Pastor4Staff

Pastor4Staff- Meaning Pastor (group leader) and 4 staff members meeting together intentionally. This is a new thing ATS is doing for the staff.  It is pretty exciting and ironically super vulnerable situation. Our "group" or "cluster" as we call ourselves (they, the infamous "they", do not like the label group) has decide to meet once a month for lunch and then once for lunch/book discussion of what we are reading.

Our leader (another staff member) sent us the following video of Brene Brown and then also told us about the book that was written based in the research discussed in the video. Check out the video. It is challenging for sure but I am excited about the conversations and reflection that will come out of it. (I am only two chapters into the book so far but I am excited to see what comes from it).

Learning...

Sad thing is that I feel like God has been speaking so much truth to me but I have not taken to time to process all of it. A few weeks ago at work they launched this "Staff4Pastor" thing (more about that to come) with the VP of Community Formation giving the devotional/talk for the morning.

She spoke on Matthew 11:28-30:
²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ 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. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
 

She focused on the attributes used to describe God that are in the verses. God is gentle and humble in heart. How could what he give us not be that which is of himself. Everyone knows the saying "God does not give you more than you can handle." This is not a biblical statement. God does not give you the burdens and things that may be hard to handle. And you may in fact get dealt something that is too much to handle. The example given was of Elijah in 1 Kings 19 when the angel of the Lord comes to him and says that the "journey has been too hard".  The sin and brokenness of this world is not from God and it may in fact be too hard or too much. God rescues us and frees us from the bondage and brokenness of the world. We can and still will be bruised and broken up from the world. God is the healer. Not the giver of these things.

 

God did not give me too much to handle when my mom died. Nor did he cause her death.  A life of sin/brokenness and addiction caused the disease that took my mom away.  Good thing that after my mom died she had the hope of restoration in Christ and living in the presence of the Lord who would be able to take away all brokenness, sin and addiction that she still had on earth. She is completely made new.
 

And for me. I know that God did not give me this card, or this road. It is a result of this world but God can make everything new.  He can use it all for his good and perfect purpose; which is to have us know him and to share him with his lost children. So they too can have life in him.

My heart is slowly healing. And I am thankful that the Lord continues to speak words of truth and life to me during this time. As one who prided herself in the way that she was able to function again in life after her mom died before some of her other siblings; I have to admit I was naïve to think that my heart would heal that quickly. And I am thankful to begin to focus on that because I have realized that I have placed a shield around my heart as protection since then.  Today I choose to lower that shield and focus on God's love for me and trust him with my heart for he is gentle and humble and loves me more than I can even imagine. 

Young Life Prayers

A couple weeks ago one of my YL kids called to let me know that their friend Amanda had passed away after an ATV accident. Amanda went to YL camp with us the last summer before the girls went off to college. She was a friend of one of my core girls and so I had not gotten to know her as well until we went to camp. It has been hard to try and be there for the girls while being in KY and so removed from their lives for some time now.

But, I love that they still call me. Not that I am needed but that the Lord is willing to use me to speak truth into their lives and be his voice (and his ears). What a blessing. Even when I am unable to keep in touch with everyone.

God continues to use them in my life. Reminding me of what matters and that life is short and we are called to choose life this day (Deuteronomy 30:19). But how can they know (to choose life) if no one tells them (Romans 10:14)?

This was the little nudge and reminder that I do not want to see YL start in Jessamine County because that's what I do and that what I want to be a part of. YL is not the thing but the avenue in which I get to join God in what he is doing. (not that he is not doing this same stuff other ways/avenues).  I have a desire to go where the unbelievers are.  To be the bridge between the church and the world. To share the good news with high school students who have not heard, but I believe I have to earn the right to be heard.

I have kind of stalled on doing much for YL when no one showed up at the end of June.  I can give excuses of the summer and how busy we were but to be honest its hard to put yourself out there and be vulnerable with something that means so much to you for fear of the rejection.  And lets be honest when no one shows up for an informational meeting you better believe that I felt vulnerable.

Then I get the reminder its not about YL its about hearts and life with Christ.  I have started (the last two weeks so far) going to the high school on Tuesday evenings and praying for the community, teachers, and students. I am hoping to get a group of Youth leaders in churches in the area to meet and hear about YL and see if they have people in their churches that they know would be a good fit for the YL committee that we are trying to start. But you see I can not ask others to be praying for something that I was not very intentionally praying for.

Apart from him we can do nothing....