I identify too much with the mom in Guilmore Girls.
I was a young mom when the series first came out. Didn’t invest the time in watching it then. Now is a different story. So I find myself binge watching with my 17 year old and discovering way too many similarities between this mom/daughter pair and our own dynamic.
Puzzles are a life saver.
It seems I need something for my busy mind. Something that helps me focus my thoughts in a season when everything feels like it’s flipped upside down. Puzzles are today’s vice. (Though secretly I have a fear this could lead to something more reclusive… like clipping coupons in a Beautiful Mind kind of way.)
Dogs eat puzzle pieces.
My last puzzle was missing four by the time it was all said and done. Given that I’d already recovered one chewed up in her mouth, one can only assume the other four are making their way through her digestive track. (And no… I’m not planning to confirm my theory as nature takes it’s course.)
Hiking is good for my soul.
Kyle and I have gone on long hikes nearly every day. Middle Tennessee is beautiful.
Sitting on our front porch has taken on new meaning.
We’ve got a great neighborhood. And part of the reason we bought this house is for the front porch. It’s big and inviting. So we hang out and talk to neighbors in an appropriately social distancing kind of way.
My family likes to bake.
Everyone except me, that is. Currently we have homemade bread, focaccia, cookies and cake. And my yoga pants give me way too much grace for this kind of temptation. Thus the need for hiking referenced above.
I like reading books together.
When our kids were younger we read through book series together. Percy Jackson, The Heroes of Olympus… pretty much anything by Rick Riordan we were into. We’d take turns reading chapters together on the back porch or huddled in the family room. Now, our kids are too old for it. Just not into. But Kyle and I have rediscovered that we really enjoy it. So, we’ve started another book together.
I love resourcing leaders.
Despite my recent job transition, I still love figuring out how to equip and resource ministry leaders. So, as I continue to follow the crazy effects of the pandemic, I’m also fighting for creative solutions to our new “shelter in place” dynamic. You can read here, here and here for ideas and tools to help connect with volunteers and families as you lead in this season.
FaceTime is not the same as face-to-face.
But it’s a great second. In the past few years I’ve opted for FaceTime over anything else. I love it. I want to see the white’s of your eyes. In this season, I crave FaceTime from my people. So, if you’re reading this… and you’re my people… FT me!!!
Limitations are the catalyst for Creativity.
This isn’t new. In fact, Jessica Bealer and I talk about it in our book, Don’t Quit. But I think ministry leaders are embracing it in a new way today. We don’t have the option of doing ministry the way we’ve always done it. This pandemic has forced us to rethink some things and come up with different approaches. I love watching as leaders collaborate across the nation fighting to resource and encourage each other. Friends… this is the Church.
