New Year's Eve 2013

Proverbs 24:20
 for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
Proverbs 24:14
Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
Jeremiah 29:11
 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope






Where do I begin to thank you for this year. Thank you for every time you stepped in and blocked what could have been a disaster for me this year. Thank you for the time to reflect and learn about my choices that I have made and the consequences I have received because of them. There have been some really close calls in 2013 where I wasn't sure if the future would have a good outcome. I thank you Lord for being there and stepping in to make a difference in my life. I couldn't have done it without you. Sometimes I didn't make a wise choice. Sometimes I didn't know the right thing to do. Sometimes I just didn't know what I was doing and why I was doing it. Thank You Lord for guiding me even when I couldn't guide myself. I am encouraged to know that you are there for me. Though I don't know why you are not very supportive of me with this love thing. I have not had one positive thing happen in that area. Its like I have shut myself out of any chance at a relationship. I know nothing. I need so much help in this area. If I had to grade myself, It would be a big fat F. I think you have left me alone in that area. Where are you Lord? I need you to show up and show out in that area. I'm just not making a fuss about it. I don't know what to make a fuss about. I know wanting someone to be supportive and being supportive of someone is very important. Being there is very important.  I'm too far away. Travel is just becoming a big problem. I did cancel the class I was taking on Tuesdays. I can now be at bible study so hopefully I'll learn something about myself. I want to treat people better. I want to be a plus in this world. Nothing good has happened in this love arena. You are with me through the good and the bad. This year began with me out of sorts. No, classroom, but still working, like a sub, but on two week assignments. It was crazy. I was recovering from a really bad flu and I began the first two months really disconnected from my job. I took a lot of sick days. Then I started to like a few of my assignments and I liked the idea of not having to put up with some of the mess from principals and assistant principals and the knowledge that I would be leaving soon. Then, I wanted someplace to call my own. I knew with the school closings at the end of the year it would be hard to find someplace likable. I stayed too long at one place and couldn't wait to leave, then finished at a pretty decent school. Being a teacher is a very demanding job, emotionally and academically. I was glad I didn't have to pack up rooms, finalize grades, put in reports. That was good. Walk away clean. Then the summer hits and half way through I began to realize the fact that I need a position, a school, some place to call my own. Plus there was the wedding. Then the nursing/rehabilitation home for daddy. The responsibility was too much. I need him to be  more interested in his life. After too many applications and resumes I was blessed to get a call out of the blue for a job. Thank you Lord for that one. I really needed some stability. I am at a new school, a welcoming school, combined with the K-3 and 4-8 to make a K-8 school. New principal, New teachers, New structures, We all had to come together and make this work. The challenges are many, but I would like to believe that its worth it. We need more unity with the staff and administration. Administration has to be supportive of the teachers.  I am staying late almost every night. I have six classes and tons of papers to grade. Labs to prepare. Then there was the breast cancer scare. Thank God nothing came of that. Now its back to making resolutions and promises to keep.  I'm looking forward for 2014 to be better. I'm thankful to be here to welcome in another year. Why does the weather have to be so bad?  Come what may, I am ready to see the end of 2013 and can't wait for 2014 to get here. Well, here's another one of my too long, rambling, unfocused, posts. I think I wanted to shed everything from 2013 and start fresh. Release the old, and grasp the new. I'm excited about 2014. I'm hopeful. It has to be better. I have faith.

Encourage Yourself in Love

1 John 4:15-18

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁵ If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. ¹⁶ And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. ¹⁷ This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. ¹⁸ There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

Thank you for everything Lord. I had a good Christmas. You gave me a clean bill of health for my daughter. That was a wonderful gift. Everything went well for me on the day. Rather uneventful. Quiet Day. I was happy to see you My Love. You were busy. I pray that you had a chance to relax. I gave you a scarf and cookies this year. Not just cookies. When I did that I thought you might give it away or you just don't wear them. Oh well, its the thought that counts. I am happy for you, no matter what. All I want for Christmas is you. You are the gift that just keeps on giving. No strings attached. Just unconditional love. God keeps me focused on loving you and keeps me around. I pray that I can perform according to God's love. When I feel unworthy of love, I need to wonder why I feel that way. God loves me and I know that. I have to encourage myself. Have a blessed day and know that you are loved and needed very much.

