Lessons Learned on Highway 20

Lessons Learned on Hwy. 20

The drive up Highway 20 takes approximately 10 minutes from where I get on in Grass Valley to where I get off in Penn Valley. Lately it has taken a bit longer as they are doing major road construction, sometimes resulting in lanes being closed.

In these instances a PILOT CAR leads the line of vehicles up the highway until we are safely through the construction zone. These encounters with the PILOT CAR paint a spiritual picture for me.

Jesus is our PILOT CAR, he leads us through the Highway of Life and we can have faith in his directions.

One morning there wasn't a PILOT CAR to lead us, but the lanes were marked with cones and there was a lot of construction activity going on. The line of vehicles travelling up 20 found themselves following the car in the lead, assuming he knew where he was going. It became apparent that we had no idea where we were supposed to be when a flagman began waving frantically for us to "move over! move over!". Obviously we were not where we were supposed to be!

At times we can find ourselves "not where we're supposed to be". Thankfully we have a faithful Savior who will get our attention and tell us to "move over" and lead us back to the path that He wants us on. That's the path I want to travel on......the one He has already paved for me.

When I follow the PILOT CAR I travel at a safe, consistent speed. As my walk with the Lord should be, a steady, slow pace. Not so slow that I'm not moving forward.....I am moving forward, but at a consistent rate, not haphazardly, but with a goal, a purpose.

The way may not always be smooth, it can even be bumpy at times, and I might find myself dodging obstacles along the way. I can rest assured though, if I am following my PILOT CAR, I will reach my destination safely, and know that I have travelled the path He prepared for me.

Why I love my job!

I love the kiddos in my class! They make me smile,laugh and remind me why I love what I do!

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Circle time a little boy notices the bandaid on my finger. He looks at me with a very concerned face and says, "Oh, Teacher Debbie has a bandaid!"

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He looks up at me and leans his head close to mine and tell me he is tired. I tell him I'm tired, too. He looks around and asks, "Where's your bed?"

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I hear a little voice from the bathroom call out "Oh no!" Now, that's never a good thing to hear! I go to the bathroom door and he looks over at me with a disappointed face, "I peed on the seat!"

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At art time I am standing next to a littl

e girl who has noticed she got paint on my paints. She looks at her paint brush, back at my pants, looks up at me and says, "You have paint on your paints." She looks at her paintbrush again and says, "I'm sorry".

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I am told that the little boy in the bathroom is sitting on the seat backwards. I look in the door and he is indeed sitting on the seat backwards and tells me, "this is how big boys do it". He then gets up and switches positions to go #2. He looks down in the toilet bowl and says, "Look at my poop!" The smell then drifts through the bathroom. He reaches to turn the fan on and announces, "I need some air in here!" LOL!

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Dance class takes place on Fridays. All those who are signed up get a stamp on their hand at the end of class. One little guy who is not in dance class is very disappointed he did not get a stamp. He is preoccupied with his lack of a stamp all through lunch. I get out an apple stamp and give him his own stamp. He is very pleased. During nap, right before he drifts off to sleep, I see him pull his hand out from under his blanket and look at the stamp on his hand, gives it a little rub and settles in to sleep. Awwww!

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She notices I got a new pair of tennis shoes! "You got a new pair of shoes! Where did you get them?" I tell her I got them at the store. "Did your mommy go with you, she asks." I tell her no. She says, "Don't you have a mommy and daddy?" Oh my!

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I am invited to go over to a little girls house after school. I tell her that maybe someday I can do that. She says, "Do you have to ask your mom first?" LOL!

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He has learned to say my name very well, and loves to say it! "Debbie, Debbie, Debbie", he says it over and over, for no reason really, just gives me a big smile. About the time I'm thinking maybe I will change my name, he turns my face to towards his and gives me a big bear hug! Precious!

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The children like to hand me plastic envelopes that come with the Fisher Price Mailbox. I pretend I am reading them a letter from me. I read to one little boy, "Dear Michael, I think you are awesome! Love, Teacher Debbie". Later in the day, I praise him for the painting he had done. He looked at me and said, "That's because I am awesome!" So Sweet!

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We are out on the play yard. She is riding a car around the track and notices a dandelion growing in the grass. She looks over at me, rushes over to the dandelion and yanks it out of the ground. She runs to me and shoves it in my hand and hurries off to her car getting back to it before another child had taken her place! It was important to give me that flower, though!

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At the end of my day, I have a bouqet! One dandelion at a time!

Craziest of Mornings!

I don't want to brag, but we've been having some pretty SMOOTH mornings. Everything running as SMOOTH as can be....until today.....and when it rains, it POURS.

In order for Josh to get to Magnolia for band practice by 8, and me to work by 8:30, we need to leave the house on time............which we did. Then why did Josh not make it to band practice today? That would be because I decided to wear my yummy SMOOTHIE instead of drinking it. It was carefully nestled in the cup holder but the strap to Josh's backpack caught hold of it and it tipped..........covering my lap and backside with a milky white substance!

Needless to say we turned around and headed back home, no band practice today.....I hope Mr. Richardson will understand our SMOOTH MOVE!

