Don't Trip

During my family vacation, I had a lot of time to think about the changes that have been taking place in my life over the last year. I thought about the fact that Barry has been called to the ministry and what that has come to mean for me.
I am really honored that God called Barry and I am willing to follow where God leads him. Barry is a spiritually strong person and God uses him to speak to me.
Sometimes though, I think that people forget that we are real people...born sinners just like everyone else. We make mistakes just like every one else and we get hurt just like everyone else. I think that sometimes people think that a pastor and his wife should be perfect - without sin or flaws. That is just not possible.
The only perfect person and friend is JESUS. I have a misguided sense of humor that gets me into trouble sometimes. I sometimes do things or say things that I think are hilarious and nobody else does. But God created me this way and rather than apologize for not being perfect, I am thankful that I don't have to be. Even though I don't deserve it, God loves me and He will continue to change me over the years. He has given me victory over the need and drive to be perfect. I'm done with that, so if I do or say something that someone doesn't like...in the words of Steve Harvey..."don't trip, he aint through with me yet."

SKALELUJIAH!!

The Praise Band is pumped for Sunday!! We had an awesome, God-filled practice last night rehearsing for Sunday's worship service. You will not want to miss this!! We are happy to be out of school and we are kicking off the summer praise with a bang. Pastor Chad will be finishing up his two week sermon series called Consumed and if this Sunday's message is near as powerful as last Sunday's we are really going to have our thoughts and hearts provoked into action.
SKALELUJIAH is coming Sunday...don't miss it!!
Pick it up, pick it up...
Crystal

I Will Survive!

As most of you know, I was attacked (ok, bitten, but attacked sounds better) by a squad of viscious fire ants at my parents' house on Mother's Day. I suffered an agonizing (all jokes aside)allergic reaction. I felt as if I was going to die (which, was confirmed by the doctor on Wednesday). After the reaction, I had a nasty stomach thing going on and when I visited the doctor Wednesday, he seemed to think it was related to the fire ant bites. Anyway, Barry and I were both sick over the weekend and whatever it was seems to finally be gone and out of our systems.
I have been sick many times before and wished that I was dead or that someone would just put me out of my misery, but as far as I know, I have never experienced the feeling that I literally was about to die.
This realization has caused me to reflect on my life and things that God has convicted me about. One of which is spending time with my family. I prayed on Mother's Day that God would not take me yet, not because I am afraid to die - I know where I'm headed, but because I didn't want to miss out on seeing my children grow up and being there to experience all that they do. I didn't want to miss out on seeing Barry become a pastor - something that I know God has called him to do. I believe that God allowed me to stay here because He is not finished with me. I also believe that God allowed me to experience this as a wake up call. As a result of this, I have had to learn to say no to things that I may have agreed to do in the past out of a sense of duty. I have really begun to seek God's will in my life and if He is not leading me to do something, then I'm just gonna have to say no.
Don't forget to consult God before making decisions - no matter how trivial you think they are, you could find yourself stressed out and burned out and far from God.
Anyhoo, get ready for this Sunday morning. We are kicking off summer in an exciting way...you don't want to miss it! Oh, and three more days till freedom!!
Peace Out!

Look What the Lord Has Done..

This morning, Willie came to Byrnes and sang and gave a brief testimony to the FCA here. As he was standing there praising God and talking to the young students at my school, I couldn't help but marvel at how God has changed him in such a short amount of time.
I thought about what he told them as i watched the class of 2007 at their awards day ceremony this morning. I wondered how many of them knew Jesus and how many of them had a close and personal relationship with God. I thought about the paths that they would choose to take and wondered how many of them would be able to live out there dreams.
Then I realized that God has a plan for each and every one of us. We don't always know what that plan is and it may not always be the plan that we had in mind for our lives, but what I do know is that we must actively seek God's voice and actively live for Him so that what we are doing will be a part of what He has planned for us.
I am sure that in 1998 when he graduated from high school, Willie never imagined that he would be addressing a crowd of high school kids about his faith in God and how it has changed his life, but just look what the Lord has done!!

Pathetic

That's the term that was used by a classmate to describe my railing against the awful book I have to read for this class I am taking. I could have had a number of reactions to this, but the one I had was laughter. How ironic that this is the term used for my life now by someone who has no clue where I came from. Pathetic is a word that I would use to describe my previous life (before salvation). This person does not know me personally...so she doesn't know my testimony.
Pathetic is an alcoholic and a drug abuser...pathetic is desperate for attention...pathetic is trying to be perfect...pathetic is depression so severe that you don't want to live...pathetic is all of the things that I used to be before God reached down and took all of that sin from me...
I am not pathetic...my beliefs are not pathetic...my God is certainly not pathetic...and I am thankful that He cares about me enough to have realized my potential before I ever existed and to love me enough to help me to see it through.
I am going to make it my mission to continue to witness to my classmates and I know that God is there right beside me.
Praise GOD!!!

Live What I Believe

Have you ever felt like people looked at you funny or noticed the rolled eyes when you voiced a belief aloud?
This happened to me tonight during the class that I had at a local "Christian" university. For this class, I am required to read an autobiographical novel by a southern writer about his experience as a white guy teaching black kids on a remote island in SC in the 1970s. This would be a fine story, except for the fact that every other word in the novel is some slang term for African Americans or some profane obsenity and that my God's name is taken in vain several times throughout the book.
I explained my disdain for this book to my professor tonight. I told her that this book was highly offensive to me and that I could not see how the university could have her open class with a biblical devotion and then require that the students read a book like this and take a test that counts 20% of our grade on this novel.
She began to demean my intelligence by explaining the premise of the book and its purpose in this class. I had to let her know that I understood well the point of the story, but I felt convicted about reading this novel and then going home to read my Bible. If I heard this language on TV, I would change the channel or more likely turn it off. If I was among people speaking this way, I would remove myself from the situation.
My stance fell upon deaf ears as the students in the corner rolled their eyes at me for voicing my concerns and said that they enjoyed the book and the professor made an attempt to persuade me to look past the language.
I am accountable to God alone and I'm going to stand up for Him regardless of how many rolled eyed frowny faced looks I encounter. I am ready to live out loud for God!! As far as I'm concerned, those rolled eyes are a sign of conviction. So all I got to say is roll on...

Peace!

Here I Am Again

Ok, so the other day when I wrote about following Jesus and laying my burdens down, I felt so much better instantly. I felt (and still feel) like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. My decision has been to follow Christ where ever He leads and in whatever direction He asks me to go, even if it is an unexpected direction.
Of course, I was convinced that this meant that I would be leaving my career in teaching behind and moving on to something else (what i wanted). However, not long after I made this decision, several people approached me at school and talked to me about this, even though they had no idea about what I had contemplated and prayed about.
These women all said basically the same thing. One talked about the importance of Christian teachers being a positive influence in public schools, I beleive she said we are a "light in the darkness." Another spoke to me about the fact that there are always kids coming by my room to say hi, even kids I don't teach, which I have to say is kinda cool. The last teacher talked about the "good kids" in public school and how they make it worth while.
Today, Barry shared something with me that made me feel like what I thought God was leading me to (quitting my job) isn't actually God's plan for me right now. So, it appears that I will remain in education at my current school for a bit longer. Although this is not my desire, I feel like God is not through with me there yet. I will continue to pray that God will guide me and direct my path, but I have realized that this is not about me...It's about God and how my family is going to serve Him in ways that I cannot even begin to know.
For now, I will take satisfaction in knowing that I am following God and that summer vacation is only 22 more days away!!
Love, Peace, and Hair Grease!