A Season of Busy Blessings

Many things have changed in my life since Easter, and I realize that I have been moving so fast that I have not stopped to take the time to process and share it here on my blog. I want to be able to look back and remember what a blessing this season was, so I remembered this morning that it is time to share about what my family is involved in these days.

Back in the beginning of the summer, I was offered the opportunity to get involved in the college ministry at Westside Baptist Church. I am still the Minister of Music, but this is a connection group that had a need and the opportunity to teach was made available to me. I would say that I have been eager to teach a connection group class here at Westside since I arrived over 7 years ago, but the opportunity has not presented itself until now. Katie and I have partnered with another great couple to teach and lead our college ministry. The Lord blessed us with instant growth and success, for which we are so thankful. We have seen the class grow by nearly 200% on an average weekly attendance. I told the college students from the very beginning that I was excited to serve with them because they have a little bit more freedom and a little bit more money to go out and do things. We have already had a wonderful time getting to know these young adults and we pray that God will multiply our church through the energy, enthusiasm and servanthood of our young adults.

In addition to that new area of responsibility, I was also blessed with the opportunity to jump in as the interim youth pastor at Westside for a brief season while we seek a new youth pastor for our church. This has been a great reminder of a very sweet season of ministry that I was able to be a part of at Suncoast. We have already done great activities like Ichetucknee Springs, Summer Camp, and a few Game Nights. I have loved getting to know these students while encouraging them to live for Jesus and stay in Gods word!

Another item that has been on my plate has been the opportunity to lead some worship consultation for another great church in town. They were seeking their next worship Pastor and through a series of event, they hired DWC who selected me to be their consultant. Over the last four months I have experienced so many blessings and new friendships with pastors and potential worship candidates. Long story short, when I began to get discouraged, the Lord brought the exact candidate that He wanted for the job. We began a series of interviews and meetings and in the end, the church was thrilled to hire their new worship pastor. He had his Pilot Service Weekend this past Sunday, and he did a great job and was so welcomed and loved by the church. I am so thankful that the Lord used me to be a part of that process.

On Tuesday this week, I met with a Dean of Education about the possibility of joining the teaching staff at a Bible College. If you know me, you know that I have a great desire to teach in an adjunct role for Liberty University some day. So this is right in the same vein, as it would provide an opportunity for me to gain some experience and learn the ropes of teaching at a college. There are many details that must be measured and approved before this opportunity can fully flesh out, but it is encouraging to see the Lord work by opening doors.

What is the takeaway, or application for this post? Through all the busyness, I cannot allow these good things to distract me from the main thing. I must be diligent in my quiet time with the Lord. I also must be diligent to manage these responsibilities second to the responsibilities at home with my family. I believe we are doing well right now. That is a blessing. I heard a quote recently that said, seasons have a start and an end, if your busy life does not have a start and an end, then it is not a busy season, it is a busy life. Therefore, I seem to have more of a busy life, but that is how I like it. That is how I maintain energy. But I cannot allow my appreciation for busyness to rob my family of what is most important. As a result, we are very intentional to guard certain days and times together so that we enjoy this brief season of life together with our children. Surely the season of parenting has a beginning and an end. I like fast living, but I want that part to SLOW DOWN. Thanks for reading!