Mandy’s Mondays – Meeting Margaret

Last May Brian got to go to a conference in Washington DC called Lead Now. Now in all honesty I was rather jealous of the fact that he was going and I was staying home, so I asked him to get me a book while he was there. He came home with Margaret Feinberg’s The Organic God and I read it I enjoyed the book and found it encouraging. Margaret’s approach is to describe the attributes of God that we often lose sight of with all the other stuff of life and Christianity. Each chapter of the book looks at a different characteristic of God such as his generosity, his wisdom and his mysterious ways. The chapter I enjoyed the most was chapter nine on God’s abundant kindness. I guess I do not sit and ponder His simple and yet magnificent kindness enough! It is an attribute I long to have in my life!

Last night I had the privilege of meeting Margaret and hearing her speak at our church. She shared with us her passion for reaching people in their 20s and helped us to peel back the layers in their lives to understand them better. One thing that really stuck out to me was the need to be careful when asking them questions about life; such as “are you dating anyone, what are you doing in life, where are you headed…” Many of them are trying to figure life out and being asked about it can bring stress. They need people to befriend them, love them, walk along with them in life and be good listeners.

The night made me think of many students we have worked with who are now 20 somethings. I love getting to see them when they return home for the holidays. I love to hear what they have learned about at school and are being stretched with. I love finding old friends from past church ministries on facebook!! Just this week I was found by a girl who we knew in Columbia, SC (that would be over ten years ago) on facebook and it was fun to look through her pictures! People are amazing and God’s work in their lives is even more amazing!!

So if you are one of those students who is coming home to Lancaster for Thanksgiving you better give me a call and I will take you out for a cup of coffee, just so I can hear how life is. I won’t ask you who you are dating. I won’t ask if you have figured out your entire life I will just ask “how are you?” and listen And if you are one of those students from Texas or South Carolina and I don’t have the opportunity to sit down with you then feel free to send me an email, leave a comment on the blog or write on my wall – I would love to hear how you are as well!!