ministry Archives - Page 2 of 34 - Feathers in Our Nest

Be a Back-to-School Blessing

August 21, 2016 by Aliesha

I read a blog written by a church planter’s wife/urban missionary in a community not far from me. Her name is Lori Harris, and her blog is wonderful. This past week she shared about an incredible opportunity to partner in helping local middle school girls, and I wanted to share that opportunity with you!

I very rarely post about “causes” here on the blog, but maybe I should do this more. I know how easy it is to feel overwhelmed by all the needs around you, wondering how you can possibly help everyone. If that’s you, start here. Today. Keep reading this post and see if this small thing is something you can do!

Lori is mobilizing an effort to collect feminine supplies for middle school girls in her community. There are many girls (6th-8th graders) who do not have adequate feminine supplies each month. They go to the nurse’s office at school and can get three pads (that’s all) which are paid for by the school nurse herself (bless her).

Think back for a minute to middle school. Think about what it was like having your period and having to go to school during that time of the month. Now imagine that same season without a support network and without the proper supplies you needed.

These girls need some very practical help right now, and this is such a simple thing to say “yes” to. What a tangible way to live out the Gospel! We can be the hands and feet of Jesus to these girls.

Lori has shared the address on her blog where you can send a box or two of maxi pads. Here are two ways to do it:

Use your Amazon Prime account to ship a box straight there. OR, if you’re a Target red card holder, use that. Either way, shipping would be free.
Maybe you have an extra box or two in your closet (or can swing by the store this week) and want to ship it to Lori yourself. That’s fine too. The address is here.

For most of us, buying one extra box of pads this month isn’t a big deal. For others of us, we can do much more than that.

Maybe you’re not in a position right now to do that (I get that), but you could help by sharing about this on social media. The more the word spreads, the more girls we can bless.

Lori is calling this Pad-A-Palooza. How fun is that??

Thanks so much for considering being a blessing to some middle school girls this year!

On Thursday Nights and Community

April 4, 2016 by Aliesha

Thursday evenings, rain or shine, are for small group.

Last fall Tad’s work schedule kept him from coming with us for the better part of the semester, so, by myself I fed dinner to and loaded into the van four kids under five, drove 40 minutes, juggled a nursing baby during Bible study, and then rounded them all up at the end, loaded them back into the car, and drove home. Please, God, don’t let it be raining… I don’t think I can do this in the rain. It was exhausting, but I always felt like it was worth it. (Driving there, I definitely had my doubts. But on the way home, I knew it was true.)

Messy and imperfect, we go anyway.

Most Thursday nights I walk out the door with dirty hair and an outfit freshly splattered with baby spit up. Bless them, those sweet ladies in my small group who hug me anyway. My daughters’ hair sometimes is fixed, but mostly it isn’t. I think my baby has been wearing this outfit for two days. My toddler’s shoes don’t match his socks don’t match his pants don’t match his shirt. I taught my husband the phrase “hot mess”; on Thursday nights I am exhibit A.

Vulnerable and broken, that’s what we are.

Every third week we split by gender and have prayer night. We’re not afraid to cry. We can’t have true community if we’re not real about our struggles. So we share the ugly, hard parts about our lives. The parts that don’t make it to our Instagram highlights reel.

We don’t have all the answers, but we aren’t afraid to take a stab at it.

On Bible study nights, we dig in deeper to the sermon, wrestling with the meaning of the text and seeking to understand God better.

And on meal nights, we feast. Oh, how we feast.

“They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Acts 2:46

Meal nights give us a chance to know each other better. After you eat with someone, you are no longer strangers. Italian night, breakfast night, southern night, Chipotle-style-build-your-own-burritos night… each one has united our hearts closer together as we live our lives in community.

Maybe we can put on a face that says, “I have it all together” for our Facebook friends or even those who just see us on Sunday mornings. But when we meet together in homes week after week, that façade starts to crumble.

And that’s when the true community begins to happen.

* * * * *

If this concept of community is new to you, I encourage you to listen to this recent sermon by my pastor.

The Blessing of Children in the Worship Service

January 29, 2015 by Aliesha

As I’ve mentioned a few times before here on the blog, we have chosen to keep our (older) children with us in the worship service. We know the children’s ministry at our church is great (and we SO appreciate the nursery!!), but we’ve made this choice for our family. Vera joined us when she was three, and Cordelia asked to come in too when she was just over two.

There are, of course, hard Sundays and challenges of keeping them in the worship service, but ultimately the blessings FAR outweigh any minor inconveniences.

Our girls really do absorb so much during the worship service. We know this because they talk about it and play “church” throughout the week.

One day I overheard Vera playing church with Cordelia (this must have been six months ago):

“Hi! I’m Scot. I’m one of the others (elders) here. Pastor Ben is going to come up and preach the Word… (change in voice) Hi! I’m Ben. I’m one of the pastors. I’m gonna pray and then we’ll jump into what God has for us.” (I kid you not… Pastor Ben says that exact phrase!)

I was in the next room trying to hear without her knowing I was listening. She then proceeded to lead singing (lead vocals and piano) while CC played the drums. It was so amusing, but so beautiful at the same time to see her repeating things she had observed on Sundays!

Vera can now repeat certain elements of “liturgy” that are part of our worship services. We don’t go to a liturgical church, but the order of the service is the same each week and many of the phrases that are used to explain giving, singing, and communion are the same each week.

The girls understand (somewhat) what communion is and what it represents. They understand that the money given in the offering plates is for “Jesus” (we’ll probably start explaining soon how that is used in the local church and in sending other churches).

They are learning good, beautiful songs that we sing as a congregation. I feel like my heart is going to explode sometimes when Vera is singing next to me at the top of her lungs, or when I hear Cordelia at home singing a hymn she learned at church!

I think sometimes we underestimate how much children are absorbing when they sit in church with us. In addition to the things above, they also see our response to worship, our note-taking, our reverence for God’s Word, our interaction with other believers, and so much more.

I’m thankful for this blessing of worshiping God with my children beside me!

Be a Back-to-School Blessing

On Thursday Nights and Community

The Blessing of Children in the Worship Service

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