Building Community

I am really happy how Kyle and I are getting involved with the church in our local community.  We have been leading a married small group and already we have gotten so close to the couples in our group.  We have invested in our small group by not only meeting once a week but doing get-togethers outside of group.  Authentic friendships are formed by doing life together and we are all there for the same reason: to become friends with like minded people.

Some of my best friends have been people that have been in my small group.  It is really cool to be the leader and able to bring people together and facilitate the group growing together.  If you are not already involved in a small group, whether it is a married, singles or men's or women's group, I would strongly encourage you to look into it.

Another thing we have been doing is leading a Transit small group.  If you are not familiar with Tranist it is our church's middle school program.  They meet when adults are in "Big Church" and they have a similar schedule.  First when they arrive before it starts they have fellowship complete with donuts!!  Then once it is time to get started they have an icebreaker or game, then they listen to worship music, then they have a message tailored to their specific stage of life, then we break into small groups.  This is where we come in, as small group leaders we have the privilege to each lead a group of boys and girls.

The middle schoolers are so excited to be there and are eager to hear God's message in a relevant way that they can relate.  Then to be around adults and high school co-leaders that care about them and want to build relationships with them, they think that is pretty cool too!  They get to hang out with kids just like them from different schools as well.  It is so much fun leading these middle schoolers and it is neat to see the things they deal with were issues I faced growing up as well.  I think leaders get just as much or more out of leading the groups as the kids do.

I am just really happy with the direction our lives are going and being apart of such great communities and having such healthy relationships.  It definitely helps our marriage and brings us closer together too.  Any time you can spend time together serving common interest is always a plus! 

How do you serve and give back to your community?!

The Beginning of the Second New Year

It may sound silly but many people consider THIS time of year to be the second beginning of the year.  You guessed it, school starting and fresh starts.  The Church does a big push for people to volunteer and people to join community groups, and flat out get involved.  You can look at the different ways to get involved at  Buckhead Church click here.  There are tons of other things you can do through all of the Northpoint Ministries.  They have Next which is learning more about Christianity and community service projects through intersect.  They also do a global outreach for mission trips through their global X program.  For my Watermarke friends the link is here.

The point is every year when people start back at school and they start back at other events, programs, and hopefully Church.  The summer is a time for vacation and fun in the sun!  The weather is nice and who would blame you?!  You can go to the pool, the lake, the beach and so many other fun things to be around water or outside!!  I love being around water and being in nature.  I feel so much at peace and just being able to relax is always nice!  I love spending time with my friends and there is a ton to do in the summer. 

Think about the difference in the Summer Olympics and the Winter Olympics.  It seems like most of the sporting events are in the Summer Olympics.  There is so much to watch it can seem over whelming.  But who doesn't like the Olympics?!  It seems like it always goes by so fast!!  I can't believe it is already over.  Think about how long the athletes train and all the hard work they put into getting ready for the biggest competition of their lives.  If it was me I would just want to do my best and not have any regrets.  I would want to think that there was nothing else I could have given to my endeavor.  I feel so bad for the athletes that fall or make some kind of stupid mistake that they will regret forever.  How many times do they perform the same routine or drill and almost never fall or trip?  Then when it really counts and millions of people are watching they mess up.  That would be the worst.

So with everything that we do and all the things we are starting for the first time in this new season, do your best.  Don't have any regrets, wondering what else you could have done to give your all.  Practice makes perfect, so always persevere!  If you have a challenge face it head on and don't look back!  There is only the present so focus on what you can do today to conquer your obstacles.  Dream Big and think about ways you can always improve yourself. 

You. Just. Got. Served.

This one little phrase seems to have a pretty negative connotation lately.  It is the idea that you really slammed or put someone down.  It can seem funny if someone is joking around, but other times it may really be painful if it is a little to close to the heart. How many times a day do we hear about people that have a negative impact with their words cutting deep?

What if people thought of "serving" in a more positive way?!?!  One thing I love most in this world is giving back to my community in time and money.  Serving for me is a part of who I am and something I am really committed to doing with my free time.  I feel like I can really feel the heart beat of the church through the different areas I have assisted.

When I first served at Buckhead church it was in Wamba Land, the pre-elementary school ministry.  Here I saw first hand how the church starts to show God's love to children and teaches them how "God loves them and wants to be their friend forever."  I think it is awesome how the church simplifies the message so even a three year old can connect and understand the basic idea of Christianity.

Then I moved to volunteering in a Fusion group, the old version of Single's Gathering.  After that I started to co-lead my own Fusion groups.  It is amazing to see how God uses the get-together to make authentic friendships and then see how the relationships develop.  Dating relationships are not the goal but when God blesses a relationship that honors him, only good things come from it.  The Singles Ministry at the Northpoint Ministries has an incredible way of bringing like minded people together to honor God through friendships.

One of the coolest groups I led was the DoJustice Atlanta wide community service event.  For one day groups of singles come together and each group of about 15-20 people complete one project through hard work and dedication.  It may seem like one group may not make that big of a difference, and maybe if it was just one group it wouldn't.  But the Northpoint Ministries is a huge organization and never does something half way.  So imagine 100 groups of 20... 2,000 people serving in a day.  That kind of man power can really make a difference in the community.  One united front.  It is kind of like a Christian Army for good.  Serving people throughout the Atlanta area building relationships with your team and making a real difference.  I feel like the whole city gets a face-lift bringing a light to otherwise dark parts of this town.  By serving others we realize what makes us great... the will to put other people before us is humbling, making the Lord first.

Now I am married, and my husband and I are serving in Transit, the middle school ministry.  Middle school is a rough awkward age for so many young people.  Kids are growing, changing, and learning independence everyday.  They struggle with trying to fit in and sometimes give into peer pressure.  The goal with serving these young people is to empower them to believe in themselves and grow into young adults who truly know and love the Lord.  If we invest in them they will realize they are valuable and become confident that they can be true to themselves while maintaining their relationship with their parents and the Lord.

I believe in the power of three.  Three good influencers can make all the difference.  A parent, a teacher, and a third person supporting them.  A lot of times there will be a coach, a friend's parent or maybe a youth group leader.  In our case we are small group leaders to these girls and boys (I have a girls' small group and my husband has a boys' small group).  Just to think that we are serving these youth in the most impressionable time in their lives is already so rewarding.  It is so cool to see them open up while being authentic and real.  It's pretty cool to be able to relate to them.  The difficult things I had to deal with are still relevant issues that they go through today.

So next time you think about putting someone down, think about the difference you could make by serving them instead.  Bringing other people up by being a friend to them and putting them before yourself.  Then imagine what a group of people can accomplish if they work together to change the town for the better.