a season of change…

May 4, 2012 in faith, kidmin, my journey with 18 Comments

dear belle aire family,

it is with great peace but a heavy heart that i write to share with you my resignation as the minister of children at belle aire baptist church.  through scripture, circumstances, and much prayer, i am accepting the call to be the minister of children at dawson memorial baptist church in birmingham, alabama.

i want to make it clear that i was not looking to leave belle aire, and i am confident that God is calling me to this new position.  i cannot stress enough what a tough decision this has been for me.  belle aire is my home church.  it is the place where i “grew up” spiritually, and the church body that took a chance on me in ministry.  belle aire is more than my place of employment or my church–belle aire is my family!

parents, please help your children understand that i couldn’t love them more and it breaks my heart to go.  this is a choice to obey God.  although this will be a challenging time for all involved, it is also an opportunity to teach children how God leads us in our life’s journey.
i have sought God’s direction and confirmation in scripture and have received great peace in the midst of this hard decision.  while this move and transition will be difficult, i am excited about the next season God has for me in ministry.  God has laid out a plan for me and i am seeking to follow His will for my life.

my last sunday at belle aire will be may 20th.  please know that every effort has been made to help the children’s ministry run smoothly this summer (i.e. vbs, camps, sundays and wednesdays).  kelly jackson, preschool minister, will be overseeing these areas and she will need your enthusiastic support.

it has been a privilege and honor to serve under the most humble and God-fearing man i know, dean sisk.  his leadership and passion for Christ is a blessing to this church and has made a lasting impact on me throughout my spiritual journey!

what a joy it has been to serve alongside you the last 15 years.  my heart treasures each memory and moment we sought the Savior together.  thank you!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us; to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21

in faith,
danielle bell

all about release

April 24, 2012 in my journey with 0 Comments

recently, a friend of mine made a dream come true for me.  fly fishing has been on my bucket list for years and my mind was filled with images of how my first trip would look.  i saw visions of rushing water, rocky mountains, and tom skerritt and brad pitt from “a river runs through it.”  well two out of three aren’t bad! :)   our adventure may not have been planned on the perfect weather day for fly fishing (it was snowing) but the conditions were ideal for a lesson for my heart.

as with any sport, there was much to learn.  i was all about looking the part with the  “gear” and i gravitated to the constant motion of the casting.   i found a rhythm and i only managed to stick myself with the fly once.  (thankfully, in my boot.)   i loved the back and forth motion of the cork rod in my hand, but i was reminded of my friend’s words “it is all about the release.”  this letting go was important if i wanted the fly to actually land in a spot that increased my chances of catching a fish.  i was comfortable trying to control the process, but i struggled with letting go of the line.   it is all about the release.

there was a brief moment when i was alone in the river.  snow was falling on my face and the soundtrack of rushing water muted all other noise.  i stood in God’s glorious creation and talked with Him.  it was there that i was gently reminded my battle with the release extended far beyond my fishing adventure.  my default is busyness and my comfort zone is control.  stress, worry, and fatigue were obvious signs that i was holding on to circumstances that Jesus wanted me to release to Him.  so i stood for ten minutes casting and with each release of the line i let go of something i was trying to control.  what freedom!

what about you?  what is standing in your way of letting go of matters you hold tightly in your hand? does your desire (like mine) for busyness and control hamper your ability to release matters into the hands of the One who holds you in the palm of His hand?  what lessons have you learned in casting your cares on Him?

this city girl may not be much of a fisherman, but my lesson with the great Fisher of Men continues to impact my daily life.  it truly is all about the release.

the chalk wall of praise

March 29, 2012 in kidmin with 0 Comments

“when was the last time when praying you just spent time bragging on God and praising Him for who He is?”  that was the question i asked my YUCs last night while beginning our prayer series on praise.  wow!  it is as if when those words came from my mouth they did an instant u-turn and came back to pierce my own heart.   as is often the case when teaching children, the question and lesson i had for them seemed to be one God wanted to remind me of as well.

i love this prayer series with kids.  while it serves as a great reminder for me, it is also a challenge to my prayer life as i watch children passionately go before the Father in prayer.  their authentic response to the offer to communicate with the Creator is so refreshing.  we will spend four weeks working through the ACTS strategy of prayer, but i think the first lesson will always grip my heart the most!

we begin talking about the A-adore.  when we adore God in prayer, we are praising Him for WHO HE IS!  this has such a great way of taking our eyes off ourselves and placing our gaze on the One that can handle any need, problem, or concern we bring to Him.  He is able!  after spending time in popcorn praise circles we do an activity that helps illustrate the point and power of praise  – the chalk wall.

the sad truth is kids have difficult worlds.  they have deep hurts, aggressive temptations, confusion, disappointments and more.  just like adults, as children walk their faith journey they are often trying to stay afloat in the storms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

so that is what we begin with, life’s storms.  the kids get chalk and spend time drawing symbols for all the storms they are facing in their lives!  as a ministry leader it is so eye-opening and humbling to see the pictures drawn and the hurt that you know is attached to each stroke of the chalk.  their storm drawings are a stark  reminder of how we often come to God in prayer.  we come burdened and broken and only able to see the struggles we long for Him to meet us in and bring us hope.  so it is there, with the storms staring us in the face, we begin to review the names of God and see Him for all He is and how He can personally meet us in each difficulty!  and we start to praise!

as children praise Him using His different names they begin to write those names over their storms and struggles until the storms fade to the background and who He is remains for the eye to behold.  we talk about how the storms don’t suddenly disappear and life magically gets easy.  we intentionally focus on the One who can reign, offer safety, comfort, and bring peace in the middle of life’s battles.

if we will take the precious time to adore God in prayer and praise Him for who He is, our eyes will focus on Him and not on our storms.  that is why we begin with praise.  that is why today as i came to Him with worry in my hands, i sat back and bragged on Him.  then like a child, i am reminded there is nothing i hold He can’t handle.  and so with praise my heart floods with peace.

