Last week was a crazy week!  Good, lots of ministry, but exhausting!  Doug Fields frequently speaks of the importance of ministers balancing their ministry lives and family lives; that in general there should be a healthy balance between the two because the challenge is that both can legitimately demand more time and attention than we humanly have.  But, from time to time, one can win the demand for time … but the end result had better be a win for the other as soon as possible, or all sorts of chaos can ensue!

Well, last week the church won.  A lot.  It started with Sunday; I was at church for about twelve hours between church, Student Quest, Family Fusion, and two different mission team meetings.  I had a full office week because of meetings, prep for events, etc., and on top of that I had a volunteer team meeting on Monday night, Deacon meeting on Tuesday night, small groups on Wednesday night, The Three on Friday night, an all day small groups conference on Saturday.  This was followed by another full Sunday; church, Student Quest, Joshua Team meeting and a special dinner.

This week continues to be somewhat intense because of our high school all nighter coming up Friday night, on top of all the regular stuff that happens.  It’s all incredibly fun – I’m a youth pastor because I’m wired for this stuff.  It’s how God has gifted me, what He’s given me a heart for, and it’s very easy for me to let the church win when it comes to the struggle for time.  But I know that, which is why I usually try to have my radar up for it.  Practically, what this means is that when Endless Night wraps up, my family will win the struggle for time for a while before I return to a more balanced existence between the two!