Having A Ball

In the past week or so I've bought 4,452 beach balls from Oriental Trading Company for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  Only 4,080 have arrived so far and here they are in the back of our trusty minivan.

Today, even though my husband was packing to leave for a mission trip to help with rebuilding homes in Joplin, MO, he took the time to go to the storage container with me to help with the unloading.

I was able to get a good deal on these balls because they are printed with "Class of 2011" but I honestly don't think the kids who'll be playing with them will care what year is printed on them.   I blew one up to try it out and they hold air well, bounce high, and are great for throwing.

And besides their traditional ball functions, I'm praying they'll do something else.  I'm praying they'll help nearly 4,500 children know that Jesus loves them.

I'm praying that knowing His love will give them a real reason to celebrate.

And I'm praying they'll have a ball.

Did Jesus Have SMART Goals?

A couple of weeks ago my team approved our 2012 Operation Christmas Child ministry plan.  We prayed and worked to construct goals that were SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-sensitive.)

I love the training we receive in Operation Christmas Child that teaches us how to do this important work of goal-setting, but I still wonder:  did Jesus have SMART goals?

Jesus had a purpose or mission statement.  He said He "came to do my Father's will."  In Mark 10:45 he further stated his ministry purpose when He said, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

But what would SMART goals have looked like for Jesus?

I will heal 50 people this month with 100% accuracy.

I will speak to 75 groups of at least 50 people each in the next three months to cast the vision of my Kingdom principles.

I will draw aside to a solitary place to pray for one hour once per day each day for the next year.

My disciples will demonstrate understanding of at least four parables with 50% accuracy within six months.

Umm, the gospels don't mention anything about a neat, specific, measurable plan.  But Jesus knew the secret to having a successful ministry--He listened to His Father and obeyed Him daily.

I'm happy to have the guideline of a plan for our Operation Christmas Child team, but I recognize that the most important thing is to follow God on a daily basis and wait on Him to lead us step by step.

That's the only really SMART goal.

Introspection

This picture was taken at least six or seven years ago of a group who helped me pack Operation Christmas Child boxes at my former church.  Two of them are still working with me on our Northwestern PA OCC Area Team.

Packing boxes seemed a lot simpler then.  That stands to reason, I suppose, since we packed about 2,500 boxes instead of praying to pack 20,000.

I hadn't heard of an area team then, let alone thought of leading one.  We just prayed for God to provide items all year and then in October we got together over a weekend and packed boxes.

Now things are so complex in my Operation Christmas Child world and I struggle with that sometimes.

We're gearing up for the OCC Connect Conference starting in just 10 days and every year as I approach that time I can feel the spiritual battle start to threaten.  Most of that battle is one I fight against my own sinful nature.

A friend gave me a book to work through called "The 40 Day Soul Fast" and I'm hoping it will help me get over some of my tendencies to want everyone to approve of me all the time.

After reading the introductory chapters, today I read the first of the 40 daily chapters and it included a series of 24 questions about myself to journal about--just a few of these were--

Who am I outside of the roles I play?
What should I be doing with my life right now?
What is my purpose?
Who should I be partnering with?
After my death, will future generations know I lived?

Holy cow, if this is day ONE I can't imagine getting through the next 39.

In the midst of all this introspection I'm trying to work through my feelings about a disagreement going on among OCC volunteers about whether donated stuffed animals that are not new-from-the-store are okay to put into shoeboxes.  There have been some passionate posts on both sides of the argument.

The thing is--I can't seem to make peace with this.   Why can't I just trust God to lead me in this?  Why does it matter so much to me what other people do or think?

I just spent some time laying out some of my donated stuffed toys and asking myself if they could be distinguished from any I could buy at a store and asking God if using them is harming OCC in any way.  I hate being so preoccupied with this.

Ironically, in the middle of writing this blog, I'm watching a TV program about Haiti.  Seeing their joy in their poverty is phenomenal and it makes me think....

More introspection.

Lost and Found

I found 75 of these great hats at WalMart today for 25 cents each and scooped them up for my Operation Christmas Child boxes.  But as the cashier was ringing them up I reached into my pocket for my wallet and it wasn't there.   She was nice enough to suspend the sale for me so I could go look for it and told me to pick the order up at another register when I returned.

I checked the car--no luck.  I'd just driven from a rummage sale in Girard where I'd been looking for stuffed animals.  While there I'd met Linda Bennett, my OCC prayer coordinator and we'd spent some glorious time praying together in her car.

So I called Linda to see if she could find the wallet in her vehicle but it wasn't there either.  She prayed for me on the phone and promised to continue in prayer.

As I drove back to Girard I took the opportunity to practice praising God in all things.  This trial was so small compared to what others face every day, but all my credit cards and ID were in that wallet and I really did want to find it.  I praised God and prayed and trusted and drove at the speed limit so I wouldn't have a chance of getting pulled over and not having my license (well, that last part is ALMOST true).  My gas gauge signaled I was near empty and I wondered what I'd do if I didn't find my wallet and didn't have gas to get back home.

When I got to the rummage sale I walked up to the woman at the bake sale and blurted out, "I lost my wallet."   She smiled and said, "We have it!  Someone found it in the parking lot,"  then came around the table and said, "Let me give you a hug--I'll bet you need it."