Love

1 Corinthians 13

New International Version (NIV)

13 If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

 

Good Morning Lord. Thank you for today. I am blessed to be here again. My love for you is everlasting. I am bound to you forever. You have taken up residence in the depths of my being. I am forever grateful that you reside in me. In my silence, I seek you. Today, we will reflect on the wonder of Jesus' birth. We will rejoice in the awe and humility that single magnificent gift. Your Son save us. Oh Come Let Us Adore Him. He is worthy to be praised and worshipped. Dear Lord, let your peace rule in our hearts. We love you so much. Today is a special day for me. We will have the results of her biopsy. I thank all of the people who had good thoughts and wishes. We are blessed to have people who care and pray for us. Prayers do help. God will see us through this trying time. Love will be my motivator. I will work in love. I will seek to keep my faith because I am in love. My love is what is important to me. I cannot give up hope and say that I am in love. I know that love always protects, always trust, always hopes, and always perseveres. I have to stay in love. Love for loves sakes. If I love, if I act because of love, then I am face to face with myself and I am no longer a child. What is left is faith, hope and love. But the greatest is love. I stand silently with love. I love you.

My Turn

Romans 3:21-27

New International Version (NIV)

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in^[a] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,^[b] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith.

Thank you God for another day. I pray that I can worship you today and everyday that I am here. I will adore you and worship you Lord. All is not hopeless. Restore our hope. Take time to praise and worship God. The righteousness of God. I love Christmas because it reminds us of the great gift that God gave us. We have been redeemed. Bought out of our slavery. We can lay down our burdens and not choose to pick them up again. Everything doesn't have to be so difficult. Some times we can just expect the goodness to flow in our lives unexpectedly. Lord, I am taking a class on Tuesday evenings beginning in January and ending in March. Its from 4:30 until 8:30pm. I need this class to improve my classroom management and for this new teacher evaluation system. I truly hate that I will  not be there for bible study. I love listening to you teach about the bible. Your personality always comes through as a righteous man. You are loved so much. Remember that. It's my turn. God loves me and I know it's my turn. I will not give up hope. God Bless you and may you have hope. I hope for a new us. Something that is new and different but so loving and expected and comfortable. So I walk by faith. I don't give up. I keep trying. I keep coming back. I keep believing that my turn will come. I have faith in God that my turn is here. It's my time now. Thank You Lord.

Praise

 

Thank You Lord for al the good things you have done in my life. I thank you for the losses and the blessings. I am praying for favor today. We are in your hands Lord. Grant us the blessings that you have available. Today we go in for the biopsy and I am believing that it will be benign. Normal. Nothing happening here. Thank You God for your favor and your mercy. We don't deserve everything but you do give us something. We love you and need you each and every day Lord. Come into our hearts and mind. I will praise you in the storm and in every situation of my life. Thank You Lord. You hear my cry and know that I love you. I hear your whisper, I am with you. I love you. You give and you take away, Lord. You are who you are. Thank You for loving me.

Praise the Lord
1.	The LORD is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation; This is my God, and I will praise Him; my father's God, and I will extol Him ... Exodus 15:2.
2.	Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders? ... Exodus 15:11.
3.	He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen ... Deut 10:21.
4.	Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers! I — to the LORD, I will sing, I will sing praise to the LORD, the God of Israel ... Judges 5:3.
5.	I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies ... 2 Sam 22:4.
6.	Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among the nations, and I will sing praises to Your name ... 2 Sam 22:50.

Gratitude and Celebration

Thank You God for today. This is the day that the Lord has made. Thank you Lord for a peaceful night of sleep. Thank you Lord for reminding me that all the clutter in my life can weigh me down and have me focusing on petty things when I need to focus on you. I know I can't do it al. I must prioritize. Do what needs to be done today. My ultimate goal is to please you. I thank God that I can praise Him. All over the world people are preparing for a day of worshipping that will reflect our sincere love and appreciation for the birth of His Son. We are truly blessed. That is cause for celebration. We are in love with His Son. I love you today. Have a blessed day and continue to be a blessing to someone.

Am I Teachable

Acts 2:34-35

34    For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, " 'The Lord said to my Lord: "Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet." ' 36 "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ." 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off--for all whom the Lord our God will call."      

Thank You Lord for waking me today. I am blessed to have slept through most of the night. Persistent problems offer up learning possibilities that are able to change only through my ability to and willingness to be teachable. Lord, I will have a grateful attitude towards the problem. I will be thankful for my problems. Lord you know my heart. Lord you know my mind. There are no secrets from you. Search my heart and my mind. I hold no hostility towards anyone. I am asking you to see me and hear me Lord. I know you are there, even when I don't sense you are there. I pray that my walk is a strong walk. I know that problems are always going to be here. I am prepared to do what is necessary to move forward. I am in your hands Lord. Teach me, reach me, love me. I will walk with you in my heart and in my mind. I will do your will Lord. Have a very blessed day today. I love you.

