Cup cakes and massages- considering pure joy

Hola everyone,


Monday here, spring break is right around the corner.  I am needing a break from 5:50 AM.  Today, I am feeling much better than yesterday.  I only had one mistake today.  I confused the dinner schedule for Varsity instead of JV.  Corrected- so we are all good.  The students at school are so stressed out this week- you can feel the tension in the air.  I almost feel guilty giving them assignments but, hey I have a job to do.  I had a lovely chat with two beautiful girls today.  It always feel good to hear the students.  I also dashed out of school to get a massage(so nice) and on my way to Johns's game, I stopped and got an assortment of cupcakes.  Game, cooked dinner and now I am sitting down to journal.


"Consider it pure joy" , I came back to that line several times during the day.  I love how god uses friends to remind you that there is nothing He doesn't know, nothing he hasn't endured and nothing is out of his control.  So consider not just OK but consider it pure joy.  Pure joy can be found in the middle tragedy.  Pure joy can be found in tragedy.  I would like to say that I have found my true joy but alas I have not.  What I have found is a reason to consider it.   I do hope all of you will as well.  James is one of those books in the bible that makes or should make "christian types" tremble.  My kind of guy-James.  He speaks-in your face- truths. So I will consider it pure joy that I will have hard times because I have a promise that comes with it.


² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,^[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 


Did you catch that promise:  perseverance, maturity, complete and not lacking anything.  So what you are trying to tell me sir is that this will make me stronger is biblical?  OK- I can do this.


Bumps:  Once again I had a blonde moment.  I sent out a reminder email today- asking for someone to fill in the varsity team meal tomorrow.  The problem is that Varsity is not home tomorrow- JV is.  It all worked out- like it always does.  Many of you will not get my funny story of the day- but for those of us who read and write in two languages equally will.  Setting:  Spanish I class.  Situation:  giving direction to an assignment
I gave elaborate directions to the class and asked if there were any question and one student says "mas despacio por favor profe"  so of course I gave the same spiel much slower and louder to find that the response had not changed (imagine deer in the headlight).  Now frustration is kicking in and I give the directions to them again, louder, more emphatically with hand gestures.  Then I ask- Why is this so difficult for you - you act like I am only speaking Spanish or something?  The class erupted in laughter as I then realize that indeed I was speaking in Spanish- they really could not understand.  
So there is my bump- I have lost my marbles.


Battles:  One word -anxiety- I just want to get started!  The baseball family lost a mom this week to breast cancer.  She was diagnosed stage 4 and had been fighting for a while.  her children are in the 8th and 4th grade.  It is scary when even though the severity of our cancers are different  it is still breast cancer.  It rocked me more than I care to acknowledge.


Blessings:  God's word.  I received a prayer today from Heather.  It is amazing how powerful God's word is when prayed for someone.  It does not matter if it is yelled, cried, groaned by the Holy Spirit or in written for as mine was today.  It is so empowering and there is no denying it's strength. I have made a note that a written prayer is such a blessing.    
I do not have to worry about my job for next year.
 Did I mention the massage and cupcakes?  
We thought John had lost his phone- yet it was found on the team bus.
We thought Steven car wouldn't start today- but it did
Spring baseball is always a blessing
Doug got to spend sometime with Cher, Frank and the kids.
Did I mention the massage and the cupcakes.


hey-  whatever you are going through.  It could be a big something or a little something.  It could be a load you cannot bear alone.  It may be a load that you have shared do this  "Consider it pure joy."  That is your goal for tomorrow.


I am praying for all of you.