I was so excited to have the 14 women attend our first meeting on Thursday, September 9, for this new season. Our time began with coffee, cake and other goodies. When we settled into the meeting portion, I began by presenting the definition of the word mentor/mentoring: 1. a wise, trusted counselor or teacher; an influential senior sponsor or supporter. Mentoring is the act of giving or receiving the counsel or support. My commitment to this group is to impart the counsel that has shaped my life and it is the responsibility of those hearing this counsel to receive and hopefully benefit and allow growth in their lives. For the next 12 months, we will journey through the lessons of putting on the attributes of Christ and removing the things that hinder us from progressing and finding that peace and strength in our lives that overcomes every storm.
2 scriptures come to mind that speak of mentoring younger ones: 1 Corinthians 4:15-16 - Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me; and Hebrews 13:7 - Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Leaders are to live a life that others may look up to and draw guidance from and while I have not lived a perfect life, it has been a consistent walk of faith through developing a relationship with Jesus and His Holy Spirit.
It is very important to note that all counsel and mentoring must be grounded in the Word of God but more importantly is that each of us must grow to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that when He left this earth, He would send the Counselor and Comforter. The more we pursue the Lord, the more we will develop an ear to hear and understand the Holy Spirit at work in us. While I am all for counseling and assisting one another in all matters of life, we must come to the place that we are able to receive counsel directly from the Holy Spirit and know what God is saying to us. This only comes with time in His Word and at His feet in prayer. Sorry no shortcuts. Most times, we go to people to solve our problems because we want answers quickly. These shortcuts don't teach us how to hear God for ourselves and how to persevere through trials that can be longer than we expect. The Holy Spirit must be the Senior Mentor in our lives. When I say things like, "The Lord spoke to me," or "I heard the Lord say," I am most times referring to that inner sense of His Spirit directly me in a way that I know is not of myself. The more you seek, the more you find and the more familiar the sound of His voice becomes.
I had asked each one to bring an article of clothing or jewelry, something that was special to them or that reflected their personalities. It was funny to see that most of the ladies brought a piece of jewelry. GIRLS LOVE JEWELRY! Each piece held a very touching memory for the ladies. They spoke of family and love and things in life that really matter. Not one piece of jewelry represented anything vain or greedy. We shed some tears at the telling of why those earrings or rings were special.
There was a little comic relief as one gal, explained that her worn slacks and casual dress were a symbol of her freedom from the bondage she felt when she had to dress a certain way for her job in order to earn better tips (and all the unwanted attention that came to her). As Christ worked His peace and acceptance into her heart, she no longer felt the need to dress for anyone but herself and she is now comfortable in her very casual style. The humor in her delivery really brought a wonderful balance to all the stories. We are all women of faith with real lives that have drama and lots of comedy in them!
After all these stories were told, I asked the question, "What does clothing tell us about a person?"
(...to be continued very soon!!! This weekend, Sunday, October 3 is the Third Avenue Festival in Bay Ridge from 12 - 6 p.m., and we at Gateway have a huge presentation that we have now done for 21 consecutive years! If you are in the area, please come out and see us. Our bandstand will be located at 72nd Street and 3rd Avenue with lots of music, skits, children's activities, giveaways and more!!!)
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
The Beginning of the Journey - Let's Get Dressed
Here's a little background as to how this blog began. I'm a women of a "certain age" now (old enough to join AARP!!!) and with alot to look back upon and many valuable life lessons that have shaped me into the person I am and am becoming. I am a wife of 34 years and a mother to 4 now adult children. I have been a committed Christian for 37 years and am currently the Minister of Music of Gateway City Church in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY, having served in this capacity for 14 years. So I arrive at this "certain age" as many do, thinking about the future and the word "retirement" is nowhere in sight. I have come to believe that I am finally at the threshold of what God really wants to do in my life and through my life. The mission of Gateway City Church is to see NYC transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and we are commited to the many diverse ways that this transformation will occur. Age now serves as wisdom to those we are raising up to walk along side of this mission and so I approached my pastors Roger and Teresa McPhail about assuming the leadership of the Young Women's Fellowship that was started last year at Gateway. They gladly passed the baton to me and so I have begun to prepare lessons that will strengthen the steps of those who will attend this fellowship...young women 18 to 40s.
About the title "Getting Dressed"...
A few months ago I was reminded by the Holy Spirit (if you who are reading this are not familiar with the power and work of the Holy Spirit, I will explain this a little later in this blog) of a funny (not so at the time!) story that happened when I was the mother of only one child. As mother's all know, especially working mothers, there are many adjustments to be made to keep on schedule. At that time, I was leading worship in our church in Staten Island and living in Brooklyn and having a great deal of difficulty being early to church. I would just get there in time to throw the song list at everyone and begin singing. (This was before the days of Worship Team Rehearsals where the band would receive charts and arrangements and the singers would work on harmonies and actually know what the song service would be before Sunday.) My pastor at the time nicely scolded me for the mad dash to the platform each Sunday and insisted that I be early from now on. The following Sunday, I made some adjustments to my Sunday morning schedule, got my 19-month old baby daughter up early, dressed, breakfast eaten, and coats and hats on (it was winter) and now ready for the 20 minute ride to Staten Island, to be 10 minutes EARLY!!! I turned to collect my pocketbook and diaper bag which took all of 3 minutes and then turned to get my daughter moving down the stairs when there she stood, completely stripped down to her diaper, no socks, no shoes...NOTHING. She then announced to me in a defiantly convinced tone, in the perfect diction of a 40 YEAR OLD..."I'm not going." I almost fainted and then screamed, "We're going to be late again and I'm going to be in so much trouble..." Now, those of you who know what it's like to dress little girls, know it's no small task. Pretty much boys only require pants, shirt, socks and shoes and they are good to go. Not so with little girls. The details from the tights, socks, buckles on shoes, hair bows and accessories make getting dressed an ordeal every day. So I reassembled my daughter's out fit and blew out the door to be exactly on time (late) as every other week. When my pastor began to voice his disapproval, I burst into tears and told him the morning's events, which he found very amusing. (After that I was never late again, by the way!!!)
