The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers

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noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Wed, 06 Feb 2019 12:23:00 +0000

The most recent post was from 2015. But good news--I'm sharing new blog posts and podcast episodes weekly at TheCornerstoneForTeachers.com. It's not specifically for Christian teachers but I hope you will find some encouragement there!

Angela

Making time for what matters most: how do you align your lifestyle with your priorities?

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 31 May 2015 15:12:00 +0000

I think all of us struggle with spending the right amount of time on the right things. But how exactly is that supposed to work, from a practical perspective?

Maybe your priority list looks something like this:

God
Spouse
Kids
Work/Self

How should that play out in your life? Does that mean that you should be spending more hours in a day studying the Bible than spending time with your spouse and kids? Does it mean that if you spend 8 hours a day working, all the other priorities in your life should be getting more than 8 hours a day?

There's no clear cut answer to these questions in the Bible. But I've come to realize that just because something is #1 on your priority list does not mean it has to get the most amount of dedicated time.

Every day has different demands. Some days it's mostly about work, other days it's mostly about family. That's perfectly fine.

Every season of our lives has a different demand, too. There will be times when our kids or work demand more of our time, and there will be seasons when we're meant to focus more on our spouses or our personal needs and development. I think that's all part of God's plan, too.

And let's be honest--there just isn't going to be time for everything if you separate it into God Time, Husband Time, Kid Time, Work Time, and so on. There has to be overlap, particularly with God Time.

For example, going to church as a family hits the top 3 priorities, so you can try to make that a regular routine. Serve God and spend time with God alongside the people that matter most to you.

The Bible tells us to mediate continually on Him and His words. He wants to come alongside us in everything we do! As we work or nurture our families or spend time on any other priority, we can invite God to help us and guide us.

The other priorities God has placed in our lives ARE the important work we've been put on this planet to do.

We're here to show the love of God not by praying in a closet 12 hours a day, but by serving our spouses, kids, and friends and family, students, and co-workers.

We learn more about His character and become molded into who He wants us to be not by reading the Bible from sun up to sun down, but by going out in the world and doing the work He gave us to do.

Today, I may need to spend more time serving God through A, and tomorrow, I'll spend more time serving God through B. This year, He's calling me to serve Him through C, but in a few years, I may be called to serve Him through D.

Isn't that a freeing way to look at this?

The past 10 months have been focused on school work for most of us. But for the next 2 months, work may consume less of our time so we can give of ourselves to other priorities. We can serve God in other ways--by loving our families, taking care of ourselves,

Let's use our time well.

Create Your Dream Classroom: Book Review and Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 14:18:00 +0000

If you aren’t reading Linda Kardamis’ blog Teach 4 the Heart, you are missing out! She consistently shares encouraging and practical messages that speak to issues teachers face in the classroom everyday. When Linda informed me that she had published her first book, Create Your Dream Classroom, I was so excited to check it out and review it here for you all.

The format of the book is unique. Create Your Dream Classroom is not a comprehensive, step-by-step guide (after all, each person's vision for their classroom is different.) Rather, it’s a collection of 54 brief lessons around various aspects of saving your sanity, escaping the rut, and sharpening your skills as a teacher. Linda touches on everything from understanding people's various world views to friending students and parents on Facebook to time saving tips to getting kids to participate in class.

Linda integrates her Christian perspective frequently in the book, including “making the case for mercy” and returning to our God-given purpose as teachers. She frequently advises readers to seek God for wisdom and trust in Him for guidance during challenging situations.

Linda designed the books for teachers to read over the summer to prepare their hearts and minds for the new school year, but she also provides tips in the preface for reading the book throughout the school year. I can see the value in the both approaches. If you intend to complete the journal activities provided in each chapter—and I highly recommend you do, so that you can see how each lesson applies to your own practice--summer would give you more time to reflect.

However, I also really like the idea of tackling the book on an ongoing basis, almost like a daily devotional. Because the chapters are a manageable length and very practical and encouraging in nature, I think the book would be a great resource for teachers who want a positive start to their school day or even a calm time of reflection in the evenings.

Linda’s blog is a terrific source for inspirational and practical messages, and she really leverages that tool in the book. She invites readers to go online and share what’s working and what’s not, and also connect with her and other educators via social media. Linda has even created a Facebook group called The Christian Teachers’ Lounge where many of the discussions continue. I’ve been a member of that group since the beginning of this school year and always appreciate Linda’s kind words and scripture posts.

Linda has generously offered to giveaway a copy of her book here on the blog. You can enter using the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The flow of living water: make summer an adventure!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 22 Jun 2014 14:41:00 +0000

Have you ever wondered why the Dead Sea is considered dead? Unlike other fresh water bodies, water is only flowing into the Dead Sea, not out of it. Water (and all the minerals within it) flow in from the Jordan River and then become trapped, with no way to flow out. This is one of the reasons why the water is too salty to sustain life.

Christians are the salt of the earth (Matt 5:13), but we can’t keep all our salt to ourselves. And we cannot allow knowledge and wisdom to flow into us and not back out into the lives of people around us.

As Karen Berg put it, "When we receive without sharing, the result is stagnation...there is nothing wrong with receiving—we’re supposed to receive—but if there is no sharing, then what we receive is limited and unfulfilling."

God created us to receive His gifts and blessings and then let them flow out of us into our world. If you trust in Jesus, then out of your heart will flow rivers of living water (John 7:38).

During the school year, it's easy to feel like our students take every bit of "living water" we have. But there is always more at our Source. And as we head into summer, I encourage you to actively look for different ways to allow what God has given you to flow into the lives of people in your community.

Resist the temptation to be stagnant and keep the wisdom, gifts, and blessings from God to yourself. Ask Him to show you opportunities to take those salty waters He has poured into you and let them flow out. What an adventure this summer could be if we make it our goal to let God's living waters flow through us!

The online Bible study for teachers begins July 1st!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Tue, 10 Jun 2014 16:41:00 +0000

Last summer, hundreds of educators participated in the Awakened Devotional Bible Study for Christian Educators. We had a beautifully diverse group of participants from all over the world sharing their struggles, victories, and prayer requests, and I thank God for that. I am especially grateful for the small core group of people who commented faithfully and worked to build a sense of community and fellowship as they offered to pray for one another and followed up on each others' prayer requests. I feel very blessed to have learned from these wonderful teachers' experiences and the stories they shared about what God was revealing to them.

