Turning 40 – Day 1

I’m going to be 40 in June, what in the world??!

I decided to blog about this because I think it’s important to reflect on the past as I move forward into my future. 10 years ago during the month of March, I chose to write about turning 30 during the blogrimage. I tried to write about each year of my life and it was hard! While I won’t be doing that again, I am excited to jog my memory back through the last 10 years. I’ve had my biggest moments in my 30’s. My highest highs and lowest lows. I tell people to hold on in their 30’s because life gets so much more complex in your 30’s – at least it did for me.

Here are some of my most significant moments:

2012 – I turned 30 and got married!

We moved to Michigan where we would live for 5 years. I also began a job I would stay at for 7 years working in Thailand, Cambodia and Burma

2015 – We got pregnant quickly but sadly had a miscarriage

2016 – I gave birth to my first baby! My son, Obi.

2017 – I planted a church with my husband in Seattle. I was licensed and ordained as a pastor.

My father suddenly passed away in April of that year.

2018 – My son was in the process of being diagnosed with ASD.

We got pregnant!

2019 – gave birth to my baby girl, Nala!

Diagnosis was finalized for Obi.

2020 – A pandemic hit the world & we led our church through 58wks of online church.

2021 – My daughter was also diagnosed with ASD per our decision.

2022 – In June, I will be 40. And it’s also our 10 year wedding anniversary. 🙂

Day ? – Next Steps for Women’s Ministry

I took a few days off of work and blogging for some personal matters last week. I have no idea what day of the blogrimage we’re on. But I haven’t stopped thinking about the women’s ministry. I want to keep blogging about it because it know these visions, dreams and goals don’t just pop out of nowhere…they have to be ruminating and thought about diligently.

Some things that are on my mind about the women’s ministry are the next steps.

• Talking to our Kalos leadership team about it
• Trying to get a date on the calendar for our first event
• Making sure it works within the Church calendar
• Pulling some women together to brainstorm more about what our event would look like, feel like and the purpose it would serve
• Laying out some options for guest speakers

To be honest, I just feel like I need to be obedient in this. I keep having doubts about if I can really get this going, but I think I need to stop intimidating myself by trying to have a crazy big vision & strategy, and simply start with one event with the fire in my heart God has already given me.

I really value collaboration and surrounding myself with some really great passionate idea people. I feel like I’m at this step. The step where I say….I need help! The more brain power, prayer power & same heart power I can get, the better this ministry will be.

This morning in church I was reminded where the seed of this whole idea came from. It came as a response to the last year of covid, of quarantine, of a life many of us weren’t prepared for physically or spiritually. It was birthed in recognizing women make up the body of Christ in a way only we can walk in. I want women who are exploring faith to have a starting place among other women to encounter Jesus. I want women who desire to KNOW GOD MORE to have a place for their hunger, their fire & their devotion to the King of Kings. I want to create an environment where women aren’t competing with each other but recognize the power in our unity. I want the larger body of Christ to be better because women are walking together in our purpose.

Sounds like vision to me!

I have some more thoughts about a name for the ministry – more on that later.

Thanks for reading!

Day 7 – The Women of Kalos

I was excited to blog today because I wanted to answer the question: Who are the women of Kalos Church?

What a great day to answer this question after I spent the morning with them at church and TONIGHT we had several NEW girls interested in joining our church at meet & greet. I specifically paid attention to the women who came and wow, I am blown away by who God brings to our church & how each one of them has such a special story about how they got to Seattle.

While I was trying so hard to think of a non cliché word, when it all boils down to it, one of the words I would describe Kalos women are…..leaders.

My definition of leader in this context is: someone with influence

Big or small influence, some kind of influence, wether they were seeking it or not.

They are leaders of million dollar projects at Microsoft, Facebook & Amazon. They’re in human resources, sales, flight attendants, social media gurus, writers, photographers & children’s pastor’s. They are teachers, business owners, therapists, interior designers, SAHM’s & executives at Nintendo headquarters. They’re engineers, school counselors, nurses & nanny’s.

