Starting Something new....

I start a Digital Photography class tonight!  Excited, nervous, curious, hopeful...all kinds of emotions!!  I enjoy looking at cool photos and every once in a while I snap one that I really enjoy!  Hopefully after this class it will be less of a gamble on getting a good shot :)

Before you head to Parent/Teacher Conferences....

Being a parent is difficult.  Being a teacher is difficult.  Hmmm...wonder why this is?  Perhaps because we care so much about the same people--our kids!  Now the way we go about caring for our kids could be in different ways and the things we value might be a little different.  Our goals are the same though--we want well-adjusted kids who are kind to others and who are gaining knowledge and wisdom of the world around them.

So why am I bringing this up at the beginning of the school year?  Don't we have at least 7 or 8 weeks before that first Parent/Teacher Conference?  We sure do.  I just want to remind each other that we are on the same team, we want the same thing.   And getting the job done is hard and exhausting.  Doesn't it feel amazing when someone comments to you about how well-behaved your kids are or how smart they are or how kind they are?  Or perhaps when you do have to discipline them in public and someone says to you, "you handled that really well" or maybe they just give you a knowing smile?   Someone noticed you got it right and it felt good to have someone mention it out loud.  Teachers are people, just like us parents.  So be prepared going into Parent/Teacher Conferences with some praises for that teacher.  Maybe they go out of their way to communicate assignments to you or maybe they gave you a call to let you know that your child was struggling in a specific area and wanted to let you know.  Perhaps they haven't had any contact with you personally, but your child loves the art projects they have been doing in class or they can't stop talking about something interesting your teacher has shared.  Even if there isn't anything they have done that is particularly "extraordinary", just let them know that you appreciate them.  You appreciate their effort and acknowledge that what they do is trying at times.

We can all use a kind word now and then!

You Are More

You are more than the choices that you've made
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes
You are more than the problems you create
You've been remade

Cause this is not about what you've done,
But what's been done for you.
This is not about where you've been,
But where your brokenness brings you to
This is not about what you feel,
But what He felt to forgive you,
And what He felt to make you new.

The song is You Are More by Tenth Avenue North.  It came on the radio this morning while I was cleaning.  And all of a sudden I found myself sobbing on the floor.  Satan loves to remind me of where I've been.  Of every little failure.  He tries to pin every little thing in my life back to how I'm less than what I should be.  And today, my Jesus reminded me so clearly that I am way more than those lies.  That my weakness shows His strength.  That my brokenness leads me to love Him and have compassion for others.  I am so much more than my choices, mistakes, and problems.  I am his lovely daughter in whom He delights.

Friend--you are more too. Let Him remind you.