15 years in the making

February 8, 2012 in kidmin, my journey with 0 Comments

college girls, that use to be my youth small group girls, & several that use to be in my preschool and children's ministry.

last month i celebrated 15 years as the minister of children at belle aire. there is really no way i can convey with words my humbled gratitude for all the notes, gifts, cards, drawings (by the kids), hugs and love i received.  i was (and still am) blown away by the way this church family wrapped me with appreciation for the last 15 years i was blessed to serve alongside them.  even after so many years, i am still surprised and a tad bit confused that our great God chooses to use such an imperfect person as myself.   may His glory shine brightly though this cracked vessel.

there is one gift i received in the morning services of january 15th that is simply indescribable.  you must see it for yourself.  they recruited many of my past students (YUCs – youth under construction) to recite Hebrews 11, my favorite passage of scripture.  how can you top the sweet faces and lives i love so much speaking the hall of faith from the Living Word of God? it is my joy to share with with you!

 

off-center

February 1, 2012 in kidmin, my journey with 2 Comments

*this is an entry i wrote for our church blog this week.  each staff member was to write about what God was teaching them during our special time of self-examination in preparation for our Solemn assembly. 

i was confronted with a cold, hard truth recently.  the Gospel is not the constant center of my life or my ministry.  while i get busy doing things “for” God or “about” God, i allow other things to take first place and the center of my life and the ministry He has entrusted to me.

this hit me squarely in the face when i was reading through a letter one of the children in ministry wrote to their prayer partner.  this child asked, “what must i do to get saved?”  while part of me was rejoicing over the fact that God was obviously drawing this child to Himself, the other part of me cringed as i thought “how does this child not know?”  is the Gospel not so prevalent in all conversations i/we have with children that the way to God through Jesus is not obvious? i was so convicted that even with all we “do” in children’s ministry, i can often be busy with the stuff and allow the life-changing Gospel to take a back seat.  shouldn’t the Gospel be the very source and goal of all i/we do?

then i glared at myself in the mirror of self-examination.  can i honestly say the Gospel is a constant center of my life? the truth is the center of my world gets so crowded with myself that the fuel of my faith, the Gospel, can get pushed to the side.  my “self” and my sin quench the Spirit and the power it provides, so that when i rub shoulders in everyday life with unbelievers they may not see the Gospel clearly lived out in me.

this time of self-examination hasn’t been “fun”, but has proven fruitful as it has brought me face to face with my defiant sin, to the foot of the cross for forgiveness, and a realignment in center of my heart and mind. (oh, what a day by day process.) i go back to a chapter i love, psalm 51, and think about how david said,

“12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and make me willing to obey you.
13 Then I will teach your ways to rebels,
and they will return to you.”

it was after his heart was broken and sorrowful for his sin that he experiences the sweet cleaning, restoration, and joy of his salvation.  then, he could be used powerfully to teach sinners the way so they, too would turn back to God.

most of us would say we want to be used by God, but are we really willing to take these hard looks at our sin and what is the center of our lives?  like i said, it hasn’t been fun and at times i have avoided it and grabbed tightly to the comfort of complacency.  i am tired of living that way!

as we seek Him in this special time and in each day and week to come may our prayer be the same as the one who was called, “the man after God’s own heart.”

Psalm 51
“1Have mercy on me, O God, 
 according to your unfailing love; 
according to your great compassion 
   blot out my transgressions. 
2 Wash away all my iniquity 
   and cleanse me from my sin.  3 For I know my transgressions, 
  and my sin is always before me. 
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned 
   and done what is evil in your sight, 
so that you are proved right when you speak 
  and justified when you judge. 
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, 
   sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 
6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts[a]; 
   you teach[b] me wisdom in the inmost place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; 
  wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; 
   let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 
9 Hide your face from my sins 
  and blot out all my iniquity.  10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, 
   and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 
11 Do not cast me from your presence 
  or take your Holy Spirit from me. 
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation 
   and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, 
  and sinners will turn back to you. 
14 Save me from bloodguilt, O God, 
   the God who saves me, 
   and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 
15 O Lord, open my lips, 
  and my mouth will declare your praise. 
16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; 
   you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 
17 The sacrifices of God are[c] a broken spirit; 
   a broken and contrite heart, 
 O God, you will not despise.  18 In your good pleasure make Zion prosper; 
   build up the walls of Jerusalem. 
19 Then there will be righteous sacrifices, 
   whole burnt offerings to delight you; 
 then bulls will be offered on your altar.”

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