Stronger Through Him

  Happy Thanksgiving! In 2 Corinthians 9:11 Paul writes “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” We are blessed.  And so we share. And when we use that bounty to share with others, those we share with can recognize that those gifts actually come from God and give thanks to Him.

  Friday at school, I had a student come into my room with excitement in his voice. He is a student who has some reading struggles I have been helping him with.  His low confidence has led to disengagement in the classroom for years.  We are trying to change that. He burst through the door and exclaimed, “Mrs. Potter!  Did you know that when the teachers are talking they actually give the answers to the next test!??” I bit my lip to keep back a smile at his discovery of what we assume is obvious to all. “You are right!  How have you been studying in the past?” “I just google everything, but it makes it really hard.” So true.   My young friend had figured out a piece of the bigger picture of education.   We aren’t hiding the answers.   We are trying to help them become part of their knowledge set and thinking process. Our Heavenly Father also doesn’t hide the answers from us.   They are in the scriptures.   From t...

 My thoughts have been kind of scrambled this morning. I actually woke up with the National Anthem playing on repeat in my head…. Those are days it’s harder for me to focus and I lean toward “go through the motions.” But as I was reading my scriptures this morning (literally staring at words as they swam around the page) a question came into my mind.  Am I asking God to rescue me, or strengthen me?  Do I want him to just do it for me? Or help me to gain strength, knowledge and experience and BECOME more than I am. When I arrived at school, I pulled out my daily checklist and began to prepare for my day with renewed focus.  Inside a stack of papers I found a folded note that a student had left for me. “Sometimes we just need to be our own hero.” It’s what I needed to read. The best heroes have the greatest mentors and coaches of all.   And there is no better coach than Jesus Christ. He pushes me to be better and grow, because He believes in me. And He believes in...

 I pulled up to the school and hurriedly parked my car. I ran inside to my classroom to grab the needed materials for the preschool classes I support and quickly returned to drive to their building, hoping to be on time for our coaching session.  As I opened the door, a little pink and white baby sock fell out.   I sighed as I glanced into my messy vehicle.   Cupcake icing was smeared across my leather seats. Some donation items collected for others were piled in the back. Some lesson notes and art supplies from my Sunday School class were on the floor.  And an empty juice bottle sat in my cup holder. “Uggh.”I thought.  “Why can’t I get my life pulled together?” As I tossed it inside, and climbed behind the wheel I felt tired and discouraged. But as I was driving, a quote from Sister Marjorie Hinckley came to mind.  “I don’t want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and w...