Don’t Water It Down

March 3, 2016March 3, 2016 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

My childhood as an Army Brat is one I wouldn’t trade for anything. We lived all over the world, and my brother and I were lucky enough to spend two years in school at Hawaii Baptist Academy in Honolulu. While I certainly fell away from my faith late in high school and in college, I credit many of my teachers and one of my Bible classes at HBA with my excitement in studying Scripture and learning about God.

If you want the very best for your children, send them to a Bible-believing Christian school for K-12 – Yes, nowhere is perfect. Yes, the sports/activities may be lacking (or not!). But instilling a love for Christ and the Bible at an early age is such an amazing gift. One that, even if it is thrown aside during adolescence and/or college, can be picked back up with fervor later in life.

All this to say that this morning, on my way to work, I was thinking about my 8th grade Bible class. Hawaii’s population is, if not primarily, largely Buddhist – and this was the case even at a Baptist private school. Bible classes were mandatory, however, and Jesus was a little part of every course, so if the Gospel didn’t manage to touch you in some way, it was only because you were intentionally stuffing your ears full of cotton.

Our Bible teacher that year was phenomenal. In fact, many of the faculty from my years there are memorable. Most of them had traveled to Hawaii to teach at this school as missionaries, and while this may seem like a glamorous calling…Trust me… Hawaii without air conditioning for a Southerner is not even close to glamorous. As Craig can attest since we spent our anniversary trip via ‘true Hawaiian style’, it is HOT.

Hawaiians: Y’all need A/C.

I remember it like it was yesterday…our teacher, originally from Alabama, which made me feel right at home, assigned us to read the book of Genesis and the entire room of eighth graders, characteristically tactless, groaned audibly.

“Now, hold on,” she told us. “The Bible, and Genesis in particular, is quite the soap opera. You won’t find yourself bored at all…As a matter of fact, I dare you to compare some of the events in Genesis to something that could be on the Jerry Springer Show!”

We were shocked! Jerry Springer?!?! Now that was juicy!! And as we read how Eve deceived her husband, Cain killed his own brother, Lot’s daughters getting him drunk…WHOA! How the heck was this stuff in the BIBLE?!?!

The truth is…the Bible is probably the one completely honest piece of literature ever written. Most books gloss over their ‘hero’s’ faults and mistakes…The Bible is quite upfront about David’s indiscretions, Abraham’s initial lack of faith, Peter’s denial…even Jesus asked if there was any way crucifixion could be taken from Him. When we read Scripture, we are reading the living Word of God and that is beyond powerful!

Certainly, there is nothing ‘boring’ about the Bible. You just may need to find a translation that’s easy for you to read. While the King James Version was written in the vernacular of the day, The Message and the New Living Translation and the English Standard Version are more akin to modern language and therefore, easier to delve into and allow God to speak through.

I’m currently reading the first book in a trilogy of Christian fiction…I made the wrong assumption it would be heady and holier than thou, and I have been more than pleasantly surprised. This book is captivating and real and a fascinating portrayal of what the early Christians endured. It is filled with a picture of the ancient cultures of Rome and Ephesus…A society that lacked morality completely and tolerated anything…Anything except Christianity. In fact, Christians were burned as torches for a ‘circus’ the Roman emperor, Nero, held. It is a description of a society that sounds all too (increasingly) familiar…

And if you don’t believe me… Read this, this, this and this. An Amazon review of the trilogy mentions it is very graphic for Christian fiction…and I wonder…Has this woman read the Bible?!?! It is an honest, if graphic, portrayal of the world early Christians lived in and what they endured for their faith.

And it is important to read in these frightening times.

As Christians, we don’t need to water down what is going on around us…and we certainly don’t need to water down and dress up the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Jesus never claimed His Way was easy. In fact, He tells us the world will hate us and that we will be outcasts when we truly live for Him. His Way is the only way, however and making Christianity into a pretty, neat little package that fits into your particular box is a dangerous path…

The video below provides a great analogy about what palatable packing does to the message of Jesus Christ. {Click the image to play the video.}

Until tomorrow…

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Not Too Thirsty

August 27, 2015August 27, 2015 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

Thirsty for Christ. What does that phrase mean to you?

