Bring on the kids!

Back on June 5th I did a post on a book I was reading that had me on the census bureau website looking up the number of kids there are in Madison Co.(12,490) as a part of an exercise on Children's Ministry Leadership & team building.

Well, let me just tell you that God is sending us kids and I feel honored that He trusts us with His little ones! Tonight I updated the attendance from June & July (with Aug 3rd attached)since we're ending our year this Friday with our Graduation and completion ceremony! When I finished updating everything, I realized that we saw 91 different kids over that 2 month time period! WOW!!! That's a record for us!

I said that not to "toot our horn" or say "wow look at us"... I said that to say this: God is sending us kids who need to hear about Jesus and we need to be ready to deliver! I want to make sure that the kids who come to MCC feel loved, welcomed, accepted, valued and most importantly learn that Jesus is REAL, He loves them and will always be with them - no matter what!

With that in mind, I'm PUMPED to see what's going to happen next and am really excited to get our "back-to-school series" underway. We will be developing everything over the next weeks, so remember to keep us in your prayers.

As we prepare to minister to the kids of Madison Co., I'd like to say this...
1. Bring on the kids... and let us introduce them to Jesus!

2. Only 12,400 kids to go...to spread the gospel to all kids in Madison Co.!

-AND-

3. It's gonna take major teamwork to do this...and I'm glad I'm not in this alone!

Be Blessed :)

New pics are here!

Ok, so I'm now back from vacation and decided to update you on KidKonnect and give you a chance to see some new pics of the building.

First off, we are absolutely having a blast! The first two Sundays were a little rough 'cause everything was so new to us. Our main obstacle to overcome was nailing the flow of the service (including hitting our cues, transitions, etc.) BUT by the third Sunday we finally NAILED it and have been moving forward ever since.

I'm really thankful for so many people who are beginning to catch the vision and run with it ...and for dedicated volunteers who have stretched themselves to learn some new skills in unfamiliar areas. In a nutshell, we are really starting to work together as a team and it feels great!

So far, I've been the only "storyteller" (which will change in August) so I haven't had the opportunity to see the faces of the kids as they worship during the worship segment of the service, BUT as I stand backstage in the wings I can certainly hear them and it blesses my heart to hear them singing at the top of their lungs.

You see, for the first 7.5 years of this ministry the kids didn't have the opportunity to have such a powerful worship time during their Sunday morning service, as we were operating with only a small-group-style Sunday morning service [not because we necessarily wanted to only have this component, we just didn't have the space for large group until now!].

So far, I've heard lots of feedback from Crew Leaders (small group leaders), and parents alike, that tell of how the kids (after they leave the kid's service) can't quit singing the songs...even as they go out to lunch with the family after church! And it's awesome to hear that they are excited about the stories & science experiments that they've experienced! Wow! God is good!

I am so PUMPED to see how things are developing & can't wait to transition to our next series which will begin in September. BTW - we are writing and implementing our own curriculum! This is largely in part to some help we received in curriculum writing (and encouragement to do so!) at a conference at NewSpring church in SC back in March.

Our first series has been a great success, we recreated our summer VBS Power Lab stage & turned it into "Bexter's Laboratory", complete with a 3-D time machine that teleports characters to the lab to deliver each week's Bible story. As we begin the process of writing for our next series, please pray for us as we create and develop everything over the next couple of weeks.

I'll go for now...leaving you with some new pics of the KidKonnect building. :)

Media Booth


Sitting Area

Stage





Office

Wow, have I been busy!

Sorry I haven't posted in SO long...to say that I've been busy would be an understatement! It's been crazy making the transition into the new Kid's building at church and moving to the large group format since none of us really know what we are doing. We've had to do a "hands-on quick crash course" in Media (installing and operating a new digital light panel, dealing with microphones that don't work properly, learning a new video camera, learning how to download and burn DVD's to disc that will work on our DVD player, and lots of etc.), in Drama (blocking, timing, picking up on cues, rehearsing, costuming, and lots of etc.), in flow and format, in structure, in how to successfully move groups of kids & adults between buildings, in effective communication,in recruiting people to serve in all the positions that are now available...and lots of other stuff in between!

Whew, wears me out just thinkin' 'bout it! BUT [and a HUGE BUT at that!] we've been having an awesome time learning all this stuff AND the kids have been having a blast! This past Sunday we finally nailed it! It was awesome and lots of fun! I am SO thankful that God is in control & that He has put the right people in the right places...the people that I get to serve with are truly AMAZING and I am forever grateful for them and their wonderful families.

As I begin to settle down a little, I promise to post more often and will even share some pics with you in the upcoming weeks. [I've been so busy preparing that I have yet to take any pics!] I'll be leaving for vacation on Friday, not sure if I'll bring my laptop with me. All I can say is "stay tuned for more posts".
Til then, Be Blessed :)

It's Unbelievable!

That's how I'm going to describe the new kids building! When I first entered through the door yesterday I was speechless [I know that's hard to believe!] and amazingly surprised at how AWESOME everything looked...it went way beyond my wildest dreams.

In all of the excitement I didn't bring my digital camera so I don't have any pics to post quite yet, but that's good 'cause I want to wait til after the kids (and adults who serve) see it tomorrow. So, I guess you'll have to wait til Monday to see the pics of the beautiful new KidKonnect building!

Until then, Be Blessed and remember that with God all things are possible!

It's the Final Countdown!

Well, disregard yesterday's countdown...they didn't get the lights hung over the stage in time for us to come in to set the stage -AND- Pastor J wouldn't let me come near the place since it wasn't completely finished!

So - today is IT! In just 2 hours (at 10:00 am) I FINALLY get to see it, help to set the stage & move in! I can't wait....sweet!

I'll keep you posted, pics to follow.

P.S. Please pray for Pastor J's toe...he dropped a computer on it yesterday while he was working [was wearing flip-flops if that tells you anything!].

10-hour Countdown!

10 hours and counting...that's what's left on the countdown to move into the new KidKonnect building at church! You don't understand just how EXCITED I am over this!!! You see it's been my dream (and part of the vision that God gave Pastor Jason when he first planted MCC) for 7 1/2 years now! To see this come to pass just blows my mind and is a definitive answer to a longtime prayer... AND, it just makes me wonder what God has got planned next!

I have not seen the building for 3 weeks now, Pastor J wouldn't even let me sneak a peek 'cause he wanted everything to be finished before I saw it - so I'd be really surprised [that's why you haven't seen any pics posted, I haven't seen the building myself since the first week they began the renovations!] . I can honestly say that I have not even so much as looked through a window or door to catch a glimpse [although I have had several spys to keep me informed of the progress & how they thought things were looking over there!] so I will truly be surprised when I get to see it tonight at 5:30. In fact, I'm already practicing my surprised "look" and speech..."I'd like to thank all the fans" - oh wait, wrong speech!

