Friday Feminar Favorites

We spent Friday evening and Saturday morning at the Feminar and what a blessing it was!! I just wanted to share a few of the things the Lord spoke to me, and some of my favorite moments of this weekend! This post is mainly going to focus on Friday evening.... maybe i'll post on other parts of the weekend later!

Lord, first I just want to say thank You for this weekend! I say it a lot lately, but You are good! You are SO good! You know exactly what I need and if it isn't present in my life then it's not best for me right now and I completely trust You with that truth. I pray that we all grab a hold of that and that it takes root into our souls and minds. Thank You that we don't have to live in captivity of the things that make us afraid. We don't have to run from the idea of our worst fear happening, we can instead run to You and trust that even if it does happen... then You know best and have our best interest in mind. You will comfort, bring peace, sustain us, turn our mourning into gladness and joy... and ultimately use what we thought would completely break us for Your glory and our good. You have, and are, the power that sets us completely free! Praise Your Name! Thank You for Your sovereignty! We love and need You! In the specific name of Jesus who makes all of this possible.

Lysa Terkeurst was one of the speakers for Feminar 2010 and her message on Friday evening was about God's will for our lives.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says

• Be joyful always;
• pray continually; and
• give thanks in all circumstances,

for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Be Joyful

She used Baking a Cake as an example - If you took all the ingredients used to bake a cake and just started to eat them individually without blending or sending them through the oven it would taste absolutely disgusting and you would never experience the goodness that is cake! :)

The same is true for us; God has a recipe for our lives. The dry, sweet, good, bad, fattening, etc. and He combines all so that we "lack nothing". We can't just pick the parts that we think taste good. We must trust the He knows what we need, when we need it, exactly how long we need to endure it, and that He promises to complete the work He began in us. You will go through heat (just like the cake), sometimes extreme heat, but you will rise.

Be Prayerful

When the Lord gave us the model prayer he focused on today - one day at a time. Matthew 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread. If Jesus had to ask for God to be His portion daily then why do we think we can go any moment without asking Him to be ours as well?

God, will You be my portion? When my mind is weak and I want to venture off to things of the past... When i'm tempted to sink back into depression and push others away... When vulnerability haunts me... Will You be my portion right now in this moment?

Be Thankful

How do you take situations such as depression, the loss of a loved one, or a diagnoses of cancer and be thankful? Because that's what He calls us to do and sometimes it's extremely hard to get to that place. Let's just be honest.

I don't even remember how the Lord brought me to this place, but I remember realizing that I had a choice to make - sit in my tears and pain, or trust that He was doing something far bigger than I could ever imagine (even in the midst of my mistakes). And my response was to thank Him when I was depressed, lost, unsure of my relationship with Him, and completely doubting all that I believed growing up. He wouldn't let me get to that place if He didn't have a greater purpose in mind. Even though people thought it was ridiculous and that it was taking too long and I should snap out of it. It lasted exactly as long as He wanted it to last and He is molding me because of it. Praise You Jesus. Somewhere deep within me I knew that He had the power to strengthen where the enemy thought he could break me down. And I wanted it to be within His timing.... because then and only then would it be complete and right.

We must choose in the midst of hard times to be thankful - even when we don't have a clue and can't see our way out. Thank You for what You are working in me. Thank You for allowing me the opportunity to grow. Thank You that one day I will be complete (in You), lacking nothing.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Results

For those of you who haven't heard via facebook or in person...

I passed the PPR exam! Praise the Lord!

He Loves Me

Last summer I picked up a book off the end of an aisle at a Christian bookstore because it caught my eye. It's not every day that I, Megan, recommend you go out and buy things, especially books, but this one is excellent. I feel as though the Lord has used this book to set me free and change my whole thought process. Maybe it's one of those times where everyone is already at "this place" where they've had this realization and i'm just arriving, but nevertheless I'm passing the title (and what it has spoken to me) on to you.

He Loves Me by Wayne Jacobsen

This book speaks about God, the one and only God, who loves us with an unconditional love. A love that is never ending and has nothing to do with what we've done. A love that cannot be earned, and isn't deserved. A love that does not change.

We've all heard it said many times that you cannot read enough, pray enough, help an elderly person enough for God to love you any more than He already does.... He just does. But have you truly let it sink in and change you. Because i'm convinced that you will not be the same when you finally understand that He just loves you. Exactly where you are.

Not because you get up everyday and read your bible. Not because you try hard enough. Not because you messed up big time yesterday and so today you're going to do everything you can to make up for it. That's typically how we do things - We fall down and completely mess things up, so we try extra hard to earn His love back.... when all along His feelings never changed.

He is love.

