what drives your design machine?

i’ve been in atlanta for the last week, soaking up the sunny rays of our brand new grandson, linkin urijah miller. we are lovin’ linkin, and hubby clark and i are getting back in touch with the wonderful world of babies.

being away from home, taking long walks in the peaceful, wooded suburbs of atlanta, and time to read – with a trip to anthropologie thrown in. oh wait, don’t forget a ton of late night shows on hgtv… (we don’t get cable at home and i can’t seem to get enough of it here) and conversations with our kids about their latest interests and challenges.

these are a few of my favorite things. i am renewed as i talk with God about us – reading “walking with god” by john elderedge + utmost for his highest with oswald c. inside my head i find myself designing the next ginghamsburg campus space, picturing how our next event could look, reorganizing a room in my home, reimagining our autumn porch in tipp city. i can’t help what my brain does in the off hours but i can feed it and keep it well-nourished for the next season.

what drives your design machine? time away? time with god? time in the out-of-doors? i’d love to know how you “feed your soul” and make time to listen for God’s next creative endeavor. comments invited.

festival fun

ginghamsburg community festival has been a yearly outreach into our surrounding areas for the last 10 years or so. the idea is to create an incredibly fun event for children, students and adults that is almost free – except for the food. It’s a gift to our communities and a wide open doorway to come and see what ginghamsburg’s really about.

part of the festival is the ministry fair that features many of our user-friendly, life-growing areas of discipleship and worship. its great to be part of a church that presents so many points of entry… everything from motorcycles to media to mission adventures.

the highlight of my day was close to the end -when the hurricane aftermath winds were threatening to take everything in one fell swoop- a young mom visiting with two children in tow found me at the hospitality tent and asked if ginghamsburg would baptize or dedicate her children. it seems another church had recently told her that her children were too young to be considered. “either one, whichever your choose,” i replied, and told her about the classes and options we offer for families with children who wish to take this faith commitment.

people have all kinds of needs and this mom just needed to know her kids were going to be taken care of both now and for eternity. it made me smile to think how much fun those cute little boys were going to have at ginghamsburg. i just knew that little family was going to really like the place – and that’s the reason for the festival.

makeover @ the FORT

most of my working hours for the last three weeks have been spent at fort mckinley, ginghamsburg’s latest mission initiative. during the summer we acquired the responsibility for a smaller UMC inside the city of dayton. lovingly referred to as the fort, this church and its people have already captured our hearts. the makeover team has worked two full days redeeming community spaces God is already using in a huge way.

our first project was a room formerly known as the parlor. we saw the potential in this space from the get-go, and it now boasts IKEA-esque seating areas, three bistro table sets, and a coffee area with free java available all week long.

this cozy room is just the beginning – much more to come in future blogs. I wanted to share what’s been going on. God is good and people are passionate for this mission. let me know if you want to join this project team. ~ kmiller@ginghamsburg.org