Author: Suzann Sharp

Prayer is such a big part of my life and I am so appreciative of all the extra time this past month I had to just be still and in His presence and spend more time in prayer with Him!

Our house is readjusting to having our college graduate back at home while he winds down from the stress & rigors of college life and starts his job search in earnest.  I love having him home, but the adjustment to his schedule vs. mine is a challenge (when 10:30 is my bedtime); I have enjoyed having him back home, even if a little less sleep is involved!  I know God has a plan for him and He will open the door when the right position comes along.   One firm he applied with bases their company’s mission statement on serving the Lord and I told him that if that is their priority it would no doubt be a great place to work.  I know that FD has been such a blessing to me!  As I pray for him and what the next chapter in his life has in store, I pray he will be as fortunate as I have been in working for people that serve the Lord.

Thankfulness.  That is the best way I can describe having this time to spend with family to build and solidify relationships.  Most of us take for granted all the blessings the Lord bestows upon us each and every day.  The time I was able to spend with Him both in prayer and in His word was uplifting & renewing for my body, mind & spirit.  I have always thought of myself as a positive person, but it is still easy to get caught up in life’s everyday issues.   The reading I did while on Sabbatical is so relevant to our everyday lives, it seemed as if these books were written just for me…. it’s amazing how God give us everything we need and .. fills our lives with good things (Psalm 103.5).

We are all so blessed to have such a loving savior and to work for a company that encourages us in our walk with Him.

I began my Sabbatical jumping right in to my service projects. Wednesday I volunteered at On the Way Home Ministries. Kacey was there and she showed me the ropes. I helped restock the shopping area & help reorganize the storage area and got to visit with a few of the people that came in. I’m not sure if I brightened their day by our short visit, but I know they did mine. It was a somewhat slow day so in our down time we also worked on setting up computers for the classes they will be having for continuing education.

I also spent a few hours visiting with my mom while I was in town and feel very blessed to have the extra time in my schedule to do that. As I have read in a few other people’s blog it felt strange not to be going to work & took some significant effort to get my mind off the things I needed to get done at the office. I am about 1/3 of the way through one of my books I chose to read and am getting reinforcement to take time out of our busy life for the simple things. Thanks Kris!

Thursday & Friday I volunteered with Camp Able. On these days I not only helped with their tack room project of tearing down the old building to make room for the new one – but I got a ton of exercise too! (My back showed a little protest on Saturday from hauling the busted up concrete; but all well worth it!) The camp participants were so much fun to be around as their faces lit up just being outside with the horses. The trail rides gave us time to talk & get to know each other as well as giving me a good workout. This place has a wonderful impact on the children and I’m convinced all the horses there love them too; how they interact with each other is great!