Freedom Writers

Over the weekend we rented the movie Freedom Writers. I remember seeing the previews when it was in the theaters, but never got there to see it. I thought it looked good, mainly because I've worked with teens for 18 years and thought the story looked pretty real and that there were probably some lessons to be learned for those of us who do work with teens. Not only did I think it was a good movie and a great true story, but it really made me think about the kids I work with, and the people around me.

I asked myself many questions during and after the movie including:
What difference am I making in the lives of those I come in contact with? Am I willing to step out of my normal, my comfort zone, to take a chance and offer hope to someone, to help them realize they can change their circumstances, the norm in their lives to make a better life for themselves? Do I see people for who they really are beneath the masks, the facades, the walls they put up to try to keep others out, and from seeing their true hurts? Do I try to see beyond their hurts, their prejudices, their behaviors, or do I just dismiss them, falling into a type of prejudice myself, and write them off as not worth my time, like some of the teachers did in the life of these kids. Do I take the time to look deep inside of others and really care about them? Do I take the time and the effort, even if they push me away, to try to reach out to them and show that they do have great worth in this life, that they have the power to change their circumstances, and that as long as we are alive, there is hope? Do I invest my time wisely to help others, or do I just go through the motions and move on? Do I truly listen to others and their life stories, and do I respect their stories, no matter what they have been through?

We all have the power to change. We all have incredible power within us, if we are willing to face what scares us, and that which is different from us and the norm of our lives. People matter. All people. Take time to see others for who they really are, deep inside and offer them hope.


But as for me, I will always have hope; I will praise you more and more. Psalm 71:14

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

Saturday Stuff

It's one of those weird Saturdays. My hubby has training at work all day, so I'm left to entertain myself. I have plenty to do around here, but after a long week of working, I don't feel much like working today. I will probably go in and do a Costco, Fred Meyer, Pilgrim's run and buy up groceries for the week. I have many food allergies, so have to shop around and buy different things at different places. I ran to Super 1 in Coeur d'Alene and the Flour Mill in Hayden earlier this week, so grabbed what I needed at both those places. After doing my grocery shopping, I will probably come home and maybe sit out in the sun and enjoy a good book. I haven't sat down and read for awhile, so it would be nice to give myself some time to catch up on some reading and relax at the same time. While sitting outside, I can enjoy what is left of my flowers. I pulled a lot of dead stuff out a couple nights ago. I hate this time of year when it comes to my flowers because most of them are done for the year, and the few that are left blooming have a very limited time left. I do have to take care of some tomatoes today, as I have quite a few sitting on the counter that need some attention, as well as some apples from my sister's place. If I keep this list up, I won't get any time to relax today! Plus, the Cougars and Vandals play later today, so I have to make some time to catch part of that game. I don't know which team to cheer for, as I like the Vandals and feel I need to have Idaho pride and stay true to the home team, but the Cougs are usually my team. It's hard to believe that this might be the last year of the great Battle of the Palouse! I guess I will be happy whoever wins. However, one of the guys I work with is a die hard Husky fan, so the rivalry battles on, in a fun way, at work.

I suppose I should get ready to go, and work on relaxing. Isn't it sad when you have to work on relaxing? Seems like we have to do that these days. I do hope to give it a good try today, though.

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it. ~Sydney Harris

Fire Close By

I've been waiting all Summer for this to happen. It's been inevitable considering the conditions. Rathdrum mountain has a fire on it this afternoon. It's pretty low and right behind the old part of town and if the wind would shift, I believe it could be a pretty scary situation. There are many homes close by, not to mention the highway and town. I can watch it from my front porch and it's probably only a mile and a half from our home, so we will definitely keep an eye out, especially since the wind is picking up. I think it's a pretty small fire, but we all know how fast things can change in these dry conditions. There is a lot of smoke in the air from fires in the area. One thing is for sure, the sunset tonight will be beautiful. Even though the smoke is hard to breathe, it always creates a beautiful sunset!

Happy Birthday to my cousin Pam! Hope your day was blessed and very special.

Celebration Over

The celebration is finally over. Ever since Friday, I've been celebrating my birthday. Since I had to work on Monday, my family came down yesterday to end the festivities. I'm worn out!! It's a good tired but it's been a very full five days-trip to The Highlands Spa for a massage and then lunch with my friend Lorrie on Friday; Saturday was a trip to Libby for geocaching, a beautiful drive, and Nordicfest; Sunday was spent with my friend Brenda and her husband as we took a relaxing six hour cruise down Coeur d'Alene Lake to the St. Joe; Monday I had to work and it was kickoff to our middle school ministry, but I had a lot of surprises along the way; and yesterday was spent with my mom and dad, and later my sister and her family. Today I have to go back to work. I may need a to find a quiet corner for a power nap sometime today! I am blessed and so thankful that so many people made this birthday so special. Thank you to all who sent wishes to me as well, they were so much appreciated!

"ANY ACT OF KINDNESS, HOWEVER SMALL, SEEMS BIG IN THE EYES OF THE RECEIVER" ASWIN NARAYANAN

"Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference." Barbara DeAngelis

Have You??

