I have been thinking a lot lately about expectations. Expectations our children have on us, our spouses, our friends, our churches…. And how, what people expect us to be might not be what we imagine or desire ourselves to be. What do you do when the expectations don’t match up??

I am evaluating some of these expectations in my own life right now, and to be honest, feeling a little overwhelmed. I am starting to wonder where does the me I was created to be fit into all of these things that are already expected from me.  (I think its all part of the stretching I talked about earlier). I am thinking that in trying to honor God with my life might mean saying no to some of these things I feel I am expected to do. (Am I talking in circles here?)

I recently read this quote about expectations, “Letting go of expectations is so risky: it feels like a free fall since our world was held together by that web, but it is in that risk that you find a God who does not meet your expectations (thankfully) but loves you and is involved, and that risk is where faith grows.”

I have been thinking a lot about this quote as well. I really really desire to be “a place where faith grows”. So now what? Most days I live by doing what is expected of me. I realize to be a responsible adult [...]

Continue Reading “What to Expect…”

Words With friends on my iphone. GOODneSS! I’m telling you this is the lone reason for my lack of posting! I have let my brain go, no complete thoughts, no meaning, or helpfulness. Just plain ol’ brain freeze.
Soooo, just a second. I am going to go put my kids to bed, play one game (I promise) and them put some thoughts together about the Lord and being married to an iphone, sorry! A youth pastor .

(Still thinking about the conference and some of the great women I met…lots to talk about).

Amanda

Back from the SYM Conference in Chicago, wheewww! HUGE sigh of relief. Don’t get me wrong, it was grrreat. But I am beat. And still amazed that they ask me back each year (not fishing for a complement or anything) But seriously, I am not a speaker! It doesn’t come naturally, I have a crazy hard time communicating what’s in my brain and getting it to come out of my mouth. Writing is so much easier. You can take your time, think it through, erase it, start again, and even trash it right in the middle… Not so much when you are speaking to a bunch of people. “Oh dear!”, is all I think when I think about some of the things I said. I mean, I didn’t cuss or anything (not out loud at least).  But it was so hard to find the right words that I was so excited to talk about.

It is so strange that God would ask me to do something like this if He knows this isn’t how I am shaped, right? I don’t like this awkward stretching of myself. I am not comfortable in this position. I am super happy and content to write my blog, maybe a book sometime soon, and be on my merry way. Its clear that God has shaped me for some things and NOT for others.

This type of feeling seems to be a theme in my [...]

Continue Reading “It Really was a Stretch…”

Something happened to me this evening that happens every so often when I meet people for the first time that go to our church… I play soccer each week with a group of “soccer moms”. It is a random bunch of women and it is so much fun. I started playing because my neighbor invited me and she knows someone from her son’s school who brought someone from a league, who has a sister who plays soccer, etc., etc.. All that to say, they don’t go to our church and I barely know many of them and they could care less who my husband is and what he does for a living. We just have fun playing soccer because we are women who like it.

So tonight a lady shows up and recognizes my last name and asks if I go to church (I already knew where this was going). I say, “Yes” and of course her next question is- “Is your husband Jeff Maguire?” I say “Yes” (with a nice pastoral-ly wife grin), and go about warming up. Five minutes later she is back around telling me that just this morning when reading her Bible she thought of something Jeff had said once when he spoke in big church. “Oh, so nice…I’ll have to tell him you said that.”, I say. Maybe five more minutes pass, while on the field playing, she runs over to me to tell me she [...]

Continue Reading “Off-Sides”

This isn’t profound by any means, but I know some of you follow this site through Twitter and a few months ago my account was hacked. Its fixed now, and along with it I personally figured out how to twitter. I am soo lame! So if you want to follow me on twitter, you can themaguires. (if you want, no pressure)

Amanda

Anyone have a husband in Youth Ministry and you don’t wanna be?

And by that I  mean that you don’t want to serve and be a part of the Youth Ministry, really at all. Maybe because of kids, or a job, or serving in a different ministry, or simply because you just don’t want to. I feel like I am hearing more and more stories of wives serving right along side their husbands, but don’t want to. And as a wife still want to support and love that this is what their husbands are called to do. It has to be hard to know what to do with those feelings. I would love to give some encouragement to those women.

Being married to a Youth Pastor, or anyone in the church for that matter is truly a unique calling. When a wife is married to a Doctor no one expects her to scrub up next to him and help preform surgery, or a lawyer…you’re not expected to show up and defend a client. This “job” our husbands have comes with many hidden expectations of us as the wife.

I would love to hear your story, your voice about how youth ministry works for you and your spouse.

Our church had an amazing conference this past weekend and we called it “Lumen”. I am so proud of the church that I serve to have embraced and challenged its people to dialogue about controversial issues and how we, as loving followers of Christ, should always wrestle with these things and respond. Some of the topics included human trafficking, and nuclear weapons, to homosexuality. It was unbelievable, my mind has not thought so long and hard about such things in quite awhile. Most would be quite surprised at what the scholars had to say. I have to tell you that I am changed forever in the way that I think about and process information through my “Christian filter”.
One thing that I have really held onto was a story Andrew Marin told about Billy Graham. Mr. Graham was at one of the rallies for President Bill Clinton right after “the scandal” had happened. Press approach Billy Graham and asked why in the world he of all people would be at a rally for President Clinton after all he had done. His answer was so simple, “Well, it’s the Holy Spirits place to convict others, God’s place to judge, and God has asked me to love, so I guess that’s what I’m doing here, loving Bill Clinton.”
There is a lot of freedom in that kind of love. A simple love that has no conviction or judgement. A love that allows me to love [...]

Continue Reading “Simple Love”

I went to a High School weekend service the other day. I had such a flood of mixed emotions that I didn’t expect. I was really excited to be there with no kids, I was also terrified to be there because I don’t have many relationships with students right now, I don’t know very many volunteers either. I saw so many things I wanted to change and be a part of the change. I wanted to jump right in where I left off 6 years ago, and I know I can’t. When I stepped back to have my own family I really thought by now I would be back in full-force. I can’t imagine leading a small group of girls right now. Just the time alone, and then there are hormones and relationships (boys and girls), and the talking and the talking and the talking! When I was sitting there, just watching it all flash before me I realized….. I’m not ready!

And I couldn’t help but panic a little bit thinking I have been out of the game for so long I am so out of touch! And will I EVER be back in the game?? Do I want to be?? What does that mean for me in ministry??  I know that’s a lot to freak out about and I don’t need to solve it it one day, but it’s just different than what I had imagined for myself and my family in [...]

Continue Reading “Holding Patterns”

When Jeff leaves for camp or a conference and I stay home with three kids, and glad to be able to do it really. But I can’t help but feel a little jealous that he’s going to sleep through the night, not have to change a diaper, or deal with nap times, tantrums and bottles for a few days.
(Not to mention the weeks where the stomach flu has visited, or lice, or concussions, stitches, and a few hospital visits while he is gone).
When he comes home tired he has to fake it. No way do I want to welcome him home with a nap or a special rest time. “Back to the real world Buddy!”

Although I know that we all benefit when I do welcome him home to rest and relax . Because then, after his rest I get to rest (for a bit). Now, I realize his job isn’t the equivalent to taking a mini vacation. Trust me, I understand and have been to camp with High School students (and that’s why I don’t go anymore). It’s stressful and those crazies don’t like to fall asleep til 3am! He works hard and I work hard as well when he is away. It is a shame that there is no rest for the camper, me or him. We work hard to come home to work hard. And even the rare occasions when I say, “Take a [...]

Continue Reading “No Rest for the Camper!”