Exciting Opportunities

I have been wanting to blog for over a week now, and I have just not had the time to justify it!  These last two weeks have been very busy, but they have been filled with ministry opportunities and open doors.
Just a few of the blessings of the past few weeks.  I hope this isn't too long of a blog.  Maybe I should have split it up!

1)  SUNDAY:  I could kick myself, but I don't have pictures of having John & Crissy Lodmell, their children Jack, Holly, Mitchell, and Charlotte along with Hannah and Erin Hurst over for Sunday dinner.  The Lodmells have recently begun attending our assembly, and they have truly been a joy to get to know.  I'm thankful that the Lord has allowed our paths to cross. We had a wonderful time around the table over poppy seed chicken and noodles, green beans, and salad.  Crissy made an incredibly delicious chocolate cake.  It was sooo good!  And, yes, one way to relieve the time constraints of having company is to allow them to bring something--if they wish.  I never used to let people bring things.  But I realized it was a 2-fold problem.  1--I was proud--I wanted to be able to prove that I could do it all.  2--it took away a blessing both for them--in helping and for me in receiving.  So, I have learned to accept the help when offered.  Having the Lodmells over for dinner will definitely be repeated!

2)  THURSDAY:  I ran into 2 former students the other day at Publix.  It was amazing.  These two girls come from a very dysfunctional sad family situation.  I just happened to stop at that Publix (I have only been there 3 times in my life!), I just happened to decide to do a major shopping instead of getting just the 2-3 things that I needed.  I just happened to walk out and let the guy push my cart out.  (That is seriously part of the amazing part, b/c I was going to just do it myself, but he kind of insisited.  Then he walked as slow as mollases in February.  Honestly, I could have been to the car, loaded the groceries, and gone before he got to the car!)  Just as I was opening up the trunk, the mother of these two girls and the girls just happened to pull up and park in the spot right next to mine in the outer part of the parking lot. (I park out far so I have further to walk!)  The girls started screaming when they saw me.  It was priceless.  Their mother asked if we could get together during Christmas break.  I'm so thankful for this open door.  God is good--when we are daily doing what we are supposed to be doing, He drops these kinds of opportunities into our laps.

3)  FRIDAY:  I was actually shopping for this event when the previous took place!  Amy's housewarming.  It was fun to help plan and host a housewarming for my cousin Amy in her new home.  She has done a great job setting up and house and it was so much fun to celebrate with her.  We were a small crowd, but it was fun, celebratory, and the food was yummy!

4)  SUNDAY:  Last Sunday I helped Soraya plan and host a surprise 40th for Pastor at church.  Because Soraya wanted to keep it a secret, I ended up doing the planning.  I decided to make a cake for it, and believe me, it was catastrophic.  I should post a picture of the cake falling apart, but I don't think I got one on the camera--only the phone.  All that to say, that not everything goes as planned.  I am so thankful that the Lord allowed me to stay calm.  At one point, I just sat back and decided to go exercise and come back with a fresh vision.  I was able to rework the cake, salvage the sheet cake part of it and finish it around 12:30am. 
The party turned out great.  Pastor was surprised, there was tons of food, there was just enough cake and it looked 1/2 way decent, and there was a lot of fellowship as we showed our appreciation for the pastor that the Lord has given us.

4)  MONDAY:  Monday night I had the college girls over.  I think 6 of them came.  We had a fun time decorating the Christmas tree, watching "White Christmas" and then the "Scarlet Pimpernel".  I love having the college girls into my home.  It is an opportunity for me to influence them and have an impact on their future lives.  They, hopefully, will be able to see and learn some things that they can take with them and use in their lives both now and post college.  I have also learned that having them come over to "help" makes them feel loved, needed, and appreciated.  They came over to decorate my tree.  It truly was a help to have them put that thing up.  Of course, it is always work to have people over, but when you keep it simple with chili, chips, and some leftover stromboli....not that much work...and the tree gets decorated!!!

