That Moment

The water bubbled over, too much wood in the fire, the bomb went off. What ever you want to call it I'm there. I'm a junior, and my life has gotten quite busy lately. Not only am I struggling with finals, I also am carrying a lot of emotional baggage. It's a tough time for me because my father goes to war soon, my mother is in California, and I am in Washington. That right there is enough to make me cry, but still more piles on. I am trying to finish strong and keep hope alive. For I have the greatest hope of all, but right now, I just keep nudging myself forward. It's funny, as many others are looking forward to their classes ending I can't look at it with the same light. A few days later I will be beginning another set of classes until the end of May. As people are happily going home I'll remain behind. I know I have hope...it's just really hard to see right now. "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 NASB)

Teaching to Change Lives

To teach is not an easy task, it can be one of the hardest things we have to do in ministry. Just to reach others takes a lot of work in and of ourselves. We need to be relatable, real, and most important we need to be seeking knowledge ourselves. The idea of teaching is not an easy thing, but it's one of the most satisfying things we can do. Constant learning is something few professions require now a days. One of which is a doctor, the medical field is always changing and advancing. So doctors must have continuing education to stay ahead of different diseases and even gain new skills for helping their patients. Much like the doctors we also need to continue learning. There can always be something new to pull from the Bible for ourselves and for others. We should be constantly in the Word and learning from it. Also we can learn new ways to convey a message to our people (one example is for instance reading this book). The book mentioned a woman who was eighty-six years old when she died, yet just before she died she had written out her goals for the next ten yea! How full of life she must have been! At eighty-three she was walking around Israel telling professional football players to hurry up! That woman was a learner and was ready to show she wasn't too young to teach. Labels are a dangerous thing, they limit people and have a tendency to control how people flourish or fail. We recently talked about this in a devotions session during Choralons, I of all people firmly understand the devastation labels can have on a person. So I gladly spread the idea that we should cease labeling others, no more favorite children, and no more "worst-behaved" children. They are all precious and should all be treated as such, not one more than another, or one less than all. If God treated us in that manner I would be so low on the totem pole what hope could I have? "The Law of Activity tells us that Maximum learning is always the result of maximum involvement." I can fully get behind this statement. Often I learn most through doing, the statistics in the book even prove this is one of the best ways to remember concepts. That does not mean that something physical is always the best option. If there is no purpose to the movement then it is useless and a waste of time. Distractions, as an ADD kid I can relate to how distracting it can be in the audience. Not only is the audience distracting themselves but they can also distract the speaker. Even worse is how disheartening a distracted audience can be, it's enough to make you never want to speak again. The worst distraction I feel is when someone leaves, most people don't know how to handle it, the book actually talks about calling out such a person, playfully I'm sure. Much like anytime you speak you need to know your audience. In my situation I need to know the children I am teaching. This can be done in several ways, the first and best is to talk to the child themselves. Find out what they like, for instance we have one boy who I know likes Legos and Halo, so when I talk with him we talk about things like that. The next best thing I feel is talking to the parents about their children. Find out about sports, birthdays, recents events, all kinds of things. It takes a bit of time after church but it shows the children that I actually care about them and their interests. Also shows the parents that we really want to invest in their kids lives. You see, teaching is not the least bit about me. I am merely a vessel to be used for God. The way I teach is crucial to my mission. After all if I am teaching, yet no one is learning, there is a problem. A dangerous problem, my mission is to reach many for God, and if I am the one impeding my mission I should be the one to fix it.

Negativity

It's like a poison, a dangerous poison. I can't stand it, it's hard to listen to and to be around. I imagine it as a monster, just destroying and killing. It's enough to make me fearful and carefully watch myself and my actions. It grows and continues and kills. At times there is no stopping it until everything is dead. Titus 3:10 tells a lot about my feelings. Right now I can feel other people as the anger rises. It's crazy, but sadly it's a part of life. Life is too short to be bitter, at times that's hard for me to understand but I know I have to get over things.

