Proverbs 8:34 Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway.

I have always said that when I write, it is definitely not from me & they are not my words. This English teacher here, failed the HS writing test twice. Hello bad writer. God has turned that weakness around and used it for His glory. I love to write now, and sometimes I just get this pounding in my heart and the words just flow. Those of you that know me, know I talk a lot a lot. So when I write, it happens all the same. This one may be a long one, but if you are going to start this thing, I urge to read it all.

Watching the video for the 3rd week of my 10 week study, I just got this pounding in my chest and had to write. &I remembered I had taken some notes previously on Proverbs 8:29-30. I stumbled across it doing my quiet time at the beach one night, and it fits perfectly into my dating study. 

(Side note---- Yes, I am doing a 10 week dating study. After some things in my past, God had laid circumstances into place so I would be directed back to Him with a broken heart that only HE could piece back together. He wanted me to be so vulnerable to Him and His teaching. Yes, 10 is a random # but that's okay. I have found 10 weeks of studying that I am doing.)

As I am doing this dating study and watching this video today by Andy Stanley-- New rules for love sex & dating... its the third week and it is talking about honoring God with our body. Our bodies do not belong to us anyways. It says in 1 Corinthians that our bodies were bought for a price, and in Romans 12:1 it says that the greatest spiritual worship is to offer our bodies a s living sacrifice. 

Ok so what does that mean -- 

that means God has given us boundaries. He bought our bodies and lives with a price. So the least we can do is obey the boundaries He has given us. 

these are my notes I wrote on this section

Boundaries are key

In proverbs 8, starting in 29 it talks about God giving the sea its boundaries not to overstep His command.

God gives us boundaries for a reason. We have guidelines to follow for  reason. What a mess it would be if the sea had no boundaries--there would be no land. 

in 2 Timothy 3:16 it says all scripture (all of God's words, teachings, boundaries) is God breathed & is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, & training in righteouness v17, so man of God can be equipped for every good work. 

The sea has a good work to do -- but it cannot be done if it does not have & obey boundaries. 

Genesis 1: verses 9 & 20 show us a little about the water/seas good work 

Let the water be gathered in one place and let the dry ground appear (He separates & gives the boundaries like in Job 38 when he shuts the sea behind doors) Let the water teem with living creatures. 

We all know what water does & that water is a need. Water replenishes, cleans, helps make things new, helps things grow. That is the good work of the sea & water.

If God never gave the sea boundaries, it wouldn't have a special job. & what happens when water oversteps its given boundaries... disaster. Flood & loss. Loss of beautiful living things that were set to grow and flourish within their own boundaries. 

So-- you may be thinking, what the world do water, sea, and boundaries of water & land have to do with me...

We have God given desires to be in relationships. That is one of God's thumbprints on our hearts.

We have boundaries within those relationships. Whether they are friendships or something more. 

We have boundaries. God gave them to us. 

You can be the sea and that person in the relationship with you can be the land (lovely picture you have in your head right now I am sure... but bear with me)

You (the sea) know your boundaries (those relationship ones.. honor your body and those similar) & you are the sea shut behind the door & God says in Proverbs 8:34 "blessed are those who listen to me watching, and waiting at my doorway" (you know, that door he shut you behind as a boundary). 

Well one day you are in a situation, and you overstep your boundary. You have now flooded the land. Not only have you busted that door down & not waited and listened to God, but you have just flooded the land. What happens when it floods... disaster. Loss of life. 

The land (the other person in your relationship) has a specific purpose & boundaries itself. But now that you have overstepped your boundaries, you have messed with their boundaries as well. Now there is damage to the land. 

Okay--science teacher stepping in for a second

overtime sea levels have changed & erosion has occurred. Overtime, because the water has overstepped its boundaries, it isn't even sure where its boundaries really are. Overtime, the land isn't even sure where its boundaries really are. Overtime the boundaries change. 

Boundaries are key. 

The sea & the land don't have to be you and another person. The sea & the land can alone be you. The sea the worldly human flesh desires, and the land your soul. When the worldly human flesh desires creep in more and more and the boundaries are overstepped and moved and confused, it is eroding the soul. When you are overstepping the boundaries God set ups for us, you are hurting yourself. Once you overstep boundaries with yourself, and slowly erode your soul.. it will be easy to overstep somebody else's boundaries and begin to cause erosion there too. 

Soooo, after this heartfelt post, that may not even clearly make sense to all of my two blog readers, I just urge you to pay attention to guidelines & boundaries God has put into place for you. All of God's Word is to help you. Help equip you for the good work He has created you for. 

so just as the sea has a good work to do that cannot be done if it doesn't have specific boundaries that are set up so it doesn't overstep it's command... don't overstep your boundaries.

plus-- how special and valuable and precious is water if it can be found just anywhere? think about it. 

