Unexpected Date

I had a day off from work today as I was going on an out of town shopping trip for the day - however the weather didn't cooperate so it was put on hold until tomorrow. But in spite of that disappointment I had a great day with my man. It is a rare moment we get to slow down and enjoy each other with our schedules being so hectic, but today we had the sweetest time just being with each other. We shared two pots of coffee (I know - we have caffeine issues, however we are much more pleasant with it than without it) while sharing some great conversation, got some things organized in our office and then he took me on a lunch date! We sure never get to do that with me being a teacher. However because I am a teacher I inhale my food because my lunch shift is short so I am always the first one done eating and just stare at him while he eats. I just tell him I am gazing lovingly into his eyes!

We have such a great friendship in spite of being married to each other. He is my very best friend and makes me laugh so hard. He even makes a shopping trip to Wal-Mart interesting.

God has blessed us so much more than I ever could have imagined in our marriage. We work hard at it and He has been so faithful with us. I am ever thankful for these sweet "dates" we get to have. Just sayin' girls - Go get yourself a date with your man!

What is the point?

Today an interesting thing took place in my classroom. It happens every now and again and I am in a quandary for a few days. I teach high school students. Smart ones. AP students. Students that give me a run for my money half the time and the rest of the time I am trying to bluff my way through and make them think I am smarter than they are. It is getting harder and harder to do. I love teenagers. I don't know why but I do. Let me clarify - I love my twelfth graders. I get to teach them and not so much police them. Mostly they teach me and many times things I wish they hadn't.
Back to my classroom - We just finished Night, Elie Wiesel's drama on life in a concentration camp. A harsh look at dehumanization and its horrific effects. One of the main themes of the book is the narrators (Wiesel's voice of his own self during the Holocaust) struggle with his faith in the face of such unspeakable acts. "Where is God?" he continues to ask. This without fail leads to some interesting class discussion. I teach in a public school and try to be careful not to cross any lines with my teaching, however I am a teacher known for voicing her opinion and in knowing that, my students have no doubts that when they turn to me and say, "What do you think?" I will answer before thinking! Overall the discussion was everything a teacher would want it to be - engaging, respectful of each other and not dull for a minute. But then we got to the end of class. Several of the students said they wanted to think they are full of faith but that their faith had not really reached a crisis point in their life at this age. Therefore, they didn't know that they might not feel different than the narrator. Honest. I like that. Then several of them got in a little bit of a heated discussion about whether or not hell exists. It is interesting to observe these kinds of discussions as I can fit students beliefs at this point in their lives in one of two categories. 1) Those who are spewing forth what they have heard in their homes all their lives and
2) Those who are spewing the opposite of what they have heard in their homes for rebellious reasons.
For the most part this is true, but there are always exceptions.
I am impressed with what I am hearing and frightened by some of it. Then the question gets directed at me, "What do you think?" HHMMMMMMMMM!!!! A smart teacher would transition to another question or quickly steer it away from myself. But as I stated earlier I am not always the smart teacher. I thought for a minute about the most diplomatic, effective answer I could give and finally said,"I believe Jesus was not a prophet. He was and is the Son of God. He was sent to this world to die on the cross for our sins. If there was no Hell why would God have put His son through all of that?" Many times I think the best way to answer a question is with another question. Lots of head nods except for one young man who raised his hand and said,"Don't you think it is a tad dramatic for God, who controls all things to have his son put to death just to make a point about our sin?" Every head in that room turned to me. My heart was racing and he was waiting for my answer. I won't tell you what I said as I don't want to be judged for my answer!! But here is what I cannot quit thinking about - If our children are not grounded in their beliefs before they leave our homes for college or wherever they are going, they will fall for anything. Are we giving them a good foundation? How do we deal with thought processes that say isn't that a little dramatic for us to grasp hold of?
As a young college student I was not rock solid in my faith. As a matter of fact, I thought about changing denominations a few times as I saw other denominations seemed to be having more fun. Skewed and terribly immature which resulted in some poor decision making. Thank you Lord for grace and mercy. I love my job. I know at this point in my life it is what God has called and equipped me to do. I pray every day for Him to give me an opportunity to glorify Him and let others see Him in me. He can do that in a public school setting just as He can a private Christian school. If you are reading this, please pray for our teachers but more importantly for our students. Many of them have no one lifting their names up before the Lord. These are hard times for young people. So many temptations available to them and pressure to do things that can ruin their lives. So much pain and heartache and many times their peers are the ones most unkind. Ask the Lord to open your eyes and your heart to pray for this generation.
Help them to know that there is a God who loves us so much that even though He is in control, He chooses not to control us but allow us free will. And to see that the point of our sin is we deserve death but our Drama King offered a payment on our behalf. Thank you Lord.

