My soul is full

 the past few months have been difficult. the loss, anxiety and frustration is sometimes overwhelming. i have never felt the weight of the world as much as i have in the last several months. so much pain, so much injustice, so much uncertainty...

 none of the outside forces changed today but I held the hand of a three year old (wore my mask and he wore his) and we walked. we talked about sticks and driveways, we talked about flowers and trees with faces. we talked about all of the nicknames he has from various family members and we walked...a long way. IT WAS GLORIOUS! I gave him a big bear hug then he went home and I came inside and washed my hands. 

 the injustice is still there, the weight of it is still heavy, i still don't have certainty about what's going to happen next but wow! it's worth trudging through all of it to look at his big beautiful eyes, to hear his sweet voice and to hold his precious hand. 

I love you, bubby! Thanks for helping me see the world through your eyes today. 

Life is different than I thought it would be...

Life is different than I thought it would be...
Well, isn't that the truth! Who in the world would have predicted 2020?!?

Who in their right mind would think that we'd be staying home..no really STAYING HOME all the time.

Who could have imagined a world where I would enter a bank, a grocery store, or the hardware store wearing a mask and dodging strangers to make sure we don't come close to one another?

What kind of person would imagine that our communities, our families, our friends would be so divided and unable or unwilling to see from the point of view of the "other"?

So, life isn't as we planned. I'm not doing the thing I thought I'd do forever. I'm not snuggling my grandbabies, going to all the crowded places that I love, or having coffee with friends. The list of things I'm not doing is long...and yet.

I am able to:
→ take time to learn about and listen to the point of view of the "other"
→ consider the beauty of an evening walk or a drive with my husband
→ see my grandbabies, even if it's at a distance
→ appreciate all the ways that my needs are met
→ have long and deep conversations
→ express gratitude
→ remain hopeful
→ show compassion to people with whom I disagree
→ remember that this too shall pass...try not to miss all the amazing things about 2020.

 


  

Holiness in every day life

I'm not the first person to pen those words....not even close.
But it has taken me more than just a little while to embrace them. Like many people who respond to a calling into ministry in the church, I became completely and wholly engaged in it, and in the process I forgot that God is present in the every day of life.

Is it possible that while spending so many years trying to be holy in my work, I missed the way God weaves holiness into so many other things?
The mom who welcomes, plays with and feeds all the neighbor kids.
The woman who listens to the heartache of a stranger.
The man who cares for his ailing wife.
Work.
Rest.
Solitude.
A well prepared meal.
Needles and thread.
Standing in line.
Staples and new fabric.
Carrying heavy things.
Old things.
Rocking a crying baby.
Laughing with a friend.
Provision in the face of uncertainty.
A rambunctious two year old.
Quiet evenings with people you love.
A great glass of wine.
Noticing God's image in the faces of every other person you see.
Saying no to good things.
Saying yes to something new.
Desperate prayers.

The list goes on and on...and so little of it needs to be led or organized, recruited or staffed, an offering bag passed or announcements to be announced. I still believe that God can use the Body gathered, I'm just beginning to appreciate the effectiveness of each of us being willing to embrace the holiness of all that God calls us to in the every day.

Thursday

Grateful for the kindness and generosity of the anonymous.
Refreshed by unexpected respite.
Delighting in the beauty of old things made new again.
Thankful for creative endeavors.

Thursday.

I wrote this on a Thursday more than a year ago...

still true

It's time to write again...I think

You can't experience God's sustaining grace while resisting His will.

So, I opened up my blog tonight and found this sentence ^ ^

I have no idea why I wrote that in 2014 but tonight it seems heavy with meaning and challenge. You see a few weeks ago I stepped away from my role in the church. It was unavoidable really...it was time. 

My heart longs to be used to shine light in darkness, to see God use me to help, to restore, to reclaim, to see beauty grow from ashes. I don't know what the grand plan is but tonight I'm going to do my best to stop resisting so that I can experience God's sustaining grace. 

Sometimes we get to see it happen!

I work in a church.  I love my job.  I love the people I serve.  I love the team I get to do it with! 

All that said, (and I probably shouldn't say this) sometimes it becomes a bit routine. You know, Sunday comes every six days; there are supplies to order, phone calls to answer, e-mails to be sent and things to be done.
 
One other thing I've noticed...when I actually pay attention...I get to see God at work!  Tonight I paid attention and got to see some pretty terrific stuff.  Stuff that makes all those supply orders, phone calls and e-mails seem a bit less routine.  After all, Sunday only comes around every six days! 

