You've Got A Life To Live!

I've been slacking on blogging and keeping up with others' blogs, and I am especially lacking in sharing the many blessings God has been giving me. They have been there.


Okay- to start off, my students are amazing and on my last full day with them last week, they presented me with this:

Each made me a card and then I got the Big Book edition of Lois Ehlert's Snowballs, with a very special message inside! It almost brought me to tears.

Yesterday, I began my "half day" work with them on Tuesday/Thursdays. When it was time to go, they all came and hugged me and begged me not to leave. It was so hard to leave knowing there are students who want to learn from me and who value my presence as their teacher!

As I went home for Fall Break, I was blessed with a very sensual experience- the wind was bitter, the multi-colored leaves decorated the ground, and it was a treat to sit outside and reflect on God's awesome works and ways! Here is one example that was decorating our outdoor welcome area (note the amazing little ladybug!) 

Though I was sick, I was blessed to be sick at home. Yeah, I didn't get to do all that I would have liked to while I was home, but I was there. And because I was there (I think this was a God-thing), I was able to help my sister after her car accident.


I had safe travels back and began my new schedule. I love it. It's really busy, but I love it, and there are more opportunities for free time. I posted it a while back.


I especially love the opportunity of having an "audited" course experience in LITERACY with my mentor professor (whom, I also got to have lunch with today). I do like my other two courses too, and I love that I can see my first graders twice a week, and soon I'll see a new batch of preschoolers for 3 days a week. That will be an entirely different adventure!


I was so grateful to be able to play organ again at my home church for worship services on Sunday! And they were communion services! It was a blessing, and I was so glad to be able to share in the music ministry again! And I will this coming Sunday at my interim church!


I am thankful for some new Autumn/Pumpkin/Halloween children's books to use with my students.


I am happy that I got my hands on some new resources for teaching and growing as a professional.


I am excited for special events happening this weekend!


I delivered the message tonight at our campus PRAISE service. Here is an excerpt...  (The text was Deuteronomy 10:12-22). The title of my message was, "You've Got A Life to Live!"

... but when we go to help and show God’s love to other people, we not only bless them, but we bless ourselves through the process.

You have been hurt, I know that. But shake it off! And STEP UP! Do not let the hardships in life that are meant to bury you, indeed bury you. Be stiff-necked no longer.

Think about this… when you die, what’s going to be the thing that matters most? How many things you had? How much money you made? How many football games your team won? How many people you knocked out of the way to get to where you were? How many people you shut out of your life?

No. What’s going to matter is how many people you showed the love of God to and the people you were able to help. The crowning achievement in your life will be how many people you were able to help and care for.

God loved you. He loved you so much He sent His Son to die for you. He is helplessly, hopelessly, madly in love with you. Jesus died on the cross, He went through the depths of hell and He rose again- just for you.

And because of that, you’re going to heaven. Do you realize that the minute God called you His own, you were ready to go to heaven? It’s true. But reality is, you’re not there yet! You’ve got a life to live! Until you get to heaven, we are to be about our Father’s business- showing love to one another. So what do you do in the mean time? You’ve got a life to live! Show that very love He first showed you. Be stiff-necked no longer. That’s not easy. Some people don’t want to do any work. As I said, when they encounter a hardship or meet someone they don’t want to help or care for, they think it is easier to whine and recline than to step up and show Christ’s love. But Ephesians 2:10 says this: “We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, do to good works that God has prepared in advance for us to do.”

 ....Heaven could come to you TODAY! Or tomorrow! Are you living that way? Are you doing the good works God created you to do? You’ve got a life to live! Go, do something spectacular for Jesus, for His kingdom, and for His people. Amen.

(if you are interested in reading more, let me know.) 

After the messages, one of my buddies came up and said "You know, you are a real blessing to all of us. Thank you." And gave me a big hug. That line right there made giving the message worth it- that I could be a blessing and share about what God has done for me!

That reminds me, Tuesday morning, I was getting iced tea to go and head to school. One of the older cafeteria workers, whom I haven't had much interaction with much this semester saw me and came up to me. She said... "You are walking like you have never had any problems." I smiled and said, "Yes, God blessed me with an amazing recovery." Then she said something that made me stop in my tracks. She said,

"You are an inspiration to me. You are an inspiration to students I've talked to. You're an inspiration to everyone!" 

I was shocked! But honored! What a high compliment! I've got a life to live, as I said in my message- and that right there helps me realize that I am living it! I am not being buried- I am showing God's love!

I also get to see all of the cafeteria ladies who work the lunch shift. (Whom I haven't gotten to see much of all year.) They all tell me how good I am looking and how much they missed me and talking to me!

That made my day!

Life is abounding with blessings right now. Busy times, and difficulty overcoming this cold, but I've got a life to live! My hope is that I'm living it to the fullest!