We're about to kick off another intense, month-long study in July with the goal being transformational change and a renewed mind and spirit for the fall...and I hope you'll join us!

We'll tackle one devotion each day during July, taking Sundays off. Each day, you'll have the chance to read one chapter from Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching and the related devotion in The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators (which is a workbook that ties in scriptures and makes biblical connections to the principles in Awakened.)

I'll send out a daily post which you can get via email or feed reeder if you'd like. It will have the reflection questions and videos/lyrics for songs that correlate with the day's message. You can respond in the private blog community, sharing as much or as little as you'd like about your reflections, prayer requests, and whatever God is teaching you. You can comment daily, chime in occasionally, or participate only by reading--whatever works best for you!

I would recommend setting aside 30-75 minutes per day for the study. If you fall behind, pick up where you left off whenever you have time. The group is free to join, and the sign up form is here. After signing up, make sure you check your email for a confirmation link. If you don't click that, you won't be able to access the group! Sometimes the invitations get sent to spam folders, so if you don't see it in your inbox within 24 hours, check your junk mail and then let me know the invite didn't arrive.

The online Bible study is free to join, though you'll need to purchase both Awakened and the devotional to get the most out of the study. Click here to get ordering info from my website, including direct orders, eBook downloads, Amazon links, TeachersPayTeachers links, and so on.

Right now the books are on backorder pretty much everywhere, so please be patient! I should have more devotionals in stock by Friday 6/13, so orders placed through my website will arrive with more than enough time before the online study begins. You can also get the eBook versions which are delivered immediately after purchase for a total of $20. Email me if you'd like group discount information.

If you have any non-Christian friends who you think would enjoy reading Awakened without the devotional guide, an Awakened Summer Book Club will be running on the same dates in July--feel free to pass that link on to them.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how God speaks to us in this group through one another and through His Word, and I'm grateful for the Christian teachers I know He's bringing together to strengthen and encourage one another. Hope to see you there!

God will be with your mouth

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 15:28:00 +0000

This morning I woke up lacking motivation and quite honestly the confidence to do the things I need to do today. I’ve got a few projects that are totally out of my comfort zone, and I'm having a hard time pushing through them.

I opened up my Bible to the random place where I had stuck my church bulletin on Sunday. It was in the book of Jeremiah. My eye was drawn to a passage I had previously underlined:

Therefore prepare yourself and arise, And speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, Lest I dismay you before them. Jer 1:17 (NKJV)

Wow! The message there is loud and clear: Get up! Prepare yourself! Go and speak all that God has commanded you to speak today. Do it with a confidence in Him—your work is serious business to the Lord, and approaching it with anything less than a good attitude is an affront to the great calling He’s placed on your life.

I was instantly reminded of the story of Moses. God called him as a leader but Moses was too fixed on his own personal weaknesses to do what God asked:

Then Moses said to the Lord, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.” So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what to say. Ex 4:10-12 (NKJV)

Notice that God didn’t tell Moses, “Hey, buddy, go easy on yourself! You talk just fine! You can do this!” Nope. He didn’t say anything about Moses’ abilities at all. Instead, God referred to His own creative power, His own infinite wisdom, and the fact that Moses would never have to be alone while doing what he was called to do. How great is that?

The NIV translation of the verse above says I will help you speak. But I really like the NKJV and the NASB: I will be with your mouth. Oh, how we need Him to do that for us!

God will be with your mouth today. He will tell you exactly what you need to say to your students to help them understand your lessons. He will be with your mouth as you try to patiently correct their misbehavior. He will be with your mouth during that difficult parent conference, that presentation, that observation, that evaluation meeting. And:

Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. Is 30:21 (NKJV)

Free scripture cards to encourage and inspire

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sat, 04 Jan 2014 21:47:00 +0000

Here's a new (free) product I've put on TeachersPayTeachers just in time for the new year! Each card in this set features a different Bible verse. I've carefully selected every scripture that is included: they are verses that have been particularly inspirational and uplifting to me in my work as a teacher.

My personal goal is to meditate on one of these verses each day, and by making the cards available to you, I'm hoping the cards will serve as a memorization tool for you, as well.

I've also made a full set of daily scripture cards which can serve as a calendar to help you track the days of school and receive a fresh word of Biblical encouragement on a daily basis.

You can clip the cards to your lesson plan binder or teacher’s guide so you will be reminded of the verse throughout the day. You can also hang the cards on your wall, bulletin board, refrigerator, etc. If you teach in a Christian school, you could display the day’s card for your students and discuss it together.

Also, in case you missed it over on The Cornerstone blog, I'm going to be holding an online book study for Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching in the Encouraging Teachers Facebook group. Click the link to find details about the group, the book, and a discount code to get the eBook half off.

Many blessing to you in the new year!

Love conquers fear

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 15:45:00 +0000

I love this story.

I love that God is doing something beautiful in the aftermath of tragedy.

I love the confirmation that love conquers fear, that pain can ultimately strengthen our faith, and that our great God truly works ALL things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.

(video embedded below)

Evil is always lurking in our schools, which have become frightening and dangerous places at times. But we can't allow ourselves to dwell on the possibility of tragedy and allow the sad stories on TV to shake our confidence. We can choose where to set our minds and hearts.

When we see heartache and injustice in our schools, it is always our choice to respond out of fear or out of love. Fear will close us off to others, shut us down, and prevent us from accomplishing what God has called us to do.

Choosing to act out of love allows us to live passionately. It allows us to serve God whole-heartedly and see every opportunity He has planned for us to make a difference in our classrooms.

Good conquers evil, and love conquers fear.

The Lord is our light and our salvation; whom then shall we fear? (Ps 27:1)

What it means to be more than conquerors

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Fri, 27 Sep 2013 18:48:00 +0000

I'm in a phase of life right now in which a lot of really important things are riding on the decisions of someone else. The biggest of those stressors has been applying for a home loan (I actually have so many wonderful things to say on the home front topic--more on that soon.) My husband and I went through an arduous three and a half weeks of submitting document after document to the bank on a daily basis, only to be asked to submit even more. Then our closing date was pushed back, prolonging the process yet again.

