Taking Stress Out Of The New Year! December 30, 2010

The New Year is upon us, 2011 will be here in a couple of days, ready or not. As I was reflecting on this, I began thinking of how stressful our lives can be and how important it is to put God first!

In an effort to be the best parent, we often find ourselves overcommitted, overextended, and over obligated. With children’s activities and needs, responsibilities at church, work and home, there is often not enough time to get it all done. Is this the way God intended it to be? My family needs me, I need to work and …..there is just nothing in my life that can budge right now!  The truth is, God never intended us to live such stressful lives. As a Christian parent, I know that it takes faith, discipline and persistence to manage time God’s way!

Our stressful approach to life produces anxiety, frustration, nervousness and irritability.  In an effort to do it all, we forget what is most important and end up accomplishing nothing.

I am convinced that the solution to this stress, can be found in God’s word in Matthew 6 : 33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you”.

Wow! did you hear that, “all things will be provided for you”.

The key is to filter out the things that are not necessary in our daily lives and to remind ourselves of the ultimate priority.  God didn’t say, to seek first the daily to do list and to take care of all of the children’s activities. Instead He said “Seek first the kingdom of God”.

Seeking first the kingdom of God is the most overlooked spiritual principle among busy parents today.  By trying to do so many things even good things, we often leave little time to do the best thing…….that is to seek God’s kingdom first each and every day!

God has promised that He will instruct us about the things that He wants us to do if we seek Him first each day.  In Jeremiah 33:3 God tells us that He will answer  us if we call out to Him and seek His direction.  Sometimes it takes sheer discipline to turn to God first, instead of turning to all of our responsibilities and daily to do lists.  God calls us to Himself, inviting us to deepen our love and relationship with Him so that He can fill us with His joy,  His peace and His stability. That deeper relationship can be found no other way than by sitting at His feet.

You may wonder, how do we make our lives  less stressful? We must turn our commitments and responsibilities over to Him. You may even want to write down your responsibilities as a parent, spouse, employee as well as your other leadership roles in your community and church.  Also include other activities such as exercise and family commitments.  Pray over each area asking God to reveal to you what things that He has not called you to be doing right now and to help you in setting your priorities.  He will bless your effort and obedience.

 I have found that by turning my commitments and responsibilities over to Him, I don’t have more time, but my time is more and my stress level is manageable! I experience a deeper fulfillment and much more stability and calmness in my life on a daily basis. I need those God-infused qualities to be the person that He wants me to be.

God doesn’t want us to be stressed! Seek Him! Pray about all of your obligations you have each day, and ask God to show you what is important and He will give you comfort and peace, the way that He intended it to be!

Happy New Year!

Prayer November 9, 2010

Have you ever thought where we would be without prayer?

As a Christian I can not imagine what I would do without prayer!  It is a daily or shall I say sometimes it feels like a constant part of my day.  This year, my family and I have dealt with many challenges that I know we would have not gotten through without prayer.

Our nation feels somewhat helpless, with many people without work and an economy that still feels like it is in a downward spin. Our children are also  faced with so many more challenges in this technological world.  That leads  me to a question of what can we do.  Does God expect us to contribute in some way?

Fortunately, there is much we, as believers, can do to help. In James 5:16 it says, “That the effective prayer of righteous man can accomplish much”. Does that verse say that the effective prayers of a righteous country, church, or even a group of people will contribute much? Not exactly, but community prayer is a good way to communicate with God and can do much.  But, one person, one single person in a world of billions, can release the supernatural power of God in any crisis and that can be done with prayer!

You know, I feel that being a parent is one of the greatest  privileges that we have. However, it can also be the biggest of all responsibilities.  It is the best of all jobs, while at the same time it is the most difficult of all jobs.  It can bring you the highest joy and it can bring you the deepest pain.  It can make you feel like a huge success when everything is going well or it can make you feel like a failure when something goes wrong.

Even now and especially as a young mother, I often felt overwhelmed by the task of raising 2 children.  I didn’t always know what I was doing, so I turned to God and I did it through prayer!  Do you think God would want us to raise our children without His help?  I don’t think so.  God wants us to look to Him to give us the wisdom, strength and the ability we need to do the job well.  One of the most important parts of our job as a parent is to keep our children covered in prayer. In a way, it means that we partner with God to raise our children as we pray for every aspect of their lives.  It is a praying parent that can make a big difference!

Have a wonderful week and see you Sunday!

God’s Love October 16, 2010

Happy Sweetest Day!

Have you ever thought about ‘love’? Oh, I’m sure you have, everyone has!  There are all kinds of love: love for a significant other,  love for a friend, love for a family member, love for our hobbies, love for a pet and the list goes on!

This morning I went to the grocery for a few things and since I was not in a real hurry I found myself actually taking a moment to look at the people up and down each aisle, instead of quickly passing by as if they did not even exist. It was here that I saw the presence of love all around.  I saw a young mom pushing her preschooler in the cart, they were talking about a football cake that he wanted for  his birthday.  You could hear the excitement in his voice as they talked.  I saw an older lady with her adult son who appeared to be mentally challenged. She was patiently waiting for him to make a selection in the cereal aisle.  There was a young man in his 20′s buying flowers which were probably for a girlfriend. Then I saw an older gentleman pushing his wife in a wheelchair and trying to push a cart at the same time.

