ministry

One is Enough: A Personal Reminder

Posted on November 30, 2012 by Sharita

You never know… your ONE act of love might be more than ENOUGH to change someone’s life.

Ministry is HARD. Heck, who I am I kidding– LIFE is hard!! And exhausting. And confusing. Yet depending on how we live our lives– it can be incredibly rewarding.

As I was driving to work yesterday, my heart was heavy… My Facebook ministry page was ticking me off, because FB decided to start filtering who sees what posts. Which means sometimes only 10% of followers will see these posts unless I literally PAY to promote it.

But I digress. SIGH.

I was thinking… “Lord, does this really matter? What am I working for? Is it worth it?”

Suddenly, God reminded me of a post I wrote last May with a flash of this statement…

“SHARITA… ONE. IS. ENOUGH.”

So today, I wanted to remind myself (and you, if you happen to be in a similar place!) that when it comes to following Christ and loving others… ONE IS ENOUGH. Here is our lil reminder… Enjoy!

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Husbands can be pretty useful creatures. They are great jar-openers, heavy lifters, huggers, patience-builders, grillers, laugh-inducers, Jesus-leaders, eye-roll-causers… You can probably add a few of your own to this list.

Mine, in particular, is a great perspective-keeper.

My beloved helps me to keep things in perspective. He is a great big-picture thinker. (A skill that I sometimes lack.) My type-A firstborn personality lends to me wanting to do BIG things… but He always keeps me grounded and encourages me to keep a clear focus.

Let me give you an example. Several weeks ago when we were first contacted by the Fort Benning Bayonet to do a story on our Factor of 7 Latte Love,  I was super-duper excited. Wow!! The Fort Benning Bayonet wants to do a story on the 7 Days Time ministry?!!? SUH-WEET!

I obviously told them YES. But before you could say “Make it a Grande,” either my fleshy-firstborn self or The Enemy (or a combo of both) snuck into my head. I blurted out my thought to Brandon. “I don’t want to get too excited. I mean, will it REALLY make a difference?”

That sweet man of mine raised an eyebrow, lovingly put his hand on my arm and said, “Sharita… if only one person reads that article and is moved by it… Then one is enough.”

Touché, husband. Touché.  Talk about keeping perspective.

ONE IS ENOUGH. That is powerful. So we went ahead with the story, pressing forward for Jesus. And in typical God-fashion, the Lord went above and beyond.

I know for a fact that AT LEAST one person was impacted by that article. I won’t get into details, but we received an incredible heart-wrenching prayer-request email from a soldier due to that article. I did some research and as far as I can tell, The Bayonet prints somewhere (ish?) between 22,000 to 26,000 copies on a weekly basis. Granted not all of them are read… but does it really matter?  ONE IS ENOUGH.

7 Days Time Ministry has been up and running for 88 days. That is about 7,603,200 seconds. With each article, prayer, blog post and comment… God is at work. If a single person has been positively impacted by this ministry, then it has been a success. One is enough.

But great news… We worship a God of abundance– and He is blessing this ministry abundantly. PRAISE JESUS!  The Latte Love Factor of 7 post inspired a ministry follower to do the same thing in her home town in Minnesota… She took $107 and bought/coffee lunch for the patrons who came through the line, even when here family finances weren’t exceptionally abundant  at the time. Mandy’s mission of Helping Hands & Burgers for Babies reached her goal of over $2500 to purchase a table for the preemie benefit in Fort Worth. That soldier who emailed us to share his story and now my husband and I continue to pray for him.

One is enough, folks. You CAN make a difference right where you are. Starting NOW. Pray for God to reveal to you how He has called you to share His love. We don’t have to change the world by spending a bajillion dollars or quitting our jobs to enter ministry full time. We just need to be obedient– and Jesus will do the changing.

I don’t know where this ministry is headed tomorrow, next week or 5 years from now. But if this ministry has impacted just a single person, then I shall leave you with the words of my beloved husband: ”One is Enough.” YOU can do the same!!

Praising The ONE who IS Enough,
SGK

“My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.” –1 John 3:18 (GNT)

PS: How is Christ working in your life? Is He calling you to share His love? We would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below.

