Time Management... A Ramble

I have signed up for a time management webinar. Since it will take an hour to watch it, I feel a bit like the person who pays hundreds of dollars for a pamphlet on how to save money, but I need a hint - any hint - on how to get at least half of it done. It would also help if I knew what 'it' is.


I now know why so many in the generation before me (okay, mostly men) lost themselves in their 60+ hour church work week leaving their spouses (okay, mostly women) and children to fend for themselves. Didn't Paul AND Jesus warn us about trying to have families in the midst of this ministry thing?

I want to be ahead so that our church musician and associates have plenty of time to prepare their pieces in worship and liturgy can become more creative, rather than typed into the bulletin straight from a book due to time constraints.

I want to pick my head up from the demands of the urgent in order to see the visions and dreams of the future.

I want to visit with folks in the congregation when they're not in the hospital so that I will be a person of trust when crisis comes.

I want to meet consistently with my staff members corporately and individually so that we have a foundation of trust to work together in good times and in bad.

I want to start rebuilding pieces of the foundation of this church's ministry that are missing so that we can make bolder leaps into who it is God is calling us to be.

I want to understand the Treasurer's report. (I get pages 1-4, but 5-6 continue to befuddle me. And I think the Treasurer likes it that way :)

I also want to get to the gym.

I want to continue the process of transforming this new house into a home.

I want to get back in touch with my long, lost friends by phone rather than facebook and twitter and an occassional text.

And most importantly I want to raise and love my son.

i don't want much, really. ::shakes head knowingly::

I realize my wants are right on target with all of us living our lives and our vocations as faithfully as possible. As I've begun the conversation with the leadership of the congregation about the difference between what is important (just about everything) and what are our priorities, I've realized that this is an exercise that could help me in my own mission - personal and professional. I should sit down and figure out what those priorities are.

If only I had the time.

http://iqmatrix.com/

One More Pane

In my denomination there is an organization for women. In the past, this has been where women could find their leadership roles since they were not allowed to be ordained into office. In many places it is where the pastor's wife actually ran the show. I don't think the church or her mission would be as far as it is today if were not for these women.

Change comes hard for many of them and sadly I have frequently found that the people who are the hardest on the idea of a woman in an ordained role in the church, are them. However, once you win them over - they are yours forever.

I am the Head of Staff in a larger congregation. I am the first installed female Head of Staff (they have had interims). Slowly, folks are breathing and understanding that it is 'ok'. The mistakes I make are because I am still a little green and quite frankly, I have a big mouth and want to FIX everything. The heart is in the right place, I can preach pretty well and I run a decent meeting - so I have been given a lot of grace and won over many of the doubters.

In many ways I have broken through a portion of the stained glass ceiling, but a few panes remain.

I found out suddenly that in a couple of weeks I am no longer preaching, but rather our DCE (a woman) is preaching. I have no problem with this, just thought it was surprising. It turns out the women of this organization always run the worship service on the third Sunday of November. I asked the woman in charge about it and she said, "Well when our organization does the service the women are in charge so we never have the Head of Staff preach."

I waited....

And then I said, "Well that makes sense, a women's organization service should have women involved."

Her: "Yes. That's why we asked (the DCE)."

I waited again..... and then decided to let it go.

I find myself chuckling and shaking my head because in this case, it is not even about thinking outside the box it is about looking around and seeing who is in the box with you.

Oh and fear not lest you are worried that I will now have nothing to do.

She did ask me to do the children's sermon since one of our male associates had been previously scheduled.

To Sum Up

Note To Local Ministerium

The 'buzz' is that you wish more of the younger clergy would join you and your important work of meetings and minutes taking. Yet when I came into this area I received no invitation letter/postcard/email/phone call.

A few months afterwards I did receive an emailed invitation to preach at the Thanksgiving Eve service, something anyone in the 'biz' knows is assigned to newbies because no one else wants to do it.

You'll excuse me if I refrain from paying my $50 fee for the honor of gathering in a cold fellowship hall at 6:30 in the morning to hang with the age 60+ balding white male clergy of the month club.

As you were.

The Obesity of America

First, you need to know that I in no way, shape or form would be confused for a health nut. Since I moved into a living situation where I am no longer the adult in charge of grocery shopping I have gained 15 pounds... and that's not in muscle. I have a gym membership, but I am trying to get there more than twice a week.

