"A Dare to an Emptier, Fuller Life" | An Arguement and A Challenge

I’ve been rereading this book by Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts.  This book changed my perspective on life the first time I read it, and now that I’m rereading it, I feel refreshed all over again.  In this book, she talks of how the way to a full life is gratitude.  God says that we are to live a full life, in Him, and Ann’s argument is that the way to do that is with a heart of gratitude.  I think this is true. However, I also think that there are other ways to live a full life, completely for Christ.  I find that knowing Him, and His Word, and serving Him are doorways to a full life as well.

[I hope you read the book so that what I’m going to say has context. It’s really a very good book.]

As I’m reading this book, her idea of counting gifts is healing to her and brings her into a deeper understanding of eucharisteo.  What I’ve noticed in her counting is that she counts things.  She counts the gifts of “mail in mailbox,” “sun-rays spread across hardwood floors,” and others.  Sometimes she counts things about her family, but most of her gifts are tangible things.  I understand that in order to be grateful for all things, putting a name to it brings about gratitude.  And in noticing the details of life, she is able to have a joyous attitude. 

I’ve learned that people have a happier, fuller life if they invest in experiences instead of stuff.  For example, typically there are two ways for people to budget out their money.  There are those who place value on vacations and doing things, and those who place value on having nice homes, cars, and stuff.  Now, the tricky thing is that sometimes things play a role in experiences, but overall those who invest more in experiences are more content in life.  Stuff always changes.  There will always be a new smart-phone to buy, a bigger TV, and a newer, faster car.  But experiences can be constant.  They happen, and they can’t be outdone, because they are ours. 

As I’m reading through this book and on a quest to live fully as God intends, I think that counting experiences and relationships has more value.  God calls us to live in relationship with Him and His creation, not with the things He’s placed around us.  It is important to appreciate nature, and I think that it brings us to an attitude of contentment, but I think there’s also more.

I also find it difficult to read this book because Ann lives on a large farm in Canada.  She’s in nature every day.  She home schools her children, and has the opportunity to be in her home, in the outdoors, and be grateful for that.  The majority of Americans live in metropolitan areas, such as myself (hence the name of this blog…life in the city).  Is it possible to be grateful in Dallas?  Amidst all the concrete, money, attitude, and people?  Ann has time for solitude, reflection, and gratitude…but do I?  When my weeks are full of youth, and school, and rushing, and I feel that my life is full already, is gratitude like Ann talks about really the ticket?  Is it how God fully wants us to live?  Maybe in gratitude, we turn our attention of what is in front of us to Him, Creator, and in doing so He is glorified.  Do I need to name them in the city?  Can I just be thankful that today I’m breathing and that He is reigning?

“This pen: this is nothing less than the driving of nails.  Nails driving out my habits of discontent and driving in my habit of eucharisteo.  I’m hammering in nails to pound out nails, ugly nails that Satan has pierced through the world, my heart.  It starts to unfold, light in the dark, a door opening up, how all these years it’s been utterly pointless to try to wrench out the spikes of discontent.  Because that habit of discontentment can only be driven out by hammering in one iron sharper.  The sleek pin of gratitude.”

So here I am.  At a place where I must do something, change something.  I know that if I ignore God’s teaching in my life, I’ll perish with discontentment.  So I’m going to start, for the next three weeks, naming gifts in the city.  I’m shooting for a few a day, no set number, just for the next three weeks.  And I’ll see what happens from there.  But my gifts must be experiences.  They are of the people I come in contact with, the lessons God teaches me, the small things that make a meaningful, lasting difference.

