Encouragement & Vision

Today let’s talk about self-care. I know, it just sounds bad doesn’t it? (It has the word “self” in it so it must be bad, right?) I’d like to challenge that thinking–it’s a fallacy and one that can hurt you. Since I’m not comfortable using my ministry friends for this example (although there are quite a few, I’ll be the example. When I began in ministry twenty years ago, all I wanted to do was serve Jesus,

Noise. It is everywhere, whether we like it or not, invading our senses and distracting focus. We are surrounded by media, technology, traffic, society…Noise is not always audible, though. Sometimes we create our own mental clutter and prevent ourselves from peace. Our minds become a volley of tasks, worries, and preoccupations, and our schedules add to the chaos. The idea of stillness is a distant dream or a laughable fantasy, in spite of admonitions like that of

I recently had an experience that reminded me again of the importance of infusing pride, presence, passion, and purpose in each and every action we undertake. I went to the Red Cross center to donate blood, and was rather disappointed by the nurse taking care of me…Her attitude was rather hurried and hassled as she ran through the motions of her work, grumbled slightly, and made noticeable errors. Needless to say, this was not terribly comforting for

My son was learning about parts of speech this year. We started with nouns: people, places, and things. Then we moved onto verbs: action. That’s what got me thinking about the Bible. Most people think that it’s a noun. Well, it’s a thing, right? Technically, yes. It’s a book made of paper and binding. But, I believe that the Bible is a verb. “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.”

Most of us like to avoid hardship and difficulty. We do not seek out harsh conditions or frustrating periods. But God makes it clear that our faith grows stronger not in the beautiful mountaintop feelings of joy and elation, but in the dark valleys of struggle and doubt. As ministry workers it is important for us to remember this, particularly in children’s ministry when we tend to portray Christianity as a happy colorful flannel graph. For our

Just like any other career stress is also present in children’s ministry. No matter what they say, stress can happen to anyone when put in the right situation. Now take a deep breath and forgive yourself for that. You are not superhuman and you are not a machine. You are real person, a Christian — that’s true, but you are not perfect yet. Rather than let stress lead to a meltdown try these four stress busters. I

Encountering frustration in ministry comes with the territory, but when is it time to really call it quits? Believers can have the misconception – like I did – that a ministry will be instantly successful if it’s a true calling from God, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. It’s simply not the pattern scripture displays. Most of the time ministry in the bible was hard. Cases in point: Nathan addressing David’s sin with Bathsheba (2

Because all life is important to God, it’s never too early to introduce Sanctity of Life to children. This is core value of the Christian faith – that all people matter because they reflect God’s image. It’s much bigger than the political drama in the USA regarding abortion or the pro-life movement. Each January is dedicated toward recognizing, educating, and putting faith to action concerning the efforts being taken to save and protect God’s most precious creation: