From Wednesday Night Youth Group

1. On a 3x5 card, write out 1-3 hard things that you're going through.

2. Read 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

3. On the back of your card, write out good outcomes that can from the hard things that you're going through, keeping in mind the above verse. For example, if I wrote down "Financial struggles" but I realize that this is a temporary circumstance & I'm being prepared for eternity, then a "good outcome" could be that God is developing my trust in Him. Also, He's teaching me to be a good steward of the things He has given me so that He can entrust me with more (see Parable of Talents, Matthew 25:14).

4. Keep your card with you to remind you that God is working in your life to develop your strength and character for eternity. As The Message says:
"These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever."

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I really love using devotional books that have an entry for every day. I sit down in the morning with my coffee & Bible & journal and then...hmmm...where to start? Oh...joy of joys! I have a devotional here too so I can start with the daily entry! And from there, I'm off & running, & before I know it, my 15 or 30 minutes has flown by & I'm kicking myself for not waking up earlier to give myself more time...

So I was thinking that I'd to compile a 40-day Devotional for us to use together (Bethel youth groupers, et al.) to start out the New Year. And you (yes you reading this!) can have a part in writing it! Submit a comment here with your favorite Bible verse(s) & a brief reason why it's your favorite & then we'll put it together in a booklet + I'll put one up on this blog each day. It'll be great! We'll start out the year united in our devotional time! Yay!

Sometimes it's okay to spend your last $25 on glamor shots...

... I equate it to that classic story of the businessman or inventor who spent their whole life savings because he had a dream burning inside him that he had to make happen. Like Johannes Gutenberg who borrowed money from several different people to fund an idea that would lead to the invention of the printing press, which allowed mass production of the written word, leading to the first printed Bible (until then, approx. 1450s, Bibles were all transcribed by hand), which eventually led Europe out of the Dark Ages!

Anyhoo, I'm telling you this because I decided to "go for broke" and do something slightly weird toward my own dreams. I signed myself up to get family Christmas photos at church. I know you're thinking "but you don't have a family." And I'm thinking that I could definitely be spending my money a little more contructively (like Christmas shopping or groceries). But I started thinking, "What if I did that for myself? I could get some nice photos taken to have on-hand in case I get invited to speak at a conference or to have for the back of the book jacket on my first book." Sounds crazy, but if I'm praying for opportunities to teach & speak & write, why not do something that takes a step toward that?

Here's the thing: I've been in this hanging-out-in-the-airport-waiting-for-my-long-delayed-flight-to-take-off season, and while I'm waiting I figure I could do some things to get ready for the next place I'm going (this does not necessarily mean I'm physically leaving, just expecting a move into a different job/ministry). Why not take advantage of the layover & do something nice for myself toward my future. I mean, gee, just because you're stuck in the airport doesn't mean you can't shop around, get something to eat, enjoy the view...

So I have some pictures all ready to go for the conference brochure, or the book jacket, or maybe just the Christmas letter for this year (or even the youth group blog site). I feel pretty proud of myself. I did something, which is better than nothing. The next step is to do like my dad & make a business card.


P.S. I don't have any of the pix in yet, 'til then, how 'bout this one...

P.S.2. I keep trying to fix the font to be uniform & it won't stay...

It's Good to Pray

We had a good time meeting to pray for youth group last night. Thanks guys for stepping out to pray together corporately. I know it was a bit of new thing for some of you. What did you think? (post a comment) Did you like getting together to pray? (post a comment). Do you feel anything different about youth group now? Does it make you want to pray more? (seriously post a comment).

I notice that when I pray for something or spend some time "talking to God" (praying) about specific things or people, I always come away with a new mindset or heart for the thing I was praying for. For example, I've been praying for my friend Christine who is a missionary in China. She's had some hard things happening while she's there (mostly she has a house in Rochester that hasn't been rented yet--& she's in China--so it's been way stressful trying to get that thing taken care of...when she's in China!). So I've been helping her as much as I can, which is mostly praying for her. And when I stop to pray, & really ask God to help her, I just really get this big heart of compassion for her and I have boldness to say, "God. She's a missionary for you. She's serving You. Please remember that you said in Matthew 6:33 "seek first the Kingdom of God & His righteousness, & all things shall be added." So my friend is all the way in China serving the Kingdom of God and You said that you'll take care of the rest.

Here's my list of things I notice when I pray something like the above.
1.) I'm not so focused on my own problems; 2.) I really have compassion for my friend that makes me love her more (this is true when you pray for someone you don't really like either); and 3.) If I pray something like that for my friend, it gives me hope to believe that God sees me & will take care of me too.

