Tammy Queen's Blog

Yay

Yay…

…for finding my password to my blog.

now i need to blog….

Things I learned from Connie Ainsworth

Last week we had “Sex Ed” Ainsworth here in Raleigh, talking to our students about Sex. Ed is also a great teacher in leadership and has many other talents. I took copious notes all of all the sessions that he taught and they are all stupendous! Maybe I’ll blog all his stuff next. However, I learned some things from Ed’s wife Connie that I thought I would share with you.

 

Be happy where you are on the way to where you’re going.

 

Connie flew separately from Ed because someone blessed her with a ticket. So she was on standby in Orlando all day and when the last flight to RDU went out she didn’t get on it. So she spent the night there and then got a flight the next morning.

 

So I’m feeling really bad for her when I pick her up at the airport. I mean, she must be so upset and frustrated by her travel dilemma.

 

We begin our drive to the hotel and she begins to tell me the story. Only frustration wasn’t part of it at all. She is convinced that if she has any delay that there’s a divine appointment somewhere in it. She looks for opportunities to talk to someone about Christ or to encourage people.

 

WHAT?? Are you kidding me? Delayed and stuck overnight, alone, in an unfamiliar city. And Connie’s attitude is, “I was asking God who I was supposed to talk to, and seeking opportunities for my divine appointment”. She got her divine appointment 10 minutes before she landed in Raleigh.

 

Would you have had the same attitude? I don’t know if I would. After hearing this, I have been challenged to enjoy the journey.

 

Mat 5:16  Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand–shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

 

Generosity

 

Connie is one of the most genuine ladies that I’ve ever met. Gift-giving is her love language and she loves people. I just love hearing her talk about her friends and family back home. She has so much love for them.

 

Shopping with her is a trip, so much fun. She thinks of everyone that she wants to buy for, and she puts thought into everything that she gets for them. One of my prized possessions is a dragonfly beach towel that she bought for me and sent to me. It’s fabulous!

 

Psa 112:5-6 The good person is generous and lends lavishly;

No shuffling or stumbling around for this one, But a sterling and solid and lasting reputation.

 

Be a blessing-distribution center for others.

 

 

Exercise Laughter

 

Connie has the best stories and she laughs through all of them, and so will you. Laughter is internal aerobics, and being around Connie will give you a good workout. She really should write a book, it would be a side-splitting/ pee on yourself best seller.

 

We all have many opportunities to let life’s circumstances keep us down. Find opportunities to laugh, its medicine to your heart.

 

Pro 17:22  A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired.

 

Connie, Thanks for all the lessons even when you didn’t know you were teaching.

Are you Loyal?

This past weekend I attended Project Director Summit at Global Expeditions and Jon Hasz did a session about loyalty, these are my notes and my personal thoughts on them.

 

Attributes of loyalty

 

1. Obedience without grumbling or complaining

 

When you are loyal to your leader/boss/mentor you not only listen to and comply with the advice or counsel that they give you, but you do it without complaining. 

Now I would trust that you would never complain in front of them, that would be disrespectful.

 

I’ve been taught that a problem without a solution is a complaint.

What you do instead is come to them with the issue but be ready to give your recommendation on what you think will solve it.

 

However, this is mainly talking about complaining to others about what you were asked to do.

When you are really loyal, your leaders “yes/no” is your “yes/no”. That means when you’ve been given a directive, you adopt it as your own.

 

 

2. Rumor Stopper

 

If you hear someone talking about your leader in a negative way, you stop them right then.

Give them your personal experience of the character or personality of your leader.

No one will ever talk about my leader/boss/mentor in my presence in a negative way.

 

3. Not a ‘yes’ man

 

We don’t need ‘yes’ men. Your leader needs someone who doesn’t just taken direction and blindly does everything they say. Your leader wants you to have views and opinions.  Your leader wants what you have to bring to the table. You don’t always have to agree with everything your leader says. But you do have to support your leader’s decisions and adopt them as your own. No one should ever know that you don’t agree with your leader.

 

 

A loyal person should be :

 

Respected yet accessible-

don’t let yourself get too familiar with your leader to respect them

            don’t make demands w/out providing resources.

