A Prayer for my School and Staff This Year

I haven't had good deep sleep in a couple of weeks now. It is always like this leading up to school. I haven't had my official back to school dream of my teeth falling out, but I have had some doozies! Last night I was dreaming that I was having a scary dream (how weird is that - a dream within a dream!) and in the process of wringing my hands on the blanket, realized it was a tiny kitten and almost smothered him. Luckily I awoke from my dreaming dream just in time. 😹 I'll have to look that up later because I love dream interpretation. See what back to school does to me?! 😂 So early this morning as I began to pray, I wanted to be sure to remember the words and thoughts that were coming to me so I decided to write them down. This was definitely a two way conversation and I felt God was really confirming my requests as well as showing me how he wants me to pray for me, my school, and my staff this year. 

• Thank you, God, for new beginnings! Thank you for giving us a do-over where we may have been weak in practice, in attitude , and in integrity in the past. May we take full advantage of this school year to be strong in those areas. Thank you for new opportunities to invest in children, families, and each other. The seeds we plant in the upcoming months will harvest in our schools, our great town, and even our nation one day. Let us make a commitment to plant seeds of destiny in our students, fortitude in our families, and compassion in our teams.
• Equip us with unconditional love, unspeakable joy, and unbelievable strength to be your representative each and every day. Show us what that love looks like. Set our soul to look for the joy in every situation. Guard our mind and body against despair so that we can walk in your contentment. You have given us a strong, sound mind!
• Engage us in a vision.  Help to realize our corporate purpose as well as our individual purpose.  Let us see beneath the surface and beyond the horizon as we move our focus from ourselves to those around us. 
• Endear us to one another. Let our relationships be stronger and more honest than they have ever been before. Let our friendships be steadfast. Let our partnerships be enthusiastic. 

As I turned to my Bible, the scripture for today is Psalm 130 and of course I wanted to include it! 

Help, God-the bottom has fallen out of my life!

Master, hear my cry for help!

Listen hard! Open your ears!

Listen to my cries for mercy.

If you, God, kept records on wrongdoings, 

who would stand a chance?

As it turns out, forgiveness is your habit,

and that's why you're worshiped. 

I pray to God -my life a prayer-

and wait for what he'll say and do.

My life's on the line before God, my Lord,

waiting and watching till morning, 

waiting and watching till morning. 

Looking forward to an indescribable year!

I'm a Survival Show Junkie!

It's true. I'm a survival show junkie! I love them all - Naked and Afraid, Bear Grylls, Dual Survival, Alaskan Bush People, etc...  You just never know when you are going to need to know how to make a fire with a twig and a chunk of your hair, or how to properly cook your Argentine grasshopper to avoid severe stomach cramps. I saw an episode the other day where they were trying to survive in Texas. I had to laugh. They made our state sound so ominous with the "Diamondback Rattlesnake and extreme temperatures." Now why couldn't I get on that episode? I mean, we live that one everyday! But really, I watch those shows and think "Hey, I could do that," and then they show a snake and I would be calling for the medical team because I would certainly be feeling extremely ill. And the dark - it is so  dark! I can't do that much dark. All those critters creeping around that I can't see, ugh. I am truly amazed at how some of them make it the 21 days in some of the conditions and facing the adversaries they encounter. They persevere on sheer willpower. Determination!
I love how Bear always finds a 'battered' canoe washed up at the edge of the most ferocious river. And what do you know, it is right beneath a huge tree that is just dripping with sap to make a little paste to plug that tiny whole in the bottom of the boat. But I have learned how to get drinkable water from the condensation of your - umm 'bodily fluids.' I still don't know what berries are safe to eat, but I am sure if I keep watching, I will find out. He is a walking survival guide. He knows his craft and is excited to share it. Knowledge!
And the Browns are so creative and engineering. They can make anything out of anything! Reminds me of my dad. I mean, a house out of plastic wrap? And I actually do love the door to the treehouse is an old car door. They see every item they touch as part of a bigger picture. Vision!
As I watch them not only survive, but thrive in their situations, I have to wonder what they key is. I don't know. But I do know they have three characteristics in common - determination, knowledge, and vision. Do I have what it takes to thrive in my 'environment?' My spiritual walk, my family, my occupation, my relationships? Maybe I can start here:

• Seek out, at all costs, whatever I need to survive/thrive. Sustenance, protection, a map to my final destination. Determine to make it!
• Learn as much as I can about what I am passionate about and then share it with others. Just get smarter!
• See every situation as an opportunity to make something bigger and greater. See further!

What is your "junkie" fix?  Maybe I'll write about my favorite cooking shows or Say Yes to the Dress some other time 😄

Tori