My Name is Jali

Psalm 55:12-16 For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it:  neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me;  then I would have hid myself from him:   But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.   We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.   Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell:  for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them. As for me, I will call upon God;  and the Lord shall save me. It's no secret to anyone who knows me that David is my favorite hero in the Bible. And a big part of why I love him is because of his transparency when he talked to the Lord. He let go in his prayers in a way that I admit that I still struggle with now. For some reason, I get to a point where I lock up and don't push past where it's comfortable. I allow myself to succumb to tiredness, frustration, unbelief...

"Let the words of mouth, and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." - Psalm 19:14 I was hemming and hawing the other day because I wanted to do a December post, and had no idea what to write about. I'm teaching a lesson on Leah soon, so I wanted to hold off on posting my thoughts about her. But then... opportunity presented itself. It seems that ever since I've been working in a school with children who have disabilities, I am much more aware of the power of words. For example, if I'm writing a report about a child I have just finished evaluating, I don't say, "This kid is autistic and he needs help." I say something like, "It is recommended that _______ receive services as a student with autism." It's called being "person-centered," and makes it about the person and not the disability. We try to always frame things positively by saying things like, "the student w...