Amy Scott's Thoughts

Sharing the thoughts that bounce around in my brain!

A Split Personality Kind of Week July 17, 2012

Filed under: Children's Ministry,Family Time — Amy Scott @ 1:44 pm

Oh, multi-tasking! How I dislike you! You bring such stress to my life. My thoughts run together and bounce from one topic to the next! Welcome to my week!

Flying at SKY Family VBA!

Sunday started our first ever week of Family Vacation Bible Adventure! This year we’re doing something totally different by having parents attend VBA alongside the kids. We’ve reformatted things so that parents can be ones having the spiritual conversations with their kids. It’s hard to break the mindset that parent’s bring their kids to church and it’s up to the church to make their kids into good Christians. We want to empower parents to be the spiritual leaders of their families and see that faith starts at home. What we do as a church will never compare to what they do daily in their households. The purpose of this new VBA format is to show families how fun it can be to do faith-based things together. Hopefully after this week, parents will feel more comfortable with having faith conversations at home. It’s been fun to do things in a new way. Having the parents around really adds a whole new level energy to the week. We’re still doing all the classic VBA elements, but with a twist!

When VBA rolls around it seems like it’s the only thing on Jeremy and I’s mind. However, this year, we have a few other things competing for our time and attention. Like I mentioned yesterday, we now have a niece, Brinley, who arrived yesterday. We’ve all been anticipating her arrival for the last week.  It was a mystery to us what day she’d actually appear, but yesterday was the day. We’re so excited, but we’re sad that we don’t get to meet her for a few weeks.  This is my first niece, so the excitement level is off the charts!

Yesterday, I had a doctor’s appointment right smack-dab in the middle of my day. Nothing big – no worries, but still, I hate going to the doctor. Anything medical freaks me out and makes my blood pressure spike. Oh goodie! So I had to race from work, to home, to the doctors, to home and back to church for VBA. I felt like I was willing the car to move faster while still going the speed limit. I made it everywhere I needed to on time, but it was close. I kept flying in right at the last second!

When Jeremy and I came home to let Toby out of the crate for lunch, we noticed that he was in the window as we drove past our house. We lock Toby in a crate each morning when we leave, so you can imagine our shock when we saw him roaming the house! As we get ready to leave in the morning, Toby runs into his crate. There he sits and waits for us to give him a treat and lock him in. Jeremy realized that we had left without locking him in. Oops! Now Toby is the kind of dog that doesn’t do well with free time in the house. His nature is always be with people, so when he is home alone he doesn’t stop moving. He is always looking for the people and freaking out because they are no where to be found. As a result of the stress, we had a couple of accidents waiting for us. Yes, it might seem weird, but our dog loves the structure of the crate. I can’t believe we forgot to lock him in when we left! Oh well – one of the side effects of VBA brain!

San Francisco here we come!

Finally, we leave Thursday morning for our road trip to San Francisco! I’ve been trying to clean the house, get laundry done, clean out the fridge and pantry, find a Toby sitter and pack for our trip. All while being home limited hours due to VBA. It’s nuts! My brain keeps hoping from thing to thing… Get house ready, make sure everything is in place for our Toby sitters, make sure VBA stuff is taken care… It’s like mental ping-pong! I’m super excited for our trip, but the reality of it really hasn’t hit yet. VBA is too important to let my mind slip and forget something related to this highlight of our children’s ministry summer.

And now, I’ve used up my allotted free time for blogging! Back to the mental to-do list! If I don’t keep moving, I might fall over completely and that wouldn’t be good! It’s all worth it! Vacation is on the horizon!

 

I’m an auntie! AGAIN! July 16, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 9:40 pm

Hey blogging world, I just couldn’t keep the good news to myself! My sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Andrea & Eric, are now the parents of two beautiful children! My nephew, Carson, now has a little sister, Brinley! It’s hard being three hours away and knowing it will be weeks until I can meet her. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have both a niece and a nephew! It’s the best of both worlds! Every time I go into Carter’s I always look longing at the girls section! Now have a reason to shop on both sides. Amazing! I just can’t help but use a ton of exclamation points!!!!! Congrats to Eric & Andrea and their family of FOUR! Woo hoo!

