Thank you, 2011

Here we are again, getting ready to usher in a new year.  I've heard many say bring on the new year because 2011 was so bad.  Others don't want to move on because 2011 was so good.  For me, 2011 was a year of growth...and growth isn't always easy but it is necessary.  It was a year ago tonight that I dedicated my year to looking to, and for, more than myself in all circumstances.  I made the decision to be more aware of what I could do for others by listening to and putting into action what I have been called to do.  It was about being ME...being what God made ME to be. 
Here's a little of what I learned and experienced in 2011:
I learned that when I focus on being a servant then the world around me becomes a different place.  I see people and situations differently.  
I experienced what an amazing ride life is when you truly put it in God's hands.  Ten years ago, I was RIF'ed from my first teaching job due to funding cuts.  I was pregnant and losing a job I loved.  But I had the deep desire to stay home with my new baby boy. So I placed my career in God's hands and just prayed that when the time was right for me and my family, I would be back in the classroom.  Exactly ten years later, I am back to teaching the exact same classes, at the same school.  He cares for our finances and will provide what we need when we need it....but it's on His time.  That's a hard lesson to learn and accept.  I will most likely always struggle with my timing not matching up to His timing. 
Speaking of time, 2011 also brought me and my family a time of loss and grief.  Saying my Earthly goodbye to my grandmother was difficult but I cannot imagine saying goodbye to a loved one without the faith and peace in knowing we will meet again.  I experienced the comfort and peace that passes understanding.
2011 brought many moments that left me saying, "Really?! God, I don't understand!"  But I am learning that it is not for me to understand.  It is for me to stay the course and trust. Notice I said, I'm learning.  This is ongoing and will probably always be a continuing education lesson for me.
Oh, continuing education! This brings me to my Masters Girls...and the lesson that God will give us the people in our lives that we need, when we need them.  I was blessed to enter into Master's classes with two ladies I had never met but we quickly became friends.  We are also sisters in Christ and were just what each other needed!
Everything I learned this year, I really already knew.  However, while I knew it, I wasn't truly trusting it.  I wasn't trusting in God's plan and promises.  So when I say that this was a year of growth, it was a year of growing to trust more.  Growing in the trust of what I know and believe to be true. 
Thank you, 2011.

Mary's Example

It's here! Christmas is here!...and almost passed for another year. The stockings were hung and full, Santa has made his stop at our house, and the last gift has been opened. The house has been destroyed and will take days to get back together but seeing my children celebrate Christmas is priceless.
When I became a mom, my thoughts of Christmas changed in several ways.  One change was that I suddenly thought of Mary more. I cannot imagine how she must have felt. Could you imagine having an angel appear to you? That alone would freak me out! But then to be told I was going to become pregnant and give birth to the Son of God! I just cannot wrap my head around what Mary might have been thinking and feeling at that moment.  Add knowing that he would save the world and seeing him suffer and be crucified, it would seem to be more than a mother could bear.  But Mary, sweet Mary, took on the role that God had deemed her worthy to fulfill.  When the angel appeard to Mary to fortell the birth of Jesus, he said, "For no word from God will ever fail."  And Mary answered, "I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled.” 
As Christmas day is drawing to end, this is what I want to carry with me throughout the year....NO word from God will EVER fail.  Life will throw curveballs and situations will arise that will make me say, "Really, God??? You want me to do what??" But I have Mary's example of faith to keep me focused on being, and thinking of, more than me.
Merry Christmas and may you carry the spirit of Christmas with you everyday of the year.

Luke 1:26-38
²⁶ In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, ²⁷ to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. ²⁸ The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
²⁹ Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. ³⁰ But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”
³⁴ “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”
³⁵ The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called^[b] the Son of God. ³⁶ Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. ³⁷ For no word from God will ever fail.”
³⁸ “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

The Power of Your Voice

When I'm reading papers students have written or Facebook posts, I often hear the voice of the writer in my head.  As if they are reading to me.  When I noticed this happening today, I was reminded of a voice I "heard" a few weeks ago at church.  I was running the computer/projector this particular Sunday, so I had to pay close attention and be on the ball with hitting the arrow button to change the words to the songs as the musicians played and sang.  Otherwise, everyone would strain their neck to turn around and see who was screwing up.  We began the service and it was full of old hymns of thanksgiving....which I love.  I probably love them so much because I grew up singing them.  Most of those years were spent sitting next to my grandma and grandpa.  My grandma sang saprano and my grandpa had a voice as smooth a velvet.  Having not heard my grandma's voice for several months now, I was brought to tears when the congregation began to sing "Count Your Blessings."  It was as if she was sitting right next to me.  I could hear her voice in my mind, singing every note.  She had favorite hymns and this was one I remember her choosing to sing every time it was her turn to lead songs. 
How amazing that our voices have so much power!  The power to comfort us, encourage us, and strengthen us.  But with all the great powers also come the power to degrade, mock, and cast doubt.  Giving somone a compliment but with a sour tone to your voice will negate every word that you said. This made me think, how do I use my voice?  I don't mean by just WHAT I say, but HOW I say it.  Try complaining with a happy voice....your complaint will sound so much better than if you use a sharp, hateful tone.  The tone of voice that we use can stick with a person for years to come.  I'm going to try hard to remember this the next time I begin to raise my voice or have a negative tone.  I don't want that to be how my voice is remembered. How I use my voice is about so more than me, and I have to remember, and be concious, of the people around me that my voice impacts. 