I’ll tell you what it means to me – hungering after following Him, being consumed by wanting a deeper relationship with the Father, realizing that nothing else can satisfy your soul the way He does.

We currently have a world population of more than 7.3 billion people. Roughly 31% of those 7.3 billion people claim to be Christians. That’s over 2.1 billion people. 2.1 billion.

If all two billion of us were truly thirsty for Christ, would this world be in the state it’s in today? We live in a world predicted by the prophets:

“ Be sure of this. In the last days hard times will come. People will love themselves. They will love money. They will talk about themselves and be proud. They will say wrong things about people. They will not obey their parents. They will not be thankful. They will not keep anything holy. They will have no love. They will not agree with anybody. They will tell lies about people. They will have no self-control. They will beat people. They will not love anything that is good.They cannot be trusted. They will act quickly, without thinking. They are proud of themselves. They love to have fun more than they love God.They act as if they worshipped God, yet they do not let God’s power work in their lives. Keep away from people like that.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5

Um…that sounds like now to me…but regardless, shouldn’t we Christians (all 2 billion of us) be shining SO brightly that we overshadow the over 69%? Shouldn’t we be so loving and forgiving and helpful and full of JOY that people can’t help but be drawn to us?

Why is it then that instead of striving to be like Jesus, we are fighting, assimilating with the secular world around us, insulting, blaming, judging…

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2

We are called to be transformed – to be different, outsiders! We should have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us, and therefore, have the mind of Christ – making it more than a little obvious when something isn’t right.

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8

“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” John 15:18-24

I pray for all of us to strive to be more Christlike – to thirst for Him. Christianity is not passive. It is not a club you belong to and never visit. It is a LIFESTYLE that affects every single decision you make, and every single thing you do. It is a CHOICE to follow Him, no matter what is thrown in your path.

A true servant of Jesus Christ is one who is willing to experience martyrdom for the reality of the gospel of God. When a moral person is confronted with contempt, immorality, disloyalty, or dishonesty, he is so repulsed by the offense that he turns away and in despair closes his heart to the offender. But the miracle of the redemptive reality of God is that the worst and the vilest offender can never exhaust the depths of His love. Paul did not say that God separated him to show what a wonderful man He could make of him, but “to reveal His Son in me…” (Galatians 1:16). (from ‘My Utmost for His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers)

Are you willing to thirst and hunger after Christ at all costs?

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Your Choice

October 16, 2014October 16, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres4 Comments

Yes, I know. I’m the Worst. Blogger. Ever. If that award is anywhere to be awarded, send it my way. I deserve it! One of our last blogs already detailed how busy we have been, and the past few weeks have been NO EXCEPTION, but, at any rate, I feel guilty for abandoning my blogging family so much since our move! 😦

Forgive me?

Since taking on my new role as Youth Minister for two parishes in Southern Maine, I have been faced with new thoughts about our faith – some of them, I never thought I would have to look face-to-face, but therein lies the joy of life! Nothing is ever what you THINK it will be!

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

⁴Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. ⁵Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.⁹Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Children and teenagers today don’t have it the way our grandparents did…or our parents…not even like I did. Youth of today are faced with enormous responsibility – so much so that I am fairly certain naptime would be a welcome word for many of today’s middle-schoolers and teens. Seriously.

When I was growing up, going to church and being involved with our Christian faith was not a CHOICE. It was just what your Sunday and Wednesday (evenings) consisted of. At least in my family, and the families of MANY of the kids I grew up with. Today, kids playing soccer or football have not only practice, but games and tournaments on Sunday mornings – forcing the child to CHOOSE between missing those activities and attending church…Wait, did I just say ‘forcing the child to choose’?!?

