New

Today was the first day of school in 2020! I just love the first day back after winter break. It’s a great time to have a fresh start. Students are excited to see their friends again and teachers have had just enough time off to feel refreshed and ready to jump in.

The new year gives us some sort of unspoken permission to start over, start anew, do better than we did last year. The thing is, I don’t believe that the new year is the only time that we get to do these things. We can start anew every morning. We can do better than last year, last week or even yesterday any day. We don’t need to wait for 2021 to make a change in our lives for the better.

I read this scripture last week and it really hit me. God has been preparing me for something new over the past few months. His preparations have not always been easy and for me have been fairly unsettling but I didn’t realize what it was at the time. He’s already begun! I just had to refocus remembering that His promises are true no matter my circumstances. As I wait for God to show my what He’s doing, I have to make sure to have faith and follow!

Prayer in School

Today I saw a Facebook post that led people to believe that one of the five main reasons (listed on the post) that are causing all of the problems we have today is the absence of prayer in schools. Now I’m not trying to start anything here but I don’t believe that this is true. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe that the absence of prayer anywhere is a problem but my point is that I don’t believe there to be an absence of prayer whatsoever in school.

When I first started teaching, we had a night custodian who was older and quiet but over the years I got to know him. He was a sweet man who worked hard and always cared about the job he did for our school. One of the teachers who had been there longer than myself once told me that as Ike wiped down the desks every night, he would pray over each child individually. I was so completely floored when I heard this. That a man whose job was incredibly isolating would think to pray for these kids every day was such an incredible notion to me.

When I worked at my last school, I used to meet with teacher friends at Starbucks every Friday morning to drink coffee, chat and pray for our students, our schools, our colleagues and each other. Over the years we were blessed to see so many of our prayers answered and some we are still waiting for God. To this day I can easily think of many teachers and other staff members in schools who regularly pray for the students and families who walk through our doors.

Just because we aren’t praying as a class or leading prayers over the intercom doesn’t mean that prayer is absent in school. Prayer is alive and active in schools across our country No matter the circumstances, we are called to pray without ceasing for each other.

Two More Days

Usually by the end of a break, I’m ready to go back. I’ve checked off the lists I made before the break, spent time with my family, made memories, watched enough Netflix to last a lifetime and generally am ready for a change…but not this break. I’m really enjoying being at home. I still have tasks to do, projects to finish, time to spend with my kiddos and I haven’t even run out of things to watch yet! I struggle sometimes with being a working mom. It’s all I ever wanted to do but now that I am, sometimes I wish I could stay at home. I know that there are children at school that need me and that did not have a great break. I want to go back to school for them but not always for me. I know the Lord has plans for me and will provide everything I need. He has called me into this life of being a teacher. I see proof every day that I am where I am for a reason. I pray that God will help me to go back to work on Monday refreshed and rejuvenated!

My #OneWord 2020

I’ve done #OneWord for a few years…2017 was Enthusiasm, 2018 was Inspire, and 2019 was Intentional. But this year after reading a post by Todd Nesloney, I’m going to try OneWord a month. This month my word is SEEK. Seek first His Kingdom, Seek God’s will for my life this year, Seek joy in my every day life, Seek relationships with others, Seek.

“Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.”

‭‭1 Chronicles‬ ‭16:11‬ ‭NLT‬‬