SUMMER - RELAX AND RENEW THE MIND

School's out at last and the signs of freedom are in the air. Deadlines are over and suddenly nobody is expecting me to be in a certain place at a certain time and doing a certain thing. I feel I have come to the end of my blogging for the next while and I look forward to a good rest. I'm thankful to God for helping me keep up this discipline for nearly a year now and I feel that my faith has grown deeper because of this. I thank you for tuning in and will pray that God will clearly show me the next step He wants me to take. I feel blessed to be able to relax my body and mind and will remain obedient to the Holy Spirit's leading in my life. Wishing you God's richest blessing in the months that lie ahead or until we meet here again.

'Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will take care of itself' (Matthew 6:34)

HE WAS THERE ALL THE TIME

Today has been a hard day. Jon left for his missionary year in Ecuador and as we stood and watched the plane soar into the clouds we were filled with emotion. The feeling was all consuming and almost overwhelming. I suppose you could say, humanly speaking, I'm all cried out now. I know the meaning of "a mother's love" being something special. I am so blessed that Jon has strongly felt God calling him to go, yet it's natural to want to hold on to your son.
I can't imagine what God must have gone through to give up His only Son for us all.
In the middle of writing this blog my mood has dramatically changed. A godly friend just texted me Isaiah 41.v.10.
"Fear not, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous hand".
Jon just phoned, he got the verse too and God has given him a real sense of peace whilst he waits for a connecting flight. God's timing is perfect- He's let me know He 's been there all the time, Amen!

I WILL NEVER LEAVE YOU

Today has been a difficult one. Friends and relatives have called to say their goodbyes to Jon. The packing has been done and now he faces his last night at home before leaving for Ecuador tomorrow. I'm fighting back the tears and every phone call and text sets me off. We can't help feeling all the natural human emotions.
Yet in the midst of everything, I am blessed to know that God makes His presence so real. I turned the key in the ignition of the car this morning and the Michael W Smith track, "Draw me close to you" rang out. Then tonight, Ian was tidying some paper work when he found a note in my handwriting-
"I will never leave you "366 times, it said. This means that it appears in scripture in various different forms, that often. Those words came at just the right time tonight to bolster up our family. God knows exactly how we feel and is always there to guide , strengthen and encourage.

MAKE SURE YOU'RE READY

The last day of term has finally arrived. We sang our worship songs, played recorders, performed little sketches and gave out medals, cups and shields. We hugged many pupils, their parents and staff members and said our goodbyes in preparation for the long summer break. We're all so tired and yet the end of term has crept up on us so quickly. We're going on holiday soon and as yet I'm not prepared. I've been absorbed with so many things that I know I must change my focus now or I'll run out of time.
This reminds me of life in general. We become so busy and think we'll have plenty of time to do so many things, but sadly some leave it all too late and never get round of giving thought to the most important decision of all- making sure that they are ready for Heaven.
We don't want to be left standing with an out of date passport finding that we can't board the flight, but more seriously than that no-one wants to leave thinking about their eternal destination until it's too late.

WISDOM FOR TEACHERS

I wrote the final part of my end of year speech this morning for our final assembly. A child gave me a lovely little gift a few days ago and as I flicked through the pages of "Life's little book of wisdom for Teachers", I was struck by the following quote-
"Lord, help me to remember the importance of the little things".
It speaks to me of why I do the job I do. It's all about making an impact on the children in my care. I feel so blessed that we can share so much more than the curriculum- we can share God's love.
I pray that the memories of primary school assemblies will always stay strong in the minds of our little pupils and that they will find peace in Jesus Christ.

EVERYTHING FOR HIS GLORY

I've just read my little calendar verse. It states-

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God".

1 Corinthians.10:31.

There's a thought worth pondering over. I've been reading John Piper's "Desiring God" blog every day and also his book "Don't waste your life" and he refers so often to living every day for God's glory. I'm trying to focus more and more on this thought as I go through my every day life and sometimes it's hard, as we get bogged down with more and more administration, initatives and so on and our time gets used up on so many tasks.

But Ian reminds me in the catechism words he learnt as a child-"Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever".

I am blessed to know that when I obey the above then that is how I am able to enjoy all the experiences God wants me to have.

REMEMBERING NEIL

We had a football tournament today in memory of a lovely little lad from school who died a couple of years ago in a tragic car accident. Lots of kids from neighbouring schools took part and all in all it was a successful event. The weather was kind to us and the rain just started as the children got their buses to leave. It was lovely to see teenagers who used to be in Neil's class return for the day to support the tournament and spend time reminiscing with Neil's parents. It meant so much to them that their special son was being remembered in this fitting way.
Neil asked Jesus to be his Saviour just three weeks before he died and his passing has touched the lives of so many over the last few years.
I feel blessed to have known him and have the calm assurance that he's in Heaven today.