Clothe yourself in the Lord Jesus Christ

Romans 13:14 "Clothe yourselves in the Lord Jesus Christ." I wish I could wear Jesus like a piece of clothing. I would put Him on as soon as my feet hit the floor in the morning. Wearing Him all day and not removing Him until I went to bed in the evening would make for a productive day, one spent accomplishing God's will for me and my life. How super fantastic that sounds! If only it could be that easy, but life isn't that easy. Moment by moment there are decisions to be made, problems to handle and circumstances to react to.

Being clothed in Christ means having the same characteristics as Him, reacting to things the way He would. Clothing ourselves in Christ is something we cannot do ourselves. Galatians says that for us that were baptized in Christ have been clothed in Christ! That is good news!

Abiding in Christ, trusting and believing in Him, clothes us in righteousness, His righteousness. God declares righteous those who believe in the Lord Jesus.

I can put on Christ in the morning, I can go throughtmy day wearing His characteristics like a piece of clothing, one that fits me perfectly, one made fore me before the beginning of time.

I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me! Praise God!

Manna in the Morning

I love the term "manna" and the story of how God fed the Israelites manna each morning. During their trek through the wilderness God showered them with manna each and every morning, delicious, sweet wafers of nutrition. They could eat all they wanted but they could not save any of it for the next day. Trusting that God would feed them again the next morning, they took just what they needed for the day. Any manna that was kept turned rancid.

The sweet bread the Isrealites gathered each morning is a picture of the bread that is available to me each morning. The bread, God's Word is the nutrition I need, to insure I am spiritually healthy and ready for my day.

Unprepared and thankful it's Friday!

We survived the first two days of school with flying colors! Kids were up on time, clothes had been picked out the night before, lunches were packed the night before, everything was ready, organized and running smooth. Did you catch the word was!

Blame it on being over-confident that we had this "morning routine" down to a science? Blame it on the fact that I worked a double shift on Thursday and came home too tired to get everything ready? Or blame it on "Somebody"..............?? "Somebody" left the coffee pot on causing a rough build-up on the bottom which cuts my finger as I try to get it quickly washed out since I hadn't gotten the coffee ready the night before. "Somebody" ate the french toast I had saved for Sean to have for breakfast (the boys don't like cornflakes which is all we have right now) "That's OK", I said to myself...........I'll whip up some bacon and eggs really quick! "Somebody" has misplaced my good frying pan! No problem, I'll use the electric skillet with the plug that doesn't stay in and the missing handle on one side.............let's keep piling up these petty annoyances! Hmmm.....seems Sean is having trouble deciding what to wear and I will have to intervene...."Somebody" has failed to get the laundry done and Sean has alread worn his two new pair of shorts............ AND we are out of lunch items! No problem, I'll give each boy $5.00 (lunches are expensive at middle and high school). I try to deal with this morning with a pounding headache and extreme gastrial issues (could it be the pizza I gobbled down the night before)? I get Sean to the bus on time, now to move on to Josh. Walking in the front door I am told "I didn't see the bacon and eggs", as Josh puts the last piece of pop tart in his mouth. OK..... He is also having trouble finding something to wear "Somebody" has misplaced several of his new school shirts." At this point, I have to get myself ready as well, so after helping Josh find something to wear, he is on his own. 30 minutes later we are walking out the front door, Josh runs back inside to get something. He returns with his toothbrush and a water bottle. He proceeds to brush his teeth as he walks to the car, rinses his mouth and his toothbrush off with the water bottle! I wonder what he had been doing for that 1/2 hour? Arriving to the bus stop I hear these unwelcome words "do you have $5.00?" "I gave you $5.00". "It's not in my shorts" he says as he is searching his pockets. I visualize Josh putting the $5.00 in his shorts pocket, but not the shorts he is wearing now, a pair he had tried on and discarded on the floor. I turn the car around and head back home, Josh runs in and gets $10.00 from Dad (I wonder if this was his plan to begin with) and I successfully get him back to the bus stop before the bus arrives.

I travel the 23 minutes to work listening to the ding...ding...ding...of my low fuel gauge. I'm running late now, I don't have time to stop for gas, surely I will not run out of gas..........that would just be the straw that broke the camel's back, the last straw, unacceptable and totally not an option..............

Dandelion Bouquets

There is nothing more precious than receiving a handful of danelions from a little child. I would rather receive dandelions than a dozen roses! A bouquet of dandelions represent the special, little moments in life that sometimes go unnoticed or unappreciated. Gather and savor those moments and make yourself a dandelion bouquet.

Good-bye to Summer!

I can't believe that summer vacation will be over on Tuesday! School starts on Wednesday. We are ready, we've got the new lunch boxes, haircuts, notebooks and various school supplies. We've got new school clothes, including new shoes. We're ready "physicially"..........but now to mentally prepare ouselves. With just really one night to go, that would be Monday night, we need to figure out bedtime/wake-up schedules and bus schedules. Wednesday morning there will be a mixture of excitment, apprehenison and disappointment.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxOqCB9R1jw A slide show for my Sociology class. Lots of love went into this!

Can't wait for Sheryl to post the pics of Jack and I at the Oscars! ;)

It's been awhile!

Oh my, I have really been lacking in the blogging dept. I missed blogging about my favorite holiday, Christmas! And I will have to blog about my annual list of lifestyle changes I hope to make this year. (more popularly known as "New Year's Resolutions) But it will have to wait. I am sitting in bed, with not quite a day of antibiotics in my system for the strept throat I have. Not too happy about the pounding headache either. :( So, I will have to continue this later. I was just anxious to get something new posted.