Lake Pictures
Here are some Pics of the Lake and from my apartment.... Some pretty ones of the sunrise! A few of them were taken by Amy L.

Other Picture Additions
In Family Album
In Friends Album
In Climbing Album
In Temple Youth Album

Lent
Ok, more on the celebration of Lent. After thinking and praying about it more, these are the final fasts/commitments that I have felt the Holy Spirit leading me to.
1. Buying no CD's till after Easter
2. Every morning on the way to school, I am going to spend that time in prayer or listening to Scripture on CD (instead of listening to music)
3. I am going to Memorize the Chapter of Isaiah 53

Funny Stories
Apparently I tell my students lots of weekend/funny friend stories. The other day, I was telling a story (I don't even remember which one) and one of my Eighth Graders said, 'Miss Petefish, You have a funny life. It makes me giggle!" LOL! This particular student was a boy so after laughing at his comment, I kindly (with a slight sarcastic humorous tone :) admonished him that boys should NOT use the word GIGGLE when talking about themselves. He said he thought it was a fine word to uses and has made a point to use it several times since then! LOL! Oh my!

Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth
Down at Johnson's Creek the trees grow tall
Like a man who feeds his soul on Your Word
-Rich Mullins

This song (With The Wonder by Rich) always reminded me of when I was little. We used to hike through the woods, catch crawdads in the creek, trek through 'our wilderness' on the search for adventure. Each day held a new mystery! There were some HUGE trees back in those woods. I love the analogy that Rich makes between the trees growing tall and our souls growing when we feed on God's Word! Trees seemed so 'unmoveable' when I was young. You know, just strong, stable, firm! That's how I want my soul to be by the Grace of God!

The whole song is a lyrical display of the care and beauty that God put into creating this world, but Rich doesn't leave it there! He goes on to compare it to the 'world that is to come'! The world that he is tasting now! I imagine that is better than he every could have thought!

Here's the entire song:

Down at Johnson's Creek
The trees grow tall
Like a man who feeds his soul on Your word
And I can look in the water
I can see the stars fall
Hear the fires crackle
And the crickets chirp
And there are bluffs
On the banks of the cumberland
Where I can see the sun rise
From a world away
And I can see the marvelous things
That You have done
In the beautiful world
That You have made

And in the winter it's white
In the summer it's green
And in the fall it's orange and red and gold
Then it comes alive
In the rites of spring when the rivers thaw
And the flowers unfold
And there are beads of dew on a spider's web
And there are motes of dust
In these beams of light
We who are bone and spittle and muscle and sweat
We live together in a world where
It's good to be alive

'Cause it flutters and floats
It falls and it climbs
It spins and sputters and spurts
And You filled this world
With wonders 'round every turn
And it buzzes and beeps
It shimmeys and shines
It rattles and patters and purrs
And You filled this world with wonders
And I'm filled with the wonder of Your world

If there's a better world
And a brighter day
Even brighter than the one we're in
We'd all be fools to think
That it could be made
By the wills and the hands of foolish men

So Lord to You we give our deepest praise
And to You we sing our loudest songs
And while we live in the world that You have made
We hear it whisper of a world
Of the world that is to come

Snow Again
Probably gonna get 5-7 inches of Snow... Maybe out of school early. Maybe no school tomorrow!

*sigh* At this rate, we are going to be going to school till July!!!!! :0(

Laying It Down
Does anyone out there (reading this obviously) celebrate Lent. I never really knew much about Lent till a few years ago when Amber (my roomie in Tallahassee) and another girl decided to 'give up' desserts for it. Since then I've done a little reading on it, and last year really wanted to celebrate Lent, but couldn't decide HOW, so the moment passed me by! Now here it is again, and it snuck up on me!!! MAN!

I have really wanted to celebrate it for a few reasons. One is the idea of sacrificing something that i enjoy to focus more of my resources on Christ. Another reason is to continue to develop reliance on the Holy Spirit for the discipline it takes to lay something down and commit to something.

I NEED Your Help!
Thankfully I have thought a little about Lent a bit before now, and I want to post my commitment here so that you, my faithful friends, can keep me accountable to this.

One of my favorite hobbies is music. I love it! I can get especially addicted to buying it. A while back I went on a short voluntery fast from buying CDs for various reasons (about a month). It was difficult and after a month thought it was the right timing to allow myself to purchase them again. I thought a fast from again buying any type of CD's until after Easter will be what I would like to lay down. So my fellow servants of the Most High, please keep me accountable in this. I do have one exception to this. In the case of gifts... I am still allowing myself to buy CDs for gifts (birthdays, weddings etc...) b/c I know of several things coming up that I have wanted to purchase music for.

Many people also celebrate Lent by adding in a Spiritual Discipline of some kind. I have also wanted to do this, but haven't quite put enough thought into what I would like to commit to. More on this to come...

So is anyone else celebrating this? If so, how? And why? And how have you come to the decision of what you are laying down and committing to?

PICS
Climbing Pics from Amy's Album from this Weekend!

Sometimes by Step
By Rich Mullins
And on this road to righteousness
Sometimes the climb can be so steep
I may falter in my steps
But never beyond Your reach

Check It Out
Amy's Weekend Update Here. Cool Stuff and pics too! BUT, I have to say that she conveniently left out the story of her and Ben's Balloon Conspiracy. I walked out of school on Friday to a car FULL of balloons, which baffled me since I am religious about locking my car in public, and I had my keys. They're some sneaky ones. Amy, I think Ben is a bad influence on you! LOL!

Tired But Rejoicing
Rejoice in the Lord in ALL things! His mercies are NEW every morning! I was worshiping this morning, and this song became my morning heart's cry.

Step by Step
by Rich Mullins
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You
Oh God, You are my God
And I will ever praise You

I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

I like how it says 'step by step you lead me', NOT week by week or day by day, or even Leap by Leap.... only step by step. Oh, how I need Jesus, and how I love HIM so!

Also, the Lord has been reminding me that His leading (and me following HIS will) has everything to do with obeying His Word and Living as Jesus lived (in love of God and others).

Read this passage this morning:

I Peter 2:21-22
This is the kind of life you've been invited into, the kind of life Christ lived. He suffered everything that came his way so you would know that it could be done, and also know how to do it, step by step. He never did one thing wrong, not once said anything amiss.

I finished this song a few weeks ago (I had started the beginnings of it when I was leaving Tallahssee) when I was thinking about what it means to follow God's will. It has a lot of my friend Heidi's influence and also some influence of a song I heard from Jill Phillips recently. I hope I didn't plagerize them! Both of them are great artists that I encourage you to listen to!

Make Me New
Let me walk in your grace
As I take a step of faith
I'll lean on Your strong arms

My desire is to be
Where You want me to be
And do what You want me to do

Chorus:
So lead me on
To the Path of Your way
Change me to be like You
If You want me to go
I don't want to stay
I just want to follow You
In whatever I do
Make me NEW

Sometimes its so hard
To hear and to know
What voice I should listen to

Lord, tune my heart
And quiet my soul
So I can hear from You

(Chorus)

So whether I'm here
Or You take me there
Help me obey Your Word
I commit my life
And I'll walk in Your grace
It's all about You, LORD!

(Chorus)

Let me walk in your grace
As I take a step of faith
I'll lean on Your strong arms.