BST's Blog

Life Group last night was interesting. We had several who couldn't make it, but we were still almost outnumbered by kids. We've tried a bunch of different methods. We went through an agency to hire sitters for a while, but they charge a fee for placement and then the rates per child are rather expensive. It got to where not everyone wanted to leave their children because it was costly and then Sheryl and I ended up paying the bill. That happened several weeks in a row and we decided to nix the college baby sitter. It's weird. This agency is run through Lipscomb and employs a lot of the college students we know. The trick is, they can't work outside the agency--so we end up having to put up with the fees and red tape. It's the babysitting Mafia.

We've tried switching adults in watching the kids. Again, it's too much. I think everyone is so ready to be there and enjoy that it's difficult to commit to that.

Then there are the children. If these kids were a little older, they might be more easily corralled. It's virtually impossible for them to want to sit through the worship time. Here's why--we have Kit (5), Maddie (3), Mack (3), Anna Kate (2), Ella (1), Christian (1), Lettie Jane (1), and Champ (9mo). These ages aren't the best for sitting and worshiping. At one point last night, it was as though the cry fairy had dropped her poisonous dust on every small child in our house...especially Ella who must have been dealing with some teething issues or something. The dogs in the neighborhood were even howling (well, maybe not, but I wouldn't have been surprised!) Maybe we can look for someone who would be willing to come keep our kids upstairs in the play room while we do our thing. We just haven't had any luck in finding that person.

There have been times on this journey where I have been frustrated at this stage of life...like when Maddie was on the verge of talking for what seemed like 35 months and could only say, "uh-uh-uh-uh-uh!" over and over and over! (That's where Ella presently finds herself) You've read many posts from me saying how awesome and fun these years are. They are! I don't want to miss a second with my children. But--the challenges of finding small group intimacy are real and ever present in those times too. It's all worth it, I just needed to vent a bit.

Some of the singles in our group have made some great suggestions for things to do in our worship time--like turn the lights off, have some candles and go through a series of intimate worship disciplines. Great ideas...but I just had to laugh at the thought. It's like that Hallmark commercial where the romantic music swells and the nice couple sits at dinner gazing into one another's' eyes when all of a sudden a big pile of spinach or something is catapulted onto one of their noses and you realize the kids are there and the romantic music dies and we're able to hear the real sounds of the chaos in the room.

The approach I have taken with this is that our kids are a part of us. We spent a year out of life group before this because there was no where to go with our kids. We've told people as they've come to our group that we embrace all ages. So--when the screaming or crying begins we'll smile and keep singing--or just stop and laugh at the chaos. That's been good for a while, but it's time for a change. Either it's time for a change or I need to readjust my expectations for those times. The trouble is...the mom's usually get the hardest job. I usually lead the group so Sheryl is stuck with the kids. There have been times we've switched, but it's never easy.

Ok--thanks for letting me vent a little today. I don't like sounding so negative, but then again, I am reminding myself that when I decided to start this blog thingy, I wanted to be as honest as possible. As my good pal D says- "Life's not always rainbows and lollipops, Brandon." True dat.

Thanks for reading. Feel free to advise. (Laughing to myself--as if any of us in the blog community need permission to advise!)

Have a great Monday!