Safety Saturdays #20 Back-2-School

After an extended summer break, I am reintroducing Safety Saturdays with back to school safety information and a request for feedback.

NetSmartz® Workshop, an Internet safety program of the The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC), has launched a back-to-school campaign to raise awareness of the importance of Internet and real-world safety.

Visit their website to download a free NetSmartz® Back-2-School Kit, including animated videos (see below for an example), hands on activities, and lesson plans for intermediate and primary age children. The material is worth the time it takes to download.

NCMEC's online publication Know the Rules...After-School Safety for Children Who Are Home Alone provides tips for parents and guardians to consider when allowing their child to be unsupervised at home. You can also download the publication in English or Spanish.

Would you be interested in Safety Saturdays being more interactive? For example, questions posed to stimulate conversation on a topic or a preview of the next week's topic with the opportunity to ask questions to be addressed in the post?

Check out all the Safety Saturdays posts for more safety tips. I appreciate your comments and feedback on any posts. If you are not familiar with blogging, you can still leave a comment below. Just click the anonymous button and type your comment in the text box provided.

Yes to God - God Will Make a Way

Thanks to everyone supporting me through my job loss and beloved pet's death. We took a few days to get away on a mini-vacation to visit my family, returning home last night. I love to see my daughter with her grandparents.

Now onto the study of the book by Lysa TerKeurst, What Happens When Women Walk in Faith. This week, we're discussing Chapter 10, Roadblocks and Reassurances, and Chapter 11, God Will Make a Way. Be sure to click on the button above to visit Lelia's site to read more.

In Chapter 10, I concentrated on these words:

"Take your eyes off the problem and focus on the good and loving God who has great plans for you.....We don't grow by changing the adverse circumstances. We grow by embracing God's plans for the circumstances and allowing Him to have His full way in us.....let Him help you find a perspective beyond your own."

I strive to embrace God's plans surrounding my unemployment. As I begin the process of interviewing for new jobs, I seek Him daily for assistance in looking beyond myself. I do not want to make any decisions based on what I think is best for me. I want to follow God's will to receive His best for my family.

Chapter 11 tells us to choose every day to experience God in spite of our circumstances. Why? Because He makes a way in every circumstances.

As adults, we can be tempted to overcomplicate God's truth. The innocence of childhood sees the straightforwardness of the Word.

Today, I watched a Veggie Tales movie, The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, with Pumpkin. At the end of the movie, the King presents medals to the Pirates for heroically saving his children. The Pirates tell the King he made a mistake to call them heroes.

The King explains it could not be a mistake because he choose them and provided everything they needed. Pumpkin said, "God provided what they needed all along." May it be just that simple and direct for us to see. God will make a way.

Blessings,

Change......loss

Seriously, I do not plan on continually disappearing. My transition period remains chaotic. My job ended one week ago. Lack of communication from the company made the situation more stressful than necessary.

I'll spare you all the details. I'm glad to be out of it. I feel at peace as we wait for God to reveal His plans for our family.

At the beginning of this week, my 17-year-old cat, LB, became sick. I took him to the emergency vet in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, he did not return to our home with me.

Though "just a cat," he's been a constant in my life for 16 years - through job and relationship changes, 8 moves (including two across the country), my getting married and our having a child. Our house seems a little empty without him. LB followed me from room to room and always sat facing the door, guarding me.

Here's a few pictures of our little buddy. We'll miss him.

My daughter's reaction to our loss deserves a separate post. I do not have the brain capacity to do it justice tonight.

Yes to God Tuesdays - God Is With You

During this hectic, exhausting time of transition, I considered taking a blogging vacation, but I did not intend to disappear for 10 days between posts. For anyone still reading my blog through my chaotic posting schedule, thank you!

I'm getting back on track. Some posts about change, including When God Moves Your Cheese Part II, are forthcoming.

Now onto this awesome book by Lysa TerKeurst, What Happens When Women Walk in Faith, which I know God orchestrated me reading and sharing with others during this famine phase of unemployment. This week, we're discussing Chapter 6, God's Extraordinary Invitation, and Chapter 7, God is With You.

While focused on hearing God's direction for my life, I almost missed His invitation to draw closer to Him through this difficult time. While searching for the physical manifestation of His will, I almost overlooked the spiritual purpose as He calls me to trust and rest in Him on a deeper level.

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you." 1 Peter 5:7

The only way I can function through this trial is by seeking God's direction on what I need to accomplish each day. Otherwise, I am overwhelmed. Lysa put it well, "Don't try to make your whole dream come true at once. Just fulfill the small part of the mission He's asking you to do today."

Not easy for a person who loves to plan ahead while looking at big picture, but possible with God.

"I can live with my limited vision, convinced that there is no way and overcome with uncertainty in my time of famine, or I can take God's hand and confidently proclaim Him to be my way," Lysa says.

I pray I keep holding tightly to God's hand, as He is the only way.

Transition

No Safety Saturday post today. I'm considering a new format and plan to seek your input soon.

Although shutting off my brain is difficult these days, organizing my thoughts into insightful posts nears impossible. Bear with me!

I may try to structure myself. Any ideas? What do you do when everyday life interferes with blogging, writing, or any goal?

Blessings,

Yes to God Tuesdays - God Has a Plan

Yes to God Tuesday ended up on Wednesday this week, my apologies.

Chapter 3, God Has a Plan, of Lysa TerKeurst's book, What Happens When Women Walk in Faith, builds on the last chapter, and emphasizes "to leave some things behind, we need to learn that God has a plan and to trust His plan."

This chapter correlates to a recent sermon by my pastor, entitled When God Moves Your Cheese. To discuss God making changes in our lives, Pastor played on the words of the title of Spencer Johnson's motivational book about change, Who Moved My Cheese.

I found such comfort in the major points of Pastor's sermon:

• God's purpose supercedes our convenience.
• God moves at a sense of time operating by a different standard. Our timing is based in the past. God's timing is based on the future.
• The change is not a disruption to your journey. It is a continuation in the same direction/destiny in God.
• We may have a greater impact out of our comfort zone than within our comfort zone.
• God moves us to extend His reach and influence and to bring something out of us that will outlast us.
• When God moves, He moves us higher, wider, deeper, and better.
• We can never go wrong with God, even if we feel vulnerable.

Lysa writes giving up our plans for God's plan, the perfect plan, takes us to places we never imagined. My favorite sentence from Lysa's book is "Commit to leave your agenda behind, take God's hand, and hold on tight...the journey has just begun."

I'm holding on Lord. I trust your plan. I can't wait to see where you take me.

If God is moving your cheese, I'd love to hear about it.

Click on the button above to visit Lelia's blog or to participate in this study.

Then Sings My Soul Saturday - Live for Today

The reality of my impending job loss weighed heavy on me the past couple days. I'm most concerned about health insurance, due to my daughter's asthma and husband's diabetes, especially after learning the monthly COBRA payment is more than our mortgage.

Although I'm feeling "why is it this thing called life has got me goin' crazy," I choose to concentrate on these words

"You told me not to worry about what lies ahead, so I am gonna focus on today instead, making every moment count and counting every single blessing."

God is in control. I will take it day by day, and let Him handle the future.

Visit Signs, Miracles and Wonders to hear more great songs.