He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

I decided to be more like an eagle and less like a hummingbird this week! And God truly showed me His power through my weakness.

Throughout the week, I purposely planned less activities at school. Less talking...more interaction with kids. And my kids taught me something this week!

On Friday, I asked if they noticed anything different about the week. I got comments like, "it was more fun," "there was more interaction," "we learned by doing." I was excited that they picked up on the new style. But that wasn't the best part.

I told them that I wanted to share something from my heart. It's funny b/c just about every class threw out the comment... "You're pregnant!" (For some reason, they really think we need to have kids????)

After much laughter, I said no...it's actually about you. I told them how I had always wanted to be a good teacher, but realized that I was running in the wrong direction. I was trying to be a good teacher teaching verbs, and direct object pronouns. And that basically, I had missed the most important part...which was not up on the board, but in the audience. That they were the most important part to me, not if they knew how to use direct object pronouns.

At first, I was nervous to be so "transparent." It was "quiet" as they looked at me, some with tears in their eyes. But God truly showed me His power in my weakness. These are comments they said after a few moments:

Mrs. Castro, that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to us!
Where is the tissue, you are making me cry!
We love you, thank you for sharing with us!
And my favorite..."Can I take lessons from your husband?" I had shared a little about Larry and our relationship, they evidently like that kind of stuff.

What a breakthrough! Of all the years I have been teaching, I believe they will remember this one. It was amazing to see God's power at work. We had fun the rest of the day, ate Valentine cupcakes, and made V. cards in Spanish.
Thank you Lord!

Hummingbirds vs. Eagles!

Did you know that hummingbirds are always 1 hour away from starving to death? They are always flapping those little wings so fast, it makes you tired just watching them. Our pastor told us today how eagles on the other hand, can go miles without flapping their wings. They instead rely on the wind current below to help them soar!

I thought about that today and have been learning that I have been a little hummingbird. Trying to do things that I thought were "good" but constantly falling short. I make myself tired! I'm learning that it's really not about all the stuff we do, even if we think we are doing it for Jesus. It's about the time we spend with Him. It's such a slow fade from trusting Him with everything...to start thinking that you can do it yourself. And before you know it, your walking through this life doing things your way, wondering why your always worn out and burnt out?

Fortunately, God has been teaching me that there is an answer for this problem of mine and my need to feel that I have to control everything! It's actually pretty easy to do, but takes some time to practice. I'm learning that I have to "re-train" my stubborn brain b/c it wants to keep doing things the old fashioned way-the hummingbird way! But His way is much more inviting, much more peaceful, and much less work. And once you see it done His way, you never want to return to the old way.

I told you recently about my little prayer jar. That has helped me tremendously b/c it reminds me when I want to get frustrated or try to "fix" something that I already gave it to Him and that He is taking care of it. And so I realized there is a 3rd part to the equation! TRUST=PEACE...yes! But it doesn't stop there b/c when we TRUST and God gives us PEACE, he also gives us STRENGTH! And this does not come from us, it only comes from Him. He gives us the strength to do ALL things through Him-with His eyes, His heart, His way. It's like going from "tunnel vision" to "wide-screen vision!" And who wants to return to tunnel vision when you can see it on a wide-screen! Ain't happening! Out with the hummingbird...I'd much rather ride with the EAGLE!
And those that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings like eagles, run and not grown weary, walk and not faint!

Wow Lord!

You know how I was telling you about the jar?! Well, God did it again! He orchestrated something that I didn't have any control of, something that completely surprised us, something that He had been up to. . .and was waiting for us to come to Him.

One of my prayers was that the Lord would show us every step to take and how to take it. That we would listen to His voice and be able to do it His way, not ours! I like how my friend put it, "Lord, I don't want to sit in the driving seat and take directions-I just want you to take the wheel!"

It wasn't long that I had been praying this that I got a "friend request" through Facebook. It was from some long time friends that we had met while in college. They asked what we were up to- so I gave them a quick update about our journey with HCJB, raising support, and our desire to go to Ecuador.

The next email went something like this:
"Dear Amanda,
_____________ and I have been praying for a place to give our tithe since we are between churches right now. We would like to give it to you ministry until we find a church. Could you send us your information so we can start doing this? Oh, and we'd also like to support you guys with $______/month."

I just kinda sat there with my mouth open for a couple of minutes. I sat in awe of a Mighty God who is working things according to His purpose, which is way over my little head!