I have no idea how I will react, but I do know that beginning this Sunday we are going to ROCK out for God over there in the new kids building! It is going to be so much fun that I don't think I'll be able to stand it!

I'm taking my digital camera along for the big "move-in" so I'm sure I'll have some pics to post soon...til then Be Blessed & remember that God does answer prayer!

Where's Waldo?

Hey, remember the "Where's Waldo" books? When Waldo first appeared on the scene, everybody thought it was fun to try to pick out the weird guy in the striped shirt in a crowd, in a zoo, in a shopping mall, in an airport...in about a thousand different scenarios. But then after a while...Waldo went AWOL and nobody could seem to find him any longer. I think we all just got fed up with trying to find him everywhere & not to mention the eye-strain and stress it caused us when he was nowhere to be found! That darned Waldo!

Well, I have a new craze for you...it's called where's the Oldsmobile? All you have to do is look at the photos posted below and try to spy where my Olds is located amongst the mess of the tree that fell upon it last night.

No kidding! Last night between 10:30 and 11:00 pm I was chillin on the couch watching a Lifetime movie with my pooch, listening to the rain as it fell hard on the roof [oh and watching it too, my roof leaks when it rains hard - gotta get that fixed soon!] the rain let up, a few minutes of silence went by and then outa nowhere we heard it...thump, thump, THUD! And then the electricity went out followed by silence & darkness.

My first thought was "oh no, terrorist attack!" [no kidding, that's what actually crossed my mind, funny isn't it!]then my 2nd thought was "oh no, I'm being robbed!" [thought the bad guys had cut my power and were about to cut a hole in my roof & repel downwards to steal all of my millions (cue Mission Impossible theme here) - well, maybe not millions...but the last $5 I had in my pocket, anyway!] And then it hit me - THE BIG TREE IN MY FRONT YARD!

I then envisioned downed power lines, sparks igniting the gas tank of my car, a horrific explosion...well, you get the picture. [oh & did I say that I was watching TV, maybe too much TV!]

Long story even longer...stumbled through the house in the dark, called my neighbors, called my mom, called 9-1-1 and the search & rescue [for my car, that is] began. The emergency crews came out really fast and had everything under control within a matter of minutes & the electricity back on in under an hour. Thankfully nobody was injured [although I was not real popular for having caused a power outage on my block on a Saturday night, just before the evening news!] and my nice beautiful deck that my parents just built on the front of my house was still intact.

In retrospect, after laughing at myself and my weird thoughts/reaction to the whole thing, all I can say is that God is SO good! He protects us from the storm and all the dangers that come along with it. We don't have to live in fear, He protects us and gives us a peace that surpasses all understanding.

That peace can be lessend though if we play the "what if game"...

"What if" the tree had fallen hours earlier it would've possibly crushed me inside the car or the neighbor boys as they were playing in their front yard [did I mention the tree almost took out my neighbor's front porch!].

Or "what if" the tree had fallen towards my house instead of my car it would've crushed my new deck, my house and me and Molly inside on the couch watching TV.

The good news is that we don't have to play the "what if game" because God is not a God of "what ifs". He's a God whose always in control & protects those He calls His own. Yeah, I may have been a little freaked out [not to mention a little shaky as I called 9-1-1, don't even really remember what I told the Operator] but in the end I could calm down and rest in His shelter from the storm - knowing that He was in control the whole time & that He will protect me when danger comes my way. Wow!

Here's the photos, prizes will be awarded to those who discover "Where's Waldo" (a/k/a my car)even BIGGER prize for those who discover "Where's God" in all this :)

Gotta go for now, my family's coming over with a chain saw so we can cut out a path to my front door...don't think the mailman will like climbing over the downed tree to get to my mailbox tomorrow.

Give Me Your Eyes

So, have you heard this song?

I absolutely love this song by Brandon Heath, it’s been playing a lot lately on Air 1 [95.3 on the radio dial in the LEX]…and seems to be playing every time I turn on my car radio as I’m heading out to another destination.

Usually songs that get “played to death” get on my nerves & I end up cringing [and sometimes even changing the radio station] when I hear that all-too-familiar tune coming over the radio waves. BUT – this song is different…I can’t get enough of it! AND [yeah, I know you’re not really supposed to begin a sentence with “but” or “and”] I can’t quit singing it everywhere I go – not just in the car, but in the kitchen, in the grocery store, in the coffee shop.

You see, this song is more than a song to me…it’s my PRAYER!

I think Brandon Heath was on to something when he versed this song [I might even do some research on how the song came to be!] but I don’t think he knew the impact it would have on people like me. It sounds as if it might’ve been his personal prayer, but he didn’t know [or maybe he did] that others are praying the same prayer.

When I hear this song, and when I sing this song, I can’t help but feel it down deep in my soul – it resonates within my being & is my heartfelt prayer. I can’t help but belt it out and mean every word of it as I’m singing it to my Creator.

By the second run-through of the chorus, I get so choked up that before I realize it there are tears in my eyes [tears might also be a result of my terrible singing voice, but my dog doesn’t seem to mind all that much!] and a lump in my throat as I think of what the words are REALLY expressing and what it is that I’m praying for.

God, just let me see people – really SEE people, the way YOU see them!

Let me see them, let me reach out to them, let me love them the way that you do, Lord.

Lord, let me be more aware and notice those who are hurting and those who are brokenhearted – those who might go unnoticed, unloved – those that only YOU see.

Lord, give me YOUR eyes so I can see…


Brandon Heath - Give Me Your Eyes
From the album What If We

Chorus
Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me you heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Power Lab VBS...HUGE Success!

We sure did have a blast this past week with Power Lab VBS! Here are a few photos of the fun...

Sassy the Super Scientist & Professor Pumpernickel



Professor P - "It's Alive!"



Ruby-Jean the Radical Rocket Scientist



The Power Lab



Interactive Light Show & Aquarium (w/things that grow)



Sparki's Yellow Crew #1


Water War



VBS Friends


Dewd's Blue Crew #1


Big Bubbles



Bible Blast Drama

VBS Day 1

VBS Day 1 was a HUGE success! Thanks to everybody who came out and served, it's very obvious when people care about what they are doing & we're very fortunate to have that going on at MCC! I'll have a more detailed post tomorrow, hopefully with some pics if I can remember to bring my camera. Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who came out last night for a fun night of Power Lab, we had 56 kids in attendance (which is more than we expected) which means that 56 kids got to hear about Jesus! Gotta go for now, gotta do my daily challenge...until tomorrow, remember that Jesus gives us the power to be thankful. AHA!

