Week 4 In Review

I'm hoping to tackle this today, not that I have lots of free time on Wednesday, and it's not early release, but I want to do this before I read the last entry in the book.

. . . and I still didn't get to it until Thursday. Haha.

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How is "using your shape to serve others" different from the way most people understand "ministry"?
Ministry sounds like something for special people. "Called" people. Both of those things are actually true, but what we don't realize is that each one of us is special, with our unique talents, interests, and experiences, and God calls ALL His children to serve.

What do you love to do that you could use to serve others in the family of God?
Well, music, of course, and I'm already getting involved with the music ministry at SBC. I also find a lot of enjoyment in simple, physical tasks in which I can practice my efficiency of movement: setting up or putting away chairs and tables, cleaning up, stuffing envelopes, folding programs. . . basically anything that doesn't require a lot of hard thinking, just time and a pair of hands. I think I like it because you can see definite progress and an end-point to reach for, and it gives me the perfect mindset to have some internal monologue that isn't clouded and distracted by too much (what I mean is, those tasks are distracting enough that I am generally purely honest with myself without realizing it, and I don't really have the opportunity to overanalyze).

Think of a painful experience you have gone through that God could use to help others who are going through the same kind of situation.
The depression, anger, doubt, depravity, and just pure insanity of this past summer has taught me a lot of things, and I'm still making heads and tails of it all, but I can tell you one thing for sure: God has a PERFECT plan, and if we would truly call out to Him in our anguish and trust that He will provide, we will find our prayers answered.

How does comparing ourselves with others keep us from fully developing our unique shape?
For me, when I start to compare myself to others, I lose sight of why I was doing what I was doing in the first place; beating the other person becomes the new goal. I don't really have a competitive spirit, so when I do get into that mood, it's very strange, and I feel like I become someone that I'm not. There are reasons to do and improve upon things beyond trying to outdo someone else. And I feel like I get the most joy when I'm just in the zone and not paying attention to anyone else.

How have you seen God's power demonstrated through you when you felt weak?
This weekend/Monday/Tuesday were a little rough. I didn't want to come in and teach either of those days. I felt like my mind was cloudy, my mood was not super great, and I just wanted to sleep it all away. Trust me, the temptation to call in sick had been quite enticing. But each morning I prayed that I might please Him through all my actions in the day, and I told myself that Jesus is my boss, and I should come to school and do my best, even when I don't feel up to it, because I think that's what He wants me to do. With that little step of faith, this week has actually been one of my best weeks of teaching so far. I know that this positive energy didn't come from me (because I have still been having the problem of getting out of bed in the morning all week), but once I get here, I feel much better. I have a three day weekend to catch up on sleep, emotions, and all that; God gives us exactly what we need.

How can we help every member of our small group or class find a place of ministry? What can our group do to serve our church family?
Well, I know everyone is involved with something, whether it is the nursery, music, VBS, Upward basketball, Wednesday night youth ministry, MOPS, Wednesday night studies. It's hard for me to say if we all could do any more (I'm finally getting more involved, but I also don't have any pets nor any children, nor a spouse, unlike most everyone else in my class. . .). I think there could be something we do as a class that would serve the church that would be neat, but I don't know what that "something" is.