Feelin' Blessed

After my post on Tuesday, I have really been talking to the Lord about the people I have in my life. A few realizations came to me since I posted on Tuesday.

The first thing that the Lord showed me is that there are more people I could share the journey this side of Heaven with (and pray with) than the people I listed the other night. And I can honestly say that I was pleasantly surprised as we talked about that this week. As I pondered that, I became more and more excited.

For example, the people I work with are incredible. When I moved here two years ago, I embarked on quite an adventure, as I left some of the coolest people on the planet (I still miss my fourth grade teacher friends like you wouldn't believe!) to begin the new chapter in my life here. As I've looked around my world at work, I thanked God this week for everyone he's put in my life. Especially the people I share my pod with! We laugh DAILY as we share our lives together. Everyone has kids, so there is ALWAYS story to tell! I know, I don't have a child, but I have Jay and I share those stories with the kids so it all works out! *grin*

In addition to the staff here, I have my new lifegroup from church. While I'm still getting to know people there, I have a prayer base there that is AWESOME, and we pray weekly as we share our lives in Christ. To me, that is PRICELESS.

And, I was reminded of the SHUTTLE MINISTRY that I LOOK FORWARD TO every Sunday! Slim & Papa Bear & crew are SO MUCH FUN. And, I can text any of them prayer requests throughout the week and they are faithful to pray. That is also priceless to me.

There are also several people in Joplin that I still stay in touch with on a regular basis. Kim and her family are still close to me, even though we live 2.5 hours away from each other. Kim and her husband have been such a blessing to me in so many different ways that it amazes me. Kim shares her boys with me, and I feel as if I'm part of the family! I miss them more than they know since I moved here, but the AMAZINGLY cool thing is that every time we get together, I feel like we just pick up where we left off. Kim prayed for me this week, and was a blessing in a way that can't be expressed in words. I'm a blessed gal.

There are so many in Joplin that I may not talk to regularly anymore, but thanks to Facebook, we're still friends. For that, I am blessed. I don't take ANY of my Joplin friends for granted, especially in light of last May. God gave me some incredible friends, and I don't take one of them for granted. And while they are not a part of my daily life anymore, I have MANY I could call and pick up where we left off. Not everyone has that, but I am blessed to have that. Thank You, Lord!

God also showed me the Barnabas Family that I'm blessed to have in my life. Via Facebook I stay in touch with MANY incredible young people. It's hard to put into words, but once you experience Barnabas, you have a bond with people that you don't have anywhere else. It's amazing.

And, of course, the Lord showed me the KIDS in my life. He clearly created me to serve kids during my days here on Earth. I ENJOY teaching AND serving out at camp more than you can possibly imagine. I was sitting in my classroom today, laughing with kids and making memories that will last a lifetime. In fact, I have a fun little quote book, and the students love it when they say something and I say, "That needs to go in the quote book!" A little thing, but a big thing to my students. Everyday the kids teach me something as I teach them. I'm a blessed gal, I'm doing what God created me to do. I thank God for creating me as He did daily, as I wake up everyday and look forward to going to work. I'm blessed.

It would be wrong of me not to mention my parents and brothers too. While they may not necessarily be seekers of the Word like I am, they have the unconditional love thing down better than some Christians I have met, and I wouldn't trade one of them for all the money in the world! *grin*

So, I guess God and I have been talking a lot this week. I like that. I love weeks where God shows me how blessed I am. That helps me on days I am having a rough day. (We all have those!) Tonight I feel blessed. I don't have a handful of people I could call and share life with and/or ask for prayer, I have (literally) hundreds! I. Am. Blessed.

*grin*
LIFE.
IS.
BLESSED.