Small Group Prayer Night

Our small group is made up of four couples.  We all knew each other fairly well before, so have made an easy transition to being a bunch that enjoys our weekly time together.  We had talked about wanting to do a prayer night together, when our time wasn't filled with visiting and eating and watching a teaching video and discussing it and prayer, but simply prayer (...and food and visiting).

I wanted to share with you what we did; it's a great experience, doesn't take much to put together, and is a very worthwhile addition to what your small group does together.

We started with visiting and getting our coffees while everyone arrived and got the kids settled with the sitter, then met all together for a few instructions and an opening prayer.  We moved into a time of personal confession, getting our hearts right before God before we moved into praying for all the other areas.  As each one finished that, they moved on to the stations set up around the house.  We had two of our 8 missing, and with 7 stations, there was always a free one to move to, even though most were set up to allow more than one to be there. 

Each station was for a different area of life that we should be praying for.  We had:

• Children
• Marriages
• Church
• Family & Friends (including work relationships)
• Stress
• Current Events
• World (Global Church and World Governments)

 Most stations had lists of "How to pray for..." that I found online.  The world station had a big atlas, and the current events station was at our computer, open to news sites.  The friends & family lists were mind maps I made using a free site online.

We came back together for our last half hour, and had a time of communion together.  Our teaching video last week was on communion and left us thinking we should do that together; this was the perfect timing and setting.  We had a loaf and juice and talked about what it represents and why we gather together - it was very casual, but very real - and then we kept eating of the small feast we had spread on the table.

It was a very good night.  Everyone seemed quite positive about the experience and want to do it again, even setting it up exactly the same.  I do have a few ideas to expand or tweak it, but they're right - it doesn't have to be re-invented each time.  I have done prayer rooms that had more hand-on involvement, but this way worked well for this type of group.  We may invite others to join us next time we do it, and we would be willing to set it up at the church for the whole church to participate at some point. 

I hope this sparks a desire in you to share a time like this with friends, and gives you an idea of how to go about it.

Matchy Matchy

Tuesday night, at the beginning of small group, we were all standing around the kitchen fixing our drinks.  Someone commented on these new mugs that we got for Christmas from Mom & Dad, and I said I liked the green one (that I was using) best.  I looked down and noticed that I was wearing a green shirt - then looked at Lori, using the purple mug - and wearing a purple shirt, and then at Byron, using the blue mug - and wearing a blue shirt.

The next morning, I was telling Madeline about the matching mugs and shirts while making myself a coffee - in the red mug - and yes, I was wearing a red shirt.

At the Moment...

Celebrating... my man's birthday.  He's caught up to me again, for the next 5 1/2 months.

Watching... comments roll in on the little album I posted on Facebook of Nolan.

Loving... the weather this week.  Warm temps, no wind, colored leaves still on the trees, sunshine...

Excitement... went for a cruise in Sean's new ride - he bought a red  97 Cobra Convertible Mustang this week.  We went out after Nolan went to sleep, and left M in charge.  So nice to have that option!  I know most people with babies can't just leave like that, so we appreciate the flexibility she gives us.

Glad... to have Sean back home after being sequestered away on jury duty.  He was at the trial all last week, but was able to come home nights, and we had some nice lunch dates downtown, too.  Monday morning till Tuesday supper they were locked away - felt long.  Felt way longer for him!  He said it was an experience everyone should have.

Looking forward to... soccer season.  Madeline is playing city league this year, which is a big step up from the community association league she has been in.  The preliminary emails have been rolling in, and it should be starting soon.

Wondering... church small groups will be starting soon.  We've said we'll host, so we're wondering who our group will end up including.

Tasting... a nice little treat Sean whipped up.  He had birthday cake at work today, so tomorrow we'll be having DQ ice cream cupcakes (did you know they had such a thing?) and going to the Keg to celebrate on Saturday.  Those should both be tasty, too.

Feeling... lots of little aches and pains.  Nolan is almost 22 lbs, but is still a baby that needs a lot of carrying.  I did get in a long walk yesterday, a good stretch this morning, and a workout in the pool this afternoon (Fit for Two at the Y downtown).  Those all help.  I should do them all more often!

