​Heb 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
     From the time I was a child my nature has been all or nothing. With Dad being a farmer, the way he put it, I was either in 5th gear or in neutral. That’s just my DNA. So when I do school, I give it everything. But when schools shuts down, so do I. Each year as the last few weeks approach I can feel the tiredness seeping into my bones as I see the days counting down. I certainly approach the throne of grace for help to finish off the year well.
     Friday we had our graduation and I said goodbye to three students that I’ve had for the past five years. I know there were times in those years that we annoyed each other, or that I didn’t always make the best decision about something – how wonderful to have this verse that not only promises grace in our times of need, but invites us to come boldly! When I mess up, I don’t need to cringe and beat myself up; I need to boldly march up to the throne of grace and gladly accept the mercy that is offered to me. With God’s grace we made it through the ups and downs of five years of school work to reach graduation day for these three.
     This verse doesn’t limit the amount of times we can boldly approach that throne of grace, either. It just says ‘in time of need’ which is good as there are many times I’ve needed to avail myself of it. Sometimes it can be grace to face a life-changing issue, but sometimes it’s just a small thing like –
      Right after graduation I took off on a two hour trip to get to Gimli and set up for an ACTfest weekend. (I was on the planning committee.) As I drove I could see sheet rain to the left of me and to the right. I said, “Lord, I’m tired. I’d really like to get to Gimli without battling a huge storm, if you don’t mind. The entire trip I was between those two cloudbursts with only an occasional light splattering of rain on my car. That was a grace-filled moment for me.
 It’s interesting to note that as I quote this verse to myself and ponder what to write, I can feel encouragement welling up inside me. I’m thankful I grew up in a family that encouraged Bible memorization. So many verses come to my mind just when I need them. This verse is one of them.

 Is 30:15b - …in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength...
 
Today is Mother’s Day. Often as a teacher, I look at mothers and think, “how can they be so confident and get everything right?" From my point of view dealing with teens who often don’t want to listen or do anything their teacher says, it seems like the mothers have all the answers while I lack in so many areas. Yet I know mothers can often feel the same way I do – their kids take them for granted and don’t show appreciation all the time. So having a special day for remembering the amazing things Moms do for their families is important.
But whether you’re dealing with children as a mom or a teacher – we both have to remember our confidence and strength must come from God – and we need the quiet moments with Him to gear up for the fray that we daily walk into.

What am I forgetting? What have I got to do next – those are big questions that roar through my mind semi-permanently around now as school winds down. I need this verse to remember to take time to be quiet. God didn’t come to Elijah in the wind and the thunder and the fire – but in a still small voice. May I take the time each day to listen for that still small voice –whether it’s in a morning devotion, or enjoying my tulips and daffodils that have just come out, or on a bike ride. I gain my strength from those quiet moments with God.
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PS – And when I look at some of the lovely gifts students have given me over the years, I realize that being their teacher definitely had its special moments, too, as you can see in the photo. I remember the where's and whys they gave me what they did.

These are just a few of many wonderful gifts and memories students did for me over the years - the daffodils aren't from a student, but a "in place" of the 3- 5 gallon bucketfuls a 4th grade Tasmanian student picked for me when he found out I loved daffodils (they grow like dandelions there!) The sketch below is from an amazing artist of a student who gave me this pencil drawing of their school when I left. She just passed away a year ago next month from cancer, so this is doubly precious now.

