Monday, May 23, 2011
HAPPY MONDAY!!!!
Did you know this is my LAST Monday for THIS school year??? I am most definitely doing the happy dance today!!! Of course, the students are making it "difficult," but I have a 3 day weekend coming up. Two days with students. One teacher workday. And I'm OFF!!!!!! So HAPPY MONDAY everyone!!!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Today's Thought
What do you do when you face trials? Ignore them? Praying them away? Fight with them? Embrace them???
I don't like trials. But God's Word does say that the testing of our faith produces endurance (James 1:3). Does this change my perspective? You betcha!
This has really been a year long (or longer) process, but I believe I can confidently say that this year I am definitely a stronger Christian than how I started out.
I still don't like trials, but accept them. They have a purpose. I've also come to realize that sometimes God takes us to our lowest of lows, just to show us how high He will take us if we let Him!
I'm again reminded of the song Blessings by Laura Story. This excerpt, "what if a thousand sleepless nights is what it takes to show you're near...." This is SO true, and I have most certainly LIVED this. When trials come, ask yourself what the Lord is trying to show you, teach you, remind you. When you let go, and let God...you better be ready to see the amazing changes God will bring to you life.
I don't like trials. But God's Word does say that the testing of our faith produces endurance (James 1:3). Does this change my perspective? You betcha!
This has really been a year long (or longer) process, but I believe I can confidently say that this year I am definitely a stronger Christian than how I started out.
I still don't like trials, but accept them. They have a purpose. I've also come to realize that sometimes God takes us to our lowest of lows, just to show us how high He will take us if we let Him!
I'm again reminded of the song Blessings by Laura Story. This excerpt, "what if a thousand sleepless nights is what it takes to show you're near...." This is SO true, and I have most certainly LIVED this. When trials come, ask yourself what the Lord is trying to show you, teach you, remind you. When you let go, and let God...you better be ready to see the amazing changes God will bring to you life.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
What if...
Beautiful song by Laura Story, "Blessings." This song SSSOOO very much encourages me. She's definitely becoming one of the NEW favorite artitsts.
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise
When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know the pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise
Monday, May 16, 2011
Waiting...
Been in a contemplative mood lately.
Driving to work this morning, my favorite song by John Waller came on, "While I'm Waiting." Waiting to many different people can mean many different things. We wait in line at the grocery store, wait in the waiting room of a Dr.'s office, wait for a phone call, wait for a child to be born, wait for a transplant, wait for a loved one to be saved....wait...wait...wait....
How DO we wait? I, for one, DO NOT like waiting for many things. I can be patient - - sort of, when I need to be. But, really,...I'm not a patient person. I don't like to be idle, so being still is really a struggle for me. I am, however, waiting for several things.
Waiting for this school year to end...
Waiting for Olivia to arrive...
Waiting for a full time job for Tim...
Waiting for the economy to turn around...
Waiting to be able to stay home with the kids...
Wait...
Wait...
Wait...
What should we do when we wait? Like I said earlier, I don't like to be idle, so I try to find things to keep myself "busy." Now I don't like to be "busy" for the sake of being busy. BUT, when I am waiting for an answer from the Lord, I try my best to be productive.
NOW, I still very much struggle with this. But I try to ask myself, "Well, what can I do for the Lord, while I wait for this answer or this thing I am praying for?" Sometimes, that in itself is exactly what the Lord is wanting to teach me.
So my little piece of advice to you , that I try to follow, is "while you're waiting" do something, find something to do, for the Lord. You don't have to wait idlly, what good is that? A productive "waiter" looks and sees what else needs to be done around him/her to help further God's Kingdom.
And I believe if we seek God's Kingdom FIRST, everything else will fall into place. So while you're waiting, don't WAIT for God to WAIT on YOU, but go ahead and make a difference to someone else. Who knows, you could be the one that someone else is "waiting" to come along - for whatever reason.
Driving to work this morning, my favorite song by John Waller came on, "While I'm Waiting." Waiting to many different people can mean many different things. We wait in line at the grocery store, wait in the waiting room of a Dr.'s office, wait for a phone call, wait for a child to be born, wait for a transplant, wait for a loved one to be saved....wait...wait...wait....
How DO we wait? I, for one, DO NOT like waiting for many things. I can be patient - - sort of, when I need to be. But, really,...I'm not a patient person. I don't like to be idle, so being still is really a struggle for me. I am, however, waiting for several things.
Waiting for this school year to end...
Waiting for Olivia to arrive...
Waiting for a full time job for Tim...
Waiting for the economy to turn around...
Waiting to be able to stay home with the kids...
Wait...
Wait...
Wait...
