Happy Birthday Dad

Today my dad turns 50!!!! Together my parents age equals a century. How crazy is that? Joshua came up with this great idea where we buy Dad 50 birthday cards, one for each year that he has lived. It was a great chance for me to be able to tell Dad how much he meant to me. A Father is a very important thing for people. God calls himself the father and sometimes that is what turns people away from him. I have listened to so many of my students tell me about how their fathers are not around or that they could care less what they do. We, my brothers and I, have been greatly blessed with a wonderful father. He has not only been there for us throughout the years but has been a constant source of encouragement, protection and love. Something that most people don't even get much less from their fathers. Dad has been that strong spiritual center that holds a family together. He has encouraged us to be the best we can be and to cling to the Heavenly Father. So much of my picture of God comes from my Dad. He is always there watching out for us, he is the one behind the scenes helping you continue on, when something goes wrong he is the one you run to (if mom is not around ;) ), and most of all he is a constant source of love. Yes I know that my Dad is not God. And that there is so much more to God than what any human could ever show but my Dad has allowed God to shine through him and has taken on some of his characteristics. So today I want to wish my Dad a happy 50th Birthday and to say thanks for always being there for me and for being a constant light in this world of darkness. May God continue to bless you and may you continue to be willing to be used by him. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Last Week

Last week was Homecoming here at Levelland. So that means it was a long busy week full of decorating and dressing up to show school spirit. It was actually a lot of fun. The math department planned to dress alike on twin day so for one day last week I looked ten other people. Then on opposite day I learned how annoying a tie can be. Then Thursday was stop light day or better know as look whose single and who is not. If you were taken you wore a red shirt and if you were single you were a green one and if you didn't know you were suppose to wear yellow. Also on Thursday since I am a freshman sponsor I had to stay after school and watch the students decorate their walls for homecoming. It was a lot of fun. I got to hang out with Mrs. Jackson and her son.
The coolest thing from last week happened on Thursday as well. If you remember from a couple of post ago I told you about a girl who invited me to church. Well she stay after school on Thursday to study for a test and we had a great conversation about how she became a Christian. We also had a great chance to talk about dating people who are equally yoked with you and about how so many times we try and put God into a box and limit Him. It was really cool to hear her thoughts on the different things we talked about and to be able to share my ideas with her. I love talking about things like that with people.
Then this weekend I was finally able to see some family. It was Thad's baby shower in San Angelo so I got to see Jeremy, Sara, Mom, Dad and Gran. We went and ate for Dad's birthday and then went back to Jeremy and Sara's to watch the Rangers beat the A's so they are now in the Play offs!!! Gran bought me the Josh Hamilton biography. I am ready to read it.
Well I hope you have a wonderful week.

See You At The Pole

Today was See You At The Pole. I was really excited about getting to go out but we unable to do so because of a Faculty meeting. However when I walked by and looked out the window, I was able to see that there were quiet a few students at our flag pole praying. I remember seeing our teachers come out when we did SYATP and how cool that was and I really wish I could have been there. I was still glad to see some of my students throw the window. I hope that you will remember the students today as there are many SYATP rallies going on tonight as well. It is a great chance for students to be a witness to their classmates.
I hope that you all have a wonderful end of the week.

Wednesday Tutorials

I have been trying to write this post since Wednesday but I have been so busy with school and grading that I have not had time but today I am making time for it. So let us travel back to Wednesday so I can fill you in on the days events.
Well it all started in the morning. I usually get to school between 7:20 and 7:30 so that if any of my students needs help I can be there. Well one of my students from last year comes into my room sobbing. She walks up to me and I just give her a hug. It turns out her step dad had chewed her out that morning and she just needed someone to talk to. This was huge for me because out of all the teachers she had last year and the ones she has this year I was the one that she picked to come to. Then on Wednesdays we get out a 3:15 and start mandatory tutorials at that time. Well I had only assigned 6 students tutorials and I ended up with almost 20 kids in my room. The funny thing about that was only 7 of those students were my students from this year. I had a bunch of my football guys from last year come to my room just to hang out for a while. I also had three students who I have never had come into my room. One of them said it was because I was the cool teacher. This is the reason I was called to teach. I can see the relationships that God has helped me form with the students. And now to see them come back just to talk or to hang out is a huge blessing. I have a couple of students from last year who will ask to go to the bathroom 8th period but always end up in my class. This is what I want. For these students to know that I care enough about them that at any time during the day that they need me I could be there for them and comfort them if they are hurting. I want them to see Christ love in me. I really love teaching. (Now just remind me of that when I am having a rough day.)
Well sorry that this is almost a week late. I hope that you all enjoyed the Texas vs. Tech Football game on Friday. I know I did but a lot of people here were not to happy about the outcome. Hope all is well on this beautiful Monday. Have a wonderful week.

Update

Today I got to talk to the boy from last year that I prayed with. I was coming back to my room from lunch and he was heading to get a drink. It was great because I have been wanting to ask him about it but did not want to do it in front of his friends because I know it is a sensitive subject. Well I was able to ask him today how she is doing and his reply was "She is doing great!" How awesome is that. He told me that they have her almost done with radiation but she is doing really well and he had a huge smile on his face. How awesome is it when God answers prayers. That was a great day brightener especially after the crazy morning I had. I woke up to my alarm clock instead of my phone alarm which mean I over slept. So I was in one of those I am going to be late modes. When I started down the stairs I flipped on the light when instantly went out with a pop. I was getting the milk out of the refrigerator to make cereal when I dropped it and then later drop some of the cupcakes that I had make for PLC. So on my drive to school I had to just stop and pray that God would not let these small things to effect my day and yet another prayer was answered I had a great day. Well hope you all enjoyed your Labor day weekend.

Church Home

Last year I had some trouble finding a church home. I look in Levelland but never really felt like I fit in because any class I went to I was always the youngest or the only single one or the only person without kids. During the Spring semester I attended First Baptist Lubbock and was glad to see that people my age were attending as well (close to 400 people in fact) But I did not feel a sense of belonging. I still felt like another face in the crowd. I wanted to be involved but the opportunities were just not there. So I have decide to go on the search again. I do not want to settle for a church. I want to be in the church family that God has for me because there are great things waiting there for me. So far I have tried out two new churches and neither one seems to be the one to fit me. Once again I feel detached from the Sunday school classes that I attend. I am the odd one out most of the time. However a good thing about living next to Lubbock is the choices are numerous. In fact on Sunday I was trying to find the church that I want to go to and I kind of got lost and ended up driving by three more Baptist churches. It is funny and kind of sad to think that there are so many churches around us yet there are states who are lucky if they even have one church in a city. Also to think of countries where you are persecuted for being a Christian yet we have 50 churches in one city and that is only the Baptist churches. How did it get that way? What caused us to have so many churches here yet so few in many other states?
Well I would ask for your prayers as I continue to search for the family that God is calling me to be a part of. I do not want to settle but find a place where I fit in and can plug in and serve God along with the others in that family. I also ask that you will pray for my church in Dublin. They have been praying for September 12, Double in Sunday. Each Sunday School classes has set a goal and on the 12th they are going to try and reach that goal. So I ask that you will be praying that this church goal is reached and that the people who are a part of it are able to see the hand of God through it all. Well I hope that you have enjoyed the first half of the week and continue to enjoy the second. Have a happy Wednesday.