Invasion

Help! My house has been invaded by some alien-looking, bug-eyed robots! Well, one anyway...gotta get working on the other one! I'm in the process of making a couple of robots for VBS, which is only a couple of days away, and as as you can see they are strictly for decor. In other words, they're not working robots! I really wish I'd learned about robotics and could build some real robots...maybe when I get them out to the Power Lab, Professor Pumpernickel can bring them to life for me!

If you're in "the hood" next week, stop by MCC for some fun Power Lab action...6:30-8:30 pm Monday - Thursday.

Gotta go for now, gotta get working on another robot!

12,490

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...suddenly found myself very busy getting ready for VBS and the HUGE changes that are coming our way with KidzTEAM Children's Ministry.

Now, to give you a little update on what I've been up to . . .

As part of the preparations for transitioning our CM to the next level, and as part of keeping up with our Lead Team reads from Pastor J, I'm currently reading 2 new books [the books aren't really new, there just new reads to me!] and both have really inspired me and given me some much needed insight into what it takes to be successful at the next level of ministry. I'll give you more information over the next couple of weeks, just in case you want to read those books. [which I'd highly recommend doing]

In one of the books (a book on CM Leadership) there was this really cool exercise where you had to log on to the census bureau's website and find the estimated number of children in your county...so you would know how many kids in your area need to hear the message of Jesus. When I did this exercise, I realized that there are approximately 12,490 kids in Madison Co. that make up our ministry target of kids between the ages of birth to 11 years. WOW!!!

With such a HUGE number of kids in Madison Co. we are going to need a great plan, a solid TEAM, mobilization, strategy, tactics, direction, energy and "elbow grease" to get in there and get it done. Please PRAY as we tackle this endeavor!

So, with all this in mind - kinda explains why I haven't posted in a while. Been a little busy gettin' things together...gotta go after the 12,490.

Hope to update you soon, until then - Be Blessed.

P.S. Next week will be our VBS week and we are praying for the kids in our area (especially the neighborhoods near our church) to come in and hear about Jesus. Please keep our VBS in your prayers, as it can be an awesome outreach tool for our community.

First New Series Almost Complete... Now Ready To Begin Some Major Renovations Of New Building!

I am SO pumped about our first new series for our new KidzTEAM large group stage-production, and the move to our new large group time in our new building, that I JUST CAN'T STAND IT! I can’t wait to see the faces of the kids (and adults) who walk into our new KidKonnect building and experience what we have planned for them. I don’t want to give away too many secrets [might ruin the surprise], but all I can say is “GET READY” for a wild time in Jesus!

Here's just a few ideas that are running around in my mind…

1. Worship time called “Jump Around”, opens up with some dancing Tele-Tubbies

2. Crazy Frog singing the “Na, Na, Na, Na Goodbye Song” when a group leaves Konnect to travel back to small groups.

3. A crazy storyteller that comes on stage to weave a story from The Book, ushered in by the “Baby Got Book” song.

4. Kids Media TEAM complete with our own DJ

5. And lots of crazy ideas that I can’t put into words….you just gotta come see for yourself.

In this post I’m including the logo for our new building/large group time [look above, just under post title], decided to call it KidKonnect ‘cause that’s where kids come together to connect with Christ and also with each other.

Gotta go for now, gotta finish writing that new series and get ready for some building renovations! [just a hint before I go...the new series is called "Bexter's Laboratory" and is a parody of a certain Cartoon Network show - wink, wink]

BTW - lady who works in the curriculum department at Family Bookstore thinks I'm "adventurous" for writing our own curriculum...by the look on her face that could've been code for
"c-r-a-z-y". [and it very well might be: code or crazy, sometimes you just hafta be a little crazy to attempt something that is new, different, against the norm...]

Be Blessed :)

Prince Caspian or The Return of Aslan?

So, I got to see the new Narnia movie last weekend and there are two things that impacted me greatly...so much so that I can’t seem to get them off my mind. [Don’t worry, for those of you who haven’t seen the movie yet---I won’t ruin it for you, won’t give up the plot or write a summary post of the movie]

Impact #1: Waiting for Aslan!
I found myself, throughout most of the movie, sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for Aslan to return, save the kids and save the day. Since this lion parallels the lion of the tribe of Judah (a/k/a Jesus) my heart was literally beating out of my chest as I anxiously awaited the triumphant moment of his arrival, thinking about how I longed to see Jesus! As the movie progressed, I found myself obsessed with the moment of Aslan’s appearance on the movie screen and was overwhelmed with anticipation. [so much so, that I shushed my sister who was sitting next to me talking a little louder than I deemed necessary! Don't think she liked that too much.] When Aslan finally did show up, and I got to see him again[remembered him from the first movie, but this was his first appearance in this movie!]… all I can say is “WOW” and that I wish I’d had some tissues [my jacket sleeve had to suffice].

As I thought about how much I was looking forward to seeing Aslan again, and how I spent so much time during my movie-watching-experience anxiously awaiting his appearance, I began to ask myself the following questions:
-Am I living my life in anticipation of the return of the King?
-When He does come back, will He find me busy about the Father’s business?
-Will I be doing everything I can do to let people know about Him?

Bottom line: if I do live my life in as much anticipation as I felt during the movie, I should be on a mission – daily. When Jesus comes back, that’s it. I want to be ready and I want those who don’t know Him to come on in to the family before it’s too late.

Impact #2: Wake up, sleeping friends!
When Aslan did show up on the scene, he spent a few moments reconnecting with Lucy and then he helped her to fulfill her mission. She had gone (by herself) deep into the woods to wake up her friends, the trees, who no longer talked, moved or danced because they had retreated so deep into themselves that they were in a deep slumber. Aslan knew Lucy’s mission was to wake up the trees, so he said “now it’s time to wake up your friends” and with a loud roar successfully accomplished the mission. The trees came alive and started moving again. [I’ll stop here with the trees & leave the rest to the movie, again – don’t wanna ruin it for those who haven’t seen the movie yet!] It took Aslan’s power to wake the dead, but it also took Lucy’s step of faith to go to the trees with the message that it is now time to wake up...she was so concerned that they were “asleep” that she took it upon herself to try to go and wake them up.

As I watched the trees uproot and begin to move, I began to think about the people (all my “friends”) who have retreated so deep into themselves that they are not alive in Christ. Either they don't know Him, or they once knew Him but have tuned out His voice and have hardened their hearts without Him.

Bottom Line: It does take Him to wake them up, but it also takes us to care enough about our lost friends to go to them and try to wake them up. All we have to do is to take a step of faith and take the message of Christ to them…and He will do the rest.

Wow, powerful stuff! So what about you…
What are you doing as you anticipate His return?
Are you one of the lost people who is asleep and needs to wake up? Or
Are you going to your lost friends to bring them the message that it’s time to wake up?

BTW, I know the movie was all about "Prince Caspian" but for me, I think the title of the movie should've been "The Return of Aslan!"

