FROM THE INSIDE OUT
For the last 2 years I have been using the NLT Life Application Study Bible. It has been great. But I just saw today that they are releasing an NLT Study Bible in September. Yes, I have an addiction of buying Bibles and giving away Bibles I have used, but this will be the next Bible that I buy. I am going to wait for it to come out in Blue with silver edging bound in bonded leather or a leather like cover. Check out the website here! Pretty exciting!!!
Well since we spent the last week in the hospital with Jackson I missed some of the news and coverage of the Democratic Convention. However, my good friend Tyler and our new Student Worship Coordinator showed me these two videos yesterday take a look
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Wow, what a great prayer, wish I could have heard all of it without the sound going out! Was he censored? Before his prayer he did this interview with Christianity today!
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— What do you think? Have you read any of Donald Millers books? Do you agree with what he says? Why or why not?
Well today was the day for Not Just Another Sunday. An idea that came up at a service planning meeting a couple of months ago, which would bring all the ministries together for one service 2 times on this day August 30th. I was pumped!!!!
Our Student Band got to lead the adults in a worship song, others performed a skit highlighting Son City, and I get to play Sweet Child of Mine (in church) on Guitar Hero! By the way, I really did a poor job! 1. I don’t own Guitar Hero myself, 2. The calibration was off, meaning the video and the audio didn’t match. Regardless, Mike would have beat me anyways! However, did I mention I played Sweet Child of Mine in a church service? That’s still kinda weird to me!
Anyhow it was an awesome service and fun to be a part of! Special thanks to all that helped make the service what it was today!
Here is a pic of our students practicing for this Sunday! They rocked it and I think some of our adults were surprised by how good they are!
If you attended the service, what did you think? What did you like the best? What could we have added or done differently?
Well, since we have been home we have been busy taking care of Jackson. We are watching his temporture closely. Josiah and I were busy moving his crib down to our room. We decided to make the switch to a more permanent set up until we get a better control on his health. Jackson has been sleeping in a pack-n-play in our room since April when we took him to the hospital via ambulance.
We joked about selling our house and just getting a one room apartment. In all honesty, that may not be a bad idea given the situation with Jackson. Maybe we could find one down by the new Children’s Medical Center Legacy in Plano.
Josiah has been a big help! Today he helped me put together the crib. He is such a good big brother!
We are HOME!!!! Jackson is almost back to himself! He is still congested! The respiratory nurse said it wasn’t in his chest anymore but sound to be in his upper respiratory. He tends to run a slight fever so we will be watching that like a hawk and continue to give him Motrin.
Thanks again for all the prayers, visits, comments from posts, phone calls, e-mails, and txts. We are so blessed to have friends and family that care so deeply for us!
Well Jackson is doing better. He had a breathing treatment this morning and starts another round of antibiotics this afternoon. If everything keeps going as planned we should be going home tomorrow.
This morning things got real exciting when a special visitor made an appearance! I believe this was a turning point in Jackson’s recovery because he seems to be doing much better after Spider-man came for a visit!
We survived a long night! Jackson ran a fever all night even with Motrin and Tylenol offset every 4 hours. He is starting to sound congested. Every time they try to get blood from him he turns into a pin cushion. He and Stephanie both have small veins. The poor guy has been pocked to many times to count! He is sleeping really good right now!
The doctor just came in and said his infection had gotten worse so they are going to give him more antibiotics today with a steroid and probably a breathing treatment. Sounds like it could be another long 24 hours. Our visit here has gotten longer than we expected. They will re-evaluate everything tomorrow morning to see how today’s treatments do in the battle of the infection.
Stephanie went to the doctor this morning for her congestion/head cold just to make sure that’s what it is. Josiah stayed with Nana who made the drive from MO yesterday. I am going on about 6 hours of sleep over the last 48 hours. I catch an hour or two when Jackson is sleeping.
I can’t express our gratitude to our friends and family. Your prayers are special to us and comforting knowing that we aren’t alone in the journey! Please continue to pray for healing, strength, and wisdom for the doctors.
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Thanks for all the calls, visits, email, and post! It is so nice to know that we have friends that care so deeply for us. Today has been long. We didn’t get an actual room until 5:30pm. This afternoon was ruff. I don’t think Jackson got the care he needed. I won’t go into detail but it was bad! Once we got into the new room the whole experience changed!!! Praise Jesus! We had better care, and Jackson’s fever finally broke, like it had before we got put in the ER holding room! He is sleeping now. Please continue to pray for him and us. The night time always seems to bring the worst out in him.
On the other hand. Today was Josiah’s first soccer practice (second team practice). He did so awesome, and we could have a soccer star on our hands!!! Yeah I know what you thinking, every dad says that about their son! Maybe your right, but he is really good!
