Star-fish

     It is amazing to me how much money, time, and preparation have led up to this day...Christmas. Yet, over 2000 years ago there was a simple celebration, mostly attended by curious shepherds, about a baby chosen by God, born in a manger, who came to save the world from the eternal consequences of their sins.      Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was that baby and is the One who we should be giving our time, money, and preparing our lives to serve. The message of the Bible is a simple one as well, regarding our relationship to the Christ Child, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household," (Acts 16:31).      What if we spent a quarter of our time during this Christmas season praising Jesus Christ, telling others about Him, and preparing our family and friends to meet Him one day? Wouldn't that be the way to celebrate the real reason for the season...the babe in the manager who came to save us all by dying on the cr...

     My husband and I took a quick evening run to The Dollar Tree for last minute items for a friend's party. As I was backing out of the parking space, my view was blocked by a large van, so I carefully crept back to ensure no car or pedestrian was in my path. Just as I reached a straight line of sight, a person stood waiting for me to pull out. I gave her the "so sorry" sign with my hands (indicating I didn't know she had been waiting for me as I couldn't see her) and mouthed the word, "sorry." She rolled her eyes and changed her direction to walk clear around the van to get past me. I was only seconds away from getting out of her path.      I thought about that woman and prayed for her. Her day probably had been harried and I was one more obstacle in her way of getting the day over and done with so she could head home. I could relate to her impatience and pondered why so many of us are short on patience these days.      As I dug through ...

     I received a card from a friend lately and the quote on the front noted, "Teaching is the subtle art of shaping young minds without losing your own," (card by www.curlygirldesign.com). I haven't written in my blog for four months, because I have been teaching...and lost my mind...my health...family time...time with friends...free time...Bible reading time...you name it! Teaching took all my time. If I wanted to stay even remotely on top of lesson planning, data collection, and especially paper correcting, I had to work most evenings and every weekend.      Yes, people will say, but you have week long vacations and two months off in the summer. Right, I would reply, that is so I can reintroduce myself to family and friends, clean my house, and write more lesson plans and correct all the papers I didn't get to before the vacation or figure out how to create lesson plans that will "entertain" and educate today's students.      Recently, i...