Forgotten Love

I knew when I was little that I was being called to be a teacher. I did all I could even as a little girl to gain knowledge and experience along those lines. I taught each year, from as early as I could, in vacation Bible school, helped my teachers as much as they would let me...(though I am quite sure I became quite obnoxious!) I ended up getting my degree in Elementary Education and taught for nine years and then started my adventure in homeschooling with my own kiddos. Teaching a class of 30 is very different from teaching 5 individual students....I love both ways of doing it. But with homeschooling, it's been a long while since I have taught a class. Last night I was privileged to teach a group of 3rd-6th grade boys and girls for their council time in AWANA. What fun it was! I forgot how energized I get by doing that. Anyway, it was wonderful and I hope I get the chance to do it again sometime.

Old Friend....Tina

I love, love, love reconnecting with old friends! I have a dear friend who has been in my life for almost 24 years. She and her husband were there going out to eat with us when we were first married. They decorated our home for when we brought home our first baby. We have prayed together, cried together, and most fun of all....laughed together. We both think the same things are funny and we laugh a lot!

I was privileged to speak to her for over an hour last night and I have been on a high ever since. She always leads me back to Jesus and grounds me. She knows me so very well. And, yes, we laughed most of the time.

God has been so gracious to me over the years in the people HE has brought into my life. Tina is just one of several...but such a special one. I am deeply in love with her and will be for life! Thank you, Tina, for what you have brought to my life.

Just Wondering....

When one has been praying for something and then it happens....is it automatically God that has answered that? Meaning...is it always a good thing? Or could it be we have worked hard to make it happen? Or some other reason it is occuring?

Just wondering...interesting things seem to be happening and I just think about these things.

Life Is Better Together!

I truly do NOT believe that it takes a village to raise a child....it takes a mom and dad. But, that being said, I do think that we live better, easier, and follow Christ's example more when we live in community.

What does community mean in this case? Well....I think it means allowing other believers to get all up in your business and them allowing you to do the same. Just knowing what is going on in each others' lives. Caring enough to stick around and see what is happening and then to help fill any holes there might be.

Perfect case in point is my dear friend, Nikki. She is so very special and lovely and wonderful...but she is quite an independent thing. She broke her foot a couple of weeks ago, which required surgery. She also has two young boys who need her (or someone) to get things for them and do for them. Her husband has stepped up in mighty ways, but there are still holes.

Nikki never let anyone know of her need, hence no one knew of it. They carried on their lives as normal. Now...they aren't too be let off the hook totally either. She had not been attending church or Sunday school lately due to myriad of issues and they never called to check in and see what was happening.

Living far away from Nikki means that I don't talk to her frequently either...(doesn't let me off the hook, either), so I didn't know about her foot. But when I did, I scrambled the fabulous ladies in the Sunday school class to get meals going for Nikki's family. They rallied so quickly....I was stunned!

That is the way community works. We see a need and then do what we can to fill it and walk with folks through the current fire. We can do this thing and I think it is one of the most glaring greatnesses that non-Christians see out of the Christian community!

Modern Day Job?

Remember Job? I do. God allowed Satan to do his thing in Job's life and was allowed to take all he had except for Job's life. Job had to have gotten completely discouraged and despondent losing his entire family, his home, and his livelihood. Though discouraged and confused about what was happening, Job continued to have faith and trust God. Amazing!

I have a living example of that in my life. My dear friend, Sara, is close to living out Job's life. She and her family have experienced so many trials. Livelihoods have been taken. The next grocery shopping trip and the next rent payment are not taken for granted. They are, once again, causes to praise God and HIS faithfulness.

But they are tired and are getting discouraged and they are confused. Yet through it all, they have faith and trust God that HE is good and knows what is happening.

I am confident that God and Satan have had conversations similar to the one they had with Job and that God actually said, "Have you considered my servant, Sara?" I think that Satan has taken God up on HIS challenge and that Sara and her family are proving God right!

Hang in there, Sara! You are dearly loved and I have never seen God provide in such miraculous ways as HE has with your family.

Not Just FOR, but THANKS!

Someone posed this question to my daughter the other day:

What if all you had when you woke up were the things you thanked God for yesterday?

What a question! It had made me think about how I am praying.

I pray FOR my family, but do I THANK God for them daily?

I pray FOR my homeschooling, but do I THANK God for the ability to do that daily?

I pray FOR neighbors, folks in my church, etc.., but do I THANK God for them?

You might pray FOR your job, co-workers, etc..., but do you THANK God for them daily?

We might pray FOR the trials and difficulties we have in our lives, but do we THANK God for them, knowing that they have been allowed for a purpose?

You get the idea....

Ask yourself this seemingly innocuous question and then watch how God uses it to transform your prayer life!

Thin Veil

I've probably written this before, but I need to say it again. Years ago, Ben and I were given an opportunity to go to Gettysburg and attend a leadership conference. The big part of the conference was going to all the battlefields there and re-living, in a sense, the things that took place. It was an amazing time and one I will never forget! Our first night there, we began at a small field near our hotel and listened to the speaker talk about different things. One thing he said has stuck with me. He said that he always thought of Gettysburg as a "thin veil"....meaning that it seemed as though the events in history and God's hand were only a thin veil away...as to almost be able to see it happening.

As we got back home, things began happening in our church at the time where I felt the same there. Aslan was on the move and God was working mightily. Prayers were being answered seemingly right in front of our eyes. Lives were being changed. I was privileged to be a tiny part of the whole thing. I said then that I felt as though our church was a "thin veil".

Well...it's happening again. The church we are in now is moving! Not in the physical sense, but spiritually. Things are happening and God is very present. Once again, I am feeling the "thin veil" and I am overwhelmed by the way God works. I am in awe!