Romans 8:28

Romans 8:28 says: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This week, God reminded me of this scripture. So often, I hear it, but don't acknowledge the truth in it. I encourage you to really stop and think about this verse today as you pursue Him. What areas of your life is is hard to see God working things together for your good in? Reflect on times in the past that you've clearly seen him work things together for your good. Ask Him to help you see His hand in everything that you are going through, and trust Him to work all things together for your good.

Here are some of the things I've briefly reflected on that I've seen God work together for my good.

Student Teaching:
I prayed prior to my student teaching placement that God would place me where He would want me to be. I hoped to be placed in Poway Unified School District because it is one of the top districts, and I grew up in it. I prayed though, that His will be done, not mine. In doing so, I found out that I was placed in Solana Beach Unified School District. This, too, is a wonderful school district. It truly is a blessing! I even have a phenomenal Master Teacher/Cooperating Teacher, which is a blessing after hearing horror stories from other friends. God worked this Student Teaching placement together for my good. I don't know what the future holds, but what I do know is this school and district is great, and God has me there for some purpose. I would love to work in the Solana Beach School District if God opened that door for me. In the meantime, I'm just simply being myself and enjoying this blessing.

Africa:
God confirmed that he wanted me to go back to Africa this summer in many ways. (See previous blog-The Journey Begins...Again!) Soon after I made my deposit to go with CCO again this summer, I found out that my team was put on hold.To be honest, at this time I was very discouraged and didn't see how God could work this together for my good, because He told me to go and now I wasn't sure if I'd be going at all. About one month later, I found out that my team is now going to Ghana, Africa instead of Mozambique, Africa. We are partnering with an Orphanage there and teaching Vacation Bible School. We are still giving away Talking Bibles to those who still need to hear, but our primary focus on this trip will be children!!! And, if you are reading this, most likely you know my love for children. God turned this trip around for my good. Now, I get to go back to Africa and use the gifts He's given me and work with children! I look back on that month of waiting and praying and wish I spent more time trusting God to work all things together for my good and believe in this truth.

Teacher Performance Assessment (TPA):
The TPA's are a very long assessment online that Teacher Candidates must take in order to show their knowledge of particular things. The biggest focus is differentiating curriculum to meet the needs of all students. They are literally 20 pages long, no joke. They are a pain in the you know what because they are time consuming and won't ultimately determine how someone is going to teach. Taking tests in general is not my strongpoint, and both times I've taken the TPA's so far, God has blessed me with a ton of help. I met with friends who helped walk me through each section. It is time for TPA 3 and 4, and the Lord again worked this together for my good. He provided me with someone who has helped me tremendously with these TPA's. The hardest part for me is getting started. I also need to work on them a little bit each day because otherwise it is overwhelming. This person who is helping me also encouraged me to get done a little bit each day.

I encourage you to listen to this song. I heard it when we were driving in Africa when someone was playing their ipod int he car. We drove often and this song stuck out to me. There is one part that talks about God working all things together for our good. :) Puruse Him and reflect on the truth in this verse.