Stability

I've said it before, you'll hear it again .... I LOVE the opportunity to hear lots of different people preach! What a great way to be presented tons of different thoughts that I'd likely never come up with on my own! (For the record, I also LOVE that my wonderful hubby puts them up here oakgrovecofc.org under the recordings tab so you can listen to them as we'll .... And he's recently been working on making the website even better looking!)

One of the 2 great sermons we heard on Sunday really got me thinking about stability. If I was titling the lesson it would have been something along the lines of "Knowledge is Power" - Larry made points about all the many wonderful things knowledge (of the scriptures and God's will) bring us. He included many things; understanding, fear of God, strength, etc. and one of the last points he made was that, when used correctly, knowledge increases stability.

There are SO many things that matter in our service to God, but it had been a while since I heard "stability" mentioned ... But here's the deal: Just Iike an employer doesn't want to hire an unstable person to work for them, God doesn't want unstable people working for Him, either! Colossians 1:22-23 reads "But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight ... if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel..." (Established and Firm? Do not move? He's talking about stability!) Thankfully, unlike the employer who would just fire the unstable worker, God helps us out! Isaiah 33:6 reads "He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge...". He's given us everything we need find this stability. He's provided us with the words to study and find the knowledge and strength that stability takes. All we have to do is follow through and actually study!

The Marion-Webster dictionary defines stable as

1. "firmly established, not changing or fluctuating." ... Is your faith firmly established? What's more, is it firmly established in the correct things - the Bible?
2. Placed so as to resist forces tending to cause motion or change of motion. ... Can your faith, can you, resist the force of the world? Are you firmly grounded enough to hold up to peer pressure ? Work pressure? Stress of life pressure.
3. Steady in purpose: firm in resolution. Not subject to insecurity or emotional illness. Sane. ...well, are you? Now don't get me wrong - I completely understand there are mental illness beyond people's control that they do there best to work through daily. And that is fine. Each person can only do their personal best. But are you doing your best?

And you steady or wishy-washy? Are you calm and rational or easily worked up and emotional? Are you religious or just fanatical? Are your firm or easily swayed? Am I?

...funny how there are times everything seems to be hitting at the same point. After thinking about all this, for a class I am taking we were talking about how consistency is key in the classroom (see - told ya - employers don't want unstable people either). The point was made that it is simply tout possible to be "pretty consistent". You either are or you aren't. There is no "pretty". No "fairly". No "kind of". No has to mean no every time. Expectations have to be consistent in order for students to know them. Consistency is key for control.

Consistency. Stability. It isn't always easy - but then, we were never promised ease. So I'm continually working on it ... Are you? At moments when I am feeling a bit "unstable" I love to think through the song "Be Still My Soul" - it is a wonderful thing to know that we are not alone.

Taking Time

Know this woman? Most of you probably do. :). This is the late Joan Ebbesmeyer - a remarkable person.

To complete our "moving in" process (at least where furniture is concerned), my wonderful daddy brought over my desk today. He also brought a tub that he had dumped all the contents of the drawers into (uh, my bad for not cleaning out my desk in like 10 years..). Searching through the tub did provide a great opportunity for a walk down memory lane - not the least of which was triggered by this picture.

Mrs. E was many things to many people in her lifetime - to me, she was a fantastic EXCEL teacher - she introduced me to the worlds of poetry and writing and mind puzzles and GeoBoards, and Geography, and memory tricks, and higher level thinking, and well, all things awesome. And then she moved. And while we were blessed to have another wonderful teacher step in to teach EXCEL, there was a special place in my heart (and the hearts of many others) for Mrs. E.

So, I wrote her. Apparently more than I even remembered! Because, when I was cleaning out my desk I found this ....

A pile of letters I had received from Mrs. E. Who knows what all I wrote Mrs. E. I know, based on my re-reading of her letters back that she was one of the first people who knew when Isaac was going to be born. She sent me some helpful information when I did a report on France and sent me several pictures of herself on vacation. She expressed excitement about my decision to pursue a degree in Elementary Education and congratulations on my high school graduation, college graduation, and wedding plans. But honestly, I could have cared less what she wrote. I was just thrilled that she wrote.

I know I wasn't the only person who loved attention from Mrs. E. I know I wasn't the only former student who ever wrote her a letter (though I may be close to having written the most!). I know she didn't have a lot of extra time on her hands to sit around writing kids notes. But she did. She took time to answer ever one of my notes - and not just with a simple card or short few words ... but a real, "adult-like" letter that meant the world to me each time I received them.

Mrs. E made me want to be a poet - a love that I still secretly dabble in. She nurtured my obsession with "wise quotes" and "cute sayings". She taught me to follow my passions. She taught me to reach out to others. She proved one person can change the world.

I'll probably never travel the world quite like Mrs. E (or, anything like Mrs. E did if we're being honest...). I'll probably never publish as many writings and books as she did (even though someday I'd love to! If I even knew where to start...). But, thanks largely to her inspiration, I will teach.. (Okay, okay, you could argue that I'll probably never teach quite like Mrs. E ... but a girl's gotta dream!).

Looking back through all Mrs. E's letters it amazed me, once again, how she was able to touch my life so much from far away (okay, 2 hours away - but rarely seen!). Mostly because she took the time. She took the time write me back. Every time. She took the time to send me pictures. She took the time to write me poems (or include already written poems). She took the time to talk to me like a real person - not a little kid. She took the time to expect a lot from me - and let me know that she was expecting a lot. She took the time.

