For the Prayerful

happiest first-day-of-school-eve wishes!  That's it...!!!  That's my classroom!  Eeeek!  Praise the Lord for my precious friend Snat who helped me put everything together last week.  I seriously could not have done it without her!  I truly cannot believe that in a mere 10 hours I'm going to be meeting my third graders for the first time!  The clock is a tickin' tellin' me it's just about my bedtime, but I wanted to quickly ask for a few prayer requests for this week... :)

1. Please pray that PEACE would be the underlying current in our classroom!  Pray that the PEACE that transcends all understanding would guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus this week as I am beginning this next chapter of life.  Pray that the PEACE of Jesus would fill my whole being and that I would not be anxious about anything, but in EVERYTHING, by prayer and petition, present my requests before the Lord believing that HE who PROMISES is faithful.

2. Please, please pray for my students!  Pray that they would feel SAFE in our classroom.  Pray that they would be loving toward one another, and that this week would be one of new and fresh beginnings.  Pray that we would use every moment as an incredible opportunity to learn.  And plleeaaaasseee pray that when problems arise, Jesus would give me the discernment and grace to handle every situation with love and wisdom.  Pray that our classroom truly would be a community of BELIEVERS -- individuals who believe in themselves, each other, and their abilities to accomplish their dreams!

3. Pray that tonight as my little babies are sleeping that the Lord would help them to get great sleep, so they wake up in the morning feeling refreshed and excited for the first day of third grade!!!  Pray that they would not be nervous whatsoever, but that they would look forward to the weeks and months to come!

4. Pray that every child leaves Room 30 tomorrow feeling LOVED and VALUED and EXCITED for the year to come.  Pray that they would know they are loved not based off of their performance but simply because of who they are.  Pray that there would be NO divisions within our classroom, but that everyone would choose to love everyone -- all quirks and strengths and weaknesses included.

5. Pray for all my other sweet TFA friends who start school tomorrow or in the next week or so...  That they would experience the Lord's peace and that anxiety would be kept far, far away from them!  Pray for wisdom for all of us and that we would hold ourselves to a standard of grace instead of perfection.  And especially please pray for extreme effectiveness and efficiency with our time...  And the wisdom to know when it's time to take a break... :)

6. Pray for relationships with students' families!

7. Pray that the LIGHT and JOY and LOVE of Jesus would be radiant in my words and deeds but mostly that the compassion and unconditional love of Jesus would fill my heart!

8.  Pray in the NAME OF JESUS that the enemy would have no foothold over my students' lives or our classroom.

9. Pray that Jesus would help me to see and respond to every child, parent, and fellow staff member in the way He sees and responds to us -- with complete love, care, compassion, humility, and grace.

10.  Pray for FUN memories to be made, encouraging words to be spoken, and lots of love and laughter.


Thank you SO much for your prayers in advance!!!!

Glory to God that His power is made perfect in our weaknesses...  Because lemme tell ya...  Feeling SUPER inadequate right about now...!  ALL MY LOVE!  Missing all of you sweet friends from home so, so much!

xoxoxoxo -- Cait