A Gift of Inspiration

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops."

Henry Gardiner Adams, 1812-1881 

 

I always love a chocolate kiss! No, Abby and Jo didn't pose for this.

 

I did something today that I hadn’t thought about for many years. I read the book I wrote.

 

The first Sunday in December the members in our Sunday School class gave a thank you card to our teacher, and I had made my chocolate chip coffee cake (don’t drool friends,) for him and his family.

It was a pleasant surprise to him, but he gave me a bigger surprise. Somehow he had a copy of the book I wrote and brought it in for me to sign.

 

I hadn’t thought about my book for a long time. By the time I got home I had decided to read it to remember all I’d written.

 

It was a humbling experience. I kept saying: “WOW. Did I write this? How did I do it? I can’t believe I wrote it.”And, of course, we all know that I didn't do it, God did it through me. It's amazing how He works in someone's life.

 

It brought back many experiences from my life. Happy and sad ones. But it did something even better than that. I was reminded how important note writing is and the joy of encouraging others.

A lovely Camellia bloom in my living room one winter.

I do believe this is the best gift I could have received this year. Since moving to Brookville four years ago, far away from everything and everyone I knew, I haven’t been writing notes as I use too. I still write notes, but not with the enthusiasm I always had, and the number of notes I use to write decreased.

I needed to find something to do to help me feel comfortable in my new home town. So my passion changed to quilting, as I began working with the ladies in the quilt ministry. My part was adding batting and backs to quilt tops already made. Along the way I taught myself how to make quilt tops by watching some videos online.

Since I love to create, buying fabric with colors that blended well and laying out the pattern for the quilt piece was fun and kept me occupied. Slowly I started to adjust to life in NW PA.  Note writing took a back seat to this new area of service. Creating quilt pieces for myself and my friends brought me the satisfaction of doing something worthwhile, and working with other ladies to make blankets for those in need gave me a new area of service for God.

Reading my book opened my eyes to the service God gave me back in my 30s and encouraged me to try and be more faithful to this ministry. Now that I know more people in this “foreign” land, my ears are open to needs where encouragement can help.

Thank you, Eric, for the pleasant surprise, although shocking one, and reintroducing me to a ministry that defined my life for years. And thank you, God, for filling me with the passion to encourage others and write a book about note writing. Your Hand always directed my hand, and Your Words always provided me with just the right words to write. There's no other way I could have written a book.

When I worked at the Baptist Convention I gave talks about note writing, and I was videoed and added to an E-quip website for training purposes. If you have a desire to write notes to encourage, you may be inspired by watching the video. The link is below. If you'd like a copy of the book I'd be happy to give you one. You can reach me at writerofnotes@comcast..net

 https://bcmd.e-quip.net/presentations/1080

 

Yes, it was a very special gift I received for this Christmas season. The gift of remembrance, inspiration and motivation, and it certainly encouraged my heart! Is there someone you can give the gift of inspiration, motivation and encouragement too?