When she asked me that it was a no-brainer. I instantly said yes to her. I'm very proud of her for making into the Beta club and very happy to share that achievement as a "first." It is true that I have never had a daughter inducted into the Beta Club before. I also did not know how much thought goes into a young lady picking an outfit for a Beta Club induction ceremony. That's much more involved than it is for a boy.
They had a nice ceremony at the school for us. There were lots of picture taking parents. My wife was one of those which relieves me of any responsibility for doing that. I am quite happy for her to be the one that slinks down the aisle and sits on the floor near the front to try to snap a decent picture of a 12 year old walking across the front of the auditorium. That's too much pressure for me.
Afterwards, they had a nice reception. We had refreshments and soft drinks. They had peanut M&M's which are my favorite and many people forget those and just get regular M&M's. They also had chips, dip, cake, and cookies. It was fun day.
When they inducted the new members, they had to raise their right hand and pledge some things. I don't remember all that they pledged, but it had to do with leadership, serving others, and keeping their grades high. I also remember something about telling the truth; I am pretty sure they were for it. I did look up the National Beta Club site and found their mission statement. It is to promote the ideals of academic achievement, character, service and leadership among elementary and secondary school students. That's a pretty cool mission statement.
This reminded me that as followers of Jesus we have a mission as well. Nobody else is going to do our mission if we don't. It can be stated in different ways, but our mission is going to be about glorifying God, loving Him and others, and telling as many people as we can about Jesus. The way we say it at Hopewell (and it's not original with us) is this; The mission of Hopewell Baptist Church is to glorify God (I Corinthians 10:31) by having a great commitment (Luke 9:23) to the Great Commandment (Mark 12: 29-31) and Great Commission (Matthew 29: 18-20). You can say it in several different ways, but I believe that gets at the heart of it.
This is the mission God has given us. I need to be very serious and intentional about God's mission for my life and the church to which I belong. If I fail at God's mission for my life, I've really failed. If I can get pretty close to God's mission for my life, I'll be eternally grateful. I find it challenging to think each day about how to be on mission with God that day.
On mission in the abundant life
Barry
3 things I thank God for today
1. Hannah Grace being inducted into the Beta Club
2. Teachers who help with extracurricular activities
3. Peanuts
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