Error Prone

About the 2:00pm hour this afternoon I hit a wall, and I don’t know that I ever fully recovered. I ended up spending the rest of the day just missing things.

  • I missed a pre-marital counseling appointment. Just didn’t have it written down in the right spot and went frisbee golfing instead. Grateful to the forgiving couple.
  • I was watching Blythe, or rather should have been watching Blythe, later in the evening. I went into the kitchen to check on her, and she had somehow climbed up and gotten the box of minute rice. She generously poured the floor a bowl full but didn’t include the bowl.
  • I thought I would be a swell guy and do the dishes. During the process I ran the garbage disposal and that thing shook violently. I thought, “Oh great, another broken appliance.” I filled the sink up with water and was ready to wash the rest of the dishes, but it took me a couple minutes to find the dishrag. I found it in the garbage disposal. Yikes!

Nights like this I go to sleep grateful that our God doesn’t run into walls. He typically can be found covering for us when we miss appointments, cleaning up our rice, and finding us when we can’t seem to find ourselves.

Children’s Ministry Overhaul Part 1

What an amazing few weeks it has been for us at thebridge as it relates to children’s ministry. The quick back story goes like this:

  • Year one, Kate did a great job of organizing volunteers for our Bridge Kidz ministry. She was able to staff two rooms from our launch team for our first year while a couple other key volunteers worked on curriculum.
  • Year two Jenn stepped in as the sole curriculum developer, and we added a third room. When Jenn came to our first brainstorm meeting before we even had a service, she commented that she did not want to be put in charge of children’s ministry. Jenn is a great example of “not my will but yours be done!”
  • In year three Jenn continued with the curriculum planning with the understanding that this was her last year serving at this capacity while our friend Jen M. took over as scheduler. It was another year of growth and by the time summer came, everyone was ready for a break.

This brings us to year four, and I have to be honest. In my head, I did not see how it was even remotely possible to take on a children’s ministry overhaul. I had resigned to the fact that it was going to be a long year. Knowing full well that we were going to need help with organizing and scheduling of volunteers, we made a part time hire of Pam Credille. The Spirit had prompted me awhile back that Pam could play a key role in thebridge, and after a season of discernment, I pulled the trigger in July.

This is where things really get fun. Day 2 on the job, Pam strikes up a conversation with me. “So, when you hired me, I thought I was going to be making phone calls to people and making sure everyone shows up for when they are scheduled, but really what you need is a person who is in charge of children’s ministry.” Laughingly, I replied, “You interested?” Her yes quickly started the momentum of a complete children’s ministry overhaul.

Children’s Ministry Overhaul Part 2 tomorrow!

Barnes & Minor Comedy

September 11, 2010 at Bridge View Center

Tickets in advance $10 or $12 at the door.

FREE CHILDCARE!

To purchase tickets, contact thebridge (office@ottumwabridge.org or 641-682-9260.)

5 Sports Thoughts

I’ve got five posts scheduled for next week and am pretty excited about the new blogging rhythm I’ve started. We will see how it goes.

Today though I thought I’d do a little sports rant.

1. Really enjoy watching the Twins. If we had Joe Nathan I’d be a little more confident. Quick prediction – Joe Mauer will still win the batting title.

2. Fantasy Football is quickly approaching. One of my leagues has yet to form while the other league that I am in charge of is about to go down. I have the first pick and am trying to trade. I had Chris Johnson last year and is very tempting to take him again but rarely do you see a repeat performance anymore. I believe there is a new breakout player out coming this year.

3. Bye Bye Bengals. It is getting harder and harder for me to be a Bengals fan. Yes they made the playoffs for the first time in over a decade last year but we just signed T.O. and Pac Man Jones. I’m putting my allegiance out there for either the Packers or Vikings. Farve coming back as all but sealed the deal for the purple.

4. Hawkeye psycho fans are here again. Hoping for an 0-12 season for them!

5. Has anyone else gone from a 76ers to Jazz to now being a Bulls fan or am I the only one?

Coming to Ottumwa!

Did you know this is coming soon?

My OCOM Days

I love my OCOM days because they help me see things I normally wouldn’t see.

In just the first hour I’ve…

  • Helped a guy with some cash for and ID so he can finish the last part of being hired.
  • A family is avoiding the heat while their home is bug bomb blasted – their words not mine and I gave them some fruit to help them pass the time.
  • A guy was walking to the pawn shop and came in soaked because (ITS HOT OUTSIDE) and asked if he could buy a glass of water. We hooked him up for free.
  • Trying to help a woman find a short sleeve XL white/nice shirt for a wedding that her son can wear.
  • Trying to land a truck to help move a mattress.

I love supporting OCOM and their mission in providing a free meal to those in need and a shelter for men. If you are looking for a place to serve at come on down to 325 E. Main.

Recent Reads

Here are a few recent reads of mine.

Still Talking About Grant

A couple weeks ago Cy taught at thebridge on having faith the endures while waiting. While discussing the many stories and testimonies of bridgers who were faith waiting one story really jumped for us. If you missed it or want to see it again -- here is Grants faith waiting story.

August Rhythm

August has become a unique month in the year for me. For the third year in a row (the entire existence of thebridge) I have taken the first three Sundays off from teaching at thebridge. The break is healthy rhythm for me, our family, and thebridge.

I set some goals for the month that are not obtainable during the other months of the year. Some of the goals are work related while others are more family related. This year the goals include an aggressive reading list, a canoe trip with Tobias, creating space for Jenny, baby #4 honey do list, a night away with Jenny, and a new prayer practice.

Another August practice is the solidifying of the upcoming years series. In June they get written in pencil, in july they are filtered, processed, and prayed over, and now in August ink them on the Calendar. I love the creative process of series development and believe this upcoming year needs more weeks in the year because some great series ideas are not going to make it.

One of my favorite things in August is returning to Third Church to teach. For some reason I ponder the message I’ll give their for months. This year has been no different.

Sunday Promo

I’m really pumped about Sunday.

I believe God has some great things in store for us at thebridge.

I’m really excited to show our latest faith testimony. I believe God is really going to use this story for His glory.

If you have ever asked God for something, and it didn’t get answered – show up Sunday!

If you have ever felt God calling you to do something, but you just haven’t had it happen yet – show up Sunday!

If you are stuck in life – show up Sunday!

If you are tired, weary, broken, or hurting – show up Sunday!