Our Awesome God

Esther 3-4

New International Version (NIV)

Haman’s Plot to Destroy the Jews

3 After these events, King Xerxes honored Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, elevating him and giving him a seat of honor higher than that of all the other nobles. ² All the royal officials at the king’s gate knelt down and paid honor to Haman, for the king had commanded this concerning him. But Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor.

³ Then the royal officials at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you disobey the king’s command?” ⁴ Day after day they spoke to him but he refused to comply. Therefore they told Haman about it to see whether Mordecai’s behavior would be tolerated, for he had told them he was a Jew.
⁵ When Haman saw that Mordecai would not kneel down or pay him honor, he was enraged. ⁶ Yet having learned who Mordecai’s people were, he scorned the idea of killing only Mordecai. Instead Haman looked for a way to destroy all Mordecai’s people, the Jews, throughout the whole kingdom of Xerxes.
⁷ In the twelfth year of King Xerxes, in the first month, the month of Nisan, the pur (that is, the lot) was cast in the presence of Haman to select a day and month. And the lot fell on^[a] the twelfth month, the month of Adar.
⁸ Then Haman said to King Xerxes, “There is a certain people dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your kingdom who keep themselves separate. Their customs are different from those of all other people, and they do not obey the king’s laws; it is not in the king’s best interest to tolerate them. ⁹ If it pleases the king, let a decree be issued to destroy them, and I will give ten thousand talents^[b] of silver to the king’s administrators for the royal treasury.”
¹⁰ So the king took his signet ring from his finger and gave it to Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of the Jews. ¹¹ “Keep the money,” the king said to Haman, “and do with the people as you please.”
¹² Then on the thirteenth day of the first month the royal secretaries were summoned. They wrote out in the script of each province and in the language of each people all Haman’s orders to the king’s satraps, the governors of the various provinces and the nobles of the various peoples. These were written in the name of King Xerxes himself and sealed with his own ring. ¹³ Dispatches were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces with the order to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods. ¹⁴ A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued as law in every province and made known to the people of every nationality so they would be ready for that day.
¹⁵ The couriers went out, spurred on by the king’s command, and the edict was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was bewildered.

Mordecai Persuades Esther to Help

4 When Mordecai learned of all that had been done, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and ashes, and went out into the city, wailing loudly and bitterly. ² But he went only as far as the king’s gate, because no one clothed in sackcloth was allowed to enter it. ³ In every province to which the edict and order of the king came, there was great mourning among the Jews, with fasting, weeping and wailing. Many lay in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ When Esther’s eunuchs and female attendants came and told her about Mordecai, she was in great distress. She sent clothes for him to put on instead of his sackcloth, but he would not accept them. ⁵ Then Esther summoned Hathak, one of the king’s eunuchs assigned to attend her, and ordered him to find out what was troubling Mordecai and why.
⁶ So Hathak went out to Mordecai in the open square of the city in front of the king’s gate. ⁷ Mordecai told him everything that had happened to him, including the exact amount of money Haman had promised to pay into the royal treasury for the destruction of the Jews. ⁸ He also gave him a copy of the text of the edict for their annihilation, which had been published in Susa, to show to Esther and explain it to her, and he told him to instruct her to go into the king’s presence to beg for mercy and plead with him for her people.
⁹ Hathak went back and reported to Esther what Mordecai had said. ¹⁰ Then she instructed him to say to Mordecai, ¹¹ “All the king’s officials and the people of the royal provinces know that for any man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned the king has but one law: that they be put to death unless the king extends the gold scepter to them and spares their lives. But thirty days have passed since I was called to go to the king.”
¹² When Esther’s words were reported to Mordecai, ¹³ he sent back this answer: “Do not think that because you are in the king’s house you alone of all the Jews will escape. ¹⁴ For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
¹⁵ Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: ¹⁶ “Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
¹⁷ So Mordecai went away and carried out all of Esther’s instructions.