Is 40:31 - But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
This is a verse I am so familiar with – and it’s coming at the perfect time! I always have this verse on my mind at this time of year.
I am 4 weeks away from the end of the school year. That is both a blessing and a stress. The end is in sight, but so many things need to be done in this time frame as well. I’ve just had a two week stint of busy-ness that has left me slightly reeling. End of year stuff, community projects, yard work – you know you’re busy when dishes don’t get done for 8 days, laundry is a MUST if you want clean stuff to wear, and then you grab your loaf of bread to make a quick grilled cheese sandwich, and notice it’s not edible. You think, “How did this happen? I just bought this, didn't I?” But I guess time just flies when you’re having fun! (or too much to do in too little time.)
Whoever invented the saying, “Stop and smell the roses along the way” knew what he was talking about. One morning as I drove to work, I said, “Lord, how do I slow down? All this stuff is important and good, but I’m tired!” The Lord sent me the most amazing sunrise sky through the clouds that it just took my breath away. When I parked at the school, I said, “I don’t have time to not go and look at the greenhouse flowers.” Between the sunrise and the flowers I felt the serenity flow back into my veins. As I walked back to the school, this verse was on my lips. I have learned it as a song, and many times have sung it both as a prayer and as a promise
My goal this week is not to be a chicken running madly about squawking at the work, but to be an eagle that can soar above it and see the end is in sight!

​Deut 32:2 - My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass:
I have had a crazy busy week – and it’ll be followed by another one. I had to tell myself, “Don’t panic about everything you have to get done – just focus on the thing that needs to be done right now.” My house is a disaster with five projects all on the boil at the same time, the yard needs a major overhaul now the snow is gone – I can feel my stress level. So to open the computer and read this verse – I could just feel a gentle touch to my soul to slow down and relax.
So when life gets a bit crazy, and the pressure is intense – God can bring a soft, gentle reminder. Elijah went through the storm and then the still, small voice came. It’s good to know God is still there, waiting for me to stop rushing madly along, and wait on Him. He’s the one that can settle my spirit. I felt that as I read this verse.
This verse has a physical application too. I don’t know about you, but on warm days when there’s a fine mist drifting, I like being out in it. It’s refreshing. Just like the flowers bloom and blossom suddenly with a bit of moisture, so our souls need that spiritual refreshment as well.

Really bad photos. Small ice floes, then the force hitting the bottom makes them smaller, and able to float, and not jam up. But the spectacular icebergs, I never got. Use your imagination! I'm sitting on the bridge and this stuff is flowing just a few inches below me.
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​ Ps 65:5 - By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
As I typed these verses into random weeks in January, I remember thinking, “what can I say about this one?!”  Yet the very week this one comes up, I had a visual image of ‘terrible things in righteousness’. Spring is coming, and when there’s a high ice/river flow, flooding becomes a concern. My principal mentioned that I should take the back road and check the diversion. They are pushing the ice along the river in the hopes that the city won’t get flooded as Winnipeg has two major rivers running through it. (I won’t get into the politics of wanting to save a city from flooding verses flooding the farming communities that provide food for cities – it’s a huge issue that won’t be easily resolved!)
I took the gravel road after school and stopped at the diversion for a while. With the window down, you could hear the roar of the water and ice dropping over the wall. I took a few photos of the ice floes. Naturally, as soon as I’d put the phone away, three mini-icebergs came up. Grinding, crushing, pushing each other, they jammed together at the precipice before one gave way and came crashing over. The sound of those massive pieces of ice smashing apart as they hit each other, the concrete and then were able to float swiftly downstream will stay in my mind for a long time. There was a ‘terrible rightness’ to seeing that happen. It’s necessary – but you sure wouldn’t want to be in the way.
So when I saw this verse, I immediately saw the cross connection to the ice display – the power of God tends to be given a back seat as we focus on the love of God. But some day His mercy will end. The terrible righteousness of His power will be displayed and the entire world will acknowledge He IS God.
But His love is still manifested in this verse – He allows everyone who accepts the salvation offered through Jesus’ death and resurrection to have confidence – even to the ends of the earth and the far off seas. I was privileged to experience the power of the river in a way that will remind me of what a mighty God we serve!
(PS – we’re having a slow spring, which helps keep the flooding at bay. If it gets too hot too fast, that’s when problems multiply.)

