For Me

Wow what a year does to you! My last post is dated May 30. That is almost exactly 13 months from today. In this last year I have: been to Australia (always a dream), got pregnant and had my wonderful son Kepler, helped open the new preschool, taught with a wonderful new staff and fantastic kiddos, and finally (and most recently) decided to leave the public school to stay home. Whew. I didn't realize just how busy I was!

This latest decision to leave the public school has really got my mind going about where I am wanting to be as a mommy and a professional. First, let me start with Kepler.

Beau and I found out almost a year ago (July 3 to be exact) that we were expecting our first child. Tentative due date was March 12, 2011. The pregnancy was great. I had no complications and stayed right on track for weight gain and measurements. We weren't originally going to find out the sex, but curiosity got the best of us. It took us forever to come up with a name! We kept it a secret for a long time, but finally settled on Kepler. Beau found it and suggested it to me. I was skeptical at first, but warmed up to the idea after several weeks. Johannes Kepler was an astronomer who worked with Galileo. There is also a Kepler telescope out in space. By about the 8th month I started to get really uncomfortable and tired. Baby was due the day spring break started and I was determined to make it. March 12th rolled around and I went walking with Adrienne. We went to several stores and a craft fair. After some tacos from Rosa's I called it a night. At about 4:30 contractions started. They started out slow and steady, but after a few attempts at going back to sleep I gave up. We were off to the hospital by 7:30 and the contractions were coming about 3-5 minutes apart. All the pain I had at this point was in my back. I really was in denial that I was in labor. I thought we would get there and they would send me home. Come to find out I was in active back labor. I dilated very quickly, but my water never broke. Somewhere around 10 they had to break my water. I thought I was in pain before that, but I was wrong! Kepler was born on March 13th at 11:20 weighing 8 pounds 13oz and 21 3/4 inches long. I didn't have any meds and loved the whole experience!

After he was here, I could not imagine life without a baby. Those first few weeks were so exhausting and exciting at the same time. We were very fortunate that Beau got to stay home with me for 3 weeks. Family and friends were great and stopped by to help and bring food and supplies. Recovery was great and I was feeling good by week 5.

So this brings me back to the present, Kepler is now almost 16 weeks old. I spent one week back at school teaching and it was difficult. Watching Kepler's every move and knowing how he likes to be held and put to sleep is the best job ever. I love being a mommy. So I put in my resignation in Keller this week. At the same time I found out that the school at our church is hiring for a part time teacher. Not sure what I wanted to do I sent them my resume. I immediately got a phone call and asked to come in for an interview the next day. In not so many words I got the impression they wanted me for the job. That was yesterday. I sent a thank you email today and am waiting for a response. I am torn in half about what to do though. My logical side says take the job and save the money for Kepler's college/future. My heart strings say I want to be there for every milestone and can't leave my baby. I have absolutely no idea what to do....sigh what a year.

Wow I'm not sure where the weeks and months have gone, but here we are with only 4 days left in the school year. This is always a hard time for me because I'm ready for summer, but I will miss my kids so much. I love them all and wish them the best. This year is a little different because I have so much going on all at once. It's the end of school and I have to have everything packed up for the new building and out of my current room. Also, Beau and I are leaving to go out of the country for a few weeks. I'm just super overwhelmed. Well my wonderful assistant Carmen sent this to me and I had to share. It made my day and will get me through the next week. Thanks so much Carmen! Have a great summer everyone :)

Trust in the Wisdom of God

In Genesis 37:18, the brothers of Joseph conspired to kill him and cast him into a pit. In an attempt to hide their evil scheme to get rid of Joseph, they sold him for 20 pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites who pulled him out of the pit and carried him off into Egypt .

How many times have you found yourself in a deep pit of despair, feeling alone and facing problems too hard for you to resolve? A pit is a form of recession. You have more bills than income, or more bad news than good. The enemy uses the pit in your life to hold back your blessings, and he tries to kill your spirit, steal your joy, and destroy your Christian testimony.

While Joseph’s brothers were plotting to wipe him out, at that same time, by verse 25, God dispatched a team of deliverers, the Ishmaelites to come to his rescue. This is a great illustration of God’s sovereign wisdom and power over your life. He is a Keeper of your soul. He knows just what your pit looks like; the foreclosure, the doctor’s bad report, the loss of a loved one, a lengthy unemployment.

On the flip side, He also knows your purpose and destiny and the plans He has made for your life. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

At the same time you are applying for unemployment assistance, a future boss is reviewing your resume.
At the same time the bank pulls your credit report for a loan, a computer erases the bad information.
At the same time you see yourself skidding into on-coming traffic, God has prepared a guard rail in the road to protect you.

All through the bible God shows His sovereignty and wisdom to watch over us in the hard times. He is a Provider who sees far beyond our scope of vision as He prepares a way out of adversity for His children. The Bible says He will never leave you or forsake you and He will not put on you more than you can bear. In His infinite wisdom, while the devil is sending you a problem, at the same time, God is sending you divine sustaining provisions.

You may have to endure a season of struggle, but your pit is not too deep or too hard for God. Trust in His wisdom to foresee the circumstances of every pit and prepare a way to get out of it. At the same time Joseph’s brothers were throwing him into the pit, God sent the Ishmaelites to be the answer to his problem. God is in control, not man.

