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eternal words

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like the rest of the country i read “the help” and flocked to the theater to see it with a group of girlfriends.  now before you think i am going to diss the book or movie, you have to know i loved them both.  i devoured the book in less than a week and can’t wait to see the movie a second, third, or fourth time.  🙂

but if i am totally honest, there we three lines in that movie that challenged me to examine my words when interacting with children.  oh you know them.  you have seen them on tweets and facebook statuses for weeks.

“You is smart, You is kind.  You is important.”

the scenes where these lines were being delivered to a chubby, young face cupped in tired, loving hands brought tears to my eyes.  i know this was fiction, but i loved the intentionality of abilene to pause from the chaos to invest into a child’s heart and future.  (she was purposeful to bend down and get eye-to-eye as she gently delivered them.  i long to communicate like that.)  her intentions were great, but i still find myself asking what eternal weight do those words really carry?

again, i understand it was a movie.  i also admit that often times i would rather live in movies than in real life, but these lines provided a challenge and some examination into the words i impart to children.

these words were powerful and encouraging to a timid heart that was seeking affirmation and love.  these words filled a void that this child wasn’t receiving from her parents.  here’s the question i have asked myself – are these words really what this child needed to make it through life?  would these three lines deliver the true hope, strength, joy, and courage she would need as she faced life and all its unknowns?

these words were good, but in my opinion they weren’t great!  i am just not sure they were eternal words.  as i have replayed these words in my mind for a month now, i have to ask what would my three lines be?  my biggest conclusion is that they would be Christ-centered not child-centered.  i would take out the you’s and add God and try to convey life-changing truths that would not only point children to Jesus Christ and a relationship with Him, but would offer the real comfort they would need in the future.  He is all wisdom.  He is the author of kindness, and He is above all things.  that makes Him most important.

i encounter children daily and often times deliver words far less effective and profound as these movie lines.  i waste opportunities to plant eternal truths and replace them with casual, trite, fading, and empty words.  so even though i haven’t completely decided how it could best be said, here is my attempt at three lines.

“God created you and has a plan for you.  God loves you just like you are and gave you Jesus.  God will never leave you.”

i would love to hear your three lines!

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In faith

a perfect fit

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in the last 15 years in ministry i have often felt like a square peg trying to cram into a round hole.  i just don’t fit.  in many situations i find myself being the object of the child’s song, “one of these things is not like the other.”  here are just a few:

– as someone that ministers to parents of children, i’m not a fit because i am not a parent.  i try my hardest and pray that God would grant me wisdom to think like a parent, but the fact
is i’m not.   so how can i really fit?
–  in my great, sweet circle of friends i stick out as the only unmarried one.  (always
completing the group as the 3rd, 5th, or 7th wheel.)
–  in the kidmin ministry world that is constantly changing, evolving, and providing much
conversation, i would rather discuss what God is doing personally in the lives of those involved and avoid “shop” talk.
–  the place i call home and lay my head just doesn’t fit as where my heart is.
–  on a staff and in a ministry world of the seminary trained, i’m uneducated and carry a degree in mass communications.  quite a far cry from theology.
– not to mention, i am surrounded by crimson wearing, tide cheering people, (oh and those orange fans of east tennessee) when my rally cry is “war eagle.” 🙂

today on a drive  home after a much needed roadtrip, i pondered the above list (not really the last point).  i even cried out to God for understanding and direction and He sweetly spoke to my heart.  while i often don’t “feel” like i fit in many groups or situations He places me in, He gently reminded me i fit perfectly in the palm of His hand.  that was enough for me.  that Truth doesn’t dismiss my feelings, but brings comfort that while i wait and press on He never lets go.

anyone else ever feel like they just don’t fit?

 

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In kidmin

a farewell letter

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YUC jenna, who recently moved to maine, celebrates her farewell luau with her parents on the coast!

tonight i said goodbye to an incredibly special group of 6th graders.  through a week that was tough (for many reasons) at best, my Savior was precious to give me not only words for them, but for me as well.  the focus of my letter to them was inspired by a recent newsletter from anne graham lotz where she was calling all of God’s people to wake up and know we will see Jesus.

August 19, 2011

dear YUC XIII, (Youth Under Construction)

there is no way i can begin a letter to you without first confessing how many times i failed you!  for you see, as much as my heart wanted to constantly point you to Jesus, my flesh continued to get in the way.  there were times i reacted instead of rested in the fruits the Holy Spirit provides.  times i came spiritually ragged and complacent instead of overflowing with His Truth.  times you and Jesus deserved my best and i offered up “just good enough.”  i am truly sorry, and with that i know that this letter is as much for me as it is for you.  (it is also for your precious parents, too.)  

as you move forward into this next phase in your life, so much seems too hard, too different, too fun, too scary, and too real.  might i remind you that as we may perceive this life as a stark reality, as c.s. lewis reminds us so beautifully in “the last battle”, these captive moments are merely the shadowlands.  for you see eternity is our reality and there we will see with unveiled faces, our Savior, Jesus Christ!  what we don’t see in front of us is far more important than what is so aggressively forcing itself upon our eyes daily.  so with that thought in mind and with the personal challenge God has given me lately, i have but one piece of advice for you as you move another step forward in this vapor that is your life. live like you are going to see Jesus.

seeing Jesus is reality!  whether it is seeing Him upon your last breath on earth or when He returns again, you and i will see Jesus.  what if?  what if, we lived our lives with that very reality? for you see, if we fixed our eyes upon that reality every single aspect of our lives would be touched. 