This Sunday, we get to witness several families whose lives have been changed because someone, at Suncrest, chose to be used by God.  I am greatly blessed to get to play even the smallest part!
 

it really will keep turning...even if I quit pushing?!?

For my fellow type A's out there...
The world really will keep turning...even if you quit pushing.
I know, I know, it's pretty hard to believe.  Read it again.  Own that statement.  Think about the wisdom behind it.  Quit pushing.  

My mom is a wise, non-type A.  She has spoken this phrase to her type A daughter (me) on more than one occasion and always want to argue with her a bit.  I mean, for heaven's sake, what fun is there in just enjoying the ride? Shouldn't we be doing something?  Pushing something? OK, maybe even pushing someone? The world turns so much better when I'm pushing!  

Really...I think I'm accomplishing so much and then I read Psalm 33

"The Lord looks down from heaven

and sees every person.

From his throne he watches

all who live on earth.

He made their hearts

and understands everything they do.

No king is saved by his great army.

No warrior escapes by his great strength.

Horses can’t bring victory;

they can’t save by their strength.

But the Lord looks after those who fear him,

those who put their hope in his love.

He saves them from death

and spares their lives in times of hunger.

So our hope is in the Lord.

He is our help, our shield to protect us.

We rejoice in him,

because we trust his holy name.

Lord, show your love to us

as we put our hope in you."

I think I'll stop pushing for now...He seems to have it all well in hand.

Rainy Monday

It's quiet in the car...
I have convinced 3 members of my family to visit the Indiana Visitors Center.
We'll see...
They may leave me there :)

Awaken us (me)

Today is a good day...no trouble brewing in my life. Just a sense of contentment and peace.  I think.
I think I'm content.

My husband and kids are reasonably happy.  He is better to me than I deserve.  Treats me with respect when I probably don't deserve it and responds with kindness when I treat him with less respect than he deserves. I have been blessed with more time with my children than generally expected.  I have every reason to be proud of who they are becoming.  I love them more than life! 

We have food in our refrigerator (well I should probably go grocery shopping).  Our house is plenty big enough; it's warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

I love my job.  The people I work with are among the best at what they do.  There really isn't much of anything that I would change right now.

And yet...
there is a discontent.  I hope this discontent grows out of a holy place.  That place where God is at work tilling up the soil.  Encouraging a sense of urgency, a sense that things are not as they should be...that there are people who do not know Him and His great love for them.  We spend more time than we should trying to make ourselves comfortable; surrounding ourselves with people who look, think and sound like us.  God, help us (ME) to remember that this is not our home...you have a better place, but it isn't just for me and the people I love. 

It is for the people that You love! Help me to love like you love.  Help me to see the world that way you see.  Help me to hear the cries of children who are not mine.  Help me to be the person that you want me to be.

We are questions that beg for the answers
We are poems awaiting the rhyme
We are riddles that long for solution
With your breath we come alive

We are silenced when searching for reasons
We are weary and broken inside
We are desperate for your affection
We are darkness you are light

Awaken us, Awaken us
Stir in our hearts your truth
Awaken us, Awaken us
That we might live for you
We are ashes, we are dust
Awaken us

Lord, You whispered the dawn of creation
And your love has been on display
You have promised that you would be with us
We need you, here to day

Awaken us, Awaken us
Stir in our hearts your truth
Awaken us, Awaken us
That we might live for you
We are ashes, we are dust
Awaken us

You will lead us out of the desert
You will hold us when we are weak
Lord, we will rise up, we will rise up
To follow our Great King.

Awaken us, Awaken us
Stir in our hearts your truth
Awaken us, Awaken us
That we might live for you Oh

Awaken us, Awaken us
Stir in our hearts your truth
Awaken us, Awaken us
That we might live for you
We are ashes, we are dust

Awaken us ~ Building 429 

This city makes me smile

I got to spend this afternoon and evening wandering this city with some of my favorite people. There are so many things I love here:
Amazing diversity of people...just listen and you can hear the whole world!
Breathtaking architecture....new and old meet everywhere.
Crowded sidewalks give way to picturesque parks.
Skyscrapers overlooking one of the most beautiful bodies of water.
This city may not be the perfect place for everyone, but it is the perfect spot for our family!
I can't wait until we can all wander it together again....

Good Morning?!?

If you know me, even a little, you know that morning is not my favorite part of the day.  I much prefer to work or play late into the night and sleep right through sun up.  Yep, I'm one of those people.

Ok, that isn't really all that interesting, but for the last few months (for reasons that you don't really care about) it has been necessary for me to arrive at work by 6:30 am several times a week.  I'm fairly certain that the balance of nature is being upset by these occurrences!

