Hello Dear Bloggers!!

Okay, my summer’s over, even though it’s still intensely hot around here!  School has started in FL!!

In NJ, I would still have off until AFTER labor Day!!

I substituted on Thursday and Friday last week, and on Monday this week, for a  new high school English teacher, who went to her sister’s wedding.  All went well, nice to see everyone from last year!!

There are many, more kids and I was in a new portable classroom for my 1st 3 periods, which was fine, except for the “new” chemical smell…YUK!!  Then I traveled to other classrooms the rest of the day.  On Thursday and Monday, I had two free periods, but on Fri., I covered for another teacher for those two periods, so she could go to a funeral.

So this was my schedule on Friday:

I got up at 4:35 am, covered 7 classes, went to the gym, went to drama practice, got home at 7 pm, straightened up the house, and collapsed!   On Saturday, I had to get up 6 am to go to breakfast with my sponsor to meet my new district superintendent of Gospel Crusade Ministerial Fellowship, so I can get my minister’s license, since I just finished my required courses!!  Yipee!!

Came home on Saturday afternoon…felt like collapsing, straightened up the house (of course!), and went to take a nap!

Let’s just stop here a moment…I had my son when I was 41 years old…he’s going to be 22 next month…he keeps me young…but, if you do the math, you can see…I’m no spring chicken!  I was exhausted!!

My left jaw started hurting on Friday and got worse by Saturday afternoon…my son prayed for me…I called dentist for pain meds in case it was a tooth ache, but the pharmacy closed at 6 pm, and I didn’t get the meds ’til Sun., and I didn’t need them by then.  I had an icepack on it all day Saturday while napping, and later while watching TV.

My husband and I watched some funny movie, and finally I relaxed, so it stopped hurting around 8 pm.

I didn’t go to church on Sunday, thinking it was lack of sleep.

*Let’s digress…a moment here, too, because:

Men don’t get it at all!!!

“Go to bed” to them…means, literally “Go to bed!”

Same thing in the mornings…”Go work means,  literally “Get up and go to work!!”

Females…we, on the other hand…well, we all know what we’re like…my list of things that I need to do, is endless…we don’t even get it ourselves…there’s always one more thing we need to do…day or night…before we can “Go to bed!” or “Go to work!”

*Hence the reason we’re always tired…but I digress!!

My jaw felt fine all day Sunday…got lots done around the house…went to work Monday…went to the dentist after work to find out it’s not tooth related.  Woke up Tuesday am at 3 am with it throbbing again, but not as bad…my husband prayed for it and by the time I got to work at Calvary Christian School the pain was gone!!

It’s like a muscle is twisting or something in the left jaw area, from my ear to and under my chin.  Like a gland or something!  Felt like the shingles I had years ago (from stress!!), but not as bad and no painful sores!  Looked it up on-line, and it sounds like it’s most likely TMJ…it makes your whole head hurt…please pray for me!  I read that some people have this pain for years!

No, I can’t take pain, so I must be healed in Jesus Name!  Amen!!

So anyway, I got a part-time job working at Calvary Christian School on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday each week.

I’m glad to not be working 3 days in a row!  I had to tell the high school I couldn’t work a bunch of days they asked me about already, but just feel God telling me to do this!!

The classroom at Calvary is set up so each of the 17 elementary kids has his/her own cubical (called their “office!”).  To help them, we
walk around the room and check their work at the counter above their desk, so I stand all day, except for a 20 min, break and a 30 min. lunch with the kids.  On the second day,  I wore sneakers!!  On my day off, I tried to get lots of things done at home…for drama practice on Friday, for my on-line course to renew my FL Teaching Certificate, laundry, phone calls, etc.

My son’s responsible for putting dishes away and folding towels.  My husband makes dinner, my son’s lunches, and takes care of the dog so I can go to bed early…so it’s taking the whole family co-operating to do this for sure!!  I’ve been retired for 10 years!  So we need to get  back in the groove.

It will work!

However…Blogging did not get done!!

And I miss you!

So, Dear Bloggers…Praying you are all doing great!  I still do have time to pray, of course, so I’ll continue to lift up each of you to the Lord!!  God Bless!

Why did I take on this part-time job????  (Subbing was working out just fine…go to work when you feel like it!)

It dropped into my lap!  Just like my son’s job at Calvary did!  After I told him time and time again this summer, while watching him play video games…”You’ve graduated from college now…don’t expect God to come knocking on your front door to say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this great job for you!’  You’ve got to actually go and find a job!”