5) TUESDAY: I was able to house Danielle for the night last night and take her to the airport early this morning along with Amandine, the French teacher.  I am praying that my ministry with Amandine will prove to bring about eternal results.  Things as small as getting up early and taking her to the airport are small evidences of Christ's love.  Oh may she come to know the only One that can fill her needs.
Danielle--I just have to say a word about Danielle.  She is truly a blessing to my heart.  She is selfless, kind, and a hard worker.  She goes out of her way to make people feel loved and meet their needs.  She has helped me out on more than one occassion and I am thankful that the Lord has allowed our paths to cross. 

6) I will post about this later, but I'm getting ready to have my sister, Johanna, Brian, Stefan, and Olivia into my home for several days.  Oh what a HUGE blessing that will be!


There are always opportunities to minister when we are walking with our heads up and our eyes tuned to see where He would have us serve.  So, start now.  How are you serving today?

"Cozy" Care Groups

At my church we have "Care Group" gatherings the first Wednesday of each month.  These times have become very special times--for our group at least.  Because of the smaller, more familial environment people are generally more open and comfortable and therefore there are more testimonies.

This month I hosted.  I was a bit concerned about how I would fit everyone in without it feeling really crowded since we usually meet at the Casillases who have a huge room.  However, it worked out just fine.  I brought in the porch chairs, all the dining room chairs, had people bring folding chairs....and it worked just fine--perhaps a bit cozy, but just fine!

One thing I have really been working on is not being overly concerned with appearances.  I happen to be the type of person that loves to make sure things look nice, no great, in fact, above and beyond GREAT.  In other words:  I'm a Martha. 

So, tonight, I forced myself to go simple.  I asked other people to help make the food (which was great--even though I was not the one to do it!) and just focused on making sure the house was clean, and I was calm and ready to be a gracious hostess.

What I am learning:  it doesn't matter that my house is spotless, it doesn't matter that I don't always break out the fine china or that my napkins don't match my plates, what matters:  people feel welcomed, the atmosphere is warm, and people relax, open up, share, and develop godly relationships.

It doesn't take living in the Taj Mahal; it can be a simple 1-bedroom apartment or even a 1-room studio, or a nice sized living room.  What matters is that the hostess has spent time at the feet of her Saviour in order to be a blessing to those that enter her house.

Tonight was such a blessing.  There were 25 people gathered in my living--each who had specific needs.  Many shared deep, heartfelt burdens.  Special on our minds are several close friends/relatives who are looking death face on.  It was such an encouragement to be reminded of the power of prayer and the blessing that the believer has in knowing that the Spirit is praying on our behalf.

This was taken a while ago but gives an idea of the size of my lovely, cozy living room.

Day Off--Lunch!

I have no pictures to post, but I still want to post about today's lunch.  We have had several new people start attending our church recently.  Whether they end up joining our assembly or not does not matter.  The fact is that they are brothers and sisters in Christ who are looking for a church family and needing to be loved, accepted, and encouraged in the Lord.

Being the daughter of missionary parents, I was taught young to reach out to the "newbies".  I have also been a "newbie" before and know the feeling of being alone in a large group or with a group where everyone already knows each other. 

I Peter 4: 8-10 says:
Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaint. As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.

Being hospitable does not necessarily mean having people into your home.  For example: today there was no way that I could have 9 ladies and 11+ kids into my home.  (Well, I could have handled the 9 ladies, but not so sure about the 11-some kids!)  Anyway, I really wanted some of our new ladies to get to know some of our ladies that have been in the church a while longer.

So, though very last minute, I threw together a quick lunch get-together at McDonalds in Spartanburg (in order to have the playland).  It was great to see so many be able to come out short notice and to watch relationships begin to develop and grow. 

My desire: that the friendships that unfold and develop would be iron sharpening iron relationships and that the name of Christ would be magnified as a result.

It was wonderful, and I'm loving the new relationships that I am developing and am so thankful that I can see Christ in them. 

My prayer is that I and each of the ladies would grow in love and use our gifts to serve each other.