Oh…I did…and it isn’t any mistake! Parents today are allowing their children to be tiny adults…They make decisions about the events they are involved in and where their priorities are placed…Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

Re-read the passage from Deuteronomy above: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

As parents, it is your responsibility to show Christ to your children. That is your JOB as a parent, just as it is your duty as a spouse to show Christ to your husband or wife. Children are not born to you for show and tell, dressing up, parading talents, or reducing your tax burden. Children are God’s gift to parents, and in turn, they are to lead them to Christ.

As a couple facing infertility head-on, Craig nor I take our future responsibility lightly, and it is painful to see the teens I lead have to choose between playing in their soccer game or going to youth group or church. Parents need to set priorities – and this is a nationwide phenomenon.

As Christians, if we believe what we read in the Bible, we know that Sunday is the day for the Lord. He teaches us plainly that NOTHING should be above Him in our lives, and that includes high school activities, Sunday football, shopping trips, family get-togethers, etc. etc. This past Sunday 6,000 Maine high schoolers were involved in a soccer tournament in the morning! 6,000 players and HOW many parents and siblings?!?

When did we stop being a Christian nation, and allow the future of our country to CHOOSE for themselves how they would spend their Sunday? Even worse, when did parents decide it was okay for school events to be held during church services?

Proverbs 3:6

⁶In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and crown your efforts with success.

Matthew 6:33

³³But seek first his Kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This doesn’t just apply to parents or those raising children, either. This applies to each and every one of us. The moment you make the choice to put God first in your life, to take all of your concerns to Him in prayer, to lay all of those you love on His Altar, things will begin to dramatically change for you. Doors will be opened and His Will will begin to be illumined. Things that mattered so much before will fade away, and you will yearn for God’s favor.

It’s a miraculous thing being a child of God. Don’t pass up eternity for soccer on Sundays.

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Conversations With God

August 7, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

So often people send me an e-mail or stop me in a conversation and tell me how ‘lucky’ I am that God speaks to me in the way He does. I have simply replied with a smile or a knowing nod, and left the topic at that. Thinking I should elaborate, but never delving into that discussion.

Until now.

This entire week, I have been nudged by the Lord to speak about this – about the way He speaks. To all of us. Yes, every single one. All we have to do (and we aren’t) is listen.

Job 33:14-18

¹⁴For God speaks in one way,
    and in two, though man does not perceive it.
¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night,
    when deep sleep falls on men,
    while they slumber on their beds,
¹⁶then he opens the ears of men
    and terrifies them with warnings,
¹⁷that he may turn man aside from his deed
    and conceal pride from a man;
¹⁸he keeps back his soul from the pit,
    his life from perishing by the sword.

Why do we think that the God of the Bible isn’t the same One who reigns today? He is the same miraculous, omniscient, wonderful Guide and Counselor who spoke to Moses, Abraham, Job & Paul. He wants nothing more than to have a real, true relationship with His children – and we are His children.

Let’s take into account what prayer is. Prayer is a conversation with God -conversation means both parties speak! When you pray you come to God was thanksgiving; you come to God with requests; you come to God with concerns. But do you realize that if you only sit and listen, He answers?

You may not hear from Him in verbalized words. He may speak to you as you are reading His Word. He may speak to you through a friend or loved one. He may speak to you in the written words of another. He may speak to you within a sign in the environment. Remember that this world is His creation, and He can speak to you however He chooses.

He chooses how you will listen best.

Personally, I have asked God to be blunt with me. I need that. I will be the first to admit I am hard-headed as a brick wall! And literally, He answered that prayer for me! He is blunt
with me… As long as I listen!

Think about the nature of God. The Bible tells us that God literally is love. So what kinds of things do you think of when you think of love? What are traits that go along with love? Generosity, kindness, happiness, goodness, caring, diligence, compassion … If God is love and these traits and many others are representative of love, then wouldn’t these things be spoken to you by God?

We humans, by nature, are not filled with love and generosity and peace and goodness. We are filled with the greed, with selfishness, with anger. These things are human traits. These things are of the world – not of God.

So when you feel something deep in your bones that is good, honest and pure. That is God. That is not you; that is not the world; that is not Satan.