It's times like this when I really wish I could express to you all that this book has spoken to me, but I can't find the words. All I know is there have been so many times over the past few months when the message of this book has come to mind just when I needed it. And where guilt tried to crowd in... Love pushed it out.

He is love. He loves you.

Click here to read a blog critics review of this book.

The other day as I was driving home from work I was thinking about how exhausted I have been the past week. When I get home in the evenings I have to keep myself going; if I sit down there's the possibility that I won't get back up. ha.

There was a coffee cup on one of our teacher's desk that said, "three reasons to teach = June, July, August". And now it has officially occurred to me why there are three months of summer. Because this job is extremely challenging and draining.

You need those three months to relax and get it all back together again. But the good thing is when school begins again the passion always comes back.

You work with groups of children. All with different needs, backgrounds, experiences, learning styles. And somehow you attempt to meet them where they are developmentally and teach in a way that hits each of them. bah. I can't even think of a word to throw out... haha.... my mouth just goes BAH.

Then you throw in parents. Some of whom (is it okay to say most of whom) aren't even existent in their children's lives and hold you accountable for things that you shouldn't be.

In a sense - we raise kids.

It can be so overwhelming at times (and make you wonder why the heck you are there in the first place).

Because they need love. And some of them won't get it anywhere else.

I have to constantly remind myself that I have no idea what is going on at home.... because in some moments, on some days, it's the only thing that keeps me going.

Friday morning I am scheduled to take my last exam for my education certification. When I read over the notes I still sense a passion and excitement for this field, but it's still such a challenge. And clearly draining. Mix that with Martha Monthly and you have one extremely tired girl.

Today without even bringing up the topic one of the first grade teachers threw out in mid-sentence, "you're going to do fine... you know this stuff... quit stressing." And I just breathed in a sigh of relief and kept going. Guess it was written all over me. ha. Apparently I live in denial when it comes to stress. I was thankful that she made me aware of it so that I was able to deal with it properly.

And I will be okay.

I feel so stressed out, but I know that it will all be okay... no matter the outcome... because I know the One who holds me and directs me. And He is far bigger than anything that makes me weary.

My test location is not in this town... so i'm leaving for the next 3 days and making a girls weekend out of this exhausting week.

My car now has 4 new tires, new license plate bulbs, a front alignment, oil change and is filled up with gas. The life of a growing, working woman who is learning to pay her own way. sigh.

So the point of this random post is to ask for your prayers. Friday morning at 8 AM - PPR exam. If you think about it, I would really appreciate it. And I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! I'm off to pack and get some more studying in. There aren't enough hours in this day. :)

Lord God, I ask for Your rest as I approach this test. I'm so very tired... and starting to feel the stress. I trust You with the outcome and I want You to have Your way. You know what is best for me and I don't want it any other way. Be with me as I travel and spend this weekend away. I need You. And I love You. Thank You for all that You have taught me and continue to teach me on this journey. May it take root and be used for You.

Just thought i'd share a few of my favorites from the snow!

(You can click on the image to enlarge it.)

The last one is my absolute favorite! It's gorgeous! (And the house pictured above is my grandparent's house in our backyard.)

Snow Day In Pictures

It's Snowing!

The kids were not interested in learning today so we spent majority of our time playing in the snow! I wish, legally, I was able to post some of their sweet pictures, but i'm just not. The look on their faces was priceless! Squeals. Screams. Smiles. Laughter. Snow.

These are the moments I live for. Letting kids be kids and act their age. Loving on some who desperately need it. And taking in their laughter.

What a beautiful day! God is so good!!!

Thank You for such a simple out of the ordinary day! I enjoy the moments when I get to show the kids that i'm not just "teacher"... i'm a friend who loves them, wants to spend time with them, and genuinely cares. A picture and reminder of what You long towards us as well. Relational beings... You knew we'd need it :)

Biggest Fan

During high school football season my family likes to go to all the home games each Friday night. Notice I didn't say - I like to go... because that would be entirely false. My family likes to make fun of me because i'm probably the LEAST person interested in sports on the planet.

For example, while we were at one of the Maverick games this past Fall I leaned over to my sister and asked, "Will you go to the restroom with me at the end of this inning?" To which she quickly replied, "I'll go to the restroom with you at the end of this quarter." Oh yeah... that'll work too!

I do not own any Saints or Colts attire, but I do own plenty of black shirts and a pair of dark khaki/gold pants. They go perfectly with my black and gold tennis shoes! Sunday evening I made a grand entrance into the living room and announced, "I'm ready for the game! Go Saints!!!" And all I got in return was a room full of laughter.

Saturday Evening

Saturday is our family night. It was never written in ink or stated to be such, but it's one of those known facts. I love those evenings! We needed to try on bridesmaid dresses at David's Bridal so we decided to make an afternoon out of the trip. Mom, Dad, Casie, and I loaded up the truck ready to tackle a new adventure!

