Prayer

I grew up being taught that Prayer was very important. That through prayer you could move mountains in your life and the lives of others. When I went off to college I slowly drifted away from church and prayer. It was not till I had finished college and moved home that I began to see the power of prayer again in my life.

I grew up believing that my Mom had a direct line to God. It seemed that most of her prayers got answered. She would wake up in the middle of the night with something on her heart and pray about it. She would later tell me about what she had been praying about or who she had been praying for.

My Mom has since passed away (July 2015) and I feel that I have become her. I too wake up in the middle of the night praying about something or someone that has been put on my heart. Sometimes I will have a dream about someone and it will wake me up to pray for them.

I was taught as a child to close your eyes when you pray. That is all well and good. As an adult I find that I don't close my eyes when I pray. I know that goes against everything that I was taught, but I have good reason for it.

When I pray I talk to God or Jesus like they are right here with me. They are our friends so we need to treat them as such. They are here with us in spirit anyway so I figure there is no harm in talking to them like they are physically here.

I start out by saying "Ok God" or "Jesus". Then I thank them for the day, their love for me, and all their blessings for me. Then I pray for those on my heart. I try to keep a list of those people on a note card. Sometimes I am lead to pray for people that I don't even know. I end my pray with praying for my needs. I pray for things in my life. Then I end with thanking God or Jesus for listening. My conclusion is to say Amen.

You may not feel comfortable praying like this. That is fine. I encourage you to pray however you feel like praying. Do what works best for you. It is all up to you. God hears us no matter what.

I have found that the best time for me to pray is when I am alone in the car driving. I do it a lot on the way to and from work. Another thing that I have found that is I don't have the words to say I can just say Jesus and he will know.

Another thing you can do is pray the scripture. Incorporate the word into your prayers. Also singing songs is a prayer to God. If you can't come up with words to say sing a song and God will know.

I encourage you to spend time in prayer to the Lord. It will do you good. You will see results and you will be blessed.

Daily Habits

We all have daily habits. For some it is having coffee first thing in the morning or a certain routine of how we get ready in the morning for work. Do you make Jesus a daily habit? I sure do.

Back in January I started a new morning routine. I decided to get up extra early for work. So I was getting up at 5:00am. This was to allow time for a new habit that I was making for myself. That was to take time each morning to spend with Jesus. I wanted to start my day out with him.

I also stated a new routine in the evening. I take time before bed to spend time with Jesus. Taking that time each day to spend with Jesus has really changed my life. I have learned to listen for his voice more. I am finding that I see his blessings on me more. He has become a bigger part of my life.

A friend of mine told me once that the simple act of saying Good Morning God and Good Night God lets God know that you are thankful for the day. When I get up in the morning I spend time reading my bible, devotions, and in prayer. If I don't do this for one reason or another my day is just not right. In the evening before bed I end my day with prayer. If I fail to do this to me I just don't sleep right.

So I encourage you to make Jesus a daily habit. Make time to read the word and pray. You will feel so much better and so refreshed. You day will be so much better because of it.

Starting Fresh

It has been awhile since I last posted. During that time I have been busy thinking of new ideas and how to freshen up my blog. During that time I helped out at church camp. That was an exciting and blessed week for me. It was during that week at camp that I got my idea for the direction that I want to take this blog in.

Ree Drumond of Pioneer Woman fame has made a life out of her blog. She basically wrote about things that she knew about. She writes about her daily life. Other famous people have blogs in which they too write about things that they know and care about. So too I need to write about things that I love and care about.

That is why I am going to start fresh. Re-invent this blog. I started to write this blog about Faith in God and that is what I need to get back to...Faith. I need to write about my faith and write about faith. I want to use this blog to bring others to know the love of Jesus Christ. If I can bring one soul to Jesus through this blog than I have done what I set out to do.

Jesus has gotten me through some really tuff times in my life. He has seen my highs and lows. He has been with me through it all. He is awesome. I am so glad that I have him in my life.

