Puzzle Pieces

There are two things that I love to do when (if) I have spare time: read books and put puzzles together. Over the summer I read 17 books! It was awesome - now since school has started, I am struggling to finish #18 because of time. However, that did not stop me from opening a new puzzle that I bought this summer and spreading the pieces out on the dining room table (that's what a dining room table if for, right?). 

As I opened the box and began sorting through the pieces, my mind began to think of how much like a puzzle our own lives are. We want the picture on the box. The beautiful tapestry that fits together nicely, that is whole with clean edges and perfect lines. But what we often get is much different. We open the box of life to find that it is messy and broken and sometimes overwhelming. 

As we are sorting the pieces, we get glimpses of the beautiful picture we are striving for. Little tidbits of wholeness that keep us moving toward the ultimate goal of completion. Other times we stand sifting the pieces between our fingers wondering why we can't find that missing piece. And often we try to fit pieces into spaces where they don't belong. The key, though, is perseverance. 

Through perseverance we are able to see the completed picture. We are able to continue putting the pieces together until the beauty surfaces and our picture is realized. The more we work at it, the more we are attuned to the colors, patterns and shapes of the pieces. Soon we start seeing pieces that fit different sections even though we were looking for a specific part. 

This is what happens when we take our broken pieces to our Father. There will still be times when we stare at the chaos and wonder how we will ever be whole again, we will replay events (pieces) over-and-over in our minds wondering why we can't change a situation, or we try to make things happen our way. Remember trying to force pieces into places they don't belong? But the more we are known to God, the more we will see glimpses of the beauty that is yet to come. He will show us the pieces of the puzzle, even when we are searching for something else. 

So, persevere my friends! Keep sorting through those pieces so that you can see the picture that God has in store, the beautiful puzzle He has created called you.  

Philosophy of Education

I wrote the following paragraph as part of my Philosophy of Education:     

"Education is not limited to a classroom environment. It is available to us both formally and informally, and is in unlimited supply if we are willing to immerse ourselves in learning. It is also not limited to certain age groups, nor does it end at a certain point in our lives unless we choose to stop learning."

I believe this. I learn new things every day, and am on a continuing journey of becoming the best person I can be- the best person God has created me to be by studying and learning. However, I found myself very disgruntled about having to continue learning in a formal education environment. I found myself in a place that I warn others not to go to, a place of thinking that I had arrived at come epiphany that exempted me from being taught. 

I have a choice, a cross-roads. I can keep complaining about having to take these classes- the commute to Knoxville and the homework, or I can accept the fact that (in this case) a PhD is really NOT enough (who knew?) and keep learning. 

I can keep learning new ideas and techniques to make my classroom a better environment for my students. I can keep learning how to build better relationships with them. I can keep learning that there are experts in education that do, in fact, know more than me (:)) and learn to glean from the knowledge they are willing to share. 

Sort of like going to church on Sunday. Am I closed off to what our Pastor is saying, or am I open to learning the new things that the Holy Spirit is trying to teach me through his sermon? Do I go home and do my "homework?" Or do I walk out the church doors and not open my Bible again until the next Sunday? 

In both cases, I have a choice to act on what I believe or be a hypocrite by stating one thing and doing another. Today, I am choosing to keep learning, to keep growing, and keep bettering myself so that I can better those around me. What choice will you make? 

Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction"

Help

In the movie The Help, Celia Foote is a lonely young woman struggling with being able to have a baby. She wants desperately to fit in with the other ladies, but always falls short of acquiring their approval. She needed help, she needed friendship. Then along comes Minny Jackson. A woman who is hired as a servant, but soon becomes part of their family. Minny became Celia's true help, the person who helped her heal and learn and reach her potential. 

We all need help sometimes. Whether we are facing the uncertainty of a doctor's diagnosis, the hardship of losing a job, the disappointment of broken relationships, or fill in the blank with any other situation you can think of, we need help. We need a "Minny Jackson" to come along and help us pick up the pieces and gain perspective. Even Moses needed help- he grew tired, he was weary, but his "Minny Jacksons" (Aaron and Hur) came along side of him. They held his arms up so that the Israelites could obtain victory. 

