Flourishing is Fun
My 15-year old was standing next to the kitchen counter staring at me. He put his hands on my shoulders and shook me a bit, exclaiming, “Mom! I know there’s some fun in there somewhere. Can you please find it?!?” Nailed. He was right. I wasn’t all that into “fun.” At least not recently. When my children were very young, I was intentional about helping them have fun. I believed the best learning environments were filled with delight-directed activity and play. As they got older, there were times I forgot. Fun often felt like a pointless distraction. There were so many important things to be done. One of the wisest…
Fight to Flourish
In her book, The Fight to Flourish, Jennie Lusko talks about this idea: we were designed to flourish. But it doesn’t just happen. We have to fight for the particularly favorable conditions that nourish human flourishing. And it is a fight. A mother of five, Jennie tells the story of her 5-year old daughter’s heavenly homegoing just five days before Christmas. It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. It’s just about the most horrible thing many of us can imagine in this world. Since my own husband’s homegoing just 5 months ago, I – like Jennie – have become more aware of the fight to flourish. Why does it have to be…
Nourish to Flourish
Years ago our family was visiting friends. As we were preparing to leave, my friend gifted me with a plant. While sliding into the backseat of our car, my then-8-year-old proclaimed, “She doesn’t know you very well, does she, mommy?” Even at their young ages, my children knew I wasn’t very good with plants. My husband, however, had a green thumb. That’s an American phrase meaning “good at gardening.” I hope I can keep his roses alive now that he’s moved to heaven. Under his care, the rose gardens didn’t just survive, they thrived. I – on the other hand – have always been especially talented at placing plants in…
Flounder or Flourish?
Imagine a life where you are flourishing. What does it look like? Are you simply surviving, or are you thriving? What is happening in your flourishing world? What is nourishing you? While we’re being honest, I haven’t exactly felt like I’m flourishing lately. In the wake of my husband’s homegoing last fall (he’s in heaven with Jesus now), I’ve felt loss, pain, confusion, and fatigue. A fog has clouded my thoughts and feelings. It feels more like floundering than flourishing. And yet…. I’m learning flourishing is something we can find, even when circumstances don’t seem “particularly favorable.” We can see in scripture that God designed us to flourish. And his…
What Sucks the Life Out of Your Team?
For the past several weeks, I’ve been exploring the importance and nature of successful intergenerational teams. We’ve considered what it means to be entrusted with our people, a mentoring model we can incorporate, God’s design for intergenerational ministry, and the characteristics of a belonging culture. Now I want to look at one of the qualities of a thriving intergenerational ministry or leadership team: it must be life-giving. So, here’s a question: what sucks the life out of you? What is not life-giving? Take a minute and list some things that come to mind. Actually, write them down. One thing that sucks the life out of me is complainers. I…
Does Your Team Have a Belonging Culture?
Today I want to talk what it means to have a belonging culture on our intergenerational teams. In this series about intergenerational ministry, I’ve been addressing several characteristics of successful ministry teams. We talked about what it means to be entrusted with people, explored a model for building mentoring into our teams, and dove into some ideas around God’s design for intergenerational ministry. Let’s start with a minute of reflection this time. Consider these questions: Do you feel you belong on your team or on the teams you serve on? Do you believe your teammates belong? When I was growing up in the church, here’s how I thought belonging worked:…
Designing the Best Teams
One of my favorite models of intergenerational ministry is the relationship between the apostle Paul and his mentee Timothy as described in Paul’s letters to Timothy. As his Wise Guide, Paul continues mentoring Timothy as he pastors one of the world’s first mega-churches in Ephesus. In the community I serve, we often refer to “Leadership 412.” This refers to what Paul instructs Timothy to do in chapter 4, verse 12 of Paul’s first letter to him. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. (1 Timothy 4:12, NIV) Paul…
5 Ways Being Ready to Speak Will Help Your Student This School Year
For 25 years, my organization, The Institute for Cultural Communicators, has been helping the next generation get ready to speak. With all the needs in the world, why is this our focus? Being ready to speak in any situation is a foundational skill for success in education and in life. It prepares students for every stage, gives them tools for whatever comes their way. Here are five ways communication skills help your student at school and beyond. 1. Your student is bully resilient. Though they can look very different from the class bullies we grew up with, bullies are still a reality in the lives of many school-aged children.…