Second, I am not a big breakfast eater. I don't like to start off the morning with sugary/white flour things because that means the rest of the day I battle a headache and maybe even a little dizzy.

So when I go out to breakfast it's usually eggs, hashbrowns and a breakfast meat and for the love of God, COFFEE!

On our way home from the beach I decided to treat The Boy and I to a sit-down breakfast so we stopped at an "Internationally" recognized restaurant chain that has a long name but usually goes by an acronym that is not UJUMP.

I knew we were in trouble when both of us (The Boy is 4) were handed 3 menus each! The food options and the pictures boggled the mind.

Finally I found the kid's menu (on his placemat) and I moved to my options. The menu I described above was in the 'field goal' category. If you added more meat (it came with 4 slices of bacon or links of sausage already) or added pancakes or french toast you moved up to a touchdown, super bowl, etc... Clearly, according to them, 2 eggs, hashbrowns and 4 pieces of bacon is the minor leagues.

This is what I ordered and the waittress told me that I received pancakes free with that. Stunned, I replied that I didn't want any and this is about how the conversation went after that:

HER: You don't want your pancakes?
ME: No thank you.
HER: They're free.
ME: Yes, I know but I won't eat all that.
HER: ............ I think you have to have them.
ME:...... (deciding it was not worth the fight) Okay, then yes please, I will have the pancakes.
HER: Would you like strawberries or blueberries on top of them? ME: Ummmmm, neither thank you. And no whip cream.
HER: No whip cream?
ME: No thank you.
HER: You know, you could have french toast instead.
ME: (relieved that there was another option) Yes, thank you. I would love some french toast, no fruit.
HER: It's stuffed French Toast. It has raisins and cinammon in the bread and is stuffed with cream cheese.
ME: Of course it is...

The stuffed french toast came and it also had icing dripping all over it. I didn't eat any of it, and I felt bad about wasting it. As I looked around the room there were a lot of older and very heavyweight folks in the restaurant.

One couple got up to leave and stopped to talk to The Boy and she offered, "I don't like to overdo it but we just come in here once a week."

Believe me, once a week is all it takes.

Raising Him Right!

Lesson #1: It's never too cold to play in the waves. (56 degrees according to the boardwalk display)

Lesson #2: It's never too cold for ice cream. (Sorry no pic. My hands were also full of ice cream)

Lesson #3: The fewer the people, the more fun the boardwalk!

Fall Respite

The Boy and I are at the beach for a few days in what a few years ago I realized was an important piece of a healthy ministry - getting away in October.

There is a small area of space in October that is post-September start up and pre-hectice holiday where I try to carve out a week of vacation. Usually no matter how much time I took in the summer, I need it and I know even before we hit Thanksgiving I will be grateful that I took it.

This year marks the last for the next 14 that I will be able to go to the beach this time of year since The Boy begins Kindergarten next year. I will still take the time (most likely a stay-cation) but his schedule will keep us from making the trek a few hours east for deep gulps of salty air and chilly water.

I won't miss out on the beach entirely. There are plans for our family to share 2 weeks together on a shore somewhere this summer, see how it goes and maybe make a tradition of it. But I will miss this.


I love the beach in the fall. Not everybody gets it. I saw more than one shake of the head and worries that the weather wouldn't be warm enough as I announced my plans in a new setting where they don't know me as well. I grew up by the beach and spent 10 years in Florida, so the beach not being warm enough to lay there and actually feel the beads of sweat dripping down your arms and back is not exactly a loss for me.


Been there. Done that. Won a t-shirt in the volleyball tournament.





I like the smaller crowds. I like that the stores and restaurants that are open are the ones the locals go to. I like the push and pull of a little bit of a chill in the air offset by the intensity of a sun that is not quite ready to give up. I like the rhythm of sweatshirt-sweatpants-t-shirt-shorts and back to sweatshirt-sweatpants.... all in the same day and all with flip-flops. I like that there is less need to be focused on making sure you don't lose your child in the mass of umbrellas and towels and more opportunity to be focused on how we can carry all of those beach pebbles and shells back to our room.

Today was a good day. I am thankful for this last grab at summer and at sabbath and for this time with The Boy who is not going to be The Boy all that much longer.