Ch-Ch-ch-changes....

It seems like most things in my life are changing. Perhaps it was time for some of these changes..others just sort of creeped up on me. Imagine if you will....lol sorry I couldn't help throwing a little twilight zone in there. At a time in my life that most people expect me to curl up and die, I have been being led by God to take on some pretty big projects!

I'm no longer working with kids or youth-at least not like I used to. I resigned as youth leader of our church and I don't even think most of the adults noticed. Sad, but true. I still care about the kids and am here for them if they need me, but I'm not teaching them anymore. Now I am involved with the Helping Hands of Fargo ministry. It is a community service organization that includes a clothes closet, emergency food and toiletries, tutoring, music instruction, Bible studies, life skills classes, and referrals to other agencies when needed.  We were just blessed with a building and life is kind of crazy right now trying to get set up. We will be offering a youth Bible study and I'm hoping that someone else will be offering to teach it. I want to spend time with the kids, but am really burnt out on the teaching end of things.

I've also changed churches....yep, you read that right. I had some small issues with how things were going, but had no plans to leave. God had other plans. He took me back to the last place I expected to go. I'm back at a church that I left in 2002. The church has changed in many ways and now has great potential.  It is a struggling little church, but I think God is getting ready to bless it in a really big way! I'm glad I have a front row seat.

Things at home have changed so much too. My kids are growing up so fast and they don't need me like they did. That's good and bad. lol I actually like being needed, but it frees me up to spend more time on the Helping Hands ministry. Zach is an adult now, even if he often doesn't act like it and Ty is pretty self-sufficient. Only the puppy seems to really notice when I'm not home. Of course, he's not really a puppy anymore. He's about to turn two and is the size of a small horse. Don't tell him though, he still thinks he is a lap dog.

The friends that I hang out with are even different friends. We have similar goals and just naturally end up spending a lot of time together.  I do look forward to spending some time with my "old" friends soon. It seems like it has been a really long time.  There really hasn't been time to miss them though. Life has been very busy.

The new year is about to begin and one of the changes that I want to add to it is blogging. I want to start blogging regularly. I go so long between blogs now that they don't really make sense. So there you have it, I guess I just made my one and only New Year's resolution. That's right, I've changed..lol..no I'm going to lose weight this year goal. Embrace your changes and see where God leads you!

Friends Come, Friends Go

I have a few friends that I have been friends with nearly my whole life.  I have some that I've been friends with for a very short time.  Most of my friends are somewhere in the middle.  It has always interested me, yet saddened me when friends just drift apart.  However, it had never happened to me with any of my really close friends.  That is until somewhat recently.  I had a friend that was as close as a sister. Well, I thought she was.  We both got kind of busy and quit spending so much time together.  That was okay. People do that.  I assumed that we would still be there for each other if we needed to be.  But the dynamics of our relationship have changed.  Somehow, we have become mere acquaintances.  It is very strange for two people who told each other everything to suddenly not know what to say to each other.  Small talk is even awkward.  How does it get to that? From time to time I wonder if I'm the only one that feels weird knowing intimate secrets of someone who has become almost a stranger.

Events can cement things in your mind. Recently her mother had a heart attack.  I found out through the grapevine.  Strange.  The strangest part wasn't that she didn't call me to ask me to pray or anything, but that I wasn't surprised that she didn't call.  I'm not sure when that happened.  You know, losing the expectations of friendship.  I will admit that since this is the first time I've experienced this, I'm not sure I've handled it right.  I'm not sure what handling it right would be.  Others feel awkward around us.  They feel they have to "choose sides," but there are no sides.  There was no fight, no disagreement, no ill feelings....at least that I know of...just a slow drifting apart.

Life is short.  True friends are a precious blessing.  If you want to keep them, don't get too busy for friends.  Spend time with them.  It doesn't have to be huge amounts of time, but enough that you don't slowly lose track of each other.  If they're not true friends, why waste your time when you have real relationships to nurture?  I guess it is all about priorities......

Why'd I call it that?

When I started this blog I was asked what to name the page. I have to admit, that I couldn't think of what to call it. Then I remembered the Bible study that our ladies' group is working on. It's about God creating us exactly like He wanted to. We are His creation-created for a purpose. So while my life may not seem big to others, God has big plans for me. There you have it the beginning of Big Life Small Town.

I'm sure that I'll be writing about what God is doing in my life, but be forewarned that there will probably be quite a bit of rambling about totally random thoughts too. Sorry. My mind just works that way.