She led me into the gymnasium and called for another woman who brought my wallet.  Soon four women surrounded me and told the story of the honest person who brought in the wallet and never left their name.  "They were very protective of it," one lady said, "and didn't even know if they should leave it with us."
All my money was still in it--not that I really cared.

I told the women that I and my praying friend had been praying for the wallet since I'd found it missing and let them know I was praising God for its recovery.  "And," I told them, "I'm praying a special blessing on the honest person God used to return it."

So I drove back to WalMart to buy those hats--praising God all the way.  I told the story of God's goodness to the cashiers at WalMart and rejoiced again over His care for me.

And I think that if I can get this excited about finding a wallet, how much more must God dance with joy when lost children around the world come home to Jesus because they learn of His love in a simple gift-filled Operation Christmas Child shoebox.

Being found is everything.

Jesus Selects His Team

Tonight I spent an hour on the phone interviewing a potential team member for my Operation Christmas Child team.  I really have a lot of respect for their 'High Impact Process' for team selection, training and management, but as I went through the interview questions I couldn't help but think about how Jesus selected His team.

What if Jesus had asked his potential disciples these interview questions?

Jesus:  Peter, what do you love to do and do really well?
Peter:  Uh, well, I like to fish a lot.
Jesus: (looking for a measure of commitment)  So, Peter, how long have you been fishing?
Peter:  Pretty much my whole life.  Do you have a fishing team?  I mean, I'm not really that good at working with people but I sure can fish.
Jesus:  What do you think a friend would say about you, Peter?
Peter:  Um, well, I guess they'd say I'm pretty up-front.  I say what I think.
Jesus:  Tell me about a time when you found yourself in a challenging situation:  How did you handle it?
Peter:  Well, I guess I'm the kind of guy who just jumps right in.  I can handle anything.
Jesus:  Have you been part of a ministry team before?  What experiences have you had that lead you to believe you'd be good at being part of changing the world?
Peter:  Experience?  Um, no, I don't think I have any experience.
Jesus:  How do you handle conflict?  What are some things you' have found to be helpful when dealing with conflict?
Peter:  Well, I have this sword I keep close at hand.  I've found it pretty useful in conflict.

Jesus turns to James and John---
Jesus:  So, James and John, tell me about a time when you had to stick to something in difficult circum...
James and John:  (interrupting in unison)  We're not really into 'difficult'.  In fact, we were wondering if we could sign up to sit on your right and left hand when you rule the team, er, the world.

So the Bible says Jesus prayed all night and then He selected His team.

Oh, boy.  I guess He could have used some High Impact Training.

Strategic Storage

Storage for the items for our Operation Christmas Child boxes has always been a big issue.  We're blessed that Grace Church has provided a 40 ft. storage container for us next to the church.  But we're trusting God for enough items to fill 20,000 boxes this year so we need to make use of every bit of this space.

Today we packed our car with 1100 stuffed animals (11 garbage bags each holding 100 animals) and 33 cartons of coloring books.

When we stacked the cartons of T-Shirts we left just enough room at the top to fit garbage bags of stuffed animals standing up.  I never like to pile the stuffed animal bags on top of each other for fear of suffocating (uh, crushing) the menagerie.

My husband rigged up 'steps' out of cartons for me to climb up to the top of the T-Shirt cartons and then we placed boards on top of those cartons to distribute my weight so I wouldn't crush them.  Good thing I've been doing that Biggest Loser contest at work.

Sorry I don't have a picture of me climbing up there and wrestling the bags into place.  I'm sure it would have been good for a laugh.

There are 1700 animals in the ark now.  Just praying for 18,300 more.   But I figure that our God who "owns the cattle on a thousand hills" will be able to get those with no problem.

He can certainly spare 18 cows per hill.

Blessed Today

Sometimes this Operation Christmas Child life is a real stretch for me.  I've been fighting a cold this week and learned as the week began that my Operation Christmas Child area team's Prayer Coordinator was praying about stepping down from that role because of her heavy family responsibilities in caring for her elderly parents.  She's been my Barnabas and while I know God is in control, the prospect of losing her support in the role of coordinator was hard to imagine.

Wednesday night we had our area team meeting.  Interestingly enough, none of the team members who were at January's meeting were able to be at February's meeting and vice versa.  I planned and prayed for the meeting but wondered how it would go.  I'm praising God that it was very encouraging.

We laughed a lot together and felt like a real team.  Tracey stepped up to make a new table display for an upcoming event and Terri said she'd put together a gift basket for that event and also would plan an upcoming recruitment meeting.  Heather came with "save the date" notices for September's packing party already made and Cindy volunteered to take charge of coordinating refreshments for meetings.  What a relief to hand off those details.

But last night as I lay in bed with my thoughts churning I found it hard to sleep. One of my team members, Pat, says that I "fret too much."  As I lay there contemplating the new team member application I just received and had to process and wondering if we'd lose our prayer coordinator and praying about the thousands of items we're asking God to provide for our packing party, I began to fret that maybe I was fretting.  (after all, FRET is a four-letter-word for us as Christians.)

So I got out of bed and reviewed verses I'd memorized and determined to claim them.  I went back to bed and fell asleep surrounded by those promises.

And today was bright with blessing.  Linda, my Barnabas/Prayer Coordinator, sent an e-mail me to tell me that not only did she feel God's confirmation that she should remain as Prayer Coordinator BUT she is also going to the Operation Christmas Child Connect Conference with me.

What a blessing.  What an answer to prayer.  What a stretch.