sleep
Posted on July 8, 2008, by steve ingold, under parents, teens.
hey everyone it’s steve ingold and alex has been asking me to blog for about 10 years now, well maybe not that long, but i am finally doin it. as summer hits it’s midway point i am now starting to realize how crazy my life is and how many different things i have going right now. last night i didn’t go to sleep til about 3:30am, not by choice, but because of a combination of things. one being that my wife and my air conditioning isn’t quite working the way it should be, two my wife spent the night down in san diego at her folks house so she wouldn’t have to drive up to temecula, then back down to san diego for work today. It was her mom’s b-day yesterday so we were kinda haning out for dinner and stuff down there. (sorry to get so sentimental there, i missed my wifey) finally, the third reason why i couldn’t fall asleep last night is because my mind was going about a million miles a minute. with hume lake approaching this week and the road trip for the high schoolers following the week after, i can’t stop thinking about all that needs to happen and all of the questions that need to be answered. then i start thinking about the rest of my summer schedule, our mid weeks, our saturday night hang out night, teaching on sunday morning, and i think i actually start to get a little stressed out. BUT HONESTLY, how rad is my job? i get to hang out with the coolest students and see their lives be impacted in such a positive way, however i have realized that i need to remember something…
my relationship with God. as we sat in our staff meeting today we went over a few dangers facing the church, and one of them was that our character can suffer because we begin to love the work we do for God and stop or cut back on investing time with our relationship the God that we love. This was a definite wake up call for me because I have begun to let my schedule dictate my life and i try to squeeze God in. For all the times that i have taught on hurry, and busyness, i can’t get it straight in my own life. Sometimes I wonder why God let’s me do this job when i choose to ignore him at times. What if God just squeezed me in? What if I wasn’t His primary focus? Problem is I am, and that needs to be reciprocated. Pastor’s that fit God into their schedule instead of fitting their lives into God’s schedule, are a train wreck waiting to happen. So I think I’m realizing that I don’t want that, less is more when it comes to my schedule, not when it comes to my relationship with God.
So i blogged and it wasn’t half bad, i think i’ll be back to this thing in three weeks when I’m back from my road trips and sumer camps. please pray for me, the ministry, and our junior high and high schoolers. thanks love you.
10 Replies to "sleep"
betterthanblank » Blog Archive » Is God on Your Schedule? on July 8, 2008
[...] Student Ministries Pastor wrote a great post on our church blog. I loved this quote: Pastor’s that fit God into their schedule instead of [...]
Andrew Christensen on July 8, 2008
Great post Steve! You are totally right. I have been finding the same thing especially lately. Thanks for the reminder!
I will also pray for your spelling and grammar. 
Chris Stout on July 8, 2008
Steve, great first post!
I often find myself lost in the bustle of day to day life. Being a commuter, a military person, a father, and a husband. The question for me is, do I fit into all those schedules and am I reciprocating?
It’s 10 pm and I have to be up at 4:15…so I’m going to sleep!
James McLean on July 9, 2008
steve! you are so right, its easy to make our work for God our relationship with God. this is the biggest danger of being “in the ministry”. i traveled with ministry teams for 7 years and i saw myself and many others replace their intimacy with Jesus with performances for the saints. if we want to know God and what He is doing and has for us then we’ve got to spend time with him! thanks for the reminder.
heather on July 9, 2008
Love the blog!! I am reading “Having a Mary Spirit” right now that touches on this subject. The author says…”Jesus simply didn’t want Martha to be so caught up in kitchen service FOR him that she missed out on the joy of living-room intimacy WITH him”…That touched me. Steve you are a great youth pastor!!
Steve Ingold on July 9, 2008
i just spoke on martha and mary this week with the high school students, maybe that is why it was so fresh in my mind…
andrew, thanks for the prayers, haha
Tom on July 9, 2008
I find people in ministry some of the more shallow Christians I come in contact with as a lay person so I really REALLY pray for you folks.
jen white on July 9, 2008
Steve,
That was great! Things to think about. I wake up with Tom before he leaves for work and have my devotionals from 6am to 7am. Prayer without ceasing is helpful as well. I can always tell when I have forgotten to keep Christ in my conversations and thoughts - as it becomes a difficult day!
Danny on July 11, 2008
Awesome blog Steve, welcome to the world of opening up your heart and soul!!!
alex mclean on July 8, 2008
Steve, congratulations! This quote is powerful:
“Pastor’s that fit God into their schedule instead of fitting their lives into God’s schedule, are a train wreck waiting to happen.”
It reminds me of the quote from John’s article today:
“It’s not hard to find ourselves loving the work we do for God more than the God we work for”. - Brad Powell
Thanks for the transparent honesty - I think people will respect that and hold us accountable to live in God’s schedule.