So come along and follow my blog as we start over doing what this blog was created to be about in he first place. This blog is all about spreading the love of Jesus.

Who will do it when I am gone?

     I attend a church where a majority of the members are over 60. Out of the 26 people that come to church at any one time 22 of them are over 60. That leaves 4 people who are under 60. Now of those 4 people 3 of them are over 50. That leave one under 50. That is me. I am the youngest person that attends my church. The next oldest person is 50. What an age gap?
     A majority of the time I hear the Seniors in the church ask why the younger people of the church are not taking a more active role. I stand back and laugh to myself. As the youngest person in church I try to take an active role, but am pushed out. I get told too often that I am not old enough yet to do things. Really? You complain on the one hand that you want younger people to do things and then on the other hand you push us away. What gives?
     Some time ago I began looking at the future of our church. What it is going to look like years from now. The oldest people in our church are approaching 90 while me the youngest will be 40 in 2 years. That is a 50 year age gap.
       As it stands right now I am not allowed by those powers that be at church to be on any committees or have any say in things that go on at church. It seems that their buddies are put on all the committees of the church so that they can get their way. That is not good at all. We all need to work together to make the church work for the Lord.
      So as I write this I wonder. When the old folks are gone who will do it? I remember my Uncle Ward involving everyone in the church in the working of it. He did a lot of things around the church, but he was glad to have the help. He encouraged the young folks to take a part. I miss those days of when the older folks accepted the younger.
     I keep saying that when those I charge are gone that I will be left to do all the work. They don't listen to me at all. One day I will be right. So why not let me get my feet wet by being on a committee? That is too much to ask I am afraid.
     I find that more and more churches are in this boat of having a majority of older members and very few if any younger members. Those churches seem to be dying out. They don't change their ways to attract new younger members. They are stuck in a rut, That is what is going on at my church. Not a good way to be.      
     So what to do? Well, you have got to make changes. One of the things I have seen with churches that have a large young people crowd is that they have things that bring those young people in the doors.
     One thing is music. Yes it is ok to sing the old familiar hymns. However, more and more churches are incorporating Contemporary Christian Music into their worship. Chris Tomlin, Jason Crabb, Jamie Grace, Natalie Grant, Mandisa, and so forth have become a part of worship.
      The pastor makes a difference. If you have a pastor that is energetic and willing to be a part of the community then that will help. The Baptist Church next door to us has a pastor that is willing to do whatever it takes to spread the message of God's love in the community. He goes to visit people, a lot of them not even members of his own church. He is awesome.
      Another thing is getting your church recognized in a positive way in the community. That is do things in the community to help others. Have a Clothes Closet, Back to School Back Pack Hand Out, Community Thanksgiving/Christmas Meals, Youth Night, and more.
     Don't be a church that just sits on their hands and gives up. Be a church that does. A church that sows seeds in the community. Do the right things for the right reasons. It will make a difference.
     So if you are a church with a majority of older folks get off your butts and do something to get younger people into the church before it is too late. You might just end up closing your doors otherwise.

Teachers and Aides Need A Summer Break

     It is that time of the year once again.....Summer. For some that means just another season. To those of us in the education profession that means everything. When school starts for the year we begin the countdown to the much needed Summer Break. We live for Summer. The one time that we can actually rest and recharge so that we can be at our best to teach the children that come through our classrooms.

     Oh yes, we do love a good snow day now and then. But, here in West Virginia the law says that we have to go to school 180 days no matter what. A snow day, though we love them very much means that we have to make them up and sometimes that means adding days on at the end of the school year. Cutting into our precious Summer Vacation that we have longed for. In turn we may only get a month of vacation before school starts back up.

     If you don't work in education you have no idea how important Summer is to us. We teach your children for 180 days. We deal with the problems that come with that. Sometimes we have to deal with parents who just are not the nicest. Sometimes students and parents can make our job that much harder. 

     There is also the fact that we have to have professional development days during the year so that we can learn how to better educate your children on what the state says that we have to teach them. A lot of the time we (like you) don't understand some of the things that we have to teach. New things are thrown at us all the time. 

