Processing

This past week has been draining, and I'm really in no mood to write. But, I didn't last Friday, so I figured writing today would be a good thing.

Dealing with things at our house not getting done on time is menial, but its been driving me nuts. Thats the least of my worries right now though. My worries focus on our youth students. I've mentioned before that these kids are going through some crazy situations, and that as a leadership staff we've been trying to help them. We know there's only so much you can do, but sometimes that's just not enough. Since the retreat, we've had to make terms and conditions for one of our students to attend any youth activity, and came to the conclusion that another will be going to a different church. Encouraging that decision was not hard; if a student will be better fed and get what they need elsewhere, and believe that God is calling them to that other place, I have no problem supporting them at all. We will miss this student, but look forward to seeing them flourish. Some of the other issues we learn about that the students are dealing with just break your heart. All are important, but some take precedence over others because they include a students(') safety. Very few people in our staff have been trained on how to deal with/handle these situations, and out of the staff who are trained to handle those issues, very few students go to them, and go to different staff instead. These students don't necessarily know which staff is trained, but its a matter of being comfortable talking to whichever staff member they choose to go to. I think something that we need as a staff is to be trained to handle/deal with these kind of issues. We need to know how to help our students effectively, and give them more than a little advice. I would love to see a staff training session (or sessions) take place for our group of staff.

Something else that has been mentioned among a few of us is the seeming lack of committment coming from a few leaders. This could be a miscommunication, these situations generally are, but as staff we need to be on the same page. If someone's committment level is coming whenever they can come that's fine, or if they are all in that's fine, we just need to know, and right now we don't know that for a few of our leaders. That can be frustrating, but it has definitely been a growing process in the fact that we don't know who's coming and what's going to happen, so we can't plan things down to the specifics,.. we've been learning to just let God do what He wants with our time and activities with these students. That has been exhilarating, and we've seen God do some amazing things.

We would love to see our church start the search process for a youth pastor soon. We have been without one for about a year, and since our new senior pastor was just hired, we're eager to get the ball rolling. What's stopping that? The new pastor won't start until the end of March, and the search committee will be waiting to include him in the search process. In my opinion, that is bittersweet. It's exciting to know that the committee wants to include him in the search process, but I think if all three pastors are godly men whose ministry is ran by Christ Himself, and they desire to do His will, the three men will mesh regardless. Granted, we all have our tiffs because we're human, but I don't understand why pastors wouldn't get along. I admit that I'm not a pastor, so I don't know what all they have to do or what goes on when they interact (I'm curious to know though!), but I just see them as being men for a common cause, so it just seems like they should be able to get along. Again, that's just my take though.

So, with everything going on, plus school, it has been draining. I'm trying to rely on God for my strength and to give me the words and actions for working with our students on a daily basis. It's hard. But I've learned that when we are at our weakest point, we are strongest because we are forced to rely on God to meet our needs (2 Corinthians 12:9 - But Jesus said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness). I'm comforted in that, and that is what I'm leaning on very heavily right now as we deal with things and process them in our hearts, minds, and attitudes.

I thank the prayer warriors who lift up our staff and students in prayer. Please continue to do this, we appreciate it more than we could ever express!

Tough Stuff

This past week has made me completely nuts.

Besides my normal schedule, I had another paper to write, exam to study for, and more homework to do. Caleb's schedule, plus him working at our new house, and not seeing him has took its toll. Also, this week, I'm doing more for work, hurt my knee, and am trying to figure out how to not let the frustrations that got to me last weekend, get to me again. Let me tell you, its quite the project. So, today I got home after my exam (which didn't exactly go as well as I hoped it would..) and was on good 'ol Facebook. A friend of mine just posted about having an off day, and I was quick to respond with some encouragement off the top of my head (and Google, man, I sure love Google!). A few minutes after I posted, I realized those Bible verses applied directly to me too, and my struggles this past (and current) week. Here's what I had written:

2 Corinthians 12:9 - But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness"..


Isaiah 41:10 - "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous hand" 


Ephesians 3:20 - "Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.." 




Bask in who He is.. and may your day get much better!

After I read them over a few more times, I realized that if I had just went to my Jesus last week when I got frustrated, it wouldn't have been as bad as it was. Its crazy how anger and frustration can make a person go nuts. These verses helped think through it now though. The first one is a favorite for me. Its such a sweet reminder that God's grace is truly sufficient for us, because even though we are so very weak, His power is perfect, and we are held in the palm of His powerful, loving hand. The second one is so wonderful to think about; the God of the universe is ours, yes ours!, and He has not only told us that, but also promised to strengthen, help, and uphold us. We can't slip out of His grip.. it just doesn't work that way, He won't let us go. What a promise! The third became a reality to me when my life started started to change drastically, after I had asked God to make me His, fully. He is SO able to do so much more than we can ask or think! He's the God of the universe, how can He not?! In the book of James, we are told to believe it can happen when we ask God to do something. I had asked, and waited, and waited, yet I didn't lose heart. Knowing that God is so amazing, and that He will work all things for the good of those who love Him, I knew that even if He didn't answer directly, I would get an answer that was best for me. And I did. He answered exceedingly abundantly beyond what I asked, and I am so thankful for that. Basking in who He is.. easier said than done, I know. But when we fully focus on God, who He is, what He has done, and what He is doing, it is so much easier to put off the day around us (good or bad!) and truly just live in Him and His wondrous glory. 

So, as I face the rest of my week keeping these in mind, we'll see how it goes. I know there will be things people do/say to me that I have no control over, but that's their problem, not mine. As I look ahead to See You At The Pole (tomorrow is National See You At The Pole Day, if you didn't know that. People will probably be meeting at your court house flag pole around 7:30 am if you want to participate in lifting up our nation, and many other things in prayer!), AWANA, class, planning youth activities, and more, I'll have some more comfort.. and truly bask in who my Lord and Savior is. 

May you do the same