For almost an entire month, I was anxiously watching my phone every single minute, waiting for it to ring with good news from our bank, only to be told there was still more paperwork needed. It was hard to believe that something as important as where we make our home and God-willing raise our children could be resting in the hands of total strangers.

We thank God that the loan approval just came through! But that hasn't been the end of the ordeal, of course, and there are so many "moving parts" to various aspects of my life that the sense of relief I expected to feel after the approval wasn't as strong as I had expected. As I was cooking dinner tonight, I thought to myself, "Wow, it sure will be nice when I don't have to wait for other people to make important decisions about my future."

And immediately God pressed upon my heart the reminder that no one is making decisions for me except for Him.

We are at His mercy, not at the mercy of banks, government leaders, school systems, or any other organization or person that we think holds power over our lives.

The Lord is the one who raises up earthly powers and brings them down. (Daniel 2:21)

There is nothing that happens to us that is not first filtered through His sovereign, loving hands. (Matt 5:45, Ro 8:28)

He will provide for all of our needs. (Phil 4:19)

His plan is to prosper us and not harm us. (Jer 29:11)

The circumstances we experience in life are all working a greater weight for us in glory, and accomplishing a larger purpose that we can only begin to understand. (2 Cor 4:17)

Our role is to trust God and seek His face in everything that we do. Those feelings of helplessness and powerlessness we experience? They're not from Him. In Jesus, we are more than conquerors! (Ro 8:37) In the original Greek, this phrase was a single word that means "to prevail completely over." It refers to an absolute and final victory. THAT is what we have in our God. Before we even know about a problem's existence, it is already solved and we have the victory over it!

The truth is that we are not waiting for anyone or anything but the Lord...and He will never let us down. Let us keep reminding ourselves that the only one who controls our future is the One who laid down His life for us and loves us unconditionally. And for that reason, we can look beyond our circumstances and know with certainty that we are blessed beyond measure.

In what ways are you feeling powerless and at the mercy of others right now? How can we pray for you?

Encouraging Teachers: a new private Facebook group

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 19 Aug 2013 14:52:00 +0000

At the end of July, we wrapped up the first online book club for Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching and the THIRD online Bible study for the Awakened Devotional. Amazing, right? Over the course of the last two years, over 2,000 teachers have signed up for the studies and participated in some way. It's been an incredible experience, and now we're all wondering...what do we do for this fall?

I want to try something different. It's very difficult for many teachers to keep up with a Bible study during the school year. And the teachers who have already completed the study need some kind of ongoing reinforcement throughout the school year to help them remember and apply the things they've learned. Reading and commenting on another blog is just one more thing to check off the to-do list. But Facebook? Well, that's a place that many of us are already visiting on a regular if not daily basis and enjoy posting to informally.

So this time around, let's try it this way: a closed Facebook group called Encouraging Teachers. It's not designed specifically for Christian educators, and people of all faiths (and no faith at all) are welcome. The idea is to have a casual place for educators to inspire and encourage one another throughout the school year. Everyone will have the opportunity to share images, videos, links, questions, personal reflections, and success stories. Once a week, I'll also be posting reflection questions from Awakened to support those of you who are reading or have read the book and would like an online group to help you practice the principles of a positive mindset in the classroom.

You can click here to join the group, and once you're in, you can add your friends, as well. I will manually approve all members to keep the spammers out. What you post in the group will NOT be visible to anyone outside of the group.

If you already follow The Cornerstone For Teachers Facebook page, or The Cornerstone Devotions for Teachers Facebook page, there are two main ways the group will be different. Firstly, only I can post stuff on the pages, but with the Encouraging Teachers group, everyone can post and read one another's statuses easily. There's more of a community feel because everyone's status updates are weighted equally in the group, and it's not just me posting things and you all commenting on them. (Bonus: since it's a private group, there won't be any snarky teacher-bashing comments from outsiders.) Secondly, on the Facebook page, I share a lot more than just inspirational stuff: there are also things related to education reform/the anti-testing movement, teacher's rights, and a quite a few sarcastic eCards and jokes. The Encouraging Teachers group won't include any of that, and will solely be a place for sharing positivity.

I want the group to be a place you can visit when you want to be inspired, hear good things about our profession, and connect with other positive-minded educators. You can tell us about things that are working well in your classroom, ask for helpful advice about the things that aren't working well, and share any teaching-related thoughts, photos, articles, etc. that you think would be encouraging to other educators.

Nearly 5,000 teachers have already joined, and I'm thrilled with the depth of conversations happening so far and the unwavering support teachers in this group are providing for one another. See you in the group!

A month of transformational change

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:38:00 +0000

This past school year, over 800 educators participated in either the fall or spring session of the Awakened Devotional Bible Study for Christian Educators. We had a beautifully diverse group of participants from all over the world sharing their struggles, victories, and prayer requests, and I thank God for that. I am especially grateful for the small core group of people who commented faithfully and worked to build a sense of community and fellowship as they offered to pray for one another and followed up on each others' prayer requests. I feel very blessed to have learned from these wonderful teachers' experiences and the stories they shared about what God was revealing to them.

For the next study, I'm going to structure things a bit differently. There are 26 devotions in the book, and at one devotion a week, that's an extremely long Bible study. I found that participation dropped off significantly as the months went on, especially with the craziness that comes with the school year. So this time around, we're going to do an intense, month-long study in July with the goal being transformational change and a renewed mind and spirit for the fall.

We'll tackle one devotion each day during July, taking Sundays off. Each day, you'll have the chance to read the devotional and the related chapter in Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching. I'll send out a daily post which you can get via email or feed reeder if you'd like. It will have the reflection questions and videos/lyrics for songs that correlate with the day's message. You can respond in the private blog community, sharing as much or as little as you'd like about your reflections, prayer requests, and whatever God is teaching you. You can comment daily, chime in occasionally, or participate only by reading--whatever works best for you! I would recommend setting aside 30-75 minutes per day for the study. If you fall behind, pick up where you left off whenever you have time.

