Handing It Over To Jesus_part 1

Greetings, (fyi...This post was actually written and held in draft form for several days. After I go ahead and post this one, I'll be sending out the update to this situation.)

Have you ever gotten upset over something and had that "upset-ness" try to take over your every thought?

Something like that happened to me this afternoon.

A young man said some extremely foul words, I wrote a referral, and when the parent was contacted by the assistant principal, the mom told the administrator that she wanted to talk to me.

The Administrator called me and asked me to call the mom.

I called her immediately.

The mom asked me to tell her what happened and exactly what I heard her son say.

I cautioned her that in order to do what she was requesting I would be saying vulgar words.

I asked her if she was sure that she wanted me to repeat what her son said.

She told me to do so.

I told her what I had seen and what I had heard.


And then...

She told me that her son did not talk like that. 

She told me that she had looked into his eyes, and she knew he was telling the truth.

She also told me that she wanted a meeting to get to the bottom of this. 

She basically called me liar, though she did not actually use that word.

(Just in case you are wondering...yeah the F-Bomb was one of the words the young man said.)

(And Just in case you are wondering that wasn't the only vulgarity uttered.)

I started replaying that conversation over and over in my head and was insulted and really upset by the whole situation.  It was poisoning my afternoon.  I was dwelling. And I was getting angry.

And then it hit me that Satan was being very present in this situation and that he was using the kid, the mom and my own mind against me.

Every morning I pray for Discernment. 

I ask God to be let me realize when The Evil One is working against me.

And I am so glad that I realized what was happening.

It took all of the pressure off the situation.

It took all the anger away.

It took away my anxiety about how Administration is going to handle this situation.

As I was driving home from school, I actually said out loud "Jesus please take this from me."

And He did.

My God is in control....not the evil one.

And I am HIS Child!

When ya stack that very angry momma up against God Almighty...she doesn't seem quite so menacing anymore.

My God is in control.

And I am HIS Child!

The rest of the day is going to be just fine now.

And so is tomorrow and the day after that.

God is in Control and NOTHING can change this truth.


Meanwhile I am claiming the following scriptures for Peace and Protection: 

Romans 8:38 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

John 16:33  "These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good chear, for I have overcome the world." 


John 14:27 "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."


2 Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 


Hebrews 13:6  "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."


1 Peter 3:12-14 "For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled." 

In Him,

Grace

About Today...

Good Morning God,


Please help me to get through today...it's gonna be a long day...about 13 hours.


Father I confess that I do not really want to go to that training session AFTER school today.


And I confess that I am whining about it.


Father Please... infuse me with Courage and with Strength.


Father, please put the Right Attitude in my heart.
Father, please let the speaker be engaging and let her words be relevant..
Father, please keep me from cynical thoughts and comments.


Please take the negativity from my mind.


Please Sustain me and Shelter me.


Please give me the Energy, Clarity, Focus, and JOY to claim today in YOUR name.

Father, guide me through this day WHILE I SIT IN YOUR PALM.

Help me to be Salt and Light today God...


In Jesus' Name,


AMEN

Calling ALL Hero's

Greetings,
This morning let's talk about how Teaching is Mission Work!

Most of the time, when we think of Missionaries, we think of people who go into international settings, and render aid to folks in need, and talk to them about God and about Jesus Christ.  We think of them being around the poor, the sick, the indigent and the societally disenfranchised.


Well guess what!
It doesn't take a Solomon to figure out that The United States of America is filled with young people exactly like that.

They may not be riddled with smallpox, but often they are hurt and wounded.
They are often what Scriptures refer to as Poor In Spirit.
They are often somewhat LOST and societally disenfranchised...after all...doesn't that term personify the Teen-Aged Years.

So yeah...being a high school teacher is ACTIVE Mission Work.


We can't teach the kids until we help to heal them.


It's basic science.

When the Pre-Frontal Cortex of the Human Brain has yet to fully form (and this area of  the brain is still developing during adolescence )...Higher Thinking Ability is completely monitored by elements of the brain that focus on safety and security.


And as our American families flounder...our kids sink into survival mode.


They focus on food, shelter, and immediate gratification.

Not all of them...not all the time...but a chunk of them every day in every class are locked into survival mode and have been basically for their whole lives.


Now let's add on the pressure of State Mandated Testing to these kids.
The response is usually total and complete APATHY.


And who can blame them.

If I my parents are getting a divorce right now, and my world is falling apart...why in the world would I care about a stupid test.  It's not even a blip on the radar screen of things I care about.


But while Adults often are able to throw up the White Flag of "I'm Having Trouble Right Now, Everybody Just Back Off For A While Till I Regain My Mental Footing"...kids get no such rights.


Society just expects them to tuck all of their feelings and fears into some dark place in their souls, Deal With It, and go on about their lives... and the next state mandated test.

I am not asking that we stop all testing.
And I know that there is NEVER a time when the whole teen-aged world is trouble free and able to enter a GREEN LIGHT ZONE for all State Mandated Tests zone...but I know this...
                                   
humans need safety and security in order to mentally process at high levels.


And our kids are suffering.
And our test scores are looking really lousy these days.

And the Think Tanks just keep spinning out the need to test them more often...or blame the teachers for the test results.
And a vicious cycle of blame casting in educational circles develops...that has NOTHING to do with why Johnny Failed The Big Test.


Basically Johnny is Grieving and Mourning and he can't think straight right now...DUH!


The grown-ups in our country need to start making wiser choices about who they marry.
The grown-ups in our country need to start modeling marital fidelity, and loyalty, and trustworthiness and integrity and  courage.


Our kids are losing their HERO's.


Every kid ought to be able to find his or her FIRST and LARGEST HERO IMAGE within the context of their own home.


Parents are supposed to be our HERO's.


So for anybody who is reading this out there...Be a Hero to your kids.
Talk with them.
Tell them about how you make decisions.
Tell them how you weigh right and wrong.


Model Godly Virtues for Them.


Help them to Feel SAFE and SECURE by knowing that their MOM & DAD do what is right simply because IT IS RIGHT!


If America is to heal itself, it must heal it's families first.


Today I go back out into the Mission Field.
Today I will see your kids.
Today I will hear about the times you cheated on your wife.
Today I will hear about the times you abandoned your family.
Today I will hear about the times you got drunk and smoked pot.
Today I will hear about how your kids don't respect you because of your words and actions.


Today I will MOP UP after you...and I will try to give your kids what YOU should have been giving them...today I will try to be an honorable person and show THEM how to be honorable too.


Today I am CALLING ALL HERO's to come to the aid of our AMERICAN FAMILIES in order to HEAL THEM.


Mom's & Dad's, Grandparents, Uncle & Aunts, Brothers & Sisters,  and Cousins...STAND UP!


Be Hero's in Your Family:
                              Stand for What Is Right.
                              Put God Back in our Homes
                              Pray for Healing.
                              Pray for Wisdom.
                              Pray for Strong Families.


                              Let's Heal America...1 Family At A TIME!


In just a few hours I will be in the middle of The Mission Field again...and teachers all over this country just like me will be helping your kids today.
Please Pray For Us...Just as We Pray For You.


And for those of you who are already doing what is Right In The Eyes of God...BLESS YOU!


In HIM,
Grace