Have You Forgotten by Darryl Worley

I hear people saying we don't need this war
I say there's some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground?
We didn't get to keep 'em by backing down
They say we don't realize the mess we're getting in
Before you start preaching
Let me ask you this my friend

Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And you say we shouldn't worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

They took all the footage off my T.V.
Said it's too disturbing for you and me
It'll just breed anger that's what the experts say
If it was up to me I'd show it every day
Some say this country's just out looking for a fight
After 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right

Have you forgotten how it felt that day
To see your homeland under fire
And her people blown away?
Have you forgotten when those towers fell?
We had neighbors still inside
Going through a living hell
And we vowed to get the ones behind Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

I've been there with the soldiers
Who've gone away to war
And you can bet that they remember
Just what they're fighting for

Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Yes, some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost
And those left to carry on
Don't you tell me not to worry 'bout Bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

Have you forgotten?
Have you forgotten?

39 10/10th's

Today is my 39 10/10th's birthday. Doesn't 39 10/10th's sound better than the alternative? I think so. How did I reach this age, and where has time gone? There have been many adventures and journeys along the way. Some have been exciting and wonderful. Some have been painful. Some have been filled with sadness and sorrow. All have led me on a path to who I am today. Life is an adventure and we learn by ALL the things we experience in life. We are molded by what we go through, and how we handle each thing put in our path.


Things I'm Thankful For: (just a few)
1. That God allows me to be a part of his family, saved by grace through faith
2. My husband
3. My parents
4. My sister and her family
5. My friends
6. Jesus' death on the cross for my sins, and his resurrection from the dead
7. Flowers
8. The abililty to see, hear, touch, smell, taste
9. My dog
10. Even though they are gone, my grandparents who left me a rich legacy
11. Love
12. The ability to think and be creative
13. My camera
14. Having a place to call home
15. Home grown tomatoes
16. Birds, especially Canadian geese, hummingbirds, and Eagles
17. The Ocean
18. Smiling and Laughing
19. Time
20. The men and women who serve this country so we can remain free
21. Mountains, Lakes, and Trees
22. Extended Family
23. Hope
24. Music
25. Sunsets and Sunshine
26. The ability to experience JOY
27. My church
28. The ability to grow and change
29. High Speed Internet
30. Christmas
31. My high school youth pastor, who mentored me and helped to guide me
32. Geocaching, it always brings me to new places I would have never discovered
33. Waterfalls
34. Being silly with my nieces
35. Time with my husband
36. Hugs
37. Snow on Christmas Eve
38. Butterflies
39. Watching Wildlife
39 10/10th's. Knowing today is just a number, and even though I'm not thrilled with the number, I am thankful to be here, and to continue to be molded into the person God wants me to be.

"Life is not a dress rehearsal. Stop practicing what you're going to do and just go do it. In one bold stroke you can transform today."
~Marilyn Grey


"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
--Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Nordicfest, Geocaching, Snow

Yesterday we drove to Libby for Nordicfest. We did some geocaching along the way, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. I know my hubby would have loved to have been in the woods, but he's trying to make the most of a weekend of celebrating for my birthday so he sacrificed his time and is devoting it to fun things for us to do together. Today, we are going on a lake cruise down the St. Joe with our friends. Actually, the celebration started Friday, when a friend of mine whisked me away to The Highlands Spa and we both got hour long massages, sat in the steam room, and then we went off to lunch. Seems others think since I am hitting a 'milestone' birthday tomorrow that I need some special treatment. Personally, I would have preferred to ignore it and hope it goes away, but my family and friends aren't allowing the ignoring to happen. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate everything I have been treated to this weekend! It's been very nice.





Back to our Montana trip. We stopped at Kootenai Falls, grabbed a cache, and enjoyed the majesty of the water spilling over the rocks. It was a beautiful afternoon. Somewhere between Troy and Moyie Springs, the weather changed, the temp dropped, and I looked up in the mountains where streams of white were ascending upon the mountains. I told Thane to look in his mirror; that wasn't what I thought it was, was it? We watched it in our rearview mirrors until we hit 3 mile, and we were both sure it was. When we got home, we turned on the news and the weatherman said "believe it or not, it has been snowing in the Western Montana high country." UGH! It's too early for winter!

Saturday Smile

Giants

I thought I would share one of the devotions I got this week. I especially like the first part.

Confident in God’s Truth by Jon Walker
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13 (NAS)
God wants you confident in the truth that, through him, all things are possible.

Every day of your life, you have a choice:

· You can focus on the bigness of the giants that stand before you, or …

· You can focus on the bigness of the one, true God who is pouring his strength into you.

Your focus will determine your behavior, and it will influence your faith.

When the Israelites first approached the borders of Canaan , Moses sent scouts into the Promised Land to assess the situation. Ten of the scouts came back with reports that focused on the giants in the land, men so big and powerful the scouts feared they could not be defeated.

