A Vessel or a Thief?

A Vessel is a person who is not living for themselves, but living ONLY to give God ALL the glory. A Thief lives their life for themselves and robs God of the glory He deserves. Am I living in a position where God can do great things in my life? 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were just three ordinary Hebrew boys with a decision to make. Would they just physically bow down, but in their hearts not "really" worship the image or take a stand for their faith and give God every bit of glory He deserved? They knew their God had the power to deliver them from the fire, but they didn't know if He actually would. 

We cannot see the end result to the "stories" in our lives; we cannot see how each chapter will play out. We immediately get terrified and grab the pen out of God's hands. We change some scenes in our story to avoid curiosity, embarrassment and chaos, but we are sure to give God at least a little recognition along the way. We are unsure about some of the things God may ask us to do that would cause us to take a step of faith, so we revise His plan a little bit to avoid some of that uncertainty. Yet we constantly wrestle with the question "What really is God's will for my life?" 

When I stop and think about this, I can't help but be completely embarrassed about how ridiculous I am. God knows exactly how my story will end. He knew that even before He created me. He has a purpose for each detail in my book, so why do I try to change it? Why not trust Him to let everything play out like He has planned? God did not create me for a purpose, only to keep it a secret from me. 

When God has a job, He uses ordinary people to accomplish it. All He is asking me is to be SUBMITTED and FAITHFUL to where and what He has called me, and He will tell me when to move. Finding the will of God in my life really isn't as difficult as I make it. It's laying down myself for His will that makes things complicated. When I feel like I am wrestling with what God's will is for my life, I'm not wrestling with God's will...I'm wrestling with mine. A true "Step of Faith" is saying "Yes, Lord", before I even know what He is asking me to do. 

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego STOOD OUT . There was a noticeable difference. They could have easily wrote an easier version to their story by just fitting in and realizing that God saw their hearts. But instead they chose to be faithful and submitted to the truth and give God every bit of glory He deserved. Unless I don't lay down the "pen" completely and surrender my entire life, I cannot be faithful. 

Am I a standing back and giving God glory for everything thing in my life and being used as His vessel? Or am I robbing Him of some of the glory He full well deserves and being a Thief? Just some thoughts that have really challenged me in the past 2 weeks!

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Life continues to speed by with many daily joys and challenges. There are days I think that there is no possible way that any first grade teacher could love their students more...and then their are days that I am scraping the bottom and giving love in extremely small doses. But, there are so many times I realize why God chose to give me these 6 dear little first graders. He sure knew what He was doing and sometimes I feel more like the "student". =)

 A ice-cream break in the middle of the day to rest their hard working brains.

 Darrell is a energetic little boy with a very loud voice! =) Some days I wish I had the option of "turning down my hearing aids" for math fact sessions....but if that's what it takes, we will let it go! =) He is everything but a procrastinator and flies through his work, maybe a little too fast at times. He is intelligent and loves learning new things.

 David is a very bright little boy with so much excitement for learning. He has this beaming smile that can encourage any frustrated teacher. He is also very full of energy and amazes me every day with his intelligence! He does not miss a single beat...even those moments you are hoping they don't remember! =)

 Cyle is a sweet little boy that brings me so much laughter. His giggle and sense of humor make me laugh so hard some days, that my students all think I've lost it. He is also very intelligent and extremely neat, and takes thoroughness to a whole new level, which comes with it's pros and cons.

Rebekah is, for the most part, a very sweet and quiet little girl. She has a very generous spirit and is often very alert to her surroundings. God also has gifted her with a lot of determination and persistence, which can be very challenging some days, but other times, very inspiring! She too is a very intelligent and creative student. 

Renel is a very energetic and dramatic little girl. She takes initiative in a lot of things and keeps me stepping all the time. Her willingness and sweet smile are a blessing and is full of generosity. She adds a lot of spice to the class and makes me smile with her little "head nod" and large eyes, while saying "Yes miss, yes miss!" when I catch her doing something she knows she is not supposed to and give her a stern look.

Jamal is also a very energetic little boy. (As you can tell by now, liveliness is not something we are lacking in first grade at all) He loves to talk and is "that student" that spouts out so many off-the-wall statements that can only make you wonder where they came from. He is very creative and has a wild imagination. He also has lots of endurance and works very hard at his school work, when he is not off on a cloud somewhere! =) His smile and laugh lights up his face and makes you smile...even those times you are trying you hardest not to.

The dangy fever is always a problem because of all the mosquitoes. So one evening they came through and sprayed for them. It left a white cloud with a very unpleasant smell.

There was a work crew of 6 guys here for about 10 days. They laid block and got all the walls built for our new school rooms. Caused some distraction and loud noises, but it will be awesome once they are completed.

Babysitting Kayla dear...

 This past Saturday, we got Ryan to give us a drop out on a point close by, called Fort Judy. We arrived around 5:30 and watched the sunrise....was so beautiful!

We girls stayed there for 6 hours...just relaxing, reading, etc and enjoying God's amazing creation!

 We had a staff picnic out on Quarantine point while Mike and Esther (Olive Branch board member) and their family were here.

 Got to see a beautiful sunset....

And a bright full moon....

 Every Friday we walk down the road to the court and have games class for an hour...the children LOVE it, and it's a fun way to end the week!

A game of dodge ball

And watching a game of football...

I hope you all have a wonderful week giving God all the glory He deserves! And please continue to keep the work down here in your prayers. They are greatly appreciated!