Going... to bed now.  Looking forward to another night without getting up with Nolan!  He's only done one night where we haven't heard a peep from bedtime at 7:30 to 7 am, but most nights this past week he's only woken once and cried just for a minute or two before soothing himself back to sleep.  The last 2 days he's gotten up at 6:15 and 6, though - I'm ready for those 7 am's again!!  Sleep is such a good thing.  We all are enjoying this new phase, and are thankful that training him for this only took a week or so.

Grateful on a Monday Morning

 I am a little tired this morning, but will pop in a workout video anyway, when I've finished here.  Monday mornings are always a full-head-space time for me: planning the week's meals and shopping list, thinking of the week and our plans and what needs to be done when, doing cleaning and chores and fitting in work, too.  I don't dislike Monday mornings, I just am aware that they take a different level of attention, and I'm feeling like a nap to start off the day wouldn't be a bad thing.  I am thankful for this Monday morning.

I've been napping more lately... I think that's ok for being almost 33 weeks.  I am thankful for this little active one inside me and look forward to our meeting! 

Especially since things may get infinitely more crazy before baby comes in January.  We are looking at the possibility of moving.  Looking after our future and investing... we want to buy another place and keep this one to rent out.  We already have people anxious to move in here, but we don't get to go look at places till tomorrow.  There are two that are possibilities in our minds, but I am convinced that our God is big and powerful and on our side, so I am praying for a great house at a great price at the perfect time.  I have my ideas of what those would be, but I am trusting in Him and in Sean and we'll keep you posted.  I am thankful for potential and exciting times.

I have had better mornings lately getting M out the door - my attitude has improved as I've been more aware (thank you, small group) of what I am letting into my life and how that affects what comes out.  I want to have a heart full of peace and joy, so when I tell M to get a move on in the mornings now, it's usually more patient and kind, sometimes joyful even - she likes her silly mom and if I can help her mood stay up, I will keep trying.  Amazing how that makes so much sense and how little we think about it - My actions affect her actions.  My words and tone of voice affect her words and tone of voice.  My attitude affects her attitude.  And until she learns to control those things on her own, I will keep trying to lift her up in all those ways.  How easy it is to bring her down (and let her bring me down!) - but I am the adult!  I am the parent!  I am the one who's responsibility it is to be aware and intentional about my actions, words and attitudes.  How else is she going to learn it?  So I am thankful for a week of good mornings, and look forward to more as I keep working on me.

Have a great Monday!  What are you thankful for?

I thought I'd link up with all the other grateful people over at A Holy Experience today...

Just Another Sunny Day

A little bit of bad, but mostly all good today:

I found a dead bird on my porch.  I heard a thump and though the mail had come (and that the letter carrier had slammed the lid harder than usual).  Then later I heard the mail come and figured the first thump was a bird.  It was - and when I went to get the mail, there was a perfectly beautiful (other than the lifeless factor) specimen.  I used a plastic bag to gather it up without touching it and took it out back to the ferryman (aka the dumpster).  I wondered, though, after, if the bird's family and friends will be looking for it - will they wonder where it's gone?  Should I have left it there for a while so they would know and have closure?  Hard to know how deep birdbrains go.

Tonight is our 5th pre-natal class.  Half done.  If you live in Regina and plan to have a baby sometime, I'd recommend taking those through the Y - Sally Elliot is educational and entertaining.  Baby has been moving lots lately - it has been hugely fun to feel and watch, especially playing games with him/her.  When we push in, (s)he nudges back in the same spot.  We generally all hang out on the couch after supper and play with my belly.  I made a trip out to Thyme this morning to do an exchange - I will be happy to have another pair of pants to wear!  I have a coupon for there for next week (spend $100, get $50 off) - I'm looking forward to getting a pair of jeans and some t-shirts.  Basic everyday stuff.  I got a bag of maternity clothes from a friend, which has helped; if anyone else has an item or two to share to get me through the next three and a half months, I would be glad to borrow.

Today I went on auto pilot twice and made the wrong turn - on my way to get M for piano I turned to go to work.  On my way to pick up M from piano, coming from a different direction, I turned to go to work.  You'd think I missed it today or something!  I took the day off, partly to use up the vacation days that I never end up taking, and partly so I could camp out at a coffee shop and write my talk for the Women's Wellness Day in Winnipeg on November 5.  If you live in Winnipeg, call Maranatha Evangelical Free Church to get tickets for that.  It sounds like a fun day, (don't worry, it's way more than just me talking), and it would be great to hang out with you!

