The Monday Morning High Five
Continuing our list of all things 5 to hopefully bring a smile to your Monday.
Next Sunday is Valentines Day. A day of showing how much you care for your significant other with candy, flowers, or a heart shaped piece of construction paper. Of course, this day brings a lot of references to love. This week, we’ll be talking all about love here at GodlySheep. To kick things off, I wanted to highlight some of the unsung heroes at church. If Valentines Day were to have a theme song, I believe it would be “L-O-V-E” made famous by Nat “King” Cole. I thought it would be cool to do a MMH5 with the acronym of “LOVE”. Of course that would leave me one letter short, so I’m going to do what any good Scrabble player does and add “S” at the end to make it a new word. I also thought it would be cool to bring to light some of the unsung ministries in the church. We see the love shown in the Sunday School teacher for their students, or the singer pouring their heart out in words and song, but what about those ministries that you don’t necessarily associate with love?
So here is the Five Unsung Church Ministries That Show LOVE
The Sunday Afternoon App
If you’re your family or friend’s tech support, you know the frustrations of having to troubleshoot a computer issue without seeing what they’re doing and getting a play by play commentary with limited tech verbiage. Those less familiar in computers also feel the frustration when the have to refer their actions as “I clicked on the thingy.” (Mom, I’m talking to you 
)
ShowMeWhatsWrong.com is a dead simple way to get a screencast from your friend’s or family member’s computer. It is Java-based (Which when I tested it, I had to to download the missing plug-in. So heads up on that.), but helps those who are having the issue from getting lost in translation of geek-speak.
My mind is blank. My notebook remains inkless. I have nothing to say. Nothing worth writing down at least. Nothing to make you stop spying on your Facebook friends and start reading. I never have this problem. Usually my mind is racing at 123mph with ideas, thoughts, or simply replaying my day like a movie. Many a night, I lie awake thinking about: the card I need to send to my friend, the laundry I need to fold, why I was so blessed to be born in America, and why I never seem to have enough time to ever finish my to-do list. But not today. I’m tranquil. I’m silent.
With hundreds of thousands of words in the English language it’s usually hard to get me to shut up. Just ask my husband. But maybe that is what I need to do. Stop. Listen. Ponder. It’s when we’re at our quietest that we can hear God the loudest.
Just testing out some things. Nothing to see here. Sorry for any confusion or inconvenience.
CT4BQ3PMABSH
Hey everyone! You might recall reading about the Mentor Me Project with Kyle Reed, and you’ve probably seen that square “Mentor Me Project” button on the side. I just wanted to give you guys a heads up that Kyle was nice enough to allow me to guest post at the Mentor Me Project Blog about mentors and why people fear mentoring others. Below is the beginning of the article, and you can finish reading it over at the Mentor Me Project’s website.
Enjoy & God Bless!
-Brett
For some, mentoring is a joy; a way to pour their lives into the lives of others; a gift of knowledge, experience, and companionship. For others, it’s a nightmare to have that much of a responsibility and influence on another person’s life. Being a mentor is hard work. It requires sacrifice, testing of faith, and dedication. Good mentors are a rare commodity, and often people dismiss the idea of becoming one for several reasons. Here are some of them:
Continue reading at the Mentor Me Project…
The chart below is an informational graph that organizes the “religiousness” of each state in America. (This was determined in a 350,000 Gallup Poll Daily poll as a percentage of those who answered “yes” to the question, “Is religion an important part of your daily life?” You can read more about it HERE.) Basically this graph suggests that the more religious, the state in turn holds a lower IQ; higher poverty, murder, crime, and divorce rates; higher conservative percentage (which isn’t a surprise); and is in generally worse health as opposed to states who are less religious. (The category of “Generosity” was kind of all over the board) This would be a strong case for those who believe that the world, or at least America, would be better without religion.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine, Stevan Lasorella did something simple, unprecedented, and random. It was also heartwarming, humbling, and very easy to do yourself. Stevan wrote out a thank you note to those who had impacted him as a person and let them know how much they mean to him. I asked if I could share it, and being the totally awesome guy that Stevan is, he agreed. To me, this went along great with Dave’s post, Eulogy, today. I hope that this inspires you to write your own thank you note to others. I love how simple words of honest appreciation can have such a positive impact on both the parties involved. And of course, Thank you, Stevan for sharing this.
I am very very thankful for the many awesome and amazing people God has put into my life. I have so many people who love me, who care about me, who I can go to for help and encouragement. This is for you.
It’s early yet, but 2010 seems to be the Year of the Eulogy. In my mind I’ve been putting together a eulogy for a dear loved one who passed away earlier this week. Traditionally eulogies are reserved for those who are deceased, but did you know that eulogies aren’t just for funerals? Really! The word simply means to speak well of, or high praise. Even though is seems downright unamerican and unmanly, you can speak well of people while they are still alive, in fact it’s recommended!
As sad as I am about the unexpected passing of Lois Roberts, I am glad that a few years ago I took the time to write a letter to her and her husband Steve. They meant a lot to me, and I just wanted to let them now. I’m glad that I did.
Too often funerals are a time of regrets and “What Ifs”. Don’t let that happen to you! My advice is to let others know how much you care for them today, don’t delay!