P.S. I didn't read the Narnia series as a kid, or as an adult, and now I'm wishing I had!

Cheese or Pepperoni?

So, as I was looking over some Bible stories to include in our upcoming series [we’re attempting to write our own curriculum…for the first time EVER!] I ran across the very well-known story of Mary & Martha from Luke 10: 38-42.

As I read and reflected on this story, that I’ve heard so many times before, I began to think about where I am (at this very moment) in my relationship with Jesus. If I got a phone call from Jesus saying that he was on his way to my house and would be there in just a bit, would I freak out (like I normally do when an unexpected guest stops by) or would I be ready to greet Him at the door and invite Him for some good QT together?

Which reminded me of something that happened to me not too long ago…

It was the middle of the night, when my phone rang and I answered it to find on the other end of the line a friend who was in trouble. Seems as if my friend [we used to work together and were pretty close] was in town, as she had traveled about an hour from her home to meet up with a “guy friend”. As we began our conversation, she explained that she was in trouble [looked as if her “guy friend” wasn’t who she thought he was!], as a night of drinking and carousing had steered her right into a messy situation.

When I got her call of distress, I immediately went into defense mode [you know, defend the one who is in trouble – swoop in for the rescue and save the defenseless!] and offered to come and get her. She said she just needed to get out of her situation, talk to a friend and get somewhere safe…and that was already on her way to my house. She asked if she could bunk on my couch for the rest of the evening, and of course I said “yes” and then as I hung up the phone, I even practiced in my head what I would say to her when she arrived…how I would tell her about Jesus and how He could fill the void in her life…how I would explain that He could love her like no man could, if she'd just choose Him!

As I hung up the phone, I drifted back to sleep [I guess all that practicing "THE conversation” wore me out!] and I began dreaming of our phone conversation – when suddenly I jumped up out of bed to the stark realization that our conversation was not a dream and I had an unexpected guest headed my way!

As my feet hit the floor, I went into “hyper-cleaning mode” as I realized that my toilet needed scrubbing, my bathroom floor needed mopping and I had clothes strewn all over my bedroom floor! Not to mention, I wasn’t even sure if I had clean sheets to put on my bed. [You see, I wasn’t going to allow my guest to sleep on the couch, I was going to give up my bed and sleep on the less-than-comfy couch!]

Long story short, I spent a good 15 minutes making my house appear tidy for my guest [hoping she wouldn’t look in the closet to uncover all my clothes stuffed in there!] and smelling clean with a fresh scent of Pine-Sol cleaner that was still drying on my bathroom floor. Just as I put the mop bucket into the utility room, the phone rang again and my friend was on the other end telling me that she had made amends with her “guy friend” and therefore declined my invitation to spend the night at my house saying that she decided to stay put since she was really in no shape to drive.

As I put the phone down and snuggled into my bed, with the smell of a freshly “cleaned” house in my nostrils, I thought to myself “whew, that was close!” and decided that I’d better be more conscious of my house-cleaning duties (or lack thereof) just in case a situation like this one were to arise again in the future. [BTW, that was a short-lived decision, let’s just say you’d better call first before you come over to my house – otherwise you might be shocked at what you will find when you get here! JK, sort of!]

While looking over the story of Mary and Martha, the memory of the night of my unexpected guest came back to me and as I read the story, I was even envisioning myself as Martha. In fact, as I read that she was busy preparing for Jesus’ arrival I actually saw myself in her place….hurriedly cleaning as I was on that night of my friend’s phone call.

At this point, I stopped and asked myself this question: if Jesus were to call me out of the blue (just like my friend did) to say that He was on his way to my house, then showed up at my front door…would I react like Mary or Martha?

Of course, I really want to say the right answer which is clearly “Mary”…

Mary: welcomed Him in, sat down with Him, spent quality time with Him

But in reality, I have to admit that I could possibly answer “Martha”…

Martha: probably didn’t even notice He’d come into the house (since she was clearly distracted by all the preparations that had to be made) and was fretting over how the place looked, what she would serve to Jesus, if there were clean towels in the bathroom, etc.

So, I guess I must do a “Martha-check” daily! By that, I mean that daily I must take a time-out to make sure that I don’t get caught up in all the plans like Martha did. I gotta make sure that each day I spend quality time with Jesus talking to him about what’s going on in my life, which direction He wants me to take, what He needs for me to do in my personal life and in my ministry life.

I don’t EVER want to get caught up in “doing life” and “doing ministry” that I forget the most important thing…which is JESUS. If He were to show up at my house right now, I would want to be at the point where I open the door, welcome Him in, disregard all the clutter and mess around me, shut out all the distractions and just sit with Him on the couch together…just hanging out and discussing anything and everything.

I realize that I can be at that point, if I spend time with Him daily and leave all the plans and “to-do lists” of life (which don’t even really matter in the scheme of things, anyway) on the back-burner...as they will still be there, waiting to be checked off as completed. In a nutshell, I need to make Jesus my priority and not allow the distractions of life and ministry to impede my QT with Him. I don’t want to be “so busy” that I miss an opportunity to visit with the King.

When Jesus shows up at my door, literally or figuratively, I want to be ready for Him to come on in and begin our time together – distraction free, just a time of visiting and sharing together. What about you? Do you want to have a Mary relationship or a Martha relationship with Jesus?

Next time Jesus arrives at my doorstep, I will be ready. Of course, the Southern hospitality in me would want to offer my King something to eat [can’t do much talking on an empty stomach] so I have a plan. Instead of getting all distracted from making menu plans, trying out the best recipes from the Paula Deen cookbook, searching for clean cooking utensils [jk], taking time out to cook and set the table [not to mention clean-up afterwards]…

I think I’d just order in pizza for Jesus!

That way we’d both have something good in our tummies and we could spend much more time chatting over pizza than over a fancy dinner…

So what do you think, would Jesus want cheese or pepperoni?

We're going multi-site, sort of!

Ok, so here are the first pics of our new Children’s Ministry digs. As I mentioned in a previous post, God recently gave us an awesome opportunity to rent some warehouse space (across the parking lot from our church warehouse) to use for a large group meeting place for our kids...so I guess you can say we're going multi-site in a way! As you view our new space for the first time, keep in mind that the building looks a little rough right now, so you gotta look at it through the eyes of vision.

Now - put on your vision goggles, close your eyes [not really, ‘cause with your eyes closed you can’t read anymore of this post!] and imagine this:

*a stage filled with a junior worship team leading kids in singing, dancing, motions & music
*very creative actors & storytellers who weave awesome stories that make the Bible come alive for kids and give them a message they can take back into their homes and schools
*lots of bright, bold colors
*lights, sound & media that enhance the message & the overall experience
*loving, caring adults who interact with the kids and lead them to God
*kids, kids, kids
*high energy
*a lounge area in the back for 4th & 5th graders (and the Middle Schoolers who will be using it during the week for Bible study)…complete with air hockey, pop-a-shot & foosball
*and most importantly, the one true Big, Big God – living & active in the hearts and lives of those who come to meet Him!