...and if your prayers aren't answered right away. Keep asking. The New Living Bible version of Matthew 7:7 says, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you." God sometimes delays an answer so He can see if we're really serious, or if our ADD is going to kick in & we're just going to forget what we wanted and move on to the next thing. If you were a Dad with a daughter who told you that she really wanted a Vespa GTS 250 in Navy Blue (I totally want this for me), wouldn't you want to wait a little while to make sure that she really, really wanted it and it wasn't just a passing phase ('cause actually I might want the GTV 250 in olive green). What if you spent $6,000 to get her that dream Vespa but in 2 months she had already changed her mind & was now asking for something totally different. Wouldn't you feel like you wasted your time & money? We are kind of fickle people (okay we're totally fickle & change our minds all the time) so sometimes you have to learn to perservere in your prayers and keep knocking 'til you get the answer.

Those are just some thoughts. Will love to hear what you think. (c'mon now post a comment!)
(And I accept cash or checks toward my "dream Vespa fund").

The Card That Made Me Cry

It's been a slightly rough week. It was fun to "explore the possibilities" on Tuesday night at the YL banquet, but it became very clear that this was not the direction for me. Do you ever have hope for something even though your realistic mind tells you 'no' but when you actually get the no it's really disappointing anyway. That was this. Because now I'm back at square one. Broke. With no leads for my elusive "dream job."

48 hours after I had sunk into a self-pitying, moody mess, I received a thank you card that seriously sent me to my office crying. There's a musician that we've had play in our cafe at church a few times. Her name is Lisa Winter; she's a mom, leader of the PTA at the local Christian high school, and she sings with the most soulful, sweet voice that sends you straight to Jesus-dreamland. I've looked up to her since meeting her almost a year ago, and she wrote to me to say:

"I know that He has something very dynamic in store for you and it will come at just the right time. I'm learning that discouragement is the adversary's most effective weapon to faithful believers. Let's stand together and watch how He delivers us to victory in the visions He has given us."

Whoa! Thanks God for hearing me & seeing me and sending an encouraging word at just the right time. Sigh...so now I'll pick myself up & get back on the hunt with renewed hope.

Exploring Possibilities.

I'm going to a Young Life Banquet tonight. It's a fundraising banquet for Eastside Rochester YoungLife. Or something like that. I was initially interested in going because there was a rumor on the street that they might be looking for a leader to help launch a new club in Fairport, NY, one of the little villages near me. This seemed like a perfect opportunity for several reasons: 1. I need a new job & for some reason all of my "career positions" thus far have included program-building. So I would probably be uniquely gifted in launching a new club. 2. I've been praying for something youth ministry-oriented that is also located close to where I live. Fairport is right next to my beloved Webster, "where life is worth living." 3. I come from a long line of "Young Lifers." My grandpa started YL in Billings, MT. My Dad & several aunts & uncles have been involved with YL on various levels. I was a Wyld Life leader in high school. I even have a cousin working for YL headquarters in Colorado Springs. So it would seem to all make sense, a very real & seemingly perfect option as I have been praying & practically begging God to move me into a youth ministry job for the last 3 months.

So why does it seem too easy? Why do I have this uneasy thought that He's showing me an option that seems right but is not perfectly right and He still has something BIGGER & even more PERFECT for me? "His ways are not my ways; and His thoughts are not my thoughts."

It's been a long process, this Trusting & Seeking Him thing. The longer God takes in answering my prayers that He'd move me into my perfect destiny, the more I get desperate for MORE and BIGGER answers. C'mon God! I want the FULLNESS of my destiny. And yet still You tarry! What's it going to take? I've fasted. I've prayed. I've cried. I've yelled. I've begged. I've hoped.

1 Corinthians 2:9
"Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

It comes down to this: I don't want the answer to my prayers to come 1 second before I'm going to get the full blessing. I would rather get old & wrinkly waiting to conceive my Isaac so that in the end my inheritance is as "innumerable as the sand which is by the seasore."

I'm still going to the banquet tonight. Who knows? That's the fun of God, He lets you explore possibilities. Song of Songs 2:4 "He brings me to the banqueting hall, so everyone can see how much He loves me" (NLT).

Hey Girls! I'm gettin it back up & running. For the Bethel youth group ladies. & friends of course. Welcome to my blog. This is for you to stay in touch. Thought I'd post devotionals, my sage wisdom, random poems & pictures (actually not really random since most of it comes from me trying to express some Scripture or revelation I've been pondering). Add this as a bookmarker on your computer & check back often. It's gonna be a happenin blogger...

My friend Jordan painted the picture above. I can't remember what he calls it. I love it. It makes me feel warm & happy & safe...what does it make you think of? (Post a comment).