What to Do What to Do?

Oh there are so SO many wonderful things to fill our time and energy with- there are many not so wonderful things that we often choose instead; why do we do this? I don't know and I'm not going to spend time today trying to answer that age old question but I am going to fill you in on some things that have been on my heart recently for ways you can fill your life with purposeful activities.

The backstory of this post is that post-surgery has really had me thinking about "what's next" for me. I don't know when or if I will ever be able to get back on the roads again or if I will be completely seizure free (of course that is the hope!) but we know that all things have purpose and God's plan is woven through it all even if he chooses not to 'heal' me. Regardless of what happens with that, I'm recovered now, and I'm ready for action! I can't sit around twiddling my thumbs dreaming of ways to get involved in the great things that are happening around me. So for now here are a few things I'm doing and you can totally join me in it! :-D

-Write to a high school or college student working at summer camp/ Write to a camper

The Idea here is to ENCOURAGE someone else. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what's going on in our own lives that we forget about the lives around us. I worked at camp as a Freshman in College and it was one of the best and hardest summers of my life. You are pouring yourself into others' lives day in and day out and the letters you receive with encouraging words are like honey- little reminders to keep going. 

If you need some ideas about camps to think about sending letters to here are some: 

Good News Camp in Gladwin, MI. For More Info you can visit their Facebook page. 

Pine Ridge Bible Camp in Cedar Springs, MI. 

They also have a Facebook page Here

-Befriend an Elderly Person

Some of my most favorite people in the world are over the age of 70 and they are also some of the spunkiest men and women I know too! I had the pleasure of working for Porter Hills at Harvest Way in Sparta just before I took my leave to stay at home with my kiddos. My days there were so filled with laughter and good conversations with the residents and it always baffled me that so many of them hardly ever had a visitor other than their neighbors across the hall. If I am ever able to drive again you can bet I will be taking trips to the elderly. They have so much fun there and they know all the best games which makes for great chit-chat activity! 

For now-while I can't drive I'm enjoying getting to know some of my elderly neighbors on our street. As I take my walks, I try to make conversation with them when I see them out in their yards or like tonight, one spunky elderly man was taking a stroll on his bike. (that's a more enjoyable activity than watching TV!) :D  

-Learn a Second Language

I know what some of you are thinking…tried that. Failed. Never going to happen. 

Let me encourage you to try again. There are so many opportunities to reach out to others cross-culturally or inter culturally when you reach outside of your "norm" and you do something uncomfortable like learn a language that you are unfamiliar with. 

Here's where I'm at with this. I've studied Spanish since Elementary school but more seriously since High School when I was determined to prove my Teacher wrong and show her that I could learn it after she told me it just "wasn't my thing." :D Well, in honest, I really struggle in the oral department of practicing my Spanish and would have done much better in an immersion setting but that didn't happen until I got out of college and started using my TESOL (Teaching English as a Second Language) degree with the Sparta School's Adult ESL Program. I learned far more Spanish during my time teaching them English than I ever did in the classroom. Go figure! 

So I'm not teaching ESL right now, nor have I been practicing my Spanish so I'm pretty rusty in that area. I have hopes to continue teaching ESL in the future in some capacity if I start working again. For now, I cannot stay immersed in Spanish but I still have a love of languages and there are other languages to be learned and some that can be extremely helpful right in my community so I am going to dust off my ASL (American Sign Language)! 

This is a fantastic language. It is extremely simple to learn and it is so useful in and around your community. You can find all kinds of websites online for free video tutorials to learn-you don't even need to go to class! Or choose another language!

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There is much to learn but much more to gain from the source of true wisdom-God. We can use these experiences and these tools for our own benefit and for our popularity but if we don't know the one who created the hearts of the college camp counselor that's struggling, or the lonely elderly person down the street, or the people we're trying to reach out to with a second language then we've missed the point of living and loving the life God gave us. 

We can waste our time in life "doing" all sorts of fabulous things in the eyes of people. Or we can thank God because he made each day an opportunity for growth in and through the things He places in our lives. 

Read The Bible With Me
Ephesians 2:1-10
2 Timothy 3:1-17