In It To Win It...Having a Heart to Serve
Everyone has something they are passionate about: cars, food, scrap booking, gardening, motorcycles...something. My passion is to serve others. It all began when I was 13. My aunt invited me to come to church...her invitation went like this, "Hey, why don't you come with us to church today, there are several really cute boys to check out." I took the bate and was hooked from the word boys!
But from that invitation I grew to have wonderful relationships with the kids in that Sunday School room (boys and girls alike). Then, I went on to meet this great young couple from a sister church who lead the youth group. They were so energetic and on fire for God, it spread in my heart like wildfire. They had the vision enough to get us involved in things like giving the lessons (not just hearing them), going out and doing projects for others (not just watching them be done), I had a pastor who took us out to test our strength by getting our hands dirty (not just letting us stand idly by).
Then, I took what I saw and what I had learned with me. I got married (to one of those hot boys from Sunday School) and we took over the ministry to our youth. We tried to instill in them the same fun, hard work, dedication, loyalty, and faith that we had been taught. Even as a christian, every day is not sunshine and roses. We too back slide, become stagnet, and loose our way (thus our 10 year absence from church).
During those years, we never lost sight of God or serving others, we just became spiritually lazy. It became more fun to stay up all night on Saturday playing cards and sleep in on Sunday than to get up and go to church. It became easier to excuse ourselves from service because we had moved and didn't have the money to drive that far. Truth...if we had really wanted to be there...we would have. But our hearts weren't in it to win it.
But, I am here to tell you today, friend that God never turned his back on us during that time. Our church family and friends didn't shun us because we weren't there either. The day I set foot back in those doors was like time had stood still. We were welcomed back into the fold, into the family. God renewed our faith (even made it stronger), renewed our spirits (which had become broken and angry), renewed our finances (which had become bleak and empty), renewed our marriage and even saw fit to give us a house full of kids (which we had longed for).
Today, we both are doing what we can to raise our kids in that same little country church, to teach them the same things that pastor and the youth leaders taught us long ago...faith, love, hope. I have a passion still to serve others and I am looking for ways to give and serve locally. I have a few teens again willing and ready to serve with me. We are looking for your help to find ways to serve God and be in it to win it for Him.
If you or someone you know need yards cleaned up, trash hauled away, minor repairs done, flowers planted...call me, text me, email me, face book me. We want to serve. By serving others we show love, the same love that Christ showed us on that cross...unconditional love, unwaivering love, the love that will keep us to the end. Thanks for your help! And if you found yourself reading this and longing to get back to serving, get back to worshipping, get back to the basics of loving...join me each Sunday 10:30am. Always open, always welcome!
Everyone has something they are passionate about: cars, food, scrap booking, gardening, motorcycles...something. My passion is to serve others. It all began when I was 13. My aunt invited me to come to church...her invitation went like this, "Hey, why don't you come with us to church today, there are several really cute boys to check out." I took the bate and was hooked from the word boys!
But from that invitation I grew to have wonderful relationships with the kids in that Sunday School room (boys and girls alike). Then, I went on to meet this great young couple from a sister church who lead the youth group. They were so energetic and on fire for God, it spread in my heart like wildfire. They had the vision enough to get us involved in things like giving the lessons (not just hearing them), going out and doing projects for others (not just watching them be done), I had a pastor who took us out to test our strength by getting our hands dirty (not just letting us stand idly by).
Then, I took what I saw and what I had learned with me. I got married (to one of those hot boys from Sunday School) and we took over the ministry to our youth. We tried to instill in them the same fun, hard work, dedication, loyalty, and faith that we had been taught. Even as a christian, every day is not sunshine and roses. We too back slide, become stagnet, and loose our way (thus our 10 year absence from church).
During those years, we never lost sight of God or serving others, we just became spiritually lazy. It became more fun to stay up all night on Saturday playing cards and sleep in on Sunday than to get up and go to church. It became easier to excuse ourselves from service because we had moved and didn't have the money to drive that far. Truth...if we had really wanted to be there...we would have. But our hearts weren't in it to win it.
But, I am here to tell you today, friend that God never turned his back on us during that time. Our church family and friends didn't shun us because we weren't there either. The day I set foot back in those doors was like time had stood still. We were welcomed back into the fold, into the family. God renewed our faith (even made it stronger), renewed our spirits (which had become broken and angry), renewed our finances (which had become bleak and empty), renewed our marriage and even saw fit to give us a house full of kids (which we had longed for).
Today, we both are doing what we can to raise our kids in that same little country church, to teach them the same things that pastor and the youth leaders taught us long ago...faith, love, hope. I have a passion still to serve others and I am looking for ways to give and serve locally. I have a few teens again willing and ready to serve with me. We are looking for your help to find ways to serve God and be in it to win it for Him.
If you or someone you know need yards cleaned up, trash hauled away, minor repairs done, flowers planted...call me, text me, email me, face book me. We want to serve. By serving others we show love, the same love that Christ showed us on that cross...unconditional love, unwaivering love, the love that will keep us to the end. Thanks for your help! And if you found yourself reading this and longing to get back to serving, get back to worshipping, get back to the basics of loving...join me each Sunday 10:30am. Always open, always welcome!