I often feel like I'm looking at myself, I compare it to what I used to be. Is that what I look like? Is that what I sound like? I just want to ask, is that the kind of Christian I want to be? I know my Jesus, the one who gave his life for me, would want so much more than that from me. I want to put negativity behind me, I never want to see myself in that vicious little circle. It's such a horrible thing.

Made to Stick

For a book about making ideas stick I feel like very little has stuck with me. Though I know what was important because I highlighted it. Looking back the things I focussed on seem useful so it cannot be that this book is not very good. I simply feel it is over stuffed. There are too many stories and illustrations for my mind to cling to. All good stories and illustrations mind you, just too many. Before reading this book I thought repetition was something that helped an idea stick, but the book states otherwise. I had to sit and think on this, after all I use repetition myself. That was when it hit me, I use repetition yes, but for short term memory. It helps me for things such as tests and quizzes, but not in the long run. I need an idea that sticks so I will remember it, after all if I can't remember it why would the children that I teach? Simple has a negative connotation, when you think of simple in the church you do not think of the adult sermon. You think instead of what the children are learning. Simple is not, and should not be thought of like that. Instead of "dumbing" things down we should realize it is finding the core idea and give the idea quickly rather than draw it out. Not just for children, but also for adults. Ideas with profound compact meaning are seemingly the only important ones. You need to be able to pack a lot of meaning into a message. Much like the letter exercise, it was hard when the letters were gibberish, but easier when we could put meaning to them. For me it was like putting pictures to what I was supposed to remember instead of simply trying to recall the letters. Breaking a pattern is a great way to not only grab attention, but to make ideas stick. It leaves an imprint when you do something against the norm. Such as the "Enclave commercial" I can imagine watching the commercial as the book described it, shock and awe just picturing it. Curiosity is a great tool to utilize. From children to adults everyone has a natural curiosity that can be invoked. The book compared it to being a mystery, which is a great idea. Ask a question at the beginning, leave a few clues along the way, until you leave them with the solution. I am not saying this is an easy thing to do, but it can be very beneficial for you as the speaker and your audience to retain the information that you give them. Life for a novice and an expert are two totally different lives. They live and think so differently when it comes to their work. The novice sees concrete ideas as such, where as an expert can see things far more abstractly. Often times the two have a hard time communicating because a novice cannot comprehend all the words and ideas the expert may use. So how can we fix this? Bring the novices up to speed? Help them come to a middle ground? Oddly enough the answer is to bring the experts down. Details are important when you're presenting something. They give your ideas and presentation credibility. We love details as people, they make things relate more. If I talk about a ball, compared to talking about a tennis ball a person is more likely to remember the story about the tennis ball then the plain ball. They not only give you something to picture, but it can make a story more real. There are so many things we can do to get our ideas across. Many ideas can get across, but the goal is to make them stick. This book however I do not think this book was the best example of that. Instead of making things stick I received an information overload. In a sense the book was something not to do, simple was not there, details were there but overwhelming. I gained a few ways to make things stick, hopefully I will remember them.

Disney, Safety, and Anger

An odd combination no? Yet it's interestingly the one I find myself in tonight. Currently my father and older brother are home in California with my mom and younger brother. So they decided they were going to take a trip to Disneyland and enjoy three days of fun together. What does that have to do with me? Well Disney has always been a massive family event, none of us have gone without one another before, so I decided to ask for a sweatshirt from Disneyland for myself. We have been communicating mostly over text message because of all things we know Disneyland is the hardest place on earth to talk on the phone. Having just picked out what I think will be my birthday present (don't quote me on that) I now am working on a safety training exercise for my would be volunteers.

See the connection now? It's amazing all the ideas I have to incorporate into this project, it makes me wonder how many will in fact stay with me after this project is over. So I bet you're thinking the anger is tied in with my frustration toward trying to figure out what to keep and what to throw out right?

WRONG!

