You Just Never Know

     You do know that someone is always watching you, right?  I don't mean in a creepy way. I mean seriously. Someone is always watching and you never know what you  will do to touch someone's life.
     Take today for instance.  For many years I have taken sermon notes in church.  Once my kids were able to write, I even bribed them to sit still by having them take notes.  Of course they were rewarded with a new Hot Wheels car once we got home. But they took really good notes and learned a lot so they deserved a nice price!
     But back to today. Today I was preparing to take notes in church when a junior high student came to sit by me. I thought he was wanting gum because that was what he usually asked for. But this time he said no. He just sat by me and got out his notebook and pen.  Wow!  I had never seen him take notes.
     All this time I had no idea he had been watching me. Boy was he watching me!  He started his notes just like I did.  This child who enjoys pestering other kids and tells me about getting mad and throwing his phone and breaking it. The one who  bums gum off me pretty much every Sunday. Who would have imagined?  He thought ahead to bring  a notebook and pen so he could take notes too.
     Interesting thing though, just a few weeks ago I found it necessary to inform him and the tattling girl he was pestering that they both needed to be quiet because their actions could cause someone to be distracted and not come to know Jesus as Savior. I thought it might have made him mad. But apparently it was just the opposite. You just never know.
      So. Good or bad, people are watching you.  What, or Who are you showing them?  Today encouraged me to be aware that I need to show them Jesus. Because you just never know.
   

It Hurts So Much!

       It hurt so much!   But I just couldn't stop.   Smiling that is.  I know!  I'm just as shocked as you are.  My cheeks were in so much pain but I just could not stop smiling this morning.
     Why?   Well I don't really know the exact reason.    It could be a number of things.  Other than the few pounds I gained eating all that fresh seafood  and wonderful desserts while on vacation, my life is  going pretty well. In fact it's going very well!
     You see, it's all in your perspective. The most important thing I've learned lately is that God loves me so much that He allows me to go through difficult situations so that I may grow. That I may flourish. So that I may live!   Like Proverbs 31:25b says, I can laugh at the future!  And you know what?  I do!
      It took me quite a while to able to be this way.  And yes, there are still times the enemy gets in my head and I find myself down for a bit. But Jesus didn't die for nothing. God hates sin.  He hates sin because of what it does to us.  It destroys us. It kills us. It separates us from Him. And I certainly don't want to be separated from the One who loves me so much.
     So lately, including right now, I'm smiling like crazy. I look to the future with excitement for what God has planned for me. For I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that everything, absolutely everything I have faced in my life was for a reason. Not one person has entered my life by accident. Not one situation has been out of control even when it felt like it.  God knew what He was doing. And I trust Him.  You know..... I'm pretty sure that's where this smile comes from.
     Do you know someone who needs a change in their life?  What if it's supposed to start with you?  What if you are the only way they will know about the love of the Lord?    Being His child means we are chosen.  Imagine that!  He picked me to be His!  Now just why wouldn't I be smiling?  And why wouldn't I want you to smile too?
     I would love to share this smile He gave me with you. So do you know Him?  Would you like to?