By Linnette Bachman In my pre-kid staff years, I took a lot of pride in my capacity. I was right out of college, ready to spread my wings and prove myself. I’ve posted before about my determination to be a super staff woman one day who would still go to campus and be an active, full-fledged staff member after I became a mom. Perhaps there … Continue reading She Did What She Could
By Linnette Bachman For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to “nail it” when it comes to any situation. Beyond simply getting something done, I like to add in a special touch. I can remember while I was pregnant with my first baby, Dave and I were leading a freshman retreat. I spent all of the scheduled rest time to fold, tie … Continue reading Nailed It: Failures in Overcommitting and Overestimating Capacity
By Linnete Bachman I’ve heard it said that courage is not the absence of fear but moving forward in spite of fear. I have needed courage in evangelism in every season! In my full-time-on-campus years, I *enjoyed* leading IBDs. (After the first few minutes of door knocking and waiting feverishly to see if anyone would come, that is.) Partnering with a student leader gently pushed … Continue reading Courage in Evangelism in Every Season
By Sherry Graf One early morning not long ago, Jeff and I sat snuggled in the chair in our bedroom. We talked and dreamed together about a new small role we had been praying about. The thought of doing something local after 5 years of only national focus was attractive. Doing ministry together again excited us even more. As we talked I asked, “What would … Continue reading Balance Versus Blend
By Sherry Graf About a year ago I took a weekend retreat with a good friend. We spent our days alone with God. Our evenings were filled by eating choclate (big surprise!) and watching chick flicks. During that time I skimmed through a parenting book I had been wanting to get to, enjoyed extended time alone with God, and took long prayer walks alone in … Continue reading Choosing to Enjoy
By Linnette Bachman I have experienced different seasons of tiredness. There was newborn baby first-time mom tired, vitamin deficiency tired, fall-launch I haven’t seen my husband in ten days tired, we just moved for the summer to live with college students tired, morning sickness babies 2, 3, 4, and 5 tired, etc. Coming into 2018, I am not sure what kind of tired you may … Continue reading Taking a GASP When You Are Tired
A few weeks after Ben and I arrived on our first campus we packed up our kids, who were ages 2 and 1 at the time, and headed to our Fall Conference. As we pulled up to the campground, Ben was whisked off to the opening meeting while I stumbled around with my flashlight trying to turn the heat on in our freezing cabin and … Continue reading Expectations: Where do I Fit?
I smiled and said “yes” to her invitation even though I knew that I had no bandwidth to make such a decision. As my friend happily jaunted away I felt only exhaustion and regret. I once again agreed to something that would prove draining not only for me, but my family who had been getting the residual leftovers of “me” for far too long. Capacity! … Continue reading 10 Insights on Capacity for Navstaff Mommies
As Navstaff we aren’t the only ones who move a lot. Over the years I’ve met other families whose work has required frequent moves. What seems unique to our work though, is the amount of relational energy we direct toward campus, often leaving us with less capacity for peer relationships. For many of us mommy missionaries, our status as unpaid staff doesn’t release us from … Continue reading Relationally Busy, but Lonely