Join me?  In this discussion of gratitude and fullness, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

The Post Grad Life

Well, this small-town college girl has graduated, moved to a big city (ok, really a suburb of a sort of big city), started a real job, and started work on a masters degree. Whew! If only that was the long list.
Honestly, life is good. Life is full, and busy, and overwhelming. But mostly full.  It is almost Fall, and I long for the trees in Arkansas. I'm not sure I ever thought I'd really miss it this much. But I do.  Not that I don't love Texas - my roots. But Arkansas sometimes feels more home.  Maybe Texas will become that way again after the transition is done.
I had a phone call today from one of my former youth students.  Actually two of them - they're twins.  It was so good to hear their voices, and comforting that they would call me on boyfriend advice.  As I listened to them talk, I was shown a bit of how much they have changed in the past four years.  When I first met them four and a half years ago, they wouldn't have even dreamed of talking to each other about boyfriends. They would have been too worried about fighting. But now, God has done some kind of work in their lives.  They are actually friends. It makes my heart happy.
As I talked, I definitely miss them.  But at the moment, I don't long to be in Arkansas.  I still miss it but I know my place is here.  Arkadelphia is changing; Park Hill is changing; and I am changing.  It is good.  It is healthy.  And the best part is that God is orchestrating it all and His timing and plan is best.  He intends for us to have a full life, and as long as I'm following His leading, that is happening.
As an update on girls ministry happenings, my how God's at work!  Last Sunday was "Promotion Sunday" and we had over 400 students! On one hand, it's nuts, absolutely nuts that we have so many kids! On the other, more positive hand, that is so many students that are hearing about Jesus! Praise Him!
I am very excited to be able to be a part of this work that He is doing in Frisco. Still not sure about the traffic, but blessed to be at FBC.

I'm posting a few of my posts from the FBC Blue Girls Ministry blog so that you don't have to flip back and forth between the two sites.  I'm going to try and do better at keeping this blog personal and the other ministry related.  I suppose soon I should change my title, but part of my heart is still in Arkadelphia, so bear with me.  Some days I feel as though I'm about to move back into West Side or Francie and we're all going to continue the college scene, but then I remember that some friends are in North Carolina, and Chicago, and Arkansas.  We'll see each other soon enough, but until then, God is doing a mighty work having us all spread out!
Please pray for me and my friends as we transition.  I especially am in need of some friends in Frisco that are about my age, and same situation. All in God's time.
May love, and peace, and joy be filling your life as the seasons change and Fall greets us.
InJoy,
Brittany

"To The Girl…Who's Life Is Changing"

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

Can I just say that I love new things! New places, new cultures, new foods, new ideas, new people - I love it!

But man, oh man, change is SO hard! It is a weird contradiction, is it not?

Do you ever feel like I do right now? Like you're so content and happy to be where you are, but also long to be somewhere else? That's what I'm feeling right now. I love my new job in Frisco, and I love you girls that I get to hang out with and minister to. But at the same time, some nights my heart longs to be in Arkadelphia. I long for the clear, star-filled skies, the girls of my first youth ministry, and the comfort.

But then God reminds me that there lies the problem. Comfort. He told me a long time ago that my life is never to be comfortable. Content, yes, but not comfortable. And so I told Him that whenever I get too comfortable that He should move me. So He did. And I am so content, and life is full of joy.

God designed us to grow in change. Have you ever been through a season of change, and came out a better person for it? It happens all the time. We change from being elementary school kids to middle schoolers. And when we leave 6th, 7th, 8th grades, we are better people. Hopefully.

Let me encourage you that as life changes, embrace the growth that can happen. Let God guide you through these changes so that each choice you make is one that pleases Him, and is guided by Him. Change is hard, but without God at our side, it will be so much harder. And we cannot stay stagnant, living without changing. We must always change because time moves forward. We grow older, times change. And if we don't change with it, our lives become lost. Allow God to change you into the person He wants you to be. Allow Him to change you into a holy, righteous person, living for Him.

So do new things, ponder new ideas, go to so many new places, make a new friend, and eat a new food. You might find that you like it. And you will find that God has a plan.

Shall we change together?

"To The Girl…Who Needs Encouragement

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

Social Media is becoming so ingrained in today's culture. It's almost impossible to have a discussion with someone without either mentioning something found out on facebook or twitter, or without first knowing some fact from the web. This is why we at Blue try to be up-to-date on the social networks. This may seem to have nothing to do with the title, but hang with me.

I had a phone call today from one of the moms of our youth. She was calling to tell me that another girl's mom was in the hospital because of surgery and experiencing some difficulty with the surgery. It seems pretty serious. I knew that this mom was having surgery, but had thought it was going well (because I saw posts on social media, of course). With this sad news, I was concerned for both our girls and the mom.

