How I’m Going To Thrive With This New Ministry

It’s been 8 days at the new job.

This is my second time working at a church full-time; even though I’ve worked with this church before…my roles with the youth side of things have stayed the same (and excite me the most). But I now have a much larger job description and a whole lot more experiences to thrive through.

As the Communications Director, I’m in a sense doing what I love and that is combining media with ministry. So all at once there is so much on my plate. I won’t lie. There is a TON! It will be stressful. It will be tough. It will be lots of research and working with others and ALL getting on the same page.

BUT…it is going to be fun. You know how I know? Because this job is what God has called me, sent me and challenged me to do for Him. I am ready for the challenge. I’m excited and I’m in the know that it won’t be a slice of cake. Or a cupcake at that.

But for crying out loud….I was born for this! God wouldn’t put me some where to only have me get discouraged…I’ve been there…I’ve gone through some tough times and days where I had to give up my OWN plan to live by HIS PLAN. SO, why would I be concerned right now with this new challenge He’s put right before me?

I always think of Switchfoot’s latest album and the saying, “I wanna THRIVE. Not just survive”

I want to thrive! Not just survive!

WOW.

Honestly, how often do we just get through each day surviving it and only looking to the very next day as the same as the one before?? Don’t do that! We are a people designed by God and He did not design anything to only just SURVIVE. His plan for each and everyone of us, as different as they all are…is to THRIVE in everything, everything you do on a daily basis!

Might be on a power mode tonight, but honestly that’s the kind of day we had in the office today 🙂

There is a lot to work through and get all together as a team and then put that plan into action. So during these unknowing and challenging days in the office with some of my closest friends, I’m going to take each day one at a time but I won’t just be surviving through the work days…no. I will be thriving. Because if we all had this attitude, I completely believe that our work would get done not only faster, but better then expected and you would actually ENJOY going to work! (like I do!)

I love my job. I love my church. I love my God and I love the people God’s placed in my life during this exciting time working in ministry!

Get you some of that!

Don’t Get Comfortable

I hope you’re not getting “comfortable” in your daily life.

We get stuck in these routines and how we think life should be sometimes that we are getting too comfortable with it. Now you might be thinking, “And what’s wrong with being comfortable??” Well ok, I know sounds weird. Don’t get me wrong I love to be comfortable. I love to be somewhere in life where I feel comfortable, where things are going so great, my friends are all around me, I have a good place to live, I am not worried about this or that…

•  For example, Living in Lubbock before going off to Olivet. I felt like one of those little Wii people when you drag them from that screen where they are content and happily walking around, then you place them in a total new atmosphere. Yeah, God did exactly that to me right before going off to college. I thought I had it all. I took the following year off after graduating from HS and was working (for the first time) in a church and working as Youth Intern. This was becoming a big passion in my life and now has become my ministry. But God had other plans for me and He knew what was best. And at that time it was Olivet. He let me have that year off so I could find my passion and my call to ministry. But after I had it, right when I was getting too “comfortable” in that position and life style He sent me to a new beginning, a new chapter in my life.
• Another time this has happened (not as drastically) was just with this recent move to Tennessee. I had been at Olivet for three years. I was still working for G and at the church on every break, even taking an extra full week off from school every spring for two weeks of spring break. Life was good. I had the best of both worlds, my home church and my campus. I was very much involved at school too working on student government, planning events on campus. I made most of my best friends just in the last year of being there at Olivet. And then it was time to graduate. Don’t get me wrong that is a HUGE exciting day and something I was very proud of  (especially  since I was accomplishing my goal of graduating a four-year school in three years to catch up for that year I took off). But again, I was starting to get too comfortable and just living in my routine and thinking, “maybe I could stay one more year…what would it hurt right?” (well if money was not an issue…who knows, that would have been a tough decision 😉 ). But God again showed me His plans and I am now living in Nashville, TN working as a professional Graphic Designer while volunteering at my new church. I was just telling a friend the other day that I feel as though my roles have been switched since living in Texas. This time I am not in ministry(in the church) full-time, I am a designer full-time and ministry volunteer part-time. (Even though if you know ministry, you know it is never just part-time it is 24/7).

I was comfortable. More than once. Several times in my life did I think this was where I’ll be for a very long time, and this is what I want and I would say, “God please don’t change anything I am happy just where I am.” But come on people who are we kidding?! God is always moving us. He is breaking up and building us up. This post is pretty cool because just this week I have had two different times where this subject has come up. I was talking with a dear friend about this new move and how I can tell  I’m learning why God sent me here and how He is just preparing me again for another chapter and another dream in my life. She said these very, true and strong words: Sometimes God breaks us down and puts us outside our comfort zone so that we finally see His plan is greater than our desires. I love that!

Another thing is at church the youth is doing a mini series called, “Clay” and we are learning just about this very thing. How we are the clay and God is the molder. He breaks us apart to only put us back together and back together in a way He loves and others will love even more than when we thought we had it all good.

So I hope you are not comfortable in your daily life. I hope you are allowing God to break you down, build you up again, and in that process that you are learning from it.

He know’s our hearts, He knows our passions, He knows you. So let Him take over your life and let Him move you from being too “comfortable” to living a daily unexpected, learning something new, witnessing to others type of life style.