A DAY IN THE LIFE...

Today I spent my day at home with a sick child. It was a blessing in disguise. I have been tremendously busy the last few months. In the last 10 days we have conducted a Community Awards Luncheon/Kettle Kick-off (180 people), began a kettle campaign that has to raise $450,000.00, did a corps Thanksgiving Dinner (200 people), and busily bought hundreds of gifts for people in our community. Today I spent the day with my sick daughter wrapping those gifts.

On the docket for this week is finding volunteers to work at our Angel Tree table in the Mall. It has to be manned the entire time the mall is open. Of course I have nobody to do the early shift the day after Thanksgiving, so I will be there at 6:00am and work until 10:00am. I also have to purchase gifts for all of our employees (about 40). Jim and I committed to buying gifts (rather than giftcards) so that we could add a personal touch.... quite a task. I have an advent devotional to write, a chapel to decorate, an employee party to plan, an advisory board party to plan, and of course the morning worship services. Most of this has to be done in the next 10 days, then I get to begin on a new list of "to do's" for weeks 2-4 in December.

In all honesty, I am shot! I love what I am doing though. I have desperately tried to stay in the Word and look to those little interuptions in the season as blessings rather than annoyances. There are a million things that have to be done, and I still have to be there and prepared to deal with broken people. These broken people can be considered interuptions in my life of "to do's", yet the reality is that they are the things that keep me going. I am good at business. I can handle all the things I mentioned before. I can do most of the professional things an officer must do. I cannot handle all the brokenness though... only God can. So I sit back and let God bring me those things that cause me to pause and get stressed out a bit, the interuptions, because I know that I cannot handle these things without Him and His power.

I've been reading Philip Yancey's new book on Prayer. I have only been able to do two to three pages a day as of late, but I'm hanging in there. I came across a prayer that I'd like to share.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
At easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
So that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
So that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and
To turn their pain to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.

Amen