I see one of my friends hanging out with well...a bad influence...and I have no idea how to bring it up to her...time to pray for wisdom for the situation, or even still pray if I'm the one who is meant to speak to her. Sometimes we have to make our own mistakes (something I dread letting others do). I'm learning to accept this truth, even though I want to guard and save people from their hardships, sometimes I just need to let go and be there after the fact.

To Be Willing

I've been reflecting for a while now, just what does it mean to be willing? We have been told we will suffer for Christ. I understand that, but is that a willing suffering? Are we like Jesus in that way? In that we don't want to, but understand we need to? Or are we honestly willing? I know it isn't along the same lines, but I can't help but think of my Choralons concerts. At times my attitude fits both categories. Sometimes I come happy and able to sing my heart out for the people there. Though others I simply feel miserable, my heart isn't in it, but I sing because I know I have to (God often changes my heart in the midst of this, but my original attitude is what I am talking about). So what does it mean to be willing? Am I willing simply because I go? Or am I willing because I want to go? I think about Jesus when he asked God to take the burden from him, if it was God's will, yet soon after he came and died for us. He didn't flee, he didn't fight back, instead he scolded Peter for fighting and went peacefully with the guards to what he knew was his death. So I ask again, what does it mean to be willing?

Nitro Kids Conference

Liquid Nitro, my first Nitro experience, and if I have my way not the last. Hundreds of kids packed the sanctuary of Overlake. Among them was me and the two boys from my church. They gave me a good idea on what was grasping their attention and what was not. It was especially easy to find myself lost in the activities there, I almost forgot Nitro was for the kids. Worship was definitely a key part of Nitro, and I realize that Nitro is aimed at a 5th grade boy level, but I could not help but wonder if those younger grew bored after a while. The first night of worship I was in the back with my boys and watched as the many children near us were either sitting, or playing hide and seek among the chairs. It seemed the worship was good, for those who could worship that long, but the younger kids could only handle it for so long, including my 2nd graders who kept asking, "is it done yet?" The skit spoke volumes to all languages. It was jam packed with humor, entertainment, and a healthy amount of Biblical teaching. The kids were glued to the actors every moment they moved and every time they uttered a sound. Never once were the kids around me disruptive, they hardly made a noise the whole performance unless they were prodded to answer. Even afterwards my boys were talking about the skit and how much they remembered from it. They may not have directly seen Frank as the Jesus character, but they understood when the time came that they were meant to put their trust in God. The skit simply put that in another perspective for them. When Kevin Geer came out to speak he was always prepared. Both times I watched him I was nearly moved to my own response. He used two objects when he told his stories to the kids, a pair of handcuffs, and a life vest. While he told his personal story about losing the key to his handcuffs, his voice inflection changed. What once sounded like a calm voice simply having fun changed to terror as he spoke about losing the key. As I looked around I could see the fearful looks children had on their faces. Kevin was drawing them in. Even better was a simple phrase Kevin used twice, "I need everyone to look at me, this is important." and then he paused. Powerful, every child around me hushed. I felt no need to try and get my boys to listen because they were already staring straight at Kevin. Nitro was a tiring experience for us, a lot of adults might just wonder, what is the point of us doing Nitro? The point was that we were able to empower a group of young kids to go out and tell their friends about Jesus, the point was we allowed them to offer up their struggles to God. The point was we allowed them to experience God like never before.

A Good Kind of Broken

Today, was in a word, great. I received a lot of affirmation, which really helped to lift my spirits. I've been struggling recently with staying positive, but I managed to get a handle on it today. Then tonight we had the Reach Conference. It was amazing, I'm still in awe over it not. The conference brought me back to a place I haven't been for such a long time. My heart was broken, as it should be. I've become so content in my little "Christian bubble". My heart has become so hard for those who don't know the joy of the Lord. Don't get me wrong, I've always been proud of missionaries and supported and encouraged them, but I haven't felt for the people they are going to reach. Until tonight, I was reminded of the love for people I have, that I've always had. As a child, I remember when I first learned people went to Hell, I cried for them. As if it were  my best friend going to Hell, I cried. I still don't feel called to missions, though I wish I was. However, that doesn't mean I shouldn't be praying for these people. All these people that haven't been reached, all these people who don't have the same hope. All of these people, that my God loves and wants to reach. I want my heart to ache when His does. I want to never forget these emotions.