Wait at the doorway. Don't overstep the boundaries God has set up for you in relationships, because when you do that, when you overstep His command, you are hurting others as well as yourself. 

Blessed are the ones who wait at the doorway. Blessed are the ones waiting at the boundary God has set up for you. 

-B

Philippians 4:6-7 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Last post, I updated all one million blog readers I have, that I got a job. 

Yay hurray! A "big girl" job! 

Well this past week I have had the chance to get in my dusty organized awesome class room & get started!

Now, lets just get this out in the open... I am by no means a classroom guru. However, I have prayed a BUNCH about how to go about setting up the room. I have prayed about everything from colors to use, to how I set up the student desks, and the room in general.

Day #1 #PanicCity (and yes, I did just use a # in my blog post)

I can tell you that I did not stress at all, all of the praying worked and I set my classroom up in ONE day; but that would be a huge lie & nobody likes liars... I started to stress A LOT. 

I have worked four thousand days; and here is how the timeline played out

Monday- Panic, stress, & A trip to walmart, staples, dollar tree, office max, AND office depot

Tuesday- More panic, stress, anxiety, & TWO trips to walmart, staples, & dollar tree in the same day.

Wednesday - less stress and panic, slowed down a bit, prayed a lot and just kept planning. 

Thursday - excited to go work, finally receive a teaching desk (who would have thought that might be a necessity), and walked out by lunch time un-panicked, 

Wednesday evening, worn, tired, and bogged down is when things all seemed to click. Things were falling into place. Things didn't happen immediately like I had wanted, or exactly how I wanted, but I got to see God working in me & in my room. He had worked all those annoying quick trips to a million a few stores, picking up super random things here and there, and the chaos all fell into place. 

I won't lie though, and I will tell you I did sort of expect things to just happen, on my time line, & the way I wanted. #howarrogant #selfish

(I am practicing my social media skills here people, since I am slowly crawling out of my pinterest & blog only hole and back into the facebook/twitter world) 

Things don't and won't ever work out like I expect, because my little brain can only see the right now & the current need want. 

I became so humbled at the fact God gave me a little peak at what He was doing. That whisper saying, "I have better, just wait.  Be patient" is the hardest thing to hear, but its stinkin awesome. 

It was a little reality check--

"ok Brooke. This isn't about you. This isn't about another teacher. This isn't about living up to that standard you set for yourself. This isn't about turning your room into a Pinterest factory. Trust me. It isn't about you. It's about Me. It's about the kids. Keep letting me work through you, but slow down & embrace the moment instead of just trying to race through. Stop worrying, keep close with me & I will give you peace and guidance." 

So, with my worship music playlist "turnt up"... Justice League hall & bathroom passes are in place. The teacher corner is set up. The desks are in rows & pods. Twitter board is ready to roll. Student data & "Growing Learner" board is working it's way up. Posters are working their way to the walls (AND sadly to the floor, more times than I would alike to allow. Thanks to every maker of puddy tape velcro & all that dadgum stuff that does NOT work for longer than, say... 10 minutes.. & is a big ole patience tester) & my word wall trees are going up Monday, Lord willing. 

Thankful for His guidance. Blessed & humbled that in a few short weeks I will be "teaching tweens in 128" and FINALLY getting paid to do so. 

Can't wait to see what God has in the works for me.

Here are some pictures of my beautiful 128 in progress! 

Humbled, excited, overjoyed, & almooost ready for my 6th graders! - B

Romans 12:12 (NLT) Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.

So the cat is out of the bag now... 

I'm a counselor clown nurse doctor police officer psychic decorator  teacher! Signed my paperwork yesterday & got my official "Henderson  County Public Schools" badge! (which my dad boastfully wore around his neck, reminding me that he paid a little a LOT of money for that badge) 

When I set out on my job hunt, I was looking for 3 specific things

1- A Buncombe County school

2- An upper middle grades spot (7th or 8th)

3- An English Language Arts position

what I scored...

1- A different County 

2- A 6th grade spot

3- A Science & Social Studies position 

but nonetheless, I am thankful for what God is doing and where He is leading me. I am glad for all God is planning for me (Romans 12:12a)

Love how we think we know what we want and what is best for us, but God really knows what is going on. 

The best part of God being in control & trusting Him with stuff, is the reassurance that He is working all things together for our good. Not a few things, not just one thing, all things. (Romans 8:28) 

all-/ôl/ adverb/noun

       used to refer to the whole quantity 

He works all things together for our good. How awesome is it that He wants nothing short of the best for us?!  He can see the whole picture. He is Omniscient. 