I read an article recently that said that we are all love hungry people who want to be part of a family who cares for each other, shows up for each other and sticks up for each other. In other word we want a love filled family.   It went on to say that we are all born with a God-given hole of longing in our hearts and that we spend our lives looking for the kind of love that fills that emptiness within us.

It is so very important for us to teach our children about love. Love is a choice and an action.  Through our everyday gestures and routines we are filling our children with experiences of love.  Most importantly, we must teach our children about God’s love. God is the source of our love and He loved us so much that He sacrificed  His Son for us!  There is no other love greater than the love that God has for you and me!

I am often reminded of the importance in teaching  about God’s love to our children when I think about a friend of mine. Lisa was a wonderful person, friend, wife, mother and devoted Christian.  She and her unborn son were tragically killed in a car accident as they traveled home from a vacation.  Her husband and two-year old daughter survived the crash with little injury.  The car they had been riding in was scattered in bits and pieces on the pavement as well as their personal items.  Amongst the debris, one of the rescue workers found a book which happened to be a journal that Lisa had kept for her daughter. She had taken it with her on vacation hoping to find the time to catch up on the things she had wanted to write. As if a mother could write her last words to her child,  Lisa had ended her last journal entry telling her daughter that mommy and daddy loved her so very much, more than she could ever imagine. She then wrote that even though she knew it would be hard for her to understand right now, that GOD loved her even more!

Even though that little girl lost her mother that day, what a gift to know that even through her mother’s death, that she taught her child about the love of God! Teach your child about God’s love.  He is the Greatest Gift!

Teaching Our Children to Share Their Faith With Others October 7, 2010

What a wonderful event we had at the church this past Saturday! Our first ever Burlington Cares outreach event kicked off with many of our members reaching out to our community and serving others. Thanks to each of you who were involved in any way and to all of the lives that were touched.

If you were not here this past Sunday for Pastor Todd’s sermon, you missed out on a blessing. He is continuing a series of sermons based upon the book, “The Christian Atheist” by Craig Groeshel.

You know it is odd that being in the position that I am at the church, as the Children’s Ministry Director, I am not always able to get in to one of our worship services on Sunday,  but somehow when there is a sermon message that I need to hear, somehow the time is made available and I am able to slip in and participate in worship.  This was true in this past Sundays Service and I was able to listen to a portion of  Pastor Todd’s sermon.  It really hit home!

The sermon was based upon statements of a ‘lukewarm christian’.  O.k. , I have to admit that there were a few statements that I thought great, I am doing something right, not feeling too guilty yet. Then it was at the next moment that I heard it, the pastor’s next statement of a ‘lukewarm christian’, “You rarely share your faith in Christ with anyone”. Wow! At that time I began thinking of opportunities that I had missed in sharing my love for God and His love for each of us with others. I try to live my life as a reflection of Him but you know, I don’t always verbally share it  with others. As I sat there in the pew thinking more about this I kept thinking about one in particular individual that I knew I should have been more proactive in sharing my testimony with.  Tears swelled up in my eyes as I remembered this dear friend.  You see, this dear friend passed away after a long fight with cancer this past July. I do not know if he had accepted Christ, I really don’t think that he had.  How can I call this person my dear friend when I never took the time to ensure that he had heard of the love of God! I know that it is a personal decision each of us have to make, but, had he ever heard the message?  Was it me that was supposed to have done that, to have been an influence in his life and shared it with him?  Had I been so selfish and not taken the time to  actually witness to him? Upon his death did he see the face of God?  Is he walking by the side of God now?

My friend knew that I was a Christian.  He would often laugh and call me the ‘church lady’. When he was first diagnosed I put him on our prayer list at church and for about a year he fought his battle with cancer and was doing well.  He would tell me that those Baptist prayers were working. There were even several people from our church to send him cards of encouragement. He would always tell me when he received  one and would tell me that it was all those prayers that was helping him get better.

It is so important as parents that we teach our children to share their faith with others!  The best way that we can do this is to model this behavior. We, as Christian parents need to show our children that it is our responsibility to share His love to others.  Shouldn’t it be as easy as some of our daily routine activities?

There are  additional ways that we as parents can help our children to learn how to  share their faith with others. One way would be to role play. You and your child can go through an actual conversation as if they were talking to one of their friends.  Make suggestions and encourage them as they can share how God is a part of their lives.  Encourage your children to invite their friends to a church service or church activity.   Get them involved in an outreach opportunity. Most importantly pray that God will shine His light through them wherever they may be.

As a christian parent we must teach our children to share their faith with others.  We have a responsiblity as believers to let our light shine and to share His gift of salvation with others. Have a great end of the week and see you Sunday!

Hello World It’s Burlington Baptist Children’s Blog July 27, 2010

Welcome! I am so excited about all of the new opportunities that are coming our way at Burlington Baptist Church! One of those opportunities is this blog. As the Children’s Ministry Director I hope to bring you weekly updates as to happenings with our children’s ministry, words of encouragement to children and their parents and parenting tips.

Children are my mission and passion!  Although I am relatively new to this ministry, I feel that I have been called to provide children with a safe and loving environment where they can learn that God loves them and they can learn to serve and honor Him.  I am blessed to have the opportunity everyday to live 0ut loud that God is my Saviour and Friend and each day is a chance to show His light!