Habits and memory verses

As the new year begins one of things that I do and I know others beside me do it as well is examine my habits and think about how I want to get rid of them. You know things like going to bed with my makeup on or eating too late in the evening. I also think about habits I want to acquire like exercising daily or managing my time a little better. Last year I worked on the habit of memorizing scripture, but this year I want to formulate a new kind of habit. One that will change my life, my day and even my attitude. Oh yes, my attitude that sometimes even at my age needs a little adjusting! I want the habit of praise in my life this year.
Psalm 34 1-3
"I will extol the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.
My soul will boast in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt His name together."

I foresee some challenging things ahead of me already for this 2010. Family things, work things, personal things. I want to enter them ahead of time singing my Lords praises. He is love and He is good - ALL the time. He deserves my praise and not just when I think He has done something in my life worthy of me praising Him. Nope, He deserves my praise, our praise for Who He is, not What He does.
I like many others can hardly stand to watch what is happening in Haiti for too long because I get overcome with a sick feeling in my stomach. Pain for all those people. Yet as the scenes continue to unfold and we see people flying over to help and donations being flown in we see the body of Christ at work whether these people understand they are the hands and feet of Christ or not. He is good and He deserves our praise.
So this is my new habit I want to develop in 2010. I feel certain the benefits of this habit will sow much more in my life than any new diet I can try. This is my memory verse for the 15th of January.
I challenge you to "glorify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together."

A New Year

Where does the time go? 2010. I can hardly believe it. Another year gone by, another year older and hopefully a little wiser. As I ended 2009 thankful for so many blessings I began to think about what I wanted for 2010. Good health, prosperity, safety for my family, smaller clothes size, all the things one normally wishes for a new year. But I want something different this year. To quote someone I read once, "I want me a Jesus year." I want a prayer life that is ablaze. I want to gain wisdom this year not simply knowledge as I go through my bible studies with my study peeps. I want to apply God's principles to my life and my family, friends and strangers to see Him in me. Why? Because the older I get, I grow to realize He is It. Everything. The only thing. Does my life always reflect that I know that? Unfortunately no it does not. I want it to though. I want it to more than I want to lose weight, more than I want to eat healthier, more than I want to have financial success, more than any worldly thing I can think of.
Last year I did the scripture memorization with the LPM siestas. What a joy. I am sad it is over. But then I realized it doesn't have to be. I can continue to do it on my own little blog with my six followers!! So .....I shall. I have been asking the Lord to reveal what He wants on my heart as the new year begins. This morning as I read my Streams in the Desert devotional the following scripture stood out to me:
Mark 11:24
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe you have received it, and it will be yours."
Don't you just love how sometimes when you read a scripture it is as though God says it with your name in front of it? So that is my memory verse for January 1. I will commit that to my heart and ask for wisdom, and a prayer life that is ablaze and for more of you Jesus.
Join me if you like, leave your memory verse you are committing to learn in the comments section and lets just dare to have us a "Jesus year."
Happy 2010!

Christmas memories

These are just a few of my favorite Christmas moments.

Connor finally getting to Gigi and PawPaw's house on Christmas night and finally getting him under the tree! He has been a blast the last few days.



Jodi and MawMaw.

PawPaw and the sweetest little elf ever on Christmas morning.

Savannah standing in the snow on Christmas Eve in the Wal Mart parking lot! She was so excited and wanted it to stick so badly. We all did.

The kids at my Mama's house on Christmas Eve waiting to hear the Christmas story so that they could then open their presents.