I am following His calling for me to serve and teach, and He promises in Romans 8:28 that because I love him & am following His purpose for me that it will all work out for good in the end. So this is going to be a good school year, and a good job for me even though it is the exact opposite of what I was looking for. Trusting He answered my prayer to lead me to the right school & students for me.

I am so stinkin excited to teach, and have my own rules, and my own kiddos, and my own class, and my own room! I have seen what could be my room, but I haven't had the chance to start working in it yet. BUT that doesn't stop me from praying, planning, and preparing!

I have been praying A LOT  A LOT A LOT.
for my classroom
for myself as a teacher
& for my future kiddos

just been asking God to prepare my heart for them, and prepare their hearts for me. Been praying about everything from colors to use, curriculum & lessons to use, to the way my desks are arranged in the room & my room is set up.

I found these prayers & they are awesome!

AND like any good teacher would, I have been using a little A LOT of pinterest; & like any good first year teacher, I am extremely nervous. There will be good days & there will be bad days, but I will strive to be patient in the troubles & when things don't go my way & keep praying through it all! (Romans 12:12b&c)

But Hey, a little encouragement along the way never hurts.

Needless to say, I am very excited about the adventure I am about to embark on with my 100 6th grade preteens. Can't wait to share pictures  and stories from the adventure! Can't wait to see what God does!

Whatever your situation may be, whatever or wherever you are right now

be glad for all God is planning for you

be patient in the trouble or when things aren't exactly like you want

& keep praying. 

He has it all figured out. 

-B

(& now officially Ms. Reed)

Psalms 61:2, 3 ESV from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I, for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.

One year. I've had this blog for a whole year. 

35 posts and a year later a lot has changed. 

New friendships started, friendships ended, families growing, marriages, babies, a big move back home, a college graduation, a few different jobs and a million more things.

One thing that hasn't changed a whole lot though, is what I write in my blog posts. 

There is a common theme throughout them all. 

Even a year later, I am still patiently (at least that is what I would label it as) waiting for patience. 

I am in a constant battle with myself to see things in a positive way, and not always see the bad and only soak up the bad.

Obviously, change takes time. A year later and I am still trying, still working, and still waiting. 

Patiently waiting for patience. 

Patience to wait on God's time. Patience to wait on God's plan. 

Change takes time. 

When it seems like nothing is going right, & you're still drowning in your struggles.. Don't give up. Ive learned things take time. 

Don't wave that white flag just yet. 

Keep hanging on and waiting for God. 

A year later and I am still fighting the same spiritual battles, but I believe God is using this for something bigger than I can understand. 

When things get harder, I will work harder and pray even harder. 

Don't give up just yet because things aren't how you pictured, or thought they would be. 

1 Peter 3:10-11 “Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it." (ESV)

I can remember the last time I wrote, but I cannot even remember the last time I wrote a blog post. 

With so much going on, I forget to slow down. I forget how to enjoy the good things in my life, and focus entirely too much on the bad. Too many times I have fallen into the negative trap. The trap many of us fall into daily. That trap where we feel like we are stuck. Stuck in the pattern of focusing only on the bad things around us. It is all about perspective and focus. 

The world can be all good with a some bad mixed in or the world can be all bad with some good mixed in. 

We are the ones who decide which one it is.

If you are anything like me, we get in that pattern of seeing the world as all bad with some good mixed in, because it is the easier thing to do. 

Easy is easy.
Hard is hard.

Obviously, right? 

What seems easier is being stuck in that view that the world is all bad with some good mixed in. We soak up all the bad. We are so quick to wish whatever situation we are in away and move on to the next. We never take time to just soak up the current once in a lifetime situation we are in. We have one life to love. We get this day, once. We get that experience, once. It is so hard to try and have a positive outlook on things. Be thankful for that "bad" situation that God is using to shape and mold us into everything He has created us to be. We forget that things just don't happen instantly. 

How good is instant coffee... How good is a lesson that was never planned... How tough are your abs you worked one day on... How good is a sculpture that was never sculpted? 

God is sculpting me now in every situation He walks me through. God is sculpting you in every situation He is walking you through. 

We can't rush Him. The most precious, and perfect artwork takes time. 

I challenge myself to soak up the situation. Be thankful for whatever it may be. Enjoy whatever it may be. God is using the whatever to make me into everything He has created me to be. 

Life is a beautiful mess, but we only have one life to love. Love the beautiful mess God allows you to partake in because sometimes, it takes a mess to make the best things.