I checked Instagram earlier this evening, and was so encouraged to see what kinds of conversation (if it can be called that on instagram) were occurring between our eighth grade girls. This girl had posted that her mom was not doing well, and as I read the comments my heart was happy. All the posts were from girls in our youth group, her small group, and were discussions of how they had been praying for this girl's mom.

Just when I think that sometimes we're not getting through to some girls, I know that the Holy Spirit is at work. I know that we are surrounded by peers from church that are willing to pray for our hurts and encourage one another.

Life is hard. There are so many good things that happen in life, but often sad things happen. Our mom's get sick; dad's work late and sometimes leave; friends are flaky and change plans for better options; people are mean at school; life seems overwhelming when we try to balance school and sports; expectations sometimes put too much pressure on us; we don't fit in with the people we're around; we are forced to move and change our world; life happens.

But be encouraged. God is good; He is overly gracious; He puts people in our life in His timing that will walk with us; the flowers still bloom each spring; the sun still rises in the East every morning; God is faithful and saves; laughter heals heart-wounds; and sometimes people really are nice.


So as I sit here in Starbucks and enjoy a warm latte, waiting for fall to fully arrive, I want to encourage you. You can get up each morning; you can enjoy a full life; you can find little things to be thankful for. God will carry you through the tough times. Know that there are people praying for you, and are here for you through physical hurts, and emotional hurts.

You turned my deepest pains into joyful dancing;
You stripped off my dark clothing and covered me with joyful light.
You have restored my honor. My heart is ready to explode, erupt in new songs!
It’s impossible to keep quiet!
Eternal One, my God, my Life-Giver, I will thank You forever.
Psalm 30.11-12

"The Everyday Me."

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

I wrote a bio a few months ago for the church website. Bios are supposed to make you sound good and are usually formatted in a formal way. That's great and all, but let’s be honest...I'm just a normal person. So can I tell you a bit about me informally? You might be able to catch on through my posts, but let me just lay it out for you.

• I love rainy days. (Much like the one today, while I'm writing this.) I think it's cozy.


• Laughing is my favorite activity.
• I love to travel, and especially cherish the summers I've lived in South American countries. Chicago is another favorite traveled place.
• Also, I have a fetishes with the Spanish language, tea cups, pearls, and purple. (gift hints, yup...just kidding)


• I'm currently living at home with my family. And it is fun. We're not perfect, and it's not ideal for a post-grad, student working on a master's degree to be living with her parents, but it's where God has me right now, and I really love my family. I have two brothers, a loving set of normal parents, and an old golden retriever named Molly.


• I just moved back to Frisco from Arkansas and I'm dealing with a bit of culture shock. I mean, really, who doesn't shut down the town for lunch breaks? And the traffic!! I count my drives a success if I get out of the car and am not stressed or angry. I'm working on it. With that said, I left a wonderful adopted-family, church, friends, and university in Arkansas. I am who I am today because of what God did while I was there.


• Squirrels are my favorite animals. I know, most people think they're gross, but I just think they're really cute. Not that I want to own one, but I sure like to watch them. Bats are another fascinating one to me.


• I'm bad about cleaning up my room or car...I'm working on it.


• I love old-fashioned things: Antiques, old barns, real honey from beehives, tea cups from my grandmother's China cabinet, etc.


• My favorite time of the day is that moment when the coffee cup and I become friends while listening to God's daily whisperings.


• I have insecurities, I have doubts, I have attitude issues; I'm impatient and I distrust; I forget to be thankful. But more importantly, I know that I can give my flaws to God to fix, and I know that He uses my weaknesses for His Kingdom.


• The grace of God is more than I can wrap my mind around. And because of His great love, I have freedom to live rightly and completely.


• I was called to missions in the 9^th grade, but God decided that it was only for a time. In college he placed a love for youth ministry on my heart, and here I am…doing girls ministry.


• I love teaching truth to younger girls. I was fed so many lies as a teenager and struggled with so many things of the world; I think it’s important for me to share what I have learned with those around me.


