The PF Women Team at our Annual Team Retreat ~ 2018 Today on Seth Godin's blog, he said: It's tempting to decide to make a profit first, then invest in training, people, facilities, promotion, customer service and most of all, doing important work. In general, though, it goes the other way. Yes, it does. If you are waiting to make a profit before you do these things, in my experience you're not going to make a profit. So many organizations, ministries and churches are struggling with financial issues. I know your pain. As anyone who follows our story knows, our ministry was in a ton of debt four years ago when I came on as director. Since that time, we've gotten out of debt and turned a profit every year. God has done amazing things through out team, for which we give Him the glory! I find that what Seth is saying here is absolutely true, with one disclaimer. For Christian leaders, spiritual disciplines must always be first. Before we started i...
Confession time: in times like this with so much weekend ministry on the burner, I struggle to keep everything at home going.
Okay, pick yourself up off the floor. I know you're shocked. :-)
Seriously, many people don't know that - in fact some people tell me I make what I do look effortless. But that's far from reality. Just today I was invited to do a workshop at a conference called, "GOD'S WONDER WOMAN." They wanted me to share about how I manage to get the myriad of things done that I get done.
Well here's the truth...sometimes it just doesn't all get done. I'm pretty good at organizing but at times it just doesn't gel perfectly. If there aren't the hours in the day and I feel God wants me to take a certain opportunity, then dusting waits another week. I have a friend who won't do that. She says if her house is dirty to any degree, it just can't be God for her to go somewhere and preach. I personally think God cares more about lost souls than the fact that my dusting might have to wait a few more days. I'm committed not to neglect my family, however I don't mind neglecting scrubbing a floor for a few more days to take advantage of an opportunity to bring the Word to people. I believe your family and your physical "house" are two different things. With that said, it's high on my priority list to keep a straight house. One day my dream is to not have to worry about cleaning at all and just spend 100% of my time on family and ministry. Right now though, things like vacuuming are still on my agenda.
If there is a weekend where I am gone both Fri/Sat, the house gets a little overwhelming. Last weekend was fine arts and it was important to us to go support the kids and be there to experience it all. We even took Savanna out of school to take her with us - it's such a special time. Then we had Pastor Lindsay's graduation and luncheon the next day. My house just sat here uncleaned. I was going to try to clean during the week, but every night this week when I got home from work, it was the same thing: cook supper, talk a little with the fam, clean up supper, then head straight out to weed the islands in the yard. We have some big ones. I have seven areas in my yard that have to be weeded.
This is no small thing where I live. I can be fined if I have weeds. I get fined if our mailbox is not bleached. I get fined if we haven't powerwashed in so long. You have to keep up or else. Sometimes the outside gets more work at my house than the inside simply because I don't want to pay to the homeowners association what I could spend on shoes! :-) (Well actually a lot more than shoes but you get my drift.) So I come straight home and...WEED. I hate it. I am so sore from it it's ridiculous. We pay someone to mow and edge our yard, and trim our palm trees. But we take care of the weeding, watering and fertilizing. For those who are reading this that aren't in Florida, let me clue you in. A yard is not just "grass." In Florida you have to actually care for your yard much like you would care for a family pet. You have to feed it, nourish it, sometimes even handle it with kid gloves. You have to baby your yard to some degree if it's going to look decent. Sometimes it's a little pathetic just how much you have to do unless you want your yard to shrivel up and die. I mean, literally. All it takes is one little bug infestation to wipe your yard out.
So since I have weeded until dark each night, come in, showered, spent a little more time with the fam and gone to sleep, I still have mega cleaning to do. And here's the rub...
It all has to be done by 2:00 tomorrow on my day off. At 2:00 I will have to be done with all housework, and hop in the shower and get ready to go to Inverness, FL. I'll be taping a TV interview there for the show Freshope. Cathy is going with me to assist. Afterwards they are taking us to dinner. Fun! We'll get home sometime tomorrow night. I'll do a few odds and ends, spend a little time with my family go over some notes, pray and get up the next morning to go to Richland A/G in Zephyrhills and preach at a women's event. Cathy will assist me there too. I'm expecting God to show up and really do something. I'll blog about it Saturday night so stay tuned. All that to say...
Sunday is church all day so my weekend is filled with ministry again. Amongst all that...Geena (our dog) is sick so Larry has to take her to the vet tomorrow. I'm so grateful he's doing that. Usually it's my job but with having the speaking engagement and wanting to bust through the house and clean as much as possible he agreed to take her. Then Dustin has his SAT's this weekend. We're praying him through that... and then... Friday/Sat's are workdays at the church. Larry will be there both days. He took off Tuesday to rest knowing he would have this type of weekend. I have never missed a work day at the church...this is my first. I feel bad to miss but it's a definite exception. I didn't realize until recently that I had booked myself out on Fri/Sat both and wouldn't be able to be at either work day. Oh well, everybody knows I'm not exactly lazy bones! :-) Honestly my heart is there with the people, but I think they will more than excuse me this time and be more than understanding. I'll catch the next workday when it comes around.
In the midst of all this that I just mentioned, Larry and I are both strictly on program on WW right now. Doing well. I slacked just a little bit in the past few months and need to jerk myself back in line. Keeping weight off is a never ending battle, but one I'm committed to win for life!!!
I have been in a lot of prayer about everything I blogged about yesterday and more and God keeps bringing Proverbs 3:5,6 in focus. TRUST is my key word right now.
I will be back and let you know how each day of my ministry weekend turns out...
Personal friends reading this - please pray for
1) My interview on Freshope to go well.
2) My ministry at Richland A/G to be anointed and that we would have life changing response from those present. Believe with me for God to do something big!
3) Pray for Geena, our miniature dachshund. I really hope this isn't serious.
4) Pray that I'll get all my house cleaning done and get off this crazy weeding merry go round that I always seem to be on when the weather heats up again. 
Did I mention I hate weeding? I never imagined when the landscaper showed me these big islands he was going to put in, just how much WORK they would be.
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