from mess to organized

I have used the entire day to work on all the things organizationally that I never have time to do. Unfortunately you cannot judge that there has been any progress made based on this picture that I just took of my living room.

A work in progress for sure!

It feels so good though to chip away at all those pesky projects!

I have been blessed by Crossroads, my family and friends more than I can ever say. I want to always do my best and I care desperately about improving. The picture is symbolic of all the things that require a portion of my time. A pile of thank you cards, syllabus for new programs and future events and services. A very rewarding day snowed in my living room.

The only thing that could be any better would have been to have our kids with us in our living room creating even more mess!

my head gets full

My head gets full of ideas and it is hard to concentrate! I have so many ideas right now for new groups, new projects, new writings and new relationships to foster that I don't know where to begin.

Most would give me the advice of prioritizing, but all are equally important. Honest! Scheduled events help push me toward decisions. Such as our new art small group that will begin meeting this Thursday. In preparation for this group, I have set aside Tuesday to finish research, project descriptions, follow up contacts with group members etc.

Beyond that it is a toss up! So toss I will, trying not to let a single unproductive moment pass. Don't worry I include the productive moments of rest and study also! Oh yeah, and back to the gym. I want to be in shape for warmer weather so the toning will also begin shortly. I don't know why I put off working out, I accomplish things while working out too - reading or reviewing new music. Overlapping tasks, that is what I like the most.

With God's help the new year holds endless possibilities. So I wait anxiously for the new week to begin, the new list of to-do's to start and the blessings that I know God will bestow upon our ministry this year!

what I learned today

Whenever I am quiet, whenever I study, God is there. I move so fast, I read and look at so many blogs, websites and articles that I seldom completely digest anything. I pick and choose the bits a pieces that jump out at me, but often do not look at anything in it's complete context. Shamefully the same sometimes applies even to my Bible study.

Today I sat down on my deck, like I try to do each Tuesday, determined to learn whatever it was God has for me. He was waiting.

My study of God's word was deep, intentional, rewarding. Did I understand every word, was I able to apply everything I read immediately to my life, of course not. But, I was obedient, I expressed my desire to know Him more, and He was waiting.

After Bible study, I turned my undivided attention to work. This time determined to thoroughly read what I find, see if there is content that God wants me to share or apply to our ministry. Because we have needed to focus on getting into a building of our own (which God amazingly provided!!!), we have not been able to get out of our own ministry to experience services or conferences. This is not necessarily a negative because of my complete love of our own ministry, but I slowly have lost contact with other leaders who are serving in my area of ministry. I have lost touch with creativity different from my own. Talk about guilt! I am responsible to champion this in our ministry.

Several months ago our staff was challenged to create blogs. This has opened the entire world back up to me! Right from my deck!

By spending a portion of time to searching other worship sites, blogs and articles, I feel myself rejuvenated toward creativity. I couldn't be more excited about our ministry! I have just this past week had conversations with 2 very high profile worship leaders here in the US. They talked to me! Really willing to help us! How cool is that?

Now back to my original paragraph, just this morning as I sat down to finish a project, God brought one piece after another to my attention. I am so thankful I shut everything off, took my computer out of the house and just listened. He is good and I am almost done!