As we are gearing up to renovate this new CM building, I want to make sure that we keep our eyes on God and keep Him at the center of everything. My prayer is that God would be glorified in all that we do, and that His name would become famous among all people. I want to always honor & glorify Him and keep Him first in everything! May He bless our new building and teach us how to use it as a tool to bring in the lost and hurting families of Madison County. Let it all be about Him and about capturing the attention, hearts and lives of the little ones He brings to us.
-Amen!
P.S. More pics as the new building unfolds…

Outside of new CM building, looking across the parking lot from MCC


Future stage area


This space comes with some cool benefits...a restroom, utility sink and a new ride for the CM Director! [jk]


Be Blessed, Candy :)

Long time, no post!

Sorry I haven't posted in a while...got busy with end of the year school stuff [state testing & portfolio scoring, yuk!] and exciting new plans for our children's ministry (CM) at church! At our last leadership team meeting, our Senior Pastor prayed for creativity for each ministry team - and God answered that prayer BIG time! All I can say is "wow" He's got some great stuff planned, including a church make-over, a new CM building (complete with stage, sound, lights, computer, etc.)and a new CM production team. That's right, we're going to have a large group production going on for the kids every Sunday starting in July which means we are going to need "all hands on deck". Please keep everything in your prayers as we embark upon this new journey. I'm so excited about everything that I'm finding it very hard to sleep & even harder to concentrate at school as we wind down the school year - which is scary when you consider that I'm in charge of 110 teens each day! Like I said, God is very creative - He has been giving me some wonderful ideas for series & curriculum writing for our new CM stage production format & has also been keeping my mind charged with thoughts of this summer's VBS. Just pray that I will be able to finish up the school year quickly so I can devote my time to the transition of our children's ministry to a new format & also pray that we, as a church, would continue to have God's hand and favor upon us. I'll get back to posting regularly next week & will have some pics of our new CM digs to share with you. Until then, Be Blessed!

Unleashed Answers

A few weeks ago I did a post on 3 Challenging Questions that were raised during the last session of the Unleash Conference at Newspring Church in South Carolina. In that post, I said that I would get back to you on the answers to said questions. Well, after much prayer and reflective, heartfelt dialogue with the Leadership Team at MCC ...here's what we came up with for our church.

Question #1: What is it that God wants to do in my church?
Answer #1: M-O-V-E! He wants to move in the hearts & lives of every person who comes into MCC, and He wants us to go out into our community and tell others about Him. He also revealed that He wants us to move forward, as a church, in a BIG way! [I'll have more on that topic as it develops.]Basically, He doesn't want us to sit back on our family values and wait for things to happen ...He wants us to get out there and make it happen according to His plan!

Question #2: What barriers stand in the way?
Answer #2: Could list the obvious barriers such as time, money, space, facilities, commitment, volunteers. However, we came to the conclusion that the biggest barrier is us! [and we didn't even mention the "obvious barriers" listed above, they never even came up in our conversations!] You see, God has such an awesome plan for us & sometimes we limit in our minds what He (and we through Him) can do! I've heard it so many times...don't put God in a box. I'd like to think I don't, but His creativity goes way beyond what I can imagine...which I guess means that I do enclose him in that tiny little cardboard structure. [Or I try to anyway...not that He would stay there, or even fit, or go in willingly..well, you get the idea!] Just when we thought we had everything all figured out & that we had done all we could do in our given situation...BAM [sorry, Emeril I had to use your catch phrase here for effect!]He shows us something awesome that we had never thought of doing before and shows us a new direction to follow towards accomplishing the mission that He called us to. Wow, God IS great -and- VERY creative!

Question #3: What is it that we as a church want to celebrate?
Answer #3: The most obvious thing is when a soul gets saved, which is a BIG deal and comes with a huge celebration in Heaven. BUT, [yes, I know I'm not really supposed to begin a sentence with but!] we should also celebrate growth and life change taking place around us. At MCC we don't have an altar call every Sunday, and we offer people the chance to pray for salvation in their cars, at home, at work, etc. So, it's hard to tell sometimes how many people are giving their lives to God. BUT, [here I go again with the but!] we can see evidence of spirtitual growth in those around us and we can certainly see those life changes in process. [Way to go God!] We also decided that as a Leadership Team that we need to celebrate our ministry teams a little more often and the milestones [I like to say "mile markers"] that come our way as we head down the road of ministry.

Just to let you know, as soon as we opened up our minds and let God answer these 3 Challenging Questions for us - things began to happen around our church and in our ministries. All I can say is, God is up to something BIG at MCC...and I can't wait to see what He is gonna do next! He continues to blow my mind daily, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm just along for the ride!

I'll post the updates on our BIG news and happenings as they develop, with photos to follow. For now I'm gonna go celebrate God [probably gonna celebrate in style with a Blizzard from DQ, I'm sure it's somewhere in the Bible that celebration is achieved through ice cream!]and tell Him how thankful I am for all He does and will do.

It's a joy to serve such an AWESOME God and an AWESOME church. :)

I Have A Sock In My Pump!

So, the repairman finally came out to look at my washing machine [praise God!] and it’s good news [praise God, again!]. . . doesn’t cost a lot to fix . . . no major problems . . . no parts to order . . . or back order . . . for it seems my friends that I have a sock in my pump!

When I heard the news, I had to laugh - and out loud, very loud at that! In my twisted mind, it kind of sounded to me like a Dr. Seuss book. . . you know, could be the sequel to “I Have A Wocket In My Pocket”. Once the amusement (and the relief of not having to spend much money) wore off, I found a little lesson that I could use [there goes God talking to me again through my washing machine, and if I start to hear voices coming from the dryer – I’m out!], so I thought I might share this life lesson with you today.

You see, I actually created the problem that broke my washing machine! The repairman said that I overloaded the washing machine, which in turn caused one little sock to be pushed over the edge of the tub and into the pump. I know I often “over-stuff” the washing machine, it is after all a “heavy duty” model & I’m guilty of pushing it to the limit to see just how “heavy duty” it can be – not to mention that bigger loads cut back on washing time! The repairman’s remedy for avoiding this problem in the future is to simply cut down on the size of my laundry loads (he says medium-size loads work best) and this should never happen again.

When I was thinking of how my overloaded machine took all it could take & then just shut down . . . I thought of how true that is with life! Sometimes I just push as much “laundry” as I can into my “machine”, in other words I fill my life & schedule as full as I possibly can, and then BOOM out-of-nowhere something breaks! If I don’t take the time to be mindful of my limits, then something small (as small as a sock) or something extra added to an already full load will cause me to breakdown. Wow, something very important to consider here! It seems as though something as practical, and as easy, as cutting down on the size of my life-loads will help to prevent life-breakdown! Sounds easy enough in theory, but now to put this into practice!!!