Emotions

One of my weakness, one of the hardest things I deal with now. Emotions have always been a problem for me. When I was younger I was a bottler, a really good one too. If something was wrong no one knew, I looked happy as could be when everything felt like it was going wrong. I would journal, and as I grew older I forgot all about it. One day I found my journal and ripped it up, putrid, filled with hate. Now, well now I'm the opposite. I wear my heart on my sleeve, I cry at the drop of a hat, and anger...well anger is an issue too. I find it hard to be real still, because now sometimes I'm judged for being so "emotional" for not being "strong", it's hard for me to find a balance between the extremes. Even now, as I write this I'm angry, but I know that I can't write what I'm angry about. Gossip kills, not only does it kill others, but it can also kill you. Emotions are great, but there are times they need to be controlled, and times they need to be let go. As I continue now with my adult life, I need to find that healthy boundary. It isn't an easy task for me, but I know it is definitely something I can do.

Recruitment Interview

     When I got this assignment I knew that the answers would not be much different from what I expected. PB Kids has not had very long of an existence, but it is beginning to grow. Recruitment is becoming more and more of a necessity for this small group as time goes by. Both because our numbers are increasing and to reduce the chance of burnout in the current teachers we have. So I took some time to ask Allison some questions about her efforts.

     Allison started the children’s ministry at Pleasant Bay all by herself, since then she has made every effort to recruit those willing to help. However, she does not want just a warm body, she has been searching for someone with a heart/passion for children’s ministry. This is of course an obvious answer, but what she said next surprised me. She also wants a multigenerational diversity in her volunteers. Not the first thing I think of, but an amazing idea to have different generations involved, it brings a broader scope of ideas to the table.

     I wanted to know a bit about the church’s recruiting process, so I pressed a bit on the subject about incentive and how long the process took. She mentioned that the recruiting process is ongoing, the first step being that of building relationships with those you hope to recruit. You need to build relationships on Sundays and continue this process for a few weeks, intentionally getting to know a person and building relationship with them will increase the likelihood that they want to serve.

     Now lastly I wanted to do a little digging on expectations for our ministry. Ultimately Allison would like to have a core group of teachers serving two weeks on, two weeks off. Since we only have one service at Pleasant Bay this gives them an equal opportunity to be in service and serving. She also wants the volunteers/assistant teachers to serve once a month if possible. As for commitment time she has never had a set time frame but wants a member who has started a season/quarter to finish that season and then re-evaluate his/her position. If serving was only taking place once every 2 months or so, commitment may vary.

     For PB Kids things are just taking off, developing if you will. So for the church’s sake good recruiting tactics are imperative right now. It looks as though things are going well, as names are being put down and connections are being made. Things will continue to go well I feel with these strategies.

Recruitment Questions

How long have you been trying to recruit?

Who are you trying to recruit?
What do you use as an incentive to recruit (if any)?

What qualifications do you require for your recruits?
How long does the recruitment process take?

How often do you expect this recruits to serve?

Minimal serving time frame/contract?

Land of Cowboys and Big Hair

Welcome to Texas, where the air is cool and the sun is shining. Perfect weather actually, something I will miss in WA. However my time here has proven to be rather amazing, we started the trip with a visit to the Sixth Floor museum. For those who don't know this museum is the building where Oswald shot from and assassinated President Kennedy, it was emotional simply to be there. I stood a few feet from where Oswald took the shot and tried not to cry. History is powerful. Outside, looking up into the window was a chilling experience for me. A friend of mine joked as we walked away that we were on Elm street, and that Freddy Krueger would come out and attack. I simply looked at her and told her I wasn't afraid, and that in fact the sixth floor scared me more. She asked why, so I responded, "because the shooting was real, it really happened, and Freddy Krueger isn't." Sometimes I forget that moments in history happened, that there were bad people, who did bad things. The longer I've thought about it, the more I want to spread the Good News. This time has been as sobering as the Oklahoma memorial for me, but it was something I needed. I can only hope the rest of my trip will be as beneficial to me.