I want to teach like Mrs. E. I want to be that awesome. And I want to have enough time - always. Even when my life is crazy hectic as I'm sure her's often was. I want to remember to take the time to make the impact. Because I'm so thankful she did.

Finding Blessings

Friday we have a professional development day ... a.k.a. no kids, but lots of meetings day. On these days we get a lunch break and get to LEAVE SCHOOL to eat (it's amazing!). So, Friday I plan on having the 4th grade teachers over for lunch.

I'm super excited because this is the first time (of hopefully many!) I get to share our home with others which is one of the main reasons I'm excited to have a bigger house!

The week has been crazy already and I don't see it getting any easier as the week goes on - I'm sure my kids will be just as crazy tomorrow and Thursday as they were yesterday and today, and I'm sure I will be equally as tired as I am now! Sooo, I decided it wouldn't be the best plan to leave all my house cleaning till Thursday along with the lunch prepping ... and since Wednesday nights go quickly with dinner and church and sleep, that left me tonight. Therefore, (be proud of all my transition word usage -- we are working on that in class!) I decided that between school and heading to Owensville for a basketball game, I better at least get the basement cleaned and ready to go! What a bummer way to spend my hour home alone (before Rob got off work)!

Thankfully, on the way I home I happened to hear a song that mentioned "the things you take for granted started out as blessings first".

Now, our house is brand new and I am a llloooonnnggg way from taking it for granted. But some of the stuff IN the house is not so new and exciting. And, lets face it, I just really don't like cleaning house! I'll go weed your garden any day ... but clean house? Bleh! But, the song got me thinking, so I decided to try to remember to see the blessings behind the things in my basement ...

Easy ones first:

           - I didn't really enjoy dusting the legs on the pool table. I mean, I had to bend over. Eeek! (ha). But come on -- I was dusting A POOL TABLE that we own. Whoa.

           - I HATED vaccuuming the stairs ... but they were leading down to the basement that we now have. That holds a pool table. And an awesome game area. And an office.

           - Dusting around computer stuff and cords and nintendo systems and swords and various Zelda memorbilia is definitely not my favorite. But, I am so thankful that we have the means to support my husbands passions ... and even more thankful that he uses those things to do great things like make this super cool website www.oakgrovecofc.org.

I could go on ... but dinner is ready to be taken off the stove and I have a game to get to. So, long story, short: did this "blessing finding" make cleaning the basement more fun? More exciting? Even remotely enjoyable? Well ... sorry to disapoint those of you who were holding out for a life changing moment ... no. It didn't. It won't make cleaning the upstairs more exciting or fun on Thursday evening either. BUT, just like the understanding of one student making my extra hours of planning worth it, aiming to find the blessing of cleaning my house did make the cleaning feel more worth it. So hey, a wins a win. :)

          

Motivational

...please excuse my sparatic posting! Seems like like is crazy and busy and crazy busy! Every "free" moment is spent on the house or watching basketball games ... it doesn't leave a lot of time to sit at the computer -- and I wouldn't have it any other way!

If you know me at all (or have read this at all) you already know that I pretty much have the best family ever. Not even exaggerating one bit. There are so many wonderful individuals that make up my family tree - and as a whole, they form a group that I am extremely blessed to be a part of.

One of these awesome individuals is my sister. She is amazing. 2 years older than me she has always been there for me both to pick on and look up to. We are best friends and really always have been. I taught her to crawl (she skipped that and went straight to walking), she taught me how to use watercolor paint on your stomach (I'm sure mom was thrilled!). We've talked about school and boys and friends and husbands and God together. We've learned from each other. In college we lived down the hall from each other and/or were suite mates (depending on the year) and would often come out of our rooms wearing the same shirt. Today at church we showed up in such similar outfits everyone noticed. We are just that awesome. SHE is that awesome. And I love her to death.

And every. single. day. when I am saying my prayers I say a special prayer for "my Heather". I pray for lots of things for her and it changes by the day. But I always, always add in a "thank-you part" for "my Josh".

I have never been more thankful to see someone come into my sisters life than I was when Josh came into the picture. There are many, many reasons behind that. Not the least of which is how awesome he is. They make a great pair! I truly believe they bring out the best in one another - and I am so thankful they have one another! And, I am also very thankful to have both of them. :).

Josh is one of a kind. He's a coin collector. A basketball coach. A brother. An explorer. A risk taker. A goofball. A storyteller. A teacher. A friend. A preacher. He pours his heart into his basketball boys and team. It amazes me what he is willing and able to put into those highschoolers who may or may not give a fraction of it back on any given day. They don't always win - but he stays positive and upbeat and keeps working hard. He teaches them more than just basketball. It's awesome to watch. He is someone my little brother can look up to - and does very much. I still feel like I'm getting to know him! I love learning from him and picking his brain. His Bible knowledge astounds me. His enthusiasm for each thing he decides to do is contagious. His devotion to God is inspiring. I could go on and on about this guy and the reasons I am glad he is part of our family.

But really, what this post is about is this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofmFb8zMZA4

Josh has a talent. An extreme talent. He is a preacher. His way with words never ceases to astound me. And this sermon is one of my favorites. If you are looking for a motivational speech, a "kick in the pants", an end to any excuse-making ... this is it. Listen to it. Really listen to it. And if9; it doesn't make you want to change for the better, well, you might want to listen again!