A day in the life of...Mark Williams

Weekend summary

Friday--Took Micah to the dr. in Mobile.  He didn't have the flu.  Just a nasty virus.  I think he's better this morning.

Saturday--Soccer without 3 of our players makes for a long game. 

Praise in the Park was amazing.  Great event and experience!!

College Football.  State lost.  Ole Miss lost.  Southern Miss lost.  Florida beat LSU.  There ya go.

Sunday--I preached in both the AM and PM worships.
        AM--Nehemiah 4.  Pushing through Discouragement...and fighting for our generation.
        PM--Journeying to Joy.

All in all, the weekend was good. 

On this Monday morning, I'm weary and don't feel well.  My allergies (or sinus) is killing me. 

I'm getting ready to speak again on Wednesday night.  That's always a good time!!

Gonna get slimed this Sunday.  The children's department reached the goal of 1000 points.  They got points for attendance, scripture memory, bringing friends to church, bringing their Bibles, etc.  It'll be great to celebrate this way with them.  We'll do this during S.S.  Hope I can get cleaned up by the time worship starts. 

The Little Praisers

Here's a video of the Little Praisers singing in church yesterday.  Melanie, Davina Ables, and Brandon Kirkwood work with them each week.

my stinkin' eye hurts

I go through this phase.  My eye will hurt.  Not bad.  But just enough to bother me for a day or two.  And it's not always the same eye. 

What's been going on....

Melanie and Malaree took a weekend trip to Starkville this past weekend.  Melanie had not seen her parents since they went on their trip to the Mediterranean.  They had a great time while in Starkville.

Micah and I stayed here because of soccer. His team (I'm the coach) won 8-2.  They played a GREAT game!!  Their passing is getting so much better.  Micah scored 3 goals.  He has 10 goals through the first 4 games. 

I'm starting to read a new book by Malcolm Gladwell entitled Blink.  It talks about the "thinking" that we do in the first few seconds of "seeing" something.  

I'm also reviewing some videos for possible DT classes for the spring. 

KidStuf prep has been in full swing also.  Tomorrow night, we'll take on our 27th KidStuf.  Wow!!  I'm constantly amazed when I look back over the past 3 years at what has happened with KidStuf.  It's just a really unique way to connect to kids and families. 

Our Wild Goose Chase Bible study on Sunday nights has been great!!  Our attendance and the commitment to it has been encouraging.  I enjoy receiving the feedback and interaction during our small group study time.  This coming Sunday will wrap up this study.  I promise, though, that there will be more to come. 

What's happening with me

For starters...

The Labor Day holiday was great.  We wound up eating at friends' homes for both lunch and dinner.  That was great.  The downside...it threw my "rest of the week" routine for a loop.  I've been off all week.  That's ok though.  I can handle being out of the routine in return for a day off.  We are supposed to break out of the Cage of Routine anyway.

on being a soccer coach....I'm trying to get 8 boys that are 8 and 9 years old to kick a ball into a net.  I'm also trying to get them to keep the other team from doing the same.  You think this would be easy.  It is not.  It is a love/hate thing.  I actually think I'm a half-decent coach.  The other half of me thinks I stink at it and believes someone else could definitely do a better job than me.  We're gonna have to have fun with this.  Otherwise, my hair is going to turn more gray than it already is. 

...on being a Miss. State fan.  I pray that this past weekend wasn't a game just to get our hopes up.  We play a real team Saturday in Auburn.  I'm not naive enough to believe that we'll have a winning season this year.  If we do, GREAT!!  But I know better than to expect that with a new coach this year. 

...on Wild Goose Chase.  I'm enjoying the weekly time I have teaching and leading a group through this study.  I believe that, if applied to our lives, it can literally change the course of what people do with their time on this earth.  I think it can be that life-transforming. 

...on being a daddy.  My kids are great.  But this week, they've been driving me (and Melanie) crazy.  I'm not sure if its the moon and stars, or what.  I've been ready to "take a belt" to em though. 

...on being a husband.  I love my wife.  She's planted the fire out of some plants this week.  I helped last weekend with it.  But this week, she planted 50 something without me.  God bless her.  And she's an amazing mommy too!! 

...on being a son-in-law.  Melanie's parents are on a cruise....in the Mediterranean.  Yep...Turkey, Greece, Italy.  I'm one jealous son-in-law. 

...on being a camp director.  We opened up registration for M4 Camps last week.  So far, we have over 300 ALREADY preregistered for 2010 summer camps.  Wow!!  I can hardly wait!!

Orange: Follow-up and Follow-through

Ok....so there was a TON of talk about the Orange Conference in children's ministry circles and blogs over the past few weeks and months.  That all culminated with an amazing conference this past week.  Now the question is:  What are you going to do with it?  Was it just another 3 days?  Or was it a life-changing, ministry-altering experience that will not allow you to view ministry the same ever again. 