Communicating for a Change

Communicating I always felt was a skill of mine, I have been involved with public speaking for a few years now. Public speaking however does not mean I will be good at preaching. At times I doubt I am doing God's Word justice in my delivery. So reading this book has helped me realize my words are not just what I say, but how I say it as well. First off I need to comment on the delivery of the book itself. I get bored easily if a book does not entertain me, just like "Willy Graham" told "Ray" personal stories sink in more with an audience. The beginning of the book is solely story until the adventure ends. This brought my attention to an immediate focus and engaged me in the book. I relate easily to stories and did not feel the stories were that far fetched. It was a great way to communicate to me the ideas that I needed to communicate to others. One-point sermons were honestly something I had never thought of. I came from a world of fill in the blank notes. Where if I don't write things down I will easily forget it, and an hour after service I may not even remember what the main message of the sermon was. For me, that was normal. Nothing more then a simple Sunday where I had been "filled" just could not remember what I was "filled" with. This was a simple process and was in a sense ritualistic. However even I can grasp a one point sermon. Much like Will in the story I also have travelled a good distance by car, so I understand the map metaphor very well. A map is key to travel, and I can see how it is key to your message. It involves ME-WE-GOD-YOU-WE (which took me a bit to read and even longer to say), our map is a relational map. My hardest part would have to be the first "WE" because I have a hard time figuring out how to relate to an audience if I do not already know them. I cannot simply look out into the audience and say something to relate to a group of people I know. However I do not feel as though this rule expects you to. Even Will stated he would continue until he found as much common ground "as he could", clearly we can't relate to everyone. If we could preaching would be a whole lot easier. The relationship method is also a good way to keep track of where in you are, if you forget simply think "MEWEGODYOUME" and you will be back on track in no time. Memorization, my biggest ministry weakness it seems. Everything I have studied recently has been shining a light on it, including this book. However it is again shown to me how great it can make my messages. Notes in all honesty trip me up, I get confused and lost, especially if my notes are any longer than a simple outline. It can make me a bit flustered and lose my audience because I no longer look prepared if I begin repeating myself. A great line that sticks with me is, "I'm saying that until you can deliver it with no notes, from memory, then it's not your message." Such harsh terms but ones I think are true. I want to start to get better at this, be it moving to a small outline to speak until I can speak without notes. I am a talk at you kind of person, not intentionally mind you, but I know I am. Simply put I deliver an onslaught of information and expect that my audience is following along with me. That however is not how I talk to people usually. I have a more friendly casual way of speech, so I need to bring that to the floor whenever I am speaking. Instead of sounding like the computer that I try to be I need to let myself shine through and engage people. Find Some Traction, simply put but I felt a metaphor that was used a bit loosely in a way. For me at least it was quite confusing, once it was explained however it was a synch to apply. Prayer is something that I take seriously and would obviously seek time for if I was doubting my message. The big "ah-ha" was the checklist of questions. I feel this will help me put things into perspective and resist the never ending draw of tangents. Some day I will find myself in a preaching situation. By now I am almost certain of it. Though I don't plan on preaching to kids I feel like one day I will preach to adults. Now I can see some things that will help prepare me. Now I'm not worried about what my message will look like.

The Right Attitude

Sometimes my days are hard, I mean, we all have bad days don't we? At times however it seems go be more than I can bare. Right now I'm honestly sitting on the Choralons bus, trying to get excited about the ministry opportunity we have today. This isn't easy, last night I had an issue with some friends, this morning I woke up at 5 from a nightmare, and now my shoulder and neck are killing me. However I still can find this joy inside me. Sunday is usually a day I can wake up early with my passion for ministry. I want to train myself to have that passion everyday. After all, nothing is stopping me from ministering to someone. We don't usually think about it on the weekdays, but it's true. The only difference is we aren't in church. We don't need a building for ministry, yet not many Christians want to minister outside of their safe church walls. The same lost souls are in the grocery store that walk into the church building for the first time. So what is stopping us?

