Work Week

For me, this has been a week of work.  My accountant client wanted three letters to go to doctors inviting them to use his tax preparation services.  I needed to write three to four headlines and leads (about 1-2 pages) showing a big idea and promise why people should invest in this financial newsletter.  And then midweek, I got a response back on two article ideas I’d submitted to The Barefoot Writer.  It’s exciting to see the bank balance go up and it’s welcoming to see that people like my work and want to work with me.  I really feel like I’m moving ahead. Occasionally it’s panic inducing to wonder if I can accomplish what they want.

I do feel blessed by the Lord with inspiration and guidance.  I know if I will fulfill my responsibilities to Him, He will bless me and help me accomplish this writing stuff.  Monday morning I wrote a letter to our sweet little chorister in the hopes that she will find the desire to improve.  Tuesday I was visit taught and Thursday I went visiting teaching.  I spent time working to create a lesson series for my new calling of Teacher Development.  As part of that process I looked at the new material for teaching the youth.  Great stuff there!  It really applies to anyone teaching anything.

I also prepared for Saturday’s Institute and Seminary training.  It was an all-day affair.  Tom was kind enough to go with me, and did all the driving.  We had to leave by 6:30 am to get there by 9am. As always, it’s such a fantastic experience to go.  I learn new things. I become a better teacher and I feel empowered to go forth and do better.  We were finished by about 3pm and stopped for dinner at our favorite restaurant.  So we got home by about 6pm.  Today I need to transcribe my notes for those who could not be in attendance.

We had pretty warm weather midweek, and Tom and I walked the fence line and talked about replacing the old fencing along the back line.  We stacked up more wood for burn piles.  I think Tom must have half a dozen ready to burn when he’s ready.  We had a foggy day and a drizzly day.  Then Saturday afternoon we had a stormy day—heavy steady rain and lightning flashes.  We got just over 2 inches of rain in about 8 hours.  This morning the thermometer hovered around freezing and it drizzled.  But it’s been warm enough, little froze.  It’s nice to be snuggly warm inside the house as the temperature drops.

I’ve been pondering this week about the story in Acts 3.  Peter is going to the temple and he passes by a man whose been crippled for 40 years.  The man asks for money. Peter has none.  How often are we asked for something we don’t have?  Do we typically say, “Sorry,” and move on?  But Peter didn’t.  He offered a spiritual gift.   He said, “Arise and walk.”  And the man did.

Do we have spiritual gifts we can use to bless others?  Kindness, prayer, listening, a glad heart, the peace of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  My goal is to be aware of the requests of others and see if I can answer those with a spiritual gift when I can’t answer them in another way. (Or in addition to the other answer.)

The other interesting parts of that story are the ramifications of that act.  It all started with one small question of the beggar.  But it resulted in 5000 people joining the church, a miraculous escape from prison, and Peter having a chance to preach to the Jewish leaders.  Could Peter have imagined all this from his answering one question?  I think of our own family where Steve Fox’s one question to Cal led to his baptism and that of likely hundreds more.  Perhaps there are no “small acts.”  Each has repercussions beyond what we can see.  Makes me want to be very careful what I do.