self care

i don't think i've talked much about my classes this summer. i am pretty sure i'm insane to take 3 classes and audit 2 others. i am currently in Old Testament Prophets, which is the first Bible class i've ever taken. it's pretty good, with Dr. John Goldingay. it's a 5-week class that meets twice a week for 3 hours each. there is homework due for each class, which he has designed to take about 5 hours. in addition, we post our homework online and we spend about an hour after each class responding to our classmates' homework. so all in all, it's about 18 hours a week of work for this class. ooooch.

one of the classes i'm auditing started monday, and it's a 2-week intensive (3 hrs/day), called "self care in mission." it's really good. so good that i was contemplating taking it for credit to make sure i got the most out of it. the exercises look really good, the reading looks really good, and overall it looks really beneficial. BUT, after the first day, i went to my other class completely brain-dead. i realized that i needed to practice a little self care and not overload myself. did i mention i'm also working 28 hours this week? yeah, i'm crazy. ;-)

so a few tidbits of why this class has already been amazing:

What is it in me that says, “I have to handle this all, all by myself?”
My spirituality that says “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” doesn’t allow for growth or change in anyone else. There is value in conflict.

A tree planted by streams gives its fruit in season. Why do we think we have to bear fruit year-round?

my self-care that i already practice includes: baking cookies (as i've mentioned a few times ;-)), running, and photography

my primary vocation is of a child of God. my secondary vocation is the call God has put on my life, the things i'm passionate about. sometimes God doesn't tell us the secondary until we have a good grasp of the primary.

God cares more about HOW I live my life than the location of my ministry.

We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves, and so often we are taught to love our neighbors instead of ourselves.

ok, this next bit is directly from a powerpoint slide created by Kelly O'Donnell, but it's good definitions:
Member care – defined – Kelly O’Donnell
• The ongoing investment of resources by sending groups, service organizations, and workers themselves, for the nurture and development of personnel.
• It focuses on every member of the organization, including children and home office staff.
• It includes preventative, developmental, supportive, and restorative care.
• A core part of member care is the mutual care that workers provide each other. Workers receive it and they give it.
• Connecting with resources and people in the local/host community is also key.
• Member care seeks to implement an adequate flow of care from recruitment through retirement.
• The goal is to develop resilience, skills, and virtue, which are key to helping personnel stay healthy and effective in their work.
• Member care thus involves both developing inner resources (eg perserverance, stress tolerance) and providing external sources (eg team building, logistical support, skill training).

sound good to you? it sure does to me!!

there are certain "levels" or "spheres" of self care - a bullseye of care:
sphere 1: Master Care - my relationship with my Master
sphere 2: self care and mutual care, which are together and inter-related
sphere 3: sender care - the organization and/or church that sends me
sphere 4: special care - care by professionals including health, team-building, financial management, etc
sphere 5: network care - resourcing member care in all these areas

in order to be truly effective for the long-term, i need to decide on a plan, with my team, my family, and my organization to make sure there is a plan set for all these areas. i don't need to decide today what that looks like, but you can be sure that i will have an idea of this before i go anywhere else!

yeah, this stuff is good. i hope and pray that some of it can be a resource for you, too. if you want more info about the class (today was only day 2!) or the reading list or anything, let me know. i'd certainly love to chat with you about this in the future!



ps, have i mentioned how much i love coldplay? i've been listening to them nonstop for a few days now. oh, and their show a few weeks ago was pretty amazing. ;-) i didn't know it was possible to love them more after their show, but i do. it's true.