Here are just a few of my observations (in no particular order...I'm too tired for that):

• I am actually thinking in complete sentences at 7:21 am, what is up with that?
• I enjoy music more when I'm alone in the office
• There are other people outside at 6:00 am
• Night Owls are still night owls even when they have to crawl out of bed at O'dark-hundred...really!
• Night Owls have time staying awake between the hours of 11am and 3pm when they have to crawl out of bed at O'dark-hundred
• I still love Jesus in the morning, but we still have better conversations in the evening
• It is still rude to call people before 9am...even if you have been awake for hours before then

I've probably killed enough time...should get busy on that list of things that I could do with this (precious) time that I don't normally see.

Have a beautiful day!

The Eric Trap - 5 things every leader has to get right

I need to confess, I'm a bit of a leadership geek.  I've probably read every Maxwell, Lencioni, and Godin book available.  I follow blogs, read articles and pay pretty close attention to what's happening in the world of leadership both inside and outside the church. OK, maybe I'm more than just a bit obsessed.  So, when I was given the opportunity to get an advance copy of The Eric Trap I naturally said yes, please!

While I have learned lots of things from the authors I've mentioned; their work doesn't always translate easily to Kids Ministry and to the people I lead who are just a little less enthusiastic. I've handed these books to people on my teams only to have them respond with something like, "I just want to do ministry" or "how does this apply to kidmin?"  I can't wait to hand the people on my team The Eric Trap! 

The Eric Trap is a leadership fable by Kenny Conley, Sam Luce, and Jim Wideman with several other contributors.

We are immediately drawn into a week in the life of Eric Newman - a gifted Children's Pastor whose leadership is a bit off track. Eric is confronted with 5 areas of leadership that he has to get right in order to get out of the messy place he finds himself.  In addition to a compelling story, we get some great insight from some terrific leaders.
 Here's my recommendation:
If you feel like everything in life and ministry is great - read this book. It's a great reminder to pay attention to those 5 things we must do well.
If you feel like your ministry world is caving in just a bit - read this book. You may learn some things by experiencing Eric's "no good, very bad week."     


 
By the way, I was given an advance copy of The Eric Trap for the purposes of giving it an honest review, but you can get your very own copy beginning on April 25th at The Orange Conference and at Amazon soon after. You can also pre-order the book for a huge discount over at Jim Wideman’s site! In the meantime, you can check out the book’s website at TheEricTrap.com.

the Next Milestone

We're developing a new Milestone for 4-6 year olds and their parents, it will debut on July 22nd!

At Suncrest, each milestone is an attempt to connect with parents. Specifically at a time when they are already open to input with regard to their role in spiritually nurturing their children.  Milestones 1 and 3 are in place and we're seeing a great response from parents and children.

Milestone 1 is Parent-Child Dedication and includes a Covenant that parents write for their child/children.

Milestone 3 is a class called Lifebuilding - a class dedicated to helping parents lead their kids through the basics of our faith and baptism.  One of my favorite things is the Blessing that parents write for and read to their children! Love reading what parents write about how they see God at work in their child's life.

Now we're working on the middle.  Milestone 2 will be designed to give parents some tools to help them lead their child through the preschool and early elementary years.  Right now our list looks something like this:

Teaching your child to pray

Praying with your child

Helping your child see God at work in their life

Simple faith conversations

What do you think? What would you add to or take away from our list?

Meeting Agendas

Now that's a compelling topic!
Ok, so it really isn't...but here's one thing I've learned about preparing and sending an agenda (ahead of time) to the team I lead:
          It speaks value to each team member by giving them time to prepare their thoughts and ideas.


Here's the agenda for today's meeting:

1.       Passion Week Services

2.       Curriculum reading – ideas of people to read 3^rd & 4^th grade beginning in the fall

3.       Coaches and Leaders

4.       Screening Process - Potential Contributor Interview Form

5.       Tracking expenses

What do you do with meeting agendas?

Nest is a bit more empty

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."  - Elizabeth Stone

We dropped another daughter off at school (college) recently.  Daniel and I have four amazing kids who insist on growing up, becoming self-sufficient and basically proving the above quote to be true.

We wouldn't have it any other way! 

