Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Not Alone Series: Back In the Saddle Again

{Not that I didn't love Labor Day's three-day-weekend, but did missing Monday throw off anyone else's game? Whew! Sorry to be late, ladies!}


We are back! As we get back into the swing of things with NAS, what other ways can we be more involved at church or in our communities? Is there a parish ministry you have been wanting to help with or start up? What about that after school program for homeless kids? Has something been preventing you from getting involved? How do you think this will help you personally, spiritually, and emotionally?

First off, I am so excited that NAS is back! Ladies, I've missed you each week! The FB page is wonderful, but these prompts and the unity that comes from the weekly topics... mmmm, nothing like it! So glad we're all back!

The past year has seen some severe ups and downs to my church. LOTS of changes have been made, and while not all of them have been easy, they've all been for the better, I think. As it frequently happens, changes in structure resulted in changes of population. My church family has shrunk a bit, and while I'm still in community with people, the number of "legs on the ground" part of church ministry has dramatically decreased.

While I serve in the church's nursery, what I really want to do is continue to host Jesus Feminist Book Club meetings. We met twice over the summer {the first time was when my neighbor caught his car on fire}, and both times the conversation has been so, so rich and good. The atmosphere at my church is changing, and I want to continue to be a part of the change, both with Book Club and in other conversations.

The "supplement" church, my other church body, has several great ministry opportunities, and while I can't be as involved as I'd like {thank you, rush hour traffic}, I'm looking for ways to join with them. This church has a fantastic Post-College & Early Career group, and I'm excited to start participating as I'm able.

Outside of my church body, I'm volunteering every week at CareNet Pregnancy and Family Services. I love my center! The ladies who work/volunteer there are awesome. Our little community is fantastic.

This Sunday, I will start volunteering as a baby cuddler in the NICU. I'm really excited about this, because even though I started the training process in April, the NICU cuddling only started September 1st. I'm looking forward to serving families who are going through a rough time, and of course I'm excited to hold babies!


Thanks for joining! Be sure to visit Jen at Jumping in Puddles and Morgan at Follow and Believe for the link-up and for future prompts. 


8 comments:

  1. It sounds like you're on a wonderful adventure here! And OH MY GOSH. I want to hear ALL about the cuddling! I'm so glad you're able to start :-)

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  2. Changes are hard, but like you said, they can be very good. I'm so glad that you're involved, I think it's so important for singles to be involved. Good for you and I'm excited for you to start cuddling babies. :-)

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  3. Yes, life is definitely an adventure :) Another post coming soon, I'm sure!
    And heck yes! I am so excited to start cuddling, even if my shift starts at 5am on Sunday :-p

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  4. Things at church are definitely getting better, even though it has been difficult. Yes, I'm making sure my single female voice gets heard! :) And baby cuddling is going to be so great! I'll share what I can when the adventure starts! :)

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  5. Baby cuddler, there is a job I would love to do. I hear you with the traffic, I really avoided after work Ministries for a long time because I didn't want to seem like a flake because I'm always late or not showing up at all but we can only do what we can. I hope things at your church finds it's new normal quickly.

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  6. I'm really excited to start cuddling!
    Yeah, traffic is a big drain. Thankfully I live close to almost everything else, including my home church :)

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  7. Jen @ Jumping in PuddlesSeptember 7, 2014 at 7:16 AM

    Ohhh, cuddles those babies and cuddle them good! :)

    Isn't it hard when work and stuff get in the way of volunteering and doing more things... darn it, real life! :) It seems that you are doing some great things, though!

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  8. It was really fun to cuddle! Post forthcoming :)


    Thank you for your encouragement - I hope that I'm not making myself too busy to enjoy "real life" but I love getting involved! :)

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