I must be honest and say, here lately my husband and I have really had our times of struggle with 'hanging in there' in the area of ministry. When you do and do, and others just seem to find something to complain about it gets discouraging BUT for some reason as I sat on the sofa the other day, I began to ponder some thoughts. They were thoughts of what I should KEEP....in the area of ministry we are serving in. Don't get me wrong, we get positive responses and encouragement but do you find it's so easy to concentrate on the 'negatives' you receive more so than the positives? I do so let's look at what we should be sure and KEEP....in our area of ministry.
1. Keep Focused
WOW! Initially when I was jotting some thoughts down, I put this one last. Then I began to think about, 'Well, if we do all the other 'keeps' and then do this one last---we're not going to accomplish much FOR THE LORD! (and that's who we should be serving in our area of ministry for anyways, right? -- we forget that too huh?) In order for us to keep our focus, that is what we must remind ourselves -- we are doing it FOR THE LORD!
2. Keep Fresh
I don't know about you but I like change. I like to change my living room furniture around so often my husband has to double check to make sure he's getting ready to sit where there is something to sit on :-) Any ladies like that out there? I like to try new foods or things I haven't had in awhile. The other day I bought some lunch meat -- can't spell it but it's like braunsworth or something -- anyways I always say "Give me 1 pound of Virginia Baked ham and 1 lb of salami!" So I bought this 'braunsworth' or how ever you spell it. Well, I remember my mom and dad eating that when I was a kid so I thought, "Hey, this will be different." I got to the counter and the lady was like "What does this taste like? bologna?" I thought "No, cause I am not much on bologna." I shared how I had it as a child and just wanted to try it again. I liked it...ate it on double sided town house crackers with little purple onion slivers. DELICIOUS and DIFFERENT! It was something fresh, new, something out of the ordinary! That is what we need to strive to do in our area of ministry...KEEP IT FRESH! I shared a new idea for doing door prizes with my husband last night for our YAH meeting coming up and he liked it. We always struggle with getting people to sign up. The same 15-20 people sign up and we have 50-70 show up. Hard to plan when you never know how many is coming! So I told him that I was going to give a door prize to the first person to sign up on the sign-up sheet and maybe that will initiate others to rush to get sign-ed up :-) We'll see how that goes.
The internet is FILLED with ideas and themes. One of my favorite sites is www.creativeladiesministry.com. Then I just do searches. Our theme for December is "Flee From The Flurries---Giving Our Worries Over To The Lord". I know just from my neighbor lady, she has a tendency to worry more during the gloomy winter months so we want to encourage our YAH's to give their worries over to the Lord. I found a theme we are doing for next April "When It Pours...He Reigns". I am going to decorate with umbrellas and pansies and make it BRIGHT for spring. In the future we plan to do a singspiration type fellowship where we ask groups from our church to sing specials and the theme will be "Singing I Go Along Life's Road". I want it to be really 'fancy' - red roses, black and white decor, lace...anyways that's where I'm leaning right now. The ideas are endless and if I even think I may use something, I write it down. Have you ever found that one idea sparks another idea? So keep things FRESH and exciting! Make the ones you minister to eager to know what is coming up.
3. Keep FUN
We always have a "Merry Moment" is what we call them. A time to just lighten up and get a laugh out. Laughter burns calories, haven't you heard that? I find it easier to laugh than to walk like we've been trying to do. (Think I'll laugh all day today...well, maybe not...then the girls will wonder what's going on with mom) Skits are HARD to find but they are out there. Search for funny stories or jokes that go along with your area of ministry. We have the Young at Hearts (age 55 and up) and so I search for something funny that relates to our theme. In a couple weeks we are doing an Early Will I Seek Thee breakfast (idea from Creative Ladies Ministry) but I have a game that is REALLY funny and I'm sure they'll be laughing. Can't share it in case someone is reading that will attend but I'll share pictures etc after the fellowship. I found a little story about a man telling his wife how to fry eggs and relating that to him driving and her giving him 'instructions' on how to drive. REALLY CUTE! So just something to keep it FUN! Of coarse, we have a serious time of devotional but there is nothing wrong with having FUN as Christians!
3. Keep Family Oriented
Now, some ministries you may be limited on what your entire family can do but I am sure there is something. One of the things I always mention about our family being involved with the Young at Hearts ministry (even though we are NOT even close to being 55) is that we can all have a part. My husband oversees the meeting, talks, gets the speakers etc but I gather ideas, decorate etc. We have four precious girls and they love to serve. Their area is taking care of the drinks and of coarse helping set up and clean up. They love to ask them as the YAH's arrive what they'd like to drink and take it to them. Our oldest will play the piano while they are coming in or after the fellowship as they're leaving. Get the family involved. There's something each family member can do...even if they are little like ours did right when we started doing this ministry...she ran up on stage before I even knew it and wanted her daddy. Of coarse some gave us this "What are you thinking look?" but most got a grin/laugh out of it and it was near the end so it was okay.
So what area of ministry are you serving in? Do you ever struggle with keeping your focus UP instead of AROUND you? If you are always focused on what's AROUND you, you're sure to get down and discouraged (I've been there) BUT when I look UP...then I remember who I am ultimately serving, our Lord Jesus Christ. Do you keep things FRESH and exciting? Do the ones you minister to anxiously anticipate what is next or is it the same ol' same ol' every time? Try reversing the meeting. One of these times we are going to eat last and do everything in reverse order....I know senior saints like things the same but sometimes different is good. Do you allow your family to take part in some way? What about as a family praying for your ministry? We daily don't do this, but we do pray for our YAH ministry as a family. We have a responsibility to minister to this group of people and we must pray and ask the Lord to help us.
Hope this helps in some way...if for nothing else...I NEEDED IT!!! Keep up the good work and remember ultimately we are serving the Lord through the ministry we do!
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