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

---

[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. 

Fifteen For Friday

 I was going to make this Five for Friday, but I have too much to say (Or rather, too many photos to display), so Fifteen it is.

1. I returned to Arkadelphia this week and school began. It was a wonderful mix of emotions leaving and returning. I didn't really want to leave, but am glad to be here now.

2. I've been sick all week. This makes for starting class rather dreary.

3. It's great to be back with my roommates and dorm-family and other friends. Apparently I missed them. (:

4. God is Great. His greatness has overwhelmed me this week. And for that I'm thankful. More thankful than I could say.

5. I saw the loveliest rosebuds with dew drops on them today. Splendid!

6. We are using Pinterest in one of my Psychology classes for assignments. That's brilliant and a huge temptation all at the same time!

7. All of my classes are wonderful this semester! All of them. Usually there is that one that is not the best, but this semester (or at least so far) I am enjoying all of them.  It will be a lot of work, but I'll learn lots and have fun doing it. Excitement!

8. The newest David Crowder*Band album, "Give Us Rest or (A Requiem Mass in C [The Happiest of All Keys]) has been on repeat all week long. If you haven't gotten it yet, please do so as of ten minutes ago, that's how urgent and wonderful it is.

9. Highlight of the week was probably being back at Refuge. It is so wonderful to worship as a campus and to study God's Word together with peers leading us.  We began a series on the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8) with the Beatitudes.  I was challenged to began to pray that my life matches up with these blessings.

10. It took me until today to fully unload every one of my suitcases... (I got here Monday night, and had four so that's not too bad, right?)

11. This week began my first semester of not being in a Spanish class. Oh, how I missed it!

12. My brother proudly plays epic-conquer-the-world computer games in his free time. Actually, both of them do. They are who I aspire to be. (Not really in the computer game attribute...so only part of that was sarcastic.) :)

13. Highlights of my Christmas break included: Speaking Spanish with both brothers in Oklahoma, Raw, barely-planned worship on Christmas morning, Seeing God's presence and movement at Passion2012, driving my grandparents to Downtown Dallas to look at a library, and bountiful family-time including baking and movies and laughs.

14. None of the pictures taken below were taken in a moving vehicle. They were taken in a vehicle, but I promise (Mom) that the car was not moving. (:

15. I decided to take a drive and I couldn't help but take my camera. I woke up to tremendous amounts of fog this morning but the sky cleared and left the earth moist and saturated in color. I simply had to attempt to capture it with my camera.  I found a lovely dirt road and blared some ABBA (which was a little strange to be listening to in the country, Blake Shelton or Tim McGraw should have been blaring...oops) and snapped a few shots on the side of the road. These were my 15 favorites. (:

Happy weekend! May it be relaxing and productive.

InJoy,
Brittany

Give Us Rest...In the Presence of God (or DavidCrowder*Band's Last.)

I just returned from #Passion2012 Friday at 4 a.m. It was phenomenal. God did so much and His presence was so tangible.  I hope to fill in about the time there and some of what I've learned in the days following.
The DavidCrowder*Band played their last concert on Monday night, and it was amazing! (Hillsong was in concert the following night and was awesome, as well.)  I wrote a few thoughts that God was speaking to me down in my journal at a moment in the DC*B concert. I decided I should share it with you all.
     "Sitting, Standing, Being at the last David Crowder*Band concert. "How He loves" is playing, and what a warm, beautiful picture of what it will be like when the Kingdom of Heaven comes.  The love of God is felt like a warm embrace.  Purifying, satisfying, and holy.
     God is with us always. We will be in His presence fully in the "forever," but He is still with us presently.
    Do we live like that?  Do we live as if we are in the presence of the Almighty, Holy God every minute? In all situations?
     Do we live like we are completely saved and set free; alive; now? Here?
              Why not..........?"
Each situation puts us in the presence of God, in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Whether we are in a musical worship service, writing a book, reading a book, being with friends, or sleeping. Oh, Lord, make us holy, wholly in your presence.

A Return.

I've been a bit MIA lately, and for that I do apologize. (It seems that I start every post like that, so maybe I should start apologizing and start expecting that I'm bad at blogging.) So much has gone on in life and my last semester was so full that this blog shifted to the bottom of the list, and trust me, it was a long list.  So maybe I'll do better this next year. I begin my last semester as a college student in about a week and a half and it would be good to chronicle this adventure. I am highly looking forward to this next phase and then the next. But currently, I'm enjoying living in the now and living out the plan God has for me.