We had our first small group last night.  We enjoyed the group we were in last year, but because of scheduling changes, we ended up joining a group with some of our other friends.  One couple we know quite well, one couple we know half of really well, and one couple has just been acquaintances till now.  We are looking forward to hanging out with them this year.

You know what I am looking forward to??  Like, a LOT?  Pumpkin pie.  My own homemade pumpkin pie.  I think I might make that tomorrow.  I have pastry ready because I made Sean a birthday apple pie last week (it was so-so - I used ready made filling from the Bulk Barn and it's not near as good as my made from scratch pie, in my opinion), and I got all the ingredients, so now it's just a matter of getting it made.  We've got two family dinners this week, and I'm taking the potatoes (the yummy make ahead cheesy ones) to Carla's, and a lazy perogie casserole to the Ward's.  That means I can make a pie and we can eat it all ourselves.  :)

I felt like myself.

Yesterday morning I went with a handful of other women to serve at the Chili for Children program.  We had a fun time getting to know each other over setting up and chopping veggies, walking over to the second location and finding a hobbit door...  None of these women had been to C4C before, and they were all quite impressed with the people who ran the show, the children that they were able to serve, and excited about the possibilities of doing this again.

Last night I went out on the Love Lives Here bus with 13 great people from church.  The bus hits the streets of North Central and the Core, offering warmth, food and drink and Jesus' love to anyone who needed it - there were a good number of 'divine appointments' and our crew got exposed to a whole range of what the crew sees on a regular basis.  None of these friends had been on the bus before, and by the end of the evening their eyes had been opened to a whole new side of life in our city; a side where spiritual forces do very real battle, where prayers and our availability and Jesus' name are powerful weapons.  Many of these friends are interested in going back; all were grateful for the experience.

These were two of the projects offered through our Westhill Serves weekend, and having just been to three of them (our whole small group went out to paint at the camp today), I am fully content that the reasons we put on this event is sound, and was met in a very successful way.  We do it because serving is one of the three main purposes of our church (Love God, Love Others, Serve the World), to give opportunities for people to serve, and to expose them to new ways to serve.

I was also struck by something else.  Feeding hungry inner city children is great, and I'm glad there is a group who does that; it's not my thing.  Loving on the street workers and gang members is important, and I'm so glad to know this bus is out on our streets while I'm safe in bed.  It, however, is not my thing either.  My thing - my thing - is getting other Christians to go and serve there with me - my thing is taking people to places they have not been, exposing them to what more there is in life and faith.  I want to see Christians 'get it' - to know how they can live an abundant life, fully loving and serving, fully experiencing all that God has for them.  I'm thankful for the chance I had to go on those projects yesterday; I'm trusting that the friends I took along were changed by God because of their experiences.

Sometimes I forget, in the details, that this is the part that fills me.

I'm thankful for this reminder of who I am meant to be.

U is for Unicycling

 

Neil had a unicycle.

Silas had camp counselors this summer and last who rode unicycles.

Silas asked if he could buy our unicycle.

I said yes.

We all had some good laughs on this first time we had it out...

**********

Had the African Children's Choir here on Friday.  So great - amazing to see how this organization lifts so many children out of poverty.  If they come to your area, go see them.

Started small group on Saturday - seven couples - looks like it will be really good.  Nice to be a part of this, and hoping for some good new relationships for Sean, for me, and for us.

Went geocaching today - added two more to our total...

Reading Still Alice by Lisa Genova.  About Alzheimers.  Really well written, and so sad.  I`d recommend it.

I is for Investing in People

If I cocoon myself - enjoy life from the comfort of my 4 walls, doing things that I enjoy or that entertain me - and neglect making time for going out with friends, I will become less.

The interaction with others helps define who I am.

If I look at only people's faults and reason's why they are different than me and reasons why we wouldn't be the best of friends, I will miss out.

Loving people in spite of their challenges, issues or quirks makes me a deeper person.

If I tell myself that I don't need friends, I am lying to myself.

Friends are worth the effort. 

