3,000,000 more hours....

Today is April 1st and this is NO joke ...Honest. Today I have been working at the same place for 13 years. It has been a good and fun ride for the most part! I am honored mostly not for what my job entails here but for the chance to talk truth to people around me and to have an office where folks come and sit and really talk about life and struggle. They know that the cross on my neck that I currently don't have because I gave it to one of MyKids after she told me it was nice and she wished she had one like it - but because of that cross - my role here at work is different than others. Its a part that I enjoy the most and I don't get paid for. Sounds like ministry doesnt it?
Anyways - in 3,000,000 more hours I might be looking at retiring but not quiting and hanging out. So many walk around their jobs unhappy and unfilfilled knowing that they are not where they are supposed to be. Some don't even know where they are supposed to be at all. I am here to remind you that God is working in those situations. Many times your prayers will be answered later down the road and in some capacity that you might not even realize. God has something to teach you today right where you are and in the place you are. You might be struggling or having a problem or even a tough circumstance but God is using that to bring you closer to Him. You might not be seeing it or feeling it or even knowing that folks around you are full of encouragement and prayers that you dont even know. So many times folks walk away or give up before God can bless and answer their prayers - God is working even if you cant see it. Faith is not walking by sight - it is walking by the trust in Who God says He is and WHAT He has promised. SO hang tight onto that and really know and believe that God will work through you to do His will. Its not about you at all .... and He may be using YOUR situation and struggle to get to a person along side of you or one of your children.

There are folks around me today that are seeking and searching - they have yet to really "GETIT" and live for Jesus. They are partly in or still want control and have things their way. If only they would take the next step - to give faith a shot in their life and watch how God will transform them. Being a Christain is no easy task - our lives of full of checks and balances - accountability not only for ourselves but the folks around us - we are in constant flux on how we can lead better or do things better or do Gods will above our own or how can we reach out to someone in Christ's name and show them the practical love of Jesus. I walk around everyday with the heavy heart for the folks around me who I am doing life with - for "MyKids" and that continued investement knowing that LONG down the road it MIGHT pay off that I made some kind of difference. God has placed that on me - He has placed it on me to do my part and whatever I can do to show others what He has done for me and HOW He has changed my life. I want that with all my heart for others to know that Joy and peace and guidance.
Faith is an easy word when we are doing well and things are rolling along - its when we are struggling and hurting that FAITH shows up and is tested ... it is spiritually grown and your trust and understanding in who Jesus really is comes in full vision.

Some can sit and wait - 3,000,000 more hours till retirement so they can watch Opray and CNN - Thats just not for me ... I am blessed today for 13 years of employment at one place - helping up and coming teachers who will go out into our schools and touch the hearts of children - its why I serve in Sunday School - many of those kids come from school and into Sunday School so they can be full circle and come to know Jesus in a personal way - a guiding light in a dark world where the road is narrow to His ways to those who find it. To those who are shining for Jesus around me today - Shine on brothers and sisters ..... I am walking with you on this awesome journey today.
Thank You Lord for Your love, encouragement and the things only You could place on my heart. Thank You for the people you have surrounded me with and lift me up - thank You for MyKids and the passion You have given me to go into the schools and invest in them Thank You for the church you have placed My family and I in. Thank You Lord for changing my life and saving me. Thank You for my family and the things that You have walked with us through in the last few years. I know You have been there all along and I am blessed to share Your name with others. Even if I thought the hard conversations over the last few years with Walt seemed to be a waste of time, its never going to happen - You proved to us that they weren't and it was all part of Your plan. Nothing we do in Your honor is thrown aside and You will bless us for serving You.
Amen