Encourage One Another

Hebrews 10:19-25
19 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

These verses were part of my devotions this morning - written to me just for this time. Well, not really just for me - but have you ever experienced reading God's Word and have felt the Holy Spirit saying, "Pay attention - these words are for you!" I feel that this is my role here in my job right now - not to worry about the future of my school or the future of my job, but to encourage those around me and to stir up the other Christians in the district to reach out in love to others. I'm going to keep praying that God shows me how He wants me to do this. I'll try to keep you posted about what He shows me.

It's a great day!

The Power of Prayer

This past weekend a friend and I talked at church about the issues facing our school district. My friend is a teacher at one of the other schools that may be closed. We both agreed that we were not afraid of our own futures - God will take care of us and put us in the place/job He wants us to be - but we were both concerned about the lack of compassion and support of staff members between buildings. We agreed to try to do sometihng to change that.

Yesterday she sent out an e-mail asking for people to begin to pray for the staff of our district - for people to realize that all will be affected by the budget reductions and that we need to encourage one another. She sent it to the people she knew would pray. I added a message of my own and sent it out to a few more. We both asked that people forward this call to prayer to anyone they thought should read it.

As the day progressed we were blessed to receive e-mails from people who were touched by our e-mail. It was amazing to realize how many people in our district are believers. It was truly amazing to see how God moved through one e-mail.

Finally, I was at a union meeting last night and I met some women from the district that I had never met before. We were talking about the budget reductions and then one of them siad,
"You know, there was an e-mail going around the district today talking about prayer. That was such a timely e-mail. We really appreciated it."

God is an awesome God. He calls His people to pray. "If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray..." 2 Chronicles 7:14 So I am going to continue to pray -
for wisdom for the school board and superintendent; for understanding and compassion of staff members between buildings; for calmness and understanding of parents; and, most of all, for God's Spirit to move in this district and call people unto Himself - for revival and salvation.

Too Busy but Peaceful

The last week and a half has been seriously too busy. Besides working all day every day I have had activities that have kept me out late every evening. It makes the week go faster since Craig is gone, but it leaves me tired out too.
Since I shared last about the uncertainty of my job, I need to tell you how faithful God has been to0 give me peace about the future. I am confident that He is with me always and will help me cope with whatever the future may hold. I have felt His assurances and comfort at work, at the school board meetings, and at night when I am trying to sleep. My favorite verse, Phil. 4:6-8, is:

" Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I love the fact that God's peace - God's not mine- is so huge; it passes all understanding. And this peace will guard my heart and my mind. All I have to do is to let God know my requests with thanksgiving. He takes away my anxiousness and gives me His peace. It's so awesome! I can testify that this is truth. I have experienced this peace. And you can too!

Bethel Hockey Rocks

Two weeks ago the Bethel University men's hockey team played two games against Hamline. Friday night my daughter and I headed down to Hamline's home ice for the game. I was kind of worried about the game for two reasons - Bethel has had a hard time beating Hamline on their ice, and my son was going to be playing with an injury.

The game was awesome - action from end to end, lots of shots, some pretty goals (and some ugly ones too) and good players on both sides. I am happy to say that Bethel won 5-3. I am even happier to say that my son had a goal and two assists. His goal was so sweet -on a breakaway where he really faked out the goalie and hit the puck into the net so hard the water bottle flew off the top.

Saturday's game was on Bethel's home ice. I don't think Bethel played quite as well as they had the night before but they played well enough to win 4-3. Again, it was a game of action. Hamline has a great team. The two wins put Bethel in first place for the MIAC.

Last weekend Bethel played St. Mary's. Craig got home in time for the game on Friday night. And it's a good thing he did because Jeff scored an awesome goal. (I've decided that Friday nights are the best nights for Jeff.)
Bethel beat St. Mary's Friday night but couldn't beat them in Winona on Saturday night. However, Hamline played such a great series against St. Thomas this weekend - beating them Friday night and tying them Saturday night - that Bethel remains in first place with two weekends left in conference play.