The List

It was day like any other. It was January something 2005 and I was sitting in a BCM/D Church Planting Team meeting. And then it happened...we were given one of those assignments. You know the kind...the ones where you need to do introspective self-evaluation stuff. Augh. To be honest, I strongly dislike these exercises. I’d rather skip them and not take the time required to do them. But my team leader was asking us to take the time. Now. He was asking us to make a list of our top ten values. Oh my. Really? Is that it (thought with great sarcasm)? Humpf.  I started writing. The list came more easily than I thought it would. Here it is:

Top Ten Values  (not in any specific order)

-authenticity: honesty and truth

-humor: not taking myself too seriously

-“others mindedness”: looking beyond myself

-love: family

-grace and mercy: much has been given…

-beauty: not taking God’s world for granted

-creativity: wow what an outlet from the creative awesome God

-this moment: it may not come again…

-freedom

-faith: you cannot check it at the door 

Little did I know what impact that exercise and the resulting list of values would have on my ministry and life over the years to come. It helped to put into words what is most important to me...and what I find greatest joy in. Three years ago, I encouraged the Children’s Ministry Team to make their own top ten values list. What values did they hold dearest? Hmm…I think I might know a few just by watching them minister.

So what about you? What would your top ten list look like? I always think that the beginning of a year is a unique time. We seek simplicity a little more. We long for freshness and a new start. So why not sit down with God for a few moments this week and come up with your own list? Sort through what’s truly closest to your heart. And maybe, just maybe, God will use it to bring clarity, direction, and peace into your 2010.

Happy New Year, 
Deni

Miss Stevens and Senorita Sullivan

       As Children's Minister at Greenridge, I get to write notes to the church in a newsletter of sorts. I love getting to write about...you guessed it...the everyday stuff. I love how God makes all things new. This note was originally dated February 8, 2008.


       Who was your favorite teacher when you were young? For some of us, that’s an easy question to answer. For other of us, it’ll take an extra minute or two. Maybe it wasn’t a school teacher that made the most impact on you. Maybe it was a Boy Scout leader or a gymnastics coach or your piano teacher. Okay...now that you’ve thought of who that person may be, let me ask you another question. Why was that person your favorite teacher/coach/mentor? What did he or she do to resonate so deeply with you? Hmmm…

        My favorite teachers (yes, I have two...I can’t pick just one) were two very different teachers with very different personalities and teaching types. First is my third grade teacher, Miss Stevens. I know there must have been several times when she wanted to pick me up and throw me out of the nearest window. Instead of pulling her hair out or sending me to the principal’s office every day, Miss Stevens got creative with rambunctious little Deni. She made me a checklist and taped it to my desk. If I forgot to raise my hand before blurting something out, I would get a check on my checklist. If I made it through the week without too many checks, she gave me a scratch-and-sniff sticker. Ahhh...I loved the scratch-and-sniff stickers. That did it for me. She had me at scratch-and-sniff. Miss Stevens made such an impact with me. She was creative...she knew me and she figured out what would motivate and inspire me. In fact, if you ask the KPW kids, they know this story...I give them scratch-and-sniff stickers from time to time for bringing their Bibles. There’s just something about those stickers! 

       My second favorite was Senorita Sullivan. She was my Spanish teacher in the 7th grade. She was the first teacher that I had that was “human”. She wasn’t the perfect super-organized teacher. She had grumpy days when she was trying to quit smoking. She had an attitude from time to time. She was frequently sarcastic. She was flawed and it was refreshing.  I loved her dearly. She loved teaching and getting to know us as people- not just students. She treated us as little adults and held us responsible for the decisions we made and gave us great freedom to be creative. I still remember her and her classroom vividly. I don’t remember the Spanish language though, but I’m sure that wasn’t her fault. I’ll blame that on my aging brain.

       I’m sure you’re wondering why all this is on my mind. It’s because February is Children’s Ministry Team and Child Development Center Team Appreciation Month around here. Each week, there are two amazing teams of people who teach our kids, laugh with our kids, change our kids’ diapers, and make the most of every moment with our kids for the glory of God. Each Team member is creative and impactful. Each one reflects Christ beautifully. Each one is luminous. Just like Miss Stevens and Senorita Sullivan did on me, each teacher here at Greenridge is making a lasting impression on our kids. 

       Thank the teachers in your life. Today. Give them a hug, or handshake, or a high-five. They just might be your child’s favorites when they look back 30 years from now.  

click...click...click...

       Fighting against the commercial craziness of Christmas has been a reoccurring theme in my notes to the Greenridge Children's Ministry Team over the past few years. It's not easy to keep focused on the real reason for Christmas...and it's all too easy to miss the moments that God has planned for us during the season. This note was originally sent to the Team on October 2, 2008.