Thank You Lord for everything in my life. You reign over everything in my life. Lord you speak in the language of love. When I think that my focus has to be on work, work, work. You remind me that living close to you is the only "work ethic" I need to seek. In your presence there is Peace and Joy. You are first in my life. I am not too busy to listen. My priorities can get mixed up. Talk to me Lord and fill me with your words of Life, Peace, Joy and Hope. I want to feel closer to you, not distant. I am blessed when you are placed first in my life. My life is better when I am closer to you. You have the right to counsel me Lord and to give me advice. Lord I take your counsel to heart. I am fighting for my life. I need your advice. I need to know what you think Lord. Advise me and guide me. I will make it, I am a child of God. I am blessed. Lord, keep me close. Touch my heart and love me.  Now I have another week to wait before I have a hug from you. I missed my hug. I pray that you are blessed today and are a blessing to someone else. I miss you and I love you.

Take Time

Thank you for today. I am working to please you God. I have many faults and problems to go with them. I will accept  the consequences for my actions. That was my fault. Its all a power struggle. Now I am prepared. I know what the enemy looks like and it is she. Thank you God for that revelation. I will be better prepared next time.
The Lord is my Shepard and I shall not want. I will do better. I can do better.

The Painful Truth

Micah 2:1-2
1 Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.
2 They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them.
They defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance.


Father God thank you for waking me this morning. I am blessed to be here another day. Lord I have been stressing over my daughter's situation lately. Now that it is really coming closer to finding out the truth, I get a bad feeling that its not going to be good news. I pray for the best. I cover her with the blood of Jesus. I will not worry. Who do I listen to in this situation. I know what I can and cannot control and I will adjust myself to respond accordingly. Personal concerns for my own situation take up a lot of time. I will not dwell on the negative. I want the truth, good or bad. That gives us a way to fight what we have to fight. Knowledge is power. I want to know what power God has given to me. I'm hearing God ask the question, Who do I listen to" "Who has power in this situation, Who is my leader" I will trust in God. I will lean on his understanding. My Lord and my savior. I seek your peace and your understanding. Your presence in my life is what I desire daily.  I need you.  I pray for a better relationship. More communication.  A better understanding. My heart longs for you.
Have a blessed day today. Be a leader of the people. I love how you shut down the whole town hall meeting stuff. I am still wondering why we need a town hall meeting. It was beginning to sound like a gripe session sponsored by us. I pray against the evil that wants to divide us. Unite us Lord. Keep us together. Keep the positive and the good working for you. Have a blessed day. I love you.

Forgiveness

Matthew 13:47-51

New International Version (NIV)

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷ “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.

Thank You Lord for your blessing. You have given me another day. I am excited about this day. I will take it one day at a time. I am ready to tackle this drive. I pray that it will be short and smooth going. I ask for forgiveness from you. I pray that I can forgive myself. Pray for the peacemakers of the world. Pray for the ones who are trapped in fear. Fear that something will hurt them if it is revealed. Lord, I don't know what she is hiding, but she is hiding something. Lord I pray that whatever it is, she has the strength to recognize she needs God to walk with her. We don't have all the answers, but we have the choice of God in our lives. Forgive us for our  mistakes. We are not perfect. I need you. Humble me, enlighten me, comfort me.

Lord , I don't understand why things happen the way that they do. I just try to adjust, modify and try not to lose my way in this race. Keep us safe today. Love us unconditionally. Watch over us and guide us. Be blessed today and be a blessing to someone. I love you.

The Value of Problems

 

 

 

1 Timothy 4:9-10

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. ¹⁰ That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.

Thank You God for today. Thank You for waking me this morning. Man born of woman will have problems. I know that I cannot order my world my way but I keep trying. That is my way of yearning for a problem-free life, but that too is impossible. Through my adversity, I depend on you. Lord, I grip your hand for my support. I rely on you to be with me on my journey. I put my hope in the living God. I pray for a good day today. Whatever God has in store for me. Let God's plans come through. I pray that you are blessed and are a true blessing to someone. I love you.

MyTrinity

Psalm 70

¹ Hasten, O God, to save me;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

² May those who want to take my life
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace.
³ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
    turn back because of their shame.
⁴ But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
    “The Lord is great!”

⁵ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
    come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    Lord, do not delay.

 

Glory to God. Thank You Lord for today. You are my rock and my salvation. I am willing to go out on a limb with you Lord. You have given me another day to try and get it right. I am blessed that you still find favor for me. Being in your presence is the safest place for me. I am approaching a crossroads in my life and the journey would not be possible without you. Lead me daily, keep me safe and watch over my friends and family. Thank you for playing the piano so lovely. You warm my heart. Your presence protects me daily. I am so blessed to have you in my life. As long as I am close to you, your protection is with me. Thank you God for loving me. I love you.