Starting today, I will choose to praise him

Greetings everyone. I decided to start this blog today as a result of the spiritual retreat we had on our campus this past week. Working at a school for troubled teenagers can be very intense, draining and trying on one's spiritual life and character. Every day I rise and make a choice on what my attitude will be for that day and how it will be reflected to others. Sadly I make the choice more often than not to have an attitude of disheartenment, hopelessness in God's power to change lives (even my own!).

My hope is that this blog will impact my life by giving me an outlet for my thoughts, and keep me mindful of God's glorious work and the blessings he has for us all.

To start off I will discuss some of the praises I have from this past week:

1. Creative Writing Workshop: I had the opportunity to lead a creative writing workshop this past week, what a blessing! Working with seven enthusiasticly talented men and women not only inspired me to write more, it gave me a glimpse into creativity I had not seen before. More importantly I saw the kids in a different light and gave me hope for them.
2. "The Video": One of the houses on campus did a video skit for their house skit. Their aim was to poke fun at the school and how things are done here. I do not believe their intentions were in sin or rebellion, but a tounge-in-cheek look at the intensity here. Needless to say it did not go over well. Peoples' feelings were hurt, out bursts of emotion gave the room a heavy heart afterwards. Why is this a praise, you ask? It brought a blessing the next day! The outpouring of emotion from the night before made some of the students realize how much they cared for the staff here, specifically the Homelife director who was the focus of the video. Several kids stood in front of the church and publicly proclaimed their gratitude for his influence and love in their lives. It was a touching, emotional moment. Instances like this never cease to amaze me how God takes what could be such an ugly situation and bring joy, peace, and love into our hearts.
3. Hail! Why is hail so special, those who grew up in farms may ask? I know from personal experience that hail has destroyed the hopes and dreams of many farmers, as in an instant their entire crop is destroyed. During our staff devotions yesterday, a rain storm came upon us that I have never seen before in my time here. Sheets of rain burst from the sky onto our mountain side. I sat in the chapel watching the rain literally fly by from the window that is above our stage. Greyish-white sheets caused the palm trees to bend and bow to the wind which carried the sheets of rain across the horizon. The steady downpour fell upon the roof, which along with the darkness that came with the storm brought a sense of peace. Suddenly the sound was interrupted by the occasional knocking on the roof, as if someone were dropping a pebble or two. The sounds became more frequent and we began to look outside, only to see pellets of hail falling from the sky. This would not be so unordinary if we lived further north. However in a Caribbean climate, freezing water in the form of hail is very rare. We all took a moment to enjoy the hand of God moving through our valley.

Well, that will be enough for my first post! I hope I've kept your interest and if I have this far please enjoy this verse before you go on your way:

Train me, God, to walk straight; then I'll follow your true path. Put me together, one heart and mind; then, undivided, I'll worship in joyful fear.
PSALM 86:11 - The Message