All the small things

It has been a while since I have posted on here. I have had so many thoughts over the last few weeks (or month) to write about, but unfortunately life has been in the way. Today though I am going to try and go back to some of those thoughts over the last month and delve into some of the ideas.

The big thing that has taken up my time was Vacation Bible School. It was a great week, but very tiring. The week had me thinking about children's ministry, what is our goal with VBS weeks, and also some of the different ministries like "Puppet Ministry."

Then I took a vacation. It was great to get away. Kessia and I went around the Olympic Peninsula. There we enjoyed lots of reading, hiking, long car rides, debates over where to go next, and beautiful places. I found myself wanting to write about creation while on the hikes. The different pace of life had me thinking about culture and our reliance on technology and media. The vacation in general had me thinking about writing some thoughts about the sabbath.

The winner for my first post in this hiatus is going to be "Irresistible Revolution". There were so many points and thought in it that took me a while of digesting. It was not comprehension that was difficult, but the internalization of what the concept would look like in reality. Over the next week I hope to look at several different quotes and flush out what they mean to me.



I have big dreams. When I think of a project at church I enter into a fantasy land of how much of an impact it will make to the church, community, and world. Point in case: We had a movie night planned for once a week this summer. I had thought that it could become a far reaching community event. It would start out small, 10 people, and as they shared with their friends and neighbors it would grow. I envisioned 20, 30, 40, 50 coming to the movie and having it become a hit. I thought intensely about each movie and when it would fall during the summer to maximize the attendance. I thought of ways to help it spring board, like advertising to the school. I thought of how this could help accomplish the mission of the church and help everyone grow together towards Christ.

Now into August we are around 4 people. We have had showings where no one has showed up and I have been left by myself wondering where I went wrong with this event. Why did my dreams not come true?

"We can not do great things, only small things with great love. It is not how much you do but how much love you put into doing it." Mother Teresa

As I read this quote in Irresistible Revolution I thought of all the things I try and do. All the big plans, ideas, thoughts. Instead of realistic I am often trying to accomplish great things. I do not think there is anything wrong with that, but I was missing the most important aspect of what I was doing. I need to make sure Love is at the center of it.

During Vacation Bible School we had a missions component. I threw it in there as an add on to most of the great things I thought we were doing. We had a great theme, stations, decorations, and plans. In the end it was the add on that made the most impact.

We started the week by asking kids to bring in socks to help out the homeless. I thought most of them would forget and we would end up with maybe a pair of socks or two (most likely the ones I bought!). On third day the box was almost completely full. By Friday it was over flowing and takes three garbage bags to hold. This came from 25 students. We had over 6 pairs of socks per child! It was simply a small thing done with lots of love.

Working in a small church that is something I need to constantly remember. It is not about the numbers, but about the heart. It is about the amount of love and care that we put in. It is about showing Christ.

In the end it is not about lowering expectations. This not about trying less, or not having dreams. But instead, making sure that we remember the small things.
The individual.
The heart.
The love.