Do you ever feel such deep passion about so many different things that you struggle to find a balance with your time and energy????

I'm definitely in one of those "passion struggling" phases of life.

When I walk through the doors of the school where I teach, I do my best to pour my passion into my teaching.  Every other Thursday morning we have our Fellowship of Christian Athletes club meeting at 7:30 a.m., and this week the coach of the West Carter High School Football team gave the devotion.  Guess what he spoke about?

PASSION!!! 

He kept the students totally engaged as he encouraged them to live every part of their life with great passion!  This is me with Coach Brown and Mr. Becker (he teaches science just a few doors down from my classroom and helps me lead the FCA meetings).

One passionate person can spread passion throughout a room!  Coach Brown did just that on Thursday morning! 

Thank you, Coach Brown!

Tonight, I find myself thinking about a different kind of passion as I think of our son Evan who is sleeping in Denver, Colorado.  He is awaiting Morehead State University's second game in March Madness tomorrow!  Can you see him in the picture below that was shown on television Thursday afternoon?

I'm zooming in below, so you can get a good look! We couldn't believe it when we saw him shirtless and painted blue and gold in the crowd!!  MSU offered a great deal to students who wanted to travel out on chartered buses for the exciting week, and Evan decided to jump in and make a memory since it's his senior year!   When MSU's three-pointer swished the net with just seconds to go and sealed their victory by one point, I am sure the passion of the crowd was evident to everyone in the stadium! 

When passion is shared among a large group of people,

it is almost impossible to hide.

My students have been struggling with remembering how to change liquid measurements into different forms, so I found this great idea online and we made it today!

Mr. Gallon has already increased the passion for math in my students.  Today, they were actually excited to face challenging questions such as, "How many cups are in six quarts?"  I told my students that our new classmate is such a great student!  He is always smiling, he is very helpful, and he is very quiet!  There was not one student today who did not enjoy meeting Mr. Gallon!  Sometimes passion can be ignited by introducing people to something or someone new! My weeks are so full these days, that I find it difficult to balance what I HAVE to do with what I WANT to do.

Yesterday, I came home to find that my two copies of "How To Really Love Your Adult Child," had arrived in the mail.  I am so excited to read this book and share about it with you!!!  I have a copy to share with one of you, so please post your name and email address as a comment below by clicking on "precious comments" if you would like to be entered in the drawing!   When I look back on my years of raising my kids, I have a lot of wonderful memories.  But I also have a lot of regrets.  Just tonight, I had fallen to sleep on the couch only to be awaken to the sound of Olivia knocking a glass off of the counter in our bathroom causing it to shatter all over our tile floor.  I'd love to say that I faced this ordeal with a huge grin, but sadly, I found myself a bit irritated and snippy as I tried to figure out the best way to clean up both slivers of glass and puddles of water mixed together all over the floor.

I apologized to Olivia for not being the mom I wanted to be in that moment, but in my heart I knew that only my future actions will show the truth of my words. Parenting is a 24/7 event which allows for many opportunities to be successful as well as many opportunities to fail.  My goal is to succeed more often than fail......I am still trying to reach that goal.

So, as I venture into reading this new book on parenting, I am praying that I can learn to be a better mom even now as our older children have entered their adult phase of life.   Every day I am reminded in some big or small way that I still have such a long ways to go in becoming the mom God wants me to be.

And of all my passions on this planet, motherhood rates near the very top!

As I have typed this last section, though, my heart and mind have continually been pulled to thoughts of my dear friend Janet who lost her only child, Zach, about four years ago.  While agreeing to review this parenting book for Northfield Publishing was something I felt was important to do, I also feel very strongly that I need to speak personally to my readers who have lost their only child.

The next few paragraphs are written for you.

When I think of Nick and Adrienne and how much I miss them, I always think of you because I know that your loss took everything you loved away from your arms.  The depth of your pain can only be understood by someone who walks the exact same road as you, so I would never try to say "I know how you feel" just because I am also on the road of grief.

I do not know how you feel.

However,  I do know this: 

God knows how you feel.  He knows your heartache.  And I believe He hurts with you.  I also believe that your reward in Heaven and the joy you experience there will surpass the rewards and joy of all others......God promises that those who sow in tears will reap songs of joy, and I want you to know that I believe your singing will be more joy-filled than any singing we could ever imagine!  So as I venture every once in a while into this book on parenting adult children and share about it on my blog, please know this:

You are always foremost on my heart and mind as I write.  And I say these next words only because I say  something very similar to myself as I think of my own two precious deposits in Heaven, "Your life is now about concentrating on living a life that leads to Heaven."  I am praying for you as you strive to do just that, and I am so proud of you for remaining faithful to Him even through your pain.   God still needs you to share His love with so many who are hurting.  I am praying that He will lead you to those who need the passionate love stored up inside of you. 

In closing this blog post on passion, I humbly ask for prayer as I sort out the many different passions in my life.

Being a Christian wife, friend, daughter, mother

Teaching at church and school

Writing

Speaking to women

Nick's Foundation

And the list seems to go on and on.........

I have a deep desire to live out my dream of

Helping the Hurting Pursue Passionate Purpose in their Pain

II Corinthians 1:3-5

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

I'm still waiting for God to make clear what this looks like.

Until then, I will live with great passion in my home and in my career.

Praying for you as you live a life of passion too!

Oh, don't forget to enter for the give-away!

I love you all so much!