 

Understanding My Introverted Nature July 14, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 8:25 pm

Some Attributes of Introverts – Insights into Amy

I’m currently reading a book called Introverts in the Church by Adam S. McHugh. While, I’m still a couple of chapters away from having this book finished, I couldn’t help about write about it! This book has been freeing for me because I realize that there are people in the world who get how I’m wired. Often, I feel like my introverted nature makes me a bit of an odd duck. I’ve pondered why God has made me an introvert and called me into ministry. These two parts of my being seem to be in conflict. If I were entirely honest, I would say that I like being an introvert. When I live life in a way that is consistent with my introverted side, I feel more balanced. My big struggle is feeling the need to have people understand me. In ministry, I think people just assume all pastors are extroverted. Our church culture is one of extrovertedness. So, how I can be who I am and do what God has called me to do? The other questions is, am I okay to be me even when people don’t understand how I’m wired? These are the things I wrestle with.

When most people picture an introvert person, they might picture someone who is shy or quiet. You might say that they keep to themselves. They might be perceived as anti-social or stand-offish. I think the biggest thing I have to combat when I say I am an introvert is people think that means I don’t like people. That is not true. I love people. I have built my life around ministry. When I say I’m introverted, I’m saying that I need to be away from people to recharge my batteries and connect with God. The more time I spend with people, the more drained I become. If I want to offer anything of value to those I care about, I must spend time away. My time away is quiet and reflective. Introverts have strong inner dialogue and even if we seem quiet, our brains are always working. I’m always processing, wrestling, contemplating, thinking… Sitting in silence for me is never just sitting in silence. It’s reflection. It’s a monologue and a dialogue – depending on if I let God into the internal conversation. If I’m sitting reading a book, it’s not because I have nothing else to do. I’m reading to grow, to engage my mind, to go deeper, to develop. Reading for me can be for pleasure, but for the most part it’s my favored form of spiritual growth. Writing is my preferred way of communication. It gives me time to think about what I’ll say. Writing also gets my thoughts out of my head and more often than not, I find the words write themselves. They just flow out of me.

I think the great thing about this book is that doesn’t suggest that all introverts hid away and do things away from people. The author very accurately states that when God calls you, he will work in and through the way we’re wired. Introverts can serve in the church and they don’t always have to behind the scenes. It was interesting to ponder that since introverts are bent toward study, they make excellent preachers. They plan and research their sermons very well. Their introverted nature doesn’t mean they are afraid of being in front of people communicating. They find the small talk after church more tiring and draining then the actual preaching experience. This clicked for me. When I’m in my teaching mode, I’m in my element. It’s the small talk that gets me. I’m just bad at it. I’m not good at bouncing from conversation to conversation. I greatly love the people I interact with, but I would much prefer one-on-one to the crowd. I would rather go deep with a few than have a surface relationship with many.

The best part of this book was seeing myself in the pages. I wish that those who are close to me could read this book and understand me better. One thing that jumped out to me was how Hugh mentioned that introverts need more sleep than other people. Those that know me well know I need my sleep. I need a good 7-9 hours and I’m not a morning person. I’ve been told it’s my age, but I really believe that it’s because my life drains me so much. Social interactions and my schedule tire me in a deeper way than others. It doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy these things, it just means that I’m more depleted than most when these activities are finished. My need for sleep is a way I can refill my energy bank and continuing serving at an effective level. Reading this affirmed my need to sleep isn’t because I’m lazy.

Another element that was throughout the book was the need for A schedule. A lot of people don’t understand my quiet schedule. They don’t get my need for down time where I am completely alone. This normally happens a couple times a week where I am the only one in the house. These times are very productive for me. Not in a t0-do list way, but in a reflective way. I am myself with no expectations. I can speak with God and connect with him through silence. When I’m home alone, I very rarely listen to music or turn on the TV. I don’t desire more noise. I need the quiet. I need the stillness. I don’t desire to live life at a fast pace of constant action and interaction. I need this balance. Without it, I will be useless for any kingdom work. I don’t want to pretend to be something I’m not and in the process disqualify myself from the work God has called me to do.