Here's what we are doing:
1.  We're going to bring our team back together that made the trip to Atlanta.  We all went to a lot of different breakouts.  There was a LOAD of information and ideas that each of us took in.
2.  We're going to channel that excitement through an ORANGE party.  I got this idea from Kenny Conley. 
3.  We're going to prioritize the changes and improvements that we see that need to be/can be made.
4.  We're going to follow through.  We are already making some of the "easy" changes.  Things within our current programs and events that can easily be "upgraded".  We're also going to ease some of the changes in.  Our plan is to make every Sunday and Wednesday the best hours in a kids' life.  We want to treat each time our children and students come together like it's the last time.

So...that's the question....will we all follow-up and follow through?

Conclusion to mentoring for the school year

Today was our last day of mentoring for the school year at Agricola Elementary.  It has been a great first year.  We have developed friendships with a lot of the 6th graders.  Our impact is hard to measure.  We have had some start attending Upstreet on Sundays.  We have even had a few come to KidStuf.  But really, that wasn't our purpose.  Our purpose was to develop relationships, give direction and guidance through teaching values.  Did we succeed?  I believe we did.  We empowered volunteers to spend an hour a week with 4-5 6th graders each.  We got into each others' lives, what's happening at school and home. 

We are on the front lines with mentoring.  It is raw.  It is seeing life lived out loud by these students.  And they don't reserve anything.  They tell you how things are and aren't.  I am so thankful for the team that has volunteered and invested in this partnership with our local school.  This is ministry up close and personal.  And I am thankful for that opportunity!!

Back from the Orange Conference

I cannot tell you how AWESOME and ORANGE the Orange Conference was.  It was 2 1/2 amazing days of worship, strategy, forums, networking, volunteers, and friends talking, living, and learning ministry.  Our team is SO PUMPED about doing some great things, making some much-needed changes, and doing ministry like each time we come to church may be our last. 

I won't be able to sum up everything here.  So I think I'll do a few posts on the Orange Conference over the next few weeks.  I can say this.  There were 10 of us from Agricola Baptist that attended.  Each person works with our preschool, children, or student ministries in some form or fashion.  Everyone that went with us "gets it", along with others that are part of our ministries.

We have transformed so many things over the past 6 years that our preschool, children, and student ministries look nothing like they did 6 years ago.  It is amazing to see the transformation that has taken place.  God has given me so many insights and a vision to see our ministries transformed.  I am thankful for that.  I know this, though.  We are not done.  We are not finished transforming.  We never will be.  There will always be things we can improve on.  There will be events to start, some to carry on, and some to kill completely.  It won't be easy.  We were never promised that. 

One thing is for sure, though.  We cannot sit on the side and not change what needs to be transformed.  If we do, we are not fulfilling the role that God has given us as leaders of these ministries.  We cannot remain with the status quo.  We must reach more and more people with the Gospel.  Change must happen.  Not if, but when.  And I believe that the answer is sooner rather than later. 

Leaving for the ATL

This morning, we're heading out to Hotlanta!!  The Orange Conference begins tonight for us!!  I am going with some great friends and people that I serve alongside every week at Agricola Baptist.  I am pumped!!  So...pray for us as we travel.  And pray that God will energize us, give us a great time, and be inspired by His Word and for reaching His people!!

Orange Conference 2009

This is one 3 day conference that I absolutely look forward to every year!!  The Orange Conference , hosted by the reThink group, does an outstanding job of laying out a strategy for ministries to Think Orange.  What does that mean?  It is about doing ministry with the church and family working together and alongside each other.  Orange is more than just children's ministry.  It's preschool, children, and youth ministries working together, not against each other. 

I am so excited about this!!  We are taking quite a few volunteers this year as well.  I am looking forward to hearing some great speakers this year as well.....Reggie Joiner, Donald Miller, Perry Noble, Francis Chan, and others. 

Also, I have the privilege of speaking at a breakout this year.  It's called "How Orange Are Your Schools?"  I'll have a short interview on how we started our mentoring program at our local elementary school, how we use the Core Essentials curriculum in that environment, and tell a little about our relationship with the school.  I am PUMPED about this.  I get the opportunity to share "our story" about how God is working through us in our community.  Pray for us as we travel on Wednesday!!  I'll be blogging about this conference over the next few days. 

Micah lost his first tooth

Our son, Micah, lost his first tooth today.  It came out after school today.  He was brave about the whole thing.  He is pretty excited about it.  I think he's "banking" on the tooth fairy bringing him some money. 

It was another day of "1sts" too.  Tonight we had our annual RA races at ABC on the ballfield.  There was a great turnout.  Micah got 1st Place in the 1st & 2nd grade division.  I was so proud of him, b/c he always does his car.  It had the number 32 on it and the initials J.V.  This, of course, is for Jarvis Varnado, who plays basketball for Miss. State.  The car was gold and orange.

My car, on the other hand, didn't fare as well.  I ran in the "adult" division.  My car was hollowed out.  That design didn't seem to make it any faster.  Oh well.  I definitely tried a different approach.  Never hurts to try!!