And they’re all in Seattle because they are women who desire to live with purpose in their careers, their churches and their friendships. They’re navigating a world that in moments embraces women leaders and in other moments looks right over them or worse, takes advantage of them.

Tonight in my home the women were: Brazilian, Mexican, Congolese & American. 4 nations in a group of 15 people.

The women of Kalos are diverse in race, ethnicity & age.

When I asked my husband to describe the Kalos women in one word, he said: Genuine

I couldn’t agree more.

Genuine Leaders.

Hmmm…..now that’s a combination the world could use, the church needs & humanity benefits from.

The last word that comes to mind as I think of the women of Kalos is: searching, looking, hungry

Not for boys. PLEASE.

Many have recently shared with me that they’re looking for their purpose in life. They’re hungry for something fulfilling. They’re searching for friendship. Many long for healing from deep scars & painful pasts. Some are in need of freedom. And others simply looking for a safe place to let down their walls and be known.

Day 6 – The Name

We need a name for this women’s ministry!

I think names often come from a lot of prayer, scriptures or words from the Lord.

Here are some names of existing women’s ministries:
Princess Warrior, Live Salted, Colour, Sisterhood, Flourish, Awaken, She, Her, Vous Girls, Restore, Brave Daughters, Grace Girls

Many of these names have meanings. Some you can tell within the name. Other’s will have a tag line to help us understand the meaning. For instance, I spoke at the “Live Salted Conference” and the tag line was “for the hungry ones.”

I don’t have a name for this one yet. But I am praying. I want to take some time to really think about and converse about the name. I want it to represent the vision ANNNND the women of Kalos.

Soon to be blog post: The Vision

So far a name my husband and I tossed around was: WOK = Women of Kalos

What I like about WOK is that it can easily be turned into WALK with the meaning being tied to “women walking together.” Or something like that.

I love this idea of “walking together” or “living life together” or “being side by side”

I could see images of women being arm in arm walking together, laughing or experiencing life together.

Walking = moving forward, no girl left behind, confidence, boldness

Together = better together, unity, sameness, breaking down competition between women, diverse but together, strength, CONNECTED (there’s that word again)

Synonyms for the word walk = arise, stroll, saunter, accompany, guide, amble, march

Synonyms for the word together = jointly, in conjunction, cooperatively, side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with one accord, simultaneously

One of the scriptures that has meant a lot to me recently is found in Isaiah 43:2 – “When you WALK through the waters, I will be with you; when you PASS through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you WALK through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames with not set you ablaze.”

Love this scripture but it doesn’t encompass the “together” part of a women’s ministry and I’m not sure I want the focus to be always about “getting through the fire or hard times.”

Not sure about this name, I could see a good creative putting something together here. But I’m not sold on it.

In one of my upcoming blog posts, I want to answer these questions: Who are the women of Kalos? How would I describe them?

So there’s some of my process!

I’m taking all advice and suggestions!

Day 5 – Frequency

I missed Day 4! Yesterday was a bit crazy. Both my mom and Pradeepan’s Dad are here for a joint birthday party we are throwing for our kiddos. Love having them here. 🙂

Back to women’s ministry thoughts.

I’ve been thinking and talking to my husband about the frequency of events to have for the women’s ministry. Wow, we really need a name for this! That post coming soon!

For me, everything revolves around what’s best for Kalos Church. I’ve been at churches where throwing an event takes all your volunteers, resources, etc and there was no real funnel back into the church….and your team is exhausted before you even get to Sunday! I really think the two go hand in hand.

Our church operates in 3 seasons throughout the year. It’s awesome! We run our small groups within these seasons and between the seasons, we take a month “off.” During that month we recruit new leaders, give our selves some time to recalibrate & prep to launch the next season.

