Life means so much

As I begin a week of teaching Vacation Bible School, I'm feeling overwhelmed by the amount of effort it takes. I found myself wishing it was just over...gritting my teeth and getting it over with. Then...as God always does when we need it....He reminded me....each day is a gift.....none of them are a loss if we take the opportunities He gives us to serve. Oh, I don't mean just teaching Vacation Bible School or sunday school. We can serve the people we're around every day....our family members or friends, coworkers. Or, consider the popular idea of random acts of kindness. =) This week, for me, it's Bible School. The children of our town are our mission field. God cares for them so deeply and wants to use our little Bible school to reach them and their families. So it's not a waste of time or something to be endured...it's a gift.

How did God remind me? I came across these pictures of last summer's mission trip. I didn't get to participate because we had a tragic funeral to help plan and a devestated family to comfort, but my two oldest daughters went. I got to see how serving affected them and it was beautiful to see how God not only blessed them but He worked through them of their own free will. One of the days, they got to go over the border into Mexico and spend time with the children at an orphanage. They brought gifts for the children, but those who went received much more than they gave away. Being used by God to bless others and to spread His message is an awesome privilege.

One boy, Jonson, 11, who went with them befriended a little boy who was playing on the playground barefoot. Somehow Jonson found out that the boy didn't even have a pair of shoes and without a thought, Johson took off his fancy tennis shoes and said, "Oh take these, I have more at the hotel." He rode back across the border that day barefoot and wore his flip flops the rest of the week because those were his only extra shoes.

Here are the pictures I came across....







The other way He reminded me was hearing this song. Sometimes you know God is speaking to you and this song did it for me tonight.

Life Means So Much 

Every day is a journal page
Every man holds a quill and ink
And there's plenty of room for writing in
All we do is believe and think
So will you compose a curse
Or will today bring the blessing
Fill the page with rhyming verse
Or some random sketching

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Every day is a bank account
And time is our currency
So nobody's rich, nobody's poor
We get 24 hours each
So how are you gonna spend
Will you invest, or squander
Try to get ahead
Or help someone who's under

Teach us to count the days
Teach us to make the days count
Lead us in better ways
That somehow our souls forgot
Life means so much
Life means so much
Life means so much

Has anybody ever lived who knew the value of a life
And don't you think giving is all
What proves the worth of yours and mine

Every day is a gift you've been given
Make the most of the time every minute you're living

~Chris Rice~