A sunny start!

The sun came out and stayed out all day!  What a blessing.  You can tell the school vacation is truly here.  My Aaron is having his first sleep over of the holiday tonight and I could not convince him otherwise with excuses about homework to be done or that it's best to have things like that during the holiday season!  Hearing their laughter makes me laugh because these are the memories that will last a lifetime.  So I raise my cup of tea to many more sleepovers.

Thank you Lord today (day 208) for a sunny start.

So long, farewell to another school year.............

Technology is a wonderful thing when it works for you or you know how to use it......................  I couldn't post yesterday but here it is.

The term has ended and what an overwhelming day it was.  I looked across the room at the children who came to me as babes and see them now, a year on.  God's grace has been sufficient for them too.  We danced and laughed and sang and played this afternoon.  The pupils from year 6 did their annual tour of t-shirt signing; it was an emotional time for them too, their 7 years of primary education was coming to an end and a new journey would begin for each of them.  I don't think that they are fully aware of the enormous, though exciting transition they will be making to secondary school.

School felt especially quiet after they had left at 3.00pm, as if it knew that the children would not be back for quite a few weeks. 

My Aaron has completed his first year of secondary school and Gracie will move into year 2 next session.  It hardly seems possible.

My Father in heaven today (day 207) I thank You for this past school year, for the way You have held me in the palm of Your hands. Your heavenly angels kept watch over me whilst Your holy spirit resided where ever I was.

To say 'thanks'............

Wrapping, writing, more wrapping, more writing - all in preparation to say 'thanks.'  One cannot underestimate the importance of and impact saying 'thank you' can have to both the person saying it as well as the recipient.  Now of course it is easier and definitely less costly to just say it, but you know expressive sentiments last a life time and a small gift is merely a gesture to further express that thanks............

We are blessed with so many opportunities and occasions to give votes of thanks to various people in our lives and I don't like to miss them, especially when the people concerned are the unsung heroes that make my job as a teacher easier.  So I pen my carefully thought through lines to sincerely thank them; my teaching assistants, lunchtime supervisor, caretaker, cleaner, after school club carers, office staff and of course the cook who cuts me a larger slice of raisin bread at play time.  It's true that they are, after all, just doing the jobs they are paid to do, but without just one of these pieces of my professional jigsaw my ability to do my job effectively would diminish somewhat!

Today (day 206) I give sincere and heart felt thanks for each of you.

Effective together................

Today felt more like a house moving day than a regular school day.  Quite a few of us are moving location next academic session and so we had some heavy duty shifting to do, but had an army of very willing helpers on hand.  It's a funny old profession, teaching, on the one hand we are finishing a school year and almost simultaneously preparing for the next.  This time of the year can be potentially extremely stressful so we rely on each other to get through.  The seemingly constant supply of indulgent cakes and biscuits helped to ease the strain.

There are times in life when it is necessary for teams to pull together in order to be effective and I am thankful that today (day 205) was one of those days.

Thank you my son!

Today (day 204) I am simply thankful for Sam who had already started to prepare dinner on my arrival after a very long day at school.  I pray in advance for his children, who will do the same for him!  But you know what, this is how he is every day; my Sam meets and greets me as I arrive home and makes a much needed cup of tea.  Biased I am, but his wife will be a most blessed and loved woman.  Amen!

Affirm............. say it loud and proud

"Mum I was really nervous at first.  My hands were shaking when I started playing."   My Gracie, tonight, youngest solo performer at the school music concert.  It's ok to be proud isn't it?  As she finished playing she looked round to find us in the audience, just for that look of affirmation. I applaud my girl because I certainly didn't have such confidence at her age, to perform in front of a packed hall.

As parents we encourage, build, guide, support; it is a pleasure and privilege to do these things, just like our Father in heaven wants to do with us.  Her delight at the end of the evening when we met up again and simply told her how proud we were of her was just priceless.  She skipped along in her 'high' heels as we headed home. 

Aaron too got a surprise at school today.  He was awarded a certificate of excellence in four subjects in recognition of outstanding work and progress.  I had barely parked the car when he came racing out to ask me to guess what had happened.  He was in no doubt we were proud of him and delighted for him; he had grafted to earn such success.  We tell our children that God will always honour the labour of their hands with good fruit.

Expressions of affirmation last a life time so say it loud and proud.

Today (day 203) I am humbled to be a part of such inspiring, young lives.

I am a new creation....................

I can't help but share good reading when I come across it so please forgive me if I am a bit boring in this way.  I am constantly inspired by the things I read, from a variety of sources, but undoubtedly the best reads come from the Book itself!

When we give our lives to Jesus it is a life changing moment, when we give over our old self and become a new creation in Christ Jesus.  We can bask in this new life as we start a new journey in our lives with Him at our side.  However because we live in the real world we still live in a secular society, one in which our new self can feel as if it is at war with the old and doubt sets in.

Thank God that our Father's word tells us otherwise.  Read this and know as I do today (day 202) that the moment we asked Jesus into our lives we were no longer in condemnation, but instead began a journey that would require us to walk in His grace daily.  To do so we need to seek His face daily;

'There is another power within me that is at war with my mind...' Romans 7:23

Today let's talk about: The enemy within. Your old nature is like a fifth column, always looking for ways to sabotage you. It's the door through which satan enters. You have two natures, an old one and a new one. They are opposite, and they are always on a collision course. A great illustration of this can be found in the birth of Jacob and Esau. '...Rebekah became pregnant with twins. But the two children struggled with each other in her womb. So she went to ask the Lord about it. "Why is this happening to me?" she asked. And the Lord told her, "The sons in your womb will become two nations. From the very beginning, the two nations will be rivals. One nation will be stronger than the other; and your older son will serve your younger son' (Genesis 25:21-23 NLT). Paul talks about his 'Dr. Jekyll' nature and his 'Mr. Hyde' nature. 'I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to sin that is still within me' (Romans 7:22-23 NLT). What's the answer? Starve your old nature and feed your new one! Again Paul writes: 'No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier' (2 Timothy 2:4). That means you must: 1) Regularly communicate with headquarters through prayer. 2) Read God's Word to be sure you're obeying your Commanding Officer. 3) Keep your spiritual morale high. 4) Not get entangled with the wrong people or things.