No Room for Error

...that's how I would describe my schedule. I am a stay-at-home-mom with a three-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son. I also do the books for my husband's construction company. My son is in preschool and plays soccer. My daughter and I attend FunShop once a week. We all go to zoo school twice each month and we attend one playgroup every other week and just joined another weekly one. Did I mention small group? And in spite of my many other obligations, my people like to eat on a regular basis, live in a clean (OK sort of clean) home, and wear clean underwear every day. My life is super busy and I am constantly trying to get something done. I'm sure many of you can relate.

By the end of the week, going to church turns into something on my To Do List. Frankly, it becomes a seemingly unnecessary thing on that list. I mean after all, I read my Bible on my iPhone in the dark in my bed before I start my day. I pray throughout the day by myself and with the kids. We fellowship with other Christians on a regular basis and God provides countless creative ministry opportunities for me each week. What is the big deal if I miss going to church?

I'm not sure that there it is a big deal if we miss church (hang on, keep reading). What IS a big deal is that my busyness has become my excuse for not wanting to go. And if you think about it, that's really not a good enough excuse. 

Going to church is not just about what I get out of it. It's about being a part of corporate worship. It's about raising my children in a church family and allowing other Christians to lovingly pour into their lives. It's about being available for God to use me in the lives of other people. 

For the last three weeks, I have dreaded going on Sunday mornings because I need a day off. And each Sunday, God has blessed me in an unexpected way. This Sunday, we pulled into the parking lot as a dear friend was parking her car. Her husband was out of town, but she brought the kids to church anyway. She and her kids met us with huge smiles because they were so excited to be at church with their friends. You see, they attend semi-regularly so her kids are still feeling the place out. My sweet friend kept insisting that our being there was such a "God-thing." Little did she know that it took every ounce of energy my husband and I could muster to get there. It really was a God-thing!

At some point yesterday afternoon, I moved "going to church" off of my mental To Do List and onto my Not Negotiable List. And I reluctantly said I would have to miss a playgroup this week in order to allow for a little room for error. Because Friends, I'm done being too tired to go to church.

What do you need to move to your Non Negotiable List? Are you allowing room for error in your busy week? And are you allowing yourself to be available so God can use you to love on someone else?

**To be clear: I love my church and personally get a lot out of the messages and worship. My wanting to skip strictly comes from being exhausted.

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Something Uncomfortable: Day 20

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My husband has been working so much lately. We own a construction company and love it. BUT as small business owners, we know that when you have work... you work. Even if you are exhausted and haven't seen much of your family for a while. The pros outweigh the cons, but my poor husband looks like he needs a break.

After the party last night, we came home, put the kids to bed and went back to work. We stopped around 11:30. When I started talking about going to church this morning, Adam told me he just couldn't do it. I said that was totally fine, but internally felt guilty about not going. I tossed around the idea of going by myself, but just didn't feel like I was supposed to. Weird, right? Aren't we supposed to go to church?

I let Adam and the kids sleep in this morning. And while he spent some much needed time outside with the kiddos, I ran our Sunday errands... that we typically do after church.

When I got to Sam's Club, one of our favorite employees stopped me and asked when church services are going to be held on Good Friday and Easter. She has come to our church a couple of times before. We ended up talking about all sorts of God things for about 30 minutes. It was AMAZING! She is such a tenderhearted person. It was an honor to answer some questions for her and to give her some encouragement when she needed it. It was definitely a moment in time where we got to bless one another in different ways.

As I walked away, I was reminded of something very important: WE are the church. The building we worship God in is just a building. So today, when circumstances changed I didn't make it to the building for church, I got to bring the church to someone who couldn't be at the building either. Instead of being uncomfortable about my day not fitting into the "church" cookie cutter, I listened to the Holy Spirit and let Him guide me to where He needed the church to be. 

Don't misunderstand, I'm not saying we shouldn't go to church. We DO need to go for a multitude of reasons and going to church should be a priority. But if life happens and you don't make it on a particular weekend, ask God how YOU can be the church for someone around you. God is so amazing... isn't He?