I Yam who I Yam

Yesterday I read the results of my Keirsey Temperament Sorter II Corporate Temperament Report (otherwise known as a personality assessment).  It's...interesting to read about yourself.  There are the "Absolutely this is me and I like that about myself" moments and the "Really?  No.  That can't be me.  Okay...it is.  I wish it wasn't...but that's me" moments.

One telling description of my personality had this to say:  "[She is] forever looking for, and reacting to, the best in [her] company, office, school, church, and so forth, and [she is] happy to tell people about all the good things [she] see(s)."  Yes!  That's me:).

...BUT  that's not to say there aren't hard days.  There are.  There is stress and worry.  There are days when I wonder "Can I really do this?"  There are days I wonder about the church and its priorities.  There are days.

...BUT (and this is a bigger but...he he) I choose to focus on the best in people and churches.  Several years ago Bill Smith (shout out!) pointed me to Kennon Callahan's "Twelve Keys to an Effective Church."  Callahan and Smith's ideas guide me still:  Focus on what you're doing well and do it even better!  Celebrating strengths builds excitement, community and joy.  Rolling around in weaknesses drags people down.  And when we celebrate the good, the weaknesses organically (hip word alert!) improve.  I believe that.

So imagine my joy this morning when I read a wonderful article about VBS and our very own Alice Glass in the Rural Virginian.  I'm celebrating Scottsville Baptist Church's strength of ecumenism and leadership right now!  Happy pastor.

Here's an excerpt from Langden Mason's article:

"I sat on the soft red cushion on the back pew of the Scottsville Baptist Church and was impressed by all the children who filled the pews in front of me. There were Baptists and Episcopaleans and Methodists and Presbyterians and Catholics. No matter the denomination, all of them were ready to partake in the festive and learning experience known as Vacation Bible School.

It seemed only yesterday my cousins and I were spending a week with my Grandma Mason and attending this very same VBS. I recall Mrs. Glass, who had and still has the patience of Job, helped us memorize the books of the Bible...

So thank you, Mrs. Glass, and thanks to all of you who have volunteered your time this summer and summers past to a small yet vital American institution known as VBS. Though the media tends to dwell on school shootings, gang violence, and other forms of juvenile delinquency, VBS was and still is a week where we can experience children of different races and denominations standing together singing of God's love and providing us all with the hope of a bright, harmonious future."

Read Mason's full article here:  http://www.dailyprogress.com/ruralvirginian/opinion/dont_get_me_started/jesus-loves-the-little-children/article_144e375c-ed79-11e2-9055-001a4bcf6878.html