Children's Ministry Leadership The You Can Do It Guide

Leadership, in ministry it can be one of the most important thing a leader has, yet exactly what they are lacking. It is a skill many people build up and few one simply possesses. I myself had to develop my own sense of leadership in high school and even still that isn't the same kind of leadership I will need in children's ministry. Some things Wideman was able to point out I needed work on. His book is a great guide for those with prior leadership roles or those starting out for the first time. Just because you are a leader does not mean you know everything there is to know about God. Sometimes when you get caught up in your work it becomes harder to focus on the time you yourself spend with God. As you expect your ministry to grow you also need to be growing. Part of that process is digging further and deeper into the Word. Your relationship with God has to grow long before you can expect your followers to grow closer to Him. When one thinks of a leader, they don't expect him to also be a follower. However as children's pastors that is part of what we are expected to do, even as Christians were are called to follow our Father. Some leaders however have a hard time with this. As a leader we have strived to do things our own way, however we can't do everything we may want. We are called to be align with the main body of the church we work for. That may mean changing our "perfect" mission statement, or canceling the "best" kids event because it doesn't fall in line with what our lead pastor's vision is. An associate pastor told me recently he wished he was still taking classes, he shared with me that a continued pursuit of knowledge is important. Especially as the world continues to change. Learning however is not limited to classes, as a children's pastor we need to learn about the culture, because culture is ever shifting. What was once popular to kids is no longer popular. Tomorrow the next greatest thing could come out, we need to be in the know about what kids are buying. Conflict is not my forte, it makes me really nervous and usually does not get solved right away. However I know it's a part of my future job and can come in many different areas. It can come from your volunteers, parents, or even the children in your ministry. No matter the cause you need to be prepared to handle things peacefully, quickly, and respectfully. It's only a matter of time before I will have to handle my first conflict in ministry, I need to be prepared to handle it. Limits are not something I easily place on myself, even worse is if someone asks me to do something I will happily take it on. The worst part is that others will not take that into consideration. They have no idea what my work load is, and if I do not say no they will think I will always take on their work. To add to my problem I have a never ending desire to please others. Part of my leadership development is to learn "the art of no" in life. After all, no one can say no for me, only I will know when I've had enough. "Temptations don't go away because you move into leadership." Sadly, I thought for a long time that it did. However I should not think that, after all, even Jesus was tempted. So there is no reason that I should not be. Leader or not, I will be tempted and must remember that I have my strength in the Body of Christ and in God. It is a daily battle that I will have to face, but one I can daily overcome if I take the right steps. I do many parts of ministry myself, even though I am just a volunteer I do a lot of physical labor myself. At times I also do check in, or teach, even help set up for the adult ministries. I can't always doll this, even though I enjoy working for others there will come a day that I can't anymore. Soon I will be delegating these responsibilities to others. Leadership, some are born with it, some develop it. It comes into play in many different areas of your ministry. The skills are invaluable to you and your team. As you continue on you should be someone your team is willing to follow. You should be a leader they are proud to follow. Wideman's book can definitely help, but in the end the task is up to you. You can become a leader if you devote yourself to it.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Not only was this a title of a hit 90's tv show, it is also a question I ask myself a lot. For about a year now I have slept every night with a set of blue Christmas lights plugged in. I am afraid of the dark, I don't like it, it's unsettling and makes me quite paranoid. Even when the power went out last week I was so frightened I stayed in my friend's room just to have a bit more of a sense of calm. Since I was a child I had this fear, but as I grew older (and realized that really was just a sweater in my closet) I was no longer afraid. So, what brought about the sudden return of my fear? Spiritual Warfare, now I know several Christians who don't believe in spiritual warfare, I can full-heartedly say I do. I have experienced it a few times in my dreams, each time when I am at my strongest and doing work for God's kingdom. This warfare comes to me in the form of nightmares, each sharing the common element of pitchblackness. Now, you're probably thinking "if you can't see anything what makes the dream so scary?" There are many more elements to the dreams, ones however that I won't post about. These dreams however have left their mark on my poor psychy. At times I'm terrified, that however is when I turn to prayer and the Lord for guidance. Now it's true, these dreams scare me, but when I wake up from one, once I calm down I can't help but smile. I know exactly why I had that dream, I am doing something the devil doesn't want me to do. I am furthering God's Kingdom. I am making a difference and saving souls from Hell. I may be terrified, but I won't stop. If I have to have the Christmas lights on for the rest of my life, it is worth it. I am a woman of God, His will comes long before my fear. 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.' (Isaiah 41:10 NASB)

