Well, a new year is upon us.....I love "new" anything. I love the thought of a clean slate, a fresh start....and a new year is usually my favorite "new" of all. I usually spend a week or so, making lists, goals, plans for accomplishing much in the upcoming year.....I love it. But this year feels different. It has been such a busy year that I feel more like I am in 'survival mode'....making goals and actually accomplishing them seem right out of my reach. It doesn't seem as exciting or as motivating this year.....I'm beginning the year tired and weary. The discouragement of 'failing' in reaching those goals is not something I really want to deal with right now.
But, a fellow blogger reminded me that "if you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time".....so, I decided I better at least aim for something, even if it's smaller than years past. Maybe my first goal should be to not over extend myself and loosen up my schedule :)
So maybe I will spend a little time thinking about 2010 and what could possibly be accomplished in it. And if I've learned anything from 2009, it's that although I may not have crossed off much from my "list", the Lord still accomplished much.....souls were saved, mourning was turned to joy, lives were changed for the better.....guess it wasn't as unproductive as I thought.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Winter Retreat was a huge success....there were about 120 teens that showed up....it was pretty packed! We had a great time of sledding, skeet shooting, basketball (on ice), big ball volley ball, campfire and singing, roasting marshmallows, hay rides, mission impossible, games, worship, preaching, teaching and lots of late night 'fireside chats'.
I love this retreat....I love the "coziness" of it. The snowy landscape gives it that feeling. Everyone is content to just sit around in front of the fire, playing games, chatting and of course, laughing. I get to know the teens in this setting better than in the summer time. During the summer, the schedule is tighter and the exhaustion level is higher. This retreat is more relaxed and low key. Lots of opportunities to just get to know each other....I like it.
And although we had lots of time to chat and laugh, there was also plenty of time to listen to the teaching of the Word, discussion time on difficult issues, and great worship and praise through music. What a privilege to be an active part of such a ministry....to have front row seats to God working in the lives of young people....to have the opportunity to open the Scriptures and show them what God desires to give them, and what He wants from us in return.....to spend time on my knees in prayer with these hurting teens.....to try and answer the tough questions......to hear the testimonies of lives changed as a result of these few days that we've been tucked away in our snowy camp. There is nothing more rewarding and there is no better remedy to the weariness of ministry than to visibly see God intervene in the lives of hurting people and make Himself real to them.
I have spent most of today at home....most of the kids are gone (with the exception of a few kids who couldn't get home because of weather) and the camp is quiet again. I am tired, but content. We are snowed in....a fitting end to the "week". Thank you Lord for the opportunity to serve You.
I love this retreat....I love the "coziness" of it. The snowy landscape gives it that feeling. Everyone is content to just sit around in front of the fire, playing games, chatting and of course, laughing. I get to know the teens in this setting better than in the summer time. During the summer, the schedule is tighter and the exhaustion level is higher. This retreat is more relaxed and low key. Lots of opportunities to just get to know each other....I like it.
And although we had lots of time to chat and laugh, there was also plenty of time to listen to the teaching of the Word, discussion time on difficult issues, and great worship and praise through music. What a privilege to be an active part of such a ministry....to have front row seats to God working in the lives of young people....to have the opportunity to open the Scriptures and show them what God desires to give them, and what He wants from us in return.....to spend time on my knees in prayer with these hurting teens.....to try and answer the tough questions......to hear the testimonies of lives changed as a result of these few days that we've been tucked away in our snowy camp. There is nothing more rewarding and there is no better remedy to the weariness of ministry than to visibly see God intervene in the lives of hurting people and make Himself real to them.
I have spent most of today at home....most of the kids are gone (with the exception of a few kids who couldn't get home because of weather) and the camp is quiet again. I am tired, but content. We are snowed in....a fitting end to the "week". Thank you Lord for the opportunity to serve You.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
WINTER RETREAT IS HERE
Ahhh, the long awaited Winter Retreat is here.....a few days of sledding, football, tournaments, skeet shooting, workshops, worship, and teaching.....all within the backdrop of fresh fallen snow (to come by tomorrow afternoon). I love this retreat, although I usually come into it somewhat tired. This year I actually had a few days of rest beforehand, but I am still tired....yet ready to minister. Most of the kids that come are already Christians and this is more of a time for them to grow, draw closer to God, refuel....I love being a part of that.
If you think about it, please pray for those that are coming to the retreat this week. Pray for all of us who have been given the opportunity to minister to these precious young people. Pray for safety (lots of silliness during sledding!) and a great time of fellowship.
When the retreat is over, I am looking forward to a time of rest and refueling myself. I'm heading out of town (the only real way to get away from it all) and am looking forward to going to bed early, sleeping late, and maybe even a nap (can you tell I'm tired!??)
