Unplanned Part 2

My first year back at blogging and its time for a new look. Two months have come and are done and now we are mid month. January felt like forever while February felt like it ended before it began. You might not be surprised to know a good amount of that was spent fighting the flu and migraines.

While I am working through the rest that comes with all that junk, God never stopped working. I continue to research, pray, read, meditate and write. I’ve been surprised at how many opportunities have been presented this past couple months. I’ve shared some of them; podcast, writing, creating events, community out reach, coaching, joining a chaplain association. All of this seems great and my first response is yes but wisdom says step back, take some time to think about it and figure out how it works into my vision for my life and the direction God is directing me on.

First is my “Why”. What drives me and why do I do what I do? Does a choice align with that or does it detract? A lot of books lately speak about the “Why” but the original source is Simon Sinek and his book, Start With Why.

Second is, does this align with my values for my life? I have created a value statement for my life:

I choose to stand firmly on the foundation of my values.  I will face everything through Biblical values of grace, compassion, love, peace, forgiveness, family first, integrity, openness, respect for others and openness to learning and valuing others without compromising my Biblical beliefs.

I currently have two jobs. I currently have coexisting careers. I am a teacher and a chaplain. I’ve spent more than ten years of the past 20 years as a teacher. I have been a chaplain for four now. The plan is for this to be my last year teaching. I am excited to pour myself into my chaplain work, turning my focus towards how I can serve my community as a whole. One part of my work with my church will be working in my community to build the relationship within my community with the church as a whole (that is a post or two all in its own).

I can tell you from this perspective in all of this, the draw to over extend myself is strong. The need for safe guards is crucial. I never allow myself to just say yes. No matter how excited I get, I can’t say yes until I take some time to think and pray on it and talk to my husband who is a great compass for staying on track.

This post I have written was done a week ago. Since then, the voluntary quarantine for the Corona Virus has started. This is an opportunity to pray, meditate, rest and recoup some of the energy lost over the last two months. Mostly, its pray, rest, read and continue to serve my work sites the best that I can. With all the cancellations, I am reminded of a quote from the writers conference I just attended in Bluefield Virginia;

Empty things are sometimes the best places for new things to take place. Author Andy Crouch