Day 42

I am sooo tired.... I had a long day and am so glad that I worked out this morning.  I am going to sleep good tonight.  My kids are amazing, I just want to state that!  They are the best, I love their personalities.  I am so proud of them and the work they did at ASP this year.  I can't wait for next year!  Bring on foundation work!  I still have to write my other blog entry so I am going to go do that.  I still have so much to do before Sunday!  I can't wait though it is going to be great!  Thanks for reading... Peace out!

The Lord Works in Mysterious Ways

Sometimes the strangest things happen that end up being the Lord at work.  On a summer trip to the beach, one of my youth mothers and her daughters were walking along the beach.  The mother was walking a little behind the daughters as they walked down the beach.  As she continued along the beach, she noticed that her youngest daughter was walking with one shoulder lower than the other and sort of slouched over.  She watched her walk for a bit and really started to realize that something wasn’t right.  She decided that when she got home, she would take her to see her pediatrician.

They made an appointment and went in to see the doctor.  The pediatrician examined her and told the mother that her daughter had scoliosis and that she needed to see a back specialist.  The doctor recommended someone and the mother made an appointment.  They went in and the back specialist took x-rays and the specicalist told them that the daughter had a forty two percent curve in her spine and that it would require surgery.  The specialist took two hours to explain everything to the mother and daughter and went through every detail.  He told them all about the surgery and that he would be the one to perform it.

The daughter goes from a leisurely stroll on the beach to having back surgery all within the matter of a month.  The date of the surgery was set and they checked into the hospital.  Before the specialist performed the surgery, he asked if the family would like to pray together.  He bowed his head and led a prayer over the daughter.  After saying Amen, final hugs were given and the daughter was wheeled away for surgery.   

After a few short hours the specialist came back out and told the family that everything went great, the daughter did great and the surgery didn’t take as long as they thought it would.  The specialist then offered a prayer of thanksgiving with the family.  The daughter was wheeled into her room.  Later that day I was able to go by and see her.  I brought her a soccer teddy bear because she loves soccer.  She was in good spirits and her pain level was very manageable.  The mother told me that she will be able to go to school in ten days and with the type of surgery she had, she will not have to wear a back brace.  Within a matter of a few weeks she would be able to play soccer again.

The Lord often shows us things when we least expect it.  Who would of known that a walk on the beach could lead to a life altering surgery.  Everything in this world is not black and white.  We don’t always see things when they are in front of us.  It takes God showing us to realize and see them.  I am thankful for the mysteries of life.  I am thankful for those times when you least expect it that you see the Lord at work.  Be on the lookout, it might not be something as huge as finding out a medical problem, but the Lord is working in your life and you need to watch for the mysterious things in your life.  That is when God is truly opening your eyes.

Day 41

Well got up this morning for my weigh in.  I lost 2.2 pounds.  I was surprised to be quite honest.  I didn't feel like the week was going well because I missed a couple days of exercise but it looks like I am in a really good place and things are going very well.  I am excited to see what the week brings!  I have a lot to do this week.  My two meetings yesterday went well, I think.  So bring on the kick off on Sunday!  Tuesday is the ASP ice cream social!

Q is for Quality not Quantity

            I have worked in two very different places with teenagers.  Each of these places has a different outlook in how I ran my program.  The first place was all about the quantity.  I was always being pushed to have more and more kids in the Teen programs.  Each youth that was a part of my program brought in dollars.  It was a detriment to the program in a lot of ways.  When your program is singularly focused and that focus is money, the expectations of what the program offers the youth and their family goes down.

My other program at my current church has never been about the quantity but always been about the quality.  We want to offer our youth every opportunity to participate and be involved within the program.  The goal is to reach as many youth as possible but not to the detriment of the program.  There is a high standard of quality that is set and that is where we want to keep it. 

There is a constant battle between the quality of a program and the quantity of participants in that program.  Every day we struggle with where the line needs to be between the two.  I believe that you have to have a quality program when it comes to Youth programs.  There are so many things in the world today that pull youth in different directions and if you don’t have a quality, fun, structured program, you will lose those youth to other interests. 

