Are you a Referee?

     I am not a confrontational person by nature. I don't like chaos or conflict so I avoid it at all costs. I am learning though that not all confrontation is necessarily a bad thing. Either way, I still don't like it. It makes me feel bad, uncomfortable, and all around bleh. Well, being a mother, wife, teacher, and friend limits my ability to live my zen existence that I so desire. I would love nothing better than to just live in Utopia where "everybody just get along."
      I get up in the morning and my kids are already arguing and forcing me to be the referee. Then I go to school where I have to make 22 kids coexist and use their "lifeskills." I spend my entire life being a peacemaker but never seem to succeed! Then I think of God and how he must feel. He just wants us all to love one another and get along. His plan for us is straight-up love and we do just the opposite so much of the time. The little bits of conflict that I am working out in my life are so minimal compared to the chaos God looks down on everyday. What a wonderful day it will be when we all live in perfect peace. I am really looking forward to it and I bet God is too!

     ^"Summing up: Be agreeable, be sympathetic, be loving, be compassionate, be humble. That goes for all of you, no exceptions. No retaliation. No sharp-tongued sarcasm. Instead, bless—that's your job, to bless. You'll be a blessing and also get a blessing.

Whoever wants to embrace life
and see the day fill up with good,
Here's what you do:
Say nothing evil or hurtful;
Snub evil and cultivate good;
run after peace for all you're worth.
God looks on all this with approval,
listening and responding well to what he's asked;
But he turns his back
on those who do evil things."
1 Peter 3:8-12

Intermission

"Be still, and know that I am God" Psalms 46:10

     Today was a great day...a needed break from the
merry-go-round of life. Everyone needs an intermission every once in a while and mine was today.  I woke up with no alarm going off, meandered to the coffee pot, watched some mindless entertainment on Animal Planet, then worked in the yard. Working in the yard may not sound like a sabbatical from life, but for me it was something that slowed me down enough to take notice of the things that really matter. We sorted through rocks for hours, laying plastic underneath so that the weeds would not come poking throught the rocks. But while doing that seemingly mindless activity my whole world seemed to make sense again. God has a way of showing us what is really important if we just "Be still." The beauty of a bunch of river rocks, crawling insects, and sunshine slowed time down and allowed me to be still in the chaos of this world.

Thank you God for the little things.

Homesick

     I'm homesick. Even though I am at home sitting right in my cozy little living room, I still have the strange feeling that I am not where I am meant to be. Now don't worry, I am happily married and love my family, but there is a distant ache inside that yearns for my real home. God gives me beautiful glimpses everyday of Heaven while I am here on earth and though those glimpses are good and satisfy, they make me long for what I know will one day come. I look forward to seeing the face of the One that made me, the One that knows me like no one else ever could. The One that saw this broken girl and recognized the potential that even I couldn't see. I long for peace, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more crying.                       
     This world seems to have so much to offer...get what you want, get it now, its all about you. I used to think that was what I wanted. Now I know that its what I depise. I want to live in a world where people love one another, where a neighbor is someone you actually know, where you don't have to worry about your kids playing in the front yard. Praise God that one day this will be a reality. My current world will seem so insignificant in the eyes of eternity. The little things that get me down and the earthshaking things that make me sad will be history.
      So, what do you do when you are homesick? Well I Googled that very question and here is what the answer was...
"If you are homesick like a child away from his/her parents then I think you should call whoever you miss, but keep yourself busy until they get back so that you don't think to much about it."
Sounds like a simple answer but it actually makes quite alot of sense! I need to talk to my parent (God) by praying and communicating with Him and I need to keep myself busy until He comes back. That is exactly what Matthew 28:19 says to do, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." That should keep me busy!

A Change for the Better

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”

        Isaiah 26:3 NIV

God's word is so vital for us everyday, yet I treat it like its another thing I have to "do" on my ginormous list of day to day busyness. I just cannot understand why I have to keep reminding myself of this fact. Each time I study the Bible and trying to deeply understand His words for me, I am so richly blessed and somehow it changes me. It changes me from the Brittany I don't always like to someone I can be proud of. It makes me want better things for my life and for my family. It gives me strength to start my day, and get through it with a loving attitude. It makes me want to pray for others, to care for others, and stop thinking of my needs. If that is how it makes me feel then why do I constantly need a reminder to spend time with God? It reminds me of the verse Paul wrote in Romans, " For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." God, help me to think of you as I think of food and water. Not just an afterthought, but a necessity. Feed my soul and help me change into the person you want me to be. I want to seek you like I would seek out water in a desert. You are the only thing that can quench my thirst. Keep me from trying to fill myself with things that won't satisfy. Help me slow down and hear Your voice.

Update

Back after a summer of rest and relaxation...not! I hiked 74 miles of the AT and then painted the house. Oh, and helped Robin paint hers too. Now I am back at school with 22 students. That was my quick update. More to come soon! I will add pics of my wonderful trip and stories as well.
Britt

Distractions

     As I sit here at the library distracted by the screaming child that isn't getting her way, the man with the laptop that has no headphones, the phone that no one seems to answer, and the lady at reference that is talking like she is at a concert I wonder to myself, why do I not have a computer at home with Internet? I just wanted to go to my favorite place and relax. Not today.  After stopping and just really listening it came to me that amidst all the distractions its so easy to get caught up in what is going around me that I forget my purpose. What is my purpose, you ask? Well, let me tell you...my purpose is to be the kind of person that draws people to Christ. Not because I am so holy, because I'm so far from where I'd like to be in that area, but because they can see something different in me. I wonder if I measure up? I wonder if my attitude is just as it should be? Ok, so the answer is probably not...seeing that I just complained about the above mentioned annoyances at the library! Reflection has really helped me see what I need to change about me. It helps me look at my day and see what I did right, what I did wrong, and what I want to do better. So the annoyances I spoke of earlier turned out to be more of a lesson in self-reflection. Amazing how if I just stop and listen, God has a lesson for me. Distractions aren't always bad, sometimes they serve a greater purpose. Instead of keeping me from doing what it is I need to do, they point me back to my purpose!
Lovin' it. Strange how I can change my attitude from the beginning of my blog to the end just by stopping and listening to the distractions.
   

Third day- King of Glory