As you can tell, I can write about being introvert forever! I’m learning more and more who I am and being okay with the fact that God has made me this way. I also have to realize that not everyone will get it. Not everyone will understand my need for quiet and stillness. It might be seen as lazy or reclusive. However, I know that is not who I am.  I am actively serving the Lord in the way that he has called me and I need to be content in that. I’m learning to love my unique quirks and I’m learning to balance my life around them. This is a very good thing!

 

The World of L.M. Montgomery July 13, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 1:49 pm

Spending time in the world of L.M. Montgomery!

I’ve officially read everything that L.M. Montgomery has written about Avonlea and the tales of Anne Shirley or Anne Blythe as she later becomes. I’m still in the process of watching all the seasons of Road to Avonlea based off Montgomery’s writing. Because of my Avonlea obsession, I’ve decided to branch out and read more of Montgomery’s works that take place outside of Avonlea. At the recommendation of a favorite blogger, I have decided to start with The Blue Castle.  After learning a bit more about Lucy Maud Montgomery, I’m intrigued at what inspired her stories. She must have loved her Canada, because she paints the picture of the landscape so beautifully. Especially after watching all these programs that take place in Prince Edward Island, I’m positive that PEI is on my bucket list of places to visit. I learned through some research that she was a minister’s wife. I wonder what it was like for her. I’ve pondered what a conversation between her and I might be like. Where did her stories come from? What was it like to be a minister’s wife 100 years ago? Did she view her life as romantically as she did her books? So many things come to my mind. I guess I will keep getting to know her more through her works. I know that part of Road to Avonlea series has been based off of The Story Girl and The Golden Road.  I guess I will just have to add those to my must read list… If you haven’t noticed, it’s getting quite long… Lucky for me, there is a no rush! I’ll just keep living my life one good book at a time!

 

The Pastor: A Memoir by Eugene H. Peterson July 12, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 7:32 pm

I’ll be honest, I’ll admit that I didn’t know that Eugene H. Peterson wrote books… I knew about The Message (a Biblical translation into what Peterson calls “American”), but that was all I was aware of. I also didn’t know he was a pastor. I don’t usually read memoirs. It seemed like this book and I weren’t destined to meet given the circumstances, but through the course of reading some blogs I stumbled upon it. I’m so glad that I did! It was beyond amazing! It was the perfect book for this season of my life. Literally, it as a Godsend. It was like Jesus himself handed it to me and said, “I think you need to hear this.” Yep, it was that awesome.

Peterson shares his development as a pastor and what it looked like serve in a church culture that was rapidly changing and shifting its priorities. He writes with such passion about what is at the core of the church and what it really should be. It almost made we want to go back to an earlier time in church history, before megachurchs and numbers and programs. When churches were in communities and pastors gave their whole lives to one or two churches. It’s not about moving on to the next bigger or better thing, it’s about staying power, it’s about setting roots. It’s about living life with people. As he could say, it’s about a long obedience in the same direction.

More than his passion for the church, I love how Peterson described pastoring and his own development as a pastor. He learned that it wasn’t a job, it was a vocation. No matter what the church expected of him in job performance, he was a pastor. A piece of paper didn’t make that happen, it just is who he was. He was very bold in his decisions to help him maintain longevity in ministry. He knew all too well the dangers that come with the ministry and how it can burn you out and leave you bitter. He guarded his heart and his life so that way the job didn’t disqualify the vocation.  What I needed to hear from this book what no matter what a piece of paper says when you’re a pastor, you’re a pastor. You can’t just shut it off and pretend like it’s not there. No matter what you’re paid to do, when you are pastor by vocation, it isn’t your job, it’s who you are.  As I read, I kept thinking, I’m a pastor. I know I’m a pastor. It was an affirmation for me of who I am, who I am becoming. Regardless of what the world tells me, my church, my denomination, my friends, my family – I know that I’m a pastor. That has been solidified between me and God. I have nothing to prove. I  have nothing to lose. I know who I am.