So I return to this blog, very different than when I last wrote, but still the same small-town-girl.  There's much I've learned since my last visit, but I do not have space or time to eloquently describe it. So may this return be one of newness.  May we start fresh from here and grow and walk together this journey that God has laid out for us.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

March 31, 2011
Forest Gump famously said that "Life is like a box of chocolates."  Well, I'm not one to argue with Forest, but at the moment, I'd say life is like a cookie.  You know what that moment's like? The one where you bite into the most perfectly gooey white chocolate macadamia nut cookie. It melts in your mouth and is perfectly sweet, but not too sweet. That's what the nuts are for. And to add that special crunch. You want to keep eating it because it's so good, but at the same time you want to eat it slow so that it lasts longer. You've got cookie dough flavors and chocolate flavors swirling in your mouth and they mix to make the most perfect blend. Mmmm. You savor the moment and at that very instant all is right with the world. It doesn't matter that you just ate broccoli ten minutes before, because right now you're savoring a cookie. Well, that's what I'm comparing life to right now. It might be a bad analogy, but as I was eating a wonderful white chocolate macadamia nut cookie about five minutes ago, something flashed in my head to compare it to life.
My life right now, it's a cookie. Sometimes it's gooey, sometimes it's crunchy, and sometimes there are sweet chocolate chips that are encountered but other times there's the bitter nuts. I walked out of the second biggest test of my life about an hour ago. Tests were never this intense until I encountered Hispanic Culture and Civilization. They are what every high school student is terrified of when the statement of college exams are mentioned, but never really encounter that freshman year. As I looked back over my test to make sure I had written everything I could remember about Carlos IV or Francisco de Goya or Los Características del Romanticismo, I actually smiled. I felt confident that I did my best on that test. It's a good feeling. That's the gooey-ness of my cookie. [How far can we carry this cheesy analogy??]
Let me back up a bit. Spring Break was amazing. The youth of Park Hill went on a retreat to Castle Bluff (camp grounds) and it was a wonderful time! I am so truly blessed to get to work with such wonderful kids and leaders. So many relationships were built and strengthened, many great laughs, a giant spontaneous dance party, and the Good Word was preached (Dr. Joey Dodson taught on Philippians; amazing!). Not a lot of sleep happened, but it was well worth it and I'd do it again soon in a heartbeat. [Let's call that the chocolate. The sweet moments that make life notable. Because, really, who remembers that cookies have flour or an egg? They remember that there was chocolate!]
I left from there and went home. Followed by much sleep and relaxation! I attempted to do some homework and was decently successful.
I returned to school and was hit by a few massive exams and right as I was studying for the above mentioned exam, I was hit with the truth that I had a week to find a new roommate. The situation of roommates, which I had been assured was remaining the same, was not.  Insert crunch here.  Not only was I shocked that our plans would change at such a last minute time, I was almost peeved that I was notified at a pivotal studying moment.  It's amazing how God works things out for His good.  What I saw as such a hard moment, and the moments following looking for a roommate (OBU has these things called "roommate mixers" and they're the most awkward situations ever! I left in tears), God taught me a lot about trust and peace.  He showed me that He had a plan for a new roommate and new living situation. [[It turns out that Danielle, my current roommate, was in the same situation.  We didn't know each other hardly, but we found that the other needed a roommate the day before sign-ups were due.  There was a new transfer student that needed a home, and another girl who was going to study abroad, but decided not to.  God placed us at just the right time to be together, and it has been the biggest blessing.  We have so many laughs together and it is so wonderful to be surrounded by Godly women.

So, looking back over the situation, cookies are great things. There may be hard times and there may be sweet times, but overall cookies are a wonderful thing. Life is wonderful. Set alone, baking soda and eggs are gross yet sugar is real great. But mixed together they are necessary to make up a cookie.  In the same way, there are hard days and dull days and great days.  All of it makes up life. And overall, God is good and in control and returning. That's the best truth I know. It makes each crunchy day well worth it.  May you enjoy your cookie as much as I do.]]

[[I found this little post in the archives, but it hadn't been finished. So I decided to finish it, almost a year later. The parts put in double brackets were new the new things.]]

Lessons From "The Lark"

The winsome song of the ascending lark

Hails the gentle soul and loving heart

Ever heard in silence sweet

Soul and heart in grace do meet.

-Rose Marie Raccioppi

This afternoon I had the privilege and opportunity to sit in the office of my dean, professor, advisor, and respected mentor, Dr. Wight.  Sitting in his new office filled with art, skulls, jars of brains, and books lining the walls, I learned some very valuable lessons today.  Besides talk of future possibilities, we got to talk about life in general. And I learned SO much.  I've been so blessed recently to have the opportunity to be surrounded by godly wisdom.