If you think about it, please pray for those that are coming to the retreat this week. Pray for all of us who have been given the opportunity to minister to these precious young people. Pray for safety (lots of silliness during sledding!) and a great time of fellowship.
When the retreat is over, I am looking forward to a time of rest and refueling myself. I'm heading out of town (the only real way to get away from it all) and am looking forward to going to bed early, sleeping late, and maybe even a nap (can you tell I'm tired!??)
Friday, December 18, 2009
This is my 2nd Christmas here in New Mexico....praise the Lord! I love it!
But Christmases are very different out here than back home in WV. Out here there is ALWAYS snow on the ground at Christmas.....which makes for an amazing backdrop for Christmas morning. And it's much quieter out here....no one really drops in on Christmas day so we are able to enjoy at least one day out of the year with just our family.
But one difference that sticks out this time of year is the poverty and need among the people of this area. I see it all year long, but it seems to really show itself at Christmas. In every one of my ministries, we do a distribution of some kind.....we hand out goody bags at Ft Wingate to the young girls, we hand out food baskets to the families of our Monday night Bible study.....this weekend we are going out to the reservation to help a church to do a community wide distribution. We attended it last year and it was somewhat of an eye opener to what the people have (or don't have) out there. I knew we would be helping hand out toys to kids and supplies to adults. But as I bagged up toys and handed them to the children, I almost felt bad.....the toys we were handing out were definitely used....many were broken and just pieces of toys.....it was hard to hand those to the kids. But they really didn't seem to mind and were thankful for all of it. Little girls smiled when they pulled a baby doll out of their bag, even though it had marker all over it's face and matted hair....and boys didn't seem to mind that their figurines didn't have both arms or if the cars didn't have all their wheels. Grandmas were so thankful for the pound of ground beef they received and the sack of potatoes. No one seem to complain......
It opened my eyes even more to the reality of this area, and of course it made me thankful for what we have as a family. Although we are sometimes in need, and I spend plenty of time each week standing in line at the food pantry for free food, I know we are blessed materially in many ways.
My kids have to 'purge' their rooms about once every other month or so.....weeding through toys and taking out the stuff they don't play with anymore....this year, we made sure we took the toys that were still in really good condition and had all the pieces and put them in totes.....now we are slowly putting them in bags (some for girls, some for boys) and we will take them to the church this weekend. My kids will be an active part of handing out the bags, and hopefully they will see their 'giving' have an effect on other children.
Although seeing the need is sometimes hard on me, I am so thankful for this opportunity to work among Native Americans. And although the need seems greater at Christmas, the need for a Savior is there all year long.
Please pray for us as we continue our ministry out here......the Lord IS doing a work here and we are blessed to be a part of it.
But Christmases are very different out here than back home in WV. Out here there is ALWAYS snow on the ground at Christmas.....which makes for an amazing backdrop for Christmas morning. And it's much quieter out here....no one really drops in on Christmas day so we are able to enjoy at least one day out of the year with just our family.
But one difference that sticks out this time of year is the poverty and need among the people of this area. I see it all year long, but it seems to really show itself at Christmas. In every one of my ministries, we do a distribution of some kind.....we hand out goody bags at Ft Wingate to the young girls, we hand out food baskets to the families of our Monday night Bible study.....this weekend we are going out to the reservation to help a church to do a community wide distribution. We attended it last year and it was somewhat of an eye opener to what the people have (or don't have) out there. I knew we would be helping hand out toys to kids and supplies to adults. But as I bagged up toys and handed them to the children, I almost felt bad.....the toys we were handing out were definitely used....many were broken and just pieces of toys.....it was hard to hand those to the kids. But they really didn't seem to mind and were thankful for all of it. Little girls smiled when they pulled a baby doll out of their bag, even though it had marker all over it's face and matted hair....and boys didn't seem to mind that their figurines didn't have both arms or if the cars didn't have all their wheels. Grandmas were so thankful for the pound of ground beef they received and the sack of potatoes. No one seem to complain......
It opened my eyes even more to the reality of this area, and of course it made me thankful for what we have as a family. Although we are sometimes in need, and I spend plenty of time each week standing in line at the food pantry for free food, I know we are blessed materially in many ways.
My kids have to 'purge' their rooms about once every other month or so.....weeding through toys and taking out the stuff they don't play with anymore....this year, we made sure we took the toys that were still in really good condition and had all the pieces and put them in totes.....now we are slowly putting them in bags (some for girls, some for boys) and we will take them to the church this weekend. My kids will be an active part of handing out the bags, and hopefully they will see their 'giving' have an effect on other children.
Although seeing the need is sometimes hard on me, I am so thankful for this opportunity to work among Native Americans. And although the need seems greater at Christmas, the need for a Savior is there all year long.
Please pray for us as we continue our ministry out here......the Lord IS doing a work here and we are blessed to be a part of it.
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