If I never help in spite of it being an inconvenience, never grieve over someone else's sorrows, never offer myself as a possible solution, I am living only a fraction of the life I was given.

Helping makes my life fuller.

If I fail to see people as valuable, made lovingly by God and in his image, then I am disrespecting him.

I love God best by loving people.

news.

Sad news - Dick Francis died.  One of my favorite authors.

Happy news - My first cousin once removed (we pride ourselves in running an accurate blog here) had a baby boy today.  Congrats Sherri and Anson and welcome baby Darian!

Informative news - thanks to Megan Fox and body double rumors surrounding her Superbowl ad, I now know that my short stubby thumb is called Brachydactyly type D (BDD).  I still prefer "Grandma Brown Thumb."  My great grandmother had thumbs like that, two of my aunts also did, and one cousin and I each got one.  I admit, I used to hide it in junior high, but in junior high doesn't everyone want to be completely normal?  And think that everyone else notices everything about you? 

Valentine news - We dropped Madeline off at KBK for winter camp on Friday night, (and when we got back to town we checked out the new Walmart Supercenter and stocked up on munchies for Saturday.)  Saturday we drove to Manitoba to go snowboarding at Asessippi for the day.  It was a very good day.  We stopped at the farm and had supper with Sean's parents on the way back, which was also good.  This morning church was good (because church is what you bring to it, not what you get out of it, right?), and now Sean is off golfing.  I'm sitting here writing and enjoying the sun and in about 5 minutes will head off to pick up Madeline.  Then we'll all head out to have dessert with our small group.  A good weekend all around so far, and because tomorrow is the Family Day holiday here, there is lots more good to come, I'm sure!

Please leave a comment with some happy, sad, informative, Valentine or random news of your own.

How important are small groups?

It's Wednesday night, which is 'Girl's Small Group' night, and no one showed. One I talked to; she is sick. That's legit. But it gives me the chance to write about something that I was thinking today and over the last little while. Ironic, really, because it fits right in. I was wondering about the need for small groups, and how important they really are. This one at least has had me wondering for months. I believe that Christians need spiritual connections, usually on a deeper level than you can go on a Sunday morning, in order to be growing in their faith.

What you do on your own in private - quiet time, devotions, praying - whatever you do and whatever you want to call it, is very important if you don't want your faith to be stagnant.

Going to church, and being part of the community, is also very important to growing. The being part of the community is the key, not just the showing up.

And in between those two, the individuality of faith and the corporate togetherness of faith, is what I have to program. Good grief. Here's the dilemma. Not everyone fits into the programs we do. Each person's needs are different as far as how they connect with their spiritual friends. We have a Sunday night service, geared for young adults, that meets the need for corporate worship, learning and prayer (and of course fellowship, or hanging out) in a way that young adults would relate to more than a Sunday morning. It's designed to complement, not replace Sunday mornings. And we have small groups. One for young married couples, one for guys only, one open one, and one for the ladies. Which may not exist at this point next week.

I want people to gather together once or twice a week, whatever they feel they need, and then LIVE IT the rest of the week. Spend time with friends, at work, at school, and be Christ's representative in that situation. Or instead of going to Bible Study, why don't you browse over your sermon notes for a bit so what you learned really sinks in, then either go out and be in the world, or rest up so you can be at your best when you're with people again?

Just a thought. I'm not saying Bible Studies are bad. It's just going back to the idea that often we just feed ourselves and forget about sharing that life giving food with our friends. And I'm not saying stay away just to do nothing; stay away so you can be intentional about using that time for living! If I didn't have to be here wondering if anyone was going to show up, I could be living. I would be out for coffee catching up with someone, investing in them, or on a date with my husband, investing in my marriage... If there is interest, I will be happy to go with it, but if it's just a lesser option for a Wednesday night, I'd rather call it quits.

Hard to sell a job description that is solely going out for coffee... but the reality is, each individual has different needs for their spiritual growth. We're all at a different place, doing a different pace, and aiming for the same goal, but working from different angles. So I have to know each one and help them find what they need, and I have to offer these different programs so there's something to fill those needs. Challenging, satisfying, and yeah, a lot of coffees. I'm starting to feel like my role is more that of a Spiritual Director than anything. Well, that I'd like to be that. More fulfilling than a program coordinator.