Peterson writes about a stage in his life where things at the church began to slow down and the people just weren’t at the place where they once had been. He calls these years the “badlands” after the landscape in South Dakota. As hard as the badlands were, there was nothing he could do to get out of them. He had to learn to embrace the conditions he was in and engage the people right where they were at. If he kept trying to push forward and get of this badlands season, it would actually be a determent to his ministry. This was encouraging to me because I often feel like when I find myself in desert places, there must be something I can do get myself out. I often think if I’m strategic enough I can move ahead. There comes a time when you can decided to fight with the conditions or serve within the conditions. We all have badlands seasons. For me, I realized that it isn’t my fight to get out of the badlands. The conditions are what they are. I can fight and lose out on the moment or I can surrender and just accept the badlands for what they. The results lead down drastically different paths.

One of my highlights of the book was when he talked about the monthly paperwork he had to fill out for his denomination. The first page was statistics and then rest were personal reflection of the ministry. He started to think that they never looked at anything he wrote beyond the first page, so he decided to have fun with them. He first wrote about how he felt he was losing his calling to ministry and was sinking into depression. Could they help him? No reply. The next month he said that he developed a drinking problem and one Sunday it affected his sermon and he had to have an elder finish preaching for him. He asked if he should get treatment? No reply. The next month he wrote about how he had an affair with a lady in the church. They were discovered in the pews by the ladies that came to arrange the flowers. He was concerned about what his congregation would think, but they were all in favor of the relationship and attendance had doubled the next Sunday. The final tale was about how his wife had baked hallucinogens into the communion bread as a why to liven up their worship experience. He reported that the whole thing was dazzling, but that he wanted to make sure that it didn’t compromise their by-laws. Still no reply. In a meeting he later had at the end of the year, he asked if anyone actually read the pages beyond the numbers and of course, they all said yes and that they took them very seriously. He then explained his stories and they went into a round of blaming various people for the mishap. When explained that it has all been a joke, they were less than amused Seriously, I was laughing so hard. I wish I had the guts to do something like that!

There are a lot of deep moments in this book. It’s really rooted in what it means to follow Christ and be a pastor. Peterson has so much imagination and never once he is portrayal of pastoral life seem dull or boring. I loved reading his story. It encouraged me in my own story. I don’t know how mine is going to end.. in fact, I’m really not sure what my future holds, but the one thing I did take away from this book is I am a pastor. I will keep being a pastor. Thanks, Eugene, for living your life in a way that it makes my story a little clearer. This book was like light in my soul. It opened me up in a way I never expected. That, my friends, is the tell tale sign of a good book!

 

Quotations July 11, 2012

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 9:00 am

Do you ever feel like a quote just hits you? It makes you catch your breath and say, “How did they know?” or “Wow, I needed that.”  Especially in those rough places in life, I feel like God speaks through the words of others. Reading a well timed quote reminds me that my creator really does see me. He heard my thoughts and prayers and he responded.  I’ve started collecting quotes and keeping them around me as reminders. Here are a few that I’ve added over the last week:

“There are people in the world who are grateful you exist. You were sent to them by God.” – Donald Miller (I had literally had a conversation with God about my existence just hours before reading this… too weird!)

“To live no tight, neat role is truly sacrificial, it is also truly creative because it leaves us open and free (dare we say) like God himself.”  – Alan Jones (I always want a nice little box to label myself in and I’m learning I’ll never fill one specific role. This gave me a new perspective on the many hats I wear.)

“And now I was faced with engaging a way of a life, a vocation, in which I had to learn to submit to conditions, enter into conditions, embrace conditions, in which my competitive skills and achievements were virtually worthless. Worse than worthless: actively destructive.” – Eugene Peterson from The Pastor (Current life lesson – at some point in life, you can’t be the best or the smartest or take another test, get a good grade, reach another goal… nothing you do can change the current situation. You can’t be better or try harder. It is what it is. Learn to live in the conditions.)