The bible says in Isaiah 54:17, No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and in Psalm 121:12, “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.”

Stop looking to the weapon that is formed against you. Look to the hills of heaven for God to make a way for you. “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28. It’s not a recession for you, God’s provisions are on the way.

Scripture Of The Day: “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” - Psalm 121

So tonight we had what is called a Doctrine dinner at church. We were all supposed to memorize several verses on a particular topic and recite them to a group of church members. I was scared out of my wits, but I did it! I am so proud of all of those who did this and it is really showing what is happening in our church body. I hope it can really help us all see our true passion. After this Robby, our youth pastor, raised some great questions for us all. How often do you think about the coming of Christ? It's something we all know is coming and we think about, but probably not daily. What would you do if you knew Christ was coming back tonight or tomorrow? Make this a daily prayer. I hope you can think about this and change your way of thinking. Live each day as if Christ will come back that day.

I Corinthians 15: 21-27
"For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the first fruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom of God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that everything has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ."
I Thessalonians 4: 13-
"We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words."

I could go on with so many verses these are two that I found that are pretty good. Basically we need to remember that Christ is coming for us believers some day. Now I post this not to start a debate. Please don't use this for that. I would welcome comments and thoughts though. If you have a different opinion I will have a healthy discussion with you. Mostly I put these up as a sort of sounding board for myself. Feel free to post though! I love you guys and have a great week!

Changes

So my week of almost no technology was great! I had a ton of time to think, pray, work out and just clean up my life. I'm hoping I can keep this good vibe up. I'll use my computer and watch some TV, but I don't want it to consume me like it has in the past. It felt very good to have so much time to think and recenter myself.

During this time American Idol started. That was so hard to not watch the whole thing! We fastforwarded thorugh most of it, but I think I saw the highlights. I had several wonderful ladies over to scrap Friday night and that was a blast! Carmen came and we helped her kick off the scrapping habit. I think she is hooked! I still haven't picked up all my stuff so I think I may get back to it in a bit. Overall it was a great week and I look forward to a great year!

I will continue to pray for all those around me and I hope you all will continue to pray for me. We need to remember the true reason we are all here. Letting the wordly things come between us and God is not the way to be. I hope you all have a great week and God bless!

Luke 9:23-24
Then he said to them all: " If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it."

Going off the grid

Wow what an evening at church we had. Thanks Robby for such an inspiring message! I'll get to that in a minute though. If you can keep up with what I am saying awesome! If you have questions or want to know more let me know. Here I go:

Since the beginning of the year I have been all about me. I want to lose weight, get healthy and get organized. It's all I have been talking about. What about God though? Do I not care enough about him to change that area of my life? Sure I go to church, I volunteer my time, and I read my bible. But could I be doing more? Think about this:

James 4:4-10 "You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Submit yourselves, the, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."

How can I give up the friendship of this world? What has become my idol? Wow....I didn't have to think about it for very long. I just spent all afternoon on the couch watching TV. While I was watching TV I spent time on Facebook. How much of that time could I have spent in the Word of God learning and preparing for the week ahead of me? Almost every day I spent multiple hours watching TV and checking my Facebook profile. At night I spend maybe 5 or 10 minutes on God. That seems wrong to me and I got a huge slap on the face tonight. God spoke to me and said get up off your rear end and learn about me. Memorize scripture, get to know me. Spend time with your family.

So, in thinking about this here is what I came up with. I will no longer be checking my Facebook, I will be watching little to no TV and I will be taking up my time thinking about God and how much he can change me. These worldly things aren't needed to entertain me when I have the most wonderful book ever written at my fingertips. So I hope this starts you thinking what you can change as well. Don't hesitate to comment and we can start a discussion. I love you all and may you be blessed!

Well Happy New Year to you all! I can't believe it is 2010 already. It seems that 2009 went so fast and was mostly uneventful which was great. Beau and I are hoping that this new year will bring many happy memories and lots of great things. We are going to be traveling to Australia, Beau will be possibly moving jobs, I'll be switching buildings and we are starting to begin planning for a family. Two days ago we bought a larger car so hopefully we can save up lots of money to pay that off as well! I'm not one for resolutions, but I do have some hopes and ambitions. I would love to become healthier, more organized, and not stress out so much. So here's to a new year and a new look on our lives! Happy New Year!

Wow how long has it been? A long time...What a semester it has been so far. It started out a little rough for me and I didn't think October would ever end, but here we are and it's Christmas Day. Time is flying by and we are already halfway through another school year. Nothing terribly exciting has happened, but here is an update nonetheless. I have a great class this year and Carmen is doing a fantastic job of helping me out. Beau's year is going OK as well. He's looking at moving districts next year, but we'll see what the next few months hold for us. My class is supposed to be moving to a new campus next year as well, but again we'll see what happens. For now things are going quite smoothly. We went and saw Beau's family in Destin, FL for Thanksgiving, we took a mini vacation to San Antonio for Christmas and we have just paid off our Australia trip. I'm looking forward to seeing another country in June, but I suppose we have to finish out the school year first! So for now this is the best update I have and I will try and update more often this next semester! :)