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Reaching Out to Those Who Need Us
Some days I really wonder what God is doing in my life. As I trudge through my day, I question why life has to be so hard at times. How am I supposed to move forward with so many obstacles? If I constantly focus on the obstacles themselves, I get weary and downtrodden. This kind of attitude really doesn’t get me anywhere. It helps to have a change of perspective. God is working in our lives each and every day, through both good and bad circumstances. While we may question His purpose and plan when things are tough, He does have a reason when He allows us to traverse through…
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Surrendering Instead of Striving
I see it in my classroom every day. It’s that streak of independence that drives my students to find their own way, despite the instruction I give them. It can lead to all kinds of trouble as my little people get off track and miss the mark of the lesson or task. Sometimes it can manifest itself in relationship issues when they barrel ahead without thinking of the appropriate steps to resolve a conflict. It is challenging for us humans to submit to authority and do things someone else’s way. We want to assert our independence and we prefer to direct our own paths. What do we do, then, when God asks us…
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I’ll Get to It
As I sit at my desk, I am overwhelmed by all the piles around me. I have a habit of placing files or books on my desk when I think they are important and I don’t want to forget them. In teaching, however, there are a number of things that are priority, and so I often end up with a perpetual mess. Let’s face it – we have all done it. We pile stuff, collect things, leave messes, and so on, usually with the mindset that we will get to it later. Or perhaps it is the emails unread and unanswered or financial matters that need our attention that are…
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What Are You Looking for in This New Year?
I am definitely a bargain shopper. It started back in university days when I had to put myself through school and every penny mattered. As a young stay-at-home mom, my bargain hunting skills increased to help meet the needs of my growing family and work within our limited resources. It is still an adventure to scout out and seek a good deal. While fun and productive, it is time consuming. Yet the benefits are great as I find ways to stretch our finite dollars. Because saving money matters to me, I find it worth my time and beneficial for my well-being to find opportunities to be more cost effective. Time…
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Grow in Grace
The tree is up. Presents abound under his branches – those gifts of love to those who matter the most to us. Perhaps there are duty gifts there as well, for those to whom we feel obligated. It takes time to prepare gifts or search for those that suit the needs and wants of others. It is worth the effort to bring joy and happiness to those around us. Some people go to great extremes trying to show their care to others by extensive gift giving. Our Heavenly Father lavishes us with gifts also. His gifts are ones that don’t tarnish or break. God’s gifts are good and perfect. The…
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Turning the Agony of Waiting into a Positive Thing
Outside the sun rays waft their way through the trees. Morning arrives with all the hope and promise of a new day. Yet, that is not the way I feel. Sidelined with a cancer diagnosis and subsequent surgical recovery, I am sitting in my rocking chair, bundled in blankets…waiting and wondering – what does my future hold? I feel powerless and frustrated. Rewind back a number of years and again I sit and wait – wondering when God will provide me with a job. Questions arise – why is employment so hard to find? Why does there have to be a recession now? Let’s face it – if I think…
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Looking Heavenward
Are you slugging through another day? Do you ever feel that you are on a perpetual treadmill – expending lots of effort, but not moving forward? As I sit here on my couch this weekend I ponder where my week went. How do the days just seem to disappear into one another? While I am happily busy doing the teaching work that God has called me to, I don’t like how one day seems to run into the next. I feel like I haven’t had time to breathe, let alone do something fun for myself. It was no different when my children were young and I was at home. Diapers…
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Wham!
Have you ever had life going along relatively smoothly and “wham”, life changes in an instant? That was my week. An altercation with a deer on my rural commute left me quite shaken and my SUV in pieces. And so, my week changed. Time spent with the insurance company and auto body shop. Trying to arrange for a rental vehicle. All these details that I really didn’t want to add to my week but was forced to. I have relied on my four-wheel drive vehicle with its excellent winter tires to help keep me safe in snowy conditions. Now, I have a vehicle to drive without those things. With parts…
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Keep Your Eyes on the White Line
It had been an exhausting commute going to work. Poor weather conditions compounded by a host of oncoming traffic who decided that dimming their lights was not in their game plan left me tired and frustrated. I do not like driving in the dark and having to commute each day before sunrise is not my idea of a good time. On this particularly frustrating day I had a talk with a former police officer. He mentioned that in his training they were taught in high-speed chases to keep their eyes on the white line. This focus is critical in their safety. Where we keep our focus is crucial in our…
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When the Downside Turns into the Upside
The autumn breezes are finally turning chill. It has been an exceptional fall, with some of the warmest weather on record for our northern climate. Yet, as I walk through my garden, I feel somewhat dismayed. Weeks ago, I did my typical fall cleanup but the weeds have regrown and are going to seed because we have yet to have a killing frost. I start to lament and grump a bit. I have lots of other things I would rather be doing than weeding in October. When I consider the situation, I have to give myself a talking to. Yes, there are some negatives to our prolonged warmer weather, but…
