serve the Lord with gladness

I had two opportunities for service today. One I was glad about; one I wasn't.

Val and I taught the 1st & 2nd (and 3rd?) grade Sunday School class this morning. Several of my Sparkies are in that class; I miss Sparks more than I'd though possible. I'm really looking forward to starting up again in September. Anyway, class went pretty well, despite the fact that our 5-minute craft stretched into 35! I'd be happy to sub in that class again. I've decided that 5, 6, 7, and 8-year-olds are my favorite.

Our missions team had a breakfast fundraiser this morning. (I don't think I've mentioned our mission trip on this blog before. I'm going to Florida for 10 days in July with others from my church. We're helping at a sports camp/VBS in the Tampa area.) When I got to church (at 8 a.m. . . so I was predisposed to being grumpy), I learned that our team would be doing the afternoon services at the three nursing homes in town. This is the service I wasn't so glad about. Normally, I wouldn't mind being a part of the services (although I wouldn't be inclined to volunteer to help with them), but I didn't appreciate that it was sprung on me at the last minute. I was planning a nap for the afternoon! (I understood why I didn't know about it earlier, but I still wasn't happy.) Needless to say, I didn't have the greatest attitude as we arrived at the first home. I was there, but I certainly wasn't serving the Lord! Then we went to the second place. As I looked around at the residents entering the room, I saw how happy they were to have us. They smiled; they waved; they sang along with the hymns. Then we went around to greet them. As I shook their hands and thanked them for coming, I realized how important it was to them that we were there. And I had to repent of my rotten attitude. Right now, I'm exhausted. I'm surprised at how tiring it is to stand up and sing for an hour, even when it's broken into segments. By the last song, my voice was cracking! I'm glad that we went . . . and I'm glad God got through to me so I could enjoy serving Him!