• Middle school girls don’t annoy me. Most of my friends think I’m crazy for spending weekends with 13-year-olds, but I think it’s a blast! The drama that goes on is silly, but I never tire of hearing it. Maybe God has me in the right ministry.


• My favorite weekend pastime is to watch movies! In my mind, movie nights should happen every day. And I’m pretty open to every type of movie except horror films. Chick flick, comedy, action, cartoon. You name it and I’ll probably enjoy it.

So there’s a little about me. It’s not a complete list, but you get a picture of what I’m about. I read this quote by an author, and I think it sums up my daily life.

“I feel like a success in my everyday life if I get through the day having spent time with the Lord, exercised in some way… and made a friend smile.”

Until next time, Brittany

"Middle School Girls Movie Night"

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

Tonight was one of our first events with just girls. So what did we do? Watch She's The Man, naturally! It was a blast to have so many girls at church on a Friday night laughing together. I'm sure it is the first of many nights like these to come. (:

"Weddings, Brides, and Refreshing Symbolism"

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

I’ve spend the past weekend in what feels like my hometown. Really it is my college town, but if you knew how much God changed my life while here, and the lovely relationships formed, you would see it as home too.

It was so nice to be back, to be surrounded by friends, and to have a beautiful reason to celebrate – a wedding!

It was the most beautiful wedding I’ve been privileged to be part of – and I’ve been part of some really great weddings. This wedding was special not only because Becca and Adam are so in love, but mostly because Christ was the center and reason to celebrate.

It was so beautiful to be reminded that life is all about Christ. this weekend, I was able to be part of conversations that I’ve missed in Frisco. Conversations that are centered on Christ, not the next fashion or money or tv. But Jesus. That’s all that matters, and all that we need to center ourselves on.

As we prepared for a wedding, we were reminded that Christ, our bridegroom, is waiting for His Bride – the church. As Becca came down the aisle, and Adam waited for her, Michael (the preacher) said, “Adam, your bride has arrived; Rebecca, your groom is waiting.” What beautiful symbolism of Christ and the Church! Such a good reminder that Christ is coming to heal this world and make all things new, therefore we shall run to Him. So edify Christ, edify the Body, cherish the Church, nothing else matters.

"The Question of Why"

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

In May, I stepped into the role of ‘girls minister’ at FBC Frisco. So many times I’ve been asked why it is that I do what I do.

Simple, Jesus told me to.

I grew up going to church, and came to accept Christ at an early age. While in the youth group, walking with the Lord became really personal and real to me. One of the most defining moments in my faith came the summer after my freshman year of high school at church camp. Every Thursday at camp we would spend the morning in what was called a “concert of prayer.” The entire camp would gather and pray over the government, schools, families, churches, missionaries, and so on. This one year, as we were praying over our youth ministers, my youth minister came up and put his hand on my shoulder, and we stood praying for each other for a while. It was a very special moment. When we were done praying, Adam gave me a hug and asked me if I had ever considered being a missionary. I said yes, my grandparents were missionaries in Africa, so going on missions was always an option. I had been on a few mission trips prior to that, and loved serving God that way. Adam told me that when he placed his hand on my shoulder, he had the most vivid image of me on the mission field surrounded by little black children. We talked more about it, and we really felt that God had shown Adam a clear direction for my life. God had called me to foreign missions. The call was as real and as clear as my mom’s call to dinner each night. The emotions of that day were so contrasting. What peace and excitement I felt that God would call me, but what fear there was also in living a life completely different from everything the world expects.

I continued to serve God and the church in various ways through high school. I was very involved in our youth group, and we experienced several youth pastor changes throughout my time in high school. I went out of the country on several trips, but found that serving God and being “on mission” did not strictly mean leaving Frisco.

In 11^th grade, two faith-impacting things happened: I made a best friend, and my youth group was without a youth pastor for a very long time. I had friends all through school, but never ones that I felt were true friends. I especially struggled in the youth group fitting in with the girls in my Sunday school classes. They were much “cooler” and more popular than me, and had been friends for so long that I just did not fit in. Amy moved to our church and we hit it off immediately. We were at a similar point spiritually, and we are so alike in many ways. Looking back, I feel that this was a changing point in my life - I had friends!