The above painting is called "The Song of The Lark," and the lesson that I learned from Dr. Wight regarding this painting really sums up some things that I've been reading and learning from other places the past few weeks. 

In this painting, the poor young woman has been working hard all day with her sickle; and as the sun sets she stops amidst the toil to appreciate the moment. She finds joy even after a long hard day.  Dr. Wight told me that he has this painting in his office to remind him that there is joy in every moment and any place to live is as good as any, depending on the perspective you bring to the place.  Life is not made up of how much stuff we have or whether or not we live in a "cool" city; it is made up of the relationships and perspectives you bring to it.  Christ calls us to a life of joy.  With Him as the center, we can see joy in the sunrise of a long, hard day of cutting wheat. Sunsets can signify so many things: the ending of seasons, the sadness in life, the dusky-in-between of light and dark, the peaceful end of work, and the reminder that each day has a start and beginning and God is faithful to return the day with the morning.
-Thank you Dr. Wight, for your wisdom and willingness to share with me.

September | A Month of Pictures in Review

I know, I know, I'm lame. This month has flown by and I'm not sure where all it went! But here's a month in review of my picture-a-day project. I have two or three pictures that I took on my phone that I'll put up later. And this past week has been absolute chaos, so I'm missing a few days. But if you want to know where I was in my absence, I was taking the GRE and Spanish tests. It's been insane. Hopefully after a presentation Monday and Homecoming this weekend life will slow down. Despite the craziness, God is doing big things! Maybe later I'll fill you in on them. (: 

I uploaded the pictures as if I had posted a new post each day, so they are in reverse order. You might want to start at the end of this post to get the full effect because some pictures relate to the ones before. (: I also found a neat collage program on my computer, so I can now upload many pictures and not take up so much space! (: 

Day 31 | See You At The Pole

September 28

Always a favorite time for me in the Fall! I went to the middle school to pray with our kids in the morning and then we ended with a community-wide service that evening. God did big things this day.

Day 30 | School House Rock

September 26

Our theater department put on School House Rock and Becca and Angela and I went! So much fun to remember all the songs that taught us Grammar and Math! 

Day 29 | Tiger Serve Day!

September 24

We got a Tiger Serve Day team together with our youth girls. Such a good time to build relationships AND help the community. It was good. Really good. (:

Day 28 | Sunset

September 22

We have a terrific view from our window and the sun was setting perfectly. So I took lots of pictures of it. This one is my favorite.

Day 27 | Austin's Picture!

September 21

Austin drew me a picture as I was leaving the school! The green person is me and the blue people are him. It was so cute and basically made my week! (: 

Day 26 | Flowers + Sun = Fun

September 20

These were too happy and the sun was too pretty not to take a picture of them. 

[I got these by basically laying in the grass. One of the guys in some of my classes walked by and thought I was really strange. ha! All in the name of photography!]

Day 25 | Fender Bender

September 19

A man ran into my car. Poor Eugene has some lovely scrapes on his rear. Not a fun start to my week.

Day 24 | Rain!

September 18

It rained for the first time in many weeks! Not the best picture, but at least I took one! (:

Day 23 | Boomtown Classic

September 17

The OBU band traveled for the first time in 6 years to El Dorado, AR for the Boomtown classic. The team won, the band was great, and despite being really bus-sick, it was a great little road trip. 

Day 22 | Clark County Fair

September 16

Becca and I explored the fair. It was so cute and fun! I mean, we were finished walking the entire fair grounds in about ten minutes, but it was definitely a fun time of craft rooms, people watching, animal contests and of course, cotton candy and carmel apples!

Day 21 | Little Italy

September 15

After band practice one day, Erica had a craving for Little Italy so we introduced Kelly to the great restaurant! 

Day 20 | Sonic

September 13

Kim and I took Laura (one of our youths) to dinner at Chick and then to Sonic one evening. A good time of fellowship and relationship-building. (: 

Day 19 | Abnormal Starbucks

September 12

Erica, Angela, and I are taking Abnormal Psychology this semester and we had our first test. We got together and reviewed the material. We all aced the test, too!

Day 18 | Decisions

September 11

We have hired new interns to work with our youth this year. Most of our crew graduated last year, so we expanded to hire on awesome new ones. Many applied, and it was our job to accept or not accept the applicants. This was taken as I was thinking and praying over the candidates and if they were fit to work with our youth. It was a heavy decision. I take the lives of our kids very seriously and we only want committed interns. It was an intense, but good decision. (We kept all five applicants, in case you were wondering, and it has been a good decision so far!) 