Afterward we went to Taco Bell just the two of us. It was a nice way to be with Joe. He has seen so much this last year with his brother, and i didn’t want what happened today to ruin the excitement he has had all week to go to soccer practice. After-all he already had to miss Saturdays practice due to Croup.
Here are some pics of Josiah from this evening!!!
Well we are at the Hospital! Jackson was having trouble breathing last night, well early this morning. When we got him to the hospital the real scare happened. Jackson is on anti seizure medicine, and has had several test to find out why he was twitching earlier this past year, but luckily, until early this morning, Stephanie and I had never seen him actually have a seizure. I am just glad it happened here at the hospital because it would have really freaked us out if that happened in our home.
The hospital has admitted him because he has the onset of pneumonia. We are in a holding room at the ER at Presbyterian Allen until another room becomes available. This hospital is a place we know all to well!
Right now he is sleeping, Stephanie and Josiah ran home to shower and bring stuff back for the day. As for me . . . trying to be strong, praying a lot, and wishing Jackson was perfectly healthy. I am so tired of the stress that this adds and just want it to be done!
Please pray for Jackson and our Family!
One of the greatest ways to hit a glass ceiling in your ministry is to try to do it all yourself! Trust me I know! I struggle with this daily . . . but I am getting better! Over the last year I have had the privilege of being involved in some intense leadership training. One of the things I learned during this time was the difference between an Achiever and A leader. I learned that I am more of an Achiever than I am a Leader. That’s doesn’t sound too bad, right? Well, let me define these two for you:
An Achiever – Gets the Job Done.
A Leader – Gets the Job Done Through Other People!
Based on this definition, which one are you? Well if you are shocked like I was and you find yourself more of an achiever than a leader . . . there is good news. The good news is that all of us can learn to be leaders and even be better leaders. The reality is this, as we become better leaders, more people are going to follow our leadership. When more people follow our leadership, it produces more needs, thus, requiring us to give away ministry opportunities by Empowering other leaders to meet those needs. I wish I could say I have this all down, but this is still real raw in me and something that I am learning as I go. But here are some things that I would say are important to every leader if they want to see their ministry to go to the next level! As a leader you must . . .
Cast the Vision Often
It is important for your team to know where the ministry is headed and why. This will help answer questions about why you are doing certain things a certain way and not doing some things that may have been good in the past. It also allows them to begin to tell others about what is going on in your specific ministry. This keeps you from being the only voice speaking on behalf of your area of responsibly, in my case, students!
Recruit/Hire the Right People
This may sound harsh but it is crucial. The health of your ministry is going to be dependant on the volunteers you recruit or inherit, and the people you hire. Make sure you do your homework before turning someone loose. Empowering the wrong leader can be very destructive and might take months even years to recover from. Getting the right people on the team may take time. Be patient and don’t rush it.
Empower Leaders to Lead
Once you recruit that new volunteer or hire that new staff member, empower them to lead a specific area of ministry. If you have a job description for that specific ministry, communicate those expectations and r responsibilities. However, if you don’t have a job description, don’t feel like you have to know how to do that specific ministry before you hand a ministry off to someone. Maybe you have an idea, but someone else has the expertise, allow them to tell you how their talent or giftedness could be used to enhance, broaden, or deepen your ministry. You will be better off letting them develop the “how” after you share the “what” with them! Remember, the human body is made up of different parts for a reason. The important thing is that all the parts work together to achieve the overall goal, your ministry needs to function in the same way, different parts working towards one goal.
Create an Environment where Failure is OK
Yes I said it. Great successes, many times, comes from several failures. Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from having the faith to try something new. However, if failure happens, learn from it so you don’t repeat it. Developing this type of environment will allow others the ability to be more creative, to try new things, and to take bigger risks! However, navigate wisely, encourage and evaluate often!
Celebrate Victories Together
It’s easy to always talk about the things that need our attention, the areas that need fixed, the opportunities that need to be taken advantage of, and the list goes on. But don’t forget to talk about the good things that are happening. God is at work somewhere, so talk about it! Maybe ask these questions, “Where is God working? Who/What is God using? What has been happening?” These victories, whether big or small, are easily overlooked but worthy to be talked about! Why? Because it validates our ministry, reminds us of why we do ministry, restores our passion for ministry, and creates momentum for future ministry!
Provide Additional Training
Leaders are Learners and training can come in many styles. Provide opportunities to grow as a team as well as opportunities for them to grow personally and professionally. Remember, the health of your ministry is dependant on the health of your leaders. Don’t overlook this area, even if it’s small, do something. Sometimes, the best training is just doing life together!
These are just some thoughts that I hope can help or inspire you give away ministry. I know I still have a lot to learn and would love to learn from you, so here is the question . . .
When it comes to Giving Away Ministry by Empowering Leaders, what have you learned? Please share so I, and others, can learn from you!
