Word-Filled Wednesday: Matthew 6:27-34

Matthew 6:27-34

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes?
See how the lilies of the field grow.
They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon
in all his splendor
was dressed like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today
and tomorrow is thrown into the fire,
will he not much more clothe you,
O you of little faith?

So do not worry,
saying, 'What shall we eat?'
or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

For the pagans run after all these things,
and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be given to you as well.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,
for tomorrow will worry about itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own."

For more Word-Filled Wednesday visit Susan.

The Mountain Classroom

From The Mountain Brooke comes The Mountain Classroom.

For my professional development class comes a blog about my "first year" teaching experiences. While I took my job last February, I am excited to log a full year in my school, in my position, and complete that renowned full "first year" of teaching.

This year I will be the director of a preschool in the mountains... with 30 children a day, nearly 40 children enrolled, 4 teaching assistants, a handful of special needs providers, and my position requiring a hat-rack to hold all the hats I am meant to wear... a year of learning and fun is certainly in store.

Feel free to visit this site, but please keep me in prayer as my world of blogging and my world of working sort of collide these next few months. Since I already had a blogging account, all of a sudden, people from work know I have a blog and can access it.

While The Mountain Brooke has been a place I've loved to keep friends and family abreast of my thoughts, heart and life events, it has not been shared with many people here in the mountains. My prayer remains the same, that God would be glorified through anything I would say or write, but this direct link is outside of my comfort zone.

Thank you for your prayers and remaining my safe corner despite converging worlds.

Word-Filled Wednesday: Zephaniah 3:17

Zephaniah 3:17

"The Lord Your God is with you,
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing."

New Bed, New Sheets, Same Lexie

I haven't written for awhile and I don't have much time at the moment, but last week I was so blessed to get a new bed and yesterday my new sheets arrived (aren't they cute - green and bright with little flowers).

A family friend who lives in Silt, Colorado (an hour east of Eagle) built me a loft for my room -- at my request, it is so high that my 5'5'' harp can fit under the loft part. My bed is now six feet off the ground, which I think is pretty awesome! I actually stay out of bed when my alarm goes off in the morning.

Below are a few pictures I took of the loft this morning complete with my new sheets, a family quilt and my same beautiful Lexie.

In(courage)

What encourages me, you ask?

• A game of Bible Baffle trivia with new people, well on the road to becoming my friends - that feeling when I've found a new niche in the world and I'm about to belong...
  

• Finishing teaching a six-week summer program for students with special needs, and at the end of the program a little girl, who wouldn't sit still at circle time, a little girl who averaged 3-6 tantrums a day the first week, now not only follows our routine to a "T", but also reminds other children to come to circle. In the end she would arrive at school each morning giving teachers big hugs and said, "Good Morning, Susannah" - her name is Susannah, but this is what she heard us say to her, so it is what she repeats back to us.

• Falling into bed at the end of a day completely exhausted and completely happy - feeling like I would not have spent a moment of the day differently if given the chance

• When my kitten, Lexie, runs to the door to greet me and meows until I pick her up, then her meows become purrrrs

• The mountains of Colorado

• God's Word, especially His Word in season

• Stay-at-home wives and mothers

• The middle and high school students who attend the youth group where I serve

• Picking up with old friends or friends far away without missing a beat.
  

• My parents - always encouragement or wisdom and sometimes both :)
  

• Paul (my boyfriend in Nashville who makes an effort to encourage me everyday despite the distance and communication barriers)

This post is inspired (or encouraged) by the (In)Courage blog.

Word-Filled Wednesday: Psalm 5:3

Psalm 5:3

In the morning, O LORD,
you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait in expectation.
NIV


My voice shalt thou hear
in the morning, O LORD;
in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee,
and will look up.
KJV

For more Word-Filled Wednesday, visit Lori's site.

Back to Work

Starting today, I am a grown-up once again.

I am the director of a preschool, and today, I report for duty for the school year. I have mentally battled that this day would come, but it is here and I want to be excited for the wonderful year God will orchestrate in the preschool.

This morning I will finalize enrollment - quite a jigsaw puzzle that doesn't need to be explained, but I will give you a hypothetical example to give you an idea of the logic puzzle involved:

• There can be a maximum of 30 children in the preschool on any given day.
• Some children attend just for the morning.
• Some children attend all day.
• Some children are funded by the state of Colorado to attend a total of 4 full days - so legally I have to arrange each of them to attend for 4 full days.
• Some children are funded by the state to attend so many hours for special education services - so legally I have to arrange for each of them to attend for the number of hours the state will fund their special education services.
• A few children attend 5 full days every week.
• Most children attend a few days in a week; therefore, we can enroll more than 30 children for the preschool, but only 30 can attend each day.
• Some children want to pay to attend the preschool.
• All parents, of course, have a preference of which days their children attend.
• The special education providers have preferences as to which days certain children attend so that the sped providers make sure to see them enough each week.