PSS: Have you been moved by this ministry? If so, subscribe via email at the top of the right sidebar to receive daily posts to your inbox. To learn more about how to make a difference in small (or big) ways in the name of Jesus, check out the updated Factor of 7 tab at the top of this page. Oh, and don’t be shy about commenting and/or sharing this ministry with your friends via Facebook, Twitter etc. Remember… ONE IS ENOUGH! May God bless you abundantly :-)

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Addendum for today… Turns out the article in the Bayonet about this ministry DID make a difference… We were able to minister to several folks in ways that we couldn’t have possibly imagined or sought out in our own strength. Wow. Thanks, Jesus. YOU ROCK.

Categories: blessings, challenge, change, Christ, Factor of 7, giving, humility, husband, Lesson, little things, ministry, obedience, servant evangelism, serving | Tags: , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

One is Enough

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Sharita

You never know… your ONE act of love might be more than ENOUGH to change someone’s life.

Husbands can be pretty useful creatures. They are great jar-openers, heavy lifters, huggers, patience-builders, grillers, laugh-inducers, Jesus-leaders, eye-roll-causers… You can probably add a few of your own to this list.

Mine, in particular, is a great perspective-keeper.

My beloved helps me to keep things in perspective. He is a great big-picture thinker. (A skill that I sometimes lack.) My type-A firstborn personality lends to me wanting to do BIG things… but He always keeps me grounded and encourages me to keep a clear focus.

Let me give you an example. Several weeks ago when we were first contacted by the Fort Benning Bayonet to do a story on our Factor of 7 Latte Love,  I was super-duper excited. Wow!! The Fort Benning Bayonet wants to do a story on the 7 Days Time ministry?!!? SUH-WEET!

I obviously told them YES. But before you could say “Make it a Grande,” either my fleshy-firstborn self or The Enemy (or a combo of both) snuck into my head. I blurted out my thought to Brandon. “I don’t want to get too excited. I mean, will it REALLY make a difference?”

That sweet man of mine raised an eyebrow, lovingly put his hand on my arm and said, “Sharita… if only one person reads that article and is moved by it… Then one is enough.”

Touché, husband. Touché.  Talk about keeping perspective.

ONE IS ENOUGH. That is powerful. So we went ahead with the story, pressing forward for Jesus. And in typical God-fashion, the Lord went above and beyond.

I know for a fact that AT LEAST one person was impacted by that article. I won’t get into details, but we received an incredible heart-wrenching prayer-request email from a soldier due to that article. I did some research and as far as I can tell, The Bayonet prints somewhere (ish?) between 22,000 to 26,000 copies on a weekly basis. Granted not all of them are read… but does it really matter?  ONE IS ENOUGH.

7 Days Time Ministry has been up and running for 88 days. That is about 7,603,200 seconds. With each article, prayer, blog post and comment… God is at work. If a single person has been positively impacted by this ministry, then it has been an success. One is enough.

But great news… We worship a God of abundance– and He is blessing this ministry abundantly. PRAISE JESUS!  The Latte Love Factor of 7 post inspired a ministry follower to do the same thing in her home town in Minnesota… She took $107 and bought/coffee lunch for the patrons who came through the line, even when here family finances weren’t exceptionally abundant  at the time. Mandy’s mission of Helping Hands & Burgers for Babies reached her goal of over $2500 to purchase a table for the preemie benefit in Fort Worth. That soldier who emailed us to share his story and now my husband and I continue to pray for him.

One is enough, folks. You CAN make a difference right where you are. Starting NOW. Pray for God to reveal to you how He has called you to share His love. We don’t have to change the world by spending a bajillion dollars or quitting our jobs to enter ministry full time. We just need to be obedient– and Jesus will do the changing.

I don’t know where this ministry is headed tomorrow, next week or 5 years from now. But if this ministry has impacted just a single person, then I shall leave you with the words of my beloved husband: ”One is Enough.” YOU can do the same!!

