cha-cha-cha-FIESTA!

Well, the week of VBS has officially started-- things are rocking and rolling over here at Sheridan UMC! I am truly amazed at the number of kids and the excitement that they all have. In some of the churches that I've worked at with larger congregation sizes, they don't have this many kids or decorate this much. It is so awesome to see! By the time and effort that have been put into this week, the kids absolutely know that this is a place that cares about them and what they need. It is such a blessing to be in a church that cares that much about children! Another reason why I know that this is the place that I am to be at!!!!

Our theme this year is Fiesta and while I always have something in curriculum that bothers me, this one is decent...Yes, there are things that I wrinkle my nose at, but those are the parts that I leave out of my lesson! I love to write my own curriculum, but as I've been discovering, it's nearly impossible to find the time...Oh, I know that I could if I tried and didn't do a few things, but it is prioritizing things...

Life has kicked up a notch...Things are busier and getting more and more active! I can't say how much I am grateful to be here and blessed to be in the midst of these congregations...Every Sunday that I preach, I'm always exhausted because I know that I'm doing what God has called me to do...I'm tired every day and right now it's a good tired! I'm doing what God has called me to do and it's amazing...I truly hope that this feeling never wears off!

In the midst of the excitement, there are also sadnesses...There are the sadnesses of loss and grief that are felt among some in the congregation. My heart breaks for them and my prayers and thoughts go out to them who are grieving today and other days...It is a sobering reality that life is fragile and even in the midst of the fiestas, there is a need to be reminded that we are not immortal, but fragile beings...It's a realization that hurts sometimes...

So, I sit in my office now breathing...Just breathing and sitting with God...It's one of those times that God just needs me to sit and be a child of God...And as I sit, there is this flood of words and emotions...Some are recorded here and others are too personal for me to thrust out to the world...But a piece of my soul sits on these pages...Be gentle with it...