My Voice, My Heart, My Life

I'm a big Star Trek fan. I've enjoyed almost ever incarnation of this Sci-Fi giant. Recently my husband and I have been watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. One of the enemies for this particular series are the Jem'Hadar. These creatures are genetically engineered for battle and controlled through a drug called ketracel-white; which they require to function properly. Their mantra is "Obedience brings Victory. And Victory is Life." Every time they say this, I cringe. They are following orders from people who don't care for them and whose only goal is their own survival. I always felt it was such a terrible mantra. But today I had a revelation.  During today's sermon, my pastor was going over John 10, The Good Shepherd. One of his points was how do we ensure that we can hear our Good Shepherd's (Jesus) voice. We need to read His word, meditate in His word, memorize His word and obey  His word. Through obeying His word & voice we find life....

I'm blessed to work in a Christian School.  It's an immense blessing to share the Gospel with my students and their families. One of the many advantages of my work is the opportunity for the teachers to come together in the morning and have a time of devotions. It's a wonderful time to focus on God and prepare ourselves for the day. This year the administration has set aside Wednesday as a time of praise and worship. I feel it has been a wonderful addition to my week. Today as a fellow teacher/friend lead worship I was touched, especially by the last song.           "Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face                      And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,                               In ...

This past week in Kindergarten we did a unit on insects. We talked about the characteristics of an insect, what they eat, where they live, all the essentials. We also ordered caterpillars so the students could see one of natures most beautiful transformations. It gives them a close encounter with a miracle they normally wouldn't see. A chance to experience a life transformed.   We all know that the life cycle of a butterfly is from egg, caterpillar, chrysalis then butterfly. Four stages of existences. We've also heard the comparison of butterflies to being born again. But if you're like me then you thought the comparison was fitting but didn't really think about what it meant. What process entails when a caterpillar turns into a butterfly? What's the big deal? I searched through YouTube to find a video to show my student the process. I found one that impacted me. I had seen videos like this before but I guess just never appreciated what I was seeing and how i...

A couple of days ago we learned that Lee Thompson Young, 29, took his own life. If you're not familiar with him he was a Disney kid star in Jett Jackson and more recently played Lt. Frost on Rizzoli and Isles. He was handsome, good at his craft, got paid well, wore the designer labels and was very charismatic. In the world of Hollywood he was on track to hit it big. By the world's standard he had no reason to take his life. In the eyes of the world he seem to have it all. A month ago, one of the stars from Glee, Cory Monteith, 31, passed from an overdose. He had recognition, talent, money and an aspiring career. Outwardly he seemed to have everything, yet he felt empty. There are countless stories of these young stars dying by their own hand intentionally or not. Amy Winehouse (28), Kurt Cobain (27), Heath Ledger (29) , Gia Allemand (29) just to name a few. Each was at the height of their trade yet felt empty. Why? With everything they had why did they need an escape? ...

The silence has been broken. The sound of children has graced these quiet halls. The first day of school has arrived. The first day is always an exciting and stressful day for both student and teacher alike. Beginning anew is refreshing. The actions and words of the past are just that, in the past. It's a new chance to start over. The board is wiped clean and is ready to write a new story. It's exciting! A new chapter will be written. A chapter full of adventure, learning, joy, mystery, sadness, joy, laughter and all the emotions in between. Yes, a new school year brings much hope! With that hope there are dreams that one has for their students. You want them to succeed in this life. You want to provide the necessary skills and common sense to venture into this life with wisdom and discernment. You want them to take caution but not at the expense of adventure. You want them to think outside the box and yet not to abandon those things that are tried and true. Yes, as a teac...

 Sometimes we need to feed our soul with music. This song is such a great reminder of what God's love is.  It never fails.  No matter what your facing His Love Never Fails! What a wonderful promise. Place that promise in your heart. Hold it tight. He'll never let you down. His Love never runs out. His Love is Perfect. God Bless You!  Jesus Culture - Your Love Never Fails Nothing can separate Even if I ran away Your love never fails I know I still make mistakes But You have new mercies for me everyday Your love never fails Chorus: You stay the same through the ages Your love never changes There may be pain in the night but joy comes in the morning  And when the oceans rage I don't have to be afraid Because I know that You love me Your love never fails Verse 2: The wind is strong and the water's deep But I'm not alone here in these open seas Cause Your love never fails The chasm is far too wide I never thought I'd reach the othe...

I found the picture above while scrolling Facebook. It stopped me in my tracks. It was so convicting! Simple yet poignant. I added the question to the picture, which was the caption it was given on FB. "Have You Eaten Today?" It was a spiritual stomach punch. We live our lives knowing that we have to eat physical food. Without food our bodies will being to deteriorate and stop functioning. Without food and water we could cease to exist. It doesn't happen quickly, no it's a subtle change. We skip a meal here and there. Our body feels a little tired but nothing significant. We start skipping more meals consecutively, then our body wires down faster but still works because we're drinking lots of water. Then we stop eating all together yet still drinking water. Our body starts feasting on itself trying everything possible to stay alive. Then the water runs out and within a few days all that's left is a lifeless deformed shell. The same is true in our spiritu...