Losing Adam as a youth pastor was not as devastating as we thought it would be. It was a good move for him, and their family has done great, impactful things for the Church. What happened when he left, however, was nothing. For a good amount of time there were no Bible studies happening, no outside events. Nothing. As I saw my youth group slow down, Amy and a few other close friends and I decided that we needed to do something. What could we do? We were only 17. It was intimidating to teach our peers, so we decided to do what we could manage. We started a middle school girls Bible study. When I tell people of this, they look at me like I’m crazy for willingly hanging out with middle schoolers. It was one of the most rewarding times. To teach girls the Word, to pour into them and build relationships, to laugh and have fun in a godly way; that time taught me so much.

When I went off to college, I began visiting churches with my roommate. The second church we went to immediately felt like home. The church reminded me of FBC Frisco, and the people were so welcoming. Before the service was even over I had made up my mind to make it my church home in Arkadelphia. During the Sunday school class, a lady made an announcement asking for helpers with the youth group. Somehow, my introverted self found her at the end of the service and volunteered to help. What started as a small step, turned into what I think defines my time at college. For the first few years, I served with about ten other college students as an intern team under Jason and Sarah, the husband-and-wife youth ministers. It was such a blessing to be able to learn from Jason, and to do ministry and life with the team. We really became so close, and lived with a desire to impact students’ lives. The last two years, Jason asked me to fill the associate’s position as associate youth minister and girls minister. I willingly agreed and spent the summer with the Park Hill Youth. These kids became family. Jason and Sarah are more like parents than bosses, and God moved in such big ways through my time there. I’m struggling to even put words to my experiences in Arkansas, but overall God put a passion in me to reach teenagers for the Kingdom.

Throughout this time, there was always the 9^th grade call to foreign missions in the back of my mind. I had spent the summer after 10^th grade in Uruguay with missionaries, and a few other summer weeks in Jamaica since then with missions, but once college hit, my mission field was Arkansas. At times this was confusing. Hadn’t God called me to little children surrounding me in Africa? Why did my passport expire, keeping me in the States? I was loving where I was at, and God was teaching me so much, but what about that call? Last summer, my younger brother and I decided to go out of the country. We both love adventure, foreign missions and Spanish. Therefore we contacted some missionary friends and asked if they needed help for the summer. They needed some summer interns, and they willingly let us stay with them in Santiago, Chile. What a blast! We had the opportunity to teach in schools, share Jesus, and learn to ski in the Andes. (And so much more.) However, the entire time we were there Brandon and I would have conversations about why we were there. Not us specifically, but American missionaries in general. We did not feel that our trip was contrary to God’s will, but we did wonder why the IMB had so many missionaries in Chile when most of the churches in Santiago were run by Chileans and functioned on their own. What right did we as Americans have to impose our ideals on them? There was an uneasy feeling. As I was praying about it one day, God told me that the reason I felt so uneasy about the missions was because He wanted me in the States for a while. Maybe someday, for a time, I’ll live overseas. But for now I’m in the country.

A few weeks after Chile, I was having lunch with Chris and he asked me what I learned while in Chile and I told him about being in the country and not overseas. He thought for a moment and said that there’s an opening for a girls minister with the FBC youth group, and that we should pray about it if I’m interested. We were both pretty excited about it and hesitant at the same time. This would be so new for both of us. We knew we could work together because we had in the past, but is this the right position? For about six months we just prayed about it. No talking about it, no planning, just praying. The more I prayed, the more excited I became. Ideas kept coming in my head. My dad was even very excited about girls ministry, and has brainstormed so many helpful ideas with me. Almost a year after those initial conversations, the idea came to fruition.

So here I am. Why Frisco, why Teal, why girls ministry? Because God has placed me here to build relationships, to walk with others as we walk with Christ. It’s simple really. I just tell God’s story and love much because I have been loved much.

"Why Teal"

From bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com

Since before I became the girls minister at FBC Frisco, I've been wracking my brain for the perfect name for this girls ministry. I've googled plenty of other girls ministries, and have found some good names and a lot of really cheesy names. I wanted the name of our ministry to mean something, to be unique, and to be catchy and cool. I am tired of lame acronyms and have been on the hunt for the best. I know that every name could be modified but today I have chosen "Teal | A girly shade of Blue."