So, what about you? Got an overloaded schedule? Got too many extra things going on in your life? Why don’t you reduce the size of your load? After all, the repairman says that medium-sized loads are A-OK!

On a side (but related) note, the repairman noticed the smell of my stinky water! [read my last post for an explanation/definition of “stinky water”] I thought that I had taken care of that problem, but it seems that in my haste to bail out all that stinky water from the washing machine I inadvertently left some in the bottom of my mop bucket that I was using to transfer the stinky water to the toilet for disposal.

After he discovered the source of the stink, the repairman was gracious enough to dump the remaining water outside in my front lawn - only after he regained consciousness from inhaling the toxic fumes! [jk – about the guy passing out, not about the toxic smell!] Guess I won't have to worry about weeds growing in that spot any time soon. Oh, and he did save my sock (it was on my front porch by the mop bucket when I got home)so it looks like I won't be having another addition to my "odd sock drawer". [I think the repairman is now my hero!]

Anyway, think I’ll go get caught up on some laundry . . . and from now on I’ll be doing medium-sized loads only!

Dead Things Really Do Stink!

This is a late Sunday evening p.m. post...actually I think it's now Monday a.m.

After today’s message at church "Dead Things Stink!"(please read my previous post), I came home to a nasty stink going on inside my house, and started to wonder...what is it with this recurring "stink" theme of the day! As I started to investigate the source of the smell, and after I had already blamed my dog, I noticed that the smell was coming from my laundry room. As I got closer to my washing machine, it was evident that the smell was coming from here and it was like the green "Scooby-Doo fog" that was creeping through the whole house and permeating the air in every nook and cranny! [side note: not many nooks & crannies in my house, it's too small...which makes the smell even more potent!]

You see, last night when I was doing laundry – my washer decided to quit! I thought it was a sign from God that I didn’t need to be doing laundry (ha, ha) but then realized that doing laundry was a necessity [if I wanted to wear clean clothes, that is!].

When the washing machine stopped last night, it didn’t drain the water from the final rinse & spin cycle, leaving a load of sopping wet towels and a tub full of water. I knew there was nothing I could do, so I left it all over night...thinking that after all, it was clean water.

After sitting in the washer for several hours, the water began to become stagnant and took on a “funky” smell of it’s own…a smell so strong that when I entered the house this afternoon it almost knocked me back out the door. [ok, so a small exaggeration…but it was bad!]

I became desperate to get that smell out of my house, so when I began to furiously bail the water out of the washing machine – God spoke to me about today’s message from Pastor Jason.[not that Pastor J's message stank, but the fact that his lesson was on things that stink!I guess God was really trying to bring this whole stink thing to my attention...and he was very creative about how He revealed it to me.]

You see, as I started to bail the water out of my washing machine it became very clear to me that a small amount of stinky water, hidden in my laundry room inside of my washing machine where nobody could see it, was effecting my whole household. To guests who came through the door, they didn’t know about the water in the washing machine…but they sure could smell it!

I think this was just what God was trying to tell me through Pastor J's message (and through my washer troubles)...that things that don't move(or live),can become stale and stinky(or die). Yesterday, the water that was trapped in my washer was fresh & clean – but because of the stagnation over night (and all day today) it had become dirty & stinky. It’s amazing what just a little bit of water trapped inside a washer will do to the whole household. And it’s even more amazing at how quickly fresh water can become stale and stinky! Just a little bit of stink can fester [like the water in my washer, uggghhh!] and can become a real problem in just a short amount of time.

You see, my washer water is a lot like my relationship with God. If I neglect spending time with God…I get stale, I shrivel up and die inside. If I allow death into my body, soul, spirit, attitude… everything will stink! And it will effect everything else around me!

In a nutshell, if I don’t DAILY spend time with God and grow in Him, I will become stagnant like my washer water and I will die and begin to stink like death!

I don’t ever want to be walking around in stink (death) I want to be alive in Him! I want to be so passionately in love with HIM that my life, my attitude and my “smell” shows it!

My prayer this evening is that God will breathe life into my EVERY situation and that I will answer His call to life. What about you? Does your attitude stink? Are you alive in Jesus or are you just existing? Don’t become stagnant…don’t allow death to creep in. Let Him breathe life back into you, let Him change your life!

Well, that’s all for now, it’s way past my bedtime and I’m praying for the washing machine repairman to come tomorrow…think I’ll head off to bed and spend some time telling God just how in love with Him I really am!!!

P.S. Guess I don’t have to fret over what I’m going to wear to work tomorrow…that’ll be whatever is clean!

Be blessed :)

Dead Things Stink!

Pastor Jason preached an awesome message today (Sunday 4-13) entitled “dead things stink”, and here are the highlights…
-Have you ever been driving down the road & suddenly you smell something “funky”? You then blame everyone in the car & make the mistake of rolling down your window…only to make the smell worse.
-Or, have you been walking in the woods & come upon something dead. It appears like a fresh kill, but then when you poke it with a stick you hear the hissing sound of the gasses (that have been building up inside the carcass) escaping …followed by a terrible smell.
-Some of us have that same stench of death upon us – death of a marriage, finances, you’re dead spiritually.
- Life stinks for you, how come everybody else has things going for them & you don’t? Why, God? What’s the problem, God?
-One of the greatest things we like to do in our circumstances is to blame God, it’s more convenient to blame others – even God.
-John 11: 38-44, story of Martha blaming God for her brother’s death.
-Ezekiel 37: 1-7, story of God taking Ezekiel to the valley of dry bones.
-Ezekiel must’ve been thinking that those dried up bones used to be people who were full of life.
-God says, “I’m not scared of dead-end situations”. He’s not scared of death, He’s not nervous about what you are going through…He doesn’t “freak out” over your messes.
-God loves you, He is for you and He is not playing games with you.
-In Ezekiel, God took a situation that looked hopeless and breathed life right into it, the bones came back to life as an “exceedingly great army”.
-That’s exciting…God specializes in this!
-God is a perfect gentleman, He invites you and calls you out of your “death”; He asks you to choose Him (free will) and He invites you to let Him change your life.
-When Lazarus died, Jesus shouted “Lazarus, come out (of the grave)!”
-If you’ll listen, you’ll hear him calling your name…to get out of that dead situation.
-He wants to be the God of your life.
-When He called Lazarus out, Lazarus didn’t come out in a 3-piece suit, smelling like roses!
-Lazarus didn’t come out all clean, he still had his grave clothes on and still stunk like dead things.
-When God calls us out, it’s just as we are. Don’t try to clean up your act first, come to God and let Him do it.
-When a person answers this call, it’s the responsibility of the church to come alongside him and help him.
-Jesus instructed the Disciples to help take off Lazarus’ grave clothes, it’s the responsibility of the body of believers (church) to come alongside and help take off people’s grave clothes.
-Pastor Jason wants to see us as a church come alongside people and help them to come out of their sin. “Here’s what it means to follow Christ” not necessarily “here’s what it looks like to be me”.
-Are you tired of dead things that stink in your life?
-How’s your relationship with God? On a scale of 1-10, where 10 represents you’re passionately flaming on fire for Him.
-Do you have a hunger and passion for God all week long in your private life when nobody’s watching?
-Are you reading and praying and getting the Word into you?
-Do you spend time growing yourself spiritually?
-God is ready and is calling you to let him breathe life into your situation.

