Friday Fish Eater

And so another chapter begins in my life. What a blessing from God. I go to my new school tomorrow and meet with my principal to discuss some paperwork and classroom details. I am anxious and nervous about starting next week. But this is normal I suppose. I've only been teaching a few years and I have so much to learn. This job, as my dearest friend puts it, is not about making money or prestige, but all about getting closer to God and getting closer to Him through relationships with the people I work with. I found this interesting and I think she is really onto something here. I have much to work on with myself in being a better Catholic and more focused on the God and the Holy Spirit.

Tonight dear hubby is helping me get my boxes down from the attic and up from the basement for the classroom supplies. Teachers are savers and pack-rats. We have to be since most of our supplies come out of our own paycheck and very little from the district. Hubby will be glad to have the extra space back for storage bless his heart. So next week I will start driving over with carloads full of boxes and go to meetings and unpack and meet my aides and new staff. Our school is brand new and it will be like all of us starting out fresh. The old school, built back in 1953, had seen its days and now we have a new one.

It will take me awhile to get back into the swing of it and hopefully start a whole new career at this school. But I have to remeber, it's all about getting closer to Jesus. I need to turn it over to Him and ask for His will each morning to be done. Thy will not my will, Amen!

We had Fr. Dan, a retired circuit priest, fill in for Fr. Gould last night for our mass. Fr. Dan is my favorite. He really gets out of the pulpit and down to our level during his sermons. He asks us questions about our faith. He says things that make us really think about our spirituality. He makes you want to learn more, to keep coming back to church, and most importantly to try and remember what the gospel was about and how to apply it in our lives the following week. Now mind you, my pea-brain forgets things very easily these days, but Fr. Dan and his sermons, I remember. I always leave church feeling recharged. Last night was he put a smile on my face as well as hubby's. What a blessing he is to our community. God speaks through him with such joy.

I am nervous about my new job coming up. I teach kids with disabilities---severe disabilites, and it is quite demanding both mentally and physically. Most people wouldn't do it. For some reason it has been my calling, but I have difficulites not with the kids, but the adults I work with...aides, other team members, and so on. They can drive me nuts! The aides usually don't show up half the time, the parents get crazy and want the teacher to work with their child most of the day, the district wants more goals acheived with less support...you know the scene...you do more with less and less resources. uh huh....
So, my greatest challenge is keeping spiritually fit. I have a Christian friend who is going to help me with that this year. She has promised to meet with me on occasion, and to share with me every day the word of God for inpsiration and so that I can learn that I am not in control, to turn things over to God and get out of His way. In addition, I have my own daily prayer and meditation homework. Let's face it, I simply cannot change other people, I can only change me and the way I deal with others. I am going through a learning phase with our Lord; He is opening my eyes to what I need to change in me. It is not pleasent to see, but it is worth the pain and effort to grow closer to Him.

The gospel of John was about the loaves of bread and fish being transformed to feed the multitudes, and Fr. Dan added words about our faith being tested and how if we just simply believe that God will provide, as He always has, we will be closer to Jesus. It was like the sermon was meant just for me and my filled me with joy to hear these things. My gladness comes from Him, and it will a good year coming up....best one yet now that I will work on God being my Principal.

So in the meantime, I will just work on today and doing God's will....and simply draw closer to Him through my prayers and actions.

And so God delivered a new job for me today. I will be back in an elementary school teaching kids with disabalites. Thank you Lord for answering my prayers. A new chapter, a new chance to do your will, and a new opportunity to help where I am needed the most.

My blogging days have been sparse, and rather bleak in mood, the heat, the fear, the lack of want to write....and now new hope and new challenges.

This means I need to get into the attic and basement to get all my boxes and boxes of books, toys, teaching materials for the classroom. Wow, new job, new state, new school...wow...scary, but if this is what God wants me to do then so be it. Amen.

Can you swallow what you dish out?

Hmmm..that is a thought I have had on my pea-brain lately. I do not like it when others get pushy or bossy with me, so I need to check and see if I am doing the same before I point the finger at others and go off to my corner and sulk.

There is a saying by Ben Franklin that has me nodding my head in concordance lately.

"No good deeds go unpunished."

Ever felt like that? I have. Several community service projects I have been working on have brought out a case of the nasties in some folks I have to deal with, and it has me baffled. I think I am doing things correctly, timely, and so forth and then, bam, a phone call, a comment, all with a tone of abruptness and sting....and then I have to wonder why I volunteered in the 1st place...oh yes, a nudge from the Big Boss. It was He who planted the seed of service and help--a ministry calling to reach out to our community and help those in need. So why the callousness from a few old timers has me shaking my head and having second thoughts about ever getting involved with them again.


Dear God:
So Lord, you deal with these people, please. I give them to you. And I am sure there is a good, no, a great lesson for me to learn in all of this. But please Lord, make it not too painful okay? I don't do Job to well. Okay, whatever it is I am suppose to learn I know you will be merciful and loving as always. And you do have a great sense of humor. Thanks, Jesus.

