brenda's thoughts, watch out I'm Christian

I have a question, so I'll need to turn the comment thing back on. My argumentative friend as apologized nicely and I love talking to people too much to withhold your ability to comment for very long. 

Here are a couple things / facts that I know for sure. 1. God is all powerful. 2. Temptations come along. 3. The Bible says that God will never let you be tempted more than you can handle. 4. People keep telling me that God does not generate temptation He allows it. 5. Satan generates temptation. 6. I grow from my mistakes.

Isn't it logical to assume that God "lets / allows" temptation to come your way so that you will grow from the experience of turning away from it or the experience of facing the consequences of your action?

There's an old saying, "You learn who your friends are real fast when you're in trouble." Well this can be applied to God. It's when I make mistakes that I really know God loves me. If I need forgiveness I find that He has never left my side no matter what I did. When I need help He has never left my side no matter how big the problem.

It's when things are darkest that I draw closest. Why, because God is my shelter? Yes, but mostly because that's when He proves himself to me. This is why I love Him so much, because He first loved me.  

I had the most remarkable morning.

This morning I woke up with an extreme desire to go out in the woods, swamp or the river. I just wanted to get out in nature. I've been working too long and hard of hours. I got dressed for the woods and was making a mental note of where my wading boots were when I remembered. It was Sunday morning. My place was not in the woods. It was in the church. I fell on my bed and lay there thinking of the smell of the mud on the banks of the river for a good few minutes. Finally I pulled myself up and got dressed for church.

I was about to head out the door when looking over my shoulder at the clock to see how late I was going to be I realized that I was ready an entire hour early. I had time to stop by the river for a minute before church. How amazing! This is why I cling to God. He knows me and loves me at a very personal level. God had found a way to schedule in a few minutes of relaxation by the river for me.

When I got there I took off my sandals and slipped into wading boots. I held up my skirt at my knees and walked down to the edge of the river, where I found that the water level was so low that there was a beach for me to walk along. So I did.

I splashed a little,

Sank in the sand,

Listened to the gurgle around the fallen trees,

Startled a heron,

Got fussed at by a king fisher

And watched the swirls of current and bugs on the surface

Then feeling rejuvenated I wrote a poem,

"While the woods may be lovely,

Dark and deep,

The river is long,

Winding and wild

And calls to me

Like a mother her child

And I cannot deny

The desire in me

To go to her

For she captivates me"

Cleaned my feet and went to church where the first scripture read was Psalm 1:1-3, my favorite part being,

"3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
       which yields its fruit in season
       and whose leaf does not wither.
       Whatever he does prospers. "

I've had one or two fellas trailen after me in the last year or so. They say they love me. They want to commit to me in marriage. They want to spend all their time with me. I was and am always surprised that they think reading my websites is too much for me to ask/want/expect of them. (I can say this because remember they don't read my blog.)

How does this relate to you?

If I had a dime for every time I've heard someone say they want to be closer to God but they stop in their tracks when it comes to reading His word then... well I wouldn't be rich, considering inflation and all, but I'd certainly be able to buy a nice car, maybe. The point is if you want to know God better, if you want to be closer to Him, if you want to enjoy the richness of a deep relationship with God then you must, you have to read his word, all of it, a lot, a whole lot!

Just as some of my most personal and precious moments are related on my blog so are God's most precious and personal memories and thoughts related in his word.

Just read it!

What can I say, without saying too much, oath of privacy, juveniles and all that?

Its just as I predicted, I love them, they make laugh.

They make me want to hug them, but I can't for several reasons, all sad.

I'm reading Harry Potter to them, a lot of children cannot read or comprehend at that level though they pretend to and there's something very soothing about being read to.

I have a purple pen that I keep in my hair for marking positively and negatively on their behavior charts, when I reach for it and pull it out it has all the power of a magic wand, which is funny to me.

We planted pop corn in Ziploc bags, usually it sprouts, this time it didn't, they were disappointed, they wanted to see a pop corn bush, they're so silly and inexperienced in the things that children should know and have experienced, I want to catch them up on all of it.

"They won't hit me", I say to a co-worker, which sounds awful unless you know the situation then it's good.

They have good and bad days, we all do, they're learning me and I'm learning them, I hope I can help them learn for the unexpected, that's the goal.

I'll be teaching Sunday School again this Sunday. Our teacher is on vacation with family and I'm filling in. Last week the lesson was Malachi 1 on having a wholehearted relationship with God. This week it’s Malachi 2 on honoring your commitment to God and others.

On the subject of me teaching my own class, I'd like to point out that even Jesus wasn't accepted in his own home town. They're very receptive to me but prayer is always a good idea.

Both lessons are/were interesting because it’s during these weeks that God has been reminding me to be more honorable in my commitment to him by shedding things that aren’t honorable as a Christian and to honor all the commitments I’ve made. (which reminds me I’m late with my payment to the Ugandan children’s School- I’ve committed to paying for the school of two of the most precious little girls. http://www.s118392501.onlinehome.us/subbi/default.aspx )

Friday morning

This is a prayer request. When you read this please pray for me to heal physically. I have an infection located between my sinuses and my teeth. Gross and painful! Its making me terribly grouchy and sleep deprived which makes me less than... patient with my students who really need a teacher who is very patient. Please pray for them and me.

Thank you

Reading, watching, listening

Eyes unblinking

Eardrums thumping

Body rocking

Then

Broke free

Walked outside

Into

Thick hot air

Dimming still light

Quiet buzz of insects

Wisps of hair moving across my face

Grit of sand beneath my bare feet

I head back through the old clay pit

The pup between my steps

Running, running, running 

Like me

Happy to be out

Lightening and thunder pinken the sky

Yellow grey clouds roll

Pine trees sway

The air is ripe for rain

For a moment I stand

Arms outstretched

Face to the heaven

And breathe in the joy

"MOM"

But only for a moment

Come on pup

We have to go

This song comforts me. I hope it will comfort you.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=R89LhjbZdqI

 He Will Carry Me

 I call, You hear me
I've lost it all
And it's more then I can bear
I feel so empty

Your strong, I'm weary
I'm holding on
But I feel like giving in
But still You're with me

(Pre-chorus and Chorus)
And even though I'm walking
Through the valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Who's love will comfort me
And when my hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
He will carry me

I know I'm broken
But You alone 
 Can mend this heart of mine
Your always with me

And even though I'm walking
Through the valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Who's love will comfort me
And when my hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
He will carry me
He will carry me

(Bridge)
And even though I feel so lonely
Like I have never been before
You never said it would be easy
But You said You'd see me through the storm

And even though I'm walking
Through the valley of the shadow
I will hold tight to the hand of Him
Who's love will comfort me
And when my hope is gone
And I've been wounded in the battle
He is all the strength that I will ever need
He will carry me
He will carry me
He will carry me

©2003 Kurtilla Songs (ASCAP)/Be Together Music (ASCAP)/Crazy Romaine

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (The Message) “All praise to the God and Father of our Master, Jesus the Messiah! Father of all mercy! God of all healing counsel! He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us…”

This was our handwriting practice today. It made me think of all the times I ever wondered why God let me have all those horrible life experiences.