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Set Free VBS 2014 Day Three

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I think ministry is like photography in some ways. In photography (at least the way I do it), I’ve learned that the biggest part of getting good shots is being there and being prepared. In my experience, the great pictures pretty much take themselves. You’re just there to capture the moments.

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Ministry is like that. You show up prepared and great things happen. Not because of any special gifts or talents you bring or because of your charismatic personality. Simply because you stayed up, prayed up, and showed up.

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Face it. God’s the One who’s doing the real work. He doesn’t ask for your ability; He asks for your availability.

Sometimes in working with people from different backgrounds, it can get discouraging. You might wonder if anything you say is getting through. Sometimes, I wondered if these kids were even listening. But I believe that if we got through to only one child, it would be worth it.

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You can’t take pictures with a dead camera battery. In the same way, you can’t serve out of emptiness. You have to have something to give away. That’s where spending time with God in His word comes in.

We saw lots of kids show up. They sang the songs and did the hand motions. They recited the memory verse. They saw what real love looks like when it takes on hands and feet.  I can’t honestly say that I saw anyone praying the sinner’s prayer, but I do know that the Word of God never returns void. That I can be sure of.

I hope to be back serving for 2015. I had a lot of fun taking pictures and seeing God work. I’m not being falsely modest when I say that there were several volunteers who did way more than I did and deserve a lot more credit than I. But in the end, God gets all the credit.

I once heard someone pray that God would get us out of the way so that He could get in the way.  That’s what I truly believe happened this week.

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Set Free VBS 2014 Day One

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It was a perfect evening for ministry. You couldn’t ask for better weather. I remember last year I was melting in the heat. This year? It almost felt like fall.

We didn’t have a huge turnout, but there were several kids there. God knew who needed to be there. Once again, I was just blessed to be there to witness the volunteers loving on these kids, many of whom probably don’t get to see much tenderness or affection expressed toward them.

I don’t know about numbers or if any of these kids prayed to receive Christ. I do know several of them went forward to pray at the end. I do know they heard the message of Jesus’ love. I do know that these seeds weren’t planted in vain.

I can’t wait to go back tomorrow and see who shows up. I’m planning on bringing my “real” camera (the one that’s just a camera and not also a phone and a calculator and an iPod and a thousand other things). There will hopefully be pictures to share on my next blog.

In the mean time, just remember that cup of cold water. You don’t have to do everything for everybody. Sometimes, you can do one small thing for one person and make a world of difference. At least in that person’s world.

That’s what it’s all about. Loving people the way God loved you. Not so you can get people to pray a prayer and put another notch on your salvation belt. Simply because these people are created in the image of God and have worth and value if for no other reason than that.

I think I heard once that it takes something like 6 or 7 meaningful encounters before a person chooses Christ. No one person can save a soul– only God can do that– but each one can plant that proverbial seed, say that word of encouragement, offer that cup of cold water that adds up to a changed destiny.

That’s what I’m hoping for.

 

Things I Love 26: Sowing the Seeds of Love

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“A life contemplating the blessings of Christ becomes a life acting the love of Christ” (Ann Voskamp).

“…life change comes when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change” (Ann Voskamp).

I think for me two of the biggest agents of change have been 1) letting go of expectations of others and 2) receiving all of life as a gift. Making this list has changed my outlook. I have too many blessings to not see God in my daily world. I have been blessed too much not to want to be a conduit of blessing to others. That said, the list picks up at #726

726) God using me in the lives of those around me who don’t know Jesus to be Jesus to them.

727) The moment when you realize that the headache is gone.

728) Unplanned naps on Sunday afternoons.

729) Any time I get a chance to have a conversation with my smart and funny friend Alex.

730) Getting compliments on my t-shirts.

731) Not being naked in public.

732) The anticipation of coming to a good part in a book I’ve already read before.

733) Old Glenn Miller recordings.

734) Those pens that have the four different colors of ink.

735) Finding something of mine that I thought was lost forever.

736) That everybody doesn’t think like I do.

737) The smell of a freshly painted room.

738) The way Jesus told the best stories.

739) Gibson’s Donuts (even though there aren’t any in Nashville . . . yet).

740) The scent of honeysuckle in the air.

741) Picking blackberries in summer.

742) Being a Bapticostalicopalean (Baptist+Pentecostal+Catholic+Episcopalian) at heart.

743) Dreams that refuse to die.

744) Goat cheese.

745) The idea of changing the world by changing one person’s world.

746) Hearing people’s stories of how Jesus found and rescued them.

747) Seeing the glow of a person coming out of the baptismal waters a new creation in Christ.

748) The smell of the tire section at Costco.

749) Road trips.

750) Capturing a moment and a feeling inside a photograph.

751) Old graveyards.

752) My book of Emily Dickinson poems that I’ve somehow managed to misplace.

753) That I’m over 3/4 of the way through my list.

754) The freedom of finally being able to forgive myself for not being perfect.

755) Wintergreen or spearmint gum.

756) A now discontinued flavor of Snapple called Ralph’s Cantaloupe Cocktail that actually tasted just like cantaloupes.

757) Memories of riding standing up on the back of my dad’s old pickup truck with Murphy the black lab in the middle, grinning like an idiot and loving every minute of it (I meant the dog, but I’m sure I was smiling a mile wide, too)

758) Finding one Dorothy Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey mystery novels in hardback at a used bookshop.

759) People who always give me the benefit of the doubt.

760) Those Market Fresh BLTs from Arby’s.

Autumn Grace

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After church today, I ate lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville, Taco Mamasita. The weather was nice enough for me to sit outside, with a breeze just chilly enough to remind me that it was still fall. The kind that carries with it reminders of a summer past and a winter still to come.

Moments like these are good reminders that while it’s easy to lose perspective and focus on all the things I don’t have, life really is comprised of the small unexpected moments like this where I realize that I’m blessed to be alive and healthy enough to enjoy them.

I didn’t mind parking a couple of blocks away, because it was a perfect day for a walk. My only regret was not having my camera with me to capture the moment. As I took in the variety of colors of autumn leaves, I was reminded again that life is so transitory and precious to be taken for granted. The same goes for relationships. You can never go back and say the words you meant to say to someone if you don’t take the time to say them now.

If you go to Taco Mamasita’s, I recommend ordering the Caribbean Jerk taco with a side of Chipotle Turnip Greens. But honestly, you can’t go wrong with anything you order there. Yeah, it’s that good.

Take advantage of the fall weather while it’s still around. Go for a walk and breathe deep the autumn air and be thankful that you woke up today. Be thankful for the people in your life and make a point to let them know you’re grateful.

I’m thinking the next time I go there, I might try the General Homeboy taco (eventually, I hope to try everything on the menu at least once). Hopefully sooner than later. Only the next time, I’ll take my camera along.