 A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger (Proverbs 15:1)
 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love (Ephesian.4:2).

Just a simple, little need...

My son is Charles Dickens in the school Christmas program this year.  I told his teacher I would work on getting his costume together but I must admit that the date of the performance has snuck up on me.  With just a week til show time, I set out today to find an outfit with Victorian English flare.  Not an easy task in our area!  Before leaving the house I prayed the simple prayer of, Dear Lord, please, please, please help us find what we need! 
Our first stop was at the local Goodwill store.  At first, their assortment of clothing was not looking too promising, but as I turned to look at the last row of kids clothing, there it was! The perfect suit coat...with pants and a tie! The color was a little bright but the style was perfect.  But would it fit??  Yes! The perfect suit, the exact size, and at our first store.  I was thrilled!  We were in and out of the store in less than 20 minutes with what we needed.
I prayed and petitioned my God for something very simple.  At one time,  I would not have considered this little need worthy of bothering my Sovereign God with.  But I am learning to lean on more than me for even my most basic, simple, and seeminly unimportant needs.  The need to find a costume is nothing compared to the need for food, or money to pay the power bill that others may be facing.  But it was my need at the moment and my needs, however small they are to me, are worthy of asking for help with.  I don't think God sees needs as "big" and "small" as I used to.  A need is a need, and all need is important to Him.  When we fully rely on more than ourselves to provide our needs, we begin to understand just how important our needs are to Him, and we recognize how He provides even our simplest of needs.

1 John 5:14-15

¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Choices, Choices....

I have to admit that the craziness of this season gets to me each year.  So much to do and so little time to do it! But this year I have taken a step back and I am seeing that so much of me being so busy and stressed is brought on by my choices.  MY choices.  When I have sensed myself becoming overwhelmed and feeling like I can't keep up with the rat race, I have actually thought, " Life IS a rat race if you CHOOSE for it to be.  It's YOUR CHOICE!"  I can choose to be apart of every activity and committe, I can choose to search and search for the perfect gifts for each person in my life, I can chose to wrap every gift perfectly and with great care, I can choose what activities my boys will be apart of,  I can choose not to assign projects that take a lot of time to grade just before a holiday (took me too long to understand this choice).  The point is... yes, life can come at us at a hundred and forty thousand miles an hour, but we can make the choice to make a stop at a rest area anytime. 
Can you imagine being Jesus and having hundreds, or thousands, of people at a time wanting, begging, pleading, for your attention?  And we think we are busy and stressed!  But  I love His example of getting away....stopping at the rest area, if you will.  Luke 5:16 states, "But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed."  I believe He recharged, sought guidance, and talked over the happenings of His day with His Father.  He was then ready to continue on his journey.
While I still don't know how to say "no" very well, I am learning to make choices that help me and my family stay balanced in the rat race.  I'm seeing that trying to lead a life that is about more than me, means taking care of me.   I don't mean this in a selfish way.  I mean that by taking time to nourish my mind, my body, my soul, and my relationships I am able to give more of myself.  Daily quiet time with just me and my God makes it much easier to run the race.  Of course, a manicure every once in awhile, or dinner with "the girls", or even just simply watching a movie with my hubby after the boys are in bed help to slow the pace.  If you're feeling the stress of running the "rat race", are there any choices you've made that are making your race harder and faster? Are there any choices you can change?  Maybe it's time to cross four lanes of traffic to make an emergency stop at a rest area.

The trouble with being in the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat....Lily Tomlin

The Greatest Generation

This week marked the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. When I think of Pearl Harbor, I think of my great-great aunt Sue.  During her last visit with our family, she told us the story of how she and some of her friends were detained in California after the bombing of Pearl Harbor because they were Japanese-Americans. They were college aged kids that had no idea what was going on. She told us of the encampments that the government set up to detain Japanese-Americans out of fear after the bombing. She then went on to tell us how she became an interpreter for the military.  She went on to work for the same government that detained her out of fears because of her parent's ancestry!    Actually, she was working the night the surrender from Japan came through the line.  When she was telling her story, I really could not believe she would serve her country after the way they treated her and so many others.  What a great example of the Greatest Generation.
The Greatest Generation served.  They served their families, their neighbors, their communities and their country.  They helped each other through difficult times.  They stood for their beliefs and values.  They also knew the meaning of work and were willing to give of their time to help their neighbors. Today, it seems to be much easier to write a check rather than give of our time that is flying by faster than we can keep up with.
Often I hear people say, "times were simpler then.". To that I say, maybe we could learn from the "old times". Simplicity seems to be unacceptable by some standards today.  Families are on the go so much that sitting down for dinner together becomes a rarity, let alone noticing opportunities to lend a helping hand to others.  I believe one reason that the Greatest Generation was so great is that they got what it meant to think of more than themselves....a lesson to learn from history.

