October 16, 2010

Greetings My Friend,

For me, Sunday is the most important day in the week. Going to church, come home take a nap, eat and then going back is a joy to me. Our Minister out here opens the Bible up to me in so many wonderful ways. He will take a passage, go over it line by line and I am amazed at the wonderful lessons to be found.

These lessons help me as I read through the Bible in my own time. I learn ways to focus on words within a passage, to break them down and look even further. It is awesome. I walk away from Sunday morning services refreshed, in awe and renewed. Bible study time with him does a lot of the same, this time though we are able to raise our hands and ask questions as we go along.

I remember being in a conversation one time and the friend told me that while I was at church she was out finding bargains at garage sales. To be honest, I would rather be at church worshiping and fellowshipping with other believers. For a few hours I am amongst believers and I feel re-charged and renewed. Church is a place where I am accepted as I am. I am loved, encouraged and strengthened. I don’t miss out on much in my opinion. I am with people who love me the way I am. During the week I deal with people pointing out my every flaw. I deal with people who can drain me physically and emotionally.

To me church is an opportunity to tell God how important He is in my life. It is a time of giving God glory, loving Him with abandon. Coming together as a community of believers is awesome. I also am open to ways I can serve the Lord. I am able to hear of needs for others and then am able to reach out where I am able to love, to serve and to give. These opportunities also open up new skills for me. I learn, I grow as I give.

Through the years, I have been able to take on different tasks. When I was in junior and senior high school I helped with putting on a wedding meal. When my children were small, I was choir robe Mom. I helped the children get into their robes, helped line them up and sometimes sat with them during the service. Later I became a senior high youth advisor. When Junior and I married, we helped put on workshops for the re-married. A couple of times we even gave a talk. For the last little while, I’ve learned to minister outside of church. I learned ministry does not need to be within a church proper. We’ve done mission trips but lately it seems I am called to live my faith within my community.

Part of my work also seems to be writing. God has given me a desire to write, has given me an ability to put words together for people to read. I get enough comments to where I feel compelled to continue on. My first book is written, I’ve been writing a blog for two years now. Writing is something I love to do.

When we first moved to Virginia, I felt like we were led to the community of Haysi. I felt a call to live as if Jesus were my Savior with my neighbor’s watching me. I truly thought we’d be here for a long time. Now we’ve been led to a house in a new community that we are renovating. It will be our retirement home. As we begin to transition, I sense that a new call will be to have a Bible study for the women who work at church, in the community.

For the longest time, I did not feel I was serving unless it was done at church in an organized fashion. We have friends who have felt a call to minister to their Muslim neighbors. We’ve helped them help their neighbors. One year we did a mission outreach to the neighborhood. When I retired I helped watch the children while their mom’s learned English as a second language. When we moved to Virginia, these friends needed a time of rest. We loaned them our house, so they could physically be away from their work.

From them I have learned that reaching out is often a relationship building process. I t is not always a “you show up to a place” and touch people for an hour or a weekend. It is a process of living, loving and sharing life in the Lord that often will open people’s eyes to the Jesus we have come to know and love.

I am often amazed. Through the years as I have learned to “give” I’ve been given to more than I “gave.” I am constantly amazed at this. I’ve been to Nicaragua helping an orphanage build more buildings for the orphans. I mainly helped with getting food ready for the campers to eat. The young girls taught me how to fry food. To be honest I have hardly ever fried my food. I struggled with knowing when it was done. Those kids came in and loved on us as we worked, as we ate and that was a precious time. Each mission trip astounds me as we go to help, we find ourselves being given to as much as we give.

To me it is important to be a part of a church family. This family is there for you and you for them. I’ve cried with my church family, I rejoiced with them. The community of believers back when I was young was there for my family. They helped us get back on our feet after Dad had polio. They stood beside us, they laughed with us and they cried with us.

Do you have a community of people to rest in? Are there people for you to serve waiting for your hand of love?

May God bless you and keep you, make His face to shine upon you.

Love
Janet