Small Pleasures

This week has been full of small pleasures. Since it has been finals week here at Levelland High School some of us teachers have had some extra time on our hands. We decided to make good use of this time by playing so games (Phase 10) and it has been a lot of fun. It is small moments like that that I will look back on when I think about my time spent here in Levelland. It is funny how simple games such as Phase 10 can bring people together and allow you to just sit back and have some laughs. Also this week I received a visit from Rhonda and Tanner to drop of a Christmas gift (a coconut cream pie). It was nice to actually have people over for a change. We sat and talked for a while and I really enjoyed it. Besides the pie, I have received fudge, puppy chow, cookies, chocolate cover pretzels, and peppermint bark. I have decided that the math department loves food!! Finally this morning I went outside and was greeted with snow. It was a calm morning so the snow was falling slowly to the ground. It was very peaceful. It is funny how these few things seem so small but in reality these are the treasures that I store up in my heart. Time spent with friends and the beauty of snow that is a wonderful gift of God. What are the small things in your life that make an impact? Don't forget to thank God for them.

Fairy Tales

There is a new song out right now by Abandon called Hero. Every time this song comes on the radio it makes me think about the stories we were told as children; stories of heroes and princess, and how the hero would save the world. Here are the lyrics to the song:
He walked the dirty streets famous for nothing. He said, “Come follow me” and they came. A face like all the rest, but something was different. The Son of God would lead the way. And soon they all would say. There he goes, a hero, a savior to the world, here He stands with scars in His hands. With love He gave His life so we could be free. The savior of the world. He spoke with clarity, walked across the sea. A single word would calm the storm. His touch could heal the sick, but He was called a hypocrite. Laid behind the stoned, His death was shortly mourned. He left the curtain torn, There He goes, a hero, a savior to the world. Here he stands with scars in His hands. With love He gave His life so we could be free, the savior of the world. He chose to take the cross, shed tears for the lost, the broken and the needy, forgiving those who were and will be. The angle made it clear, he told them, ”Have no fear He’s not here, He’s not here”
It is funny how we create these stories of "super heroes" with super powers. The greatest super hero was Christ and He had all the power in the universe yet that is not a story we tell we asked about a super hero. It is funny to think how we tell little girls that a prince is coming for her one day and that he will love her and take care of her. Yet we leave out the best part of the story and have some of the facts wrong. A prince has already come for her, and He does protect her ever day, and the best part of the story is that He died so that she might live a full and happy life. Why make up fairy tales when there is a true story out there that is better than all the rest of them. Why feel people's heads with made up characters and stories when they could be learning out the King and His Son and how much they love them and are watching out for us daily. So the next time some one asks you who your hero is, I want you to stop and think about the words to this song. Christ is the ultimate hero, and He has already saved the world!!

Time Flies

One day this week I was talking to my mom and we were talking about ages and stuff and I told her that I was 23 and for some reason that really just hit me. I am 23 years old. How did I ever get to be 23. It was then that I stopped and thought "Where did the time go?" and the question that followed was "What have I done with the last 23 years?" There is a song out right now called My Own Little World by Matthew West and the lyrics seem to just fit. They go like this:
In my own little world it hardly ever rains, I’ve never gone hungry, always felt safe. I got some money in my pocket, shoes on my feet. In my own little world Population: me I try to stay awake during Sunday morning church I throw a twenty in the plate, but I never give ’til it hurts I turn off the news when I don’t like what I see Yeah,it’s easy to do when it’s Population: me What if there’s a bigger picture? What if I’m missing out? What if there’s a better purpose I could be living right now Outside my own little world ooh Well, I stopped at a red light, looked out my window I saw a cardboard sign, said “Help this homeless widow” Above that sign was the face of a human and I thought to myself, “God, what have I been doing?”So I rolled down the window and I looked her in the eye I thought how many times have I just passed her by? So I gave her some money then I drove on through And my own little world reached Population: two What if there’s a bigger picture? What if I’m missing out? What if there’s a better purpose I should be living right now Outside my own little world yeah, yeah My own little world ooh Father break my heart for what breaks Yours Give me open hands and open doors and put Your Light in my eyes and let me see That my own little world is not about me Well I know there's a bigger picture and I don't wanna miss it now Well I know there's a plan and a purpose That I could be living right now Outside my own little world.
It really makes you stop and think how have you been using the time that God has given you. I know we hear it all the time that "time flies by" and we need to "live in the moment" and all those wonderful cliches but I don't think we ever really stop and think about how fast life really does fly by. You only get one life, how are you using it. Do you live like Matthew West says, "in your own little world," or are you looking through the eyes of God and walking through the doors that He has opened for you? Just remember you may think you have all the time in the world to get something done, but the next time you open your eyes 23 years will have already passed by. So don't wait start living you in a way that is pleasing to Lord and remember your world should never be population: me.

Christmas???

My older brother John Mark was always a Scrooge around Christmas time. I am starting to understand why. Let me start off with the beginning of my own Scrooge feels this year.
Thanksgiving morning I volunteered to watch Thad why Jeremy and Sara got ready for Thanksgiving at the Boucher's and so I turned on the TV to watch the Thanksgiving parade. Do you want to know how many Pilgrims or turkeys I saw in the parade? None! It was all about Christmas, if I had not know what day it was and you showed me the parade I would have thought it was the Christmas parade. So I complained about this to my mother and she said that the Thanksgiving parade is all about bring santa to town. Is that really what Thanksgiving has become for us, a chance to bring a fictional person to town? This was only the beginning. This past weekend I went to the store to look for a babies first Christmas ornament for Thad because mom could not find one in Stephenville. They have no Christmas ornaments that are family related what so ever. The ornaments are all about santa clause, elves, reindeer, and snowmen. What happened to Christmas?? When did it become all about presents and a fictional character who gives us anything that we want as long as we are good? When did we lose sight of what Christmas really is? That Christmas is a chance to give to others, and to tell them about the most wonderful gift ever. It is a time for us to spend with family and friends. When did we forget that Christmas is not just a season at the end of the year but is something that we should celebrate daily, the birth of our King!! But instead we choose to worship the idol known as santa and what he can do for us.
So I have come to realize that as a Christian in this society it is easy to have some Scrooge feelings toward Christmas, but that I should not lose sight of what Christmas is because of what people have made Christmas into. So I want to challenge us this Christmas to look for was to give instead of worrying about what we are going to receive.
(I know Christmas is still a couple of weeks away but I needed to get this off my chest.)
Oh and by the way I do know that santa clause is suppose to be capitalized.