My husband and I thought it would be perfect to throw 1 women’s event per season, sometime before small groups start so that we can funnel all the women into small groups for the following season. Feels like a GOD IDEA to me! Ultimately, my goal is that women would encounter a Jesus community that will LAST. Events are awesome because it can often be the START for a person hearing the Gospel for the first time or someone who’s ready to go deeper. But we don’t want it to end there – so creating a funnel into small groups keeps the Jesus community in your routine & allows the spirit of God to transform your heart. Can’t you just picture it?!

I’m also wondering if we should try to create multiple women’s small groups that are specifically ready for women from these events. Hmmm…something to chew on.

3 times a year feels doable for the size and age of Kalos Church as well. 🙂

Day 3 – Design

One of the things I’m most excited about for the women’s ministry is the look and feel. While there’s a look and feel in the actual experience itself, I’m talking today about the graphics, marketing & design aspect.

My husband has a creative eye for this so while I personally don’t have design skills, I know good design when I see it!

Last week I spoke at a women’s conference whose marketing material and design was outstanding! It stood out above the rest. It captured the essence of the vision. There’s something about visuals that in one glance tell you all you need to know about something. It’s literally judging a book by its cover.

Most importantly, it’s the vibe the design gives off that will tell a girl if she wants to participate or give this women’s ministry a chance.

I know I want the branding of the ministry to match that of Kalos Church. But I also want it to have something added to it that distinguishes it as a ministry within the church.

Pradeepan and I were talking about colors that kind of capture my essence. I recently told someone colors I like are purples, whites and greens. But my husband reminded me what colors ACTUALLY speak more to who I am. He said a bold green, that pops out in a background of black (the color I wear the most!) and a few more color ideas. He was adamant about representing my big personality, boldness & I would say, my feistiness. 🙂

I’m thinking of hiring someone to help me in all the visual ideation of the ministry & of course input from my husband – but I still have a lot more to figure out before we start on that.

Can’t wait to see happens!

Day 2 – Women’s Ministry

I was trying to remember when I attended my first women’s ministry event, small group, gathering, conference….what do we even call them? I asked several women in our church if they’ve ever been apart of a women’s ministry and most of them said no. But I began realizing that women’s ministry doesn’t look the same everywhere.

One of the earliest women’s events that I ever went to outside of a women’s small group, was one in college. A friend invited me. The topic was purity and they separated the single girls from the dating girls. Already a super weird start. I’ll never forget how difficult it was to sit through it because it felt so “out of touch” with real women, real humans for that matter & what it actually meant to operate in purity at that age. AWKWARD. I left with a bad taste in my mouth about super girly women’s gatherings.

I also didn’t leave really having made a significant connection with anyone else. Simply a time to be taught and receive. Which isn’t bad but it makes me want to create a women’s ministry where a connection with another woman would outlast the actual event itself. For our church context, I want Kalos women’s ministry to funnel right back into the local church. The place where the body of Christ operates daily.

My most favorite women’s conference I ever attended was The Color Conference in NYC by Hillsong. Me and a friend drove with my 6 month old son to NY and had the time of our lives! What I remember most about that conference was how catered to women it actually was! The colors, the songs, the speakers, the elaborate nursing mother’s room, the diversity and how multigenerational it was. Now, anything Hillsong is a whole nother level for most of us local church folk but it was excellent and everything represented the target audience, WOMEN. I think no matter how big or small you are, you can fight for quality and at the very least, building the culture you want doesn’t have to cost a penny.

Connectedness.

This is a word I want to be central to the Kalos Women’s ministry.

Blogrimage Day 1, 2021

Hello!

This year’s blogrimage is dedicated to the ideation, vision and dreams for a women’s ministry I would like to start at Kalos Church. I have so much excitement around this, which is surprising because I haven’t always been super passionate about women’s ministry specifically. But I believe God put it on my heart as a response to the year of isolation and difficulty 2020 brought us.

Some things I’d like to pray, process and consider during this blogrimage are:

Vision – Kalos Women’s ministry exists to….

Goals

Name – we gotta have a name!

