How Busy is Too Busy?

What is this? Another blog? This quickly? Okay, y'all, don't have a heart attack. I said I was going to attempt to be a little more consistent in my writing, and so I am.

Sometimes I wonder what is going through my mind when I agree to do things. I mean, my plate is only so big and I can only balance it for so long. But it's odd how caught up I can get in doing good things and how easy it is to forget to spend time with the Person who gave me the ability to do all these things. It's as if I'm so busy doing things FOR that I forget to be thankful and spend time WITH God. And then I get stressed and overwhelmed when I can't get it all done and ask God why He put all this stuff on my plate. It's a little bit of a vicious circle.

I think it would be easier for me to say no to people or turn down opportunities if I didn't enjoy being involved so much. I like being busy and that can be dangerous. It's so much easier to lose sight of the main goal when all of your time is spent doing other things and being busy.

I have recently become part of the BCM State Council for the state of Florida. I'm so excited and I love it already. But it's just one more thing to add onto the plate. I also agreed to lead the VBS Music workshop for the Association. Pile it on. I'm also going to school full time. And working part time. And doing stuff with BCM. And doing praise team at church. And leading UNDONE. And and and and.... Whew. I get tired just thinking about it all. And all these things are GOOD things. I LIKE doing them. But I recently realized that I have to make spending time with Jesus a priority above all these other things. And that's hard. I don't know why it's hard, but it is. If I am involved in so many ministry opportunities that I don't have time to worship my God, then I am too busy. And that's hard for me because I love being right in the middle of the action. I work better that way.

So, I suppose the purpose of this blog is to ask you all to keep me in check. Ask me how my walk with Jesus is. If I seem stressed, remind me of why it is I do what I do. There's nothing like having an audience to make sure you live the way you are supposed to. :)

That Word That We Hate To Hear

Ok, so maybe blogging just isn't for me. Or maybe I just need to be more disciplined about actually taking the time to DO it instead of casually forgetting about it. Haha :) But hopefully since I now have a job that requires me to sit in front of a computer all day and wait for students that need tutoring, maybe I can become a teensy bit more consistent in writing. Maybe.

Thank God for answered prayers. And for all the ways that He chooses to answer pray. And just FYI Mr. Brooks, God ALWAYS answers your prayers; sometimes yes, sometimes, no, and sometimes wait. But He will always answer. And I am most thankful for the answers that are "no." Weird, huh? But honestly, if God had said yes to every prayer I had ever prayed this world would be a very different place. Doctors would not have jobs (God heal all the sick people in the whole world! age 6), my family would be host to a cornucopia of animals (Dear Jesus, I'd really like a pet tiger. . . or an otter. age 8), and I would be a quite a rebellious child (Dear Lord, PLEASE don't let Dad remember that he was going to ground me. age 12). And just think of boy that we girls would have married if God had listened to our blinded teenage hearts when we prayed for marriage with our first boyfriends. Wow, that changes how our lives would look now, doesn't it? But all humor aside, what would our lives be like if God had granted us all the things that we had asked for? I remember when my dad started talking to the pulpit committee from Carlisle when I was 8. I prayed and prayed that God would just make all those weird people from Florida just go away. I was happy where I was. I had lots of friends and a house that I loved and a church that was the perfect playground. BUT, God said "No, I need your family in Florida." And boy was I mad. I did not want to move AT ALL. However, looking back, I'm so glad that God said no. I look at all the people that I would not have been blessed with if God had said yes to my childish plea. The people that God has placed in my life since then have changed and shaped me into the person that I am today. So I am most thankful for the times when God says no, because that usually means that He has something better than our feeble minds could ever imagine in store.

So, thank you, God, for say NO. I know that most of the time we don't like to hear it, but keep all us humans straight and keep on saying it.

Life, Love, VBS

Well, it's that time of year again. The time when signup sheets are passed around, and volunteers are requested. When one individual in the church (this year's edition is Melanie Hamm =] ) becomes quite frazzled for about 3 weeks prior, completely insane the week of, and is committed the week after (just kidding, Mel). Have you guess it yet? It's VBS!!! (round of applause from the members of the church that avoided being drafted). Time for funny looking (and sometimes funny tasting) snacks, really hyped up kids, and standing on stage doing silly motions to crazy songs (much thanks to my hero Jeff Slaughter). While all this might be true, VBS is still one of my favorite times of year. Even though our church's adventure doesn't begin until next week, the excitement and anticipation is almost tangible.

