MY BLOG POSTS

I am limited.

That shouldn’t be a revelation. But sometimes I live like it is. In the last couple weeks, I have been drowning in over-commitments. All good things. All fun. But all together too much. I have been going, going, going. Coming home to sleep and grab something to eat, then going again.

I am a busy woman, anyway: wife, mom of three, teacher, writer. And I know, in this season of my life, being on the go is to be expected. But there is a difference between having a full schedule and filling the little squares of my calendar so full that I have to write in 2-point font.

And that’s where I’ve been.

When the squares of the calendar are that full, it is impossible to give everything 100%. It is impossible to enjoy the days. It is impossible to have meaningful conversations. It is impossible to slow down and spend time with God.

Thankfully, I have friends who help me get out of my own messes, a husband who reminds me what’s important. I am grateful for people in my life who save me from myself. But I am reminded that I need to listen to those voices before I start filling my calendar, rather than waving my arms as I’m drowning, screaming for a lifeguard.

I still have one more week of crazy-busy. But then, my calendar has rows of blank squares. It is a beautiful sight. I want to see more of those blank squares.

Lots more.

Here’s to a “limited” summer 🙂

That’s right. Students aren’t the only ones. I am sitting at a co-worker’s desk, covering her 6th grade math class, desperately wishing I was home, reading a book, without a stack of essays to grade or two non-stop weeks of events to get through. Wishing I was not sitting here, being asked math questions I cannot answer (I am NOT smarter than a 6th grader). Wishing I didn’t have to get up tomorrow morning, but that I could sleep in. Stay in my pj’s all day.

But I do have a stack of essays to grade. And I do have two non-stop weeks of events to get through. And I do have a choice. I can moan and whine my way through these last 11 days and twenty-nine minutes of school, or I can finish well.

Most of what’s in me wants to choose the whiny route. It’s so much easier. I can easily gripe my way through the end of school. Why not? Everybody else is doing it.

But that will only make me — and everyone around me — miserable. My husband and my kids will have to live with “Cranky Krista”, my students with “Moaning McGee.” It won’t be pretty. And then, once the thrill of the summer wears off, I’ll be sitting home in my pj’s thinking, “I really shouldn’t have been so awful those last couple weeks.”

So I what I need to do is finish well. To tackle those essays with as much energy as I had at the beginning of the school year. To come to these events ready to celebrate, to smile, to laugh and cry. I need to fight this urge to give up, to get lazy, to be negative. Rather than desperately wishing I was home, I should be desperate to make these last 11 days the best — the best days for my students, my co-workers, the best days for my kids. I want to be sitting home, a month from now, in my pj’s, thinking, “That was a good year. A great last couple weeks.” No regrets, no “I should have’s.”

I choose to finish well. I know I can’t do that without God’s help. But “with God, all things are possible”!

I have been a professional writer for a very short time. But I have been reading since I was four. And what I have learned is that most writers are readers. Big-time readers.

I read A LOT. Sometimes as much as a book a day, but almost always at least a book a week. Before I became a writer, I read a wide variety of works: mysteries, historical fiction, chick-lit, young adult, science fiction, classics. I also read non-fiction, mostly Christian works about being a mom, a wife, about theology and doctrine and Christian living. I love biographies, too. And histories. Really, just about everything.

Now, I find myself reading a whole lot of young adult fiction. Because I am writing in that genre, I want to learn from others and see what they’re doing. I also want to make sure I’m not doing exactly what some other writer is doing. I want to be current and fresh and original. Sometimes, I have to check myself because I read other books and think, “This is SO much better than my stuff!” But that, as I heard a singer say once, is just “an opportunity to grow in humility.” So I ask God to help me appreciate other writers’ talents rather than being jealous of it. I also read books about writing so that I can grow in this craft, become more like those writers I respect so much.

I read a writer’s blog once and she said she read everything — even cereal boxes and bumper stickers. I TOTALLY related. And the more writers I get to know, the more I see that is a common thread.

Does that mean every reader is a writer? Not necessarily. I know plenty of readers who have no desire to write. But if you’re reading this and do want to write, then keep doing what you’re doing…read, read, read!

I’m always looking for new books to read, so feel free to share your favs with me!

Today is the  National Day of Prayer. Our school celebrated it by devoting an hour this morning to praying for our country, for our schools and churches, our families and friends. It was a sweet time.

But why do we pray? Why should we pray? And does it really make a difference?

Books have been written on this. But not here. I will give you some of my thoughts, though:

• Prayer is mentioned around 400 times in the Bible. 400. Theologians have debates and conferences and councils on words that are only in there two or three times. Sometimes over words that aren’t even in there at all. 400 is like God using all caps in an e-mail, yelling at us to LISTEN UP, GUYS! THIS IS IMPORTANT.
• Prayer is a gift, a privilege. The Creator of the Universe wants to listen to us. I can’t even begin to wrap my brain around that. God wants to listen to me? And I blow him off so I can sleep a little later? Really?
• Prayer gives me strength and focus and peace. I can’t tell you how many times I have sat down to pray in the mornings, frustrated or discouraged or just not caring about anything. But when I get up, I am renewed, filled with a “peace that passes all understanding.” No, there’s nothing magical about the act of prayer. But there is joy in acknowledging that someone far greater than I am is in control. There is freedom in surrendering my struggles to Him.
• Prayer allows us to see God work. My mother-in-law challenged me to pray specifically when I was pregnant with my first child. Until then, my prayers were mostly generic, “God bless (fill-in-the-blank)” kind of prayers. How can you ever tell if that prayer is answered? Now, I could fill a book with stories about how God answered specific, sometimes seemingly silly, sometimes impossible prayers that only He could accomplish.
• Prayer is far more than just asking for what we or others need. In prayer, we praise God, we worship God. Sometimes, I just sit silently. Other times, I think about a verse or a Psalm that talks about who God is, how Great He is, how worthy He is of our praise. In prayer, we humble ourselves before God, reminding ourselves of who He is and whose we are.

There’s so much more that could – and should — be said on this topic. But the bottom line is — don’t just read about prayer. Do it! “Pray without ceasing” means that there is never a wrong time to pray. So go ahead! What are you waiting for?