"No want shall turn me back"

     "In heavenly love abounding, 

      no change my heart will fear;

      and safe is such confiding,

      for nothing changes here.

      The storm may roar within me, 

      my heart may low be laid, 

      but God is round about me, 

      and can I be dismayed?

      Wherever He may guide me, 

       no want shall turn me back;

       my Shepherd is beside me, 

       and nothing can I lack. 

       His wisdom ever waketh, 

       His sight is never dim, 

       He knows the way He taketh, 

       and I will walk with Him. 

       Green pastures are before me, 

       which yet I have not seen;

       bright skies will soon be o'er me, 

       where the dark clouds have been.

       My hope I cannot measure, 

       my path to life is free, 

       My Savior has my treasure,

       and He will walk with me."

        - Anna Laetitia Waring

     We sang this song yesterday at the Kalane prayer meeting, and I was almost brought to tears by the words...such truth, and so applicable to this stage of my life. I'm not sure that yesterday I could wholeheartedly say them, but I know that they are so true, and somewhere deep inside of me, I know that I am always going to follow Him, no matter what wants would tempt me to turn back. I do fear change a bit, but I also know that God has made it clear where He wants me, and as long as He directs the change, then I will do it. So, how can I be dismayed?

     Anyway, it was a good reminder, and somehow singing this song gave me renewed zeal and faith to continue walking with God. Isn't God good to give us what we need, when we need it, without our even asking?

"But Miss Garcia..."

      So today in Social Studies we began a unit about mapping and different map terms. We made classroom maps and the kids did a really good job with them. Their maps are posted below. 

     We also did a lesson on compasses and learning how to read them. We even successfully made our own compass out of a bowl of water, a piece of cork, and a needle. The kids loved it, in fact, after we were  supposed to move on and have reading time, one of my students continued to play with the homemade compass. When I told him that he needed to be reading at his desk he said, "But Miss Garcia, don't you want me to become a Scientist when I grow up?"

      Oh kids are great! I think I answered something like, "I would love it if you become a Scientist, but right now I want you to read!"

     

Just thinking

John 20:24-29

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord."

So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus Came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said "Peace to you!" Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

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     So I was thinking about Thomas in this passage. There is so much we can get from this passage, about how we don't have to see to believe in God, and how those of us who haven't seen God, but believe in Him anyway, are so blessed...but the other day a question hit me: why wasn't Thomas with the other disciples? Maybe I'm completely stretching this passage, but I would assume that Jesus would come at a time when all of them were there, right? Why would he deliberately wait until Thomas wasn't there, unless, maybe Thomas wasn't there a lot? Was Thomas cutting himself off from everyone else?

     I don't know, again, I'm not trying to stretch Scripture, I was just thinking of how the result of cutting yourself off from fellow believer for any reason my be causing you to miss out on something that God wants to show you, and that can lead to unbelief.

     I'm glad that Thomas gets a second chance to see Jesus here, and that he really does believe without needing to touch the nail prints, and Jesus' side. I wonder though if Jesus' first visit that he missed brought him back from wherever he was, and if that was one of the factors that made him one of the twelve that turned the world upside down not very long after this event.

     I don't know...I guess I'll find out when I get to heaven.

Oh the things that I'll do!

Well, hello everyone, meet Bee-atrice the honey bee!

Okay, the costume may be a little lame, but it worked and now all of the 1st - 3rd graders at Sakeji School could tell you quite a bit about honey bees! I even tested them at the end, and they got all of the answers right! 

Teaching is an adventure, and I am enjoying it immensely! My other classes are going well too! I'm getting the hang of where the second grade level is, and how to keep them involved and learning! 

Please be praying for each one of my students, and also that we'd finish the last four weeks of the term strong!