What a joyous and wonderful time of celebrating we have had over the last few days. We have enjoyed our grandboys and all our other family that has been in town. It is hard to get motivated to even do the laundry this morning, but our pajamas are beginning to smell! Not really but we better get back to some normal routine today. I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas and you were able to appreciate deep in your heart what it really means to have Jesus, the most wonderful gift. Happy New Year.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is here! I can remember as a little girl this seemed to be the longest day of the whole year and I am certain the night was ten times longer than other nights! What anticipation this day brings to so many. The anticipation of preparation (grocery shopping for some of us!!!) for meals, anticipation of company arriving, anticipation of travel, anticipation of "will they like what I got them?", anticipation of one certain visitor for all the children. A day filled with anticipation. Many times we know that with great anticipation can be great disappointment.
I collect nativities. My husband bought me my first one our first married Christmas together and he has gotten me one every year since. Many others have bought some for me and my house is filled with them. From very elaborate ones to simple ones from the dollar store. I treasure them all. This morning while the others were still sleeping I got up and had my quiet time in my living room where I always do. As I looked around at the lights and the host of nativity arrangements in the room I noticed something I have never paid attention to - Mary. I mean I know she is there but this morning I thought - (I know this is not very spiritual) "She doesn't even look like she just had a baby, much less that she had a baby in a barn without the comfort of a hospital bed and nurses to attend her and most of all - an epidural!" So I got out my Bible and turned to read the account of Mary receiving the news that she would be the one to carry the Savior of the world. I don't read that account often. Normally we go right to Luke 2, but this morning I backed up some.
I read the account of Elizabeth and Zechariah and how when the angel told Zechariah that he would have a child he responded with "How can I be sure of this?" Well he had plenty of time to think about that question seeing as how Gabriel shut him right up for several months. Then I noticed that when Gabriel visited Mary and told her that she would have a child she responded with " How will this be since I am a virgin?" I realized the difference between "can" and "will". Mary didn't doubt she just wanted to hear how the impossible would come to be. Then after hearing the impossible she responded with "I am the Lord's servant may it be as you have said." But here is my favorite part of this particular story - she goes to visit her cousin who immediately upon hearing her voice feels her baby leap and Elizabeth says
"Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished."
Talk about some anticipation!!!!!! Our family sat around last night sharing stories of how the Lord has been working in each of our lives in the last few weeks and then that turned into how faithful He has been with each of us over the course of our lives. We marveled at how mightily God reveals Himself to us when we believe Him and what he tells us. How different our lives would be if we did that daily! So my anticipation today is not so much about food, gifts, travel or shopping, but that my life will magnify Him. That each day I will get out of bed and remind myself "I am the Lords servant" That I will believe what the Lord has said will be accomplished and be blessed.
May the Lord bless you and your families this season with an anticipation of Him and what is to come! Believe, Believe, Believe! He is so worth it and the anticipation of Him will never bring disappointment.
Merry Christmas Eve.

Lifting my Banner

Psalm 20:5
"We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your requests."

This Christmas season is a little different for us this year. We decided as a family to forgo much of the gift buying and things we do and really focus on the joy of the season. It has been very nice to not get caught up in much of the rush this time of year brings. However, this stillness if you will, has brought another realization to me. There is so much heartache and sadness this time of year! People hurting for so many different reasons. The flurry of activity I am usually involved in during December only allowed me to just cast a glance at those who were having a difficult time, I mean after all its Christmas shouldn't everyone be joyous? How self-centered. Then it hit me - Christ was born into a hurting suffering world that was hopeless. Born into times that are just like these to be our Hope! Glory! Salvation!
I pray a lot for the Lord to reveal Himself to me in a mighty way. He did just that recently. My husband and I got to see Providence at its greatest and it blew us away. Not earth shattering to others but to us a revelation that "Yes my child I hear you and I am constantly at work in your life and the lives of others and yes you can believe Me" The details are not something we desire to share but rather to ponder in our own hearts, but the Glory of the Lord is something we MUST lift up. He is worthy of our praise, worthy of our shouts of victory, and worthy of our banners lifted high.
Many, many people are hurting this time of year. Even those who may look like they have it all together. Pray for others. Ask the Lord to bring to your spirit the name of someone who needs your prayers. Share your joy. Share the news that a baby changes everything. Born into a sin filled heart-broken world He is our joy, our hope and our peace to know that even though this world is cruel, to the saved He is our eternal hope. He will come back for us and take us to be with Him in eternity forevermore! Hallelujah!