Better than baseball and apple pie?

          “Football and religion are two of the greatest things we have in this country, and there should be no problem with them coinciding.” Sports Columnist, Wes O’Donnell wrote these words to end an article entitled “Has Tim Tebow taken Faith too far into Football?”(1). This article proceeds to argue the exact opposite of what I was expecting from the title. Mr. O’Donnell went on to talk about a journalist who took Tebow’s words on faith out of context and basically made him out to be saying that if he has enough faith then God was definitely going to start him in the NFL (Tebow did not say this). Of course there are going to be people who are going to bash Tebow’s clear display of Christ in his life; it’s Biblical that there are going to be those who will want to persecute Christians, especially 24 year old quarterback Christians who play for the Denver Broncos.

          Well, you may be wondering why I was looking up articles about Tim Tebow in the first place...I do live in Colorado people, so come on now...I mean I tried to find a Tebow shirt/jersey to bring home for my brother and there were NONE...anywhere! In fact my students make fun of me for liking Tim Tebow so much; in addition to them making fun of my northern O’s (mOm, dOll, hip hOp...yes I have said all three of those words in my classroom) and my awesome driving skills...Yes, I am sure I am quite the role-model for them. Sometimes I think I forget that I have 100 middle school students watching me five days a week and if I like it or not, I AM going to be a role-model for them. That is something I really respect about Tebow, I feel like he completely understands the fact that God has gifted him with certain abilities and assets to be that role-model for an entire nation (well at least a football loving nation).

Decided to be eco-friendly and instead of throwing
this in the garbage of the staff lounge...I brought it to
Michigan for my dad to read..proved to be great inspiration
for a brand new blog post.

     Journalist, Pat Forde, stated in an ESPN article: “Most of us are lucky to know what we want to do by the time we get to college; Tebow found his twin passions -- pigskin and preaching -- about the time he entered grade school” (2). I believe Tebow is using not only his words to preach, but also his actions. Forde quoted Tebow’s response to various reporters bashing his faith when he wrote, “There's always going to be naysayers, people that are going to say it's fake. But that's fine because you can't control everybody. But I can control what I do, my attitude, how I approach the situation. So how I approach the situation is I want to do everything in my power that football gives me to influence as many people as I can for the good because that's gonna mean so much more when it's all said and done than just playing football and winning championships” (2). Woah, heart check time! Seriously, God has given us certain abilities and it’s about how we use those abilities; it’s not about winning, making money, or being the best of the best. How easy is it to put our jobs and ourselves into that quote:

“I (AMANDA) can control what I do, my attitude, how I approach the situation. So how I approach the situation is I want to do everything in my power that TEACHING and WRITING gives me to influence as many people as I can for the good because that’s gonna mean so much more when it’s all said and done than just preparing lessons, grading papers, etc.”

So, Tim Tebow, thanks for that most excellent win last Thursday night, but not only that...thank you for letting God use you to spread your faith and reminding me how my words and actions can influence those around me.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29


Check out these articles:
1.) http://tigerreport.blogspot.com/2011/08/wes-odonnell-has-tim-tebow-taken-faith.html

2.) http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3812762&sportCat=ncf
3.) http://www.bpsports.net/bpsports.asp?ID=5657

FEEEE HE HE HEEEEEEENEEEEY...I miss TGIF

SYMBOLISM
1. The practice of representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships (thank you freedictionary.com)


          This was a term that became one of my best friends in college; I loved looking for the symbolism in everything I read and wrote about! I’m sure my professors loved my endless papers about the symbolism any given author alluded to with his or her use of imagery in the form of light, objects, words, and so on (if you let me I bet I would look for the symbolism in everything from the movie Elf to Boy Meets World…I mean come on Mr. Feeny is a clear symbol of our conscience and desire for human wisdom in concrete form…okay okay, moving on…). I just really believe to get to the emotional essence of a piece of writing it is essential to look for symbolism. It is just so beautiful the way an author can weave together words to create a much deeper connotation than what is on the surface. Oh and wouldn’t you know it…another literary term has crept into my writing. “Connotation” goes beyond the dictionary definition of a word, but goes deeper to what is implied and gets to the emotional meaning that is associated, thus going full circle back to symbolism. The connotation goes beyond the surface. Symbolism goes beyond the surface.