So why do we do it? Why in the world would sane people spend hours decorating classrooms, dress like cowboys or spacemen or Aborigines, nurse wounds inflicted by the ever emotional dye-cut machine, and spend their free time during the summer with knot-headed kids? Sado-masochist, maybe? Or is it the bragging rights (i.e. can you believe we had 189832463278432 kids at our VBS?? Bet your church would never DREAM of having that many!)? Or is it because these people have a love to reach children? Children that are from broken homes (or Christian homes), children that might be a little knot-headed and ornery. Children who have souls that are just as precious as their own? I would hope that that is the reason why VBS is important to us.

There is no feeling in the world like knowing that you have impacted the life of a child. Through school, or church, or play-group, we all have the opportunity to change a child's future. On Wednesday nights during this summer, I have had the privilege to teach the 3's, 4's, and 5's. What a blessing they have been in my life. There's nothing like it. They have taught me so much, and I hope that I have been able to teach them something too. They always keep me laughing (like Aiden Biastock. To him, the answer to every question is JESUS!!!), and never cease to amaze me at their ability to learn about God. My little group of Bible scholars =). Each week they come to class eager to recite the Bible verse they memorized. But the thing that warms the cockles of my heart the most, is the look on these kid's faces when they see me outside of Wednesday night, when they hug me around my knees and yelling "MISS WABEKAH!" no matter where we are. I say all of this to say that this is what VBS (and any other opportunity to work with children) is about. Building a relationship with these kids, and telling them about the Savior that died for them. That loves them. That wants to know them more intimately than anyone else. So, when I get frustrated with the kids I'm teaching, I try to remember who I'm doing this for. Why I'm doing it. And how blessed I am to get to do it.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:14

Family Time

So keeping this blog updated is quite a challenge. It's amazing how life gets in the way of living, isn't it?? Haha. Anyways, I've been so busy lately, that I haven't really had time to sit down and think! Work, school, Vacation Bible School, getting ready for my preschoolers on Wednesday night, getting ready for church, spending time with friends and family. . . Sheesh!! It really tires a girl out!

About 2 weeks ago, I attended the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting. All I can say is "WOW." It was such an incredible experience. I met a lot of cool people and got to hear a ton of amazing speakers (i.e. David Platt, Johnny Hunt, CJ Mahaney, Tony Evans, Ravi Zacharias, Andy Stanley, Matt Chandler, Tony Nolan, Francis Chan). I felt like I more spiritual just being in the same room with all of these people =). So because of this, I ventured out and bought Francis Chan's newest book Forgotten God. If you haven't read it, I won't ruin it for you, but you need to read it ASAP. It's so challenging and thought provoking. Amazing book.

Anyways, life has seemed to somewhat calm down since then (as calm as a preacher's household can be), with an addition to the routine. Most every night this summer that my parents and I have all been together, we've watched a movie or something like that. It's been so much fun! Just to take a break and spend some time together has been such a treat. We've watched mostly James Bond movies (much thanks to the Hodgeson family that bought my dad the ultimate collector's edition off ALL the Bond movie ever made) or Hogan's Heroes. Just FYI, if you've never seen that show, it is beyond stupid. . .but SOOOOO funny. My dad loves it. And so do I, but I think I like the togetherness more than what's actually playing. I used to spend tons of time with my family and it was monotonous. Now, the times when we are all together, at the same time, and unoccupied, are few and far between. I guess I cherish them more now, because I know that eventually I won't have the option of staying up late with my mom or watching a ridiculous comedy with my dad. So just a word to the wise, cherish the times that you have with your family.

Well, now that I have done my duty and stopped neglecting my blog, I feel a little bit better. Much thanks to those that actually read this. Haha =)

Until next time. . .

New Beginnings

So after thinking long and hard about starting a blog, I have finally succumbed to the writer within me. I'm not entirely sure about what I hope to accomplish with this, but I do hope that throughout my random ramblings, I might be able to provide someone, somewhere some insight into how this insanity know as life actually works.

Living in a preacher's household is never dull (as I'm sure you will come to see and understand), but I would not have it any other way. Being able to see God's handiwork up close and personal all the time is a blessing beyond description. I hope that through this, I might be able to share these blessing with you all.

I also hope to use this as a place to share prayer concerns and things that burden my heart. For reason beyond my comprehension, I find it much easier to share my feelings and burdens with people electronically. Sad isn't it? But I think someone of this comes from the fact that most of the people I bond with tend to move away (thank you, Uncle Sam). So maybe this can be a place where I can share concerns with lots of people and only have to type it once. Haha.

So, I guess that's it then. We shall see how this experiment of mine turns out. Hopefully I will be more diligent in keeping this updated than I ever was at keeping a diary update. :)