When the desire to do something out of the kindness of your heart comes about, that is the Lord speaking to you.
You can even test what you heard to make sure that it is of God and not yourself. You can read the Bible to see if what you feel is coming from God is biblical. You can pray about what you feel God is telling you. You can see the work of God in the lives and environment around you, and qualify that it is verifiably from God.

If you are one of a married couple, you can speak to your husband or wife and let them know what you feel God is telling you. I tell Craig when I feel God is speaking to me. We both pray about what I feel the Lord is saying or what Craig feels God is telling him.

If it is truly from God, and not of ourselves, we will both begin to feel the same way and feel without a shadow of a doubt that the message is from God. If not, we know that it is a personal desire and not of the Lord.

For example, when we first put our house on the market, we looked at another home. We both, after much prayer, felt that the Lord was leading us to humble ourselves. We felt that He was leading us to do more for His Kingdom and less for ourselves. The home we felt He was leading us to would be small and well under our budget.

We found one that fit the bill and I, for one, fell in love with it! It was way under budget, and it was the kind of house I could see us in, complete with a front porch swing! Craig did not feel the same way. Not at all. But still I really felt like this could be our house!

We both prayed about it for months! But Craig never felt God speaking to him in that way at all! In the end, I realized it was my own personal desire. I felt the house would be a quick fix for us, and I personally wanted the house. God was not leading us to that place. He was, in fact, leading us to be more humble, but not to that house.

He really does speak to all of us! We need only be still and listen to him!

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Grace, Guidance & His Everlasting Love

May 15, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

At the top of our prayer list is a request for God to guide us along the path He has chosen for us. Over the past couple of months, as we have walked down those paths and continued to pray for His guidance, He has led us and spoken to us in some utterly amazing ways.

I mentioned on Tuesday that I spent a large part of Mother’s Day evening in tears. Whenever I let the enemy remind me of past failures and regrets, sadness and sin, it gets me into the pit of depression. (Does this sound familiar to any of you??) I feel injured and helpless, hopeless and despairing – but that is NOT the state of mind God wants for His children. Not in the least!

And He is an the answerer of prayer.

This past week, He sent His messengers out with the following Word for me:

I love you with an everlasting love.

Here are, specifically, the messages He sent my way:

“Times like this are when I sing “I Have Loved You” over and over. He loves us with an everlasting love, and we are His! If He loves me that much, who am I to question my worth or why I am sometimes lonely?”

(Here’s a close-up!)

If you can’t read that on your screen, it says “He loves us with an everlasting love and nothing can thwart His Will. This means we should be at peace. We should set aside our worries. We should remove our fingers from our ears that we might hear the music of the rolling spheres magnifying His name.”

And then last night on Facebook, this came across my news feed:

I’m sorry, folks, but this just brings me to tears (of joy!) even as I type this. God loves us so much that He wants to calm our silly fears and concerns and worries! He SPEAKS TO HIS CHILDREN!!! He wants a real RELATIONSHIP with YOU. That’s right – The One who CREATED THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE FROM NOTHING wants to be your FRIEND, your FATHER, your FIRST LOVE!! How could that not phase you!?!?!

You could be cynical and say this was coincidental – but God doesn’t work in coincidence! I am a firm believer that He speaks to us through His faithful people, through the world He created, and through His Word.

Last night, just before I fell asleep, I caught a brief snippet from Max Lucado on television, speaking about how, historically, the world’s religions have been based on attempting to find favor with their gods – through their lives, their actions, their own doing. But we don’t have to worry about that!

Christianity does not work that way. God gave us this precious gift called GRACE.

Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

We could never even think of doing anything remotely good enough to deserve an OUNCE of His love, but we don’t have to. All we have to do is accept Him as Lord over our lives, to believe in Him and believe that He sent His own Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for our sins. That’s it.

God’s absolutely amazing grace takes care of everything else.

His reminder to me this week was that He loves me with an unstoppable, unchanging unbelieveable, otherworldly love – A love I cannot begin to fathom; and I don’t have to be “good enough” for Him to bless me (us). I don’t have to be “good enough” to do His work with singles (I can’t WAIT to begin!). I don’t have to be “good enough” to share His love and mercy on this blog.

