The Mechanics of Blogging are Bogging Me Down.

Please bear with me; I know this is 
visually boring....
I am working on making this much more interesting to look at.  Hopefully soon you will see great art and photographs to support what I'm writing.  I decided to move forward and add more as I figure it out!

A little more about why I am compelled to share this information.  As my friend Laurie Foster says, "Jesus said to."  She quit a successful career as an educator and started a nonprofit called Backyard Missions that provides home repairs for seniors.  Their office is in my hometown of Lubbock, Texas.  She has a very small group of volunteers doing a tremendous job honoring the Lord.  All because Jesus told her to.  More to come on Backyard Missions.

Not that this blog is about me at all.  But how I was drawn to provide information on ways to serve is part of the story.  I was called to do this and eventually listened.  Maybe you're being called and like I did, you're ignoring that little whisper in your ear.

It took me awhile to notice (I always have been slow on the uptake) but information about folks doing interesting things to help others seems to just fall in my lap.  I mean, like every day.  When I was the mission director at our church it made sense.  Sometimes I was able to entice the congregation to support some of these efforts.  I realized this was probably a God thing and in my prayer time I had often asked a very dangerous question - "What do you want me to do to serve you, Lord?"  (Have you ever heard "If you can't stand the answer don't ask the question."?  This question definitely falls into that category.) 

 One day he said "I want you to share this information."

So he asks me, of all people, to do this.  In this technology-filled era.  Where information is best shared by email, website, blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  And he asks me, knowing full well how technically inept I am.  Yes I text.  Voraciously.  Yes I'm on Facebook.  And of course email.  All way too often, truthfully.  But that's about it.  Adding a picture from my phone to my status is doable; not comfortable, but doable.  (note lack of pictures here)

He and I had long conversations about this over a couple of years.  I complained, nagged and whined.  More than once when conversing about this, he said "I never said this was going to be easy."  Yeah, right.

But he also reminded me he wouldn't ask me to do something and not provide what I need to meet the challenge.  I have been well prepared in all other ways to do this.  My entire work life (that's longer than I will share here, but let me jut say I've been working since I was 14, and since 14-year-olds don't work anymore, you know it's been a long time) has been full of various types of marketing.....management in all types of sales, advertising, promotion, and then those four years I was called to serve in mission and outreach ministry within the church.

And the information kept coming, and by this time I had several files full of it.

My husband and I moved to Fort Worth, TX in late 2014.  During that process the information train slowed down.  Of course the Lord knew I didn't have time to pay attention to anything but the upheaval in our lives.  But I only got a break for a couple of months.  I learned about a couple of short classes that would help me improve my computer skills and teach me to blog.  It was time well spent - it's given me the courage to answer the call.