 

 

Chocolate Peanut-Butter Ice Cream Pie July 10, 2012

Filed under: Cooking Experiments — Amy Scott @ 8:08 pm

I used to think I was the type of person who always colored inside the lines. I never strayed from the given directions. Always followed the rules. However, the more I bake, the more of a rebel I become. Why do a recipe exactly like it says? Why not put my own twist on things! Tuesday nights have become my regular night in the kitchen to get in touch with my creative side. Tonight was no exception!

Earlier this week I saw a recipe for an ice cream pizza that I just had take a closer look at. After careful examination, I decided that it could use some improvement. First off, I don’t have a pizza pan, but the picture really looked like a pie, so I went with the pie inspiration. Also, fudge, vanilla ice cream and peanuts are nice, but I think we could take this up a notch by going with a chocolate peanut-butter theme. I’m not a huge fan on peanuts on the top of ice cream, so I decided on mini-sized Reese’s Pieces. Instead of more fudge on top, I used Reese’s hard shell. Noticing a theme? So here is a layer by layer shot of my dessert.

Layer One – Chocolate Chip Cookie Crust

Layer Two – Hot Fudge

Layer Three – Chocolate Peanut-Butter Ice Cream

Layer Four – Whipped Cream

Layer Five – Reese’s Pieces

Layer Six – Reese’s Hard Shell Topping & more Reese’s Pieces

Final Frozen Result

 

Summer is here! July 8, 2012

Filed under: Family Time — Amy Scott @ 10:20 pm

My first attempt at homemade popsicles! Raspberry lemonade!

Summer officially arrived this week! It’s been amazing weather and I’ve been enjoying every second of it! Now I get made fun of a lot for being very “white”, pretty much void of color… even in the summer months. What can I say? I have a desk job, people! The last few days I’ve done my best to be out in the sun, soaking up as many rays as possible! It’s been great!

This weekend really felt like summer all the way around! Friday was Jeremy and I’s awesome day in the Portland, OR area celebrating us and spending time together! The laid back summer feeling flowed right into Saturday when I got to sleep in! Oh, how I love sleeping in! My hubby is always so nice to take the doggie out the room once Toby decides it’s time to get up (usually 2 hours before I’m ready). Jeremy went off fishing for the morning and I cleaned the house and then went outside to read in the sunshine. Like I mentioned earlier, gotta work on that tan! Jeremy came home with some fish to bury in the yard. Apparently, the fish will fertilize his plants and make them happy. I just tried to keep Toby from getting a hold of one! The afternoon was spent making shortcakes for our ever abundant strawberries, reading, making homemade popsicles (a first for me), and doing tons of laundry. It was the perfect mix of fun and productivity. I felt like I got a lot done and yet I got to do it at my own pace. No rush. Perfect!

Abundant Strawberries!

With today being Sunday, I headed off to church as I do every Sunday morning. Nothing too out of the norm. When I got into children’ church, Jeremy asked me to go his office to get a package. I assumed it was some craft or activity for the morning, but it turns out my hubby was surprising me with roses for our anniversary! So sweet and a very creative way to give them to me. It was fun to get something at church because it made being at work on our anniversary special. After church, we headed over to Jeremy’s parents house where they treated us to a yummy anniversary lunch! The weather was perfect to sit back in the shade and catch up!

A walk around the park at sunset!

Once we got home, Jeremy and I continued our day by hanging in the yard. We picked more strawberries and I pulled out my book while Jeremy took care of his plants. Overall, we were just enjoying the outside time. For dinner, we drove down to Longview, WA for meal out. Stuffed full of too much good food, we decided to take a walk around Lake Sacajawea Park at sunset. Very picturesque and fun. The drive home was spent listening to a random shuffle of music and singing at the top of our lungs. We’re silly and we know it!