       I love a good roller coaster. There’s just something a good roller coaster. The speed…the uncertainty…the thrill. Picture it…you’re seated in a classic wooden roller coaster…perhaps the Rebel Yell at King’s Dominion. You pull the lap bar down (and check it again with brief panic that perhaps it’s not secured properly), and the car pulls out of the loading station. “Hmm…” you think. You know it’s going to be fun. You know you’ll survive…you know you’re experiencing this with a good friend right next to you…and then you hear it. The click, click, click as you ascend the first hill. What is it about that click, click, click sound that instills so much fear? Some of you are feeling a lump in your throat just from reading this. Click, click…until there are no more clicks to be heard and the car starts to inch forward toward the impending drop. Gulp. Yahoo!


       Each year about this time I find myself sitting here at my desk in the same spot…okay not the literal same spot…my office was in the house across the parking lot this time last year. But you know what I mean…the same mental spot. It’s October 2^nd. I feel as though the coaster is at the top of the hill. The “clicks” are done and now it’s all downhill…toward…Christmas. It’s about this time that I remind you and me about stopping this season. About being intentional. About not letting the pace of the holiday season overtake us until we are frantically racing around corners, flying through inversions, and coming to an abrupt, screeching halt as soon as Christmas has passed. Well, I’m here at this spot again. Top o’ the hill. Before I fly through the next three months too quickly, I want to stop. I want to do a gut check before taking the first hill. What will be different about this Thanksgiving and Christmas season? For me, I want to be more aware. I want to feel the weight of the moments that God places me in. I want to be awake. That is easier said than done sometimes. It means I need to ruthlessly edit my day and my life to ensure that when the moment comes, I can stop and fully savor it. I also need to be very in touch with Jesus. I need to see the moments He gives me through His eyes. To soak it up and soak Him up, I need to meet with Him, talk with Him, listen to Him. I need to throw my agenda out the window and see Him moving all around me…and move with Him. I want to stop and savor Him this season (and every season). It’s gonna take work…but with Him all things are possible.


       What will you do differently this holiday season? How will you help the children you minister to soak up the “Jesus moments” this Thanksgiving and Christmas season? How will you help them see Jesus moving all around them?


       Keep a sharp eye out. Check the lap bar. Make sure all objects are securely stowed. Hold on to the Friend next to you. Click, click, click…and savor the season.

The Band

       One of the greatest blessings of being a Children's Minister is getting to write notes of encouragement to the Greenridge Children's Ministry Team. This is a note from the CMT Egram dated September 26, 2008.

       There was a children’s band ensemble in the produce department at Giant today. No joke. I was there to pick up the usual things…apples, mushrooms, green peppers and squash when I suddenly realized that I was having a hard time hearing the Disney podcast I was listening to on my iPod. I looked up and there they were. Kind of an odd sight to say the least. There they were sandwiched between the bananas and the floral counter. Hmm. There’s a reason for the band…and the small children’s choir that was also there. It’s the grand re-opening of “my Giant”. Hmm. They’ve re-painted the walls, shuffled all the food around, and cleaned things up. It looks nice but to tell you the truth, it’s a tad frustrating. I am a creature of habit. I readily admit that. The peanut butter and jelly at “my Giant” is no longer where it has been for years. For some reason, the head honchos at Giant have deemed that the PB and J should now reside near the seafood section. I don’t normally think of peanut butter and salmon as being related, but I’m sure a study of shopping behavior was done and this was the place that was selected for the jelly to live. Hmm. The whiner in me wants to ask “why?”. Why change something that I’m comfortable with? Did they have a group of shoppers complaining about the placement of the peanut butter? Did someone feel that shopping would be easier if sandwich staples were closer to the lobster tank? But then the rational part of me knows I’ll get used to it….that I’m only whining because it’s not the way it’s always been.

       But I was reminded this week of a reoccurring theme in life…change. Why is it that some changes in life can bring an exhilarating feeling and some can create a lump in your throat at just the thought? For instance, I love fall. What a great season! The sweaters in my closet are calling to me…it’s coooooler….come wear meeee… Fall is so much fun! Other changes are not as much fun. Health issues creep up, families move, children grow up…the changes are endless. What do you do when faced with a change you’re not enjoying? What should you do when the lump in your throat is causing tears to come to your eyes? We have to, in those moments and all moments really, come to Jesus. We have to come, lay it all on the line with Him, and leave it there. I know what you’re thinking…it’s easier said than done, right? I know. I understand. But it’s all that we, as Jesus’ children really can do with the changes that we are experiencing. We could carry the heartache around until we end up frustrated beyond measure. Until the weight of our burdens becomes crippling. Or…we can come to Him…to our Father…and let it out. Let it go. Sit at His feet, tell Him your feelings, and then get up and walk with Him through the change.

       Some changes in life are easier than others. Take the PB and J for instance. Over the next few months, I’ll get used to finding the Smucker’s at the back left corner of the store. No big deal. Other changes take a little getting used to. But with Him…all things are possible…all things. Even seasons of change. Who knows what He’ll do in us and through us because of the change? The possibilities are endless…

“The spacious, free life is from God, it’s also protected and safe. God-strengthened, we’re delivered from evil- when we run to him, he saves us.” Psalm 37: 39-40 The Message