The group is free to join, and the sign up form is here. After signing up, make sure you check your email for a confirmation link. If you don't click that, you won't be able to access the group! Sometimes the invitations get sent to spam folders, so if you don't see it in your inbox within 24 hours, check your junk mail and then let me know the invite didn't arrive.

You'll need to purchase both Awakened and the devotional, which can be ordered through Amazon or through my website (where the total for both including Priority Mail shipping is $35.00). Or, you can get the eBook versions which are delivered immediately after purchase for a total of $20. Email me if you'd like group discount information. Technically, you could just use the devotional, but I think you'll get much more out of the study if you also read Awakened.

If you have any non-Christian friends who you think would enjoy reading Awakened without the devotional guide, an Awakened Summer Book Club will be running on the same dates in July--feel free to pass that link on to them.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how God speaks to us in this group through one another and through His word, and I'm grateful for the Christian teachers I know He's bringing together to strengthen and encourage one another. Hope to see you there!

Entering the Monday morning mission field

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 02:27:00 +0000

I shared this image on my Facebook page tonight. It started some nice conversations about how that "Sunday night feeling" is less a sense of dread and more about having to do work Sunday night and get ready for Monday morning. There's a shift in mood from Sunday morning in which the whole day is ahead of you as you relax and enjoy your family, and then with each hour that passes, you realize you have papers that need to be graded before morning and you have to slowly wean yourself out of weekend mode and back into work mode.

A friend then messaged me with this:

Am I crazy for looking forward to Mondays? Teaching is hard. I get that. But it has always felt meaningful, like it's my mission field.

And with those simple words, I took a step back and reconsidered. Because when you approach your workplace as your mission field, it IS a lot more exciting.

You're anticipating and watchful, excited to see what God has planned for you next.

The aspects of your job that you might otherwise dread can be perceived as an opportunity to grow closer to God, to see what He wants to teach you, to allow yourself to be transformed from glory to glory into His image.

The weariness that comes with getting up early and having to give your all to the young ones in your care becomes contentment and a calm delight.

A sign like this one stands at the exit of my church's property.

On Monday morning, I'll choose to start my day with these thoughts, a song in my heart, and this prayer:

Lord, open my eyes to see the joys of being Your servant. Give me energy and enthusiasm, patience and long-suffering. Show me how You want to use me. Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes. Thank You for another day to be used by You in the mission field You've chosen for me.

God's will for your life

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 21:11:00 +0000

Spring has finally sprung, and we're heading into the home stretch of the school year. Retirement and resignation letters are being submitted, and there's lots of talk in the teacher's lounge about what will happen in the fall. The future seems uncertain for many, especially in these times of huge school budget cuts.

I've heard lots of teachers wondering aloud about questions like these:

Should I teach or stay home with my kids?
Should I change grade levels?
Should I transfer to another school next year?
Should I stay in the classroom or look for something else?
What will happen if I don't have a job next year?
What is God's will for me next?

And in the midst of these conversations, God has been quietly speaking 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 into my heart:

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Did you catch that? THIS is the will of God in Christ Jesus. For you:

Rejoice. Always. Not just when things are easy, or fun, or clearly demonstrating progress toward your goals, or when you see the light at the end of the tunnel. Always.

Pray. Without ceasing. When you're tired and discouraged, pray. When you're content and fulfilled, pray. Keeping praying. And then pray some more. Let your thoughts and words be continually directed toward the Lord so your focus is on Him and not on the world around you.

And lastly--give thanks in ALL circumstances.

You see, God cares about which school we teach at and which grade level we're assigned to, but He's much more concerned with the attitude we have in our circumstances. Our goal during uncertain times should not be to figure out what God's going to do next, but to allow our uncertainty to deepen our faith. God wants us to spend each day not knowing what will happen next, but trusting Him, anyway. He wants us to be filled with the joy and gratitude that come from being in constant communion with Him.

THAT is His will for each of us in Christ Jesus. So no matter what you are facing today, I encourage you to rejoice, pray, and give thanks. Choosing those actions will open your heart and mind so that you can fully receive whatever God has planned for you next.

When morale is low and the task seems impossible

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 18:27:00 +0000

This is the time of year when teachers' morale and emotions are often running low. Our initial enthusiasm and excitement from August are long forgotten, and the hope and vision we had for a stress-free year has been clouded by the hard work of our everyday tasks. We're facing problems we never imagined back at the start of the school year, and overcoming them often seems like a lost cause.

The book of Ezra tells us about a similar experience the Israelites faced when God called them to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. When first presented with this mission, the Israelites were ecstatic, gladly contributing their time and resources to the project. The people were focused on their calling and excited about doing God's work:

All the people boomed out hurrahs, praising God as the foundation of The Temple of God was laid. As many were noisily shouting with joy, many of the older priests, Levites, and family heads who had seen the first Temple, when they saw the foundations of this Temple laid, wept loudly for joy. People couldn’t distinguish the shouting from the weeping. The sound of their voices reverberated for miles around. (Ezra 3:11-13, MSG)

But then the hard work set in, and the opposing forces started to make life difficult: "So these people [old enemies of Judah and Benjamin] started beating down the morale of the people of Judah, harassing them as they built. They even hired propagandists to sap their resolve" (Ezra 4:4-16). These enemies of God's people began writing letters of accusation and sought the help of authorities in order to stop the people's work.

Yes, even in Biblical times, bureuacracy and red tape made life very difficult for people to accomplish the calling God had placed on their lives. In fact, the Israelites had to stop rebuilding for a time because of their opposition (Ezra 4:24). I'm sure that it looked like a hopeless situation to many people, and some of them surely doubted that the rebuilding would ever come to pass.

But God continued to work on the Israelites' behalf, and a few bold prophets and leaders resumed the building process once again (Ezra 5:1-5). With time, the people had the blessings of kings and were able to complete the temple just as God had intended.

Then the Israelites who had returned from exile, along with everyone who had removed themselves from the defilements of the nations to join them and seek God, the God of Israel, ate the Passover. With great joy they celebrated the Feast of Unraised Bread for seven days. God had plunged them into a sea of joy; he had changed the mind of the king of Assyria to back them in rebuilding The Temple of God, the God of Israel. (Ezra 6:21-22)

What a powerful reminder for us not to lose sight of the vision God has given us! There are many times when the opposition we face seems insurmountable, and we doubt our ability to complete the work God has called us to do. But if we refuse to waver from our mission and continue to seek God, He will give us the strength to continue and ensure we have victory in the end.

