Prioritizing after summer...
I haven't been in my office in weeks. Now I'm sitting down to piles EVERYWHERE, an inbox full of emails that I thought could wait, a fall schedule that needs to be promoted, and I'm feeling the summer ministry hangover. After spending several days scrambling to organize and catch up on the "urgent and super important" I realize I have drifted toward unhealth; time to re-take control of my priorities!
Eat Well
Camp food is pretty rough on the system. It also leads toward a lack of nutrition. I have to admit, fast food seems like an upgrade after some of the summer menu options! I have found that eating poorly leads to feeling horrible. Eating well is a discipline that I need to achieve again.
Drink Water
Fountain drinks and processed juices have been fun for the summer, but now's the time to flush the system with water. Besides... WHAT IS IN that "mystery juice" at camp? I also have to admit, the last few weeks of camp I have been supplementing with energy drinks... that's a red flag for me! Of course - coffee is perfectly acceptable!!
Working Out
Hitting the office makes me go into self-preservation mode. I need to take some time and intentionally get the blood moving and stop convincing myself that the activity over the past few months was enough! Take a walk, ride a bike, shoot some hoops; this year my kids are training for soccer and it looks like I may need to take a run to be able to keep up with them.
Getting Out
When I get busy, it takes intentionality to get out of my office to see the other youth leaders in my community. The end of the summer is a great time to connect with other leaders -- maybe as families or in a non-work type of setting. Our network will meet for a gathering on a boat!
Purposeful Prayer
I love getting the response cards from camp and praying through the decisions. I ask God to protect students and allow them to hear the Holy Spirit. I pray over the stack of papers on my desk that remind me of summer events, listening for direction in how to respond to emails that I obviously dropped the ball on while I was away.
In God's Word
I'm taking some time to make the Scriptures that I am teaching this fall personal to me first. The curriculum does not allow a personal dive in if I am studying the passages only in the week I present. I also want to memorize a section before I teach it so that it's easier to communicate.
So, this is my list of priorities as I re-enter my normal world. These are the things that I need to intentionally make into habits after being away from my normal routine. After several years of ministry, I have come to realize that these small routines offer me some great results. What are your current priorities?
Wayne Morgan has been a camp speaker for the last ten years and is the Northeast Regional Coordinator for NNYM. Blog originally posted at www.nnym.org/blog