Praising The ONE who IS Enough,
SGK

“My children, our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.” –1 John 3:18 (GNT)

PS: How is Christ working in your life? Is He calling you to share His love? We would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment here!

PSS: Have you been moved by this ministry? If so, subscribe via email at the top of the right sidebar to receive daily posts to your inbox. To learn more about how to make a difference in small (or big) ways in the name of Jesus, check out the updated Factor of 7 Page. Oh, and don’t be shy about commenting and/or sharing this ministry with your friends via Facebook, Twitter etc. Remember… ONE IS ENOUGH! May God bless you abundantly :-)

Categories: blessings, challenge, change, Christ, Factor of 7, faith, humility, husband, Lesson, little things, ministry, obedience, servant evangelism, serving | Tags: , , , , , , | 22 Comments

Jesus Caffeine

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Sharita

What gets you up out of the bed in the morning?

I am sure many of my more cynical or sarcastic readers would say “My stinkin’ alarm clock” or “That job I committed to working at” or “My extremely motivated 3-year-old child.” Perhaps I should rephrase that…

So… What gets you excited and happily out of bed in the morning?

What are the things that you could stay up late, get up early and spend hours talking about?

If you had all the time and money in the world with no limitations, what would you do?

This, my friends, is what we in the leadership teaching realm refer to as your PASSION.

Passions can come in all shapes and sizes… For me, my passion comes in the form of Jesus. He is like my caffeine. He gets me up in the morning. I often lie awake at night thinking about His wonders. I am ever thankful and crazy in love with Him.

God has done some AMAZING things in my life the last few months. Since my call to ministry last July, the blessings and lessons have simply been overwhelming.

One blessing in particular is this new personal ministry, 7 Days Time. I launched it 11 days ago… and it has exploded in more ways than I can imagine. Already. Wow, right? When I was going through the steps of creating it for God, I was up early (aka like 4am) and awake late. It was all I could think about. I prayed non-stop. This, ladies and gentlemen, is MY Jesus caffeine.

So in honor of the incredible success of 7 Days Time, we are going to celebrate. With caffeine. And Jesus. (How appropriate.)

WE ARE DOING A GIVEAWAY!!! Ready? Here we go…

The prize pack will include: A Starbucks gift card, a sweet journal (that I selfishly am excited to go pick out for our lucky winner) and the book “Guerilla Lovers” by Vince Antonucci. (It is one of my latest and most favoritest reads.)

Starbucks

The contest will close next Tuesday night (That would be February 21 at 11:59pm EST.)

“Well Sharita,” you might be saying. “This all sounds AMAZING. But how do I enter?”

So glad you asked, dear reader.  You can enter in several ways… and for every way you share/participate, your name gets put in the drawing… Again!

1. Comment on this blog sharing your passion… The sky is the limit. Don’t be shy.

2. Comment on this blog letting me know you have liked the 7 Days Time Facebook page. See the “like box” widget on the sidebar. (If you have already liked it, that’s great… just let me know and I will get your name entered again!)

3. Share this post on your Facebook wall letting your friends know and/or inviting them to like the Facebook page. (That would be the third time your name gets entered)

4. Either retweet one of my 7 Days Time tweets  OR if you are a non-twitter-er, send an email to your friends/family sharing the word about this ministry. Then comment on the blog to let me know you did that!

YOU COULD BE ENTERED UP TO 4 different times. Wow. Pretty good odds to score some caffeine, eh?

So excited to see this ministry continue to blossom… not for me, but for God. We are sharing His message. We are sharing His Passion. A Passion that bled and died for us to give us hope and future.

Let’s get passionate about this, readers. Grab your pen, your computer and your coffee cup… Time to the world know about our awesome Jesus Caffeine!!

Jacked up on Jesus,
SGK

“Celebrate God. Sing together—everyone! All you honest hearts, raise the roof!” –Psalm 32:11

Categories: accomplishment, celebrate, Christ, giveaway, Jesus, ministry | Tags: , , , , | 35 Comments

A Heart of Ministry

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Sharita

NEWSFLASH: Being a “minister” can be draining.

Notice that I put the word minister in quotation marks. Those aren’t sarcasm quotes… but what I like to call flexibility quotation marks. Before you completely check out, you should know that YOU are a minister too.