All I have to do is love Him back – and even when I fail at that (which is often), He loves me STILL.

{Yes, you will have to watch and listen to this in a browser! And do listen…This is a beautiful hymn…Sung by a men’s quartet beautifully!}

God’s Blessings To You All,

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Who Is Barabbas?

April 17, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

Today is Holy Thursday and in light of that, the blog today is a simple one. It doesn’t focus on me, on us, on our feelings or life. It focuses on Christ and His unbelievable love; His unmatched, unstoppable, amazing, zealously powerful love for us.

Watch this video – in a browser, not from the e-mail (if you’re a subscriber – thank you, by the way! 🙂 ). It will give you chills.

And if it doesn’t watch it again, because SOMETHING didn’t sink in.

*Today and through Easter Sunday, let’s all remember we are neither Protestant nor Catholic nor Non-Denominational. WE ARE CHRISTIANS – WE ARE CHRIST-FOLLOWERS. Let’s unite in Him and set this world ablaze.*

In Him,

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

The Lenten Edition: The #3030 Challenge

March 6, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres1 Comment

Welcome to the (first) Lenten Edition of Thirsty For Christ Thursday! For all of you Catholic folks out there, you (should) know all there is to know about Lent; however, I know when I converted from Protestantism to Catholicism, I was a little bit lost. So for any of you who are a bit mystified by this season preceded by Mardi Gras and ending with Easter, the videos below should help to clear things up:

Catholic or Protestant, Lent is a great time to get into a new habit…Make it last for 40 days and take it beyond! This year, I am giving up meat, carbs & sugar (along with the low-sugar, & no gluten diet I already follow). Many people ONLY take away (or fast from a practice) during Lent; however, Craig & I feel it is important to also ADD something to your lifestyle. This year, we are adding daily Bible study as a couple, as well as something I only heard about the other day…something that fits this season SO WELL, I’m sure God revealed it to me to share with you!

Let’s give God 30 Days!

Isn’t that the VERY LEAST we can do?!?!

Join this challenge with Craig & I, and pledge to read and study your Bible for at least 30 minutes per day, for 30 days in a row!

30 minutes?!?!?! That’s one episode of 2 Broke Girls or Mike & Molly!

Surely, you can manage that!

Philippians 4:8-9

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Let the song below BLESS YOU, and kick off your Lenten season with a bang!

*Enter the giveaway! You have until March 14th! Today, Like us on Facebook & then comment below “Done.”, for one entry. If you don’t have Facebook or already “like” our page, follow our blog, or comment on ANY ONE OF OUR POSTS for a chance to win – EACH COMMENT IS ONE ENTRY!!! Good luck!*

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Enamored of Him and His Children: Finding Christ in the Montessori Method

February 6, 2014February 6, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres3 Comments

Good Morning Folks!

Today, Craig & I have such a treat for you! This is our 100th blog post!!! In celebration, we have a wonderful guest blogger who graciously is sharing with us today!

We are thrilled to introduce you to Sarah Thérèse, who writes a beautiful Catholic blog over at Footprints On My Heart. We know you will be blessed by her story below, and urge you to visit her blog – in addition to ours, of course! 😉 Thank you, Sarah Thérèse , for your wonderful story! Don’t be a stranger around this blog! 😉

It was a cool, late March 2012 morning, several weeks after my college’s Spring break and therefore a bit late to still be considering summer employment. Yet there I was, driving toward a preschool 15 minutes away from my house that, until just two days before, I did not know even existed. I was uncharacteristically very excited about this job interview; considering my more reserved personality, I surprised myself realizing that I couldn’t get there fast enough. I was interviewing for a job at a Montessori preschool and, if I landed it, it would be a real dream come true.

I had first learned of Dr. Maria Montessori and her method of education nearly two years before during my first semester studying Early Childhood Education in college. As a graduate of a lifetime of homeschool, the Montessori Method resonated with me deeply and I was seriously interested in learning everything within my reach. Now, two years later, I was writing a research paper on Montessori and pursuing a job opportunity in the field. With that very first step inside a Montessori classroom on that late March morning, I fell completely in-love.

