Practicing the Presence of God
Lately I have been reading a book entitled The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence. The book is written by Nicholas Herman who took the name of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection upon becoming a Carmelite monk. The book is small and easy to read, but the encouragement contained in it’s pages is huge. Brother Lawrence very simply lays out his methods of practicing the presence of God.
The best I can do to explain his methods is to liken them to the practice of “praying without ceasing” as we are told to do in the Bible by the Apostle Paul. Brother Lawrence takes great care to go about his daily tasks while keeping his mind focused on God as much as possible. He strives to do even the smallest task with great love for God. He writes that he is in the “presence of God” as much during his daily routine as he is during his designated times of prayer.
Over the last week I have tried very hard to put Brother Lawrence’s advice in to practice. I have enjoyed a deeper, closer time with God during the day’s routine. My thoughts have been more on God instead of my to-do list. I am feeling as though I am in an on-going state of prayer and fellowship with my Father God that is richer than before.
If you are discouraged or struggling under daily stresses, or if you just want to deepen your relationship with your Heavenly Father, give Brother Lawrence’s methods a try. I believe you will notice a difference in your level of stress and have more peace of mind.
What are some other things volunteers or leaders can do to have a deeper, fuller spiritual life? Please leave a comment and share what works in your life.
Storytelling is one of my favorite ways to share a Bible story with my class. With a little practice, anyone with practice can tell a great story. In order to tell a good story, there are three fundamental steps you need to take in order to be a good storyteller.
Our world is getting smaller. Staying connected with family and friends far away has become so easy with cell phones, Skype, internet and social networks. We can easily see that many of us enjoy the same things and even face the same trials as people across the globe. On the other hand, our world is bigger than we may think. The world is full of people who think and live differently from us. There are many needs in the world beyond our borders. So our kids and grandkids and those we teach can have a balanced view of their world, we need to teach them to be mission minded. Here are a few suggestions on how to begin.
Our average attendance is around 150 on Sunday mornings. Our children’s ministry is contained in the same building as our main worship services. We use a manual check-in system. What follows are the steps that we are using successfully.
Vacation Bible School is alive and well in many areas all around our country. For many small churches VBS may be the biggest outreach of the year. However, some ministry leaders consider Vacation Bible School to be obsolete and ineffective. VBS is being replaced by more family-oriented events.
Any Children’s Ministry, large or small, needs a Resource Closet. This is the place that volunteers go to find craft materials, curriculum, puppets, items for object lessons, etc. Basically this is where anything and everything is stored that could possibly be needed by anyone and everyone working with kids. Here are a few tips to help you set up a Resource Closet at no cost. (Yes, I said free.)
When I was a kid it was considered rude to call someone a liar. We didn’t want to be rude – so we called them “story tellers” instead.
I just finished reading 
‘Tis the season for holiday celebrations. Over the past weeks I have read quite a few blog posts about holiday celebrations. Halloween. Thanksgiving. Christmas. There are as many ideas out there as there are blogs. So I am faced with another big decision–how will our ministry celebrate the upcoming holidays?