Amy Scott's Thoughts

I’m very much a creature of habit and routine. I like to know the flow of my day and the routine of my week. The craziness of a life doesn’t always afford me my “normal” schedule, but there are things I try to do everyday regardless of what my schedule looks like. I have started to call these things my rituals. They are a great source of comfort and stability to me. Now not everyday allows me to have them, but for the most part I strive to find time for them.

My rituals have a bit of a flow to them. Not surprising since I’m the routine girl. I start off my ritual time by writing in my gifts journal. I pull this journal out first and start pondering my day thus far. If I can write out my gifts while they are still fresh, it helps make sure I don’t miss something. This isn’t the only time I write in my gifts journal, but it how I start my quiet time and it’s been good to focus on the gifts of God first before I move on to anything else.

Once I have written out all the gifts that come to mind, I switch journals to my prayer journal. My prayer journal is a sacred place where I write long hand letters to God. It is a place where I am open and honest about my emotions and what is going on in my life. I’ve always been better processing my life through words on a page. Writing things out helps me to evaluate and to understand. I’ve been writing in a prayer journal for about 10 years now and it’s a ritual that I have deeply embedded into my existence.

The prayer journal allows to me clear and quiet all the thoughts bouncing around in my head. I have shared my heart and I know I am heard by the One who loves me. Now with a clear mind, I start my Bible reading. I’ve read the Bible through in a year numerous times and this year is no exception. I love following my Bible reading plan and I’ll often read two days at time. The overachiever in me loves to “get ahead” in my reading plan, but this also allows me grace when I miss a day here or there. I know that I won’t fall behind.

The next ritual to follow is reading a chapter or two of a book. I tend to swing from novels to Christian living to leadership enhancement to ministry focused books. Reading relaxes me and inspires me.  I feel like me when I have a book close by or in hand. In fact, I often leave my current book out in the living room so throughout the day when I have time I can stop and read if the moment allows for it. I believe that it’s good to get the influence of others in my life. Whether it is dreaming alongside a novel or being challenged in my leadership capacity, I know that my life is better when my voice isn’t the only one I hear.

I would have to say that the final ritual I have started is this blog. Now this one doesn’t happen every day. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn’t. I try to challenge myself to write something whenever I’m home alone or my schedule is freer. Some days are too busy to sort out my thoughts in the blogging world, but for the most part I’m finding that blogging often happens in the middle of my ritual activities. I think this is because my mind is focused and I’m really thinking through life and what matters to me. When I started this blog, I thought for sure I would be writing about all my ministry insight. While I do write about ministry from time to time, I’m learning that there is more to me than “Church Amy” and I have more to offer than what I do in my working capacity. This blog has helped me along in that discovery process.

My rituals are things that I look forward to everyday and I feel better when I have them completed. They are a firm foundation for me to stand on and give me the strength to be a better person throughout the day. It’s important to me that even in the craziness of life that I don’t lose sight of the things I truly need to be the most effective person I can be.

Psalm 119:9-16 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Praise be to you, LORD; teach me your decrees. With my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth. I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches. I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.  I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word.

Tonight is the conclusion of a six week unit with my Wednesday night class. Since I teach 5th/6th grade girls, many of them are going to be moving up into our student ministries within the month and becoming youth students. I decided that the last unit we should do together as a class would be about the Bible. It seems like kids bring their Bible to church for a prize or at least have one sitting somewhere in their room at home. However, most don’t know how to use it! It’s been fun to teach them facts like the Bible has 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament. We’ve discussed who wrote what books and why it’s important to study the Bible. I LOVE being able to explain how the promises in the Old Testament are fulfilled in the New Testament. The Bible is not a book of short stories, but is one complete message from God showing His plan for redemption! It was written by many different men, over many years and yet, it’s message is seamless! God used ordinary people to communicate His extraordinary love! He gave it to us in written form so we can have it with us always!

I’ve mentioned this a couple of times, but I don’t think I will ever be able to stress enough how much I enjoy reading the Bible and how much I love my Bible reading plan that allows me to read it cover to cover in one year. It takes about 20 minutes of reading a day and it blows my mind! New things pop out to me each I read God’s word. Through the years, different passages bring out new meanings to my life and encourage me. I’m also one of those highlight and write in the margins kind of a Bible readers! I love making notes about what stands out to me. I love finding foreshadowing of Jesus in the Old Testament! I’ll underline the verse and then in bold text I will write “JESUS”. It just makes me happy!

