Making the Tough Choice

Back in 2012 I began this blog because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit in my heart, and I believe as much today as I did back then that it was in the Father's plan for me to share the thoughts and beliefs I hold with those who would read them.  However, life is always changing... that is one constant of which we can always be certain.  Nothing remains the same.  My life is changing now, as well.  I have become the associate pastor of a congregation here in South Carolina and am pursuing ordination as a Wesleyan pastor.  In addition, I will be continuing classes through Southern Wesleyan University toward my bachelor's degree in ministry.  I also participate in a weekly nursing home ministry, teach back-to-back classes on Sunday evenings at my church, preach on a fairly regular basis, and direct the music and worship for our congregation now.  I still try to maintain close communication with members of my family back in Michigan and also minister to individuals within our community on various levels.  Recently, I received the go-ahead from our city hall to organize and facilitate an interdenominational revival service later in the fall.  Perhaps you are beginning to see that my daily schedule is becoming increasingly full of commitments, all of which I cherish.  But, like anyone else, I simply cannot do it all and have it all if I am to retain a healthy balance of ministry life and personal life (and believe me, my relationship with my husband and family are always a top priority for me).  Sometimes, we find ourselves needing to make difficult choices, and this is one of those times.

While I have been truly blessed to post my thoughts on this blog, and have been blown away by the knowledge that people all over the world have read many of them, I must admit that the overall effectiveness of this avenue of ministry is probably quite limited.  More often than not, we are most effective when ministering on a personal, face-to-face level with individuals, such as I do in my church and community ministry efforts.  So, now I find myself needing to decide where I will devote my time in order to be most fully used by the Lord.  Composing and maintaining this blog takes valuable time in my schedule that I believe can probably be best used in my local ministry.  Unless I receive some divine direction to the contrary, I will  greatly decrease the number of blogs I post in the future, or may even discontinue the site altogether.

If you have been reading my blog and desire to see me continue writing and posting, please make a comment to that effect so that I can know who is being blessed by those efforts on my part.  This is a tough choice to make, and I want to be certain that I'm making the right one.  Your comments (or lack thereof) will help me make that decision.  I thank you all personally from the bottom of my heart for reading what I've had to say.  My most fervent prayer is that in some way I might have touched your heart with a word of encouragement or enlightenment to make your journey just a little easier.  May God richly bless you all!