It's getting quieter at our house

With these two girlies leaving the house, it's going to be pretty quiet around here.
There are so many thoughts and feelings surrounding this momentous time in our lives. So proud of how they've turned out, sad that I won't see them every day, excited for all that's ahead for them and a bit (very little bit) concerned that they still need me too much to be out in the big world all alone.
Seriously, we are so proud of all of our kids. God has blessed us with fun, independent, compassionate and kind young people who are actually one another's best friends.
The next several months are going to bring even more change to the Albrecht house...one more daughter is likely to leave home and our son will finish his first year of high school. While there is so much change, there is also the assurance that no matter where my children live...they are most at home when they are together.

I might be the world's worst blogger

The best of intentions:
I start out thinking that I am going to do this thing regularly, and then....

life takes over!

Oh, please don't feel bad for me.  I have an amazing life and it really isn't more busy than most.  It's just full enough to allow me to think that introspection and sharing what I'm thinking about is not that important. 

Here's to a new year; with more introspection, more sharing of new thoughts and better attention to following up on good intentions.

A Review of Smack-Dab in the Middle of God's Love - A children's book

Smack-Dab in the Middle of God's Love by Brennan Manning & John Blase. Illustrated by Nicole Tadgell
Please note that I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com; http://BookSneeze®.com; book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I love everything Brennan Manning writes. So, when the opportunity to read and review this book for children came along I thought "great!  I get to combine two loves: reaching out to kids with God's love and reading another book by Brennan Manning."

While it is a sweet book, I'm not sure who the appropriate audience is. The illustrations would be great for young children but there is too much text on each page for their attention span. Older children would appreciate the storyline but would want more detail. 

A review of Unleashed by Erwin Raphael McManus

Erwin McManus has long been known as a passionate, creative and unrestrained follower of Christ.   Unleashed is dedicated to challenging us to do the same.  Erwin's greatest strength, as an author, is his ability to draw you into the story and he does this well in this short book.

When I first signed up to review this book I assumed it was a new work; upon receiving it realized that it is a re-release of The Barbarian Way. The cover art has been changed and seems intended to appeal to women. That said, I think that if you were unlikely to resonate with the original work it is also highly unlikely that you will find this any more motivating.

This work is filled with stories of his family and personal ministry experiences. Initially I found myself appreciating everything he had to say but eventually it all started to sound the same. His challenge is to just take a risk, nearly any risk will do.

I agree that the way of a Christ-follower is not intended to be insulated and safe, in scripture we see times when God definitely calls people to do the "unsafe" thing: John the Baptist is used as the example of this. There are also times when God promises to keep us safe...to uphold us with His mighty right hand, to care for us as the Shepherd cares for his sheep.

In the end, the challenge seems to be to trust God completely and to be willing to follow even when it doesn't seem safe or make sense.  A great challenge for every follower of the barbarian way. 

Please note that I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Milestone 1 - Parent-Child Dedication (our timeline)

 

Last week I wrote a bit about Parent-Child Dedication and promised to add some information about our process.  Here's the timeline we follow, over the next few days I will add more information about some of the things referenced here.  One of the most meaningful is the covenant that parents write...I'll post the template we give to parents, along with a couple of samples.

I would absolutely love to hear about how you make this event in the lives of families in your church more meaningful!

Dedication Timeline

8-10 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Publicize dedication dates in several places:

            Bulletin

            Website

            Kids communication                  

6-8 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Mail dedication packets to all who are interested - this may actually be done at any time.

Begin scheduling pre-dedication meetings with parents and Kid’s Directors (campus or global)

3-6 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Campus or Global Director will meet individually with parents who desire to dedicate their children.

During this meeting we will cover:

Biblical precedents for parent-child dedication

Parent’s role in their child’s spiritual growth

Spiritual Mentor’s role in the child’s life

Church’s role in the spiritual development of their child

Some hints for writing the family covenant

Details of the parent-child dedication process and service

10 days - 3 weeks before dedication Sunday:

Parents write family covenant and send copy to Kids Ministry office at least 10 days previous to dedication

Family picture settings to be available at least 2 weeks prior to dedication Sunday (prefer at least 2 time/date options)

Dedication Sunday:

            30 minutes prior to service:

                        Private prayer of dedication with parents and family (church leaders to assist)

                        Certificate, framed family covenant and photo to be given to parents

            10 minutes before the service:

                        Parents, Children and guests in Worship Area (designated seating)

            During service:

Parents, child and mentors will come up on stage at end of communion

Pastor will briefly introduce each one (child’s name and parents first name, asking them to  

step forward)

Pastor will talk about the purpose of the day, mostly directed at the parents

We will do vows/response from parents as a group

Will do final vow with congregation (standing) and spiritual mentors, then offer a prayer.

Will ask people to encourage the families with applause as they leave the stage, congregation will be seated