But, this little girl wanted to come because of the difference that The Wave is making in the lives of children.  We have an amazing Family Ministries Director and she has put together an amazing team of people that love to teach children in a creative way about God.  These people are making a huge difference!!! These people are making a difference because of all of the other people at Oasis that give!! You see, ministry takes money. Don’t think that for a second that what you give is insufficient. Everyone can give something, and God can multiply that something and turn it in to a decision a little girl makes to wake up and come to church.  Be the change, make the difference. Make your life about giving, whether it is your time, your money, your service, your encouragement, your love. Start today.

These are in no particular order.

1. More Giving, Less Spending  // when I look at how much was spent that I am not even very sure where it went, I know something needs to change. I need to be more aware of where the money is going. I also want to be sure that I give more, more money, more time, more love.. more.

2.  More Positive, Less Negative // in ministry, and really anything in life, we all get hurt and betrayed. It has really astounded me how the feelings caused by hurt and betrayal can be so dominant over those feelings caused by those that are all in with you and love and support you. I am making a decision to change that. Focusing on the positive more will help me focus on the negative less.

3. More Nutrition, Less Junk // My family is not overweight, but I would not say we are healthy either.  Too much sugar intake around my house and I am the worst. Sugar is certainly my weakness!! I am a junk food junkie and passing those habits right along to our son. So, we are changing the way we eat at my house!!

4. More Exercise, Less Out of Shape // We are by far not lazy people, but we do not spend a lot of time in things that require a lot of physical activity. So, Eric and I joined a gym. We are totally pumped and most of all determined.  The benefits of exercise are astounding and we know this is an area of our lives that needs to change to better the quality of our lives!

5. More Quality Time,  Less Busyness / We have realized that we are so busy, when we are all home together we don’t really rest.. we crash.  So, we are going to improve our schedules and take more time to chill together as a family. We are determined to have more quality time together with each other and with our son. Not times when we are together but hurried and anxious. Times that we are calm, restful and enjoying one another. My days are numbered, I want every moment to count. More time spend doing the right things.

6.  More of Him, Less of Me / I know only with God’s help can this list even think about getting accomplished. The best way to improve my quality of life is turn this life over to God completely. He knows what is best for me!! My decisions need to be based more on Him than on Me. I know He only wants the best for me and sometimes that is not always what I think it is.

There ya go.. would love to hear something from your project improving quality of life list!!

I have realized that it is not just in ministry that people feel lonely and isolated. In reality, most people that I talk to feel that way.  They do not have many friends.  Most people that feel that way also seem to have a difficult time making new friends.  First of all, they tend to be very picky. They want to be friends with the pastor’s wife or the worship leader, but no one else in the church  so they don’t have many friends. Second, they are always waiting for someone else to open the door to friendship. They are waiting on someone else to make the first move and soon develop the victim mentality because no one wants to be their friend.

As with every other relationship, real friendship takes some work.  First of all, you have to be willing to put yourself out there. You have to be open to new friendships and in fact, you have to sometimes be the one to open the door to it. You may have to strike up the first conversation, you may have to invite someone out for coffee. Is there a chance you will get turned down?  Sure there is!  You can’t take the fact that people are very busy and trying to keep the relationships they do have going in tact for granted.  But, that just means you leave yourself open to keep trying. You should also pray.. ask God to send you friends!!

Keeping yourself closed off and the door shut will be very uninviting to someone hoping to strike up a friendship.  Open the door!! Be inviting!! It may be a little out of your comfort zone at first.. but meeting new people and building relationships is so worth it!

We usually have a tendency to be jealous and competitive with the people that do what we do. In my case, it would be other pastor’s wives and women in ministry. However, this is only keeping us from some of the best relationships in our lives!  Some of my biggest  ”ah ha” moments come out of my friendships with other women that do what it is I do.  Learning to really be “for” other people is one of the most rewarding things you can do. You see, you have to give what you need. So, if you need people to be “for” you, be “for” other people. If you need a great friend, start trying to be a great friend.

Relationships are always a 2 way street. There is taking and giving. No one wants to start a friendship with someone who they think just wants something from them. So, be a giver, even when it is not reciprocated. God sees, and He is faithful to give us what we need. So open the door today!!