I love the line, "God had plunged them into a sea of joy." And the best part of that? We don't have to wait until our temple is rebuilt, our school year is over, or our mission is complete to experience the joy that comes from God. Hebrews 11:11 tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. Faith and hope are what keep us going in the hard times. If we truly believe that God will do what He's said He'll do, we can experience his joy right now, in the middle of our trials.

No matter how difficult our circumstances, we can choose to believe that the God who provided for His people thousands of years ago is still providing for us today. Ask Him to strengthen your faith and give you a renewed vision for the important work of teaching that He has called you to do. Keep building. Keep trusting God. He will never let you down.

A legacy

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 02:10:00 +0000

My grandmother died today. I'm alternating between sobbing and going about my daily business, pretending that nothing happened. The grieving process is strange that way, I guess. I certainly didn't have any intention of blogging. But when the words come to you, they have to be written, and so here I am.

She was 92 years old, my grandmother. She lived a long life, and not an easy one. She raised six kids in a time when women did just about everything in terms of housekeeping and child-rearing, AND she helped run the grocery store that she and my grandfather owned. Once the kids were grown and my grandfather passed away, she practically lived at that store. She knew everyone in her tiny Virginia town, and everyone knew her. She was a huge part of the community.

As her health and eyesight deteriorated, she had to sell the store and stayed at home. I can't imagine what it must have been like for a woman who was used to running around constantly and taking care of other people to sit in a recliner in all day, every day, simply because there's not much else she could do.

I have a peace when I think about her being gone--that's not what makes me sad. I knew at Thanksgiving when I last saw her that it might be the final visit, and she knew that as well. We have said our goodbyes. I know she knew the Lord and she is home with Him right now, in a place where there is no more suffering. Right now she is rejoicing with the Lord. She has a new body, and it's one that will never feel pain again. I am happy for her sake.

But what causes the tears to stream down my face right now is remembering who she was as a person and the legacy she leaves behind. What a loss to have that kind of light and energy gone from the world. She was a quiet woman who lived a simple life, but her attitude spoke volumes and left a far bigger impression on me than any worldly accomplishment she could have made.

Grandma refused to say an unkind word about anyone. You could inform her that someone had just done the most despicable thing on the planet, and she'd find a way to understand the person's motive and show compassion toward them. She cared deeply about social justice and caring for the less fortunate, and she could see the good in any one and any thing.

I don't think I ever heard my grandmother complain. Not once. If you asked her how she was feeling, the answer was always a chuckle and a soft-spoken, "Oh, I'm alright, I reckon." She'd tell you about an ache or pain if you prompted her, but she smiled while she was talking, and she never felt sorry for herself or wallowed in self-pity.

When my husband, parents, and I visited her in the hospital in November, the physical therapist told her she was going to have to do some exercises. She laughed and said to the family in the room, "Y'all aren't going to just sit there and watch me. If I'm going to exercise, everybody's going to do it! Come on now!" My dad said we needed the Rocky theme song, so I pulled it up on my iPhone, and that was the soundtrack my grandmother had as she lifted her arms up and down, up and down, surrounded by her kids and grandkids as we all copied the motions and laughed together. THAT is the essence of who my grandmother was.

To be honest, Grandma embodies all the qualities that I do not. It's my nature to fault find and complain. I'm often impatient and self-centered. I gossip and jump to conclusions. But my grandmother gives me something to aspire to. She was and will always be a role model to me about how to treat people and how to approach life. She had a positive attitude every single day and always had a ready smile and laugh no matter what hardships she was facing.

I thank God for my grandmother and the legacy she leaves behind. It is a true testimony that she did not wait until she got to heaven to be happy or to enjoy her life. But I am grateful that she is there now, in the presence of her Creator. I know today she heard Him speak the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

The next online Bible study for teachers starts in January!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 00:22:00 +0000

The very first Awakened Devotional Bible Study for Christian Educators is now drawing to a close, and I'm just amazed at what God has done through it. Over 160 teachers and other education professionals have participated! I'm so grateful for the opportunity to share ideas, struggles, and prayer requests with that wonderful group. It's never easy to make time for a Bible study during the hectic first semester of the school year, and I'm proud of each one of the participants who has hung in there for so long.

The next online Bible study for teachers will begin the first week of January. If you're hoping to start the new year out right and want a group of Christian educators to support you in the ups and downs of classroom life, please join us!

The online Bible study and book club for The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators works like this: each week, you'll have the chance to read the devotion and related chapter in Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching. I send out a weekly post with the reflection questions and videos/lyrics for songs that correlate with the week's message. You can respond in a private blog community whenever it's convenient. Share as much or as little as you'd like, but you're encouraged to share your reflections, prayer requests, and whatever God is teaching you. Some people comment almost every week, while others only chime in occasionally, and still others participate only by reading. You can do whatever works best for you! If you fall behind, pick up where you left off whenever you have time. There's no obligation.

The group is free to join, and the sign up form is here. After signing up, make sure you check your email for a confirmation link. If you don't click that, you won't be able to access the group! Sometimes the invitations get sent to spam folders, so if you don't see it in your inbox, check your junk mail and let me know if the invite didn't arrive.

If you don't have the devotional and Awakened yet, you can get the eBook versions which are delivered immediately after purchase. Print copies ordered through my website are shipped via Priority Mail, so you'll have them within 3-4 days.

If you want to buy copies for other teachers as Christmas presents and then participate in the study together, make sure you purchase them this week so I can make sure they'll arrive to you before the holidays. You can email me for group discount information.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how God speaks to us in this group through one another and through His word, and I'm grateful for the Christian teachers I know He's bringing together to strengthen and encourage one another. Hope to see you there!

Changing who you are

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 23:27:00 +0000

I was driving down the road today, flipping absent-mindedly through the radio stations. A song that was unfamiliar caught my attention with its catchy tune. I hesitated for a moment, my hand hovering over the dial. "You ... change who you are ..." the voice crooned.

I moved my hand over to the volume dial and turned it up. Did he say you CAN change who you are, or you can't? I listened more closely.

You can change who you are.