Even though Thursday was back in the office, the combination of Independence Day, my Dad’s birthday, celebrating our anniversary on multiple days and the overall summery, sunny days has made this week really feel like a mini-vacation. Or I guess they call it a “staycation” these days.  It’s been a lot of fun to hang out with my sweetie and family. The summer weather has decided to stay around for a while and I couldn’t be happier. We’ve got a busy week coming up as we prepare our first ever Family VBA. I’m hoping the sunshine will keep the vacation vibe going and help to me remain calm even under pressure. If I get overwhelmed this week, I really should head outside for a minute, close my eyes, take a deep breath, feel the warmth of the sun and remember it’s summer! It’s officially here!

 

Celebrating Six Years! July 7, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:46 pm

Lunch at Qdoba!

Yesterday was a great day! It’s not often that Jeremy and I get to spend the whole day just us! Our schedules are busy and our hobbies are different. We often end up in different directions. We have to be intentional about “us” time and yesterday was one of those days. Now, our anniversary isn’t till tomorrow, but we had some big plans and we wanted the whole day for them. Sunday is obviously a work day, so we decided to celebrate early and extended the joy over many days!

We got up early and drove down to the Woodburn Company Stores. We don’t hit this shopping area often, so it’s always a special treat. Jeremy scored some major deals and was pretty excited about his super savings. I had only three things on my own list and it seemed impossible to find what I was looking for. In fact, I only ended up getting 2/3 of my list. Sad story. Oh well, it’s no biggie. I had a lot of fun watching my hubby go on a shopping spree. Like I’ve mentioned before, the man only shops once a year, so it’s go big or go home!

There are very few special days were I let myself eat whatever I want. My anniversary is one of them. Partially because I don’t want to be a bummer to Jeremy by saying no to places based on calories. However, I look forward to these “free pass” days! I only do them about 3-4 times a year. For me, more than the shopping, the day was about the food! Breakfast at Starbucks, lunch at Qdoba, dinner at Macaroni Grill and a snack at Krispy Kreme! Good times!

An example of Jeremy’s creativity!

The best part of the day was just getting to spend it with my hubby. He makes me a laugh a lot!  The weather was warm and sunny. It was the perfect summer escape from routine. Jeremy surprised me by going to Barnes and Noble to buy a guide book for San Francisco. We have a collection of them now from our various travels. They are great on the trip and an awesome way to remember the sights after a trip. It was very sweet of him to think of getting one for San Francisco – even if we will only be there a couple of days. This lead to us talking about our trip and getting all excited to hit the road together (the official count down as begun and now we’re at 12 days away).

The last six years with Jeremy have been amazing. It’s been so much fun to walk through life together and grow closer. I love our home and the life that he has given me. He helps me to not take life too seriously and to slow down and enjoy the little things. His silly sense of humor keeps me laughing and my toes. He is a great listener and always tries his best to see the world through my eyes. He tries to understand me, even when I really don’t understand myself! I’m blessed to have such an awesome best friend to share my life with.

Thank you, Jeremy, for six wonderful years of marriage! Here’s to MANY more!

 

Forever Young July 6, 2012

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 7:45 am

I hear it often – “You look so young!” Most adults say that’s a good thing and I’ll appreciate it later in life. Most of my students are shocked when they learn I’m 26. They often guess I’m a teenager, but the number I most often hear is 12. Now, I know that I don’t look 12, but it can be a little annoying always being asked my age and seeing how shocked people are. I was thinking through this Ageless Amy phenomenon that people mention and I started to compare pictures of me through the ages. Apparently, I wasn’t photographed much at age 12, so I have a picture from my 13th birthday as the start (half of my current lifetime). The progression ends with a photo I took on the 4th of July. What do you think? I don’t look 12 in my opinion… I would stay that I’m probably forever stuck in my teens. How long will that last? Will I be 40 and look like a teenager? That thought creeps me out! Oh well… I guess I should be glad that people don’t think I’m older than I am. I guess I’m going to be forever young – hopefully at heart, even if the years take their toll!

Traveling through time!