​Is 26:3 - Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
 
I love this verse. It speaks deeply to me and reminds me in the busy lifestyles that we have, it is imperative that we carve out moments of peace to refocus our minds on God. For me, that is nature. To be able to walk through crunchy leaves on a trail in the fall, to bike through leafy spreads of trees in the spring, to drive across North America hitting the back trails and seeing such amazing colors and beauty – that’s when I can get my mind stayed on God. I learned a hymn as a child that I still enjoy. “Alone with God” conveys that no matter the storm, the time of life, we need to be alone with God and it will bring us ‘communion sweet.’
For some reason this winter has seemed particularly long and hard. I’ve been sick a lot with some bad colds, so maybe that’s why spring seems so long in coming. Today, I pulled out the bike for the first time since October. What a treat – I felt peace as I made my first (albeit short!) 5 km ride to break myself in.
I love my Sunday afternoons curled up in bed with a book right after church – especially in the winter. I can escape and sail away on adventures while having a cozy blanket around me. I treasure those peaceful few hours once a week as ‘me’ time.

What brings you peace? Maybe it’s being with a group of friends working on a project – the Hutterites turned the gym into a sewing factory for three days and together made 475 quilts to give to various charities needing them. (The teachers were each allowed to take one, so the purple one on my bed is the one I chose.) To help them with that for a few hours one gave me a feeling of joy, peace  and contentment.
All these activities are good, and needed – but we still must remember that peace can be broken if we depend just on our circumstances for it. When the storm is raging around us and we still feel that inner peace that only God can give, then we know we have the perfect peace this verse is talking about. ​

Hab 3:17-19a  Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
I learned this passage as a song a long time ago. But I just sang it – I never thought about it. Now as I pondered it, my heart quivered. Could I really truly do what it says? When disaster hits my first instinct is to wail and complain and say, “Why me, Lord?”
The beginning of this passage is dire – they are losing everything needed for survival. As I listen to the news, our world today seems to be in chaos. Natural disasters are hitting everywhere, taxes increase, everyone one has to be politically correct or else…. It seems that life is a lot like when Habakkuk wrote this passage, BUT – he still says he’ll rejoice; how?
I think the key to this rejoicing in the Lord when everything fails is in “the next line – the Lord God is my strength.” I certainly can’t do it by myself – I have to do it through God. He’s the one who will lift me up and uphold me in the tough stuff.
This is a good verse to ponder on Easter. Jesus certainly never shirked His “tough stuff”. Because he was obedient even unto the death of the cross, the victory that we celebrate today on Easter Sunday gives us the joy of salvation, and the ability to walk in the high places in God’s strength.

​II Cor 4:16-17 - For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
 
There is no doubt about it; I cannot do nearly the things I used to do – even just from five years ago. I find it so frustrating. As a teacher, I’ve always been able to keep up with my students physically, and now I can’t. My outward man is perishing. There is nothing I can do about all the childhood accidents that now haunt and hurt me. However, the inward man is still under my control. I can choose how the strength of my spirit is. But it takes effort. Why is it so much easier to work on physical exercise than it is to put effort into spiritual exercise?
At school, my two colleagues and I decided we would do a quick Bible study on Tuesdays during lunch break. The other two have no students after 11:10, but some of mine don’t leave until 11:45. As soon as I am free, I head to the staff room. I only have 30 minutes to eat and talk and pray, so we don’t get far in the Study book we chose. I’ll also admit many times I’ve walked down the hall thinking, “Whew, what a morning. I don’t have time for this.” BUT! The lift it gives my spirit is undeniable and I feel refreshed taking the time to share in Bible study with these ladies.
It’s easy to think about the physical and the day to day part of life more than the spiritual and the ‘ever after’. But it’s there, it’s real and I need to cling to the fact that my age may slow me down, but nothing can change the hereafter for me!
These photos are the “Hermitage”, the Russian Czar’s winter palace. The glory and beauty within those walls are phenomenal – yet the final photo is the tomb and plaques of the last czar’s family (Peter & Paul Cathedral) when they were executed. Nothing here on earth will last forever; it’s so good to know the eternal will be even more spectacular, and all tears will be wipe away!

1. Outside of The Hermitage
2. One of the numerous halls with original paintings
3. The Throne room (all ceilings were magnificent!)
3. Burial spot of the Romanov's (last czar of Russia)