During this message, God said to me “Candy, why don’t you spend more time with me?” “Why don’t you let me breathe life into all of your life situations?”

I said, “OK, God…I’m yours!”

Today was a good day!

Today was a good day, and here are some random thoughts about what went down.
1. Tibetan monks on the way to school. This morning on my way to school I passed a couple of Tibetan monks strolling down the streets of Berea with their maroon colored dress flapping in the wind. I thought to myself, "well, there's something you don't see everyday on your way to work! But after all, this IS Berea!"...so it didn't shock me. I must say that it did start my day off with a chuckle though.

2. Laughter IS the best medicine. God has really been emphasizing to me lately that we shouldn't take ourselves too seriously and that we should kick back and relax (especially in the presence of others) a little more. The past couple of days He's really been telling me to not put such a focus on the "academic" aspect of my job and to have fun with my kids while I've got them. Well, all I can say is that both yesterday and today I have never laughed so much with the little fellers! And to see the glow on their faces (that hasn't been there in a while) and to see them not want to leave my classroom at the bell...that's what it's all about! The memories that they have of me and the time spent with me won't be the verb conjugations or the vocab lists that we suffer through together - but the fun times we had and that they had an adult who enjoyed being with them, that's what they'll take away! [sorry to all those College Professors out there who thought they'd bring their verb skills along with them to college!] And just to show you how God speaks to me...I came home at lunch to enjoy a leisurely lunch at home and lo and behold when I turned on the TV, the topic on the noon news was that "laughter is the best medicine" according to experts who say that even so much as anticipating watching a comedy flick wil have a great impact on you're well being! [OK, got it God!]

3. You can find encouragement in the smallest and the BIGGEST of things. Today a small email that I received from a former church ministry teammate, who has since come back home to join up with the team again, sent me a little email & the last line said how much she cared about the church and what we are doing. That little email not only made me smile, but made me appreciate the fact that somebody was "on my side" in ministry. And the BIGGEST of things happened at the end of my day to just put the cherry on top of today's goodness. A very special church ministry teammate & adopted twin sister (separated at birth, 8 years apart, and born to different parents!)did the BIGGEST thing ever! She stepped out in faith and did exactly what God asked her to do by leading a Bible study for women on a topic that is not such an easy one to address! Sometimes the hardest step is the first one, but she did it and now I'm as encouraged as ever before to see God at work in her life. AND I can't wait to see Him at work in the lives of those women who she ministered to today!

WOW - God is Good! Like I said, today was a good day...and tomorrow will be, too!

Til then,
Be Blessed!

Pyromania Part 1

Rise Up, Gather Round
OK, so I’ve been wrestlin’ with something ever since I left the Unleash Conference at NewSpring a couple of weeks ago and here it is…

I got so FIRED up to see the people of NewSpring Church making such a huge difference in their community and so ON FIRE for God that they couldn’t help but breathe the flames right back at the people who walked thru their church doors. (At one point I even thought I felt the heat from the flames on the back of my neck – and then I realized it was just the guy behind me in line at the snack table, and I think he must’ve enjoyed some extra mustard on his Chik-Fil-A from lunch!)

I’ll have to admit I was a little envious of what was going on here at this church. It was evident to me that the people of NewSpring were genuinely serving with passion and with FIRE and this church was reaching their community for Christ. They weren’t sitting around talking about doing church, they were actually doing it …and with excellence and creativity, I might add!

At this point I wanted to move to Anderson just to be a part of what they had going on there [was even dreaming about the CM Director position that was open for their new Greenville campus – like that would ever happen!] and was longing to be a part of a body of believers who were so ON FIRE for God that they were willing to do whatever it takes to reach their community for Him..

Seeing this FIRE in Anderson, SC moved me so much that it prompted me to ask this question of myself and of God: Why can’t we have that FIRE in our people at Madison Community Church in Richmond, KY?

After thinking and thinking and thinking [I’m from KY, it takes me a little longer to process things!] about this question, it finally hit me. You’re probably asking yourself – what is it? Well, it was not a definite answer to my question [that’d be too easy!] but the answer does lie within it. … as it is a principle that goes back to the song that I woke up singing a couple of days ago.

You see, God talks to me in a variety of ways and one way He talks to me is through a song [mostly old 80’s tunes that once ruled my life as a teen…strange, I know!] that I hear on the radio at the right moment, or a song that out of nowhere pops into my head but fits the situation I’m in. Not just any song, a song that stirs such a powerful reaction deep within my soul that I can’t deny it was a message directly from God.

This time the song that He chose to share with me was “Rock of Ages”, and it came to me as soon as I got out of bed & my feet hit the floor. By the time I hit the shower, I was singing the chorus to the top of my lungs in my “full glory”.

Now I wish I could say the song I was singing was the old hymn “Rock of Ages” but I actually mean the song by Def Leppard from it’s 1983 Pyromania album! “Why this song?”, you say. I think because the principle of Pyromania can be directly applied to finding the answer for my question above. [still follow?]

Maybe the FIRE that we saw at NewSpring was a FIRE that we have to ignite ourselves back in Richmond. Think about it, could this song that God brought to my brain be a call to action, a call to set things on FIRE? [now that I think about it, I guess fires just don’t “happen” on their own, now do they?] Could God be trying to tell me/us something here? Could He be trying to lead me to answer my own question?

I’ll try to share with you what He said to me through this song (in reference to my question above) in 2 more blog posts to follow. Til then, just think about how powerful this song really is when given the context of starting a FIRE for Him.

After all, the song does start out with a battle cry using four words that I don’t even understand [“Gunter glieben glauchen globen” hope I just didn’t cuss somebody out in German or anything!] but nonetheless four words that seem to get me FIRED up ‘cause I know what’s coming next… “Rise up! gather round. Rock this place to the ground”.

Isn’t that what we should be doing to start the FIRE for Jesus? Risin’ up, gatherin’ round and rockin’ this place to the ground…all in His name!

Just something to consider…

It’s now late and it’s back to school for me tomorrow after a week of Spring Break. Think I’ll go listen to my I-pod before hitting the hay, I think I hear Bon Jovi calling my name…

Plan B, C, and D?

