My Summer Reading (Part 1)

This summer, I am attempting to read 3 books.  Quite a goal, considering that summer really doesn’t slow down for our ministry.  At the beginning of each month (June, July & August), I will let you know what book I’m reading and at the end of each month, I’ll give some insights I gleaned from the book.

My June selection is Spiritual Leadership: Moving People on to God’s Agenda by Henry & Richard Blackaby.  I saw this book on a friend’s shelf and the title immediately caught my eye.  Our church library had the book, so I browsed through it and before I knew it, I was well into chapter 2!  So…I went online to order the book and saw that the book had been revised and expanded in 2011.  That’s the one I ended up purchasing.

I believe that a leader should be a reader.  It is important to stay up-to-date with your culture, improve your craft, expand your thinking and grow in areas that might not be your strengths.  Why did I choose this particular book?  The second half of the title.  I want to move those I lead to God’s agenda, not Kathie’s agenda.  The minute that we move towards my agenda is the moment that our ministry will begin unraveling at the seams!  I want to do my volunteers a favor by guiding them in the right direction, the direction that, with God’s help, will lead to children and adults having a personal relationship with Christ.  This book looks like it will help me do just that.  I’ll let you know!

What are you reading this summer?

We love our volunteers!

This weekend, we are hosting an appreciation picnic for our amazingly faithful volunteers.  We are so blessed to serve alongside volunteers who love children and want to help them know and love Jesus.  One of the ways that I will honor them is to present them with a handwritten note of thanks along with a prayer of blessing over them.  I can’t think of a better way to send them off for the summer!

How do you honor your volunteers at the end of the ministry year?

Dream Big!

Years ago, I was told that I dream too big.  After the initial shock, I began to wonder:  Is there such a thing?  What if I dreamt too small–or not at all?  Would I have had the experiences of being awed by what only God could do?  I am not saying that a person should live in a fantasy world.  But I do believe that dreams help us not stay in a comfortable place, confined by thinking that keeps us in a box.  God has a plan and purpose for us; dreams remind us that with God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).  Go ahead–dream big!
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish more than we might ask or think.”  Ephesians 3:20, NLT
So what are you dreaming about?  What’s stopping you from dreaming big?