            Have the right balance of the value of people

Evaluate how accessible? Take time with people whenever you can, but stay balanced with everything you have on your plate as well.

           

Highly expectant yet caring

            have high standards, expect excellence

            if we care, we’ll pray 4 people

            take the time to coach

 

Strategic yet actionable

            plan ahead, small goals to reach your vision

Think strategically-act simply

Act simply- think unstratgegically

 

“Dont take monkeys” - basically means that the ball is in your court. delegate everything that you can so all the “monkeys” aren’t’ on your back.

 Book: “1min manager meets the monkey” - Ken Blanchard

Manage or be managed

 

Now I’m singing “Who shocked the Monkey” in my head.

 

 

Soteria

soteria.jpg

This is the tattoo that I have on my wrist. It is the greek word Soteria.  I have it there to remind me of these things that I am going to share with you.

 

Heb 1:13  But to which of the angels, did He say at any time, “Sit on My right hand until I make Your enemies Your footstool?”

Heb 1:14  Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for those who shall be heirs of salvation?

Heb 2:1  Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

Heb 2:2  For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and if every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward,

Heb 2:3  how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by those who heard Him;

Heb 2:4  God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with different kinds of miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?

 

Angels have been sent to minister to the heirs of salvation. If God sent them, then they have a mission and the anointing to accomplish it.

Minister means to serve, so the angels are to serve the heirs of salvation.

 

If you’re an heir, then what does that mean? – Heirs stand to inherit something.

If you inherit something, then it’s usually something of great value.

Cash, land, jewelry, etc….

It’s available to you, it’s Provided for you.

You have the opportunity to take possession of it.

 

So what does the Bible say that the heirs will inherit? Salvation!

 

Does salvation mean the same thing as being born again?

No, they are related but they don’t mean exactly the same thing.

 

Born Again- that’s what happens to your spirit after you repent, confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and he was raised from the dead.

You move from darkness to light. It’s a transition from one point to another based on your decision.

 

Salvation – it’s available to you when you get born again.-

The word in the NT in the Greek is Soteria- it means healing, safety, deliverance, protection, soundness but wait there’s more- it comes with the ministry of angels.

 

Healing, safety, deliverance, protection, and soundness are the things that you inherit. They are available to you, it’s been provided for you, but just like any inheritance, you have to take possession of it, you have to access it.

So every time I look down at my wrist it reminds me of my inheritance.

Healing is mine.  I can access divine health because it comes with the package of Soteria/salvation.

Protection is mine. I’m not afraid of anything, I am very adventuress, I don’t have to fear anything. 

Deliverance, soundness is mine. I have the mind of Christ. I don’t have to be overwhelmed or stressed out because my mind is sound because its part of the package.

 

So don’t neglect Soteria.(salvation) Jesus gave His whole life so that we could have it. It’s your inheritance. Take advantage of it.

Don’t be a “Hater”

Technology is a wonderful thing. It makes our lives easier, saves us time, and has multiplied our communication with the people in our worlds.

Some of us embrace technology and some of us don’t.  Some of us get frustrated with it until we learn it and some are just “haters”.

I am specifically tuning in on Blogs, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, jott, etc….

I admit i tried to set up a MySpace page because all of my Students had one and i wanted to be able to interact with them, but it was really frustrating to me and not easy to set up or use at the time. Then i started Bloggin so i thought “what do i need a facebook for if i have a blog?”

Well I recently set up my Facebook page and now i know what a HUGE difference it is than just having a blog.

Some of the common misconceptions that I have heard are things like :

-It’s a waste of time- ( I don’t consider knowing whats going on in the lives of people i care about a waste of time)

-I don’t have time to keep up with it-( you can only spend 15-30 minutes a day or more if you choose)

-it’s just for teenagers- there are so many adults & groups,  it’s a social network so it’s not just for teens although i have found it to be wonderful for keeping up with my own teens cori and branton

I haven’t found any of those things to be true. I have reconnected with old friends. I have reconnected with people that i have met all over the world. It’s awesome to see photos and up to date comments from friends across the globe.

