This idea arrived in my inbox and, while the website is for women, I think girls could enjoy this activity too. It's a great way to get them to engage with a Bible lesson through music and key words.
campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001zhxIANf2OP4KNrc-H8q1BkEn9pQeZBOcmT1zrgVcig88_eBQQPsAc6IpWU5xF7No_4uOkjiFdtcQoHbPivRXWkawVgAwXDQPf2l74muVpVVYRomgaSJ_5og9mh0j1EkD4ijUA8Unof3INhapT09PbipkQqVQ6qBd5HEsUZJNCi4gqzjuoYBLTP5t1Vk7q5fy
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Worship = Service
This morning I attended the funeral of a woman who impacted my life in many ways. Doris Julien went home to be with the Lord very unexpectedly Saturday night. The celebration of her life today was filled with tears and with joy.
Listening to tribute after tribute to her caring heart, giving spirit, calming presence and gracious hospitality, I was struck once again by the tremendous value of a woman who walks with God. She modeled what I long to see in the girls I disciple--and in myself. The traditional SMM values of worship and service were beautifully blended in this woman. I was reminded that as we teach our girls practical skills, we must not fail to help them develop gracious, grateful hearts. A heart full of worship understands how God calls us to serve.
Doris served as a missionary in France with her husband Tom, then served in many ways in the U.S. when he became Executive Director of Grace Brethren International Missions. She oversaw the care of the missionary residence in Winona Lake for 14 years. Someone commented to me this week, "When I would go to the missionary residence, I would see her there taking care of details to make the missionaries feel welcome. She may have been the wife of the Executive Director, but she wasn't above cleaning the toilets."
May God give us as leaders such a servant heart, and may it be contagious.
Listening to tribute after tribute to her caring heart, giving spirit, calming presence and gracious hospitality, I was struck once again by the tremendous value of a woman who walks with God. She modeled what I long to see in the girls I disciple--and in myself. The traditional SMM values of worship and service were beautifully blended in this woman. I was reminded that as we teach our girls practical skills, we must not fail to help them develop gracious, grateful hearts. A heart full of worship understands how God calls us to serve.
Doris served as a missionary in France with her husband Tom, then served in many ways in the U.S. when he became Executive Director of Grace Brethren International Missions. She oversaw the care of the missionary residence in Winona Lake for 14 years. Someone commented to me this week, "When I would go to the missionary residence, I would see her there taking care of details to make the missionaries feel welcome. She may have been the wife of the Executive Director, but she wasn't above cleaning the toilets."
May God give us as leaders such a servant heart, and may it be contagious.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
In Tense
Bills to pay. Meals to make. Meetings to go to. Laundry to fold. Dishes to wash. Phone calls. Interruptions. Demands. Expectations. We find outselves trying to be all things to all people. Tension builds, like a rubber band being pulled farther and farther from it's anchor point.
Then we hear that there's something more we need to be doing in our Christian life, and our first reaction is to burst into tears. We don't want to stretch this rubber band any more. We know there's a breaking point. We know that when it does break, the recoil might be very painful.
So what do we do with our call to disciple those younger than us? How do we women keep from multi-tasking ourselves to death?
In Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Haley Barton captured some of what I struggle with as I look at the challenges of discipling girls. As she lists tensions leaders experiences, she observes, "There is the tension between the need for an easy discipleship process through which we can efficiently herd lots of people and the patient, plodding and ultimately mysterious nature of the spiritual transformation process."
Her answers to those tensions? An intense concentration on our relationship with God. Only through disciplines that nourish our own souls can be find the strength to nourish others. Then, she says, "we will have bread to offer that is warm from the oven of our intimacy with God."
Then we hear that there's something more we need to be doing in our Christian life, and our first reaction is to burst into tears. We don't want to stretch this rubber band any more. We know there's a breaking point. We know that when it does break, the recoil might be very painful.
So what do we do with our call to disciple those younger than us? How do we women keep from multi-tasking ourselves to death?
In Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, Ruth Haley Barton captured some of what I struggle with as I look at the challenges of discipling girls. As she lists tensions leaders experiences, she observes, "There is the tension between the need for an easy discipleship process through which we can efficiently herd lots of people and the patient, plodding and ultimately mysterious nature of the spiritual transformation process."
Her answers to those tensions? An intense concentration on our relationship with God. Only through disciplines that nourish our own souls can be find the strength to nourish others. Then, she says, "we will have bread to offer that is warm from the oven of our intimacy with God."
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