Blog

The Art of Mourning by Guest Blogger

We’ve lost the art of mourning in America. I realized this recently when our family was mourning and people would ignore us.  Or people would ask, “So, how are you doing?” as if it wasn’t obvious that we were crushed by grief.  One person even told me that they were sorry to hear about…

Posted in: General, Worship Arts Ministry
Taking Advantage of the Home Field by Guest Blogger

I was a young stay-at-home mom, busy caring for three young boys, when I attended a missions conference at our former church. It was a reunion of all the missionaries our church supported. The church was filled with flags from countries all over the world.  A speaker challenged us to…

Posted in: General, Women’s Ministries
Losing A Leader (4 Thoughts) by Guest Blogger

Losing A Leader. That’s what it felt like as I sat in my office and heard the words, “Mark got a new job so we are going to be moving to Michigan”.  It felt like I was losing a leader.  It’s hard when you live life with someone, sing with them, laugh with them, call them when you need…

Posted in: General, Worship Arts Ministry
Where is Silas Now? by Guest Blogger

I want to be sensitive as I write this. I’m not the only one who has lost someone they love or even a child.  But as I sit here this side of Easter, these are the thoughts swirling in my head. On October 5th, my son, Silas, stopped breathing a month short of his 3rd birthday.  He had…

Posted in: General, Worship Arts Ministry
A Delicate Balancing Act by Guest Blogger

There has been something on my mind lately. I feel as if I’ve been performing a mental balance beam routine with my thoughts. My virtual ankles are starting to ache. I’m striving to find the rest that comes with steadiness and control, but it seems I continue to wobble, even if only in my…

Posted in: General, Women’s Ministries
A Safer Place by Guest Blogger

At the last Women’s Ministry Refresh event, we were asked to share a fear that we’ve struggled with and then share how we’ve handled it. As we went around the table,some fears that were shared were:  Fearing the empty nest stage of life when children are grown and gone, wondering what…

Posted in: General, Women’s Ministries
My Favorite People by Guest Blogger

The band is set.  The portable video screens are going up.  The scrunched screen that looks like a rock face is hung.  There is a sense of anticipation about the coming services these next two weekends and as I watch the preparation, I wonder…who will be coming?  You could answer in a…

Posted in: General, Worship Arts Ministry
Your Best Isn’t Good Enough (part 2) by Guest Blogger

So what do you do when you realize that your college professor was right? I hate to admit it, but when he got in my face and said, “Your best isn’t good enough”.  He was right.  When it comes to our worship, it’s only through the work of Jesus that we can come into God’s presence. To…

Posted in: General, Worship Arts Ministry
Your Best Isn’t Good Enough (part 1) by Guest Blogger

It was the middle of rehearsal for an upcoming musical.  We had been working for  a couple weeks on a certain section of the show and it wasn’t good.  Everyone knew it, but we couldn’t seem to make it work.  It wasn’t because we weren’t trying.  It was just hard.  The director was pushing…

Posted in: General, Worship Arts Ministry
Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop by Guest Blogger

I stood frozen, unblinking, and holding my breath. I felt anxious, unsettled, and nervous. I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. …and it did. It was a size 5 boy’s black dress shoe, to be exact, and it fell from our second-story landing onto ceramic tile below. I had already heard…

Posted in: General, Women’s Ministries