I've started a great work....

In considering "what's next?"  I realized I was mentally rehashing many things that I should have given to God...things that have been eating at me on every level.  Unfortunately, like all things I thought I gave to Him, but had not...not really...they were sapping all my energy...physical, mental, emotional, spiritual.  The focus on all the past "stuff" and the "what next" stuff was keeping me from really seeing what is right in front of me...this verse from Nehemiah 6 has been hanging in my head for a couple of days..."I've started a great work and I can't come down"...
What a great concept...saying "don't bother me" to all the noise in my head...the noise of trying to make decisions, wrestling with difficult situations, replaying painful times...just stay away. 
Because, I realized I HAVE started a "great work"...and with His help, I will continue it.  The key is to RECOGNIZE, EMBRACE, and ENJOY this great work that is my life.  I need to not let myself come down to all the things that were pulling me there.  Things I know were pulling me away from God..things put there by Satan to try to make me doubt myself and focus on the things of this world, instead of the Lord I serve.  Turning off the noise...refusing to "come down" has served to make me praise God...what an awesome life He has given me!  What possibilities He has put before me!
I have found a new energy for my professional life...without feeling resentful and stressed.  I found energy for my personal life...even the mundane cleaning and laundry...a profound new energy for my church which has felt more like a chore than anything invigorating or spiritual in recent months.  I am SO excited about Sunday School and our planned events for this year...it was a JOY to teach this morning and see how the kids were "getting" the message...something I have not seen for a long time.  Not because they weren't getting it, but because I wasn't SEEING it.  Or in this case, HEARING it, because of the noise that Satan was making in my head.
So the "what next" is really not a drastic change in PATH, but a drastic change in LISTENING to what God has planned...a drastic change from listening to the noise to listening to Him. 
Listen...I've started a great work and I WON'T come down!
Blessings!  Kimberly

Top 10 VBS menu items

We began inviting our local homeless shelter to send kids to our VBS several yrs ago.  We quickly found out that you cannot feed the spirit if the tummy is hungry.  Here are our TOP TEN menu items over the last couple of years.   Some of them are named for the THEME from that yr...the kids like when we keep going back to those names. 

10.  Super Sloppy Joes

9.  Pigs off the cliff (great tie in to the story about the demons being cast into the pigs)...of course, this is HOT DOGS on a bun

8.  Burgers in Brine (ie:  French Onion soup...keeps them moist when you are making a BUNCH!)

7.  Worms and goo (spaghetti w/ sauce!)

6.  Planks and chips (Chicken Tenders and Fries)

5.  Gooey slime sandwiches (grilled cheese...VERY cheesy)

4.  Chicken of the Sea (tuna fish sandwiches)

3.  Lab Experiment---on the last night...leftovers from the previous 4 nights!

2.  Fish on a stick--you guessed it...fish sticks!

1.  THE NUMBER ONE VBS MENU ITEM...a MUST every year:  TACOS IN A BAG!!  Easy easy!  Snack size bag of Doritos...lightly crushed...spoon in cooked taco meat and grated cheese...let the kids add their own toppings from a Topping Bar. 

What next?

So, VBS is finished...hard to believe that all the planning and work...now it is done!  I went into it with a heavy heart this year...alot of "stuff" got in the way of the usual joy I have for it...BUT, when I am weak, He is strong!  The Lord showed up in a BIG way!!  MANY MANY things that could have torpedoed the entire week just moved out of the way and He made it happen. 
I am thinking about what is next...personally, professionally, spiritually...lots of unknowns and I am wondering why, when I could GIVE VBS to Him, why do I find it SO hard to give the REST to Him??  I try to...I really do, but then, I say.."but I will do this"  or "it will be better if I do that."  I pull back the little pieces that I think I can do better....struggling to allow Him to work in ALL areas of my life without my interference. 
So...really, what next?  There are tons of kids in Sunday School...how do I reach their parents and help them to come to Christ?  Really...how do I help the adults who are already in church know Jesus?  Trying hard to discern what He wants me to do next....especially the ladies' Bible study...to continue or not?  Pour all my energy into the kids?  Try to do both?  Hmmm...what next?