Wednesday's Word of the Week - Everybody Needs Somebody

Everybody Needs Somebody 

Read Genesis 2:15-18

God noticed that man was lonely when he made him, suggesting it is not simply our weaknesses that drive us to need friendship, but a God-given need for others to share life with.

Who are you happy to admit that you need in your life? If your world suddenly turned upside down and you didn’t know what to do or where to turn, what do you think you’d need most, to see you through? Probably a friend!

Jesus is our very best friend. He already knows every detail of our lives. He never changes, never judges us, and he will always be there for us. He owes you nothing, but wants to give freely to you His love and friendship. That’s why 2000 years ago he died on the cross for us, to be your Saviour and friend.

Memory Verse:
“A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Proverbs 18:24 

Pray:
Spend some time in prayer this week thanking God for those people who you ‘need’ in your life. Ask God to help you follow Him.

Toolbox Tuesday - World of Friends Europe - Amazing Race Week 1

Girls’ Brigade Europe Amazing Race

Week 1:

• Line up oldest to youngest and number off to form teams of 3/4.
• 5 minutes to choose team name and write it down
• Explain rules of the game / get girls to suggest rules 
• No running 
• Work as a team 
• No put down comments 
• Detour – choose between 2 activities (do only 1) 
• Roadblock – only one person from team does activity, different person from the team each week. 
• Idea of the game to make it to the end, not about winning prizes 

Switzerland

• Get all teams to sit down in a row team members in a line. Get a chair put opposite end of room. 
• Read story of William Tell, give instructions to put apple on head, walk to the chair and around once then back to team, repeat – after all 3, team to put chair away before getting EUROPEAN UNION – DETOUR clue.European Union 
• All members in team to crawl to EU 
• Detour – choose between words or wisdom 
• Words – find all words in word search (must work as a team) 
• Wisdom – mark and colour all countries listed (must work as a team), to write in pencil first and check with leader (tell which are correct), if incorrect they must sit down again as a team to work out (do not stand by leader and point to everything!) 
• Put team name on sheets when finished, give ITALY – ROAD BLOCK clue 

Italy

• Travel blind holding hands, one person in team leading the way to the kitchen 
• One person from team to eat spaghetti from bowl with hands behind back.
• Once finished,WALES clue under bowl.

Wales

• Hop holding hands to Cmyru (Wales in Welsh)
• Using template and cutting 2 hand prints from each team member, make a Welsh Dragon (does not have to be red)
• Stick on the wall, give DEVOTION clue

Race of Life

• Find the cross
• Look up bible verse

PIT STOP!!

If you'd like the resources for this, please email me.

Motivation Mondays - The Mountain Story

A son and his father were walking on the mountains.

Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

To his surprise, he hears his voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on??"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."

And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand.

Then the father explains:
"People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.

If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.

If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.  This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE.  IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!

- Author Unknown

F.R.O.G. - Part 2

More FROGness this week at GB.  Check out the most gorgeous frogs made out of small balloons stuffed with flour, eyes glued on, and water balloons with pipe cleaners inside for legs.  The cooking group made bacon and egg pies and decorated the tops frog style.  The music group 'murdered' the National Anthem I was told, and I got a sneak peak of the drama groups skit - what awesome little actors we have.  Plus we practised all our songs.  Its coming together quite nicely - can't wait for June 10th.

TIME - Treasure every moment that you have

I've read the following on quite a few web pages, and I love it and have to share.

Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day. What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course. Well, everyone has such a bank.

Its name is TIME.

Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off as lost whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow. You must live in the present of today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success. The clock is running.

Make the most of today.

To realise the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who has failed his final exam.
To realise the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realise the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realise the value of ONE DAY, ask a daily wage laborer who has ten kids to feed.
To realise the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of ONE MINUTE, ask the person who has missed the train.
To realise the value of ONE SECOND, ask the person who has survived an accident.
To realise the value of ONE MILLI-SECOND, ask the person who has won a gold medal at the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have. Time is a coin you can spend only once. Use it, invest it, make it count, and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special. Special enough to have your time and remember time waits for no one.

Z - Zzzzzzz

Sleep is such an essential part of keeping your stress levels under control.  Resist the urge to 'keep working until it's done' and instead make sure you get plenty of rest every night.  If your stress levels are making it hard for you to get a good nights sleep, talk to your doctor or other health practitioner about the options available.

And on this note (12:30am) I shall go to bed.  Night all, xoxo

Y - Yes or No

Often it's the process of making a decision that causes the most stress, but once a decision is made, you can take whatever steps necessary to move forward.  If you find yourself going over the pros and cons of a specific situation time and time again, acknowledge that either decision could work.  Simply choose one commit to it.

X - eXamine your priorities

When you get clear about what is truly important to you personally, it is much easier to make decisions about how you spend your time.  You may be surprised by where your energy is currently being spent.

W - Wait

When somebody asks you to do something new, wait at least half an hour before giving them an answer.  Consider if you really want to take it on and if you have the energy and time to do it properly.  No-one will thank you for putting your hand up and then burning out before the job is complete.