But not before my dad pointed out the zit on my forehead.

Dad: "oh... you have a scab on your head."

Megan: "Thank you, I didn't realize it was there."

Men.

Why they feel the need to point out something that you clearly are aware of is mind-boggling. And I digress.

This is my first time to be in a wedding as a bridesmaid so this whole "trying on dresses" was a new deal for me. It was kind of awkward to be honest. You go in, tell them the name of the bride, they pull up the info on the dress, you tell them your size, they go get it, you try it on, and you're done. No need to look in the mirror to see if you approve. None of that business. It was very quick.

(Not that it matters, but here are a few of my favorites: Simple, Beautiful, and under $100. Long with a lovely neckline. Yum. Short version of the lovely neckline. I want one of these. Not for a wedding, but love it.)

It was pretty funny to see my dad in a David's Bridal surrounded by tons of women. "Umm... is that all of the dress? It looks short.." Ha! Always there to make us laugh!

After that was done we called Brandon to let him know our dresses had been ordered and payed for. Check. He let us know that the only requirement for the shoes was that they be silver. To which my dad said, "Great. I have some spray paint in the shop." Help.

Next, we headed to Old Navy so that Casie could spend a gift card she got for Christmas. Then, last but not least, we settled in at Bass Pro for daddy! Usually I head straight for the comfy, camo recliners and rest until he is done.... this time I decided to wander through the women's section to see what I could find.

Treasure.

That's right. Pants on sale for $19. And they actually fit. I think Bass Pro is my new favorite store!

Lord, I thank You for my family. I love them so very much!

Last night we went to opening night for the MHS choir 40's show! Mrs. Parks (pictured above) was our wonderful choir director for four years and I can't tell you how much I miss that lady. She was one of the first people who helped me believe that I actually had talent. If it weren't for her I probably wouldn't have sang as much as I have in the past six years.

My junior year in high school I was faced with a big decision - choir or cheerleading. She layed out her opinion right infront of me and then left the choice up to me. I chose choir. Choir was a family. Choir was a place where we could say the name of God in school (through song). Choir was a place where we were real and prayed for each other. Choir was a place where when we didn't have the words to speak we could sing and express the same emotions/feelings. Choir was a place where I knew I was accepted and loved. Choir was a place where anyone fit in.

The memories and bonds we have from the dance shows are unreal. As we sat there watching the show last night I was filled with so many mixed emotions. I was excited and enjoying the show, but sad at how time flies by and missing how much I loved being up there. I can remember being behind the curtain on the very last night of our dance show our senior year holding back tears... this is our last choir show.

Choir is the only thing I miss from high school. And it would have never been half of what it was if Mrs. Parks weren't running it. I love that lady and I miss her so much! If you have time this weekend, you should go see the MHS 40's Show - Sentimental Journey. It starts at 7:00 PM tonight and there is also a show tomorrow afternoon at some point.

Lord, I thank You for Mrs. Parks.... her dedication, heart, and love for music and You. Because of her devotion to You and where You called her I have so many wonderful memories, bonds, and relationships from my years in choir.

Stop And Think

Every other week I get the privilege of monitoring lunch detention. Oddly enough, I would much rather be sitting in lunch detention making my to-do list monitoring students, rather than standing up in the cafeteria for sixty plus minutes. I look forward to the weeks where i'm able to sit and rest my feet for a little while. During this time I cut, count, file, grade and sometimes i'm even able to read. None of that is even relevant for this post... i'm just tired so my thoughts are coming out as I type.

When a student gets lunch detention they have 30 minutes to eat their lunch and also complete some work. Kindergarten and First graders work on penmanship while second through fourth graders complete a "Stop and Think". A "Stop and Think!" is a worksheet that asks students a few questions to help them reflect on their actions. The purpose is to help, or make sure, they understand what they did wrong, get into their heads and figure out why they did it, and prompt them to come up with some other options they could choose when the situation arises again.

A particular first grade teacher asked if I would allow her students to begin doing these same worksheets since it's the second half of the year and they're starting to master higher skills. To which I agreed. When one of her students came to detention this week I gave her the worksheet, made sure she could read through each question, and sent her to complete it. This is what she turned into me at the end of her time....

Stop and Think!

What did you do? I Play WiTh my BruThr. I winT To The pork. I HalpT my sisTr.

Why did you do that? be cuz iT is fun

List 4 OTHER things you could have done.

1. go To The moves.
2. Play aoT sid
3. make food
4. go To SLeP.

What will you do next time? go To The mol

I'm not sure she comprehended the point of the worksheet, but hey, maybe next time? Atleast she was working hard!!!