I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strenthens Me

Right now Philippians 4:13 is kinda my mantra. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Zarik and I agree that right now we are in a season of our lives where God is calling us into action. For me in particular, God really spoke of me creating a ministry with my life of being able to help women to turn ashes into beauty in their lives (see this song by Crystal Lewis) There are three big things that God has specifically called me into right now that deal with this. When each of these were presented to me, Zarik and I prayed over them and agreed they were a part of this call to action.

Church Nursery
We've been going to New Covenant Christian Fellowship for about 3 years now. There have been a lot of changes within our fellowship lately, and one of those was the nursery coordinator stepping down. I found out threw roundabout means and prayed about taking it over. God said yes, so now I am in charge of coordinating the volunteers for our nursery. I really see this as a way of blessing the parents, mothers in particular, in our fellowship so that they can have five bloody minutes time to focus fully on worshiping our Lord and thinking on Him.

Pampered Chef
I LOVE The Pampered Chef. Almost my entire kitchen is Pampered Chef products. I have actually attempted to sell Pampered Chef before. However, this time the Lord's had is really in it. I'm still not entirely sure how this is going to unfold in what the Lord has given me to do, but I know that it is a way for me to be in contact with a lot of women.

MOPS
I have mentioned MOPS before. It stands for Mothers Of PreSchoolers. It is an awesome mom's group where you can go two times a month, eat, fellowship, learn something, and have a little time away from the kids and with other adult women. I have been a part of one of my local groups since Mika was about 5 months old. As this last semester (we go off the school year calendar) was winding down and the steering team was looking at what positions were going to need to be filled for the 2009/2010 year, I was approached about taking a position. Zarik and I spent a weekend talking and praying about it and decided this, too was in God's plan for us right now. This one will take a lot of commitment on both my and Zarik's part as there are going to be a lot more times I'm going to need him to watch the kids, or times I'm going to be saying "sorry honey, you're on your own for dinner". My position will be Hospitality, which means I need to get to the church early on our meeting day to make sure everything is set up, coffee made, food set out, and the tables have everything they need on them. I will also be welcoming new moms and babies, giving out birthday gifts, and doing our on-time drawing, which means I need to look out for cute, cheap, gift ideas (got any for me??;-D). The Munchkin Market that I mentioned helping out with last week is the largest kids stuff yard-sale-like sale in our county, and a few counties near us, twice a year. We have about 80 or so people who sell their unused kid stuff and we make thousands of dollars! It is crazy and awesome! But it also requires a TON of work. For the one in the fall, I've already decided I'm flying my mom out. (Got that Mom?)

I am really excited about everything God is doing at this time in my life, but I also covet your prayer. If you know me, you know that I like need a lot of sleep and when I get stressed it brings me back to when I struggled with depression. These are two things are are almost a certainty in this coming season, aside from God's provision and help. In the same chapter of Philippians, verse 6 it says "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;". So that is what I am doing now, knowing that HE is the one who is bringing us into this time of action and that HE is the one who will bring me though it.