I'm in my fourth month of being a 5th grade teacher (and actually getting paid for it!) at Heritage Christian School. Wow...I cannot even begin to describe how much the Lord has taught me in these past months. Going into this job, I thought I would be the one teaching these kids everything, but my guess is that they have taught me far more than I've taught them. Now, I'll let you be the judge as to whether that's a problem or not. :)

Our first subject every day is "Bible." What a blessing to be able to learn about and discuss the Word of the Living God every single day in school. Of course, the kids don't always see it that way. From time to time I'll get complaints that the memory verse is too long or there are too many questions to answer about a certain chapter. In my own attempts to convey to these young hearts just how incredibly amazing it is that we have the privilege of studying the Word of our Creator and Savior, I've come to realize that I, too, have taken His Word for granted for much of my life...actually almost all of it. Can most of us not say the same thing? Honestly, the God of the Universe-the One who created everything- the One who sacrificed so much to save us from hell- the One who loves us SO much more than any friend, relative, boyfriend, etc...- and probably the ONLY One who has the very truest and best intentions for our lives (here on earth and for eternity) - wrote us the longest love letter in the history of all love letters.... and yet we consider it a hassle or a chore much of the time. How blind we are...how distracted... but still, He remains....calling us to Himself. What a wonderful Maker! God has warmed my heart to such a degree that, although I am still distracted by many things (Satan's attempts to draw me away from God), I now see His Word as truly precious.

I've also learned a great deal about how my every decision, day in and day out, ultimately directs my life. In trying to teach my students the importance of showing respect to others, being diligent in daily work, and taking the time and effort to learn from previous mistakes (and the mistakes of others), I've come to realize just how true this is for all of us. No matter what point in life we're at, the decisions we make each day determine who we are. If I want to be a godly woman (selfless, honest, forgiving, serving, and loving), I have to make decisions that reflect those qualities every day. I can't pretend to be selfless if my first response to every situation centers around the question, "What do I want the most?" or "What will make me happy?" I can't say that I am an honest person if I resort to lying in order to avoid looking bad or being disciplined. I can't say that I am forgiving if I talk about how someone treated me so badly or if I fail to show love to someone who hurt me. My actions speak about who I am...not my words.

I'm so grateful for the way God has used my job to help me grow closer to Him and hopefully to be more like Him. It's such a beautiful thing how He uses us all to make each other better (for His glory, not our own) if only we're willing to listen and learn. I guess that's what He meant when He said that iron sharpens iron... :)

Okay, there is my quarterly post. Much love.

God always follows through. I'm amazed at how wonderfully things work when He's the one in control and I'm not trying to get in the way. Of course, life isn't ever going to be perfect or even close to it even when I'm living a surrendered life. Sin exists in the world and it taints everything. Still, the one thing it can't touch is the peace I have knowing that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that He has an awesome plan for my life.

I'm so glad I have brothers and sisters in Christ who challenge me and keep me walking the straight and narrow. I love you guys :)

I have made life so much more complicated than it should be. The problems arise when I try to live with one foot in the world and one foot in the kingdom of God. The Bible says that we live in the world but should not be of the world. It can be a hard line to draw sometimes. With everything that our culture throws at us today, it's no wonder we get confused about what is reality and what is only an illusion. I've been basing many aspects of my life on an illusion for the last few years....or probably my whole life. Now this isn't to say that I've been 'enlightened' and now understand everything as it truly is. Scripture says that now we only see in part, but one day we will see things fully, as they truly are. Until now (well I'm still working on it), I've been consumed by what people think of me. I'm a people pleaser...my biggest fears are failure and rejection...so I kept chasing after things that either a)give a certain impression that others would approve of or b)serve as an escape from that pressure to please.


God has been teaching me so much over the last few months. I'm realizing that for the most part, the people I am so concerned about impressing either a)won't even be a part of my life long-term or b)don't really care that much about what I do anyway or c)don't judge me as harshly as I thought. Aside from those things, WHY SHOULD I EVEN CARE? If God is for me, who can be against me? God is the only one I can truly count on FOREVER...so His opinion is really the only one that counts...and I love that. He is the only one that truly has my best interest at heart and the only one that knows absolutely what I need when I need it. When I start letting other people's opinions and expectations guide my decision making, that's when I get in over my head and things get chaotic.


It's a daily challenge...the Lord reminds me every day that I need to look no further than His word to find what I need to guide me through life. How stupid is it to look to the world to determine what I should do? The world is a complete mess....obviously wisdom is not found there...only in God. And that is reality.