Day 17 | OBU Football

September 10 

I can't remember who we played, but I remember we won! This was taken at our first football game. It was surprisingly more fun than previous years. (:

Day 16 | CogLab

September 9

Every Friday night we have an assignment due for my Cognition class.  We get to participate in psychological studies and learn how the brain learns. Crazy!  This was taken as I was finishing up one Friday night.

Day 15 | Spanish Homework

September 8

A typical sight on Monday and Wednesday nights as I try to finish up "Tarea de Espanol" for the next morning. 

Day 14 | America Reads

September 7

I joined the America Reads team this year as a volunteer. America Reads is a program that sends students into the elementary schools to help students learn to read. I get to tutor a 1st grader named Austin. It has been a blast! September 7th was the first day of tutoring, and it has been amazing ever since. Austin loves to learn to read! He is so excited everyday as I show up and loves reading to me. We play fun games (which teach him letters and words without him knowing). He is a precious kid! Tutoring has definitely been a stress-reliever in my semester. To get outside of normal activities and be around first graders is a definite change, but so worth it!

Day 13 | 125th Musical Showcase

September 6

This year is OBU's 125th anniversary. Sept. 6th has been named state-wide Ouachita Day by governor Beebe. The music department put on a showcase to celebrate and I snapped a few pictures while I was in the audience. The performances were awesome!! 

Day 12 | Labor Day

September 5

This one might should be called "Labor-less" Day. I spent the day reading and relaxing. 

Day 11 | Frisco Date

September 4 

Kelly, Erica and I are all native Frisconians and happen to all attend OBU! It has been an absolute blessing and a blast having all three of us around this year! (Kelly joined Erica and I this fall). We decided one Sunday afternoon to go on a walk to the train park. It was such a relaxing and fun time!

Day 10 | Downtown Photowalk

September 3

I wanted to go shoot some pictures, so I picked a theme for today: Buildings, wheels and reflections.  I wandered around downtown for a few hours and had a blast finding a few neat gems. Next time I'll have to take someone so its safe to explore sketchy parts. (: 

Day 9 | AHS Football

September 2

I went to the football game with Becca and Angela to support some of our youth in the band. These little girls were precious! So I kinda stole some pictures of them. It was fun to join in the community event and actually sit at a football game. I've realized that I'm not sure how to behave at football games if I'm not in the band. Arkadelphia football games are definitely a community event. I've decided that I like football (Americano and futbol!)

Day 8 | "Men Working"

September 1

There has been construction in our lobby for a few days to correct some water damage, and I passed this sign a few times today and found it really funny. One time that I walked under it, it was hung on a clothes hanger... Oh Arkansas! 

Day 7 | Youth Games

August 31

Our first official "regular" youth night! It was actually the parents' meeting, so I'm not sure how regular it was, but Nate and I got to lead games, which is always a blast

Day 6 | Bugs!?

August 30

Danielle and I were getting ready for bed and we found this lovely slug on the wall. Naturally we freaked out a bit. It took some guts ( no pun intended ) but we captured the little guy and flushed him. The next morning, I got up early and went to breakfast and came back to a text from Danielle saying she had found the giant bug on the ceiling when she woke up! Not something fun to wake up to. This time we were real grossed out so we got our dorm mom, Sarah, to come help us. He was flushed too. We don't usually have gross bugs on the third floor of new buildings, but we think these guys were from some construction they are doing to the lobby. They have sprayed our room twice since, and we've only found a few crickets. I know God made them, and they are sort of neat, but I sure hate finding them in my sleeping space!

Day 5 | Ice

August 29

I opened my fridge today and found this stalagmite (or is it a stalactite?) on my little ice tray. So I thought I should photograph it because it was kinda funny and neat. My life is exciting, I know. (:

Day 4 | Snow Cones

Snow Cones by Mary on the last day of the "snow cone season." Delicious, refreshing and fun!

Day 3 | Guitar Hero

 I got to hang out with two of my favorite Arkadelphian kids tonight as the Beans went on the Campus Ministries retreat. We had a blast eating favorite fast foods (Subway and McDonald's, of course!) and movies followed by some intense Guitar Hero Competition. These guys bring so much joy to my life.  If you can't tell from Caleb's dancing, we have a fun time together. (: Tomorrow morning holds some monkey bread baking, a Halo tournament, and more laughs.