     We spend hours of our time during the year planning and prepping to teach lessons for your children. We come to school early in the morning and stay late at night to get things done. Sometimes we come in on the weekends to make sure that the lessons are just right. 

     We make sure to make alternative lessons for that one time when things don't work out. That would be like if we are using technology and something will not work. We also plan for emergencys. Those times when a student gets sick during a lesson or an accident happens. We are prepared. We know what to do. 

     We are prepared for schedule changes. Like when we have a 2 hour delay and all we get done is eat. Maybe it is the fire drill that took longer than thought because it is not a drill and we have to make alternatives. The assembly that takes place at 9:30 that we were not informed of. The lock down that keeps us in our room for 2 hours. 

    Teachers go through a lot to make sure that your child's learning experience is a successful one. That is why Summer (how ever much we get) is so important to us. We need time to relax and de-stress. This job is not easy. We would not do it if we did not love it. 

     So do us all a favor and give us a break. We would appreciate it. Our job is stressful enough.

Moving On

     A little over a month ago I broke off a relationship that I had been in for almost 6 years. Things were not going in the direction that I had hoped for and in turn I felt that I needed to end things for me. Problem is that I had fallen in love so hard with him that I didn't want to break things off. I wanted to stay in the relationship. I wanted to stay in the familiar.
    I realized that the relationship was toxic at best and that I needed to do what was best for me and not what felt comfortable. I knew it was going to be had for me to end things, but after a lot of prayer I was able to do just that.
      I quickly realized that it was a good thing that I broke up with him. I found out that I was being lied to the whole time. It seemed that within a week of our breakup he had found someone new. He looked happy. However, I was a wreck because I was still deeply in love with him. I was unable to let go of how I felt.
     Letting go and moving on after a break up is hard if you have fallen so deeply in love. When you have feelings for a person it is hard to let go of them. In my case it should have been easy to move on since clearly he never had at real feelings for me in the first place.
     Once you fall in love with someone you can never ever let go. You want to be with that person forever. However, there comes a time when you have to let go if you feel that things are not working out. In my case I could not do that.
     How have I managed to get through this? Well, I have had a great support system of people to talk to. That and lots of prayer. I have talked to God a lot about how I feel. I been praying a lot. I even pray for my ex because I am worried that he is going down a bad road. I am afraid that he is going to get hurt.
      Having people to talk to that have been where you are at is great. They can help you get through the tuff stuff. They can advise you on how to deal with it. In the end it is going to be ok. It will take time, but it will be ok. Just be patient. You will get there. There will come a day when you don't think about your ex and the feelings are gone. It takes time and everyone is different.

Easter....Remember the TRUE Meaning

This past week at work we had the Easter Bunny make a visit. That got me to thinking. Easter like Christmas has become over commercialized.  We have Santa at Christmas and the Easter Bunny at Easter. However, it seems that the true meaning of the holiday is lost. 

Many years ago Jesus at age 33 gave up his life on a cross on Calvary to save you and me from our sinful ways. That was and still is a big deal. I mean Jesus didn't have to do that. However, he wanted to do that for us. 

If Jesus had not done that what a different world we would be living in. That is a fact. We would still all be sinners. Jesus paid the ultimate price for us. He became the sacrificial lamb to take away the sin of the world. That is a big deal.

My sister and I were discussing it just the other day. When we were kids we didn't put much stock in the Easter Bunny. Sure Mom and Dad and the Grandparents brought that idea to life for us. Aunt Sandra was different. No Easter Bunny at her house. Instead of giving us a chocolate bunny it was always chocolate crosses and chocolate praying hands along with Easter Tracts with the Easter story i them. 

Jesus is a big deal. We should remember his sacrifice on the cross at this time of year. We should not let the Easter Bunny become the center of the season. We should make Jesus the reason for the season. 

So as you celebrate Easter please remember the TRUE meaning of the holiday. Please remember Jesus and what he did for you and me.