Say What? Yes.

When I said yes to my new position with InterVarsity... it meant saying yes to a few things.


Yes to:
moving to Fresno
frontage roads
increasing my daily smog intake
getting to know 7 new staff, 3 new InterVarsity fellowships and 2 new universities
hummingbirds, everywhere!
Corn Maze (a real one!!!!)
being called "my supervisor" by 7 new staff (okay, really only one does it... but still weird)
learning what being 'a supervisor' really means
finding a new church
finding new friends
feeling a little lonely when those two things don't come easy
AND
as of March. I said yes to Directing our Fall Conference.


This is a yearly conference for about 200 students and staff from 5 different cities!


While I inherited a zip drive full of files and have a great coach, I will say this portion of my leadership role has taken a lot of my time, about 6 months of focused effort, and stretched my 'planning/organization/decision-making muscles'.


Feel the burn.


Between raising up a planning team of staff across our division... leading these planning meetings... googling "how to lead an effective meeting"... crafting the conference...inviting a conference speaker (two actually, Molly and Abner Ramos)... figuring out how NOT to go over budget...and doing all of the admin that goes into "directing" a conference.... I am excited and anxious that tomorrow is the LAST full day to prepare before we head out to Malibu, CA for Fall Conference.


While I am looking forward to some rest and closure... I must remember two things this weekend: God will do great and powerful things because He is good... not because I spent 3 hours getting the student schedule formatted perfectly with the perfect wording and perfect fonts (though thoughtful) or another 2 hours brainstorming creative ways to introduce the staff and speakers... or whatever minuet details I can obsess over.


That AND to remember to look for that moment... in between early morning staff meetings, last minute changes to the schedule, averting student crisis (this is student ministry, after all)... I must remember pause and take in that moment, as students respond to God in their lives, to take that moment in and remember why I do what I do.


Transformation.


And then I'm taking Monday off.