I even found out i’m gonna be a “host grandma”.  I know what your thinkin, i’m way too young to be a grandma and YOUR ABSOLUTLEY RIGHT!  We had an exchange student (Carina)  from The Netherlands live with us for a year, 10 years ago and i found out through a message she sent me in Face book that she is getting married and is expecting a baby.

I have also gotten to know so many people from Living Word that i pass in the halls and say hello to but don’t know anything about their lives through Facebook. It’s like a window into their thoughts, feelings, and things that are important to them. And if you took away all the people/friends except for my Students and Young adults from Student Ministries it’s still all worth it. I am having so much fun staying connected to whats important to my students and whats going on in their lives.

It only takes the time that i’m willing to spend with it. It really only takes 15-30 minutes per day really to check any messages/ notifications and click the friend button to get an overview of all of your friends status. Then from there you can explore anything you want to know further.

Now, Twitter. Twitter is kinda like a mini version of that for text messaging. Twitter asks the question, What are you doing? and then you text whatever you want. The only people that can see your” twitter” is the people that are following you. But the question that i had when i signed up was not only what is it, but Why should i use it?

Gold nuggett: People don’t care how to do anything until they know why. Once you know Why, you will search out how.

So why do i use Twitter? Mainly because it helps me stay connected and keeps me close to the people that i am following. And sometimes it is used like a mini chat room, but its texting.

this is an example of some twitters today. this is the online version, but its the same in my text

JenChappell Got 2 galons of chili making my house smell soooo good about 5 hours ago from txt

tqueen247 Hangin w/ Stage20 people- really talented & awesome young adults 8:50 PM Jan 15th from txt

jodyhollar @stkelsiej you need to hit them nails with some paint about 7 hours ago from mobile web in reply to stkelsiej

pmicah7 watching the motorcycle and the mouse. about 7 hours ago from txt

MarkBatterson going to shoot a video. outside. it’s freezing! better get it on the first take! about 8 hours ago from web

now some of the people i follow, like Mark Batterson obviously doesn’t follow me but it’s cool to follow famous speakers/etc just to get a glimpse of their lives. And i am closer to my friends and family because of Twitter.

Most of you already have a facebook and some of you Twitter, but if you don’t i challenge you, don’t be a “hater” ask why and i think you’ll find that it helps us build relationships with people.

What resolutions are you making?

 Resolution: A course of action determined or decided on

Making resolutions help us to accomplish the things that are important to us. When we follow through with them they make us stronger personally and spiritually.

Psa 20:4  Give you what your heart desires, Accomplish your plans.

Psa 20:5  When you win, we plan to raise the roof and lead the parade with our banners. May all your wishes come true!

 

God wants you to accomplish your plans and He wants to give you the desires of your heart. So with God, the Creator of the Universe, our Heavenly Father, on our side why do we fail at keeping resolutions?

How do we keep them?

 

1.Decide to make a resolution- 

            It starts with a decision. You have to decide to make a resolution.

            Once you have settled that you’re going to do it , then you can take the next step.

 

Jam 1:8  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

 

Message:

Jam 1:2  Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides.

Jam 1:3  You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.

Jam 1:4  So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

Jam 1:5  If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it.

2- Have a plan

            Set yourself up for success.

 

  If you are making a resolution to have consistent QT’s  (Quiet Times with God)-

  A. set a time, we are creatures of habit, be realistic and make it work with your schedule.

  B. Set the atmosphere. no interruptions,whether or not you want worship music, etc..

  C. have a devotional/something along with your Bible. If you are a seasoned follower of Christ, then you probably can just open your BIble and flow with it. Most students and new believers find it more challenging to do that, so find something to read everyday.

(Join Living Word in reading the New Testament in a year)

 

  

Same with losing weight. Eat less, move more.  Have a plan of what your going to do. If you want to have good grades, are you getting enough sleep, do you understand what’s being taught?  

 

3- Being organized

            Cleaning out binder- create habits-

            Knowing where your bible is

            Packing your lunch-

            Don’t have $ to get anything from the vending machine

 

4- Accountability

 

Pro. 19:20 Take good counsel and accept correction– that’s the way to live wisely and well.