“Whoa, woman. Back the God truck up. I don’t work in a church. I didn’t go to seminary.” That might be true, but I assure you that you have ministered to people– maybe even today.

Yes, the word “minister” can be used as a noun to represent someone who specifically fulfills a role or office within a church. HOWEVER… it is also a verb…

Minister (verb): to give service, care, or aid; attend, as to wants or necessities: to contribute, as to comfort or happiness. 


By defining it in this way, we can <hopefully> say that the majority of us are ministers. While I minister (verb) to people daily, I am also a minister (noun) within a church. (Specifically in the words of Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights, I am a “newborn, infant, baby Jesus” minister.) One thing that God has already shown my in my time of being a minister (noun) is that ALL of us can minister (verb) to ministers (noun.)

Confused yet? Ok good, my work here is done. Just kidding. Let’s look at a “ministering a minister” experience of my own. A couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to minister (verb) to another minister (noun) while shopping at the PX here on post. Her name was Gale and she was selling copies of her latest devotional. I stopped to chat with her for a few minutes. Our awesome and encouraging conversation ended with a hug, and a list of things to pray about for her. See? Ministering to the ministers!

Here’s the bottom line: Our ability to minister isn’t limited to status, title or experience. We all can have a heart of Jesus, which, if you look closely, was a heart of ministry aka giving service/comfort– for ALL types of people. He ministered to people “above” him (think: Nicodemus, rulers etc) and “below” him (tax collectors, prostitutes etc)

My “boss,” Kelli Wommack is a REMARKABLE minister (both noun and verb.) I am blessed to learn from her– but I have already learned that ministers sometimes need to be ministered to.  We all are on the same mission to glorify Christ, lift up our brothers and sisters in love. After reading her blog today, The Purpose of Difficulty, I kind of got the vibe that it was shaping up to be a difficult day (but yet still used it as an opportunity to minister to others!) We all have rough days.  It’s just part of life. And God can use those difficulties for us to minister to one another.

So I sent her an email referencing a devotional from yesterday’s staff meeting as a challenge to write 10 things we are thankful for each day. My list looked like this:

1. Running 3.5 miles w/6 hill sprints in it… and not throwing up

2. Pecan carmel candle burning in the kitchen

3. Finding the bottom of my sink after doing dishes

4. Gorgeous weather and sunshine!

5. Puppy dog cuddles and kisses

6. An amazing role model and boss in Kelli Williams Wommack!

7. A cabin named “San Souci” waiting in the mountains for my husband and I this wknd

8. Future opportunity to teach SHAPE-y things to youth

9. The Amazing Grace wind chime in our front yard

10. Chocolate-mint flavored water that I discovered yesterday

It was as simple as that! A reminder of God’s love in the form of simple little list. I also pray for Kelli on a daily basis. She is a great friend and mentor. Kelli is incredibly talented. She has a BEAUTIFUL heart for Christ. And I personally feel beyond blessed that God allows me to occasionally minister to her heart with a pep talk, encouraging word, email or Starbucks coffee. Don’t let The Enemy tell you that you aren’t “good enough” or “experienced enough” or “knowledgeable enough” to minister to someone’s heart. We are all human… and who couldn’t use a little extra love every now and then?

Jesus was always on the look out for folks to minister to. Paul also asked continually for people to pray for his mission within the church. Shouldn’t we follow their lead, ask for prayers and ministers to the hearts of our own ministers? Literally, let’s thank God for the ministers in our own lives!

“I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.” Philemon 1:4-7

Have you ministered anyone today? Do you know of a church leader that might need a mini-pep talk? Pray for them. Be their cheerleader. Being a minister (noun) can really take a lot of out of a person sometimes. (Any job working with people can be exhausting!) Don’t forget about your own ministers inside AND outside of the church… We are ALL in this TOGETHER. As believers, we can all have a heart of ministry!

A Noun/Verb kinda gal,
SGK

“I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” Romans 15:14

Categories: cheerleader, Kelli, ministry, prayer | 1 Comment

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