What do you need help with in your life today? What areas are you struggling with where you could use a "Minny Jackson?" Seek out those people who will encourage you, challenge you, and help you. Surround yourself with those who will hold your arms up so that you can see victory.  

Psalm 121: 1-2

I look up to the mountains—
    does my help come from there?
 My help comes from the Lord,
    who made heaven and earth!

Picture taken July 2021, Destin, Fl.

ZTA

 During my short stint at Clemson University (Go Tigers!) I pledged a sorority. Zeta Tau Alpha was new to campus, and I was in the first pledge class. I met a lot of fabulous young women, and for the first time in my life felt like I was finally a part of the "in-crowd." 

However, because of my poor choices, that was as short-lived as my time at Clemson. I was heartbroken because I had squandered away the opportunities placed before me, and there was absolutely no way for me to change that. Well, except to change me and I just wasn't ready to let the Lord work the way He needed to in my life. 

As I reflect on all of this, there is still a distant ache about what I missed out on with those women in ZTA. But, the Lord has reminded me that I am a part of a bigger sorority of women now. Women who share secrets, share their lives, and proudly wear the letters of redemption through Christ. Women who have pledged their loyalty to Jesus and who are initiated by the common threads of salvation and grace. This is where I belong. This is where you belong. No matter what happens or what choices you make, you will always be invited in to the inner circle. There is no rejection here. 

I am thankful for this "sorority," for the many women I do life with everyday. I am also thankful that I am still in contact with (thanks to social media) some of those fabulous ZTA gals. 

                              Fabulous women who have played a role in my life - past and present! 

Full Circle

In Philippians 1:6 the Apostle Paul is encouraging the church of Philippi by stating that he is certain that He who began a good work in them would see it to completion. Essentially, what God has started will not be abandoned, He will fulfill His promises and His call in our lives. 

In June of 1991, I was a 17 year-old girl headed off for college with dreams of becoming a teacher. Teaching was something that I felt called to do, it was embedded in my heart. There was not another career that even entered my realm of thinking. The Lord opened a very wide door for me to pursue teaching and change the trajectory of my life. However, I was too immature, insecure, undisciplined, fill in the blank with any number of adjectives, to stay on this path of opportunity. 

Fast forward 15 years and 2 kids later I was still a wreck, but had somehow managed to build a career for myself in Hospitality & Tourism. This career brought me to Tennessee in the fall of 2006. As I began to establish myself in the community, the Lord began speaking to me about the dreams He had placed in me as a child. 

Fast forward another 15 years, I have successfully obtained 3 college degrees, and when presented with another wide open door I walked through it with the confidence that God was completing the work that He had begun in me so many years ago. As I enter into my second year of teaching high school, I am in awe of the (one and only) God who did not give up on me or the calling that He had for my life. 

This is my full-circle. This is the completion of His work in me. This is the redemption of grace, and healing from my past that makes the future possible. No matter where you are today, God has not given up on you. He has not forgotten the hopes, dreams, promises that He placed in your heart. Be encouraged, and, like the Apostle Paul, realize that some of the things we go through on the way to God's completion serve to further the gospel and lead others to Him. 

Be brave, be confident, and trust the Lord to bring you full-circle into His will and plan for your life. 

Not Stuck, Just Waiting

Sunday our pastor taught on how we might feel stuck in our situations. But, what really is happening is that God is asking us to wait. This was a timely message for me as my wait often feels like a stuck. This is prehaps the biggest wrestle that I have with the Lord because I am a "let's get this done, how can I make this happen, bring it on" kind of gal. Because of this, my waits are not short or very pretty.

The last two years have proved to be some of the hardest I have faced. I never thought that operating a brand new hotel could be so much of a challenge. The whole shebang has been one challenge right after another. Everything that I thought I knew about this industry and running a hotel has been challenged. I can't keep staff, nothing is stable, what I thought I knew about the budgeting/financial process, and how to read financials apparently is completly wrong. And, the list goes on....somedays I question how I even got this far in this industry.

