Awoke this morning with 2 things ~

For some reason this morning, I awoke from my deep sleep with 2 things racing through my mind. One is the families that the Lord has been blessing with us the last few weeks as Carol, Kyle and I have enjoyed spending time with at the swim meets. Tomorrow is the championship swim meet and we will sure be pool side cheering them on. But its more than that. Its time invested into relationships - friendships - and families coming together. The Lord is definitely moving people into our lives...but my guard of the old days is not up and the forces to protect myself and my family are not up. We are taking a risk - to let people in and let them in close because that is the only way to grow. Grow in so many areas and not just in our friendships. Today if you have 3 close people who you can talk too and really share you heart with - You are blessed. I want to say Lucky - but luck has nothing to do with it. BLESSED comes from the Lord and blessed is the person who has 3 great friendships in their life. I am investing my time and energies into people. Jesus invested everything He had into people. Sure He paid the price when people turned on Him and we risk that as well. But "IF" we never venture out of our comfort zone and reach our hands out - we will be alone one day and how sad that would be. The greatest blessings I am experiencing in my "Walk" with Jesus has taken place in the last few years~ and those blessings have come in PEOPLE. Its one reason why I serve my church with the passion and the energy - not because I will get noticed but because I am serving God. Its not about the paycheck but because I am investing my time and money into changing lives - all I am doing is serving to set the stage - so that - that someone who walks through the doors at church, who may be on their last hair in life, their last dollar or at the end of the marriage ropes - can experience Jesus. It takes many things and many folks to make that happen but I am going to do my part. The folks that are coming to church now - many are folks Carol, Kyle and I have invested time with and time praying for. There is nothing more awesome than seeing them each week coming on their own now. KNOWING- they get it and maybe just one day they will experience God like I have the last few years. I know many of them are right now.... and I am blessed to be able to see the comfort in their faces and in their hearts. There is a real difference in folks - when we experience Jesus and He has control.
The second thing on my mind this morning was my mom. How I wish I could be sharing this time with her. Imagine with me sitting at the old house near the pond Sharon - sitting there passing the time, laughing and talking - watching the family fish and laugh. There were some of those memories but not enough of them. Sitting at the beach on the rocking chairs on that front porch listening to the waves and enjoying the sun warm our faces - even in November! So much to share but seems I have either forgotten or we never took the time to make enough of them happen. Time spent together - serving each other and sharing. Maybe that is one reason I spent so much time this past year in the classroom with my son. That invested time is paying dividends beyond anything I could ever imagine.
My schedule seems so full the last few weeks - but I know I am serving in the right places - investing in the right relationships and reaching folks for Jesus.
Everyone in life has a path to chose and follow.... I have finally found mine and I tell ya - Life is good. Life has meaning. Life has purpose. Life has joy. Life has direction. Life is with Jesus.

Randy~