The job was, indeed, offered to me and I spent that first Summer working with the children. It was a learning experience and I loved every moment of it, even the less pleasant ones (and with children, there are many). I continued learning biographical and (for lack of a better word) “academic” information about Montessori and her method; I enjoyed getting to know the children and their different personalities, observing the ways my coworkers interacted with the children and how the children, in turn, responded to them. Before long, though, I began to notice that something still seemed to be missing. Montessori was also a devout Catholic and that was one aspect that I sorely missed while working in a privately owned, yet still secular environment.

I’ve questioned whether or not I should continue working there. I consider it my dream job and it is a good place to be employed, but is it where God is calling me, or simply another stepping stone along the path there?

Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a Catholic Montessori school and atrium and, oh my goodness, if I thought I fell in-love with the method when I stepped into the first classroom two years ago, I am completely enamored of it now. Christ’s love so evidently shone through every single one of the teachers and there was an atmosphere of genuine peace and joy that was only enhanced by the presence of everyone, students and teachers alike. But my favorite aspect of this visit, aside from seeing the atrium and receiving a very general overview of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, was learning more about Maria Montessori as a devout, religious individual. The teacher who gave me the tour followed my promptings and offered so much more information regarding the religious aspect of the method and the individual than anything I’d found in researching, and I soaked it all in as if I’d been awaiting this moment my entire life.

Two things in particular jumped out at me: namely, her devotion to Our Lady under a particular title and her favorite verse from Sacred Scripture.

I found her personal devotion to Our Lady of the Chair very intriguing. I wasn’t familiar with this title, but it’s supposedly as well known as it is ancient (fifth century). Our Lady sitting – Our Lady of the Chair – belongs to the category of Marian representations called Theotokos. The decisive feature of this representation is not Mary, but Jesus Christ whom she holds on her lap, mostly in a frontal position. In fact, she is the throne upon which Christ is seated; not she is wisdom incarnate, but the throne on which wisdom (Christ) takes place. Theotokos means “Mother of God”: like a mother, she holds the baby on her lap; however, the whole posture indicates reverence and respect due to the Son of God and, at the same time, Mary’s gesture is one of demonstration. She holds the child so that he can be seen by the onlooker.

I was drawn to the example of Our Lady as she embraces the Christ Child, and the example that Montessori leaves us in that message by sharing her personal devotion. As was aforementioned, Theotokos means “Mother of God,” and I believe Montessori’s devotion to this image is a call to Spiritual Motherhood of all the children her method has and continues to form.

–John 3:30–

The words spoken by St. John the Baptist referring to Jesus basically sum up the entirety of the Montessori Method. Montessori teachers are not there to strictly “teach,” their purpose is to guide and simply be present for the child. The Montessori teacher’s goal is to allow the child to shine and be his or her self, without any pressure and with complete trust and confidence in the individual. Children are the most amazing miracles in the world and each is a precious gift from above. They should be treated as so.

Visiting the Catholic Montessori school was a very real dream come true and I cannot even begin to express how much I look forward to returning for another visit. If you think the Lord is calling you somewhere or to do something, don’t be afraid to respond and test His call. You never know what adventures might lie ahead… And thank you, oh my Jesus, for calling me to love You through serving Your precious children and for teaching me through them about Your great love for me.

Sarah Thérèse is a homeschooler-turned-Montessori teacher assistant currently in her final semester of College and very, very ready to graduate in May with an Associate’s Degree in Early Childhood Education. She blogs about journeying toward a deeper relationship with Christ, and hosts an ongoing series about the Saints at Footprints on My Heart.

Craig & I have a special guest post coming up at Footprints On My Heart February 22nd about a saint very near and dear to our hearts! Stay tuned!!

Sarah Thérèse, thank you, again, for your beautiful testimony! We are blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful brothers & sisters in Christ as we journey through life!

Join us again tomorrow for Food For Thought Friday!!

All Our Love,