This morning I will finalize enrollment -- something I have had on my mind ALL summer.

The Lord knows which children will attend my preschool. He knows which days which children will be there and how the puzzle fits together.

Please pray that today is joyful and encouraging. The first day back should be exciting! The tip of the iceberg for a wonderful year -- A year that I start as the preschool director in August NOT in February. Praise God for a job to serve and work hard.

I have loved summer, but all things are for a season. The autumn does not mourn the passing of summer. I don't want to either.

Which Voice?

I love how God lets things cross my path in season. A few weeks ago, I came upon the story in Luke where the woman washes Jesus' feet with her hair and tears. Jesus says of her, "Her many sins have been forgiven -- for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little." Then to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

I had that concept in my head for days -- She who is forgiven of much, loves much.

A few days later, I read Matthew 1, the Lineage of Jesus. There are five woman listed in the lineage of Jesus, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathseba and Mary... and the whole time I kept thinking, "She who was forgiven of much, loves much."

The women, the five women out of all of history listed in the lineage of Jesus, each of them has a story that, at first glance, doesn't epitomize the Proverbs 31 woman. Each of these woman have skeletons in their closet - if the woman herself is not involved in scandalous habits (like Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathseba), then a scandal surrounds her despite her virtue (like Mary). As I read the lineage of Jesus and kept thinking of a woman being forgiven of much therefore loving much, and God choosing the stone that was rejected to become the cornerstone of His work.

Soon after I shared these thoughts with my roommate she found a Francine Rivers series at the library called "A Lineage of Grace" - five novellas of historical fiction about the lives of the women listed in Jesus lineage. I am currently reading the one about Mary because it was the only one in stock at the library when I went.

I'm enjoying the book about Mary and I'm ashamed to say I was surprised that the book is going to include more to Mary's life than just Jesus' conception and birth. When I think of Mary and Mary's faith, evidently, I just remember the Christmas story. I'm about 1/3 of the way through the book and Jesus just turned 13 years old.

An interesting part of the book is the way Francine Rivers writes the voice of Satan and the voice of the world verses the voice of God and the voice of faith. When the angel told Joseph to take Mary as his wife, doubts come to Joseph's mind in bold italics but Truth comes in whispered italics.

The following example is from page 12:

"Now the time had come, and God was sending the Anointed One. And Joseph would see him. He would stand at the side of the Messiah's mother and protect the Chosen One as his own son.
You, a simple carpenter, stand as a guard? Dark laughter surrounded him, and Joseph moaned in his sleep. I will kill them. And you, if you stand in my way.
Joseph groaned again and rolled onto his back. He opened his eyes and felt the darkness around him. Fear gripped him, until a whisper pierced it.
He will save his people from their sins. ..."

How often do I hear the voice of the enemy so much more clearly, more boldly than the voice of my Savior, the voice of my loving Father? So often Satan demands attention with a dark and bold voice, while our Savior speaks more quietly and more lovingly... more easily ignored. Father, please give me ears to hear You and Your words for me and guard my ears and my heart from the words and lies of the enemy.

Proverbs of the 21st Century

A few summers ago, I took an elementary art and music class as a part of my early childhood education masters degree. One of our assignments was to make a little folded book using small squares of paper and to write a story for our book.

I was reading through Proverbs at the time the assignment was given, and I was in awe of the wisdom of every verse King Solomon penned. I had a great time using colorful paper, markers and ribbons and creating the small book, "Proverbs of the 21st Century" to document some wise quotes said by friends and family.

I found this book the other day when I was unpacking and I wanted to share the quotes from my book:

• Whatever else anything is, it ought to begin by being personal. - You've Got Mail and Lauren Sapikowski

• If you want things to be different, you have to do things differently. - Tyler Freeman

• Anything worth doing is worth doing well. - Howard V. Sanden

• Work at what you love and you'll never work a day in your life. - Tracey Lee Sanden

• This is what fascinates me most in all of existence: the peculiar necessity, of imagining what is, in fact, real. - Braden Wheeler Sparks

• Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle. - Plato (some proverbs are timeless)

• The longer I live, the more and more excited I get about Heaven. - Brooke Sanden

• God doesn't want us to put Him in a box, and He doesn't put us in a box. - Kelley Magill

• Nothing I've ever planned has come true; Praise God! - Michael Head

• I don't have any messages. I have my life and that's my message. - Travis Todd