If I can give some advice, make your program fun, make it informative, make it Christ centered, and make it all about the youth.  If you program that type of program that will engage a large amount of youth, they will participate in your program not because they are being made too, but because they want too!  I believe that a youth program that is forced upon a youth is automatically rejected by them.  If they come and participate and enjoy themselves and feel like they are getting something from it, they will want to be there.  By take the quality over quantity approach eventually we will have the quantity without even realizing it.  It will be Christ at work,  I guarantee it!     

Day 40

This morning it was hard to get up.  I had some very weird dreams and wanted to keep sleeping.  I have a long day planned with a youth meeting and a parent meeting. I love Sunday because I get to spend it with my kids!  I have a lot to do this week from the ASP ice cream social to our Feed the 5000 car wash to the Youth group kickoff!  It is a lot of fun to have a lot to do but at the same time it is very stressful!  Should be an interesting week! 

The Original Lion Tamer

When I was a kid I loved the times that I went to the circus.  Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey Circus was the one that I got to go to.  I only really remember two things about the circus.  One is that I used to have a kid's plastic mug with a tiger as the handle that I got at the circus, and two is that I can vividly remember the Lion Tamer.  The trick that I remember most was when he had the lion open his mouth really big and holding both the upper jaw and lower jaw, he would put his head in the lion’s mouth.  When you are little and the lion is so huge, that is an amazing trick.  I often wondered who was the first one to start working with lions.  Who decided it would be fun to be in a small enclosed area with such a furious, wild animal?  The answer is actually pretty obvious.  Daniel was the original lion tamer.

Daniel was a man of great faith and conviction.  When a decree was issued stating that no one could pray to any god or man but the king for thirty days, Daniel did not sway from his beliefs and three times a day he prayed and gave thanks to God.   Upon finding out that Daniel had disobeyed the decree, he was thrown into the lion’s den.  The next morning the King who had been tricked into creating the decree in the first place, came to see if Daniel had been saved by God.  Yelling to Daniel through the rock in front of the lion’s den door, Daniel answered him saying that God had sent an angel that calmed the lions and kept them from harming him.

Do you have that kind of conviction?  When faced with the fact that by disobeying the King’s decree you would be thrown into the heart of the lion’s den, would you pray and worship God against the decree?  Daniel had true faith in God.  One can only imagine what it must have been like to be thrown into the lion’s den and then turn to watch as a huge boulder was put in front of the entrance.  As he stood and watched, surly the den became darker and darker as the stone completely covered the entrance.  The eerie feeling of standing in the dark with the sound of heavy breathing and low rumbling growls coming from the lions would have scared anybody.  Did a loud roar, followed by the sound of lions rising up off the ground and walking toward Daniel put chills down his spin?  Just as the lions were closing in on Daniel was there a sudden shining light engulfing Daniel before the angel appeared to help him?  Once the angel came, and the lions backed away, did they talk throughout the night to pass the time or did Daniel sleep?

There are many questions as to what happened in the den of lions, but the fact is that Daniel’s faith kept him safe.  He was given the help of an angel to tame the lions because of his faithfulness to God.  Often in life we are faced with Lions.  The trials and tribulations of life test our faith and tempt us.  These represent our lions.  When difficult situations are put before us we can feel like we have been thrown into the lion's den.  This is when we have to dig deep inside ourselves and find our inner lion tamer.  We have to be like Daniel and have tremendous faith and we must pray to God for guidance and help with the lions of life.  By having faith and conviction, prayer and worship can help to tame any sized lion.  It is up to us to maintain our faith even when there are quicker resolutions to our problems.  Even when everyone else around us is doing something else to combat the lions, we must have faith.  May you find your inner lion tamer and know that God is listening and will protect you from the lions of life. 

Day 39

I feel a crazy week coming on.  Today I did get 2 miles in around the lake but I have so much to do that I didn't do any more than that.  I worked at the church for a while for the parent meeting and finished up some stuff.  I have been working on minute to win it stuff this afternoon!  I have a lot more to do in the next couple of days!  Where will I find the time?  Well, gotta run!  See you tomorrow!