Military is a lifestyle, but not nearly as bad as teaching. ~Aaron Jones, US Army and History Secondary Education Major
This was said by a guy in my education classes. He is late of Iraq and still in the army. It struck me as ironic coming from him, and really made me wonder about my future career 
I wish you not a path devoid of clouds, nor a life on a bed of roses,
Not that you might never need regret,
nor that you should never feel pain.
No, that is not my wish for you
My wish for you is:
That you might be brave in times of trial,
when others lay crosses upon your shoulders.
When mountains must be climbed and chasms are to be crossed,
When hope can scarce shine through.
That every gift God gave you might grow with you
and let you give your gift of joy to all who care for you
That you may always have a friend who is worth that name,
whom you can trust and who helps you in times of sadness,
Who will defy the storms of daily life at your side
One more wish I have for you:
That in every hour of joy and pain you may feel God close to you
This is my wish for you and for all who care for you.
This is my hope for you now and forever.
Is it cliche for me to post an Irish blessing here? Maybe. But I love this one. My gramps sent it to me in one of those email forwards a while back and it was set to a powerpoint of beautiful! pictures from Ireland. I think this one is great because it’s not all “YAY the world is perfect!” but it calls for the good and the bad. It knows that you must take life in every way it comes to you, and no family knows better than mine what that might entail. But it calls for you to feel God close to you in those times of pain–and THAT is why I love this one, because He is always, always there.
I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard
Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.
~Attibuted to St. Patrick
In starting out my new section on quotes that inspire me or that I just plain love, I thought that there could be no better quote to begin with that this one. It’s so great because it is the essence of Christianity. It reminds me what it means for me to be a Christian, and it is a comfort to me.
