I Had It All Backwards

It's funny how we approach situations thinking that we can make a difference in another person's life, only to find that we are the ones changed. If you had asked me four years ago why I wanted to be a teacher, I would have proudly replied, "I want to make a difference in the lives of children." Now I realize that I am the one more focused on the chores and not the children, the rules and not the relationships, the learning and not the love. It is the children who change me.

Last Monday, one of my dance team girls came down to my classroom bursting with excitement. "At church yesterday, the sermon was about our dance team verse!" she exclaimed as she handed me a copy of her outline. There at the top of her sermon notes was the verse we had selected during the summer to be our team verse:

"Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." 1 Timothy 4:8b

Later at practice that afternoon, I had the privilege of listening to this precious young lady share the major points from the sermon to the entire team.

My girls amaze me. They remind me to start practice with prayer because I am the one who most often forgets. I've listened to them pray for one another with sincerity and faith. I've watched them cry on each other's shoulders after praying for family members with serious illnesses. I've watched them break out of their comfort zones and get to know new friends because they want the team to be a family and not a group of smaller cliques. I've watched and listened as they have led. I am so blessed to have the privilege of watching.

Thanks, girls. I love you.

Living in a Polygag???

This has to be one of my favorite commercials, probably because we can all relate. A few of my favorite musical misunderstandings:

• "There might be a little dust on the Bible, but don't let it fool ya about what's inside." ~Beth, in elementary school (Close, except the dust isn't on the Bible; it's on the bottle. It makes sense though, coming from a sweet little Baptist girl.)


• "There's a bathroom on the right." ~Leslie (Nope, there's actually a bad moon on the rise.)


• "It's too late to fully jive." ~Space (Or, too late to apologize, but whatever.)

About a year ago, I was driving home from an English workshop with two of my favorite coworkers. Our brains had all but turned to mush thanks to the scintillating discussions that had just taken place. Needless to say, we were in desperate need of some karaoke for the drive home. We plugged in my I-Pod and didn't waste any time locating the ultimate drama queen song.

Turn around, every now and then I get a little bit lonely cuz you're never coming 'round...

We were doing pretty well until the end of the chorus.

Your love is like a shadow on me all of the time. I don't know what to do. I'm always in the dark. We're living in a paosdfiupa and galdfjl oadffa sllmlfjaf...

Huh?!?! Over and over we listened to it, trying to figure out what in the world Bonnie is lamenting about! The best we could come up with was "living in a polygag and giving up smart." Probably not.

Of course, by the time we all got home, it was forgotten...until this weekend. Again I was riding in the car, this time with a different friend. We had just left an adventure-filled outing to the oh-so-chic $1 theater and needed to belt Bonnie Tyler to forget about the fact that we were very lucky not to have been abducted.

Anyway, we were back to square one on the lyrics. When in doubt, google it. Drum roll, please...

We're living in a powder keg and giving off sparks.

Hmm...sounds like she doesn't really need him tonight. Sounds like she better run, and fast.

At any rate, the next time I'm in the car, I will be able to make the dogs howl with full confidence that at least my lyrics are correct.

I REALLY NEED YOU TONIGHT! FOREVER'S GONNA START TONIGHT. Forever's gonna start to...

Once upon a time, I was falling in love...

Prayers Please

I sent the following email out to friends and family last week. Just in case you missed it...

Dear Friends and Family,

I need your prayers once again! As many of you know, I had the opportunity to travel to Johannesburg, South Africa on a mission trip in June. Since the trip, an organization called Mercy Ships has been continuously on my mind and heart. Mercy Ships is a Christian organization that operates hospital ships in developing countries. By providing free medical services to those who have no access to quality care, the crew is able to share the gospel with people who are often ostracized and abandoned in their own communities. Mercy Ships is currently in need of teachers to serve the children of the crew. I am prayerfully considering applying for a teaching position aboard the Africa Mercy.