Fast forward to the present day and something was going on in my life which was causing distress (which now for the life of me I can't remember what it was!) and the Holy Spirit reminds me of this event when my daughter removed all of her clothes, and as clear as a bell I hear these words in my heart, "I keep trying to dress you and you keep undressing." "Oh my God," I thought. "What a willful child I am!! You've been putting things on me to teach me and move me to my next level of faith and growth, and I keep resisting you!" At that moment, I understood in a new way how to gain victories in my life that had been seemingly so difficult in the past. I immediately repented of my stubborn willfulness and allowed my mind to recognize God's work in that area of resistance. Many times we forget He's at work doing a new thing! Our responses to circumstances only reflect our emotional reactions when we have been given the "mind of Christ." Right then, I knew what I must teach the younger ones and so the journey begins to let the Lord dress us for success!
Check back to this blog tomorrow for continuation of our first meeting. There were some really significant moments. I don't want to overload you on this first reading. Also, mark your calendars for the next meeting of Gateway's Young Women's Mentoring Fellowship on Thursday, October 7, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. You can email me at nancy@gatewaycitychurch.net to let me know that you are interested in attending and I will be in touch with further information. Many blessings to you!
Nancy
About the title "Getting Dressed"...
A few months ago I was reminded by the Holy Spirit (if you who are reading this are not familiar with the power and work of the Holy Spirit, I will explain this a little later in this blog) of a funny (not so at the time!) story that happened when I was the mother of only one child. As mother's all know, especially working mothers, there are many adjustments to be made to keep on schedule. At that time, I was leading worship in our church in Staten Island and living in Brooklyn and having a great deal of difficulty being early to church. I would just get there in time to throw the song list at everyone and begin singing. (This was before the days of Worship Team Rehearsals where the band would receive charts and arrangements and the singers would work on harmonies and actually know what the song service would be before Sunday.) My pastor at the time nicely scolded me for the mad dash to the platform each Sunday and insisted that I be early from now on. The following Sunday, I made some adjustments to my Sunday morning schedule, got my 19-month old baby daughter up early, dressed, breakfast eaten, and coats and hats on (it was winter) and now ready for the 20 minute ride to Staten Island, to be 10 minutes EARLY!!! I turned to collect my pocketbook and diaper bag which took all of 3 minutes and then turned to get my daughter moving down the stairs when there she stood, completely stripped down to her diaper, no socks, no shoes...NOTHING. She then announced to me in a defiantly convinced tone, in the perfect diction of a 40 YEAR OLD..."I'm not going." I almost fainted and then screamed, "We're going to be late again and I'm going to be in so much trouble..." Now, those of you who know what it's like to dress little girls, know it's no small task. Pretty much boys only require pants, shirt, socks and shoes and they are good to go. Not so with little girls. The details from the tights, socks, buckles on shoes, hair bows and accessories make getting dressed an ordeal every day. So I reassembled my daughter's out fit and blew out the door to be exactly on time (late) as every other week. When my pastor began to voice his disapproval, I burst into tears and told him the morning's events, which he found very amusing. (After that I was never late again, by the way!!!)
Fast forward to the present day and something was going on in my life which was causing distress (which now for the life of me I can't remember what it was!) and the Holy Spirit reminds me of this event when my daughter removed all of her clothes, and as clear as a bell I hear these words in my heart, "I keep trying to dress you and you keep undressing." "Oh my God," I thought. "What a willful child I am!! You've been putting things on me to teach me and move me to my next level of faith and growth, and I keep resisting you!" At that moment, I understood in a new way how to gain victories in my life that had been seemingly so difficult in the past. I immediately repented of my stubborn willfulness and allowed my mind to recognize God's work in that area of resistance. Many times we forget He's at work doing a new thing! Our responses to circumstances only reflect our emotional reactions when we have been given the "mind of Christ." Right then, I knew what I must teach the younger ones and so the journey begins to let the Lord dress us for success!
Check back to this blog tomorrow for continuation of our first meeting. There were some really significant moments. I don't want to overload you on this first reading. Also, mark your calendars for the next meeting of Gateway's Young Women's Mentoring Fellowship on Thursday, October 7, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m. You can email me at nancy@gatewaycitychurch.net to let me know that you are interested in attending and I will be in touch with further information. Many blessings to you!
Nancy
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