Thursday, May 23, 2024

Everyone loves a good combo! Sweet and salty, chocolate and peanut butter, poolside with a perfect breeze, burgers with bacon—these are some of my favorites. My kids' current favorites are chicken and waffles, Wendy's french fries, and a frosty (they tell me I must try it!). What combos do you like?

When my hubby and I were first working in ministry and had a young family, it was often hard to juggle everything we wanted to do. We were youth leaders at our church and desired to spend time with the teenagers, but we also had a young family. Josh learned from a wiser leader that an excellent way to mentor the younger generation was to ask them to come along with you when doing all the necessary things of life. Even the simplest of errands or the most mundane tasks could be used as an opportunity to connect with others - going to the grocery store, taking the kids to the park, having dinner, or going on a day trip with the kids.

I never forgot that advice, and it became such a great strategy for prioritizing in my life. I began to look at the everyday things I did and think about, "Who can I bring along with me?" Or, to put it another way, "How can I make this a combo?!"

Fast forward seven years and life certainly doesn't slow down. I've survived the physically exhausting toddler years and moved into a different kind of busy life. Ask anyone with tweens and teenagers, and life gets quickly consumed by their activities and where they need to be. As a mom, I feel constant tension to ensure I'm honoring God with our list of activities and where we choose to participate. Last year, when Lauren, our Executive Director of NextGen, Group, and Outreach, asked in our staff meeting who would consider leading a mission trip in 2024, I immediately thought of the combo idea! What could be a better way to use our gifts and do it as a family? Perhaps we could even recruit a few other families to join us, and we'd even have a group!!

These last five months of preparing for our first-ever family mission trip have been inspiring and heartwarming. I'm thrilled I can do so many things near and dear to my heart, along with my kids and others in our church family! A few weeks ago, we tackled trash pickup with our group. It was only for an hour, but it was an hour of meaningful connection with my hubby, kids, and our friends. We picked up garbage on a busy block in Oregon, and a handful of cars honked and rolled their windows down as they passed to holler thank you. At church the next day, a few others told us they saw us and thanked us again.

Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” He set the perfect example for us in how He served. Being able to turn around and do that with my family has been a joy and honor. And, of course, we couldn't end the morning without a good combo - after we finished our trash pick up, what could be better than donuts!!!!

~Libbe Brossia