I have learned an important lesson. Don’t start a blog series unless you have a second blog planned.  I have been racking my brain trying to find something else that annoys me but just as I expected, my annoyance was powerless when my optimism resurrected.  I was sitting at work freezing to death and I thought that I might possibly be annoyed by air conditioning.  I started to cultivate this annoyance in my head  and it was nearly a blog, but then I realized that the air conditioning was protecting me from my nemesis the sun.  I ended up going through this vicious cycle of thinking I was annoyed with something and then realizing I was not annoyed until I had nothing annoying to write about.  So for now the series is on hold, until I wake up and feel that perpetual state of annoyance again.

Today is the first day on a new college small group that Kelly and I are leading at our church and while I am excited, it is a guarded excitement that is mixed with a little fear.  I have lead small groups before but in the past the groups were mostly people that I knew, so this is a whole new ball game.  I think the fear comes because this is big step toward coming to grips with the reality of the call that God has placed on my life.  I know that ministry, even volunteer ministry, can be hard.

In the past I did not handle the rigors of ministry in a way that was pleasing to the Lord.  I was met with success and I let it go to my head. I became arrogant and my arrogance almost destroyed me.  So now I am met with a whole new challenge. I get to relearn ministry in a way that is not self destructive.  So as I move forward cautiously I am thankful that God allows us second chances to get it right

My prayer is that God will bless this new ministry and that I will not get in the way.  I pray that the grace that God gives to try again will be seen through me, and that others who have walked a similar path to me might be encouraged to try again. I have had this verse stuck in my had for a couple of years and my biggest prayer is that this could be true of my life and future ministry.

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man [or woman], what is good; and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.