Experiencing God

In the middle of January our Women's Ministry at HAFBC started up another round of Bible study. I really miss these ladies when we're not in session! Although I absolutely love Beth Moore studies, I was excited to do something a little different this session. I heard from several people who have done the Experiencing God study that it truly was an amazing study and that they still reference things from the study. It is, however, like most, dependent on how much a person puts into the study. Well we've done 2 weeks of homework so far and I'm getting so much from it. It's so important that we are aware and acknowledge all that God is doing around us. And the exciting part is that He wants to use us, ordinary men and women, to help accomplish His purposes and His plans. It's hard sometimes to feel like I can be used by God in such a big way. I'm so, shall I say, ordinary. I'm only a housewife. I'm only a simple mother of two small boys.  What can God possibly do through me? Of course my most important task is to be the wife and mother He created me to do. And if I may just be honest, that's a prayer that needs to be prayed daily and I'm always a work in progress! But since I quit my job teaching high school Spanish when my 2 year-old was born, I've felt like I'm not really important anymore. I really felt like I touched some students' lives. That I made a difference. That I was a light in such a dark place. And now I'm just...home. An ordinary housewife and mother.
Last week the question arose: What can one ordinary person do? The people we see in scriptures doing extraordinary things were actually just ordinary people He called to do His work.  Blackaby states that "One ordinary Christian in the hand of almighty God can do ANYTHING God commands."  We need to make ourselves, I need to myself, available to God so that I can be a part of something great, like bringing others to Christ. Those He used in the Bible were willing and their obedience made them be able to be used by God. I need to be obedient. I expect my kids to be obedient to Matt and me. It's no different with my relationship with God.  No more excuses. Another quote that stuck out to me was that when we believe nothing significant can happen through us, we have said more about our belief in God than we have declared about ourselves. Ouch! No excuses! If we are too busy to be seeking God and spending time in scripture and prayer, we are way busier than God ever meant for us to be.
The whole reason for this post was to share what God is doing in the ESL ministry and I guess it needed a pretty detailed introduction! :)  Matt and I are directors over the ESL ministry at our church, which was a God thing in and of itself! I was ready to be done with ESL last year (when it ended in May) and seek out being involved in the youth ministry. It's what "I wanted."  Well, I decided that I should probably pray about it before I tell God what I wanted to do. I was somewhat torn because the ESL ministry was something my husband and I did together and that was fun. I knew he wanted to stay in it even if I didn't. I felt a little guilty!And yet, I love the high school age and working with girls and issues that they face these days. So I began praying about the ministry that God thought I was best suited for, without telling my husband that I was praying about it. Late April, we were approached by the then-directors about taking over the ministry, as they were moving away from Houston.  They said to think about it. Oh my gosh, I did not need to think about it! I knew this was God confirming that I was to stay in ESL. Both Matt and I were excited and yet a little scared. I mean, we can't possibly be old enough to head a ministry! :) (ok, ok, we are 30 but still.....) It started back up in September and it's been quite the ride! Matt and I are two ordinary people God is using to reach out to our students, and beyond. At this moment, God is moving! God is working out details to a very important event we have coming up next Wednesday, February 13th.  Stay tuned for this story! Right now I have a child that needs to be tended to! haha..... I promise I'll share it with y'all because God deserves ALL the glory!