It's been a while

Let's get this part out of the way, I haven't written in ages. No reason other than I haven't been moved to visit this space, I am sincerely sorry.

I am moved to write today. This is something I've been chewing on for a bit, and then while reading an article about why not to leave the church (completely different topic for another day) there is a quote at the end and boom, I had the itch to write!

Here's the quote: " If the Church is going to continue reforming, it will be because of the ones who stay— not the ones who leave."

Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/church/5-reasons-you-shouldnt-give-church#ulXdyqFporAy9Jwt.99

Now, replace the word "church" with "public school" My oh my we've been hearing a lot about public schools! I grew up going to one, but my kids hadn't experienced public schools due to our own family decision to send them to a local private Lutheran school. I didn't feel I had a right to discuss current public school conditions, because we were not seeing it first hand, so it's impossible to get my facts straight about something I don't know personally.

Our dynamic changed last year, when our daughter, the oldest, Acilia began attending a public school. It was not out of distaste for the school she was attending, but for us, we felt it was best to get her into a public school so she can establish friendships that she will carry into high school. You see, the private school we found to be the best fit for us, is a 25 minute drive from our home. This is sad really, I would love to have found one we love that is closer, but it's very slim picking, which is fine, God led us and we went with it and we were blessed. With a 25 minute commute to school, what you have are great friendships, that you never see outside of school, because those friends live all over, and none of them live close.

Over the last two years, I have had my eyes opened to what is going on in public schools. The school my daughter attends is actually the same school *I* attended when I was her age. There is the sentimental value that is sacred. Then you have what appears to be great morals and values. Awesome! Until this year, there are things that I will not detail here, but there are things that have led me to believe without a doubt, that "politics" have gotten to our little school and it's a BIG problem. So big in fact, that the mother in me would love to pull my daughter out and to homeschool or better yet, get her right back in to her Lutheran school that was "home" for years.

I can't do that though. There are two reasons why:
1. Because God led us to be exactly where we are. God's plan is for our daughter to be in public school and this is the exact public school that she is meant to be in. So, biggest reason being I listened to the Holy Spirit.

2. If we pulled her out, there would be no chance to make change. If you don't like something, "then leave" is the common thread mentality in today's society and friends, it's very very dangerous. Pushing people out that disagree with your perspective, is a way to single handedly change things in your favor. That is the "weak man's method" I won't walk away. It's too risky. Schools of today, NEED push back, they need people who are willing to speak up about how negatively these subtle changes are going to play out if they keep up. The squeaky wheel gets the oil right? Well, fellow Christians, I don't know about you, but I've always been taught to be "quiet" about my faith, live my life the way I want, others live their lives the way they want. Yes that's true to an extent, but here's the thing, being quiet is not helping our cause! Again without going into too much detail about what's happening at our particular school, things are changing and our youth is at stake. These are the kids who will raise families someday and to have their schools teaching them to believe one certain way, "Opinion based, not historically based" it will have future consequences for all of us.

The good news is, God is on top of this already! I am comforted knowing, no matter what I do, God will do it better. However, as a Jesus loving child of God, I will be sure God's light is everywhere we are. And pray, we pray daily about our schools, that the teachers have Jesus in their hearts and are willing to set a Godly example in their classrooms. Public school or not, we need God everywhere.

Join me in asking Him to be a strong presence where others are trying to push Him out.

I pledge Allegiance,
to the flag,
of the United States of America.
And to the Republic,
for which is stands.
One Nation,
Under God,
Indivisible
With Liberty
and Justice
For All.

AMEN!

One word 2015; my word

I LOVE this commitment each year. I am still in shock that it's 2015 and, for record keeping sake, my husband entered the hospital on the last day of 2014, so I almost feel as though we are in a time capsule, we completely skipped over our traditional New Year's Eve celebration and instead replaced it with lab work and a visit to the Northwestern Memorial Hospital ER which then led my husband to be admitted on the 11th floor. Organ floor. Yes, looks like kidney failure again. I will try to update when we have some answers, for now we are in the waiting game to decide what the course of action will be.
We are strong, and I have no doubt we will get through this, the love and support of our family and friends that comes with a health crisis never ceases to amaze me and because of my husband's health history, I dare to say these bumps in the road are expected, even though they are never pleasant. God is with us.

My word for 2015 has been pondered and meditated over for the last few weeks. I was truly settled on a word, that I was going to announce a few days ago, but with all that's been going on, I didn't get around to it. Guess what, this morning, a word came BLARING at me, so if I would have announced my other word, I would have had to change it. It was that clear that my word for 2015 is to be:

B-I-B-L-E. 

(In case you were wondering, my word was GOING TO BE "Home", but now, it's not as fitting and maybe I will save it for another year)

So, 2015, my word is BIBLE.

God has been urging me to get more acquainted with my BIBLE. He has been faithfully and quietly urging me to pick it up much more regularly and I am looking forward to this year's journey.

Here is a great excerpt from my daily devotion email from Lutheran Church Charities, if you haven't subscribed to the devotional emails, I encourage you to do so.

"So when Bible reading becomes unrewarding, we quit. As a result we feel guilty and become spiritually weak and discouraged. Your soul can no more thrive without God’s Word than your body can thrive without a daily intake of food. The Bible says, ‘He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’ (Deuteronomy 8:3). One of the dangers of the iPhone and Twitter is that you begin to live on ‘hits’ of information and short messages limited to 140 characters or less. This creates spiritual ADD (attention deficit disorder). God cannot be reduced to a limited word count or a few hurried moments in your day. To prosper, you must meditate day and night on the Scriptures (Psalm 1:1-3). You say, ‘But I don’t have time to read the Bible.’ How much time do you spend each day watching television? Hours? If you find television to be rewarding, but not God’s Word, your soul is in need of intensive care! If you want to change your life, change your habits and start reading the Bible. Job, who had more trouble than any of us will ever see, said, ‘I have not departed from the commands of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my daily bread.’

Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me this year to set aside time each day to read Your Word so that in You I can be strengthened to face the various things that life throws at me each day. In Your Precious Name, Amen"

Feel free to share your word for 2015 in the comments!! I would love to hear them!