Love,
A baffled fund raiser and servant....Ely

  

Ha..I seem to not be able to post without a 100 million-zillion typos these days. The old brain, the old fingers, just don't coordinate as well these days. Boy has it been hot and humid...not the typical weather up here in the cool mountains, and it has me heat beat. Really beat. Even the pups want to nap and snooze most of the day on the floor.

So what is the latest out there? It has been over a month since I have blogged or caught up on the latest. Frankly, I'm sure it is not much good news but we are winning some wars against Satan and his corrupt ways. Yup, my own little corner of the world up here is as just corrupt as yours is over there.

My prayers have been for faith, strength, and endurance...to continue to try each day to know and carry out God's will. Easier said than done when you are human.

"So is your faith growing in the Lord," I ask myself each morning? "I hope so," I answer back...some days, unless I talk to my Christian friend, I feel like I am on an island surrounded by murky waters most of the time. But I sense Jesus on my island, or at least the Holy Spirit present. My faith is being tested in many ways, and some days I am able to pray and be still, whilst others, I fight it tooth and nail, only to go to bed weary and exhausted. Hmmf...this human business can be rather tiresome and I would prefer to be done with it all and go home once and for all!

But then--- then when I think it is all doom and gloom out there, I get to go kayaking with hubby and the dogs in God's beauty. I get to be refreshed by His works of art, and it washes over and through me until I simply smile. Yes, God vacations up here it is that beautiful. And He even books in advance!

I woke up at 2am with some sort of stomach bug....ughhh. So I offered it up to
God. The next thing I knew it was 5 am and time to get up and get ready for the day.
Eat fish today....do more penance, go to my subbing job, probablyle the last until Sept. and pray. I read from James 3 this morning about wisdome and acts of goodness.
God is so merciful and gives me exactly what I need, not what I want, although He has blessed me beyond my dreams.

This weekend we will say the rosaries for the S. Dakota pro-life law---that it stays in effect and that the pro-choicers will not be able to renig on it.

God,
thank you.

Okay I am going to finish some things on my mind here.
It has been a tough go ever since we moved north. We absolutely adore living in the mountains, with snow, the changes of seasons, the country life-style, and an easier pace. The draw backs, however, have been that good jobs are extremely hard to come by and the cost of living has gone up so much here that it is tough to make ends meet. Now I can't think that God let us move up here, a dream for years, in order for us to fall on our faces and end up with zilch? No, this is a test we have to endure. We have been praying for some time now for strength and guidance on what to do. My hubby's boss has not been one of those honest individuals and the work crew has all but shut down. He doesn't care a hoot and the ethics of the standard of work has gone down down down. Hubby does not work like that.
As for me, finding a full time teaching job has been a real humdinger as well, so I sub all I can. For now we are making it, but that is coming to a halt.

We have lived here for almost 2 years now. We have not made any real close friends yet either. One couple is sort of becoming our friends because they are strong Christians. Even in our parish, a very samll one at that, there is the main group who runs things, and they are basically a group of rotten apples. I will not tolerate their gossip any longer, their backstabbing our priest, their cursing filthy mouths, and their unholy acts and down rigth defiance to church law. NO! Corinthians Corinthians!

But, we know there must be diligant and kind Catholics going there. We go to mass on Sat. nights. The larger portion goes on Sun. mornings. Luckily, we do not get bothered by "the group" since they mostly go on Sundays. Amen to that, but we do not have a chance to meet many of the others.

Last night, we had a visiting priest. Fr. Dan---and he was a shot in the arm. Absolutely wonderful in his sermon! Very evangelical and it was awesome. Yes, I am one who likes to shout, "Jesus Rocks!" Let's all sing and praise and worship God!

Hubby and I left the church several years ago and started attending Calvary. We learned so much about the bible, to openly praise Jesus, to openly witness....HOWEVER, and I say so with capitals, we missed going to confession, the eucharist, and the tradition, so we came back. Sadly, we came back to a congregation who has a group of real stinkers!

I feel for Father, but I am afraid to even bring the topic up to him. I do not want to make waves, nor stir up trouble, nor give Satan another chance to leave his calling card.

So I will pray, and continue to go to our little country church. Maybe we will find some others who we can talk to. Ones who do not openly slap the church and God in the face. And as I read in James this morning, we are being tested for endurance, so we can become stronger. Maybe God is trying to break down some of my pride and material pride, so that I will place Him 1st above all else?

I heard on EWTN a great topic about putting God 1st no matter what! Before family, job, home, friends....can we really do it....can we do it all the time for the rest of our lives? I have had to stop and really think about this. It's an eye opener as well for me. How can I point the finger at others when that log is sticking in my eye?

Holy Mother pray for me...pray for my friends who seek you in pain and in need of mercy through your Son. I pray for those who have turned from Jesus, have turned away and even scoff now at you. Forgive us Jesus, please help us, and through the Holy Spirit, please send strength and fortitude. Amen!