  • when you feel like you are “good enough”… live like you will see Jesus. (“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23  “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23.)
  • when you are walking into the unknown… live like you will see Jesus.  He is with you every step of the way.  (“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6)
  • when your heart is breaking… live like you will see Jesus. He is oh so close. 
(“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Proverbs 34:18)
  • when you are faced with choosing between Him and the world… live like you will see Jesus.  (“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Mark 8:36)
  • when you feel like you are all alone, no one understands, and you need courage… live like you will see Jesus.  (“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9)
  • when your world seems like it is falling apart and you have no peace… live like you will see Jesus.  (“For He Himself is our peace…”  Ephesians 2:14a)
  • when your days begin to get too busy for time with Him… live like you will see Jesus.  (“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”  Matthew 11:28)
  • when you feel like you have out-sinned His love for you… live like you will see Jesus.  (“So he got up and went to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. Luke 15:20)
  • when worldly wisdom, ideas, and half-truths seem more “fun” and easier to hear… live like you will see Jesus.  (“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105)
  • when you feel like you may know more than God… live like you will see Jesus. (He is the Rock, his works are perfect,  and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong,  upright and just is He. Deuteronomy 32:4)
  • when you feel unloved, rejected, unaccepted, and excluded… live like you will see Jesus.  (“The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3)
  • whenever you doubt what the One True God feels about you… live like you will see Jesus. (The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17)

may we all live like we are going to see Jesus, because through our relationship with Him we  will see each other again beyond the shadowlands and spend forever with Jesus.  now, that’s quite a reality!

                                much love-
                                miss danielle<><

 

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In faith

jonah, a vine, and me

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my mind has been captivated lately with chapter four of jonah.  maybe because it is the part of the story we often don’t hear, or maybe because it just hits too close to home.

as i was rereading it the other day i was struck again how jonah would rather die than witness God’s compassion on the people or suffer uncomfortable circumstances.  i actually almost said out loud, “drama queen.”  but as i quickly turned to judge this man of God that prayed such a beautiful prayer of repentance in chapter two, the conviction turned on me.  i thought, how could one who knew the character of the God he served be so quick to anger or  throw in the towel? the Spirit whispered, “you know me, too.  why do you get so upset and choose to give up so easily?”  as my mind questioned jonah’s lack of compassion, my heart was searching for some shred of  the mercy and love my Heavenly Father has for me.

after quite an adventure, jonah agreed to be obedient to God’s call on his life, but he still had some growing to do.  jonah may have been a prophet, but he wasn’t God.  God took me on quite a journey to plant me in children’s ministry, untrained and fearful.  see, i, too know His character yet still question Him and often throw my hands in the air.  how much more effective and obedient in ministry would i be if i would drop the drama, quiet the questioning, ax the anger, silence the threats to quit, and simply serve the One that called me?  after all, He is God and i am not!

Jonah 4
Jonah’s Anger at the LORD’s Compassion

 1 But Jonah was greatly displeased and became angry. 2 He prayed to the LORD, “O LORD, is this not what I said when I was still at home? That is why I was so quick to flee to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. 3Now, O LORD, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 But the LORD replied, “Have you any right to be angry?”

 5 Jonah went out and sat down at a place east of the city. There he made himself a shelter, sat in its shade and waited to see what would happen to the city. 6 Then the LORD God provided a vine and made it grow up over Jonah to give shade for his head to ease his discomfort, and Jonah was very happy about the vine. 7 But at dawn the next day God provided a worm, which chewed the vine so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God provided a scorching east wind, and the sun blazed on Jonah’s head so that he grew faint. He wanted to die, and said, “It would be better for me to die than to live.”

 9 But God said to Jonah, “Do you have a right to be angry about the vine?”

   “I do,” he said. “I am angry enough to die.”

 10 But the LORD said, “You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. 11 But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Should I not be concerned about that great city?”

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In kidmin

dwelling.

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summer in children’s ministry is inevitably an event driven time for me.   i can literally hear my brain switch gears at the conclusion of one event in preparation for the next.  for example, on the way home from my first camp of the summer, my mind is flooded with to-do’s, ideas, and excitement for vbs that is right around the corner.  those that work with me know it, because emails, phone calls, and dream sessions all become a reality once i have completed the proceeding event.  although i am a self-described multi-tasker, my heart is a bit simple in its effort to pour passion into one event at a time.  but after last week at my 6th grade servant camp, something is different.  oh i have plenty in front of me: promotion, 6th grade transition and goodbyes, etc., but my heart seems settled and longs to marinate in the Glory of God we experienced last week.  instead of rushing ahead to the next “thing”, i can’t shake the awe of the God that was and is in our midst.

last week we took 33 6th graders and 14 adults to the 100+ temperatures of memphis to serve from the time they woke up until the time they went to bed.  one of the goals of the trip was to stretch them completely out of their comfort zones so that they could experience what God alone could do in and through them. (funny when you plan that for your children, it has a way of stretching you as well.) we said all week, “it’s not about me” and for one of the first times i can honestly say that the majority (if not all) of the group so removed themselves, their desires, their comfort, and their plans for the week that God was able to show up in mighty ways.  we remained in His presence.  we were broken for our sins and wandering. we were pushed to the end of ourselves and we saw His Glory.  the camp was quite organic, but our God was Almighty and changed hearts and lives forever.

my heart longs to dwell there.  while much planning went into last week, i ache for the simplicity of when i simply got out of the way and God showed up, took over, and met us each so personally.  so as i return to the office this week, i am praying that i never “switch gears” and move on to what is next.  may the God who challenged me and exceeded my expectations last week be allowed to infiltrate every ounce of my planning and ministry.  i’m weary of my ways and choose today to cling to the Vine and dwell in His glory!

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
John 15:5

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