Pro 19:21  We humans keep brainstorming options and plans, but GOD’s purpose prevails

 

All of us need accountability. How many of you would go to school or work everyday if it was an option? If your room is clean, it’s because your mom makes you do it. Have a checklist for your Quiet Times, or keep a food log of what you eat.         

 

Psa 124:8  Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

 

 

All we need is help from God and we will succeed. These steps will set you up for success. Think of how this will change your life? What benefits will you gain if you follow through with your resolutions.

 

If your room/house is always clean, you feel good. If you always have your QTs ,your relationship w/ God is strong. You won’t feel overwhelmed at life,  you’ll feel free and excited about life. If you eat right, you feel good, you don’t feel so full/sluggish and you think clearer and focus more and you’ll lose weight.

 

If you do these things how is 2009 going to turn out for you????

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

me & my mee maw Brown

sonya, tangela, me, & Ytonia (girl cousins)

Oh my, the turkey coma has set in but i love Thanksgiving. I’m spending it back home at my parents house.

This afternoon we had our 2nd dinner. Last night the Queen’s ,today the Brown family. (my moms side).

It’s the first time that we have been all together since my paw paw Brown passed away in 96. He was my Pastor growing up and my whole family went to the same church.  There are 7 of us grandchildren and then we all have kids.

I am blessed to have a great family and it was a great afternoon.

5 lessons I learned at Sea

Just coming back from a cruise, this is the message that I shared at Stage20 last night.

 

 

1- If you keep moving the scenery changes-

Every morning on the cruise we sat at the same table, outside, on the back of the boat. Even though we were at the same table, the scenery changed because the boat kept moving forward to our destination.

Day 1: open sea

Day 2: Downtown Nassau, Bahamas

Day 3:Half Moon Cay (private island)

Day4: open sea

Day 5: Jacksonville, Florida

 

Phi 3:14  I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

Phi 3:15  So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision–you’ll see it yet!

Phi 3:16  Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.

 

Ever get tired of the same scenery in your life?

If you’ll keep moving towards your goals, dreams the scenery will continue to change, at every level it will be fresh and new.

New challenges, new ideas, new promotions, new opportunities.

 

 

2- Customer service-

On a cruise, they have incredible customer service. Towel animals every night, turn down the bed, put the napkin in your lap, they pressed  Paul’s suit at last minute

 

2Pe 1:3  Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received!

2Pe 1:4  We were also given absolutely terrific promises to pass on to you–your tickets to participation in the life of God after you turned your back on a world corrupted by lust.

 

 

God has provided us with the ultimate service. He sent us His Son, Jesus & the price He paid, but wait there’s more. He sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide and our counselor to make sure we had everything that we need to be successful in life.

 

Also being a follower of Christ , we are ambassadors of Christ. This means that every person here on Earth is a guest and we are ambassadors so we are to offer the very best Customer Service to the world.

 

 

3- Go against the flow-

When we got to Nassau, the crowd followed all the touristy options, but we went against the flow so that we could go to the beaches and places that the locals hang out.

 

We are called to go against the flow. Don’t just be a tourist in life, be a world traveler- go after all that God has for you, don’t settle for less.

 

Eph 3:12  When we trust in him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go.

 

 

4- We take our freedom for granted.

All the staff on the boat was from other countries. I love hearing their stories and getting to know them. Most of them are working on the ship because they didn’t have the same opportunities to make money back home.

 

We live in the most blessed, abundant country in the world, and we sometimes take our freedoms for granted. Men & women died for our freedom, they still are.  Many believers in other countries are in prison, or killed today for the gospel. We can carry our Bibles in public, assemble together & talk to whoever we want about our faith and it’s legal.

 

Rom 6:17  But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master,

Rom 6:18  one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!

 

 5- The Higher you go the more you see

 

Parasailing has been on my life list for years and I finally had the opportunity to do it-  Just floating up into the sky you can see everything.

 

Your leaders are standing on a higher level, they see things that you don’t.  You have to trust them, and trust that God put them in your life to guide you.

