Teaching Me How To Pray

I am in a season where a lot is going on around me indirectly that I have no control over except by praying over the situation and the people.  It is a weird season but good in many ways but scary in others.  It is not a good feeling when the actions of others can have such a huge impact on your own life but an empowering feeling knowing that by faith and prayer that all the results will work out for my good because I love God and believe I am called to the things He has purposed in my life.

I am looking at some situations that affect and will affect my household that appear on the surface to be compromise but remember that I was also taught by one of my friends/mentors to ask myself, "What about this situation do I NOT know?"  In more cases than not, I do not know a lot!

Some of the changes around me this season that I do not fully understand but will pray over and about is our youth pastor being promoted to a church in Austin.  I love this man and his family and have learned so much from them.  They trusted me to help mentor the kids at church and I am forever grateful to them.  They spoke positive words into my family that helped Duchess get her scholarship to school last year. He baptized Duchess and I together in February 2009.   They have done and said things about me that I do not know but believe are blessings over our lives.  Why did God promote them now?  The only answer I can come up with is that it is their time to walk in a new blessing and my time to see God glorified in this transition.  I believe I had an unction that change was coming in this ministry but I never guessed it would come this drastic nor affect me so greatly.

This is the first year I will teach full-time for an entire school year.  I cannot begin to find the words of how hard this transition has been from the corporate arena to Education, to being a manager to serving, and  living all these years under the assumption I was functioning in my own ability and strength to learn that I will never and can never teach a single thing without the power of the Holy Spirit.  It is hard to explain but I know that I know that I know this will be my best year yet where everyone who sees and hears what happens in my classroom will respond, "Wow, that can only be God!"  I trust God more than I ever have this season of my life and He continues to be faithful.

One of my consistent requests to God is for balance in my life.  Work, exercise, serving others and taking care of Duchess and my home.  I tried writing a schedule that worked for a few days then fell by the side.  I tried eliminating things but something else replaced it.  Several times I just gave up.  This morning when I was reading Luke 2, the study portion of my Bible explained that even as Jesus went about doing His Father's business, He was obedient to His parents.   As he grew up, he grew in wisdom and stature so he had to have balance in His life.  Since Jesus lives inside of me, I have the wisdom and ability to have balance as well.  I have more hope today than all the past months I have been begging God for balance.  This is the season He will show me that when I let Him help me, I can say no to people who try to get me to do things to throw me off balance and say yes to the things that maintain balance and order in my life.  I am excited!

Bucket List

Since President Clinton posted part of his bucket list on Yahoo, and BrownEnglishMuffin asked me months ago about it and my pastor's wife gave us pretty pink stationary titled My Bucket List for Mother's Day, and because I am avoiding cleaning my office area and going grocery shopping, I decided to record a few things for my Bucket List.   These are numbered but not in order of importance however #1, #6, #11, #9, #12 and #8 would be highest on the list.  Oh and #10, #3 and #15 also.

1.  Play one-on-one basketball in the driveway often with my kids.

2.  Ride in a helicopter over NYC.
3.  Go on an Alaskan Cruise.
4.  Go snowmobiling.
5.  Go snorkeling (after I learn how to swim.)
6.  Take a safari vacation and sleep in one of the huts in the trees with the animals roaming freely below!!!

7.  Sleep past 7am and not feel guilty.  Then eat ice cream for breakfast and go back to sleep.
8.  Dance, worship and read with my grandchildren.
9.  Be happily married for over 50 years.
10.  Fly in a hot air balloon.
11.  Win over 1,000 souls to Christ.
12.  Take kickboxing classes.
13.  Give away one or more of my cars to a single mom.
14.  Pay for someone's kid to go to private school or college.

15.  Teach in another country.
16.  Write and publish a book that inspires others.

When I finished this, I almost deleted it and told myself this is such a dream list.  Then I remembered that it might be but what if all my dreams came true?  I have been blessed in other areas of my life, why not in these?  God gives us the desires of our heart, right?  I think I will add these to my request to God and believe He said, "Okay, just be patient but remind me from time to time that you are still believing I will do it."  Now that I think about it some of these activities could be done on my honeymoon, mission trips, and the sleep thing I could do this weekend and check it off.  Wow, my faith in completing this list has increased already!!!