What would this involve?

· I would teach at Mercy Ships Academy onboard the Africa Mercy for two years.

· I could teach kindergarten, 1^st grade, 2^nd grade, 3^rd and 4^th grade combined, or 5^th and 6^th grade combined.

· I would teach all core academic subjects, plus French and a Bible class. (And I thought my high school French class was useless. J)

· I would have the opportunity to serve through various community development projects on the weekends. Some of these projects could include construction of schools, clinics, orphanages, and water wells.

· I would complete training in Texas this summer and begin teaching in August.

Would you please pray with me about this decision?

1. Please pray that God would make His will perfectly clear.

2. Please pray that He would continue to work in my heart, giving me a passion to know Him and make Him known, regardless of where He wants me to serve.

3. Please pray that if it is His will for me to go, He would work out all financial concerns. This would involve raising support to cover my crew fees and insurance, selling or renting my condo, and deferring my student loans.

4. Please pray for the current staff of Mercy Ships and the people being served. Pray that people would continue to come to know Christ through this ministry.

If you are interested in learning more about Mercy Ships, go to http://www.mercyships.org/home or http://www.ms-information.org/. Also, I found an interesting article outlining an interview with Dr. Glenn Strauss, the vice president of International Health Care and Programs for Mercy Ships,at http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070727/interview-mercy-ships-vp-on-gospel-146-s-healing-touch-african-superstition_pageall.htm.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Love you all!

Haley

Tough Words

I'm so thankful that my pastor is not afraid to preach the hard-to-swallow truths in scripture. I urge you to listen for yourself. I promise you will be challenged and encouraged to know Him more deeply and to follow Him more devotedly.

What the Gospel Demands, David Platt (The Church at Brook Hills)

Reckless Imaginations and the God Who Exceeds Them

"We take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." 2 Corinthians 10:5

"Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations foever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

I keep thinking I need to keep my promise of "more to come..." that I mentioned in my first post. I do have a story to share in reference to my original question of how God speaks to us. However, I'll have to save it for another time (sorry!) because right now God's theme on my heart continues to be His perfect timing.

If I were a more diligent blogger, I would have already shared how my small group's choice to begin Beth Moore's Breaking Free last Tuesday left me dumbfounded at His purposeful hand in my past, present, and future. I would have shared how I "just happened to run across" Isaiah 54:1 the day before I was repeatedly confronted with the reality that my best friends' babies will probably be old enough to babysit my own. I would have shared how telling a story to my friend Jamie prompted her to say, "That's interesting. I've been praying for you a lot in that area lately." Interesting, yes; coincidence, no way.

This morning I started flipping through Walking with God to try to find the page where I left off on the plane in Africa. (No, I hadn't forgotten the book; I just let a friend borrow it before I was finished.) I read for the second time Eldridge's thoughts on submitting our imaginations to God. In my small group, we constantly strive to remind one another to "think on things that are true" (from Philippians 4:8). It is so easy to let our minds focus on things that are past or imagine events in the future. It is easy to allow our own speculations and perceptions of another's actions cloud our view of their character and our relationship.

Not only does my imagination sometimes hinder my relationships, it also etches a picture in my mind of what I think is best for my future. What a dangerous place it is when we pretend to know what is best! Dangerous because we fail to yield our hearts fully to God's direction. Dangerous because we fight with Him to hold on to our tunnel vision dreams. Dangerous because we stop trusting the only One who can truly be trusted with the future.

I feel like I camp here daily.

Thankfully, God reminded me this morning that He wants to "do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think" (many translations say "ask or imagine"). May I think on this truth and let Him do His unimaginable work in and through me.

Africa Highlights

After ten long days of fighting with my computer, the Africa highlights videos are FINALLY here. The original is the better video, but it takes 20 minutes to watch. Don't miss the "outtakes" after the credits! :)

Or, if you don't have 20 minutes, here is the mini version:

Enjoy! :)