One day Julia Ward Howe slumped into her chair, the weight of the world on her shoulders, and she said, "I'm tired, tired way down into the future!" The road to the Promised Land was much longer than the people realized it would be. Psalms 77 and 78 re-cap the story. Forty tired years of wandering! Forty tiring years. You, too, get tired - of your job, of your heartaches, of your disappointments, of your sin.

The Lord provided rest for His tired people (Exodus 15:27). To a tired Moses the Lord said, "My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (Ex. 33:14). To every tired New Testament believer the Lord gives this special invitation and promise, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

Look at the picture of Lily again. Please lay your head on Jesus. Right now say with Horatius Bonar:

I lay my wants on Jesus; All fulness dwells in Him;
He heals all my diseases; My soul He does redeem.
I lay my griefs on Jesus, My burdens, and my cares;
He from them all releases; He all my sorrows shares.

P.S. On April 26th Lily had knee caps on both back legs dislocate (floating patella). The surgeon ground a deeper groove in each knee bone and then inserted a steel pin to keep each knee cap in position. Recovery time is six to eight weeks. And yes, after devotions each evening, we lift Lily up to the Lord.

Church life is changing as the culture does. In the past, carry-in dinners (pot lucks) were common. Today, younger families would rather pay for food. Several decades ago young parents would take a turn in the nursery. Today they want to leave their children there, but want to worship rather than stay there themselves. Why?

For good or bad, with both spouses working, the stresses of modern life and the hectic pace, people are just worn out. Their value for time together in worship, their lack of time for fixing yet another meal has changed dramatically. They would rather pay a fee. It is the way their modern lives work.

This is why many churches no longer serve homemade coffee, but run a Starbucks type coffee shop with many choices. The world has changed!

Focus on these issues:

1. Check the calendar: it is not 1972 anymore.

2. Recognize that lifestyles shift in time. If you want to be relevant, look around and notice the realities.

3. Recognize it is not necessarily bad that younger, busy adults don't want to cook or serve in the nursery. It is just different.

4. Ask them how they want to serve the Lord in ways that to them are meaningful.

5. Cater the church dinner and hire a professional nurse to watch the nursery. It is a different world, but Christ wants to reach new generations.

Dr. Kent Hunter is nationally known as the Church Doctor. You can contact him at (800) 626-8515, or visit his Web site at www.churchdoctor.org.

Holy words long preserved for our walk in this world,
They resound with God's own heart, Oh, let the ancient words impart.

Holy words of our faith Handed down to this age.
Came to us through sacrifice, Oh, heed the faithful words of Christ.

We have come with open hearts, Oh, let the ancient words impart.

What kind of little girl was your mom?

1. My mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

Why did your mom marry your dad?

1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?

1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.

Like every emotion, anger is an internal response to external stimuli. The external stimuli are the events of life: late night noise from the neighbor's party, poor attendance or offerings at church, etc. But such things are simply events. And events in themselves cannot "make" us experience any emotion, including anger.

We feel anger when we provide our own interpretation to the event. The parable of the prodigal son is a good example of this. When the prodigal returned home (event), the father was overjoyed (emotion) because his son who had been dead was alive again (interpretation), while the older brother became angry (emotion) because he had been slaving for his father for years without his father giving him even a goat to celebrate with his friends (interpretation). Same event, different interpretations, different emotions.

Anger management specialists discuss a number of different strategies for coping with anger. One of the most effective is to diagnose the interpretation we're giving to the event: Is my interpretation accurate, or is there another way of thinking about it? In the case of the prodigal's older brother, the answer is clearly yes!

Ministry provides many opportunities for misunderstanding events. People don't come to church, don't volunteer for programs, don't contribute. However, these are simply events. We feel anger when we supply a negative interpretation to the event. One very effective way of diffusing our anger is to follow James' counsel: "Everyone should be quick to listen (to the other person's explanation for their actions), slow to speak (about our own interpretations)... (This will result in being) slow to become angry."

Dr. Craig Loving is a pastor as well as a therapist in private practice in the Denver area. You can reach him at 303-349-7398 or by visiting his website at www.drcraigloving.com

• Second-time visitors to your church
• Close friends and relatives of new converts
• People going through a divorce
• Those who feel their need for a recovery program (any type: alcohol, drugs, sexual, etc.)
• First-time parents
• Terminal illness of self or family member
• Couples with major marriage problems
• Parents with problem children
• Recently unemployed/major financial problem
• New residents in the community

Growing churches usually have people ministering to people in these various groups. What can your church do in these various areas of need? Perhaps your church should develop specific programs to reach out to these receptive people. Every Christian congregation needs to continually develop and refine their evangelism strategy.

1. Musicians need to practice "practice." Any group needs time to settle into each other. Before getting into the gritty details of each phase of music, focus on the song as a whole. After a few practicies, narrow to specific improvements.

2. Assign Roles. Each musician needs a role to play, so talk together and assign jobs. A few examples:

   - Bible Study Leader (It's important that the group is spiritually cohesive as well as musically. It works well to gather before practice on Sunday mornings.
   - Leader and Planner
   - Equipment Set-up
   - Sound Board Technician (If there is no one available outside the band, designate someone in the band who does not play the primary rhythms or sing the melody
   - Music Copier
   - Power Point Creator (The power point expert will need to talk to the leader about song orders and input song lyics, photographs or pictures for backgrounds).

3. Establish a practice agenda (before practice!)

   - Make a list of the songs you would like to practice.
   - Look through each song in detail and decide the order of the parts of the songs (verses, choruses, repeats, etc.). Before you rehearse a song, give everyone a pencil to mark the order. It will prevent time-wasting miscommunication!
   - Mentally play each song in your head and make notations for instrumental differentiations and dynamics. Variety is key! For example, you may want only drums or piano on the first verse. Disclaimer: Your ideas may sound better on paper than on the instruments, so be prepared for changes.

4. Ask for other musician's input. I know this comes as a surprise, but music leaders don't have all the brilliant ideas! Other people often hear things we don't. Encourge suggestions. Also remember to make sure musicians can hear themselves, that their sound is satisfactory, and that they understand the lyrics and tonality of the piece.

5. LAUGH! Have fun! Enjoy the time together. You're making music for Him and really, what better honor is there?

Amy Kopecky is a recent graduate of Concordia University, Seward, NE, with extensive training and experience in music. You may contact Amy with questions at: amy.kopecky@cune.org.

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