Jesus Paid It All

It’s that time of year again, when we celebrate the rising of our Savior. I just finished Heaven is for Real. Whether or not you believe this child really went to Heaven and spent time with Jesus, you have to be in awe of the kindness and love he so innocently explains. If you haven’t read the book, give a shot. It’s a beautiful depiction of who our Jesus is. He is love. He is kind.

Easter is exciting, but I think Good Friday is the most sobering holiday. Passover.  Jesus was our Lamb slain to pay the debt of sinners, like me. My sin, MY SIN, alone would have held Him there on the cross bleeding in my place. Jesus paid it all.

This Easter comes with blessings, as they always have. God first sent His Son, but he hasn’t stopped blessing me since. Mike and I are so excited to wake up Easter morning in our brand new home. Only by God’s grace and unending blessings can we do that. Why He continues to lavish me with love, I will never understand. I will only try to show that love to the world.

We are also blessed to be spending Easter with a whole slew of family. We are lucky to be surrounded by people who love us, and I hope you are able to celebrate the day Jesus ROSE FROM THE GRAVE with those you love as well. We will 100% miss our family in Louisiana and the crawfish they will probably be eating. We love and miss you.

Oh, praise the One who paid my debt and raised this life up from the dead.

The Holidays.

Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays.

Now that I no longer live in the Bible belt of the conservative, southern states, I have seen “Happy Holidays” from a new light. Teaching at a school with a large Jewish population (students and teachers) has made me realize that people didn’t just start saying “Happy Holidays” to be politically correct. It is a form of respect and understanding.

One of my students practices extremely orthodox Jewish beliefs. His mother did not want him exposed to Christmas at school. She said that religion is not a school matter; it is a home matter. Despite my very conservative, Christian views, I agree with her point of view. If my child was the student of a Jewish teacher, I would not want her to expose him/her to the traditions of Hanukkah before I explained religious differences in my home. It is the job of the parents to raise and direct their children in the way of the Lord.

I’m sure many of you are thinking that, as a Christian, I should want to show my students the love of the Lord, no matter what their beliefs. That is true, and it is needed in more places in this world that only school. I am 100% dedicated to glorifying God in my career. However, I think that I can show my faith in the one true God without shoving Christmas trees, red bows, and reindeer down my students’ throats. I think it is more important to show them the love, compassion, and faithfulness that the Father intended for us to exhibit as His children and heirs to the throne.

It’s not about “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays.” It’s about a JOY that Jesus brings that shines through the holidays, the regular days, and all the time.  

Oh, Satan!

Darn you, devil. These attacks on my family are so dang frustrating. Don’t you worry though, WE will prevail, but WE are sons and daughter of THE Almighty God.

As you know (if you read my earlier post), my Aunt Carla was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. It is a challenge for my whole family to come together in faith and trust in God to bring her through this. We are praying for and believing in a miracle for her.

Shortly before Aunt Carla’s diagnosis, my Nana (of TiffandNana on Etsy) was hospitalized, because she was not able to breathe on her own. Nana had battled the issue for a few months, before the hospitalization. She had been in and out of doctors and on a hundred different medications. As you can imagine, we were all pretty afraid when she was hospitalized in Texas, hours away from everyone. Luckily, she had a GREAT doctor. He was able to find the blood clots in her lungs that were causing the shortness of breath, and he was able to medicate her to reduce their size and improve her breathing. It was a long road of shots and meds, but she is much better now.

Most recently, my Aunt Ruthie underwent surgery on her thyroid. A couple of months ago, her doctor detected nodules on her thyroid and wanted to remove them to test for cancer. They removed a portion of her thyroid last week, and discovered that the nodules were cancerous. Now, she has to have ANOTHER surgery to remove the remainder of her thyroid and attempt to oust the cancer.

Man OH man. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. –John 10:10 Satan may be attacking, but I figure that’s only because my family is walking in faith. If we were walking as prisoners of our sin, we wouldn’t need the attacks. We walk freely! Satan doesn’t like it much obviously.

“Living He loved me. Dying He saved me. Buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified. Freely forever…..”

Look here, devil; we will win these attacks on our family’s health. Our Father has already conquered death and the grave, and we walk free from bondage. We will see miracles from the power of our God!

From Underestimating to Expecting

Many times in our lives as Christians, we underestimate the power of our God. I can generalize to say that we all do that, because it was explained in a very matter-of-fact manner to me. A wonderful woman of God, Rhonda Perry, explained to me that we underestimate our God pretty often, because we are trying to imagine an infinite God with our finite minds. That makes so much sense, and I have chosen to believe beyond my mind on this specific issue: my aunt has a terminal disease.

I don’t know about you, but I believe in a God who laughs at the word “terminal.” My God is not bound by disease, and God Almighty is the one to whom I have turned for Aunt Carla’s complete healing. I’m not settling for less on this one. I want to see a real, full-body, bible-times kind of healing.

My Aunt Carla was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. For quite some time before that, we knew she was struggling physically, but we didn’t know why. Before she was diagnosed, I was moved by the Holy Spirit to pray for her. During a sermon one Sunday, the Holy Spirit lay her very heavily on my heart. I could just picture her dancing with the saints before the Father, but that wasn’t the end. Like a ton of bricks, it hit me that she doesn’t have to wait until Heaven to dance for the Father. He is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord our Healer. I believe in that God, so I got up and asked the church to lay hands on her and pray for her complete healing in the name of Jesus.

Nothing happened that day, and I’ll admit I was momentarily discouraged. Silly me. God doesn’t work on my watch; He keeps His very own time. When the time comes, I believe Aunt Carla will receive a complete healing from her head to the tip of her toes in the name of Jesus Christ who conquered death and grave to set us free. We are free indeed…from Lou Gehrig’s disease and everything else. My God will heal. He says so.

2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

My family has chosen to take part in a time of prayer and fasting. We will have a continuous fast for 30 days with each member of the family participating on various days. Pray with us. Fast with us. Believe in the power of God’s healing hand with us.

There is always more!

Oh boy! Oh boy! How we underestimate our wonderful Jesus!

When I started this, I really, honestly thought 2011 would be “just another year.” Oh, how I was WRONG! Once, I got engaged I thought there may be more in store, but I still didn’t know what was coming my way…and I’m sure I still don’t know. Here’s my newest 2011 checklist though:

1.       Receive a MASTER’S Degree! (Elementary Education)

2.       Get certified to teach grades 1-12.

3.       King’s Camp Work Study Director (www.clfcamp.com)

4.       Move to Pennsylvania/New Jersey.

5.       Vacation at the Jersey Shore

6.       Become a teacher.

7.       GET MARRIED! Become Mrs. Michael Watson (and also the happiest woman in the entire world)

I’m sure there will be so many things along that bring me so much JOY! I just can’t help but stop and look at the wonderful things my God has is store so far!!!

Bring it on 2011!

Side Story: Picture a 3^rd grade classroom, learning new vocabulary words for the week.

Me:  Can anyone tell me what “yearned” means?

Girl #1: It’s like when you’re really sleepy and your mouth falls open.

Girl #2: No, you’re thinking of yawned. Yearned is like when you have to go to the bathroom #1.

(Sometimes I wonder just how beneficial classroom discussion really is.)