OK, so I wasn't going to post anything this week right? But I didn't say I wouldn't read any of the good blogs out there in the blogosphere...and I couldn't help sharing this post with you (and with my peeps at KidzTEAM). Sometimes we feel like we're the only ministry out there who has trouble pulling off a Sunday session with excellence, especially when we're minus the bells, whistles and people that make that happen. If you saw me last Sunday at MCC, you probably noticed the frazzled look on my face as we were scrambling to make sure all of our serving spots were covered. You see, we had several bits of "switching spots" going on within our serving schedules(not to mention keeping the kids in grades 2-5 out in family worship for Big Church Sunday) and several volunteers were out on Spring Break. The good news is that the right people stepped up and all ministry areas were covered (and with excellence I'm sure!), the not-so-good news is that I was highly stressed and left the service questioning the quality of our Children's Ministry [leadership, that is] since this same problem has been plaguing us for the past several months now. I ran across this post today from Matt Mckee and was highly encouraged as I realized that others share in the very same problem(s) that we often encounter. The answer to the problems is clear, make sure you have a PLAN...B,C and D just in case you can't bring your A-game! Please read the post that is linked below and I hope everyone on my TEAM will receive some encouragement from it...thanks Matt!

Meanwhile, I'll be working on our Plans B,C and D for next Sunday (just in case!).

matt mckee live: Ministry Monday: Plan B, C, and D?

Spring Break

Hey, this week I'm on Spring Break so I'll be taking the week off from blogging. Next week I should have some good stuff to add when I return, until then...

Gangstas

Me & my boy "Skippy" in a NYC subway tunnel just before the gang war went down. We were gonna join the Latin Kings but Skippy's Spanish wasn't quite up to par, so we started our own gang called "Hollister" and just hung out in the subway looking like gangstas and singing for subway fare back to the hotel. I was kinda disappointed that my bling didn't show up more in the pic, but that's what you get when you ask a tourist to take your photo. :)

P.S. This photo was actually taken in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, thanks to Skippy for the photoshop expertise!

Return from New York

OK, so I took a few days off from blogging while I was visiting the Big Apple...here's a few random thoughts about the trip.

Top 10 things to know about NYC
10.NYC is wonderful & exciting.

9.Kentuckians have more fun in NYC riding the glass elevators of the Marriott Marquee(up & down, up & down) than going up to the top of the Empire State Building! [and the Empire State Building looks a lot like Wendy's!]

8.Radio City Music Hall rocks, especially when Aretha is in the house doing a sound check.

7. The Broadway show Chicago is really an advertisement for Victoria's Secret, only the secret is out and it's not too pretty! (should've paid more attention to the "sin is in" poster before entering the theater!!!)

6. HBO is a regular channel on the cable TV line-up...sex shows and all!

5. The people in Chinatown are multi-lingual...mostly speak Chinese, Chanel, Tiffany & Co.,Dolce & Gabanna, Gucci.

4. Backroom stores in Chinatown sometimes include tunnels & trap doors!

3. The security officers at the Federal Reserve Building will arrest you for having a nail file in your purse, but you get to touch real gold bars with your pinky if you're sneaky!

2. The "Naked Cowboy" charges $ when you take his picture, maybe that's how he became a millionaire!

1. When you walk too much ...[using my newly discovered NYC lingo]...your "dogs start barking" and sometimes your "cows start mooing", especially if you've been "schlepping" stuff all over the city! But it's never too cool to "kvetch" about it, instead you should just be a trooper and "forget about it".

That's all for now, more details to follow....

NYC Here We Come

Close your eyes.

Imagine the Beverly Hillbillies all loaded up in their broken down truck with Granny sitting in her rocker as they roll into "Beverly - - - Hills that is!".

Flash forward to Wednesday March 19, 2008, 1:30 in the afternoon...50 "Hillbillies" from Berea, KY all loaded up on the "Mayes Bus lines" from Knoxville, TN rolling into "New York - - - City that is!"

Oh my, what a picture! NYC will never be the same!!! Pray for us as we head out on our journey, but most of all pray that we don't lose anyone or do something crazy like join the "Rockettes", get Big Apple tattoos on our backsides or get arrested for spitting loogies (sp?) off the Empire State Building...oh yeah, and pray for the kids too!

Manic Monday

OK, so it was back to work after 5 wonderful days away, not to mention 2 of those days down South with my church family at an awesome conference with some awesome weather.

So - back to reality!

Today I really enjoyed reconnecting with the kids I teach...we had lots to get caught up on (not to mention lots of paperwork, ugh!) and I really do miss them when I'm gone. Overall it was a good day, but in the haste of it all it seemed like my Monday went spinning out of control and before the day was over I was worn out, dejected, did I mention worn out?, hungry, frustrated, excited (NYC tomorrow!) and emotionally drained.

After some stressful and tension filled moments (from dealing with some pretty serious situations and adults) at the end of the day, I forgot what a wonderful day it had started out to be and was left with a bad taste in my mouth. On my way home I started thinking about that old Bangles song "Manic Monday" (oh, woh wish it was Sunday!) and wanted to pull a "Groundhogs Day" back to yesterday.

Don't we all wish it was Sunday - everyday? Think about it: when do we feel closest to God? Sitting at church on Sunday? Listening to our Pastors preach a message of good news and hope? Sheltered from the storms of life by our church family and the comfort of knowing you are in the house of God?

Well -after a little nap (and pizza too!), and a lot of sharing my frustrations of the day with God, I heard Him speak loud and clear...

He said:
1. Everyday is Sunday if you stay connected to Him.
2. God is God no matter what, just turn your troubles over to Him and let it go.
3. Life here is rough, deal with it and go on! Know that your Father is there to help you through,
you can lean on Him for everything! This life is temporary, what really matters it yet to come.

I said;
"OK God, I get it!....it's not about me, it's ALL about you." My puny little problems are nothing in the scheme of things, what really matters are the "God-matters" and I should be more concerned about those than the little things in life that can get in the way.

So, I gave Him all my frustrations of the day and am looking forward to another opportunity to go about His business tomorrow...it'll be my "fun-day" knowing that I don't have to worry 'cause He's got my back!

Unleashed: 3 Challenging Questions

While in the main session of the "Unleash" conference at NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC the keynote speaker, NewSpring's Senior Pastor Perry Noble, challenged us with these three questions:

1. What is it that God wants to do in my church?
2. What are the barriers that stand in the way?
3. What do we as a church want to celebrate?

These questions have resonated within me and I will be thinking and praying over them in the coming weeks. As I wrestle with the answers to these questions, I will post what I hear God saying to me and what I will say back to God. If you have any thoughts, ideas or answers to these questions...feel free to share.