I am following my friend Emily's advice. I'm leaving tomorrow with my family for a restful (is that possible with a three year old?) vacation next week.
Before we leave the house at 5 a.m. tomorrow (yeah right, like that's gonna happen) for an eight-hour drive (someone, please hit me over the head) to the beach for some much needed relaxation (minus the struggles with my bathing suit), I wanted to let you know about my friends who will be blogging in my absence. They all come from different places in ministry—from long tenures to newly-launched into ministry.
Jimmie Davis is a pioneer. She was doing girls' ministry long before it was ever called that. She has a background in ministry that includes work with her husband Sam, who is now the Associate Pastor of First Baptist Church, Spartanburg, South Carolina. Jimmie serves as the Director of Girls' Ministries there. I love Jimmie's heart for teen girls and her love for anyone who works with girls. Although she has been at this a long time, she is eager to learn from others, still maintains a tender heart and a sense of humor, both of which are which are difficult to keep in long-term ministry!
Lauren Farmer is relatively new to girls' ministry. A newly graduated seminary student, Lauren has a passion and heart for girls. She constantly challenges my thinking and helps me maintain authenticity in my approach to ministry. She doesn't come from a Christian background, so she offers a unique perspective to reaching girls who don't come through our doors with a heritage of faith.
Faith Whatley wears lots of different hats—mom, Sunday School teacher, girls' ministry leader, and director of Training and Events at LifeWay (whew!). She has been an adamant advocate for girls' ministry for years, which has been an encouragement to me in my work here. I love listening to her talk about things going on in her church. She and her team are so creative in their approach to girls. I've asked her to blog about her church's "Senior Send-Off", a special time of helping girls commemorate this huge milestone and to remember important aspects of their faith. I think you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed hearing about it.
Blessings to you. I'll be back in a week, hopefull with a better tan.
By the way, the bathing suit I posted on my previous blog is not the one I bought.
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