Heart Choices: 2014-03-16 -->

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Knowing When to Stay and When to Move



Stay, go, stay, go. What to do?  Sometimes I wish it would be more obvious.  I think of the Israelites in the wilderness with Moses.  They were guided by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. (Exodus 13:21)

Seems easy enough.  When the cloud stopped, they stopped.  But we know how they didn't always listen and obey.

I realize I have a guide too.  It might not be an obvious sign in the sky kind of thing. But my Bible is the Word of God and there's plenty of guidance for me.

Sometimes I am called to stay in situations that my human flesh wants to rebel against.  But over the years, I've discovered something.  Often when I'm ready to bolt and do my own thing, it's because I dislike temporary discomfort.  With hindsight, I can look back and see how the Lord was preparing me for something up ahead.  All too often I had my eyes on what I wanted instead of keeping my eyes on Jesus.

I remember serving as a children's leader in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF). At the end of each year we were asked if we would continue in this position.  I remember thinking why would I ever leave since I loved it so. I stayed for seven years.

But I have to say that when the time came for me to leave it was obvious.  I knew it in my heart.  It was a season in my life and the Lord had other plans for me. The experience I gained during this time was invaluable to me in my future. But I didn't know that at the time.

Now I'm working in a school with preschool children. The seven years of weekly training in BSF helped me learn much about discipline and positive ways to interact with young children.

I think of Jesus walking this earth in a human body and yet fully divine. He knew what was ahead and the path He would need to take.

And going a little further He fell on His face and prayed, saying "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." Matthew 26:39 (ESV)

Jesus submitted to the will of His Father. Even though the path ahead would be painful, He obeyed perfectly.

I would rather say yes to God's best for me than say yes to many good things I think I can do for God.

So I pray about when to stay and when to move.

How about you?  How do you know when to stay and when to move?

I'm linking up with Bonnie of Faith Barista for her Faith Jam series leading up to Easter.



Blessings and love,

QuickEdit

Focus on the Every Day Blessings


Focus on the every day blessings.  That's become my motto.  I have to admit it's been a difficult and challenging week for me.  I've had my moments. Those pity party moments.  Come on.  Do you ever have those?

But ...I refuse to stay there.  So I make the choice to deal with the life situations in the best way I can with much prayer.  And I move forward.

One of my blessings is I get to work with Heidi every day. We work so well together and make such a great team.  She researches all of the holidays and writes them on our board in the teacher's lounge.  The other day was Happy Name Tag Day so of course we both wore a name tag. :)

I told her about a blogger named Scott who is known as The Name Tag Guy.  My husband Greg attended a conference a few years ago and he was a speaker. He's been wearing his name tag for 4,885 days so far. That's quite a record.  I have to admit I discarded mine by the end of the day. But Scott Ginsberg has made quite a name for himself and has so many funny stories to share as he wears a name tag every single day.

Another blessing I'm thankful for is our fabulous weather in Phoenix this time of year.  While the rest of the country has snow and cold, we're experiencing 75 degrees.  It's perfect for walks and hiking and biking. It's great to see people enjoying the outdoors.

Everything seems to be in bloom.  I love to visit the nurseries to check out the flowers. I'm looking for some additional flowers to plant.  My red geraniums are still going strong in our window box. They look so pretty right now.

There are always every day blessings working with little children.  The other day I wore a colorful skirt to work.  The children all told me how pretty I looked. I'm amazed they even noticed.  But then they tend to pick up my skirt which is a no no.  They may wear little shorts underneath their skirts but ...not Miss Debbie.

I also bought some Jamberry Nails from my niece Kristin. They are bright pink and the kids loved them. So funny what they notice!  By the way, these nails are so much fun and they don't use chemicals or damage your nails.  You have to check out Kristin's website.  And they aren't very expensive and lasts for several weeks.
We have a fabulous science teacher named Mrs. Baer. She taught the children about the life cycle of a caterpillar.
The children enjoyed gluing pieces of dried macaronis to represent the eggs, worm, chrysalis, and finally ...the butterfly.  They are getting so smart!

I'm almost forgetting that I had a very stressful week. Changing my focus makes all the difference.
#1039 A fabulous co-worker named Heidi
#1040 The look on the faces of the children when they learn new things
#1041 The amazing weather in Phoenix
#1042 Beautiful flowers all over town
#1043 An opportunity to share my story on Women Walking with Jesus
#1044 Jamberry nails that don't ruin my nails
#1045 Connecting with the grandson of the pastor who married my parents in Brooklyn, NY in 1950 through Facebook
#1046 Remembering to focus on the Word
#1047 A wonderful sermon in church this morning
#1048 Bluegrass music in church last week as we had a church wide picnic

I'm linking up with Charlotte for Spiritual Sundays.

Spiritual Sundays

I'm also linking up with Ann of A Holy Experience for Multitudes on Mondays as we continue to count our every day blessings.





Blessings and love,

QuickEdit
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