Author: Kathie Phillips

Rest for the Soul

Kathie Phillips

This week, my family and I are enjoying some time away at one of our favorite places to relax–a cabin in the woods in nearby West Virginia.  Suited perfectly for rest and refreshment, it is a home that has a wall of windows that looks out onto the tall, mature trees.  The house also has a wonderful screened porch to be able to be in nature without being in nature.  Internet and cell reception is spotty, so it’s a great place to disconnect and reconnect with God and loved ones.

In addition to reading, watching movies and playing board games with the family, one of my favorite things to do here is feed the deer.  Once the food goes out, at least eight deer come closer to the property to feed.  It brings to mind Psalm 42:1:

As the deer pants for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. (NLT)

So often as a leader, I can get bogged down with details of the ministry–scheduling, ordering/purchasing supplies, deadlines, lesson-planning, recruiting, email–and lose focus of the God I serve.  Do I take time each day to acknowledge God before I go about my day?  Do I ask for His will to be done and not my own?  Food for thought as I gear up for the upcoming ministry year.

What about you?  Does your soul long for God?  How does He bring refreshment to your soul?

Don’t forget to smile!

Kathie Phillips 4 Comments

Sometimes, children and families who walk through the doors of our church walk in carrying heavy burdens.  Marriage issues, family dynamics, and financial pressures can take a toll on those we serve each week.  While we cannot always lift those burdens, there is one very easy way that we can bring them a little joy:  SMILE!

Genesis 33 tells the story of Jacob and Esau reconciling after Jacob stole Esau’s birthright (see Genesis 27).  Upon their meeting, Jacob says to his brother, “..what a relief it is to see your friendly smile.  It is like seeing the smile of God!” (Genesis 33:10)

Someone might see God through your smile this week.  So go ahead and SMILE!

Enjoying the silence…sort of

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

This week, our children are enjoying time at the beach with some friends of ours.  Over the weekend, there was a flurry of activity to get them ready to go:  laundry, shopping, packing, checking packing lists, shelling out spending money, bickering (over who got to take the larger suitcase), and checking packing lists again.  Then, Monday afternoon came…silence.  With two teenagers in the house, this is extremely rare.  But the house is a little too quiet in my opinion.

I am trying to enjoy the silence, though.  On the upside, I have had a little time to think about some future projects that I’d like to tackle, my husband and I have enjoyed eating out (the stove burners are also on vacation this week!) and I’ve had some good, undistracted prayer time.  On the downside, the silence has been a little awkward.  I realize how much our children are an integral part of our family and their absence makes the dynamics of our family change in a weird way.  I already knew that, but sometimes, it’s good to be reminded about the things that matter most–family and relationships.

Until next week, I’ll enjoy the silence…sort of.

One of the Worst Recruiting Strategies

Kathie Phillips 1 Comment

I have a few pet peeves about recruiting for Children’s Ministry but one that ranks up at the top of the list is when leaders say they need to “fill holes”.  Every time I hear that, I get chills up spine.  Think about it.  What message do you think that philosophy sends about a ministry to a prospective volunteer?  I don’t serve, I just filled a hole.

I believe that the way in which a volunteer is recruited is directly related to the way that they serve.  If someone is recruited by a leader who shares the vision and mission of a ministry, that volunteer’s potential is unlimited.  They will have a vested interest in the ministry and are more likely to serve longer and take on more leadership roles.  If someone is recruited to “fill a hole”, they will likely not even know or care about where the ministry is going and are likely to serve a much shorter time.

Let’s show potential volunteers how passionate we are about what we do and recruit them as a ministry partner, not a “hole-filler”.