          Isn’t that a great analogy for life? We have this amazing author who has woven together various people, situations, and events into our lives and if we could just look past the surface, we would see how clearly God is moving and working in our lives. Oftentimes we only look at the denotation (literal meaning; a.k.a. the surface definition) of a person and never take the time to really try to see them; to look for the connotation of that person. We never look for the symbolism of life. Perhaps that small instance in your life that you never took the time to look deeper into was God trying to get your attention. God uses symbolism all over the place…I mean come on now…Noah and the rainbow, now if that isn’t a clear symbol of the hope and promises that he has for us, I don’t know what is. I am going to challenge myself to look deeper into the ways that God is speaking, so that I can live past the surface of life; so that he will use me as a symbol of his unconditional mercy, grace, and love to allow his light to shine through me, for him, all of my days.


"Open my eyes to see the wonderful truths in your instructions." Psalm 119:18

"From the first break of light, to last days"

          Remember when you were a little kid and wanted to listen to the same song over and over again or watch the same movie repeatedly? I bet glimpses of ninja turtles, the Mighty Ducks, Cinderella, Adventures in Babysitting and echoes of New Kids on the Block and the Macarena are being reiterated through your memories right now (and you’re welcome). Pretty sure my mom got sick of the Donut Man in about 2.4 seconds of my sister and me watching it. Well, I guess that contentment with certain things hasn’t left me…I fell in love with the song “Yahweh” while at New Life Church in Colorado Springs a couple of months back. This is the song I listen to as I get ready in the morning, the song I sing as I am getting my classroom ready for the day, and the song I am relishing in as I type this post. It reminds me of one of the most simple, beautiful and heart wrenchingly truth rendering words of wisdom my mom has ever given me.

          Let’s take a step back to a time when I felt further from God than I had ever felt; it was an era in my life when I felt like I was falling incessantly without a net and kept plunging deeper and deeper away from the person I knew God had intended me to be. This particular day was a day when I knew a change needed to come, but didn’t know if I had the strength to surge that transformation into gear. It was a warm summer evening in Michigan and I was sitting in my gym clothes in our den. My mom came up behind me, kissed my forehead the way only a mother can; that kiss that expresses more than any words of affirmation ever could. As she stroked my forehead with the hands that had shaped our household and engrained a constant surge of unconditional love in me, she sat down with a quiet air of ease. In a voice that can only be described as a whisper and a beautiful shout, she said these words to me:

“Amanda…God has never left you.”

          That was it. That was all that needed to be said. Those words spurred in me that flicker of passion that had started to slowly fade away because of no one’s fault, but my own. As the next few months passed of me trying to pick up the pieces, I kept hearing my mother’s words resonate when bouts of discouragement attempted to creep in. God had never left me; he was, is, and always will be there. What a beautiful truth. Even as I type, I can feel a whole array of emotions begin to burst within me: joy, peace, excitement, anticipation. Isn’t it exquisitely magnificent how God uses those around us to speak his truth to us even when we are so blinded by the lies that the truth seems like a shadow in the mist? Thank you Jesus for the prayers of my parents. Thank you Jesus that even though I may stumble, you have provided me with Godly examples. Thank you Jesus for lifting the fog that had surrounded me. Thank you Jesus for always being there.