You can change. And I knew immediately I had found a Christian radio station.

Why? Because a secular song would bring the message that however you are, it's just fine. You were born that way and it's who are you. You have a bad temper? A nasty attitude? A major selfish streak? That's just you, and everyone else can love you or leave you alone. You can't change who you are. Celebrate your flaws! Everything that's bad about you is good--it's what makes you real, and makes you human!

The Bible, on the other hand, tells us that we were created in the image of God. We should strive to be like Christ, and He will change us from glory to glory and keep improving us until the end of time. The Bible says that nothing is impossible with God. He gives us beauty for ashes, and joy for mourning, praise for heaviness. Any aspect of our human nature that is working against us can be overcome with the power that is given to us through Jesus. We can renew our minds completely and be transformed in Christ. He makes all things new!

I smiled wistfully as I thought about how strange it is that the messages from the Bible are so contrary to those from the world. But as I gave it further thought, I realized the messages have a lot in common. The enemy doesn't take the truth of God and turn it completely on its head: that would be too obvious. The opposite of the biblical message of our infinite value and precious potential would be that we are totally worthless as human beings. That's not a very palatable message and most people wouldn't fall for it. And so the enemy has just distorted the truth ever so slightly, just enough to take away our hope, and therefore our faith. Your weaknesses aren't so bad, and you can't change them anyway. You will always be who you are right now. The only thing you can do is accept it.

The end of the song brought everything home for me: "At the foot of the cross, you change who you are." The moment we come to the cross, God's power begins its work in us. So it's never in our own strength that change happens. We don't let go of our negative character traits by sheer willpower. It's only by surrendering them to Jesus, laying them at the foot of the cross, and allowing Him to work in our lives that real change comes.

Is there something you're struggling with in your personality or temperament right now? Are you thinking and behaving in ways that are making you less effective as a teacher because of those traits? Maybe you find yourself giving up on students far too easily, or raising your voice unnecessarily. Maybe you're complaining all the time and constantly looking at the negative. Maybe you're overly critical or unkind in your work place. Or maybe a bad attitude has just become the new norm for you.

The message I have for you today is this: you can change, at the foot of the cross. Resist the urge to make excuses for yourself and stay stuck in an unhealthy and unproductive mindset. Bring your shortcomings and your failures to the Lord. Ask Him to help you be the best teacher you can be, and to keep working on and through you. Ask Him to show you when you're falling short of His standard and bring you up ever higher. He will do it, and He will love you exactly as you are, every step of the way.

You can change, at the foot of the cross.

(video embedded above)

You can never fall too hard
So fast

So far
That you can't get back

When you lost where you are.

It's never too late
So bad
So much

That you can't change who you are.

You can change who you are...

So let the ashes fall wherever they land,

Come back from wherever you've been.

To the foot of the cross,
To the feet of Jesus.

The feet of Jesus.

A very present help

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 13:55:00 +0000

I woke up this morning with these words from Psalm 46:1-2,7 on my mind, bracing for whatever's to come with Hurricane Sandy.

We're hunkered down with storm snacks and a full queue on Netflix, hoping to take advantage of that for as long as we have power. We have water and flashlights and batteries and non-perishable foods. Maybe not enough, but it's impossible to tell how much we'll need. I've been through this many times in Florida, but have no idea what to expect in New York City.

The one thing I know for sure: God is in control. He is here with us, and He is for us. He brings peace to the troubled and comforts the brokenhearted. He will never leave or forsake us.

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Hurricane Sandy's path. And for those who are safely out of harm's way, the scripture above holds just as true. I pray that you will look to God as your refuge and strength, no matter what kind of trouble you are facing. He is truly an ever-present help.

Honoring the Sabbath

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 01:14:00 +0000

Back in July, I wrote a post on The Cornerstone blog (my main website for teachers) about taking a sabbath rest each week. I had considered writing about it here, but I figured it was a topic that lots of educators would be interested in even if they weren't Christian, as so many of us struggle with the 24/7 work mentality. (You can read the post here: Connectivity Addition: Taking a Weekly Day of Rest. In it, I explain why and how I decided to observe the sabbath.)

There were many people who responded, saying they, too, longed for a time to nourish their souls and step away from their computers and cell phones. In fact, I'm still getting emails from people about the topic: they're curious, but not sure where to start. So I thought I'd share a little bit about my first sabbath observance here with you all. If anyone reading has considered taking a day of rest, this post might inspire you to try it out. And if you're already observing the sabbath in your own way, I encourage you to share your experiences in the comments so you can encourage others!

Let me start by saying that my life is not as crazy as many of yours. I realize this and don't mean to sound flippant (Everyone should take an entire day to do nothing!) I don't have kids, so that alone means I have more time to myself. And I make my own work schedule. But the problem with that is there are no boundaries. I work at 2 am sometimes. I work on Saturday mornings. I work through lunch and then through dinner. When you own your own business, no one tells you to go to work, but no one ever tells you to come home, either. There are no holidays or designated vacation time. Work can easily consume your entire life, and in many ways, it had consumed mine.

The very first time I planned to observe a sabbath rest (from Friday at sundown to Saturday at sundown), I looked forward to it all week. Whenever I was tired, I'd remind myself I'd have an entire day to relax. But the strange thing is that I started getting anxious on Thursday night. I felt overwhelmed by all the things I needed to do before sundown Friday. And by Friday afternoon, I was almost panicking. It didn't help that there was a major meltdown in communication with some DOE paperwork that required cc'ing eight million people. Then someone emailed me wanting their webinar password, and someone else emailed with a question about the eBook download. What if I shut down my email and these people didn't get a response until 24 hours later? Would they be mad? [The answer sometimes, by the way, is yes.]

I had plans to have dinner with a friend, so I relunctantly shut down my computer (okay, that's a lie, I just put it to sleep; I can't shut it down because that means in a computer "emergency", I might have to wait 3 minutes to start using it. I am hopeless.) I turned off the push notifications on my iPhone so that new emails wouldn't flash across my screen. And then I started my day of rest.

Dinner was wonderful. I came home and resisted the urge to check my website statistics and do some networking online. I checked my email to make sure the world hadn't fallen apart on me, but I didn't respond to anyone. I was relieved to see that everything could wait until tomorrow night. And then I crawled in bed to read on my iPad. That was the first moment I enjoyed it--knowing I could read and only read, no work.

