Sleep

Lately sleep has been elusive... I don't know why, but for the last several weeks, I can't fall asleep before 3am. It doesn't matter if I go to bed at hours before or stay up later, I still can't sleep until then.

I feel like a college student.

On the plus side, I have caught up on past Seasons of 'Psych' and am back to 'Bones'.

Maybe I should have gone into criminology...


nah.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

One of the greatest orators of this century was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In memory of him I thought I'd post several of his famous quotations. His sermons are worth hearing and his words are worth committing to memory:

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". - Written in a letter in 1963 from a jail in Birmingham, AL.

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." -"Strength to Love"

"Courage is an inner resolution to go forward despite obstacles; Cowardice is submissive surrender to circumstances. Courage breeds creativity; Cowardice represses fear and is mastered by it. Cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency ask the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience ask the question, is it right? And there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because it is right."

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

"Not only will we have to repent for the sins of bad people; but we also will have to repent for the appalling silence of good people."

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy to a friend."

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?"

"And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream."

Thank you, Dr. King, for the dream you fought for and the dream that continues today. May we continue to "lift every voice and sing, til earth and Heaven ring, ring with the harmonies of liberty;... Facing the rising sun of our new day begun, let us march on till victory is won".

Deals, Deals, and More Deals

I've recently taken up the "art" of coupon and bargain hunting. It's amazing how much money can be saved on daily groceries, restaurants, gifts, the list goes on. For almost anything you could ever want, there seems to be a deal going for it, just expired, or just getting ready to begin.

This is GREAT because it means I can be a better steward of our money. I can buy more, for less. I can create a mini-stockpile (I don't have anywhere to store anything bigger than mini). I can use that same stockpile to give items to friends who are having a rough time financially or give things to the local homeless shelter. It's so exciting to see how much money is NOT coming out of our pocketbooks each month for things we need and use.

This is BAD because I find myself buying things we don't necessarily need. I have more shampoo than I can use in a year and yet I catch myself feeling drawn in to buy more because it's on sale and I have a coupon and it will be less than 50 cents; never mind that I have absolutely nowhere to put it and by the time I get close to needing new shampoo there will have been a dozen similar sales between now and then.
January is one of the BEST months for cheap items and I almost can't resist stocking up for next Christmas. It's especially difficult to refrain from buying things when it's been something I've been looking at for awhile and now it's really cheap. The problem is that after Christmas, we NEED to buckle back down again... and yet I'm surrounded by deals that I've "just gotta have".

MODERATION

Isn't that the key?! I read a rather sad article recently about self-discipline and our lack of control. (More on this topic tomorrow)

Deals are great; saving money is a wonderful thing. However, spending money on things you don't need, just because they're on sale, is still spending money that could be better used elsewhere.

Officially what I've been for 2+ years

YAY!!! As of Monday, I'm officially the Director of Young Adult Ministry at church. Seems strange to be so excited about this since nothing really changes- I don't get more hours, or a raise, or anything like that.

BUT what I do get is more of my weekly hours allocated to the Young Adult Ministry; and the bigger thing is that it's an acknowledgment of the value of the ministry itself. For any ministry of a church to really succeed it needs the support of the church, especially from the lead Pastor. Being given a title and not just "if you have free hours during your work week" tells me that this ministry is seen as important and worth investing in.

So, even though most people have already been viewing me as the Director of Young Adults and in this capacity, this is huge to me and a definite cause for cheer and celebration!!!

YAY!!!!

30000 versus 684000

I read an article online today about the drug wars that continue to rage in Mexico. I was somewhat shocked to find that more than 30,000 people have died since 2006 as a result of this massive turf war.

This got me thinking... I don't see lots of articles about Christians worldwide dying for their faith. True that I did read an article recently about a bombing at a Christian church in Egypt and another about Christians being held hostage in Iran, but these are few and far between.

Off to Google I went to see what I could find in the way of information regarding how many Christians have been martyred worldwide since 2006.

Searched Mexican drug war casualty numbers= found articles from CNN, Reuters, Bloomberg, LATimes, FoxNews, etc.

Searched Christian Martyrs yearly and since 2006= found an article on Christianity Today and Voice of the Martyrs

30000 versus 171,000 yearly- more than 684,000 Christians have died since 2006.

