Dare 19: Speaking Truth in Love

I hope you all had a blessed week last week and have had some time to relax this weekend.  I know this is the time of year where things start to pile up quickly.  Grades are due, plans need to be made, testing is coming up quickly.  It is very easy to be distracted by all these "things" and to forget what our purpose truly is.  

I felt very blessed this morning when our pastor asked the teachers in the room to stand up and asked everyone else around to pray over us.  I can honestly say that my heart feels lighter than normal approaching a new week :)  Especially a week like this one... conferences most of the day Thursday and my yearbook is due on Friday... It's going to be a busy one :)  

So with conferences approaching my thought for the week is wondering how I can love all those parents I will be coming in contact with on Thursday.  I want to communicate clearly to them, but I don't want to intimidate them or bash their children.  I want to tell them the truth in love and hopefully offer assistance where its needed. 
Part of being able to do that is preparing for the conferences beforehand...  The way my school does it is we all sit in the gym and parents are able to walk up to our tables and speak to us.  During the busier parts of the day, lines will form, but in the past it is typically a steady stream of parents throughout the day.  This means I don't know what parents to actually expect to be meeting with-- and when you have 70 kids it is hard to feel adequately prepared for all of them.  So everyday this week I will be meeting with my kids one and one... talking about their grades, taking notes, etc. in order to feel more prepared for Thursday, and in the process being able to invest a little bit of my time specifically into each student this week.  

I also want to offer love to the parents simply because THEY need love just as much as our students do.  I'm praying for discernment for all of us as we speak with parents (whether its in conferences, over the phone or via email).  Remember, their lives are tough too.
Praying you can speak the truth in love. 
<3