On Saturday, May 4th,  there was a tragic car accident on the San Mateo Bridge. A limousine carrying a bachelorette party, of 9 ladies, on their way to met up with the groom-to-be and groomsmen was engulfed in flames killing five of the girls including the bride-to-be. I'm sure the day began with hope and excitement. The bridal shower on the horizon and the wedding date a mere month away. The day was a day of celebration. Showers, gifts, games and to the end the day a rendezvous with the grooms' party. No worries to ruin their festivities. The panic and desperation they must have felt when smoke entered the back of the limo. The ladies hitting the driver's window yelling "Smoke!" The driver not understanding the situation pulled over and got out. The limo then engulfed in flames. What a tragedy! A day that started in promise ended in despair. One never knows what the day will bring. No one knows what the next minute holds. We live not knowing if we will s...

This past weekend the Bay Area has experienced a heat wave. Since we live on the coast and not inland we're use to a beautiful 68 degrees on any given day. So hitting 90 degrees was too much. I enjoy my breeze and fog. I'm a person that runs hot on a normal basis so I always seek out cooling agents, be it a piece of ice or a scoop of ice cream. Why quibble. So when the temperature rises abnormally I get very uncomfortable. The heat infiltrates my body. It works it's way to every extremity and then back again. Perspiration occurs. The area most affected is my head. Headaches and frizzy hair. Headaches you can handle with water or Advil but frizzy hair, well there's just no way to come back from that. I also feel like I'm being suffocated by my clothes. When the heat is that unbearable there's not much you can do. You can only take off so much before becoming indecent. All I want to do is sit in front of a fan drink tall glasses of ice water. Don't get...

 National Day of   Prayer 2013  Pastor Greg Laurie  "Father, we come to You to pray for our nation, the United States of America. How You have blessed us through the years, Lord! We rightly sing, “America, America, God shed His grace on thee.” Yet we see trouble in our culture today. We see the breakdown of the family, crippling addictions, and random acts of horrific violence. Lord, we need Your help in America. In recent days, we have done our best to remove Your Word and Your counsel from our courtrooms, classrooms and culture. It seems, as President Lincoln once said, that we have “forgotten God.” But Lord, You have not forgotten us! You can bless and help and revive our country again. Scripture tells us that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people” (Proverbs14:34). Lord, in Your mercy, we ask that You would exalt our country again. We have had a number of great awakenings in America. We have experienced times ...

Last night I had the opportunity to participate in a Passover Seder done by Jews for Jesus. I've been wanting to attend one of these events for years but there were always a reason that I couldn't attend but now my desire finally come to fruition. To say that I was excited for my first Passover Seder is an understatement. Jewish festivals, customs and traditions have always intrigued me. I'm fascinated by their symbolism and close connection to God. I've always felt draw to the culture. After all my Savior is Jewish. The bible truths that I learn and live by are of Jewish men & women. Through the sacrifice of Jesus I am adopted into the family. I just want to learn and experience more about the Jewish culture. It was a great night. The leader was insightful, humorous and passionate. He lead us through the items of the Seder plate explaining along the way the symbolism. Karpas, the green herb dipped in salt water, the tears of life. The Matzah the bread of ...

Happy Easter!! Today is a day of celebration! Christ is Risen! Death has lost its sting. It no longer holds power over us. Christ stands in victory.  Jesus is the way, the truth and the light. Here is where my hope is found. The best way to express this wonderful day is through a couple of verses from one of my favorite songs, "In Christ Alone" by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty                            Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,                                For I am His and He is mine -                      Bought with the precious blood of Christ.           ...

Today is a day of remembrance. Good Friday is when the hope of Easter began. "But He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole He was whipped so we could be healed." Isaiah 53:5 “ They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, “Hail! King of the Jews!”   And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it. When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified.” Matt. 27:29-31 "A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When He has received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed His head and gave up His spirit." John 19:29-30 "He ...

This year I was blessed with 17 little ones that have brought joy, frustration, laughter, stress and constant surprises into my life. Each one has left an imprint in my heart. With only two months left of instruction bittersweet emotions has begun to surface. It is the price we paid as teachers. We pour so much of ourselves for 9 months that it's hard not to feel a little empty at the end of the year. Like with any class there are some students that have required more attention and redirection than most. That certainly has been true this year. One boy in particular. I'll call him "Derek." Derek is a typical boy with unending energy who doesn't know when to quit. He also had a problem with anger. At the beginning of the year he would get angry when he didn't get his way, especially on the playground.  His remedy was to hit the offender. He spent much of his time in the principal's office. I spent time with him talking him through the anger and gave ...

  Beloved,     Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. (1 Peter 1:3) The unfailing love of the Lord never ends! By His mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"(Lamentations 3:22-24 )     Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6) Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. (Psalm 37:7) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) Let us hold uns...

Today I returned to work after a four day holiday, wishing I had just one more day. One more day of memories.  We had a really good time at my Aunt's for Thanksgiving. It had been a while since we had gathered as a whole family (Dad's side) to celebrate a holiday. The last time I remember was when we were little and it would be a weekend sleepover. It was nice to see my cousins and catch up with them. Time doesn't seem to exist when we get together. We could talk all night and not even notice. It was a great time of food and family.  Black Friday, or the day after Thanksgiving, was nice and quite for us. We did step out to do a little shopping but after the madness had passed. My hubby and I did a little window shopping and then real shopping at Target. It was nice to be able to hang out with him and just spend time outside of our house. Even the simple things, like mall cruising, can mean so much because you are together. We enjoyed the rest of the day just being t...