Bloom January 30, 2009

It’s hard to imagine right now that in about 3 months, things will start growing again.  Deep beneath this frozen earth (and frozen me) are roots that go down deep and will emerge again for another season. In about 4 months, we should see things starting to BLOOM. Things that have been planted and sown.

That’s really the heart of Children’s Ministry as well. It’s like a continual growth cycle, seasons coming and going. Reproduction and new “fruit” and growth. That makes me really excited. What we plant in our children, what we sow into them week after week – what their families sow into them – if cared for properly will bloom and bring growth throughout their lifetime.

The definition of BLOOM is “a flourishing healthy condition”. That is where we are headed this season at Compass Point Kidz. We definitely have the health – we have great amazing strong leaders. I am so blessed every week as I see everyone in action.  Now we want to flourish and go to the next stage where God wants to bring us. And we need to do that together – to dream and cast vision for the future. It’s really an exciting time. We honor the past and where we have come from – and then we look ahead to the new things that God has for us, and for our families and children. I think the sky is the limit as far as what God wants to do in our community, and through our kids.

Our first BlOOM session will be held on Feb 19th, from 7:00-8:30 at the Kerns campus. This will be an initial evaluation of our current ministries and a time for dreaming and mapping out what is next. I am really excited about it. I don’t want to do this alone – but I want to do it as a team together! This particular night will be geared to our Kerns Campus Leaders, and shortly we will be hosting a BLOOM session as well for our Eaglesfield Campus Leaders. Down the road we’ll bring everyone together – but for now, we’ll be a little more specific as to the different DNA of each campus setting. It will be a great time together – with snacks, of course!

If you are leader, I hope you can make it! We value your input and insight!

Get ready… get set… Bloom!

Shelly

Kidz in Action January 21, 2009

Ok, so I don’t love January as much this week. It’s COLD. And I have been dreaming about beaches. The good thing is that winter allows us to really appreciate summer. So I am trying not to complain. It could be worse. I could live in the artic circle and never see sunlight (not that there is anything wrong with that, I’m just more of a beach girl……)

So, I recently read an article in Canadian Living magazine called “50 Good Deeds”.  A woman decided that she was going to purposely do a good deed every day for 50 days and see what happened. It was a really inspiring article, by the end of those 50 days she was amazed at all the good she had accomplished and how more aware she was of the needs around her.  That sparked thoughts in my mine about my own life, and then how something like that could affect ministry and impact children as well.

As a result of those thoughts, we are starting a Kidz in Action initiative. Each month, our CP children will be encouraged and challenged to be a Kid in Action – doing and serving others so that they can see the world around them change. Each month we will focus on a different area where we can serve and we will have weekly reports from the kids on what they have done to be a KIA. Coming to church and hearing and learning about God is so important, but it needs to go beyond that – so I pray that this will be something very exciting and something that will bear much fruit in young life (and subsequently the lives of their families!)

So, let’s bring on the action. Let’s serve those around us and be world changers. It is possible!

Shelly

Name Your Year January 12, 2009

I love January. I know it’s freezing cold out, and I can never find my mittens and my children try to sneak out EVERY day with no hat…… But I love the start of the new year because that means I get to name my year!  You are probably wondering what I am talking about.  I have a good pastor friend who preached a sermon a few years back called “Name your Year”.  It really impacted me. It’s a spiritual thing. It’s about taking some time to refocus and to pray about the year ahead and what you want to see God do in your life, in your family, in your ministry – wherever you are at really.

Isaiah 43, near the end of the chapter talks about God doing a new thing. I think the start of the year is a great time to pray into the new things that we want God to do in our lives. I know that I don’t want to be the same from year to year. I want to grow, I want to move forward into the next steps that God has for me. I don’t want to be last year Shelly. I want to be New Year Shelly!

Naming your year is kind of like speaking out in faith what you want to see God do in your life. Maybe you need discipline in order to grow in God – that’s what you can call your year. Maybe you want to do something totally new this year, you want to break out and go for it – Name your year after that! And then pray and keep that goal before you – and see what God does in your life.

I can definitely look back at last year and see how what I prayed into for my year, that God totally did more than I could have asked and imagined in that area.  It’s exciting to me! It’s better than any New Years resolution, because it’s focussed on God,  it’s faith building and it reminds me of the goals and the growth I desire in my life for the days ahead.

So, think about it. Pray about it. Name your year!!!

New Year Shelly