A Christmas Card to Remember

"Amanda- Merry Christmas! I wanted to let you know how grateful I am to be working with you. Out of all of the co-workers, I think I've had the most opportunity to chat with you- and I really appreciate our conversations. It's evident that you love people. Not that you are just extroverted and get excited around them but that you really care for people. I see this with your kids so often. You are always coming up with such fun ideas so that they will learn and be challenged. You genuinely care for them and want them to grow. You pour yourself out for them, sacrificing much for their good.
It's really self-less and is such an encouragement to be around. Thank you for that example- loving unconditionally and doing your job with all of your heart!
I cant help but think about Jesus at Christmas. How we were hopeless and lost, but God had so much love for us that he sent his Son into the world to die for us and reconcile us to him. To me, thats the ultimate example of unconditional love- and I can attest personally that knowing Jesus better has helped me really understand what it means to love God and others. I'm grateful when I see examples of that love- and I see that example in you. I pray you too would be encouraged and drawn to Jesus this Christmas- that you would be filled with love and joyous peace from knowing him. Appreciate you!"

I often tell others (generally through a card or note) how their personal relationship with God and involvement in Church has helped my faith and relationship with God grow. Not very often do I receive something that says the opposite, how I show examples throughout my life.

I received this note in a Christmas card a few years ago from a fellow co-worker. I was so touched and honored that they put a lot of thought into a simple card around a big holiday when a lot of times society may stigmatize it for revenue and presents. To know that they sat down and put effort into this note, means so much to me still. I keep the card in my Bible and read it when I am feeling discouraged. It is a great reminder of why I do what I love and that ultimately God is the answer for everything in my life.  He showed the greatest example of unconditional love and we can learn and lean on that example.

Being Carried

I am extremely busy right now and have had to really structure my time to get everything done. My amateur photography business is going well and I am constantly either snapping photos or editing them. I also am in the middle of a quarter for my OTA program and it is absolutely crazy. I thought they were trying to kill us the first year and now I know that is so not what they are really preparing us for. On top of school and my business I am also considered a head teacher in my classroom at the daycare I teach at. I share the responsibilities with another teacher and I have been super busy preparing for our Halloween Party. My brother is also getting married this weekend and I am planning a trip to Rhode Island for the AOTA Student Conclave in November. So yeah, my life is BUSY!! However, this past Sunday while attending church I knew the sermon was going to be important because I actually fully listened to what the pastor was saying. Usually going to church I sit there and look through my planner or watch things around me (it's not that I don't like going to church, because I do but sometimes just being there makes me feel better). Anyways, I knew this week was going to be important because I read the verse (silently) along with the pastor and really payed attention to what he was saying. The title of the sermon was "God's Chisel" and the verse we read was Ephesians 2:1-10 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Following the reading we watched a video that portrayed a man talking to God. God appears to him to explain the Ephesians bible verse. He does this by "chiseling" all the bad away from man to create his masterpiece. This movie really stuck to me because at the end the man says to God "I have let you down" and God replies "No you didn't, you never carried me. It is I who carried you." I have known this all my life, but I can't even count how many times I have felt like I have let God down myself, never once did it dawn on me that I never carried him but he carried me. I think about this all the time and it is definitely something to consider. If interested check out the video here: http://youtu.be/AhfUzodLRvk

Praying

So my friend and I were looking online the other day when I came across this interesting way to pray. I never thought of it and I like the way that it works. It is called the five finger prayer and this is how it works:

Starting with the thumb since it is closest to the body this should remind you to pray for those closest to you such as good friends and family. 

The pointer finger, coming next reminds you to pray for the teachers, instructors, and healers in your life. 

The tall finger reminds you to pray for the leaders of your country, church, and etc.

The ring finger is the weakest of all the fingers so this reminds you to pray for the weak, sick, and those in trouble.

The final finger, the pinky reminds you to pray for yourself. It is important to remember yourself when praying considering that you already prayed for the rest with the first four fingers.