I sat down many times today to make this blog, plan out a mission statement, and get a name for this girls ministry. It's been difficult and not every goal has been accomplished. But I think we have a name!

At high school camp, earlier in the summer, I was hit with the idea of Yellow as our girls ministry name. The spirit during rec this year was unbeatable, and the "yellow team" (11th grade) was huge and very spirited. I had the thought that since we are called "Blue" as a whole youth ministry, why not name the girls portion a color. What better to compliment Blue than yellow? Well, as I thought it over more and more, the word "yellow" is just so long and awkward to say, and I wasn't sold on the idea. I talked it over with a few people, and they liked the color theme, but yellow wasn't really the color to do that with.

So then I used the ever handy dictionary.com to find some synonyms of "blue." The keepers were cyan, periwinkle, sapphire, and teal. None really caught my eye. :-/ But the more I thought about teal and a "lighter shade of blue" or "Girly shade of blue" the more Teal grew on me. It is also really pretty, so I figured we'd think on it.

As I was using dictionary.com, I found a few things.

1. The actual definition of teal is: "Any of several species of small dabbling ducks, of worldwide distribution, usually traveling in tight flocks and frequenting ponds and marshes."
Not that I particularly love birds, but ducks are neat and what stood out to me is that they travel in "Tight flocks." The verse that I have in mind as the central verse for our girls ministry is John 13.35: "And they will know you are my (Jesus') disciples if you have love for one another."
I feel that the tight flock ties in nicely with that verse. God calls us to be a unified body of believers and for our lives to be defined by how we love. It is essential that as girls, we stick together in a close flock.

2. The color teal got its name because of a bird (see above comment). This bird has teal all around its eye. I find this interesting because eyes are very important. Descartes (an old French philosopher) said that "the eyes are the window to the soul."
I love that! In scripture, time and time again, the psalmists write of lifting our eyes up to the Lord, both in praise and in times of trouble. If our eyes are the window to our souls, and we are to constantly lift them up to the Lord, then it is as if we are to continually have our eyes and souls fixed on God so that He can see our very soul. God doesn't need just our eyes to look at Him in order for Him to see our souls, He does that all the time - He knows our very thoughts. However, our attitude and entire beings should be so fixed on God and our lives should be walking in the direction of the Lord that when God looks into our souls, He is glorified and ever so proud. I think these teal birds are onto something.. (:
Matthew 6 also says this about the eye: “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" I think this lines up with Descartes and challenges us to live holy lives.

3. Have you ever had a weird dream and then looked it up on the internet to see what it meant, even though it might be sort of superstitious? Me too...probably more often than I want to believe. Well, I looked up "teal" on one of those sights for color and found that teal represents "idealistic, faithful, sentimental; Emotional healing, rich, unique, and expensive." I like those words. I especially like that teal represents that which is unique and expensive. As daughters of the King, we are of greatest worth! Ephesians tells us that we are "His masterpiece" and Hebrews calls us royalty. We are so much more cherished and loved than the world lets on to. Christ loved us so much that He died for us; we were bought at a great price. As daughters of God, we are unique, set apart from the world, and cherished by our Maker. How wonderful to have such a gracious God!


So there are my thoughts on "Teal." It's simply a girly shade of Blue.

May we be girls that hold ourselves and others as unique daughters of the King, keep our eyes and lives in line with Christ, and that are united in love - very much like a tight flock.

Oh so much to say...

So much has happened since I last posted. Wow, that was Spring Break?! It seems like a lifetime ago.
I desire to update you on so much that has happened! God is so good and faithful and gracious. How blessed I am to be His daughter and to be loved as much as He loves me. Makes me a little giddy just thinking on it.
Things that have happened (and I intend to elaborate later):
-graduation
-new job began
-weddings
-4 weeks of camps
-girls ministry plans
-summer!

Soon I will sit down and process/update you readers on life, but for now, I want to direct you to the new FBC Frisco Girls Ministry blog and hear your feedback.  It's fully under construction, but there's a bit of something there.

http://bluegirlsministry.wordpress.com/2012/07/11/why-teal/

May your summer be full and restful.