The whole reason I went to Bible college was so I could learn more about God’s Word and be able to teach it better. The Word of God is living and active (Hebrews 4:12). It has the power to shape our lives and transform our character. I am teacher – I love the kids I get the privilege of teaching on a weekly basis. However, in order to be a good teacher, I need to be a good student. I will never master the Bible. I will never reach a place in my life where I know it all and never need to read it again. The Bible isn’t a one time read! It is a continual, life shaping presence in our lives. Currently in my Bible reading plan I am reading through Psalm 119. It’s the longest Psalm and longest chapter in the Bible with 176 verse. I think it’s very appropriate that the longest book of the Bible all about God’s Word and the important role it plays in our lives. I pray that my passion for God’s World would be that same as the Psalmist. May it be ever growing, ever increasing, ever deepening!

This last weekend, my husband and I got a chance to steal away to the mountains. It was a spur of the moment camping trip. Those that know me well, know that I am not a spontaneous person. Normally my trips are well planned out in advance and in great detail. Jeremy suggested that we go camping on our drive into church on Wednesday night. Of course, there were things to discuss, but once all the details were sorted, in less than 24 hours we were on the road for a mini-vacation adventure.

Before I got married I wasn’t much of a camper. My dad joked that my sister and I’s idea of camping was staying at a Super 8. Since my family wasn’t really into camping, all I had to go off of was an experience I had in 4th grade when I went camping for one night as a Girl Scout. The highlights from that trip long ago were making pizza pockets and drinking Apple Cider from the mix which I had discovered for the first time that night. With such a limited camping history, I didn’t realize that I would become the person that goes on a camping trip every summer. This summer I even get to go on two camping adventures!

By far one of the biggest advantages to camping is the fact that I get to unplug from the real world for a bit. It’s great to travel to a location where there is no cell reception and no electricity. Laptops and television have no place while enjoying the great outdoors. There is something relaxing about sitting at the campfire with a good book while being shaded by tall, old trees.  The chance to step away from the busyness of life and the constant connection of technology allows you to hear and see in different ways.

Where we have camped the last two years is called the Lower Fall Recreation Area in Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The title of the campground might be lacking when it comes to describing this beautiful area. The Lower Falls are located on the Lewis River and are literally right next to the campground. Our campsite was on the loop closest to the falls and you could hear them day and night as they flowed ever constant.

Psalms 42:7 says, “Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.” This verse came to mind as I visited the falls. There is so much power in a waterfall. You can feel the spray even at a distance. You can hear the water even before you can see the falls. The amount of water that pours over a waterfall is powerful. It’s presence can not be denied! Just like this waterfall, there is a strong parallel to God’s presence. Waterfalls can be very pretty, but their strength can also be intense. When you compare God to a waterfall, you can see how He pours over you. This presence roars – it is not silent! I would imagine that having the waves and breakers sweeping over you might be overwhelming  and definitely overpowering! Unlike the truly deadly effects of the Lower Falls, I know that when God sweeps over me, it will not be to harm to me. Oh, it might not feel good, but even in the roar of life, I can see how He uses each situation to speak to me and show me His presence. I am in awe of the God who created this mighty waterfall. His love has an intensity that I can see through the example of nature. I couldn’t ignore the sound of the falls from my campsite, I can not ignore the sound of God in my life. Washed over by His waves and breakers, I can see my dependence on Him.

I’m guessing our unusual summer weather has something to do with this, but I’m desperately craving the fall season. It is my favorite of all seasons. I love scents of fall and the colors of fall. I enjoy the colder nights and the warmer clothing. Fall is hinting its way through these July days. Since I’ve been thinking a lot about the seasons of weather, I’ve also been thinking a lot about the seasons of life. So often nature beautifully reflects what we can see in our spiritual life and relationship with the Lord.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” Life has a way of ebbing and flowing just like the seasons on our calendar. There is a time and a place for everything. Not every season is the same. In my Bible reading plan, I’m going through the book of Psalms. In the context of seasons, I can see how each psalm is written in a different season of the author’s life. Some of the psalms are joyous and full of praise. Some of the psalms are pleas for salvation and deliverance from the current struggle.

I find the psalms reliving to my soul. I sometimes feel guilty about the ups and downs I feel in my day to day life. Some days are glorious and I feel like I am on top of the world. During these up days, it’s easier for me to focus on God’s goodness and the blessing He has poured into my life. As a woman in ministry, I feel a strange pressure to always live in these up days. I wish I knew where in my leadership development, I grasped onto this belief that the world must always be sunshine and roses if you are truly serving the Lord. Now let me say, that there are times when I do feel life is full of sunshine and roses. It is easy to be grateful for these warm and wonderful seasons. However, in order for there to be seasons, there must be distinctive changes in the weather of our lives.