The next morning I slept in and took my Bible and a mug of coffee out onto the balcony to read. With nothing else I "needed" to get done, I spent an hour and a half pouring over the scriptures. I can't remember the last time I was that focused on the Word. I had lunch, did some reading, gave myself a pedicure, watched some TV.

As the sun made its way across the sky, I started to feel sad that the sabbath was coming to an end. I had started really enjoying it. I decided to end the day at church (there's a 6 pm Saturday service at my church that is the same as the Sunday morning services.)

When I came out of church, I decied not to turn my email notifications back on my phone. That was three months ago, and I haven't turned them back on since. Sure, I'll check manually from time to time, but I am no longer a slave to the ding! of the constant iPhone notifications. I am determine to check email when it makes sense to do so, not just out of habit or boredom.

I have observed the sabbath in some way every single weekend since July. Sometimes I follow more strict guidelines about what I can and can't do, while I'm more laid back at other times. I try to follow the Spirit's leading on that. If I haven't had a stressful week, I might end the sabbath early or allow myself to do some reading online. But if I've felt discouraged, irritable, or distant from God or my husband, I try to shut everything else out for those 24 hours and reconnect with the Lord and everything that really matters in life.

The more "set aside" my sabbath day of rest is, the better I feel afterward. My aim is to both remember the sabbath AND keep it holy. I can take shortcuts and make excuses, but when the sabbath starts to resembles the rest of the workweek, I don't experience that fresh connection with God and the sense of rejuvenation that comes with spending time with Him. It takes self-discipline to observe the sabbath, for sure. But for me, it's been well worth it. I've reaped the benefits in every area of my life.

Do you observe the sabbath or take a weekly day of rest? Please share your experiences in the comments. We'd love to read your thoughts!

Why did God place me here?

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 14:44:00 +0000

Maybe that's the recurring question that keeps running through your head and weighing heavily on your heart as you start the new school year. Why this school? Why this student? Why this parent? Why this colleague? Why this administrator? WHY these challenges that feel so overwhelming?

Those questions are perfectly normal to have, and I think they can be incredibly helpful if you allow them to alert yourself to the way God moves in your life. The answers don't always come easily or clearly, but that can be a good thing. The search for meaning can train us to keep our eyes expectantly on the Lord through every circumstance, and teach us to watch for His hand at work in our lives.

God might have placed you in your teaching situation for one particular student who desperately needs someone to show him or her love. Or maybe He wants you where you're at because the adults around you need encouragement. It could be that God wants you to be a force for positive change in a school or school system that doesn't put the needs of children first. It could be all of those things, and more.

The place you're at might be dark, but you can be confident that God wants to use you to shine a light there. Continually returning to that belief makes it a lot easier to get through the hard times. When a student seems impossible to handle, think to yourself, What is the reason God wants him/her in my classroom instead of someone else's? What can I offer this student because of God's love? Shift your outlook from Why do *I* have to deal with this? to How does God want to use me in this situation?

Keep looking to the Lord for your purpose. Ask Him to help you embrace your job in its totality: the parts you love, the parts you don't, the parts you think you can't possibly handle for a second longer. Pray that God would keep you focused on the things He wants to accomplish in and through you. Ask that He would make you aware of the little miracles He's accomplishing and the way He's growing you through your trials.

You can start small if you need to: What is one way that you know God wants to use you in your current teaching position? Share your thoughts in the comment section. Then return to that thought again each morning before you start work, and again each time it gets hard, and again at the end of the day when you think back on the way that God strengthened you and provided for you.

God wants to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we could ask, think, or imagine. May we open our eyes and see the ways that He is working.

Free online Bible study for teachers starting this week!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 23:23:00 +0000

It's hard to believe August has arrived! Whether you're heading back this week, are relaxing through Labor Day, or return to school sometime in between, I'm sure your mind is already wandering toward the new school year. What will your new group of students be like? What challenges will come your way?

If you're looking for a group of Christian educators to support you in the ups and downs of classroom life this school year, consider joining us in the online Bible study and book club for The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators. Each week, you'll have the chance to read the devotion and related chapter in Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching, and then respond to the message in a private blog community whenever it's convenient. You can share as much or as little as you'd like, but you're encouraged to share your reflections, prayer requests, and whatever God is teaching you right now in your life.

The group starts this week and is free to join. The sign up form is here. If you don't have the devotional and Awakened yet, you can get the eBook versions which are delivered immediately after purchase. Print copies ordered through my website are shipped via Priority Mail, so you'll have them within 3-4 days.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how God speaks to us in this group through one another and through His word. I think it's going to be a wonderful way to surround ourselves with other Christian teachers to strengthen and encourage one another.

By the way, if you signed up for the group and didn't get your emailed invitation last week, check your spam folder, and then let me know if the invite didn't arrive.

Choosing new priorities

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 00:17:00 +0000

I've had a hard time getting back into the swing of things after our vacation. Both my husband and I feel like part of our hearts were left up there on those glaciers: something about the stillness and the vastness of it all just makes the experience hard to shake off. You realize how insignificant your problems really are, and how trivial most of your to-do list really is.

Alaska must be the polar opposite of New York City, where time is money and everything feels urgent and terribly, terribly important. New York is often considered the center of the free world, and the people who live there like it that way. Alaska is pretty much off the map, and the people who live there like it that way. The culture shock of coming home to the "lower 48" again has been significant.

Since it's summertime, I've had the luxury of being able to ease back into a semi-normal routine. And now with a good week and half of being home, I'm realizing that I have in fact established a daily routine, and it is one that's surprisingly devoid of time with God.

It started with not reading the Bible in the morning. I had a ton of email to catch up on, of course, and stuff to do for the book release. I figured I'd start reading the Bible again in a few days.

And I didn't listen to Christian podcasts everyday, either. Normally I watch Joyce Meyer while I get ready in the morning, and listen to James MacDonald or my pastor's podcast in the evening while I cook or clean or do something around the house (instead of having the TV on.) But I hadn't watched any TV in Alaska, and I wanted to catch up on "my shows." The list of unwatched podcasts in iTunes just kept growing.

