TAKING INVENTORY

      In less than one week, I will be moving to the Columbia, SC area! This is a huge step in my life but it's a brand-new opportunity for me. I am very excited and nervous at the same time, but I know God is with me and He will direct me. I am so looking forward to the change, but I will definitely miss my friends and my family very much!

     Since I decided to make this huge change in my life, I knew I had to prepare and get ready for the move. In the house I was living in, I had a lot of my personal and ministry items stored in the garage. I took one day off from work to go through all my things I had stored. I went through every box one by one as well as every item. I went through clothes, picture frames, pictures, magic tricks, object lessons, puppets, books and kitchen utensils just to name a few. I made three piles...keep, throw away or not sure/ donate. I had stuff all over the driveway and as I went through each box, I had to make a decision as to what to do with that item. Should I keep it, throw it away or donate it? Hard decisions! Some of the things I went through I definitely had no use for it. What would I do with a VHS tape from 1992, or slide pictures? How about copies of photographs from Fall Fun Fest 2002? There were pictures of kids I have no idea who they are. There were books written about Puppet Ministry from 1972. The author was wearing a polyester suit. Not exactly up to date! 

     I threw away a lot of things, I kept what I needed, and I tried very hard to condense what I own. I didn't want all my belongings to take over the garage. I have moved several times in my life. In fact, this is my seventh time since 2013. Each time I moved it was very memorable. I had to take inventory of everything I owned, and I had to be sure it was necessary for me to pack it and send it to a new location. Taking inventory was not easy, but necessary.

     This makes me think about life. How many times do we take inventory in our lives? Do we check on how many times we do an "act of service?" Do we take a deep look at where our relationship is with God? Do we take inventory on our prayer life or how much time we spend reading the bible? Do we take inventory on the importance of going to church? What about how much time we spend watching TV or the many hours we waste on social media? We need to take a long hard look at these things and "take inventory" with our own lives. The time is now for all of us to get rid of those things that are hindering us and to take more time to reflect on what can help us. Taking inventory on our own lives will help us and it will give us a better focus on the positives in life as we remove the negatives. Life is too short! It's time to make necessary changes. Let's all take a moment to take inventory and make those necessary changes!

HAVE A BLESSED WEEKEND!!