Proactive

My life take away from teaching:
This year I've learned a TON about being proactive! As a wife, a teacher, a friend, a human.... it just makes sense to me to strive to be proactive rather than reactive.


Some things I know about myself are:
- I don't do change well (at all).
- I'm super needy (especially with my husband).
- I am a "low capacity" person.
- I'm a introvert. (Who would've known?)
- I see bad over good.


Ch-ch-changes are about to go down:
- Eric starts working with GCM & Cornerstone @ ISU tomorrow! (PRAISE GOD)
- Students are coming back to campus in less than a month.
- I start teaching my own kids in less than a month.
- Our weekends will be tied up starting August 18th. (no visits to the burbs)
- I have to be an adult again because it's not summer.


My knew love of this proactive idea + some things I know about myself + life changes = proactive actions!

This month I am starting a Happiness Journal (thanks to my sister Heather for the wonderful idea).

I know that of my own accord in this next phase of life I will most likely look back on 2013/2014 and see crazy, bad, hard, icky poopoo.  I also KNOW the Lord has me in this season of life for His reasons.  I KNOW that His ways are WAY better than my ways.  I am certain that He wants to use this season of life to love me more, grow me more, and draw me closer to Him.  I think one of the best ways I can be proactive in letting the Lord work in my heart is to see His work and His good daily.  Through this happiness journal I hope God will soften my heart and allow me to see Him before myself, and cement the fact that His ways are better than my ways into my mind!

I will write 1 sentence a day in my happiness journal. (It may end up being a tad more.) My short term goal is to do it for August, September, and October. My medium term goal is to do it for a year (365days!). My long term goal is to write at least 1 sentence in my happiness journal every day for 5 years!

I think I stink at being disciplined & keeping up with things.  I also think I really want this! :)

Here we go!!!!!!!!

The Lion

I'm reading "The Horse and His Boy" because I never did as a child and I love it!!!

Shasta's encounter with Aslan...

"Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?" said Shasta.

"There was only on lion," said the Voice.

"What on earth do you mean? I've just told you there were at least two the first night and--"

"There was only one: but it was swift of foot.:

"How do you know?"

"I was the lion." And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. "I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead.  I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

"Then it was you who wounded Aravis?"

"It was I."

"But what for?"

"Child, said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers.  I tell no one any story but his own."





SO GOOD for SOOO many reasons! :)

Take My Life and Let It Be

This week Joshua 3:5 was shared with me.

"Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

In my walk with the Lord, this is something I've known in my head, but until more recently haven't truly believed in my heart and lived out.  

Consecrate; to dedicate yourself, your life, your time, to a specific purpose.  Whoa, heavy.  Can I really do that? The word holds so much in it's 10 letters. I think about how my heart has changed in the past year to really believe what Joshua told the people, and what the Lord wants me to know through this scripture.  

I hear Him say, "JAMIE consecrate yourself to ME (not to how good you are, or the task you are working on, JUST ME and MY purpose), and tomorrow (and ALL the days that follow), I will do AMAZING things among you (and through you)!"  

This past year, and specifically since Eric started support raising to be a missionary with our church on ISUs campus, I have more and more had the head to heart transfer with believing wholly in this call from Joshua.  We're called to consecrate ourselves, to dedicate ourselves, our lives second by second to the LORD and to be the hands and feet for His purposes. And we could stop there and that would be so much more than good enough, to be dedicated to the Lord.  But God is so good, and loves us so much that we don't have to stop there, for tomorrow the Lord will to amazing things among you!  What a blessing, that God would so choose to do amazing things among us, who are so unworthy.  I have really seen God do this in our lives in these past months.  I've prayed crazy prayers doing dishes while Eric is building  his ministry team, and he pops into the kitchen to say God answered my prayer that Eric didn't even know I prayed!  Eric is 94% funded to do the mission work at ISU, that alone is only the Lord working through His people. I've stepped into a larger position in the church, because I felt like dedicating myself to God was living in freedom in Him, not fear of failure, and business, and stress.  Our leadership for a specific ministry went from zilch to complete in a matter of 24 hours, a day after this verse was shared with me. It is just crazy what amazing things the Lord can do among us.

I just think, wow, if we ALL, as believers decided to truly consecrate ourselves to the Lord, how much more would we be like Him, love like Him, talk like Him, act like Him, trust in Him, and better believe that He is for us and wants to do amazing things among us.  He just wants US first!  That's where that little comma comes in... "Consecrate yourselves [COMMA(do this first)] for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you."

I'm so thankful that the Lord is using the people in my life to share His word with me, and work in my heart in these ways.  I know that this week, and today, I have lived my life consecrated to the Lord, but I need God's strength to make that the way I live my life everyday!

Take My Life  by Chris Tomlin really gets at my heart right now. The first lyrics are "Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord to thee."  AMEN!

This week I'm praying that God would move in our hearts to live consecrated to the Lord. "Always, only for my King"