thoughts and such

 

Happy Tuesday, friends. I had such an interesting day yesterday that I thought I would share. It was the first day of a new phase in our life and everyone went to work. If you're one of the newer ones here, I'll recap why. For the last ten years, we have been a homeschooling family and our last two sons (twins) graduated! They opted not to go to college and we're okay with this—we believe that college definitely is not for everybody. Our stipulation is that if they don't go to school, they have to work full time. So, yesterday was that day.

Jonah decided to go to work for the family business, which is repairing medical equipment. I am saying this like it's no big deal, but it's a huge thing that he decided to do this and I am giving the credit to God for directing Jonah's heart to do this. He was back and forth on this all summer long and a little over a week ago he asked Todd if the offer was still good. He said he had a great first day and enjoyed being trained by Graham all day.

Noah had a full day of work yesterday with someone who owns his own handyman service business. He enjoyed helping him and getting to know the young man—he just couldn't do a whole lot, because he was learning and assisting while he learned. Today he has an interview with a place here in town he's been trying to get in with, so I am praying that however it all turns out, that Noah is good with it all. 

It's my tradition that each morning I send Todd and Graham off with waters, coffees and a lunch to take with them each day, but yesterday I sent them all off with that. Believe it or not, it didn't very long to pack all of that because I'm pretty organized with how it goes each morning. I didn't post any pictures yesterday of this, and I never said anything on social media about it all, but I wanted to share all of this here to have it to look back on someday. It was definitely a milestone day in our house.

Along with all of this, I also know that Noah misses his best friend who moved into his dorm in Tuscaloosa, Alabama last week. That's where Noah was all of last week—Jacob asked him to stay with him for the week. All of this is a big change and both he and Jonah seem to be handling it well. It was funny that they were all home early last night! They're never home before midnight, but they were all here by ten. #reallife

In other news, I have time on my hands right now. I'd thought about getting a part time job and actually applied for one with the town I live in, as a part time library assistant, but the position was filled. I thought about applying at my favorite shop on the square and brought home an application and filled it out, but started having second thoughts about that job and never turned it in. Then our oldest son got a puppy a few weeks ago—and I figured it may be best if I can stay around more in the daytime while he's at work until she's house broken, so that she doesn't have to spend her days in a kennel. 

All of that to say, I'm back to being in a time of waiting. At first I was not okay with all of this and kind of had a pity party for myself, but the Lord completely changed my heart and perspective. When I applied for the job with our town hall, I asked the Lord to help me be okay with however it turned out. I also told Him that I wanted what He wants for me, whatever that may be. It's evident that for now at least, He wants me right where I am. And honestly, it's not as if I NEED a job, it is more that I wanted something to help fill my time.

So, here I am on this lovely day, writing this blog post. I will wrap this up in a minute and get on with my day. This week is a little busier than most, because Bible study is starting back. I will be gone for a couple of hours today while I go up to our church to help my friends do our nametags for tomorrow and assign small groups to the ladies who have signed up. Tomorrow I'll be gone for a few hours for Bible study. 

Life goes on and I am here for it, once again. I always tell the Lord that when I pray about all the things—I just want to be present for Him to use me, however He sees fit. I want to honor Him in every aspect of my life and I want to point others to Him. I know that He has plans and purpose for my life—things I am responsible for right this moment and things He has on my horizon. I still have studying and writing to help keep me busy, and I have a few thoughts on both of those rumbling around in my brain. I plan to use my time wisely and to lend a helping hand wherever I'm needed, which is usually something at church. I'm always glad to help out there, because there is always a need. I'm able to spend a lot of the time in my day praying, which is really sweet. That was my day all of yesterday, and I was glad for the alone time to be able to talk to the Lord about some things that were in my heart.

I suppose my point in sharing all of this is to encourage you, once again. As long as we are alive on this earth, the Lord has a purpose for each one of us who belong to Him. Even in the midst of times that are troubling, there is a need for you. Whether it's volunteering your time to serve somewhere at your church, or whether it's the resolve to be more intentional with your time and meeting with friends or with someone who looks up to you—have that time! Go to lunch, go to dinner, meet for coffee, or at the very least, schedule a phone call. If you are a Christian, you have a responsibility in life that challenges you not to be idle. If I've learned one thing, it's that life is short. Get involved at your church! Join a Bible study or a small group. Plug in somewhere at your local church. Fellowship with like minded believers is one of the sweetest things you can experience, and when you don't attend a church regularly, you miss out on all of those benefits.

If you don't know Jesus and want to know more about Him, please reach out to me. My email address is allboys@gmail.com. Email me and we can talk. We are not promised tomorrow on this earth, so don't wait! Thank you for reading my blog, friends. Thank you for being people who encourage me! So many of you recently have made a point to do that every single day and I appreciate you so very much. Love to all.