On Thursday, I received my first piece of mail addressed to “Rev.”

I feel blessed beyond belief!

I’ve been working on courses for my Licensed Minister’s Certificate for approximately 11 years!!

On Saturday, September 29th, 2012, I’m going to be commissioned!

I’ve been working on it while I was…..

Teaching full-time in NJ…

Raising my son…

Caring for my parents…

Directing Vacation Bible School in the summers…

Coordinating  Girls Club on Wednesdays…

Taking courses for my Master’s Degree…

Selling and packing up my Mom’s house, and our house in NJ…

Moving all of us to FL…

Teaching Kids Church in our new church in FL…

And Wednesday night Kids Club…

Speaking at women’s meetings…

Taking care of my Mom and her health problems before she passed away…

Taking courses to renew my FL Teaching Certificate…

Substituting, and going back to work part-time…

Etc., etc., etc…

And I’m finally finished!!!  Amen!  And Praise God!!

My family is full of minister’s…My uncle was my pastor when I was growing up…many of my cousins are pastor’s of churches or ministers of music.  Our e-mail and phone prayer networking is amazing…when we pray, things happen in Heaven!!

I started taking one course at my church in NJ with a group of people, and one class led to another, and then another…courses such as “Life of Christ,” Introduction to Theology,” Marriage and Family,” “Sermon Preparation,” “Soul Winning,” “How to Study the Bible,” “Biblical Theology of Prayer,” and “Missions.”

I loved it!

Then, when we got to FL, no one else was taking courses at my church, so I did a few by myself.  But, when Hurricane Charlie hit us…and things in our house turned to destruction, I lost track of my books, which got shoved back in the deep corners of my closet!  I had just finished “New Testament Survey,”  and had gotten several chapters done in “Old Testament Survey.”

It was a bad place to get distracted, because that’s a difficult course…so many names to remember, and lots of “begats.”  Ha!

So, after we recovered completely from the aftermath of renovation after the hurricane, several years had gone by, and I finally retrieved my “Old Testament Survey” textbooks from their hiding place.

Dear Jesus, what am I supposed to do now?  Should I finish this, or just forget it!

Clearly, He said, “Finish it!  And keep going!!”

I don’t really know what God has planned…

In directing our Drama Team, and preparing devotionals each week…I work with kids, youth, and young adults, and their parents all the time, in Kids Church I teach Bible lessons and object lessons.  In evaluating home schoolers with my FL Teaching Certificate, I work with two Christian home schooling groups.  So perhaps the Lord will just have me continue with these…

Whatever, He decides…I trust Him to finish within me what He started!  Amen!

I’ve already been asked by a friend and her husband to renew their wedding vows…how special is that???

My thought on preaching?

“You preach you burn…You teach you learn.”  So I’m blessed to be able to teach, so I can learn…and to remember I’m preaching to myself first, so I won’t burn!!  Ha!

Those of you that have started something for the Lord, and feel like giving up…don’t!!

Be patient!  Trust God’s timing!

I’m sure He wants to use you, too!!

P.S.   Commissioning Day photos taken by my husband!!

The Pastors’ prayers were very powerful…

And very humbling, also!

Please Lord…make me ready to serve You in this way!!

Amen!