O Lord, you are my shepherd and my Divine King. Because YOU ARE, I will not suffer in want. Help me to trust you to meet my needs.
You, O Lord, provide for me time and space for rest. Let me willingly and eagerly go to lie in your green pastures! Let me rest by the peaceful still waters and allow you to restore my soul. In your presence I am made whole.
O Lord, lead me in right paths and for your name’s sake grant me grace to go only where you lead, ever forsaking my own ways.
Sometimes I walk through deep and dark valleys, yet you are with me and evil cannot touch me. You protect me, even with your Holy rod and staff to correct and guide. Lord, forever keep me from harm.
You feed me, My Lord, at your table until I am more than satisfied … even in the presence of those who wish me evil. You honor me, anointing my head with oil, filling me with your Spirit. I am in awe.
May your goodness and mercy follow me all of my days. Lord, let me dwell in your Kingdom, now and forever.
AMEN
The first full week of school is over and I have two days of , well probably not rest exactly, but at least a change of pace and a little extra sleep. Another two weeks and things will be easier. I will be used to the routine. The kids will have grown up a bit and learned more about how to act in class. We’ll all be used to each other. School won’t be new anymore, just normal.
I learn as much as the kids; I believe every good teacher does. In an effort to bring some peace into my classroom I played Mozart on the CD player most of the morning. The kids liked it and and we were all more peaceful. I think I need to stock up on classical CD’s and keep the music playing. I also realized that my own state of mind has at least as much, if not more, influence on how things go as what the kids do or don’t do. I need to find my place of peace and stay there. The kids want to be where I am, and will join me there if I am patient. Lord, help me.
Change is in the air. Summer is passing and the wind blows in fall even as I write this. Hubby and I sat by the campfire on the back deck this evening and roasted hot dogs and made s’mores. I love the smell of woodsmoke. Whenever the seasons change, I become hopeful for a change in my spirit as well. I need change. I dislike winter, but I remind myself that those daffodil bulbs hiding in the ground will never bloom again unless it gets cold for a while.
Peace to me. Peace to you. Peace to us all. In the name of the Great Peacemaker. Amen.
Be still my soul and drink of the deep clear water of your God.
Photo taken by Nancy in Colorado, July 2007
Whatever may be the tensions and the stresses of a particular day,
there is always lurking close at hand the trailing beauty of forgotten joy
or unremembered peace.
Howard Thurman
When I went to the grocery store last evening I saw as I walked in that flower bouquets were 50% off. I hesitated a moment, then picked one out. It seemed a bit of a splurge even at $3.50, but I’m wondering now if my thinking was amiss. Perhaps those flowers were as important as the food I purchased. I took half the flowers to work and have them in a vase on my desk. It brought me joy today whenever I saw them. I need that reminder of joy in this dismal winter season. I need the moment of peace I gain as I look upon those flowers. I need reminders of joy and peace and if I can get that from a few flowers, even at full price, then just maybe I should splurge on flowers more often.