Stages of Faith

Spiritual growth is never easy, many different effects come into play when you are trying to spread the Gospel. In Fowler's book Stages of Faith we are shown both the psychological stages of growth as well as the spiritual stages of growth. Becoming a children's pastor I need to know how well the children in my ministry will be receptive to my message. I know it is easiest to reach a child when they are young, the question however is just how easy is it? In Part II Fowler initiates a "pretend conversation" between Lawrence Kohlberg, Erik Erikson, and Jean Piaget. Three brilliant minds all coming together to discuss the psychological growth mankind has. In the "conversation" Piaget states that, "In terms of cognitive development the era e now examine really should be thought of as a long transition, initiated by the joining of language and thought, toward the emergence of the first logical operations around the age of six or seven." This sounds like the perfect time to begin reaching a child with the message of the Bible. Now beginning to comprehend things and accept knowledge we can begin to express some of the many great things God has done for us. Though Piaget later mentions that the child is limited to their own perspectives and feelings on things, so our teaching needs to be done in a way that they can formulate the right idea about Scripture. It's so easy to be misinterpreted, especially by a child, our words need to be clear and concise, but creative enough to engage them. I understand how hard it is nowadays to keep a child's attention and get the information out. At times it seems impossible, but we need to adapt for them and their sake, not our own. Stage two is a very important stage for a child, "...we may say that those in stage two are more clearly aware of and therefore more effectively able to pursue their own interests and desires." Right here it seems is where we can either begin to lose a child or cause them to continuously turn to church. If a child loves God they will continually ask their parents to return to church, if church has proven to bore or confuse a child they will beg not to go. This is the time their faith in Christ could be solidified. Youth are a lot harder to reach because beliefs have already possibly been established. Hope however is not lost, fidelity can be reached Erikson states, "Where social conditions and favorable personal relationships support young persons in building a firm enough sense of identity to feel ready to commit themselves..." I myself have invested into a friend's life and managed to show them the truth that is God's love. This friend was a young adult, well passed the age of 13, yet they still made. Decision to have Jesus Christ as their Savior, partially because I invested myself into her life. Much like with the psychological growth, spiritual growth also has different stages. Fowler states, "For Stage 2 meanings are conserved and expressed in stories." thus this is the best way for us to deliver our message. Many people think skits or stories can be too "gimmicky", but if it helps a child remember say the story of Moses then tell the stories, as long as it's memorable for the child. Children remember the words we tell them, something that hit hard was part of the interview with Millie. Her literalism of what God was like was clearly Stage 2. She expresses clearly who God is, what He does, and where He lives. She even goes so far as to explain the devil. Now Millie is ten years old, and her interview shows the knowledge of God she has, how she refers to God, as a friend, and even the role of how He is like a parent to us. Her perspective and stages of growth are what are shaping her beliefs. As a pastor I will play a role in this shaping in another child. Many of my choices will effect the salvation of a child. However now, I feel far more prepared to make the right decisions. Part of the battle is to alter your tools for the level the child is at. Thanks to Fowler (and partially to Kohlberg, Erikson, and Piaget) I feel more ready for my ministry and the future children we will help.

