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My mother used to say this: "Bloom where you are planted".

God has something important for you to do. For most of us, you can find what that is by looking around you. You probably have a ministry to the people in your family, your neighbors, the needy in your city, the elderly, students struggling in school, refugees moving into the country, young parents trying to keep their wits together while raising kids, older parents with teenagers, prisoners ... there is almost certainly someone around you who needs your help. Find them. Help them.

Take root in a local fellowship and grow together with others there. Serve together, be light together.

Find problems that are near you where you can make a difference. Don't spend all your time and attention on things that you cannot change. Don't waste your energy worrying about all the scary things that might happen - most of them don't. Find ways to be light and life where you are planted.

I really appreciate the thoughts in this post...

I think every christian has a "ministry" of their own of sorts. And its not always the most glorious calling, either. I think simply being a faithful husband and father goes a long way these days!

steve-in-kville wrote:I think every christian has a "ministry" of their own of sorts. And its not always the most glorious calling, either. I think simply being a faithful husband and father goes a long way these days!

kindly, not long after i found MD, george shared his view on this, about how every Christian has the ability to minister to others. i'd never thought of it just like that; i keep learning more+more about it, as time moves along. it's a marvelous thing that Jesus, Himself, modeled for us.

Good post, Boot.
This is something I struggle with in thought... Perhaps I've got some tumbleweed in me?

KingdomBuilder wrote:Good post, Boot.
This is something I struggle with in thought... Perhaps I've got some tumbleweed in me?

Dandelions are often blown around with the wind, but sprout very pretty blossoms all over the lawn. I must be like a dandelion, since I have been blown around a bit, but do believe that I have blossomed in a couple of those places. The flowers on dandelions are short lived, but still serve a purpose. Most flowers are like that, only blooming for short periods of time. It amazes me the very different places that some flowers can bloom in under even harsh environments.
T1 was looking for an idiot icon, well, T1, I'm a blooming idiot, does that help?

gcdonner wrote:T1 was looking for an idiot icon, well, T1, I'm a blooming idiot, does that help?

Happy throw-back Thursday!

After 4+ years, I believe this thread needs a re-boot in our current state of affairs.

steve-in-kville wrote: ↑Thu May 20, 2021 4:15 am Happy throw-back Thursday!

After 4+ years, I believe this thread needs a re-boot in our current state of affairs.

Interesting timing. I'm in a re-boot phase in my ministry, and this is a good thing for me to be hearing right now.

I look at my Christian walk (career?) and look back at the times when I was thriving as a person, and also the times I was merely surviving.

A good lumberjack that saws trees down can look at the rings on a tree and determine what kind of life that tree had: what years were wet, what years were dry, sometime even into more depth than that.

I've been journaling for 15+ years now and when I add notebooks to the box where I keep them, I often go back and shuffle through the older ones: looking at the times I was filling a notebook once every ten days, and the times that a notebook lasted all summer. I can tell when I was blessed and really "in tune" with my spiritual side and was ambitious in life's various projects. I can also tell when I just struggled to get through the days/weeks.