Brittany

Spring Break in Chicago!

Spring Break has come and gone for the last time in my college career. That's a sobering thought. But what I did for spring break is anything but sobering! Each year as spring break comes around, my friends and I have tried to get trips together but it never seems to work out. Someone always has a doctor's appointment or plans with other people, so usually I just go home or to my grandparents. Well this year was different! My friend Kim and I had talked about going somewhere in early February. She has family all over the States, so we figured we could just go crash with them and enjoy a roadtrip. We sort of left plans at that and due to stressful school didn't plan anything for a while. As spring break drew nearer, we realized that we should probably plan something, and Kim realized that depending on where she was going to grad (or possibly med) school, she might need to visit there. After a    l   o   n   g   decision process, she decided on grad school at Wheaton College in Illinois.  So for spring break, we were headed to Chicago!

Our other former roommate, Leasha, couldn't make it up to Arkansas until Sunday so we had a few days to relax around Arkadelphia. It was wonderful! It felt like the summer I stayed in town all over again. Nate and Sean were around, we went to the lake and watched movies. It was lovely! That Friday, we saw our friend (Last semester's suitemate), Alyssa, married off, and I made her wedding cake (A lemon cake with raspberry filling and lemon icing. So tasty!) It turned out wonderfully!

After our relaxing, celebratory weekend, Leasha, Kim and I loaded up too early and hit the road.
We stayed in the town of Wheaton and went into Chicago all day Wednesday. Our main goal was to find K/L a place to live, so we looked at many apartments.

We had the opportunity to shop. A lot. Which is very uncharacteristic of us, but we found that we enjoyed it.
Our day in downtown Chicago was a blast! We saw every major attraction except Wrigley Field, and we were ok with that. Here's a few pictures of our trip. They probably explain things better than I can! (:

Chicago from the John Hancock
Building on the 96th floor.

"The Bean" at night. We had a lot of fun here.

More from the 96th floor

Kim and the Wardrobe from the Narnia movie.
Wheaton has a C.S. Lewis museum
that we caught just as it was closing.

C.S. Lewis head with the battle mask from
Narnia 2 in the background.

Wheaton College

C.S. Lewis' desk, where he wrote part of the Narnia books!

J.R.R. Tolkien's desk where Lord of the Rings was written!

A dinner of Thai food!

Picnic in John Q. Adams Park where
John Adams once lived. Neat!

We met this sweet puppy on the train.

Her name was Gracie. She had to get
off right after this because apparently
you're not allowed to have dogs on trains.

Our train ticket into Chicago

We met the Cake Boss!! Buddy was filming part of his
show and we got to take a picture with him.
(and we might be on his show! So, watch out
for the one where's he's in Chicago!)

Navy Pier

Chicago from Navy Pier

One of our favorite moments: Exploring the American
Girl Doll Store!
It was so cool! I'm sure the people around us
thought we were crazies.
Oh well! It was a blast.

It was good to be away from school for a while, but I still learned so much while I was in Chicago. We had the opportunity to spend time with many intelligent people.  It gave me a new appreciation for learning.
I also learned how thankful I am not to be moving to a city where I know no one and searching for a place to live, work, and getting acquainted with new culture.
Hope your spring break was as relaxing and fun as mine! (:

This Girls Minister's Dilemma

  Well, it's late and I cannot sleep.  My roommate slumbers away while I toss and turn, my mind wild with ideas.  I decided instead of fighting sleep, which may partly be due to the iced coffee this afternoon, I would be productive.  I have many thoughts and I wish to document them for future use, as well as to share them with you.

  I suppose I should update you on big changes coming from "Tales in Arkadelphia".  In a few short months, shorter than I care to count, this small town college girl will be a college graduate bound for the large suburbs once again.  I plan to pursue graduate school, but most importantly (at least to me...) I have the most fortunate position of starting a girls minister position at a church in Frisco.  (I do not think the position is public yet, hence why I leave details out.)  This excites me to no end!  The youth pastor and I have been praying about this possible opportunity since this last summer, and God is faithful and the position is coming to fruition! The closer May comes the more excited I am about it.  I suppose I will need a new name for this sporadically kept blog. Suggestions are certainly welcome. 

