Attitude Check

Still I Rise – Yolanda Adams

And of course there’s more than one way to express this message – poetry works too.

STILL I RISE – Maya Angelou

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
‘Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries. Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
‘Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own back yard.You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs? Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

~ Maya Angelo ~

After yet another difficult weekend I woke up this morning and was reminded of the words of the poem written above. Certainly it was written with the backdrop of a painful history, but the words are still applicable today and I am encouraged by the words written by one of America’s great African American Poets. In life, I understand that pain is probably, but rising can also be our reality!

Parents Are Clueless (or are they?)

Do parents really know what they’re doing? Do kids think they do? Check out what some parents are saying about kids and also see what kids are saying about parents. http://www.parentsareclueless.com/

Lessons From Jon

What an emotionally draining day…! The only thing I could do once I arrived home was cry a little and take a nap. I made it through because of who God is, and not in my own strength – that I am sure of….

God has so many ways of shining light in the midst of dark days, helping us to see the good in the bad. When others conduct themselves in ungodly and uncaring ways, God sends people along like Jon. Who is Jon? Jon is a young adult guy with heart, determination, commitment, love for kids, love for people, love for God, and so much more!

Jon is also a young man who has served faithfully on the Children’s Ministry Team I have been leading over the last year or so. He is also the creator of the picure you see above. What’s his story? Part of his story is that he has a condition known as Autism. Because of his autism, Jon sees the world through a different lense, he learns differently, responds differently. But he never lets autism stop him from being used by God to make a difference in the lives of kids and adults.

Today was one of those days. Last Sunday I announced that I had resigned my position at the church, and today as we were preparing for Kids Church he walked in and handed me the picture you see above and said “this is for you.” After giving him a huge hug, I asked him to tell me about his picture. He explained that is was “a goldfish with sunglasses, your favorite animal.”

Like I said, Jon is an adult who pays attention to little details that many other adults overlook. He remembered that earlier in the year, many months ago by the way, I said that I do NOT like pets of any kind, I only like goldfish, because they stay in the water and don’t bother me. Well, Jon remembered.

And as I prepare to leave my current position, he simply wanted to find a way to express how much he cared about me and would miss me when I leave. This simply act of kindness made waking up to face this day worth it.

What will I do with the picture? I am going to the store to pick up a frame so that I can hang it on my wall at home and eventually in my new office.

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Saying Good-bye, Walking By Faith

Well, Sunday was an interesting day, and Sundays usually are for me, just as it probably is for other Children’s Pastors. As I am preparing to make a needed, Holy Spirit lead exit out of my current place of ministry for lots of very significant reasons:
….. Needing a place where I not only serve, but also receive what I need spiritually
……….Needing a leader who will lead courageously and support me as I serve
……………Needing to grow a children’s ministry rather than simply maintain it (progress, relevance and innovation matter a lot to me)
……………….. Needing a place to serve where I am allowed to be uniquely who God made me to be and lead by my strengths
……………………….Needing to serve in a ministry that authentically values children
…………………………….. Needing to be in the center of God’s will for me – this is the most important thing!

I announced to a group of kids yesterday that I would be leaving, and there was some disbelief. For starters we deviated from the normal curriculum and chose a theme that would lead us into the discussion of my leaving. The message “Go When God Says Go” drawn out of Genesis 12, God’s call to Abraham, was used by God as a springboard to help me share my plans with them.

As I shared I received responses like “are you serious?” “Are you really leaving?” “Your serious?” “Are you lying?” “Who’s going to be in charge now?” “Let’s put a kid/_________ in charge? “Do you have to leave?” Hearing the questions and talking to them about leaving was absolutely difficult, for no other reason than the fact that I love them and care about them.

But I love what God accomplished through this, i.e. He gave the kids an opportunity to hear a practical, real life example of someone they know who is living out the Biblical concepts of faith, and obedience to God even though all of the details are not always clear.

God more than likely accomplished more than I am aware of at this moment, but doesn’t He always. Saturday night was difficult because I was filled with anxiety about sharing with the kids, but God filled me with strength, and with His peace, and I will trust Him to continue to fortify me as I move forward in obedience to His leading and call for me.

In addition, God has taught me many things in this, one of the things He’s taught me is that one can have all of the right gifts for a specific ministry calling, but if we try to use them in the wrong place, it renders us ineffective and leads to frustration. Right gifts+wrong place=ineffective.

I will miss the kids and the adults that I have built significant relationships with, and as I shared with the kids yesterday, sometimes it’s scary leaving who and what you know to follow God to another place, but faith+obedience=God’s pleasure and delight!