Santa Fail...Almost

With my oldest son in third grade, I know my husband and I are not too far from no longer playing Santa....secretly. They will still get gifts and stocking stuffers from Santa when they no longer believe. They will just know who it came from.  As our boys have gotten older, it has been harder to hide their Santa gifts. This morning, as we were getting in the car to head to school, I realized my partner in Santa gift giving had not taken a gift out of the car last night! I quickly told my son to go close the garage door by pushing the button at the door because my car button wasn't working. When he got out of the car, I went into stealth mode and discreetly removed the gift from the car and hid it in the garage with some ninja-like moves. I was super excited that I had successfully hidden what could be the last true Santa gift for my sweet son. But then I heard a little voice telling him that I had just hidden the exact gift he asked Santa for. Thank you, little brother! I then went into defense mode and denied everything the little spy told his brother. It seemed to work but I now have to get the gift moved before we return home and I have two little boys searching the garage.
This made me think of what great lengths we go to to keep our kids believing in Santa. We will make up stories to explain why Santa won't be bringing a four wheeler. We read stories and watch movies about the mystical North Pole, Santa, and his elves....all the while knowing that someday they will know the truth. But do we go to equal lengths to make sure our kids believe in the REAL reason for Christmas? Do we share the truth of Christ with them with as much enthusiasm as we do when talking about Santa?

Philipian 2:8-10.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!
 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

In Him, Not Me

December is a month of giving...really,every month should be a month of giving but that's another post. There are so many ways we can give. Money, material items, and our time, are a few ways. Time is one that is usually the hardest to give up especially this time of year. December is an exhausting month most years. Between Christmas parties, family gatherings, and shopping for the perfect gifts added to the everyday hustle and bustle, we find the days flying by and our best intentions of giving our time are lost. I am like anyone else. There are days that I think there just isn't any more of me to go around! I am thankful for my gifts and abilities that allow me to help others. But when I find myself mentally, emotionally and physically drained, I find myself asking, who is going to help me?! Then I'm still and I hear the words, "Your strength is in me. I will give you rest." Before I know it, I have a day or a few hours of quiet that opens up in my schedule, or a day of just fun with friends or family, or a song plays on the radio, or someone says just the right words. He gives me the rest I need and the encouragement to my heart and soul that makes me see that in Him I am stronger than when I am on my own. Jesus often separated himself from his followers for "alone time." He spent this time with His Father, recharging and reflecting....we have this example of how to handle our weariness, stress, and frustration. Yet we just keep grumbling and working for ourselves and depend on our own strength rather than the strength of the one who created us to serve.
In Him, I am more then me.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. – Galatians 6:9

A Month of Traditions

My favorite time of year is upon us! There is just something about Christmas time that I love. The celebrations, the decorations, the family traditions, and spirit of giving...I love it all. Growing up, one of the many traditions we had was going caroling with our church each year. We would go around our small town caroling the older folks and then go back to the church or someone's house for hot cocoa and treats. The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!...gotta love the movie Elf. Another tradition we did each year was making plates of treats for the elderly and shut-ins and then delivering them. It was always so amazing to see the smiles, and sometimes tears, of the people who we caroled and delivered treats to. Last year, we brought back the caroling with a couple other families. We caroled around town. It was wonderful! Several people cried tears because a group of parents,with their herd of kids, thought to take a minute to stop by their house and sing a few Christmas songs at their front door. I will never let another December go by without caroling. It wasn't about signing pretty, it was about more than me. It was about letting the widows spending their first Christmas without their loved ones know that they were thought of. It was about letting the elder leaders of our community know that they have not been forgotten. It was about sharing our love of CHRISTmas. I challenge you to get involved in a tradition that is about more than you this Christmas. If your church offers something, great! If not, get some friends together and do something together.
My generation is the next generation to carry on the traditions of generations past. The traditions I remember and loved the most were about serving others. Today it seems we revolve around own little worlds so much that we don't have, or don't want to make time, for others. Christmas is about Christ and His love. Sharing His love with others is the tradition I want my boys to remember. What "more than me" tradition do you have? If you don't have one, this year is a great year to start one!

Psalm 63:3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.