A whole lot of exciting…… November 24, 2009

I’m excited about a lot of things right now, which puts me in a happy place! I am so excited that I can hardly concentrate on my normal life. In the past week, I have lost a Tim Horton’s sandwich and a bag of groceries. Went home and pulled into my neighbours driveway TWICE, thinking it was my house. I also forgot to put the gas cap back on after I got gas, resulting in many lights going off in the van. I wore my shirt inside out and I also lost my black dress pants since I last wore them yesterday.  I love excitement………it makes my life interesting!

So, here is the list of exciting things…….

I am excited that at our Kerns Campus, our children have been raising money all month for NETWORK, nets for children in Malawi, to protect them from mosquito bites which cause Malaria. I am excited that they have raised so far enough for 30 nets! ($300) I am excited that one little girl took it upon herself to go collecting for nets because it touched her heart and she wanted to help others.

I am excited that so many children are participating in Meet me at the Manger, our children’s musical for our Main Street Christmas. I am excited that many people are inviting friends and neighbours to come out to this weekend. I am excited to see us share Jesus with them

I am excited about the whole Main Street weekend coming up in less than two weeks….so many people working hard and coming together! It’s exciting to see the church come together and connect and work toward’s a common goal.

I am excited that along with our children’s musical that Godrocks! is performing at Main Street, as well as Trevor Dick.

That’s a lot of exciting.

Most exciting is getting to serve a great God who loves me. Who loves all of us and have plans and opportunities for us, that we cannot even imagine. But as we open our hearts and follow his voice, and serve – I know that we’ll see amazing things happen! How can we NOT be excited! Our God is big!

Please pray for our weekend, it’s going to be great

Please pray for me. That I don’t accidently lose myself……..

Shelly

Launch November 16, 2009

I have been trying to come to terms lately with the adult-sized child formerly known as my “little” boy who is living in my house. I mean, he’s still my little boy, but I have to recognize as a parent that he is growing up. It’s REALLY hard. I mean I love that I can now sleep in and the kids can get up and look after getting their own breakfast. I like that they can play outside and I don’t have to worry about someone running into the street. I like that I can make laundry piles of everyone’s clothes and they can put it away themselves….so many good things – but as I face my first child entering this teen age – well, I am not really sure what I think! Wasn’t it just yesterday that I was sobbing my little heart out after the first morning of JK?

I am learning that it is a little bit hard to let go.  

But here is the cool thing. It’s exciting to see your child grow in Jesus. Our parenting skills have been FAR from perfect, however – I can say with confidence that we have done everything we can to raise our kids knowing that Jesus is their Saviour, that he loves them and they can have a personal relationship with him. It’s awesome to look at my son and see that he loves Jesus. It’s awesome to see him making choices on his own and that I am able to remind him of his faith, and about making the right decision and asking him how his faith interacts with the challenges and opportunities he has each day. I know that he will make mistakes, but I also know that Jesus has his hand on his life – and that is what I place my trust in. It makes it so much easier.

Last week Noah went to his first youth retreat. After telling him about 100 things to make sure he did or did not do (ranging from wearing his coat to not putting a wet towel in his suitcase..), I paused and said, “This is the moment that Mommy and Daddy have been preparing you for since you were little”.  He was a little baffled, his reply was, “You have been preparing me my whole life to go to Muskoka Woods for Getaway?”

(I know, I’m a little dramatic)

My Answer – “We have been preparing you to be able to make the right choices and do the right thing when we are not around to guide you. We have been preparing you to think about Jesus wherever you are, and to make sure he is present in your life. That is what we have been preparing you for…so here goes! It’s up to you!”

I kinda feel like he’s starting to launch out. And while it’s sorta hard not to be able to control all the situations in his life, it’s exciting to see and anticipate where Jesus is going to take his life and how he will use him.

ALL of this to say that when I put this into perspective as a parent, I then think of it in perspective as a children’s pastor – and I am reminded of the importance of equipping our families, empowering parents and speaking into and discipling our children together – so that when they come to the age of launching – we can do it will confidence, knowing that we have worked together with them to be the #1 influence in their children’s lives. It’s really exciting! And I am thankful that through my process of letting go (which is just starting…thankfully college is a long way off) that I am reminded of our family focus and how we can work together to equip our kids! That is my prayer – to see passion in our children for Jesus be turned into a passion for Jesus as they are teens and then turn into a passion for Jesus when they are adults. 

That’s the goal.

Shelly

It’s warm, but Main Street is coming! November 9, 2009

It is so beautiful out today – you would hardly believe that it is November. I want to drag out my sandals again…but alas, I know it’s just for another day or two – and then we will be back to the scarves and boots!

It is hard to believe that Main Street Christmas is 4 weeks away (I try to avoid writing that, because it makes my heart race a little bit) This is a great event that we have coming up. It’s probably the best chance that you will have all year to INVITE friends and neighbours to church, to have a wonderful time and to experience Christmas in a loving environment. I remember last year – just feeling so thrilled at seeing everything come together and people enjoying the weekend!

A few weeks ago as a staff exercise, we had to think about our Top 3 things that give us the most excitement in our areas of ministry. On my top 3 list was definitely big outreach events. I mean, everyone goes away blessed. At Main Street Christmas, we are giving our children a chance to shine and use their gifts, we have a chance for the whole church to come together and serve as one to our community, and we have an opportunity to invite people to an excellent event that will share Jesus through our concerts and children’s musical performances.  Any way that you look at it, it’s good for everyone! That is what makes me excited and gets me pumped -  seeing service and outreach all rolled up into one!

So, please take time to pray for this weekend, that it will have a big impact on our community. And if you are looking for a place to serve, this is a great chance for you! It’s going to be a great weekend, and it’s all about Jesus – the reason we do what we do!

Shelly

A Smash of a Bash…now onto Main Street! November 3, 2009

We had a fantastic time on Saturday at the Big Top Bash! Wow. I got to live out my dream of having long pink hair and being a highlighter (well, the highlighter was not really part of the dream, but it was fun!) Again, as always we have amazing people here at Compass Point. From all of you who donated CANDY, thanks so much! We had all that we needed! Then I had the group of super duper candy counters, followed by the stellar group of candy baggers, followed by a great set up crew, then all the amazing people who showed up to help run events, and then the dedicated ones who stayed behind to vacuum up millions of pieces of popcorn and help get things ready for Sunday morning. WOW! What a team! I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

We had a great night of fun and community (I even met the fire chief of Burlington!) and I hope that all children went home knowing that they were in place where they were loved! Our light shined bright, and that was the goal! I just packed away the last of the Bash items and I already look forward to next year!

So, time to change gears REALLY fast onto our next event – Main Street Christmas! Wahoo! The children are busy learning music and drama and many other plans are underway for our next big outreach event. I love this time of year – it’s crazy but the potential for reaching out is huge and it is exciting to see everyone coming together to serve!

So, stay tuned for more excitement – and don’t worry – in the midst of it all is Jesus – because it’s all about him!

Still slightly on a sugar high,

Shelly