Unpacking & Hidden Treasures

Woo Hoo!  A new blog post in only a week.  Nothing really earth shaking or life changing has really happened to talk about.  Just some random thoughts to write down while the office is quiet.  A new Monday habit!!

 

Most of the last month has been spent unpacking the many boxes that were hidden away in a 20 X 10 storage unit and a friend's shed for the last several years!  I have been trying to figure out where to hang pictures and put things in a new place.  I've also discovered that there are some things (like scrap booking papers) that just don't last very well all packed away for so long and are better placed in a big black garbage bag destined for the dumpster!!  Yes! I know it's a shock, but I AM THROWING SOME THINGS AWAY!!! 

One of the joys of unpacking is finding some long lost hidden treasures.  One such treasure was my baby doll, Susie!  Susie is 52 years old.  Her birthday is on Christmas eve.  She was my first baby doll given to me by my grandparents, Big Momma and Poppa.  She somehow got packed away by a friend who didn't realize her importance.  I finally found her in a box marked baby dolls! She now has a place of honor in my bedroom.  Other treasures have been unearthed in my office boxes in the form of notes and pictures of kids who are all grown up now.  It's been nice reading the notes and cards.  I found some notes from the kids and other friends at Stevens Street that were given to me when I left.  They all started out "What I love about Miss Becky."  Most of the kids mentioned M & M's!!!  Looking at the pictures have been fun too, but I am ready to fill new frames with new pictures and new faces. 

 

One note I found was from a young mother of two preschoolers.  I first taught her in my 4-year old Sunday school class.  She wrote to me to say thanks for being her teacher.  I remember getting her note that day.  It came at a time when I really needed to know that what I was doing did matter.  Even when I found it this time, four plus years later, it helped reassure me that making the big move to a new place was indeed the right thing to do.  It's hard starting new things, but God has promised never to leave me or forsake me.  He has promised to show me great and mighty things that I did not know about before.  He promised to be found when I seek Him in all I do and give me the desires of my heart as I learn to trust in Him and lean on Him. 

 

I am so glad His mercies are new every morning!  And I am so glad I am His child!!  

 

Always remember . . . .

 

That you are too!!        

New Church, New Home, New Ministry, New Blessings!!

WOW!  It's been a long time since I last posted on this blog, like October of 2010!!  There have been many changes in my life over the last 3 1/2 years, and by the title of this blog post, you all may be able to guess what the major change is to date!!  But that news will have to wait!

 

I was honored and humbled to spend some great time working and learning from the folks at First Baptist Church in Carthage, TN for over four years.  I joined that church in December 2009, after I left my position at Stevens Street.  God allowed me to work with the children and preschoolers of the church in Sunday School and AWANA, cook on Wednesday nights, help in the church office when needed, and of course those special projects as requested by Bro. Tim!!!  It was good to be able to serve the Lord with the great people of FBC Carthage.  They are family, and I will forever be grateful that God placed me there.  I learned many important lessons while a member there and received so much unconditional love from the folks.  It was a great blessing to be able to spend so much time with Bro. Tim and Fran.  They have been great friends for a long time (since moving to Cookeville in 2000!) and have included me in many family functions.

 

I also had opportunities to work with some great folks at the Tennessee Baptist Convention teaching VBS clinics and Journey Camps and to help with the VBS previews at LifeWay each January.  These great friends prayed for and encouraged me as I was searching for a new position.  God was also using this time to help me grow in faith, learn new skills, and to depend on Him for all things.  He allowed me to be involved in ministry in ways that were not possible before. 

 

While in Carthage, I worked at the local nursing home part time in the activities department.  While it wasn't what I really wanted at the time, it was want God wanted me to do.  I worked at the nursing home for just over three years.  It was fun to help those precious saints stay active and involved in life.  We did lots of crazy and out of the box things together!  We often celebrated with ice cream!!  Sometimes my crazy ideas worked well and other times not so well, but they didn't care (as long as I got us ice cream!) We would just laugh together about the fun we had and try something new.  The one thing I took from that ministry opportunity is that I want to still be involved with the senior adults in my church and local nursing homes. 

 

Over the last four years, I did manage to send out many, many resumes.  There was a lady at the Tennessee Baptist Convention that would send them out as well, and I will forever be grateful for all her help!  I learned very early in the process to save all written questionnaires for use in the future (some churches would ask the same questions).  I also learned to keep a record of who I had talked to at what church! My organization skills greatly improved as well!!  Back in October of 2013, I sent a resume to a church in South Arkansas.  I got a phone call from the pastor the next day, had a very good 45 minute conservation with him, but then nothing for several months.  That happened often in the process so I really didn't think that much about it.  I heard from other churches in the same time frame.  I remember checking the Arkansas' web site in January and reading that they were narrowing in on a person for the position.  Since I had not heard from them, I decided to move on and sent out a few other resumes.  

 

I had sent several resumes and received a few other phone calls, when I received a call from a lady on the personal committee from West Side Baptist Church in El Dorado, Arkansas. (The one I sent a resume to in October of 2013!) She asked if I was still available and interested in the position at her church.  After we talked for a while, she said the pastor was going to send me a questionnaire to fill out.  I received it later that afternoon, all 54 questions!!!!  I worked really hard to get it answered and sent back.  They called backed to schedule a Skype interview on February 12th.  The interview went well and They called back within 15 minutes! We scheduled a visit for two weeks later.  The weekend went very well, and the church voted on March 2nd and called me to be their Children and Family Minister.  I was overjoyed and ready to make the move!  I moved on March 21st and celebrated my first Sunday with them on March 23rd!! 

 

I know this is where I am  supposed to be!  I feel like I am at home! I had some friends help me with the move.  She told me she hated to see me leave Carthage but knew that I was supposed to be in Arkansas!  It was exactly what my mom had told me when I moved to Cookeville 14 years earlier! I am grateful for the opportunity to serve with some great people, make new friends, and start new traditions!  Yesterday was my first holiday and I was able to go have lunch and spend the afternoon with a family in the church.  I'm enjoying the new things God is putting in my life, even the little adventures of getting lost and finding my way around town!!! 

 

I will keep this updated more on a regular basis from now on and not let 3 1/2 years go between posts!!!!  Until next time, Always remember . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

 

That You are loved!!!

 

Becky