  My thoughts tonight resonate with a conversation that I have been having with myself for the past few weeks and which climaxed tonight during a phone call from my dad.  How encouraging and wonderful to have a father who is so supportive of my future plans! I cannot express how full my heart is because of this.  Despite how difficult this semester has been due to challenging classes and other life things, my days seem increasingly filled with girls ministry happenings here in Arkansas.  We are beginning to plan girls retreat and I cannot wait for the weekend to get here!  The conversation, due to this "all-things-girls-ministry" mindset, that has arisen has been "What is girls ministry??"

  I have begun to realize in the four years that I have been a part of the youth ministry at Park Hill and as I seek to define my future ministry that there are not many resources in the world for girls ministry.  This is a relatively new field, which means scarce resources.  There are plenty of ministries that travel around and host girls retreats[1], but what I seek is for full-time girls ministers.  I applaud the ministries that exist, however these ministries come in for a weekend and preach good truth to girls and then leave.  The Sunday school teachers and ministers are the ones who do life with the girls.  I want with such zeal for young women to know the love of Christ and what it truly means to be women of the Word, after God's heart, sanctified for Him.  There are so many things that I want to share with teenage ladies, but I'm not sure exactly how to go about it.  Thus, I am on a quest!

  I have begun to search for other girls ministers (because they are out there) and to see how they are doing ministry.  What I have mostly found is that girls ministry seems to be a subset of the overarching youth ministry.  In a sense it should be.  However, I propose that there is more.  I have found that the department of girls ministry has grown more in the past few years because ministers are realizing that girls are different from boys. Whoa, I know that may have just blown your mind, but hang with me.  Most youth ministries are led by men.  Which is great for many reasons, but I think that men are realizing that they cannot adequately minister to girls because they are different.  A 35 year old male cannot possibly know what it is like to be a middle school girl that is insecure of her figure, how well she fits in, or trying to find out who she is.  Boys go through adolescence on a different degree scale.  God made us this way, and it is good, because He made it so.  And because of these differences girls ministers are being hired, but what is our purpose?

  I have read many godly women's blogs[2] about how they are doing girls ministries and I am so thankful to be surrounded by saints with a heart that echoes my own for young women.  But what I have found is that girls ministry, for many, looks exactly like youth ministry except only girls are coming, and there is a lot more nail polish and fewer footballs.  I have seen as a common theme that on a large scale, girls ministry consists of a girls retreat in the spring, maybe some events just for fun, and some Bible studies that only ladies come to.  All of these things are good.[3] However, as I have been thinking and talking with my dad, my girls ministry needs to be something more than an extension of youth ministry.  It should not replace youth ministry, but there is a specific purpose for this.  I think that it should make ministers of our students[4], it should include mentorship-both for girls and by girls, it should be a year round program, it should be biblical, and should make women out of girls.  I'm not fully sure of what this means specifically yet, and I think that it will be a continual quest.

  So, as I jealously seek to know how to best minister to the ladies that have been and will be entrusted to me, and as I seek to redirect this blog, I plan to spend the next few weeks hashing out what I find to be girls ministry.  Any advice is welcomed, and all prayers are craved as I search Scripture and try to find God's heart for us as women.

 InJoy,

Brittany

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[1] http://www.sageministries.org/, http://idministries.com/, http://revolvetour.com/ are just a few.

[2] See http://blog.lproof.org/, http://radiantgirlministries.blogspot.com/, and http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/girlsministry/

[3] Well, I must say that I have a problem with the word events, but I think that is a different topic. I see too often that youth ministers fill their time with events and miss the point of making disciples and building relationships. I can literally set myself on fire and call it an event and attract 200 students, but what good does that do for the gospel? How have students left knowing what it looks like to live as God commands us? The word event in my mind suggests a onetime deal, a spiritual high, and leaving people on their own to figure out life. As a rule, I try to stay away from just an event.  I digress.

[4] For a full expansion of this idea, see Greg Ogden’s book, Unfinished Business: Returning the Ministryto the People of God.