Hope and Encouragement
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Which Way is Up?
As I walk down my school hallway, I give thanks to God that I am here. After missing multiple days of teaching due to both family and my own medical issues in recent weeks, I am back at work. I am tired and the stress is not gone. Many things are not yet resolved. I ponder how I will have an effective day when my energies are tapped and worry wants to creep into the crevices in my spirit. I cannot manage these downturns in life without my Heavenly Father’s care. I seriously have no strength of my own to cope with all that life has thrown my way recently.…
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Her Heart Lives On
At this time, I am dealing with my mother’s increasing dementia. We are no longer able to have back and forth conversations. She rarely speaks anymore. As I process all that goes with her illness, I am drawn back into thinking about my mother that was and what she has meant to me. One particular area that strikes me is my mother believing that she really didn’t have much impact in this world. She led a quiet life – focused on her children and grandchildren mostly. She cared for others in her quiet way. My mother raised us with the knowledge of Jesus’ saving grace. Mom made many sacrifices so…
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Something Beautiful
My heart is breaking. As I sit in the depths of the night and watch my dear daughter suffer, my whole being is wracked with a mixture of fear, sadness, and uncertainty. As the hours trickle by and we still have no definitive answer as to the cause of my daughter’s intense pain, I cry and I pray. All I can do is lay my hurts and those of my daughter at the foot of the only One who can get us through this. In the wee hours of the morning the answer comes – a life-threatening condition, but with solid treatment options. We are grateful for a plan but…
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Things Can Change
The man runs with fervor hoping to escape his captors. His breath is heavy as he runs hard and seeks to find a place of refuge. After years of living in servitude, he is done. The penalty for being a runaway slave may be death, but he has to take that chance. Freedom is imperative to him – so much so that he steals money from his master in order to expedite his getaway. His journey takes him many miles from all that is known and familiar. He has no friends or family to rely on. How is he going to manage to build a safe life somewhere else? Unknown…
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No More Hunger or Thirst
In this post Halloween week, I have witnessed the effects of too much candy on a number of my students. I have seen kids with lunch kits filled with large amounts of sweets and kids comments about how they ate candy for breakfast. All of this leads to students who function at less than their full capacity. What we fuel our bodies with is critical for our well-being. Our bodies are so intricately created by our Heavenly Father. It amazes me how each part intertwines with another and works in seamless function to keep our bodies going. This can go awry though when we do not nourish our bodies properly.…
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The Effects of Dehydration
In a typical week, my days move swiftly. The pace in my classroom is always fast, often hectic. Keeping my little people engaged and on task is a primary focus in my day. I expend a great deal of energy to keep things moving and I am on my feet a great deal of the day. I adore what I do. Working with children enlivens me – but it definitely causes me issues when it comes to my physical well-being. The biggest issue I have in the classroom is I get dehydrated. In my fast-moving day, drinking water gets forgotten. As I gather my things at the end of the…
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Conquering Obstacles
In times of difficulty the following Scripture verse is often tossed our way: “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV) Okay, so God works things for my good. Then why do I feel so lousy? Why is my life so messed up? Why do I hurt so much? The disconnect occurs when we think that God is going to make everything work out for us the way we want. That is not what this Scripture verse says. What this verse does say is that God is working for our…
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When Our Boat is Overloaded
As I work through my planner, I am overwhelmed with the number of things to do in a short space of time. Teaching is always busy, but these few weeks are extraordinarily so with extra parent meetings, student led conferences, report cards, and additional school events. Basically, if my life was a boat right now it would definitely be loaded to the hilt and slowly sinking with all the weight. Add to that some other life events that have occurred and I feel like my ship is being pummelled with fierce waves. It is easy to feel set adrift in times like these. Life gets crazy for a variety of…
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Being Connected to the Right Power Source
Yesterday I was cleaning up my garden. In one spot I had planted morning glory flowers. I had not tried to grow these flowers for years but found some seed and tried them out. I find morning glory flowers attractive as they climb up their support and are arrayed with brilliant blue colours. The only problem I have is that I didn’t get any burst of colour this year. Oh yes, the plants grew. They actually grew immensely tall with vines intertwining the mesh support, wound up tight. The vines of the plant stretched out over and beyond the support. Yet, not one flower appeared. For whatever reason, what was…
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Getting Your Racing Shoes On
The runner is breathless at the end of the race, but very satisfied to have made the grade and completed the run to the end of the course. There is a great sense of accomplishment to take on a task and see it to the end, no matter what the obstacles. Hebrews talks about our lives being a race: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV) Typically, running a race requires preparation. It…
