Greater things have yet to be done in this cirty!!!

God loves to keep on surprising me and give me things I think I don't want or can't handle just to prove that I can do all things through HIM!

So I was pretty much ready to run away from everything here- memories and people (good and bad) and start over, as terrifying as that was. I was looking for jobs all over, confident that although I was having no luck there was something out there God had for me. But, with nothing else to do I began to become lazy and depressed.

The school district I worked for last year called me up last Wednesday and offered me a job on the spot- take it or leave it. Despite my feelings about returning there, I had no other prions so I took it! And while I don't think there is 1 exact right thing for me to do, I think this could be really good!

The position is teaching morning Kindergarten at one school and afternoon Kindergarten at another school. This is going to be really crazy and busy but there are several things that make it unique and "doable"
-I have an hour and a half between my 2 sessions and they are 15 minutes driving time apart
-both classrooms are "mine"- I don't share with another class/teacher
- I am getting lots of support already from the people at both schools!!!
- I have relatively small class sizes (20 and 14 now)

As much as I wanted to get out of Elgin, I began to think about my time here. We have lived here 9 years now (crazy how time flies) and I feel I have not utilized this time as well as I could. Our church does a homeless ministry 5 days a week and I have helped with that exactly once. I have never set foot into our local house of prayer. There is a neighbor near me who is elderly and lives alone. All of these needs are right outside my doorstep, and yet I always look to the "next thing". I go all the way to Kenya to serve God but can't serve those in my community. I keep thinking when I am married or have kids or a job then I will be fulfilling my calling in life. But I overlook the things I could be doing in the here and NOW!

Not that I will have any extra time now, but still I think God has a lot to teach me over this next year.

Just Do Something

I just finished reading a book called Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will or How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc.Great Stuff! :)

It got me to thinking, that I have been trying to surrender to God's will for my life but have been constantly asking Him what (specifically) that is. And I have this fear that I will miss out or not fulfill my purpose. That fear comes from not trusting God to take care of me. I have been feeling overwhelmed becauase I have a lot of options right now and I want to pick the "right" one. But I have been sensing that is doesn't really matter where I go or what I do, it matters that I ge t my heart right with God and learn to serve Him wherever I am in life.

Well it would be nice if life worked like this, hahaha, The Bible is really the source of truth and wisdom. And guess what? It turns out God has already laid out His purpose for my life. Only it turns out God is concerned more with who I am than where I am!

Micah 6:8 (New Living Translation)

 No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
      and this is what he requires of you:
   to do what is right, to love mercy,
      and to walk humbly with your God.

The Message puts this verse like this:

But he's already made it plain how to live, what to do,
   what God is looking for in men and women.
It's quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor,
   be compassionate and loyal in your love,
And don't take yourself too seriously—
   take God seriously. 

1 Thessalonians 4:3 (New King James Version)

For this is the will of God, your sanctification

(Sanctification: the state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment 

Sanctify: to set apart to a sacred purpose or to religious use, to free from sin : purify)

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (English Standard Version)

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (New International Version)

       Fear God and keep his commandments,
       for this is the whole duty of man.

(Everything else is meaningless, vanity, futile, empty)

1 Kings 2:3 (New International Version)

observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go

Here is what Paul said his purpose was:

Colossians 2:2-3 (New International Version)

My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

 And most importantly...

Matthew 6:33 (King James Version)

seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 22:37-39 (The Message)

 Jesus said, "'Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.' This is the most important, the first on any list. But there is a second to set alongside it: 'Love others as well as you love yourself.'

My favorite..

Romans 12:1-2 (The Message)

Place Your Life Before God

 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Here's how George Müller set out to ascertain the will of God on a daily basis:

"I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are over come when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is."