Our foundations
May 19, 2005 - We had another good sized group, about 14 inmates, some new ones, mostly regular attendees.
I asked if an inmate would pray and ask God to join the group. One offered and a prayer was said.
Over the weekend I attended some seminars featuring Dr. David Anderson from the Youth and Family Institute (YFI) in Minnesota. The institute studies faith and families and creates materials to help pass the faith to family members and reach out to the community.
One of the methods they use is "Peer Ministry", where teenagers are given 12 to 13 hours of training on how to council other teenagers. This is important because teens often turn to other teens for advice about problems. so, equipping teens to give good advice makes a lot of sense. The Peer Ministry web site is at www.peerministry.org
When an inmate offers prayer, or gives advice to another inmate, that's worth much more than if I did. I'm a white, middle age, middle class women who's never smoked a joint in my life. My advice is limited. All I can hope to do is point them the way to God.
But when they council each other, it's a kind of peer ministry. And it isn't just for an hour or so a week. It's all week long. So in some ways, Yokefellow sessions help train the inmates how to minister (encourage, pray with and for, give guidance to) each other.
We went around the circle and gave our first names and said how we were doing. Then it was time to sing. For the first time ever, I brought my guitar to play. It went well. We sang Amazing Grace, Jacob's Ladder and Michael Row the Boat Ashore. I brought the guitar into the prison with out the case, so the guard could easily see there wasn't anything stuffed inside of it.
For the Psalm we read Psalm 23 several times. I encouraged the men to try to memorize the Psalm for our next session. We talked about what we think the Psalm means to us today.
Our lesson was about foundations. I shared with the group that my husband and I are in the process of hiring a carpenter to do some repairs to the house. My husband and I have talked several times in the past week, sharing ideas and concerns, making a mental list of things to get price quotes from the carpenter.
We talked about a step on the back wooden steps that needs fixed, some flooring on an outside porch that is warping and dryer vent that should be replaced.
It dawned on me today that we didn't talk about the crack in the foundation of our house. What good is repairing the outside if the inside structure is ill?
We referenced Matthew 23:27 and talked briefly about how important it is to care for the parts of us that are not seen more than the visible surface.
I asked if an inmate would pray and ask God to join the group. One offered and a prayer was said.
Over the weekend I attended some seminars featuring Dr. David Anderson from the Youth and Family Institute (YFI) in Minnesota. The institute studies faith and families and creates materials to help pass the faith to family members and reach out to the community.
One of the methods they use is "Peer Ministry", where teenagers are given 12 to 13 hours of training on how to council other teenagers. This is important because teens often turn to other teens for advice about problems. so, equipping teens to give good advice makes a lot of sense. The Peer Ministry web site is at www.peerministry.org
When an inmate offers prayer, or gives advice to another inmate, that's worth much more than if I did. I'm a white, middle age, middle class women who's never smoked a joint in my life. My advice is limited. All I can hope to do is point them the way to God.
But when they council each other, it's a kind of peer ministry. And it isn't just for an hour or so a week. It's all week long. So in some ways, Yokefellow sessions help train the inmates how to minister (encourage, pray with and for, give guidance to) each other.
We went around the circle and gave our first names and said how we were doing. Then it was time to sing. For the first time ever, I brought my guitar to play. It went well. We sang Amazing Grace, Jacob's Ladder and Michael Row the Boat Ashore. I brought the guitar into the prison with out the case, so the guard could easily see there wasn't anything stuffed inside of it.
For the Psalm we read Psalm 23 several times. I encouraged the men to try to memorize the Psalm for our next session. We talked about what we think the Psalm means to us today.
Our lesson was about foundations. I shared with the group that my husband and I are in the process of hiring a carpenter to do some repairs to the house. My husband and I have talked several times in the past week, sharing ideas and concerns, making a mental list of things to get price quotes from the carpenter.
We talked about a step on the back wooden steps that needs fixed, some flooring on an outside porch that is warping and dryer vent that should be replaced.
It dawned on me today that we didn't talk about the crack in the foundation of our house. What good is repairing the outside if the inside structure is ill?
We referenced Matthew 23:27 and talked briefly about how important it is to care for the parts of us that are not seen more than the visible surface.
posted by Kathy Kolb | 9:14 PM
1 Comments:
What good is repairing the outside when the inside is ill?
You are wise, my friend...
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