Weird Animals

When Marlee Anne & I volunteered to direct VBS I was feeling wonderful. Never did I dream I would get sick during the planning stages. A great deal of prayer went into this decision. I just knew I was supposed to be doing crafts but God kept saying something else. Even though I reminded Him what was involved He kept saying direct. 

As Marlee Anne & I were choosing the VBS curriculum we immediately decided on Agent D3. Well that was until Susan told us to go to a certain website which didn't include Agent D3. We read over each one & we were to both pick our favorite 3. The one we both choice alike was Weird Animals. I thought our family definitely fits the description. 

We started right away planning and we were so excited! Things fell into place and people were getting involved. About a month and a half before VBS I got very sick. My first thought was how am I going to take care of my family. My second thought was about VBS. 

For 21 years God has been working on me about asking for help. It's still hard for me to ask for help. However I knew for VBS to happen it was going to take a lot of asking. What an incredible church we are a part of. They stepped in and got it done. The first night was amazing! I cannot wait to see what God has planned for the rest of the week. 

Being blessed

Let me preface this by saying I was born a Baptist and raised a Baptist. One of my best friends was Methodist and I enjoyed going to church with her, especially MYF. 

When Marlee Anne asked her dad & I if we could start going back to church, how could we say no. She was thankfully unaware of the trials we had faced trying to find a place where we fit and that was accepting and understanding of our unique situation. With a huge smile on her face, when we asked her where she wanted to visit, she said Starrsville Methodist. My first thought was it can't hurt to visit because I knew God wasn't leading us to this church even though we had been praying for years for Him to lead us to the right church. The one where He wanted us to serve. It couldn't be this one because it was Methodist. What do they even believe? It's a small church. Would there be a place for us to serve? We can't just attend church and not serve. 

To give a little history our dear friend Kendra graciously took Marlee Anne to Starrsville's Vacation Bible School every year. The first night she came home talking 90 miles a minute about how it went. The first thing she said was I have a wonderful teacher. Her name is Miss Jane. Miss Jane who we asked. She didn't know but would be sure to find out. The next night she came in to tell her daddy that Miss Jane was his teacher when he was younger. It was Mrs. Jane Anderson. Each night this child's heart was filled more and more. We were so thankful to Kendra and the dear people of this church. Never underestimate the impact of your VBS. 

So years later impacted by her Vacation Bible School experiences Marlee Anne requested to visit Starrsville first. We decided I would go with her and we would leave everyone else at home. Why overwhelm these dear people? Well the pastor was a female. Yes you Baptist friends on mine that's a lady pastor. My only personal knowledge of a female pastor was Royeese Stowe. I think she is wonderful so why not give this pastor the benefit of the doubt. The people of this small church with a big heart were indeed that. They were so very welcoming. 

On the way to Henderson's to pick up lunch after church I thought, that would be a plus. As we were driving along talking about the morning I asked Marlee Anne where she would like to visit next. She said I feel like God wants me there. That's where I would like to be. Well I didn't say a word out loud. I did say to God, here? You want us here? I knew I had a peace about it but continued to ask God if He was sure. I said God how can you use me here? How can I bless others? 

From that day since He has reminded me it's not always about blessing others. It's ok to be blessed. Boy have we been blessed. 

Last night I had the privilege to have dinner with some of the most wonderful women I know from this wonderful church we call home. They bless my soul more than they will ever know. Funny thing is that female pastor is still there too blessing me daily. 

When we pray for direction and God lights the way it's probably best to just follow Him even when we are not sure what's ahead. I pray that as you are blessing others you are also being blessed!