Frequency of events

Look & Feel (Mood boards)

Tag lines/graphics/visuals

Event plans

Examples of women’s ministries – research

How to lead a women’s ministry

What I don’t want it to become

Survey’s

Leadership Team

Understanding the demographic

And more….

Feel free to give me lots of ideas, suggestions, feedback and process with me!

Day 6 Perfect Steak

I skipped yesterday! There I said it…. whew.

I have a feeling it won’t be the only day I miss, but I’ll try not to. I felt like every ounce of my energy was used yesterday, including a dinner out with some friends I don’t regret! So when it was time to sit down and blog, I had nothing left.

That’s the beauty of a discipline though right? You have to push through even when you don’t feel like it!

So here I am pushing through. 🙂

This is a super random post but today I made the perfect steak! We have the hardest time making the perfect steak around here – but these turned out amazing.

Seems like everyone’s into the reverse sear, where you bake the steak first, then sear. Well today I seared first, correction, I watched a youtube video first!, then seared, then baked! I used a meat thermometer (which might be cheating) but it was the perfect pink, the perfect flavor and the perfect crunch on the outside. I am very picky about a good steak so I was proud of myself for trying something new.

Humble brag today I guess. Haha!

I forgot to take a photo of the finished steak but here’s what it looked like all seasoned up!

 

Day 4 Corona & Jesus

It feels good to get my blood flowing and heart rate up! Truth be told, 15min is not enough of a work out, but even in just a short amount of time, I usually have to pause it once or twice for Nala – so as you can see, working out from home includes a lot of interruptions! 🙂 I also really like workouts with a timer at the top of the screen counting down until it’s over, haha!

I wanted to take some time today to write about Corona Virus because that is the hot goss these days! Is it too hype? Is it not hype enough? There are very few of us, but my husband and I lean toward the “not hype enough” side. We’re not after fear and we don’t believe everything we see on the news but deaths are happening in the city next to us. The city we take our son to therapy to 5 days a week.

I’m amazed and how quickly people say, “well those people are elderly and have health complications already,” as if we have nothing to worry about.

Since when is a 50 year old in America elderly?

And also…. the elderly can hear us dismissing them to save ourselves.

Jesus talks about the “least of these,” the vulnerable in our society very differently than we do. And it makes me sad. I think he would be saying something very different about how the Corona virus affects those people and be less concerned about what inaccurate hype he could be bringing to the rest of us.

He would be elevating their lives and bringing dignity to their humanity.

I believe the Christian community has an opportunity to actually live the fearless life we say we have because of Christ.  But I often find that Christians are actually really scared while talking about not spreading fear, the ones getting into political battles online over SICKNESS, and in self preservation mode. Shouldn’t we be the ones who are loving our neighbor, staying kind and not in frenzy, upholding the lives of people no matter who they are and coming against a self preserving culture?

When we went to Cosco a couple weeks ago to stock up on food because we knew the shelves in our urban area would be empty soon, I just kept thinking; I wish we had more money so we could buy enough food if our friends and neighbors need it. And then I remembered, even if we don’t have enough – there’s always something we can do, even if it means we give sacrificially or it’s uncomfortable, there’s always something we can do to show love. And honestly, the ways of Jesus are just that, to give not out of our abundance but to do so with that we have, even if it’s not much.

Stay healthy friends!

Don’t be afraid. But take this seriously.

Take heed to the advice of the CDC.

Wash your hands.

Call your primary care doctor if you have been exposed to someone with Corona or if you are experiencing symptoms.

Quarantine yourself if you have autoimmune issues, breathing problems of any kind or feel vulnerable to sickness – or you’ve been exposed to someone diagnosed with the virus.

Pay attention to the news while using discernment.

Don’t allow our society to give you another reason to isolate yourself if you don’t need to. Community can still exist in a time like this.

Call your pastor if you need prayer 🙂

And take the opportunity in a time of crisis to adhere to the ways of Jesus!