A Man and a Woman in the Making

Like most moms, I have my moments when I look longingly at my children and ask, "Why can't they stay little forever?" I know years down the road I will look back on these days and long to hold my 6 year old and 2 year old again. When I experience feelings like these, I try to remind myself how precious these days and years are and to simply savor each day - even the temper-tantrum filled and messy ones.

And when I get that I-want-to-hold-onto-you-and-never-let-you-go feeling that all moms experience, I also try to remind myself that my two children are really a man and a woman in the making. While my children are young, it is my responsibility to guide and protect them and hold them close, but if I decide to hold on to them for keeps, then I'm losing sight of my ultimate purpose as a parent.

What is my ultimate purpose? Fueled by God's wisdom and grace, I must direct them on their personal journeys to manhood and womanhood, teaching them to follow Jesus along the way.

His Name is MR. Potatohead

OK, I almost didn't post this.

It seems a bit crass, but if you're someone raising boys, you'll most certainly get a laugh out of this photo.

Below is a photo of my 6 year old son's recent creation when he got into his little sister's Mr. Potatohead collection.

By the way, it wasn't my idea to snap the photo. My husband decided it was a piece of art worth remembering (and email to a few friends at the same time!) Everyone got a laugh out of it, so here's yours.

Something Worth Writing Down

If you're ever cleaning up a poopy diaper for a 2-year-old, who's also fussing over a diaper rash "boo-boo", and then this bare-bottomed 2-year-old says, "Kiss it, Mama," you know you've got something worth writing down!

It happened to me last night.

In the Words of Flo From the Movie "Cars"...

"Ehhh... look at my husband, y'all!"

He's a grown-up skater, but he still has a few tricks up his sleeve. This stunt show went on for a few minutes until our 2-year-old daughter - completely unaware - sat down on the four-wheeler and drove off!

(The pictures are blurry because our camera stinks.)





That's our friend (fellow skater and Vans shoe lover), Archie - better known as "DJ Arch-Deluxe" - observing from afar. He was undoubtedly the inspiration for our mini X-Games.

That's My King!

Every time I watch this video, excerpted from a sermon by the late S.M. Lockridge, I get goose bumps. It just blesses my heart and soul.

Do you need a pick-me-up today? Play this video and crank up the volume.

You'll be glad you did.

Like a Moth to a Flame

Like a moth to a flame, I am always attracted to the slowest Wal-Mart checkout line. My experience yesterday, after waiting 25 minutes to check out (with only two shoppers in front of me) confirmed my suspicion. So, if you ever see me in the checkout line at Wal-Mart, do yourself a favor: Go to another line.

Church Ministry: Obligation or Blessing?

Let me just cut to the chase. I've attended several different churches throughout my life. I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to running and organizing a church and its various ministries. Sometimes it feels like the church's ministry machine is constantly seeking more and more fuel (i.e. volunteers), just so it can keep running. It often doesn't feel like there's much thought put into why a certain ministry/program exists or why the local church exists, for that matter. Sometimes it just feels like there are programs to be run, and we need people to run them. Period.

One area in churches where I feel this mindless assignment of tasks often occurs is in preschool ministry - i.e. nursery duty. [ Cringe ] Before I go any further, let me say I love the preschool director at my church. She's a joy! She also only takes volunteers for service in our preschool ministry. And lest I be prematurely judged, let me clarify I do not have an axe to grind when it comes to serving in the church nursery. In fact, for the past year and a half my husband and I have been the caregivers in our church's infant nursery every Sunday at 9 AM. (Okay, got that out of the way.)

My previous church had a nursery policy where everyone who had children in the preschool program had to serve one (sometimes two) Sundays per month. I remember feeling like an indentured servant with the birth of each child, which meant another 5 years of obligation to the church nursery. Basically, the church was assigning people to serve in the preschool ministry based purely on demographics - not on giftedness or calling. That's akin to asking all the men who use the church restrooms to rotate duties once a month to clean them, or it's like asking all the families who park cars in the parking lot to serve once a month as parking attendants. Sounds absurd, doesn't it? That, unfortunately, is the rationale behind many church preschool programs. Consequently, serving in the church nursery for many is an obligation - not a blessing.

So, this begs the question: why do we need a church nursery in the first place? Well, the answer is obvious. The parents and the children both need a place where they can learn and be fed spiritually. Now, what is the ultimate purpose of your local church? Is it to have lots and lots of ministries and find people to fill them, just so they can keep running? I submit the primary purpose of the local church is to strengthen and equip the body of believers, so that they can, in turn, go out into the rest of world and shine the Light of Jesus for all to see. That means the church doesn't exist just to keep a multitude of programs afloat. It means that in addition to teaching, the church must assist believers in discovering their God-given gifts and their unique callings, so they can be effective ministers everywhere they go.

That kind of ministry is a blessing to everyone who is touched by it.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13 (NASB)