 

Also, God is calling you to come up to a new level, when you do you begin to see the bigger picture, the vision for your life, or the vision of our church, the higher you go the more you can see.

 

Isa 55:8  For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways, says Jehovah.

Isa 55:9  For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

 

 

so I know blogging is supposed to be a daily or few times a week thing, but this post covers a few days.

 

So I’ve never been on a cruise before but I’m on one right now.  Paul booked one of those last minute deals  for us, so I didn’t have time to ask questions, anticipate how it would be, or anything like that.

 

I used to have motion-sickness really bad, now its just mild, or so I thought. The first evening at sea….omg I had to get meds from the infirmary, the dinner was so nice but I just couldn’t sit through it, had to “peace out” for the evening.

 

But eating breakfast & lunch on an outside deck where the view changes everyday from the same table, has been fabulous.

 

A DAY IN NASSAU

To wake up and go out to the same table that the day before had been overlooking the ocean, now overlooks downtown Nassau, Bahamas. What a beautiful town. We were herded off the boat, hundreds of people headed for the eager locals to offer us the best deal on everything.

 

I’m a world traveler, Paul, however, is a tourist.

 

See, I am a short term missionary. I want to hit all the back streets. I want to go to the market that only locals know about. I want to go to the beach that locals go to. I want to take the bus with the locals and have them scream through the streets on the wrong side of the road honking the horn the whole way.

 

After walking past 2 local beaches, of which I didn’t want to stop at, we compromised and took a bus to another local beach and then…….. AHHHH, crystal blue waters, gentle waves, few people. We sat down on the beach in chairs and became the people in the Carona commercial.  You know the ones sitting there with the lime in their beer, except I had water. Then hailed a bus back downtown to the straw market, where everyone yells at you and everyone has the best deal for you. It was really fun.

 

HALF MOON CAY DAY

 

The next day, (yesterday) we docked at a private island, Half Moon Cay.

 

But we settle at the end on the beach under pine trees on the beach. Yeah, pine trees, so funny to see pine needles & cones on the beach where the water is so blue that you just expect the tidy bowl man to pop up at any time.

Absolutely beautiful!

 

I have a “wish list” or some people call it a life list. But this day I checked two things off my list.

1- parasailing: I’ve always wanted to do it. It was amazing, just off the beach of a private island in paradise. I couldn’t help but just praise God the whole time I was up in the air, because it was so beautiful and peaceful and perfect.

 

2- watching the sun set on the ocean- I’ve never been on the west coast or in another country at sunset so this has been on my list for years. But I got to see it yesterday. It was breathtaking. So much more than ever thought it would be. No once else on the boat seemed to care or be interested. I guess they’ve seen it plenty before, but it was my first time and it was amazing.

 

A DAY AT SEA

 

Today we are on our way back to Florida on the ever-so-choppy Atlantic Ocean. As long as I’m sitting here on the deck, the boat can rock as much as it wants to, if I go inside, I feel like I’ve had 3-4 of those little fruity drinks that the waiters are carrying around here.

But I haven’t cause I hate the feeling of “not being in control”.

 

Overall the food, activities, shows, etc have been fabulous, if this flippin boat would quit movin, that would make it all better.

Sitting here on my deck eatin Kashi cereal for lunch. My feet propped up on the rails, listening to the birds and the crickets.  Life is good. It’s so peaceful, right now, despite the crazy whirlwind of events that is my life.

Yeah, and to prove that point,  just in the last 1 minute, both of my teenage children have invaded my peace and quite, came out here on the deck to fight over the remote (& their watching the same movie??)

Our annual Leadership Advance, Cori just got her drivers permit, new series at Twentyfour7, finishing a series at Stage20, “my children did WHAT?” 09 planning reports, mandates, Stage20 camping trip, Stage20 bonfire here at my house tonite. [deep breath….] Pastor Appreciation weekend, gotta hear week 2 of Popeye series [week 1 was “beast”], getting ready to go to Wave Conference, teachers conference’s…… i could go on and on.

I wouldn’t trade any of it , i love it all, but for now, i took the remote and muted my children and it’s quite and peaceful out here. [sigh]