Along side these challenges, I see doors closing that I was SURE that God opened. I have been talked to about promotion only to have nothing more be said, I have been pursued by another company only to have that pursuit abandoned after I showed interest in making the switch. I applied for teaching a teaching position in which I received a rejection letter not five minutes after I submitted the application (even though I knew someone who sat on that school's board of directors). I was chosen to be on an education committee to review curriculm for vocational education, specifically, hospitality education, only to be told recently that they no longer needed me for this commitee. Ideas that I presented in our community for hospitality education that were intially rejected have recently come to fruition under the suggestions of someone else. Really, the list could go on.

I don't say all of this so that you will feel sorry for me. I say this because these are indications that God is asking me to wait...just a little bit longer. They are indications that what I thought was good, is not the BEST that God has in store for me. That is true for you, too.

God asks us to wait, to endure because He has greater things in store for us than what we can comprehend. He knows our hearts, our desires, and, more importantly, His plans for us. Waiting isn't easy and often feels like stuck. The weight of our circumstances makes it really difficult to wait.

However, when we surrender that weight to embrace God's wait we will see that, "through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness . The Lord is my portion...therefore, I hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him," (Lamentations 3:22-25).

Judgement vs Grace

I read a blog post yesterday that disturbed me. In this post the Christian author was talking about divorce and the biblical mandates for it. She said some things that I agree with....God hates divorce, divorce hurts no matter what situation caused it, and we should always pray, seek council, and exhaust all other options before resorting to divorce....I agree 100%. That was the case in my situation, and I saw first hand how divorce, even though it was somewhat a relief, still hurt me and my children.

Now, before I move on with this post, I want to make a disclaimer that I in no way, shape, or form condone divorce for just any reason, or think it should be entered into shallowly. If you enter into a covenant with someone, you should remain faithful to that covenant until you have done everything in your power to resolve the issues. I do believe that society in general has taken a lackadaisical attitude concerning divorce, and it has become convenience rather than something thought-out, and a last resort. I believe that is wrong, and millions of people are hurting themselves and others because of selfish agendas. 

Ok, back to the post....:)

One thing that bothered me about her post was her mindset of following the letter of the law rather than showing grace. She justified her two divorces as based on biblical reasons that she could divorce (adultery and abandonment), but left no room for issues such as abuse (physical, mental, sexual), alcohol/drug addiction, etc...we do not know anyone's situation, who are we to judge what has transpired in their family and relationships, what has transpired between them and God? Her attitude was simply that unless you could say your spouse cheated on you or abandoned you, you should stay married. It is not as black and white as presented in her post. But, perhaps what bothered me more was her desire to drag ministry leaders into the conversation, and applaud one while demeaning the other.

She gave two examples of popular ministers/Bible teachers' daughters that have gone through divorce. One who handled her divorce "the right way," and put all the details out for the world to see, and another who should be removed from ministry because of her lack of transparency about what she and her family went through. What I want to say is, what business is it of ours? What gives us the right to demand the details of her (their) divorces be placed on the open alter of public opinion? It really made me made that we have become so presumptuous as to assume that everybody owes us an explanation for everything in their lives. In the words for Stephanie from Full House....How Rude.

I realize that if you are the public spotlight, and you are teaching/preaching/leading, there are certain standards that you are held to (James 1:3). That, however, does not mean that you are required to declare every personal detail about your life, or justify every decision you make. There should be some element of transparency for the sake of accountability, but we should not be mad or judgemental when we do not get to know every single detail of their lives.

So, my point to this whole post is that what would happen if we truly showed grace, and took seriously the fact that our judgement of others will bring harsher judgement on ourselves (Matthew 7:1-2)? I don't know about you, but I have plenty the Lord needs to deal with me about without me asking for more by judging others. If we see something that doesn't quite line up with Scripture, we should pray, not judge. Before we pass judgement, we should ask ourselves what if the roles were reversed... would we want our closets emptied in the public arena?

I don't know about you, but I have enough to contend with dealing with the plank in my own eye. I don't really have time to judge the splinter in my brother's and sister's eyes (Matthew 7:3). Show grace today- it makes a much better impact than judgement.