No class tonight, 2/26!

Due to WCS closing, we will not have class tonight, 2/26. See you Monday!! Listen and move to the playlist!!

Class Cancelled tonight (2/23/15) due to WCS not having school today.

Class Cancelled tonight (2/23/15) due to WCS not having school today. Listen to the playlist and get moving and we hope to see you Thursday! We will keep you posted! Stay warm!!

What is best for us??

Philippians 1:9-10New International Version (NIV) 9 And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, So I'm reading this new book to go with a Bible study I do with my awesome coworkers called The Best Yes by Lysa TerKeurst. Here is a link for more info on the book/study and you can read chapter one (http://thebestyes.com). I'm learning how (with my own type A personality) that it is not always in the best interest of me or others to say yes when asked to do things. I think I have always been in the mindset of if someone asked me to do it and I feel like I can do a good job then I should say "yes" to whatever. This book is really teaching me about taking time to really pray about each decision I make and really weigh my schedule and my emotions with my answer. As I get busier and busier this can be a blessing and a curse! I am someone who loves to be busy and I love to do things myself…really I think it is that I don't trust that others will do things the way that I think they should be done…but anyway, I needed to hear to stop and really pray and evaluate the situation. I really want to be able to discern what is best for me and my family and my time. I don't get tomorrow back, so I have to be cautious about how I use my day and I also want to glorify God in everything I do. I want to have a positive attitude with my child and if I'm too tired from staying up making cookies for school when I should have gone to bed so that I'd be in a better mood and have more sweet words for him than bitter ones, then I probably should have said no to something in my day. Or if I say yes to helping someone when emotionally I need to be filled myself, I could be taking a blessing away from someone else who could have helped my friend when I just needed some grace myself. How many of us are like this!!?? I for one have really enjoyed this book…although sometimes it feels like ripping off the bandaid. I want my "yes" to mean that I can put 100% in and have a good attitude and not take away from my family and others. It is hard but I feel like I'm learning, step by step, to use my best "yes."

Grace

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. Eph. 2:8-9 Aren't we glad that God's Word tells us His grace does not depend on our performance?? Man, I'd be in a bad place if it did…anyone else with me? As 2015 starts, many of us do New Year's resolutions. I think it would be great if we can do one together. How about we commit to reading the Bible? You can commit to a daily thing or 4-5 times a week. You can do books at a time or just chapters or verses to meditate on. The point is to do it more than you do it now. I'd like you to write your commitment to yourself (and God) on a paper and put it in an envelope and seal it. No one else will see it, but sometimes we do better with a promise to ourselves if we write it down. Put your name on the front of the envelope and give it to us. We will keep them until we break for the summer. You are welcome to list other things that you want to commit to, but right now I want you to set your goal to be of the spiritual nature and think of a way that you can grow more in that area. I'm sure that all of us could use that, right? If you want some additional help, just let us know. We have lots of devotional books and blogs that we can list, as a matter of fact I'm reading an app right now that is pretty great. It's called SheReadsTruth and there is a free version. There are also versions in this that you can purchase, but I'm doing the free one and it is wonderful. There are others that are great too in the app store: Jesus Calling, d365 Daily Devotionals, Girlfriends in God Devotional… If you can do this by Thursday (Jan. 8) and bring it to class and give it to us you can get into class free that night. So, get your letters written. Do it for yourself! We pray this will bless you (and grow you) in 2015! Kacey and Candace

Luke 2:1-20

Luke 2:1-20New International Version (NIV) The Birth of Jesus 2 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while[a] Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register. 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” 16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. So have you ever really thought about the meaning of the gifts the wise men brought to Jesus? Gold represented royalty, frankincense was a substance used to worship God (in Jewish culture) and myrrh was a perfume like material that people used to help with burial. These men knew that Jesus was the KING, that He was indeed divine and that he came to die on the cross for us. To me this is so cool. These wise men knew who Jesus was and what he was coming to do and I think they were showing their support of him. Makes me sit in awe for a bit… Now, come back to present day. What gift can you give to Jesus this holiday? We are going to challenge you to spend time with him this season. Go here:https://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2012/11/happy-holidays-our-christmas-devotionals-are-here/ and scroll down and select this: Christmas for the Faithful Woman (and any other topic you are interested in) Then you can go to the right side and put your email in and you should get daily advent devotionals. So cool! We can all do this together. Merry Christmas!! We love y'all!

Challenge Time

Alright ladies, you have officially been challenged! In order to complete this challenge, first we need you to read the book of James. Sounds like a lot, but it's only 5 chapters…but don't think this is going to be easy! It will be a stretching activity (spiritually) for all of us. I would love for you to really take your time reading this. I have been doing a study on it and in the study we write 1 chapter of James a week. This has really helped me think more about the words and let them really resonate in my heart. Another good idea is to read all of James every day! This will really touch you!! Trust me! Okay, after you have done this, we need you to pray about opportunities for you to show God's love and your own love to others by doing something nice for them. Our Bible verse for the month is: You see that faith was active together with his works, and by works, faith was perfected. James 2:22. Our works are not what saves us but they sure can be a mirror of what our hearts look like. Jesus died to save us from our sin and since he paid the ultimate price for us it is our job to show others to him. One great way to do this is by what we do and how we react. I'd really like for you to challenge yourself to complete this challenge daily…if you can…but I'd be happy with 1 time over the holidays too. What does this look like? Well, thanks for asking. This could be as big or small as you and God think it needs to be. Holding open the door for others. Paying for someone's meal. Volunteering at a shelter. Inviting someone to come to dinner so you can get to know them better. Asking someone to spend the holidays with your family if they have no family close. We will not ask you what your challenge was…we only want to know that you completed it. If you are completing one every day then bless you! We are so proud of you! Now show the world how pure and beautiful your hearts are! Challenge completed? Let us know!! We love you! Be some light!!

Less of me, more of you...

So I know that today has been hectic! For some of us that might be an understatement!! If you are anything like me, my day starts the night before…as I lay in bed. I make sure that I have my checklist going in my head. 4:30 get up and get dressed to teach 5:15 early morning class 6:00 quiet time (while oil pulling…I know I'm crazy) 6:20 shower 6:30 make breakfast Need I go on?? I have been convicted lately about not only praying more for our country and the Christians around the world that are being persecuted, but I've also been convicted of being more intentional. Now, I'm a pretty quiet person. I like to watch people. I like to have my own space when I can…granted I teach preschool so having my own space is very rare. But, I feel like I need to do a better job of being intentional. Intentionally starting a conversation. Intentionally smiling at someone I don't know. Intentionally giving grace when reprimand was needed. Do you ever feel like that? I don't want my friends, or anyone for that matter to ever feel like I am too busy to help them, to pray with them, to love on them. I love my schedule…trust me, but there are times that I need to go out of my comfort zone to obey what God is telling me to do. In Galatians 5:6 (which is our verse this month) it says, " The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself in love." I have to ask myself the question…Did I show love today? Did I show love the way that Christ shows me love daily? Maybe that needs to be the first part of my day from now on. Lord, please help me to exude your love and grace today to everyone that I meet.