the year about six-eight months in advance to make dates line up with our schedules.
Anyway, that's all going on in life today...back to laundry and getting ready for tomorrow!
We've had a great day with our mentors so far. Drove back from El Paso, stopped at the corps to fix a glitch, stopped at the Christian bookstore while the boys fussed with one of the vehicles, had a lovely lunch, went to the thrift store, rested a bit, and had a great supper. Tomorrow we're spending a "business" day with our mentors as there's a few things we couldn't reschedule around their visit, but we're very eager to have some input on some of the meetings of tomorrow. Then in the afternoon we'll have a little individual time (wife/wife, husband/husband) and get back together for the evening.
For those that don't know, The Salvation Army has a pretty awesome program where during your first five years of officership, you chose mentors (other officers with experience) that you visit with twice a year to learn, vent, fellowship, etc. Our mentors are wonderful retired officers that my husband worked with for several years. We have blast together! We've really had to make our meetings a priority, as we've been officers almost 2 years and this is only our second visit. We've gotten better--we figured out that we need to schedule our visits for the year about six-eight months in advance to make dates line up with our schedules.
Anyway, that's all going on in life today...back to laundry and getting ready for tomorrow!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Nothing of Substance Today
After church, the hubby and I have declared an escape from life. Have no fear, we're only running away for the rest of the day. No computers, no phones (except emergency calls), and just FUN!!!
Back to regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow!
Back to regularly scheduled blogging tomorrow!
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