Sunday to Monday

I live a pretty normal life, I'm a college student, I'm unemployed, I have plenty of friends and I love Jesus. The beginning of this week has been an amazing two days. From singing in two different churches to sitting in Starbucks playing Warhammer 40k. Sunday was purely amazing, I witnessed so many people being reached, even better was the second church. Not only was the food amazing, but the time of worship, my eyes were drawn to children all through the audience, they were so involved in worshiping and praising God that it brought tears to my eyes. My heart was touched and I was so happy to be a part of the choir.

Monday morning I arrived back on campus at 1:30 in the morning and was awake at 7:30 to walk down to Starbucks. Now Warhammer 40k is a tabletop roleplaying game much like the game Dungeons and Dragons. Now I know what you're thinking, "That game is of the devil!" Well I have to say it is no more of the devil then Harry Potter, or Disney, or anything else with magic. Parents are quicker to accept that their children will dress up like a wizard then play a roleplaying game. My mother put it brilliantly when she told me it reminded her of when I used to play pretend. It's a lot like when we used our imagination as a child. I don't feel anything from God telling me that what I am doing is bad. It doesn't upset me spiritually at all (which things do sometimes such as voodoo, or things to do with the occult). This is not to say that the stereotype of Dungeons and Dragons is always wrong, if one cannot differentiate between fantasy and reality then it could prove to be a huge mental issue. Such is why the game is seen in such a negative light.

I however can see this difference and don't face any mental issues, instead I can praise my God with hundreds of other people and spend the next day playing a fun game with my friends.

More Than A School Assignment

This blog...it was meant to be an easy assignment, it was meant to be something I did once a week just to get a good grade in a class. I feel however it will become so much more than that. Today in class we were asked about our Bible readings, I stated I was working through Psalm. Truth is I have yet to have my time in the Word today. I was probably going to forget about it. Even now my mind is going a mile a minute because of something that has been shared with me. I don't have all the answers, I don't have everything perfect in my life, I don't always know what to do. That, is how I feel right now. So what do I do? What any other college student does, I hop onto Facebook hoping to have some sort of distraction. A funny Youtube video here and there, perhaps a fun game I haven't played a while. Then it smacks me in the face. A friend of mine made a group, one similarly named to my blog called "The Path Less Traveled". I forget when I joined it, but right now I am thrilled that I did. My friend posted one a passage of scripture, one which, in a way makes me feel better.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 

My God is crying out, be it through another daughter of His, He is crying out. I feel a bit more at ease because I am heeding the call of my God. I may be burdened, but I can drop that all at His feet and He will help me through it.


This was supposed to be a school assignment, but I see it becoming so much more.

Reflecting

Well, this is a start of something new, I've never blogged before and it has never crossed my mind to do so. Today however has been by far an interesting day. I made it through nearly all my classes it seemed without having to give my testimony (odd for me, since all of my classes are ministry related and before it was a common practice). Then came my final class, Communicating with Children, and I was asked, so I gave it. My testimony is not a big deal, there's never been a time I didn't know Jesus that I can remember, but there was plenty a time when I was told to abandon my belief in Him. I was home-schooled most of my life, and barely attended public school, the last 2 and 1/2 years of high school was part of that time. Being a new kid there I was mostly shunned, when others found out I was a Christian, that's when the trouble started. "Jesus is just an adult's imaginary friend" "He's never done anything for my life" "What do you mean you want to wait for marriage to have sex?" My beliefs and values were forcefully and rapidly attacked, my "religion" as others put it, was simply something I was hiding behind. They were determined to take the "good little Christian girl" and turn her into one of them.

The Road Not Taken

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;         5   Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,         10   And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.         15   I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.         20

This poem, describes my story in a culture where God is no longer valued, where it's ok to do what
I now deem morally wrong. I myself took the road less traveled, and that has made all the difference. I am now thankfully in a place where I have support for my faith, no one attempting to corrupt me. Instead others are helping me down my path, and for that, I am thankful. Sometimes it's painful for my to reflect back on those days, but today, I see the strength I had, and I came out so much stronger.