Who will do it when I am gone?

     I attend a church where a majority of the members are over 60. Out of the 26 people that come to church at any one time 22 of them are over 60. That leaves 4 people who are under 60. Now of those 4 people 3 of them are over 50. That leave one under 50. That is me. I am the youngest person that attends my church. The next oldest person is 50. What an age gap?
     A majority of the time I hear the Seniors in the church ask why the younger people of the church are not taking a more active role. I stand back and laugh to myself. As the youngest person in church I try to take an active role, but am pushed out. I get told too often that I am not old enough yet to do things. Really? You complain on the one hand that you want younger people to do things and then on the other hand you push us away. What gives?
     Some time ago I began looking at the future of our church. What it is going to look like years from now. The oldest people in our church are approaching 90 while me the youngest will be 40 in 2 years. That is a 50 year age gap.
       As it stands right now I am not allowed by those powers that be at church to be on any committees or have any say in things that go on at church. It seems that their buddies are put on all the committees of the church so that they can get their way. That is not good at all. We all need to work together to make the church work for the Lord.
      So as I write this I wonder. When the old folks are gone who will do it? I remember my Uncle Ward involving everyone in the church in the working of it. He did a lot of things around the church, but he was glad to have the help. He encouraged the young folks to take a part. I miss those days of when the older folks accepted the younger.
     I keep saying that when those I charge are gone that I will be left to do all the work. They don't listen to me at all. One day I will be right. So why not let me get my feet wet by being on a committee? That is too much to ask I am afraid.
     I find that more and more churches are in this boat of having a majority of older members and very few if any younger members. Those churches seem to be dying out. They don't change their ways to attract new younger members. They are stuck in a rut, That is what is going on at my church. Not a good way to be.      
     So what to do? Well, you have got to make changes. One of the things I have seen with churches that have a large young people crowd is that they have things that bring those young people in the doors.
     One thing is music. Yes it is ok to sing the old familiar hymns. However, more and more churches are incorporating Contemporary Christian Music into their worship. Chris Tomlin, Jason Crabb, Jamie Grace, Natalie Grant, Mandisa, and so forth have become a part of worship.
      The pastor makes a difference. If you have a pastor that is energetic and willing to be a part of the community then that will help. The Baptist Church next door to us has a pastor that is willing to do whatever it takes to spread the message of God's love in the community. He goes to visit people, a lot of them not even members of his own church. He is awesome.
      Another thing is getting your church recognized in a positive way in the community. That is do things in the community to help others. Have a Clothes Closet, Back to School Back Pack Hand Out, Community Thanksgiving/Christmas Meals, Youth Night, and more.
     Don't be a church that just sits on their hands and gives up. Be a church that does. A church that sows seeds in the community. Do the right things for the right reasons. It will make a difference.
     So if you are a church with a majority of older folks get off your butts and do something to get younger people into the church before it is too late. You might just end up closing your doors otherwise.

Teachers and Aides Need A Summer Break

     It is that time of the year once again.....Summer. For some that means just another season. To those of us in the education profession that means everything. When school starts for the year we begin the countdown to the much needed Summer Break. We live for Summer. The one time that we can actually rest and recharge so that we can be at our best to teach the children that come through our classrooms.

     Oh yes, we do love a good snow day now and then. But, here in West Virginia the law says that we have to go to school 180 days no matter what. A snow day, though we love them very much means that we have to make them up and sometimes that means adding days on at the end of the school year. Cutting into our precious Summer Vacation that we have longed for. In turn we may only get a month of vacation before school starts back up.

     If you don't work in education you have no idea how important Summer is to us. We teach your children for 180 days. We deal with the problems that come with that. Sometimes we have to deal with parents who just are not the nicest. Sometimes students and parents can make our job that much harder. 

     There is also the fact that we have to have professional development days during the year so that we can learn how to better educate your children on what the state says that we have to teach them. A lot of the time we (like you) don't understand some of the things that we have to teach. New things are thrown at us all the time. 

     We spend hours of our time during the year planning and prepping to teach lessons for your children. We come to school early in the morning and stay late at night to get things done. Sometimes we come in on the weekends to make sure that the lessons are just right. 

     We make sure to make alternative lessons for that one time when things don't work out. That would be like if we are using technology and something will not work. We also plan for emergencys. Those times when a student gets sick during a lesson or an accident happens. We are prepared. We know what to do. 

     We are prepared for schedule changes. Like when we have a 2 hour delay and all we get done is eat. Maybe it is the fire drill that took longer than thought because it is not a drill and we have to make alternatives. The assembly that takes place at 9:30 that we were not informed of. The lock down that keeps us in our room for 2 hours. 

    Teachers go through a lot to make sure that your child's learning experience is a successful one. That is why Summer (how ever much we get) is so important to us. We need time to relax and de-stress. This job is not easy. We would not do it if we did not love it. 

     So do us all a favor and give us a break. We would appreciate it. Our job is stressful enough.

Moving On

     A little over a month ago I broke off a relationship that I had been in for almost 6 years. Things were not going in the direction that I had hoped for and in turn I felt that I needed to end things for me. Problem is that I had fallen in love so hard with him that I didn't want to break things off. I wanted to stay in the relationship. I wanted to stay in the familiar.
    I realized that the relationship was toxic at best and that I needed to do what was best for me and not what felt comfortable. I knew it was going to be had for me to end things, but after a lot of prayer I was able to do just that.
      I quickly realized that it was a good thing that I broke up with him. I found out that I was being lied to the whole time. It seemed that within a week of our breakup he had found someone new. He looked happy. However, I was a wreck because I was still deeply in love with him. I was unable to let go of how I felt.
     Letting go and moving on after a break up is hard if you have fallen so deeply in love. When you have feelings for a person it is hard to let go of them. In my case it should have been easy to move on since clearly he never had at real feelings for me in the first place.
     Once you fall in love with someone you can never ever let go. You want to be with that person forever. However, there comes a time when you have to let go if you feel that things are not working out. In my case I could not do that.
     How have I managed to get through this? Well, I have had a great support system of people to talk to. That and lots of prayer. I have talked to God a lot about how I feel. I been praying a lot. I even pray for my ex because I am worried that he is going down a bad road. I am afraid that he is going to get hurt.
      Having people to talk to that have been where you are at is great. They can help you get through the tuff stuff. They can advise you on how to deal with it. In the end it is going to be ok. It will take time, but it will be ok. Just be patient. You will get there. There will come a day when you don't think about your ex and the feelings are gone. It takes time and everyone is different.