Not all the psalms are happy and joyful. I feel a strong connection to the psalms that are gut-wrenchingly honest about the low times. Life isn’t peachy all the time. Hard times come and the only way to get through them is to call out to God. The great thing about these psalms is that they highlight the need for God to intervene in our lives. Salvation comes only from the Lord! When I’m feeling down, I am reminded that I am not the only one to face struggles in this life. God’s anointed servants also had times of great pain, doubt and worry. This shows me that being a committed Christ-follower doesn’t mean I am always magically happy or I no longer encounter struggle. It is real to admit that some seasons of life are harder than others. The harder seasons are what open our eyes to our dependence on God. When things are going good, it’s easy to forget we need God. When all our comforts are stripped, we can see that all we need is God.

As I look outside at this moment, the sky is full of gray clouds with a few small patches of blue. The truth is not all seasons are extreme. There are season of extreme good and extreme bad, but most of the time each season has its mix of ups and downs. Even now, I feel like I’m entering a new season and leaving the old one behind. Each season only last for a time and then it passes on. I’m looking for God and good in all seasons. I know I have mentioned it before – Romans 8:28 has become my mantra as of late – God will work all things for good. This might not seem too shocking of a statement, but I don’t see the big picture like God does. Things that I don’t see as good, I know He will use them from my good and for my growth and development. In each season I will repeat that God has good in store for me and will use all my experiences for His glory. He can use the up times and the down times. He can use the seasons of sun and the seasons of rain.

Kids are always growing. It seems you blink and they have sprouted up another inch or two. Working in children’s ministries, I have seen many kids go from being shorter than me to being taller than me (which isn’t too hard to since I’m only 5’3). There is an awkwardness that comes with these growth spurts. Things don’t fit quiet right – pant legs are now too short and shoes are a little too small. Kids need a lot of nutrition during this time as they form their grown-up frames. Along with this spurt of growth come the dreaded growing pains. It takes a lot of effort to grow and it can leave you feel achy in places that are being stretched.

I may have no hope of getting taller while on this planet. I’m sure my growth spurts have past and I’m stuck at the height I am now. However, I am in a constant state of growth in my relationship with the Lord. In terms of faith, I am a child of God (Galatians 3:26 – “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith”). Notice the word child. I am not a grown up yet and probably won’t be on this side of heaven. I’ll be in a constant state of growth. This means – growing pains! The tension and the pulling of new life situations is shaping me more and more into the person that God wants me to be.

Recently, I have felt that I am in a growth spurt. This makes life a little awkward because things aren’t fitting as well as they used to. Just like a kid outgrowing a pair of shoes, once you’ve moved up shoe sizes the smaller shoes are no longer an option. The awkwardness isn’t as bad as the ache that comes from new growth. Growing is tiring and it hurts. These growth spurts determine how I am growing up in my faith. Each decision is a chance to grow closer to Christ and take on more of His image. Just like the nutrition children need, spiritual nutrition is so important to a growing Christ follower. I am more apt to respond appropriately to life when I have been meditating on the Word of God. The more of the Word I can feed myself, the stronger I will be in these challenging situations.

Growing might not be fun in the moment, but once the effort has been put forth, it is worth it. Kids are so proud of themselves when they are taller than when you last measured them. They can sense they are maturing and they know they are on their way to becoming who they are meant to be. Just like a child, I need to be excited about my growth and not view it as a negative thing. The pains and distractions of growing pains can take my eyes off the fact that God is doing this for my good. There is a reason for the situations I have walked through and they are preparing me and maturing me.

Life isn’t as simple as I once thought it would be. I believed that if you didn’t go looking for drama or hard situations then they would stay clear of you. When I evaluate all that is on my plate, I often tell God I didn’t ask for this stuff and I didn’t go looking for it. How did it find me? I’m starting to believe that what doesn’t kill you does make you stronger. Not all situations in life are grand and glorious. There are a lot of things I would like to edit out of my life. However, these are the situations that will strengthen my faith.

The pain and awkwardness of growth are worth the results. This child of God has had her melt down moments… more like temper tantrums! I want to throw myself down and say I’m done. Fortunately, I have a loving father who doesn’t let me stay where I am at and encourages me to grow beyond the familiar boundaries I know. Life is a continual growth process. Once I master one thing, it seems something else is waiting for me. I continue to trust the Lord has good in mind for me in all circumstances. Even when I cannot see how the growing pains are going to make me stronger, I know that God can see the end result. Daily I must make the choice to grow closer to His image.