Well, God literally dropped these jobs into our laps…

So what did we do???

We looked down at the gifts God laid in our laps, prayed about it, picked them up, and said, “Let’s Go!!”

PLUS…Bottom line?

I didn’t want to tell God…I don’t do mornings!!  Ha!  Even though everyone KNOWS I don’t do mornings!

I may be too busy to blog to you…but God is never too busy for any of us…

Really!

How does he do it????!

When we have such a hard time “doing it all!!”

Life happens…and then it happens some more…

Sometimes it’s hard for us to ask, “Where do you want me to go, Lord???

We could murmur (I do!!)  when He tells us…but it didn’t get the Israelites anywhere!!

Literally, they just wandered around… like we do without purpose…

Our purpose is to go!!

Go to your job…go to your school, go to the park with your kids, go to sit with a sick friend or family member…

Go into all the world…your world…

So that everywhere we go…

Everything we do…

Is for the Lord…and points everyone to Jesus…

If we remember that, life is easier!

Easy, because our Bible simply says, “Go!!”

“…Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”  Mark 16:15 NIV

Don’t add any stipulations…

Like,

“I’ll go when…I have nothing else to do…”

“When nobody else needs my attention…”

“When I feel like it…”

Or, after we remind the Lord…”I don’t do mornings!”

How about if an evangelist or missionary said, “I don’t do Africa…or China…or India…”

Our Bible also says “…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  John 10:10 NKJV

Life…more abundantly…

Notice the word “MORE”…

I’m not asked to sit in a rocking chair and do nothing…even at my age…

I’m still called to, “GO!”

Because I’ve been given LIFE…MORE abundantly!!

Face it, church…

God wants to give us MORE LIFE…so we can “GO!”

More job opportunities, more people to minister to, more people to love and feel compassion for…

When we obey and “GO!”

Jesus LIVES…so should we!

Our Drama Team exploded this year…

Why?  We prayed for MORE!!

More faith, more anointing, more wisdom, more members…for more outreach opportunities…so we can “GO!”

It’s never about more “stuff”  for us, Church…

It’s not about more money, more cars, more houses, etc.

Though God may bless us with those things…

They’re His to give us,  if we use them for His mission… reaching lost souls….

For us to use for His glory to help others…

But what He really wants to give us is MORE LIFE!!

MORE abundantly!

So since my last blog…my season in LIFE has changed…Life has happened…MORE has happened…I’ve been asked to “Go!”

But, my mission from God hasn’t changed…

“Go!”  Is still His command to me!

And to you…

What season of  LIFE are you in?

In NJ, there are many seasons:  Cool…crisp…beautiful fall foliage…frost on the pumpkins…apple-picking…

Icy cold…dry skin…frostbite…slippery roads…gorgeous snow drifts…(unless you have to drive in it or shovel it!  Ha!)

Wet…blustery…birds chirping…flowers blooming…

Hazy…hot…humid…beach…pool…summer vacation…

Fl has no seasons…unless you count…

“Not-so-hot”

“Hot”

“Really hot”

“Intensely hot”

That’s LIFE…let’s embrace it, whatever season…

And stick to God’s plan and His purpose for our lives…to live life MORE abundantly…and to “Go!”

I won’t murmur or complain about this season…(Okay, I may vent a little!!  Ha!  I’m tired and my feet hurt…etc.)

Don’t live in the shadows…the Son is Risen!

Let’s have an attitude adjustment…

This new season could be school, books, jobs, stress…

Or it could be love, compassion, teaching, ministering…

It’s all in how you look at LIFE…

Look at it much more abundantly…

Don’t get stuck in one hard season…

God’s trying to make you Live!

Maybe this season is blustery…you’ve driven into a snow drift…slipped on icy roads…gotten caught in a hurricane…you’re chilled to the bone…wet, cold, and damp…or it’s so hot you can’t breathe…

Keep going, keep living…’til you’re season turns into one of gathering flowers, picking pumpkins, making angels in the snow, or walking on the beach!!

Don’t get stuck in…”it’s too hot…I’m too old…it’s too hard…”

I’ll just be thankful for the job God gave me, for the Christian environment He’s put me in…in this season…

For health, so I can go…

For abundant life… to love…MORE…

And for the delightful sunrises I get to see each morning now!!

I hope to talk to you before my next vacation!!  Ha!