YAHWEH New Life Worship

From the first break of light

To last days

Every echo of time

Every evening face

You've always been there

From a baby's first cry

To last breathe

Every fight in our minds

Every victory dance

You've always been there

Ancient One, so amazing

Unfailing You are

Holy One, overwhelming

My heart with Your love

Yahweh, Yahweh

Faithful God You're here to stay

Yahweh, Yahweh

Forever and always the same

Where the sky meets the sea

And breaks free

When compassion and love

Are met with me

You've always been there

Ancient One, so amazing

Unfailing You are

Holy one, overwhelming

My heart with Your love

Yahweh, Yahweh

Faithful God, You're here to stay

Yahweh, Yahweh

Forever and always the same

All consuming

Everlasting

God almighty

Lord of glory

From Lake Huron to Pikes Peak

          Well, I thought it was about time for an update! So I could just start and end with this: God Answers Prayers. That’s it…I hope you enjoyed the post!

          Alright, I guess I can give you a little more than that. I will probably share bits and pieces of the journey I have gone through during the past year in the months to come, but for now I will give a brief overview.
          Let’s start with last fall…it was time to surrender it ALL to God. I must say that was so much easier said than done. Have you ever felt like you were stuck; that feeling of asking, “Okay Lord, what am I suppose to do? Where am I supposed to go?” I had that feeling after graduating college and I hate to say it, but I was pretty confused and upset that I did not have a teaching job, not just in Michigan, but anywhere. Oh how silly I can be sometimes, since God knew I needed that time to grow in order to begin to form me into the woman he wants me to be (trust me he is definitely still working on me…sometimes overtime...).
          I was stuck, I mean I had an awesome permanent sub position, but I had this feeling that he had somewhere for me to go…I thought it would be a beach somewhere down south (once again, sometimes I am so silly when it comes to thinking I know the plans HE has for me). January 1st came along and that just seemed like the perfect time to take a radical step…so, I decided I would fast until I got some answers in my life. Wait, it is even more radical than fasting food…nope…I fasted FACEBOOK! I fasted it for almost six straight months…I felt totally cut off from the world (well from the social network world at least). I’m sure some of you are rolling your eyes at this right now, but it wasn’t that easy not knowing if those little red notifications, messages, and tagging of photographs were blowing up my wall…come on now!  I took this time to apply for jobs all over and even had interviews in Nevada, a couple in North Carolina, and even Florida; glimmers of hope were being speckled throughout my days (he always knows when and where I need encouragement).

          May comes along and through a serious of godincidences (haha god-inspired coincidences…) come along and I decide to apply for jobs in Colorado. I find this one posting for Pikes Peak School of Expeditionary Learning for a middle school History through Writing teacher; I didn’t know what an EL school was, but I had this crazy urging to apply. About a week later I get an e-mail to set up an interview, a few days later have the interview, and the next morning get offered the job. I knew it was my job(they say you just KNOW when you meet the right person, well the same can be said when you find the RIGHT job). It was this overwhelming peace and in the following months God amazingly opened doors and provided the finances for me to find an amazing condo with Godly women as roommates, a new car, and the maturity and independence to know that I am right where he wants me. He even showed me through another series of GODincidences to go to New Life Church. Can you believe Kari Jobe led worship my very first Sunday?! The overwhelming blessings he continued to poor our resulted in me crying tears of joy through the whole worship service (that’s a story for another time).
          Ok random Amanda moment…back in 2010, the door on my jimmy came off the hinges and I was in Saginaw for a student teaching conference, which meant I got to bungee cord my door until I got home to get it fixed. When I came out of the conference, there was a card on my windshield; I opened it found a five dollar bill and the verse Jeremiah 29:11. I can’t explain the shimmer of light that seemed to cascade off of those words and into my heart, but the encouragement was overwhelming. In fact, I knew God would take care of me…and take care of me he did, with an amazing woman just footing the $500 bill no questions asked. Last weekend that verse was reiterated to me in a variety of incidents and outlets; I know God has even bigger plans he is preparing to unfold. So what has he taught me this past year? He has taught me it is much better to trust him to reveal his plans in his time and that although I may feel that I want something to happen for my future, he is working something out in this very present time, even during those times of feeling “stuck.”


I can’t help but feel at peace as the words of Jeremiah 29:11 are often my god song for the day: “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”


Thank you Lord for painting out every second of every day on the beautiful canvas of this life you have gifted me with.