V - Voice your concerns

If someone or something is bothering you in the workplace, voice your concerns to the person who can do something about it.  If the issue has been ongoing, then it is unlikely it will simply go away on its own.  You need to take action or be prepared to stay stressed for some time to come.

U - Understand that this too will pass

Nothing lasts forever.  Even if you can't see the light at the end of the tunnel - trust that it is there.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Philippians 4:13

F.R.O.G - Part 1

Term 2 @ GB - its time for our annual presentation!  This years theme - F.R.O.G. - Fully Rely On God

Usually we run this on our usual Wednesday evening - this year we are bringing GB to our church and community, our presentation will be a full Sunday morning service.

We have 4 groups that the girls choose based on what they'd like to do rather than their age.
This year we have:
Music group - including a saxophone, 2 clarinets, a trumpet, 2 guitars, keyboard
Drama group
Decorating group
Food group - making morning tea for after church service

And Olivia is making a mini-doco on us that we can use for promoting GB

Plus all the girls are practising 2 FROG songs + actions and the GB song.

Songs:
Everymove I Make
Fully Rely on God

Talia on trumpet and Zoe on Sax

Frog decorations

Making origami lily's

144 cupcakes made, yet to be decorated

T - Talk about it

Sometimes it helps to tell someone how you're feeling, without looking for solutions or being judged.  Find someone you can trust and schedule regular 'download days'.  You can vent your frustrations in the tough times and celebrate your successes in the good times.

S - STOP

When you know you are no longer being productive, stop and give yourself a rest.  There's no point pounding through when your heads not really in it.  You will get your work done more quickly, and more effectively once you have allowed yourself time to recharge.

R - Remember the Big Picture

You are probably involved in your organisation because you are passionate about the cause.  When the little things are getting you down, remind yourself why you are doing this job in the first place.  Its the big picture that will get you through.

Q - Quieten your environment

Shut the door, switch the phone to answer phone, turn off the radio and give yourself some peace and quiet to focus on what needs to be done.

P - Please yourself first

You can't please everyone all of the time, so if you're feeling stressed out, decide you will please yourself first - and then deal with everyone else later.

You're no good to anyone if you're worn out, stressed out, burnt out.  If you're no good at doing something for yourself or having time out for yourself - schedule it into your diary.

O - Organise regular reviews

Make sure you review your workload on a regular basis so you can be proactive in avoiding overload.  Having a good overview of where you're at and what you've got coming up allows you to be well prepared and delegate ahead of time.

N - Notice what is really stressing you out

Sometimes we feel like everything is getting on top of us, when the reality is it is just one or two things causing all the stress.  Take some time to get clear about real stress triggers and then focus on addressing those issues first.

M - Make conscious decisions

When the pressure's on it's easy to start reacting to outside influences and before you know it, you're spending half the day running around madly but still not getting anything done.  Make a conscious decision at the beginning of each day about what you will focus on and stay focused until those tasks are complete.

L - Lean on others for support

We all have people who say 'If you ever need a hand let me know'.  Now is the time to take them up on their offer.  They might not be able to help you with the work that is causing you stress, but they may be able to lighten the load elsewhere.  They wouldn't have offered if they didn't want to help.

K - Keep things in perspective

I know this is sometimes easier said than done, but it is important to consciously remind yourself to keep things in perspective.  If you haven't seen the Powers of Ten video, watch it and it will remind you of God's awesomeness - and should put things in perspective for you.  Nuff said!

J - Join a hobby group

Most people get involved in the non-profit sector because they are genuinely passionate about their community however when your passion becomes your job, suddenly the lines between personal time and work time get blurred.  Find yourself a hobby that has nothing to do with your role in the community - then resist the urge to join the committee!

I - Investigate other options

Just because things have always been done a particular way, doesn't mean it has to continue like that.  Take a look at all your tasks and consider other ways of getting the job done.  There may be a simple solution to some of the issues causing you stress, you just need to step off the treadmill and look for them.

H - Hand over the reigns

Sometimes stress sneaks up on us not because of the volume of work we have, but the amount of responsibility we have.  Take a look at your responsibilities and see if there are any parts where you can pass on, or at least share responsibility for the outcome.  Most importantly, make sure your team is taking responsibility for their designated parts along the way.

G - Give yourself a break

We are usually our own worst critics and when times get tough, we are often the first ones to beat ourselves up about 'not coping'.  Give yourself a break.  You are not super-human and nobody except you expects you to be.  Treat yourself as you would anybody else in the same situation.

F - Focus

Focus on one thing at a time. When you have a lot of things that need doing, its easy to feel overwhelmed. Instead of trying to deal with a little bit of everything at once, narrow your focus to one thing at a time. Being able to cross things off your list will give you a sense achievement, and you will feel like you are actually making headway.

E - Evacuate

Literally.  Remove yourself from the office, centre, house, or whatever else your stress is centred.  If it is absolutely necessary that you keep working, at least do it in a different environment.

D - Delegate

We all fall into the trap of thinking 'it's easier to do it ourselves'.  While in the short term this may be true, it does nothing to prevent stress overload in the future.  Go through your 'To Do List' and delegate at least 10% of your jobs to someone else.  There may be a small amount of training to do but the chances are not as much as you think.