DAY 16: Drawing Closer to God (Loving No Matter What)

Most mother's out there can attest to the frustrations of dealing with a preschooler. They have a tendency not to listen, not to sit still when asked, not to follow direction, get angry or upset at the drop of anything, call their friends names, play the blame game, tell on their friends and so on. They have SO much to learn. I remember the trying times with my own kids and am thankful to God that we made it through relatively intact and sane. Now, as a preschool teacher assistant, it is taking the power of God to seriously keep me from wanting to blow a gasket. My frustrations, mind you, are expressed to my fellow teacher who is also at the end of her rope so we manage to keep our cool and maintain an even keel. Today, I walked them through the story of the Good Samaritan with little Lego figures. They were engaged for the moment which was a total blessing but the rest of the day brought anger, cutting in line, blaming, not being kind to each other and so on. There are constant teaching moments in a preschool and especially when you have several students that have special needs at this time in their life. At the end of the day, I was to conclude the lesson by letting them take two chocolate hearts from a gold shaped heart bowl that I told them was God's love. We got back from music and the other teacher was in the frame of mind that no chocolate was going to go to the kids but I called on her to trust me and I sat down with them and talked to them about being frustrated and not very happy about how their behavior had been today. I told them that although I could choose not to let them come to the bowl and receive some love from God and also take a chocolate heart to give to someone else, I told them that I prayed to God and asked him to help me love them right now despite the not so good behavior they had presented this day. They were listening intently. As, I called them up one by one to get their hearts of chocolate, I noticed one girl waiting and crying. Did my talk get through to her? Hmmmm? I suppose maybe we will see in the days ahead of how setting the example of loving no matter what will hopefully take root in their hearts.

365 Days of Spirit-Filled Fruits Challenge-Day 203

Some very good friends of ours who had moved to Washington State a couple of years ago were out this weekend for a visit. They invited us to a bbq at another of their friend’s homes so we could visit and my daughter and their daughter could have fun playing together. They were the best of friends so this was special to be able to see each other again after so long. But kids grow and change and things don’t always remain the same. In fact, they very likely do change. My daughter has always been tall for her age. It has been a pattern in our family as our son was the same way; always thought of as being older than he was. It was obvious by her comments that my daughter’s friend was thinking negatively about how short she was. Comparisons are never a good thing as they inevitably bring out the negative rather than the positive. Love who you are because God certainly does.

James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 350

I am not a big fan of Facebook but I am not against it either. Call me a “middle-of-the roader.” I get on it at least a few times a week mostly just to stay caught up in the lives of family and friends but I have been encouraged by words or pictures and inspired to create from something someone has shared. Because I am not on it all that much, I am unfamiliar with all the in’s and out’s but knew that somewhere there was a place where people may have posted a happy birthday wish to me. I finally found it and was so surprised by the number of posts. Wow! It was good to hear from friends that I haven’t seen or talked with in quite a while. It put a smile on my face all day. So thanks to God for giving what’s his name the vision to create Facebook. It is a great communication tool to use in our busy lives to let people know you care and think of them.

Psalm 71: 14 But as for me, I will always have hope: I will praise you more and more.  

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 268

My hubbie and son went off together with a friend of my hubbies from college to enjoy lunch and a movie. They went to the new Sushi/Habachi place near us for lunch. My son ended up trying out some sushi with salmon eggs on top among other things. It was great to hear about it all when they came back. They apparently had a great bonding time. Way, way back when my son was just a toddler I read a parenting book that said that boys need to have a "tribe". You want to encourage and get them into groups of other boys and men where they can bond and learn from each other. Of course, you want men who set good examples and are on a straight path. I have prayed for that and have seen it happen in my son's life like it did yesterday. I am thankful for all the men in my son's life that can inspire, encourage and help him grow and continue on the straight path that he is on.

Proverbs 13:20 He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 165

I beleive there are two key ingredients when it comes to relationship building: time and the ability to open up. I am going to share about the latter. There have been times with small groups of friends where I have shared something on my heart. Those times are forever on my heart as good times because I felt truly connected.  I think that really sharing with friends is a great challenge for many of us. I think we build up walls to protect ourselves but in the end when we share our burdens with friends we often discover that we are not alone in this struggle or we are comforted and encouraged and even given some wisdom passed down through our friends from God. There is a reason that God wants us to foster our relationships in community with each other and yet we still build the walls up. I am praising God for a lady who opened up breifly to me about her life situation and praising the Lord for bringing her into my life. God uses us not only as fishers of people but as encouragers, advisors, caring people, listeners and more. Do you feel you have walls built-up around you holding in feelings and thoughts that need to be shared to be processed? Take your burdens first to God and ask him to help open your heart to releasing your burdens with your community of friends.
Philemon 6 I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.

365 Days of Praise Challenge-Day 156

It's been on my mind since our mother, daughter, sister counseling session in San Antonio about friendship. My sister feels like she has no friends. Hmmmmmm. How many times have I felt that way? Too many to number. My mom said she has often felt alienated or like she doesn't belong when going into group situations. Hmmmmm. How many times have I felt that way? Too many to number. I was talking with my sister-in-law about this yesterday and yes Hmmmmmmmm... she feels like she doesn't have friends and feelings like she doesn't belong often too. My first thought was, "it's not just me". This seems to be a pretty common thing. Do you feel like you have no friends or at least no close friends? Have you felt alienated and felt like you don't belong when joining in with a group? In thinking about friends I felt the closest to a best friend in the flesh is my hubbie but by far my bestest friend is the Lord Almighty. He's the only one that knows me inside and out, front and back, through and through. He knows me like no one else. He knows my fears, what makes me cry, what brings me the greatest joy, my favorite "everything", my every feeling and thought from the moment I was conceived until forever thanks to Jesus. Without a doubt, when I am starting to feel like I have no friends or don't belong I look to the one who is my closest confidant, go-to person and bestest friend. When it seems like no one loves me, understands me, gets me. He does and always will. Remember God is your best friend too! Psalm 139:1 O Lord, you have searched me and know me.