If....

Anna with Auntie Jen

      If I had more time I would spend hours and hours with my niece Anna and my nephews Kit, Benjamin and Drew.  I would play piano and violin more and maybe join an orchestra.  I would be an exercise fanatic and make healthier meals.  Even more blog entries would be written and maybe I'd even write the book Benjamin's Rainbow Train as a sequel to Drew's Rainbow Ball.  I'd talk on the phone with friends longer.  Every minute my husband is home, I would spend by his side.  I would scrapbook more.  I would read more.  The list goes on and on.  You know what I mean.  You could make your own list!
     But, then there's a whole next level to this "If" thought.  If I had the time and energy, what kinds of things would I choose to do in the area of ministry?  Whoa!  Let me tell you about it....

• I would start a Liturgical Dance group to perform for church.
• I would do a discipleship group with middle school girls.
• I would start and lead an after-school kids choir to sing for church.
• I would lead a worship-music-themed aerobics class.
• I would help high school kids express themselves through Art in Worship (finding ways to use art mediums to express worship to God - photography, clay sculptures, watercolor, woodworking, paper, etc.).
• I would put together letters and packages to send to our missionaries on a regular basis.
• I would organize a fundraiser for either Feed My Starving Children or Show Hope Ministries in the form of a Chocolate Cook-Off that was a huge success in my brother's church.
• I would start a ministry of having kids read the Bible to people in Nursing Homes.
• I would help Todd and three of his buddies prepare Southern Gospel songs for special music.
• I would create a 16 member Carolers group to sing at church during the Christmas season.
• I would lead a small group Bible Study, a worship team, and the Children's Christmas Program!

But, alas, I am a teacher.  My life is being a teacher, a wife, a friend, and a child of God.  I know my limits.  I cannot commit to much of anything because teaching takes all of me - my energy, my creativity, my time, my brain-power, my motivation, everything.  I'm not bitter - I'm just in mourning that the summer is over and all these dreams and ideas seem impossible while I'm a teacher.  So, God uses me as a teacher.  Teaching is my ministry.  God has a plan for my new school year.  It's going to be good.