Good Mornin' From A Smilin' Teacher On A Snow Day Off...

Hi All:

Yes... Saturday night's snow lingered just enough to get me out of work once again. Yes! Do I dislike my job? Not hardly .... but who could complain on having a day off to get to do things that need taking care of like............. seeing baby Gavin. haha Yea, I am heading to see him (an hour + drive) today as soon as his mommy calls me to let me know they are up and kicking for the day. I'll be sure to post pictures!

But until then... I wanted to leave you with this verse that I read in my devotion book

The 100 Most Important Bible Verses

that Tina bought me for Christmas. Note... if you are familiar with the book, notice that I am posting the KJV instead of the various ones used in the book. The KJV is a beautiful version that is written unlike the others. There are words there that are too beautiful to miss.

Matthew 6:8:8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

The "them" that the Bible is talking about are those who pray for show and those that pray repeatedly because they think that God will hear them better if they repeat themselves. Do not confuse this with earnestly praying for a request every time we pray. That's not what this means. God wants us to let Him know what our heart needs, just in the right way.

This verse is a stand out verse to me. And in the devotion it made mention of something that I thought summed up the purpose of prayer perfectly:

"Prayer is not a way to draw God's attention to your needs. It is a way to draw your attention to how much you need God."

How True!!! God knows everything about us. He knows what my heart desires in the quiet of the night when no one else does. I pray to Him because I need to continue to condition myself to realize that I need God more than oxygen, water, food, social interaction, etc. He is my number one need and without Him, I could never exist. An amazing thought, those who do not believe in Him are still being loved by Him. Jesus loved them on the cross just like us. He asked for forgiveness for those that hurt Him, stating that they know not what they do. It is so simple, yet some folks make it so difficult. A simple gift of love. Amazing!

Well....... Jess just called. Gavin has been up almost all night and she's up now. I am off to see my lil 7 lb. buddy. Love to all!

Alesha :D