Catch Up

Sorry, I have not been on here in a while. Life has been SOOO busy! But, good! We are attending a new church, and have been so blessed since being there! So, since attending, I now teach Sunday School to the preschool and Kindergarten age kids, with sweet Miss Evelyn (a 76 year old woman from Illinois, who has 'adopted' me - being orphaned as I am!)

I now sing with the Worship Team, and feel blessed to be singing with so many who love the Lord and truly want to serve Him and not glorify themselves! I was also asked (by my dear sweet friend Nicole, the Women's Ministry Director, and who is also on the Worship Team) to sing with her and another lady on the Worship Team (Sylvia) for the Women's Retreat. I was so touched, that I cried!

She (Nicole) also asked me to be the Director of Fundraising for Women's Ministies, and so I am going to the first meeting for that this Thursday. As well as having been invited (by another very dear friend of mine, LoRee Feltz, Nicole's mama!) to come to a Master Planning meeting, to be a part of the planning that is in the works to build a new church building and to include a school - which I am excited to see what the Lord has in store for that! and how He will (once again) use me in the development of that school. As well as several other women there who are so blessed and talented!

Paola is one. She has 3 sweet little children, and a wonderful husband, Froy, (who does the sound for our church, among many other things), and she used to be Kindergarten teacher! She now teaches the Youth at church, but has experessed an interest in teaching again, once we get the school going! She is an amazing young woman as well! (This church is blessed with talented, amazing people! I feel blessed to be a part of it!)

LoRee also has expressed an interest in being part of the school, as Administrator, or something like that. She would be very good in that role! She and I have talked about getting other ministries up and running at the church too! She is just as ambitious as I am! If not more!

On top of all that, I go with Miss Evelyn, and her great husband, Melvin, to a Bible study, with some older women from the Baptist church, at the convalescent home on Fridays. These women are already near and dear to my heart! Especially Miss Lynn, and Miss Phyllis! Miss Lynn has some past pains and hurts similar to mine, and so she and I connected almost immediately!

Miss Phyllis was so sweet to give me a very dear gift: her King James Bible, as I saw how my New Living Translation (as well as all other translations of the Bible, apart from the New American Standard Bible) did not have a verse in Acts! It was Acts 8:37! Missing! So, she parted with her very special King James Bible and gave it to me - something I will cherish!

Yesterday, Miss Evelyn, and another very sweet woman from the church, Miss Nola, started a Bible study at the Assisted Living place where Nola lives! We had a wonderful time of fellowship and sharing our testimonies, as an effort to get to know each other better and where each oher has been, and where they are coming from. It was quite interesting hearing everyone's stories!

Especially another lady, who was there with us from a non denominational church here in Layton, Alpine - her name is Pat. And she shared about how she has been on missionary trips to South America, specifically in Peru. And shared some of her experiences there with us. It was quite interesting and very humbling. Especially, she was on one trip there for 3 months! The others were shorter, but not by much. One was for 2 1/2 months, and the other a few weeks. One was for medical reasons - to assist the Peruvians with medical care. Another time was to build an orphanage. She told us how the bricks to build the roof were carried up a ladder, but not what we consider a ladder. It was just rungs! And that the bricks were in large buckets, tied to a rope that was put over their shoulders, and it was 103 degrees!

She also shared how their water supply, because of the lack of rain, came from the mountain, and so was very dirty and not very sanitary. She also shared that if a child made it to it's 10th to 12th birthday, then it was more likely that they would live to see adulthood. It was very sad.

After taking Miss Evelyn home, my husband and youngest son, Austin and I went to the church for Accountability Group, which is every other Tuesday. We get a chance to fellowship and to share with one another what is really going on in our lives, as well as whether or not we are reading our Bibles daily, praying daily and praying for a lost person daily. Then, what do we believe God is speaking to our hearts. It is a very great time of fellowship as well, and an opportunity not only to share what is on our hearts, but to hear what is on other people's hearts, as well, and thus to get to know each other and to pray for one another, as we know how to pray for one another.

Between all of these activities in my life, plus keeping a house, being pregnant, seeing to all of my kid's activities, and making sure they get the things done they need to get done, as well as doing my school, well as you can see, life is very full and very busy! But, because I get so depressed when I do not feel that I have a purpose to live for, I love being busy! But, busy doing the right kinds of things. As I said, things that give my life meaning and purpose.

I have noticed too, that doing all of these things get my focus off of myself and on to serving others, and that has assisted with removing selfishness from my life and self focus. I love to serve! I love to serve the Lord! And I love to be used by Him to make a difference in the lives of others! It has been so long since I have been used by Him in that way, that it is refreshing!

I am no longer working doing taxes. I was fired (due to my lack of knowledge - didn't know as much as they thought I did, based on how I was trained at my first place doing taxes) And I tell people, "God fired me!" When I was fired, and they were nice about it and felt badly about it, but just knew it was getting difficult for me and it was making things difficult on them, especially as we were nearing busy time, so I was ok with it. So, when I was fired, I said to God, "Well, obviously You have a plan in all of this. Please make it clear what You want me to do. Do You want me to look for another job? Do You want me to just focus on school? Do You want me to homeschool Austin?"

I did not get an answer right away, of course, but I was open to whatever He wanted me to do, trusting Him implicitly! A few days later, I was minding my own business, doing the dishes in the kitchen, I think and He spoke to me and said, "I fired you so that you would have more time to serve." I was like, Ok. At the time, we had just started attending our new church. I was not serving yet then. I was not involved yet then. We had attended just once or twice.

But, right after that - BOOM! I was doing Sunday School! Then on the Worship Team! Then going to the Bible study with Miss Evelyn! Then singing for the Women's Retreat and the practices for that. And on and on it has gone! and I am pregnant! and yet, God is sustaining me!

I have not had the morning sickness that I have had with my other 3 pregnancies! I have not been as exhausted as I was with my other 3 pregnancies! I have had more energy and don't even feel pregnant! I have my first dr's appt. next Wed, and I will be anxious to hear what she has to say! Because quite honestly, I feel great! But, I am also taking better care of myself this time than I did with my other pregnancies too. But, I cannot take the credit, and refuse to!

I believe, with all my heart, that God is giving me the ability to do what He has called me to do! And honestly, I would not have it any other way! I prayed and said, "God, I want to be all used up when I die! So, use me up! I don't want there to be any regrets! I don't want to say, on my death bed, 'oh, I wish I had done this' or 'oh, I wish I had done that'! I want to feel fulfilled and blessed! To know that I did all that He called me to do! And that others were blessed as a result!

I may not even know this side of heaven all of the impact of the work He had me do. But, that is ok, that is not the reason why I'm doing it! I'm doing it to honor Him and to glorify Him! To obey Him and to please Him and to serve Him! So that one day I will hear, "Well done, Thou good and faithful servant." And know that I gave my all for Him! And in heaven, when He shows me the lives that were touched by what I did for Him, that will make it all worthwhile!!!

God bless you all! And may you make Him your focus and your source of joy!!!
Love you all! June Marie Richardson