Maybe this isn't reported because it's such a huge number. Maybe statistics that large are more difficult to make heart-wrenching. Maybe news agencies just don't think it's newsworthy.

So what is 684,000 put into perspective?

More than than the entire populations of:
Memphis, TN
Boston, MA
Baltimore, MD
Seattle, WA
Washington, DC
or Atlanta, GA

More than the entire state of North Dakota.
Two times the countries of Belize, the Bahamas, or Iceland.

In fact, it's comparable to entirely wiping out Monaco, Liechtenstein, St. Kitts & Nevis, Antigua & Barbuda, Tonga, Grenada, Kiribati, and Samoa.


These numbers are absolutely staggering... and completely under-reported. Why? I really don't have a good answer...

Ministry is Hard Work!

Shocking, I know.

Never in my life did I imagine I would have started a new worship service from the ground up.
Never did I think I would be learning mediashout and shiftworship.
Never did I think I'd have to know how to organize a service flow.
Never did I think I'd be basically leading a mini church.

Boy is it overwhelming and amazing and terrifying and intimidating and exciting and a billion other things.

God never ceases to amaze me with the paths and detours and Uturns I've been down in my life.

How often does the Lord stop you in your tracks and leave you wondering "Lord, me? are you sure? What on earth are you thinking?"

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

Once again it's snowing in Michigan and I, for one, am very glad for it. We had snow on the ground through much of December but it melted away over New Year's weekend. I missed it. Winter seems too dreary and gross and, well, sad when the ground is bare and ugly and it's just COLD.

But, SNOW...

Snow makes the cold feel more bearable. Snow makes everything pretty and bright. Right now I'm sitting on my couch, watching the snow fall outside, and it looks like tiny diamonds are floating from the sky as the light catches them just so. (Never mind that my dog comes in soaked and stinky when it's snowing.) Let's dwell on the beauty part, shall we?

Cold weather is, imho, absolutely pointless without snow. Just ask Frosty.

What about you, nonexistent reader, what do you think about cold weather and snow? Do you love it? Hate it? Have never seen it because you live in Costa Rica?

Forest for the Trees

I never cease to be amazed by how often, and how quickly, Satan can distract me. It's so easy to doubt, worry, and stress about things that aren't "the point". I'm not a numbers person and yet I find myself freaked out when attendance drops at 'thegathering' (our new young adult service) or the same people attend all of our outside events.

Yet I'm the first person to remind the rest of our leadership team that it's not about the numbers and to tell stories about individuals' lives being impacted and changed.

Thank the Lord for heavenly reminders with skin on.

A few days ago I was having a conversation with a good friend about how the young adult ministry is going at the church he attends and how things are going at ours. He reminded me that it's not about the numbers; it's all about the relationships. Elementary, right? Something I've heard, and said, a bajillion things.. and, yet, something I STILL need to hear over and over again.

He said, "If we had 3 people who were passionate and committed and sold out, then they would multiply and we wouldn't have to worry about the numbers. It would just happen. So focus on the 3."

sigh... why am I so thick-headed sometimes?

New Year, New Attempt at Blogging

Wish me luck!!!

Once upon a time I was so very good at keeping a diary/journal/whatever you want to call it.

Sadly, that was YEARS ago and I've never been very good about getting back into the habit.
Don't get me wrong.. I've tried. I've done many things- set reminders in my phone, made New Year's resolutions ('cause we all know how long those last!), bought multiple different types and styles of notebooks and pens to encourage the creative process... I even went out and felt super hip buying a set of moleskin notebooks. I was determined to become the iconic and cool coffee shop person- latte on the table, moleskin opened and being furiously written upon, saying hey to all the people I'd come to know by spending so much time at said coffee shop. I'm almost positive that's the kind of setting Ernest Hemingway, Tolstoy, and C.S. Lewis were in as they wrote their masterpieces.

Or not.

Needless to say, I've been failing rather miserably at writing. So, I figured this was here. I like to type. If I fail, no one would notice since no one reads this anyway. (True statement. I checked my stats. I've had one view in 3 years that WASN'T me... and that's because I recommended a friend read a particular post and she had pity on me.)

Now I feel like a secret agent; all invisible and stealthy.

Perhaps I should skip typing after 2am. I say crazy things.

So, here I go; off on yet another writing attempt.. or typing, as the case may be... we'll see how it goes.