What should we do when we wait? Like I said earlier, I don't like to be idle, so I try to find things to keep myself "busy." Now I don't like to be "busy" for the sake of being busy. BUT, when I am waiting for an answer from the Lord, I try my best to be productive.
NOW, I still very much struggle with this. But I try to ask myself, "Well, what can I do for the Lord, while I wait for this answer or this thing I am praying for?" Sometimes, that in itself is exactly what the Lord is wanting to teach me.
So my little piece of advice to you , that I try to follow, is "while you're waiting" do something, find something to do, for the Lord. You don't have to wait idlly, what good is that? A productive "waiter" looks and sees what else needs to be done around him/her to help further God's Kingdom.
And I believe if we seek God's Kingdom FIRST, everything else will fall into place. So while you're waiting, don't WAIT for God to WAIT on YOU, but go ahead and make a difference to someone else. Who knows, you could be the one that someone else is "waiting" to come along - for whatever reason.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Burnt Out and Stressed Out
Sometimes I wonder if I've got what it takes to be a public school teacher, let alone a special education teacher.
Public schools have a really bad repuation, and I've always felt that was one of the reasons I was so drawn to them. One of my professors (for a credentialing class) shared that if we had more Christian teachers willing to serve the public school, imagine the difference it would make! I really took that to heart. To be honest, I still do believe in the public school, but I also believe it is in need of much serious help. I also still do believe it's very much a grossly neglected missions field.
The past two weeks have been trying through. I feel like each morning I get up and find myself going against the current from 7:45 to 2:08. We're (Christians) called to be light in this dark world, and boy does it ever feel dark here sometimes.
I've really been praying about a change in careers, but I feel convincted, and feel like I'm giving up. If I don't do this job, then who else, and will that someone else be a believe and want to share God's love with those he/she comes across? But then, I'm also torn with the amount of time I spend away from my own children and how exhausted I am to come home each day and still give of my time they deserve. What do you do? What CAN you do?
I feel at a lost. I look at my class (thinking of a certain period in particular), and I think I may start to begin to feel how Christ did when He wept over Jerusalem. It's so hard to admti and come to terms with thought. I start out and I see lost children with no vision, no future. They don't care, and they're happy/content to not care. They talk about drugs, drinking, sexual immorality - and they think it's all ok. Mine you, these are 8th graders. One boy the other day shared about their family loosing their home, and about how they would trash it because, "if we can't have it, neither can the government." I've never felt so my pain and frustration with this generation as I have this year.
A lot of families need your prayers. A lot of our schools need your prayers. So many people in so many positions seem to have their hands tied, and I pray that Satan's foothold would be taken away. This is have so heavy on my heart, and I don't know what to do except cry out in frustration. I really don't want to give up, unless the Lord makes it possible for me to be home with my kids. At the same time, I am just one person trying to share Jesus, but sometimes I just feel like it isn't making a difference - definitely attacks from the enemy.
Public schools have a really bad repuation, and I've always felt that was one of the reasons I was so drawn to them. One of my professors (for a credentialing class) shared that if we had more Christian teachers willing to serve the public school, imagine the difference it would make! I really took that to heart. To be honest, I still do believe in the public school, but I also believe it is in need of much serious help. I also still do believe it's very much a grossly neglected missions field.
The past two weeks have been trying through. I feel like each morning I get up and find myself going against the current from 7:45 to 2:08. We're (Christians) called to be light in this dark world, and boy does it ever feel dark here sometimes.
I've really been praying about a change in careers, but I feel convincted, and feel like I'm giving up. If I don't do this job, then who else, and will that someone else be a believe and want to share God's love with those he/she comes across? But then, I'm also torn with the amount of time I spend away from my own children and how exhausted I am to come home each day and still give of my time they deserve. What do you do? What CAN you do?
I feel at a lost. I look at my class (thinking of a certain period in particular), and I think I may start to begin to feel how Christ did when He wept over Jerusalem. It's so hard to admti and come to terms with thought. I start out and I see lost children with no vision, no future. They don't care, and they're happy/content to not care. They talk about drugs, drinking, sexual immorality - and they think it's all ok. Mine you, these are 8th graders. One boy the other day shared about their family loosing their home, and about how they would trash it because, "if we can't have it, neither can the government." I've never felt so my pain and frustration with this generation as I have this year.
A lot of families need your prayers. A lot of our schools need your prayers. So many people in so many positions seem to have their hands tied, and I pray that Satan's foothold would be taken away. This is have so heavy on my heart, and I don't know what to do except cry out in frustration. I really don't want to give up, unless the Lord makes it possible for me to be home with my kids. At the same time, I am just one person trying to share Jesus, but sometimes I just feel like it isn't making a difference - definitely attacks from the enemy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)