However, two of the scouts remained focused on the promise from God that he would hand the land over to the Israelites. One of those scouts, Caleb, silenced the others when he said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13:30 NIV). He was focused on the magnitude of God and not the magnitude of any giant challenges ahead.

Today, even in this moment, you may see many giants that challenge your faith. Some of the giants crowd around you – giants of time and energy, of finances and resources, of fear and faithlessness.

God wants you to be confident that he’s pouring his strength into you so you can do whatever it takes to defeat these giants. He says you can take possession of your promised mission; you certainly can do it because God is with you.

Consider this: God wants to build up your faith, and one way he’ll do it is by showing you how, together with him, it is possible to defeat the giants that keep you from moving into your promised mission.

By seeing his hand sweep away the personal giants in your life, you’ll be even more confident that God is with you as you face many ministry-based global giants, such as spiritual emptiness, selfish leadership, crippling poverty, pandemic disease, and rampant illiteracy. You’ll be certain that you can do all things through him who strengthens you.

What does this mean to me?

· Believe God uses the impossible to stretch your faith. Whenever you’re confronted by the impossibility of a task, view it as an opportunity for God to strengthen your faith. He wants you to develop confidence in his promises. “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

· The Lord is anointing you daily to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners. Because of your faithfulness, they will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor. (Adapted from Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)

· God uses ordinary people to complete kingdom work on earth. You can do this because “all things are possible when God is working through you.” (Philippians 4:13 NAS)

· What kind of scout are you? – One whose report focuses on the giants ahead or one who focuses on the strength of God?

Reflection

I've been reflecting a lot on life the past couple days and what is truly valuable in life. There are many reasons that this has been on my mind. For one, I enter a new decade in my years in less than a week and I'm really not sure where time has gone. Secondly, my dearest friend and I have spent many hours this week talking on the subject of what's valuable and important in life. Her grandpa was in an ATV accident over the weekend and ended up with brain surgery, and as usually happens when spending hours in a waiting room of a hospital, life reflection takes place. We've been talking about this some on and off over the past couple months, but it's really become the center of our thoughts the past few days as we reflect on what really matters in life. Another friend called me tonight and her dad is in the hospital, with a possible heart attack. I think of yet another family of friends who lost their son and brother, and his kids lost their dad, a few months ago. He would have turned 42 today and I know it's going to be a difficult day for his family. My thoughts also go to friends and family members fighting cancer and chronic/fatal diseases. But, when you think of it, we all have a fatal disease because we all eventually die. So what really matters? What is valuable?

Does chasing after the 'perfect job' with the high wages, long hours, and stress truly bring happiness, or does it just buy more stuff that we have to worry about and make us feel like we have to earn more, work more, climb the corporate ladder so we can keep getting because the more we get the more we have to have more, it seems. Yet the more we get, the more we have to work, so we never get to enjoy the nice home, the boat, the cars, the clothes, the life we've been trying to attain because the more we get, the more we have to work to pay for it all. All that 'stuff' may be nice, but what about our well being, our health, our time to enjoy life. What about our families? Where do they fit into this crazy circle of working, getting, paying for? Where do they fit in the value scale in our lives? Don't we, especially as Americans, have it all backwards? Shouldn't we put people over jobs and material things? What if we started to look at success as a happy family who spends time together, and if we don't have all the things that supposedly buy happiness, so what? Happiness cannot be bought, nor can true contentment in life! If our hearts are content, and we put our true value in being a child of God, it's much easier to relax and enjoy the short life we have here on earth. The people around us will enjoy being around us much more if we live this way as well. Having a job and enjoying it is wonderful, but knowing how to prioritize life is essential. What will truly matter at the end of our lives? What will others remember us for-our love, our joy, how we enjoyed life, the time we spent showing others we cared for them, or how stressed we were, how much time we poured into a job, and how we were never around those closest to us? Will our loved ones even know we truly loved them?

"You should know better than to say, Today or tomorrow we will go to the city. We will do business there for a year and make a lot of money!" What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears. You should say, "If the Lord lets us live, we will do these things." James 4:13-15

Weekend

This past weekend, we enjoyed some quiet time. We found this view while driving through the mountains. We sat on a huge rock for quite some time and just enjoyed the peace and quiet. We were the only ones around!! It was so wonderful to just sit and enjoy some solitude for a bit. Life has been busy and hectic, so a little down time was nice. The view of Lake Pend Oreille was beautiful. The colors of the foliage are already starting to change, since it was is so dry, but it was pretty. Mostly, we just soaked in the view, the sun, and the extreme quiet.

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

Our dog enjoyed being able to get out in the quiet as well, and enjoyed running through the still meadow and just getting to be a dog with no fence to keep her from stretching her legs. She never went more than a couple hundred yards from us, but had so much fun just being able to run around, fetch sticks, and rest in the shade of the trees.

We also did some geocaching over the weekend and took the nieces. They loved finding the hidden treasure! They were hoping to find gold, but instead they settled for a tennis ball with a smiley face, a mini baseball, a geocoin, and a miniature game of Sorry. Of course, we left more treasure for the next person who ventures in to find this cache.