And of course, it's way too hot to go for a walk and listen to praise music as I like to do in the evenings. I went to the gym instead and read magazines on the elliptical.

And that is how I woke up this morning and realized I had somehow created entirely new daily routines for myself that didn't involve God at all. I had completely edged Him out of my life. It happened just that quickly.

Joyce Meyer says she is frequently asked how she manages to keep her priorities straight with all the responsibilities she has. She credits God with giving her what she feels is the perfect answer: "How do I keep my priorities straight? I'm always straightening them out."

Isn't that true? You can never get your priorities straight once and for all, because life keeps throwing new demands and new distractions at you. Like everything else in our Christian walk, spending time with God is a daily choice and requires moment-by-moment decisions. We have to keep choosing the things of God over the things of the world, again and again and again. And the more that we do this, the less power the things of the world hold over us.

I decided to change my habits, starting today. I read the Bible this morning, just for a few minutes. I went for a walk and listened to some new worship songs I downloaded. Even though my mind was too distracted with other things to really meditate on the lyrics, at least I got back into the habit. After I finish posting this, I'm going to watch one of my backlogged podcasts instead of watching TV while I eat dinner.

I didn't really feel like doing any of those things, to be perfectly honest. But I know what God's word tells us in Proverbs 16:3: Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established. My actions are committed once again. My heart and mind will follow, I know.

Lord, give me a heart hungry for Your word, and a soul that delights in being in Your presence. Let there be none on earth that I desire besides You. My flesh and my heart may fail, but You are the strength of my heart, and my portion forever. Amen. (Ps 73:25-26)

Are you struggling to make time with God this summer? How do you keep your priorities straight this time of year?

My latest book: teacher devotions!

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I started feeling a tug on my heart to write a book of devotions for teachers way back in 2005 when I started this blog, and I'm thrilled to announce that that the time has finally come! The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators is being released this week.

Last summer, I published Awakened: Change Your Mindset to Transform Your Teaching to share the story of how I went from being professionally burned out to feeling rejuvenated and ready to handle whatever life in the classroom brings. I explained how you can develop thought habits that produce an unshakeable sense of contentment, motivation, and purpose. The book drew upon principles of stress management, cognitive behavioral therapy, spiritual truths, and personal experiences. Awakened is not a Christian book: it was written to speak to ALL educators, regardless of their faith or lack thereof. But its principles can be connected to countless biblical truths by those who choose to seek them out.

The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators is designed to deepen Christian teachers' understanding of the principles in Awakened. The guide elaborates on what God's word has to say about renewing our minds. It's 8.5 x 11 and is designed to be a workbook where you can record your thoughts and respond to what you've read. Each devotion is 4 pages: the first page includes the corresponding Awakened reading and an opening reflection where you can write down your initial thoughts as well as notes from Awakened if needed. The second page has the devotion and a wide left margin for notetaking. The third page has the application questions (with space for your responses) and an additional scripture reading (with space to add other related Bible verses you're reminded of.) The fourth page has a "to do" challenge with a work space and a prayer.

You can use The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators on your own or with a group in your community. I'm also offering the first (and only?) online Bible study developed specifically for educators!

Beginning the week of August 5th, 2012, and continuing through the week of January 27, 2013, we'll be working through one devotion together on a weekly basis. The application questions will be posted on a private blog each Sunday. You can read and respond to the devotion any time during that week, and then the next set of questions will be posted the following Sunday. I conducted a focus group for the devotional book before it was published and we used this format--it was so much fun to grow with one another, share prayer requests, etc! I definitely think it enhances the experience to have a group of educators who are working through the same topics and issues as you are.

Here are the details and sign-up for the online Bible study group and to get ordering/purchasing information. You can also read free excerpts and read the reviews of the book and of the online Bible study book club from those who participated in the focus group.

Want to win a copy of the devotional study guide? Just leave a super short comment on this post sharing one way your faith has had a positive impact on your teaching or attitude toward your work as an educator. If you haven't already bought Awakened, I'll also send the winner an eBook copy of that, as well. The contest will close at midnight on Tuesday, July 24th, and a winner will be selected at random. If you decide to buy the book now and then end up winning the give-away, I'll refund your money. :-)

P.S. Forgot to mention--the vacation in Alaska was incredible! Pictures here!

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UPDATE: CONTEST CLOSED! The winner is #15, Andrea, who wrote, "This past year was my 10th year teaching, and also my most difficult year. I struggled constantly with "handing it over to God", but I realized that the more I prayed, the more I was able to see the positive impact that I was having in my student's lives, and that helped me make it through each day."

As always, I appreciate the thoughtful comments you all took the time to leave, and I am touched by your stories. If you didn't win, but would like to participate in our online Bible study/book club starting August 5th, use this link to get Awakened and the devotional for $5 off (that's $30 for both books including Priority Mail Shipping for U.S. residents). Another way to save money is to get the eBook versions.

What I've been up to lately...

noreply@blogger.com (Angela Watson) — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 18:40:00 +0000

I'm alive. I'm well. I actually have a TON of different things I want to share you with. God has been teaching me so much over the past month and I've got tons of blog post ideas swirling around my head.

But I can't spare any creative energy right now: it's all going to The Awakened Devotional Study Guide for Christian Educators. I feel like my head will explode if I try to wrap my brain around anything else. I am laying low for the next week and getting everything finalized (God willing). The last minute word changes, margin alignments, and font size corrections are pretty much the only thing on my schedule, and they're MORE than enough to fill every day. Then I've got more work in schools, a conference in San Diego, and a lovely anniversary vacation with my husband in Alaska. After that...the book launch. July 15-ish. Possibly a little later, depending on how easily the PDF conversion goes (right now? not so well.)

So yeah, things are a little hectic here right now. But they're good. Really, really good. I'm so excited about this book. God has already done such amazing things with it through the focus group. I can't wait to see what He has planned next.

Prayers, my friends, that is what I need from you right now...I hope the end of the school year is wrapping up well and you have plans for relaxation and rejuvenation. I'll try to check in with you at least once before I go on vacation (sooo many cool things to share!), but looking at my schedule, I have to be honest: you might not hear from me until I'm posting Alaska photos.

Enjoy the start to your summer... :-)