So.. what can you do. Here are few ideas!

1. Wake up early and go for a 20 minute walk.

2. Do a devotion in the mornings and spend time in prayer.

3. Get to the office early, turn on a little Michael Buble (my fav) and get settled in.

4.  Pick up that book that has been on your nightstand for months and spend some time reading.

5. Stop… and watch your kids play.

6.  Call a friend up, go have lunch together.

7. Do something creative: write, paint, cook, bake, create!

8.  Sit outside and meditate on what a beautiful world God created.

9. Go on a date with you spouse!

10.  Chocolate and Coffee!!

Breathe, you need air. Love to hear what you do for a little air time!!

Ok.. now I of all people am not being scrooge. I adore everything about Christmas. Sights, smells, tastes.. all of it!!! It brings me great joy, the entire holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Years! I love it. However.. as I look around me, it is not the same for most people. They are sad, bitter, depressed, and stressed. They are certainly not humming “fa la la la la la la la la” . It is more like blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. They are smiling and grinning, but not really enjoying the season. They are just trying to get through it.

There are many reasons why. Lost loved ones they are thinking about, pressures of gift giving, family issues.. it seems to all really surface during the Christmas season. This is the time of year that more people suffer from depression than any other time of the year.  I encourage you as we go into this season, focus on the reason for the season to begin with. Jesus wouldn’t want you to go in debt trying to provide a crazy Christmas for everyone you know.  Try to figure out what you can do and just do that. Christmas is about celebrating the fact that Jesus is Emmanuel.. He is God with us.

Instead of getting depressed and stressed, realize that God is with us. That is what Christmas is all about, being close to those you love. Just like God wanted to be close to us so he sent Jesus. Let Him fill your holidays with love and peace! Don’t fake it through the holidays… relish in the holidays!! So.. come on.. hum a tune!

Today, I have been thinking a lot about how much we have going on in our lives. We shuffle through a lot of stuff!! I love it that way and enjoy living life to the fullest.. however, I think one of the things I don’t seem to include in my daily shuffling is having fun with the people I do life with. I certainly have the work hard part down, but not always the play part.  God has placed some very hard working and passionate people in my life, cool thing is they are also people that are great to have fun with…

So… slide some fun into your daily mix.

“Everyday, I’m shufflin.. duh duh duh duh duh da duh”

The average American consumes 32 teaspoons of sugar a day. Six teaspoons at one sitting deplete your immune system by 25 %.  Twelve teaspoons by 60 percent and 24 teaspoons decrease immune function by 92 %.

These stats were astounding to me, especially considering that a can of Coke has more than 8 teaspoons of sugar. That is just crazy. 24 teaspoons can practically shut down our immune systems. No wonder I tend to feel sick and almost crash some afternoons. I heard someone say once that Eve was tempted by food and shortly after had to have new clothes.  Considering that I am responsible for what my family eats, this information has really challenged me. I truly believe this is one of the reasons that I feel so drained sometimes. I am challenged to cut my sugar intake and protect my family from consuming too much sugar and just see if we don’t all feel better!! I challenge you to do the same. I don’t know about you, but I need by entire immune system to be functioning properly!!

We all know how that feels!! Everybody is looking for you. Whether you are a mom, dad, husband, wife, employee, boss, or church staff member you know that feeling that everyone just wants something from you!  We have our agendas and responsibilities! It seems some days that everywhere we turn people are needing a decision or our input. The kids need clean clothes and dinner cooked. All of the things pulling and pressing for our attention are not bad things.. however, they can get in the way of our most important part of the day. .. the part where we give it to God!!

This passage of scripture kind of tickles me… I think of Jesus sneaking out at night. Tiptoeing away, hoping he doesn’t wake anyone just so he can have some time alone with God.  If it was that important for Jesus that he had to sneak out of the house.. we should understand how important it is for us as well. We all need that alone time with God!  Take time, devote time to starting the morning with God.. don’t worry.. everybody will still be looking for you when you are done,  only now maybe you will have some strength and wisdom to give them. Be filled so you can pour it out!