You Gotta See This!

Mercy and Grace in Sorrow

This week, one of my dear friends lost her mother. As heartbreaking as this has been for me, I cannot even begin to imagine how hard it has been for her and her family.

Looking back, God's grace and mercy is clearly evident. In simple things like her passing occurring just after Mother's Day and not at this time last week. And in other things like her being able to witness the baptism of her son-in-law and grandchildren. There are so many other ways that God prepared the way for her.

I have been so blessed to see God's provision (and sovereignty) at work in the past few days. Though my heart aches for this sweet family, I am grateful for the reminder that God is still in complete control and He wasn't taken by surprise at all by the week's events.

Please join me in praying that this family is soon able to see this grace and mercy in the midst of their sorrow.

The hardest part of teaching...

isn't what I thought it would be. I don't mind all the planning. I don't mind all the hours I have spent with scissors, laminate, and paper. I don't even mind all the paperwork that seems to fill up my desk on a daily basis.

What I do mind is having to send my kids home at the end of the day. I love my students like they are my own (or at least how I think I will love my own). And I want the best for them. Which sometimes means I don't want them to go home. Today was one of those days. After hearing about home situations from a few of my students, I was literally nauseated. I gave the best guidance and direction that I knew to give, and then I prayed over and over again that God wouldn't let them grow up to do what they have seen in their short 5-6 years of life.

If I could take each of my kids home with me at the end of each day, I would do it in a heartbeat. But that's not my right or responsibility. My job is to teach them. My job is to show them how to behave. My job is to love them.

And that's what I'm going to do.

What's New

Life has obviously been crazy busy. And I've obviously been crazy lazy. Or just crazy. You decide :)

Sparing all the painfully boring details, here's a basic summary:

Work: School rocks! I have played with 10 sweet kiddos all year, and they have all learned so much! Nothing beats that :)

Church: We have seen definite growth and fruit in the lives of some of our students. One in particular has been such a blessing to us recently. Praise God!

Home: Justin and I will be celebrating 5 years of marriage in June---- where did the time go?! Macie is now a much calmer 3 year old, and Sheldon is a giant, goofy 1 year old. Oh, and I just got a new car a few weeks ago! Hello, cruise control! :)

Family: Mom is back home in KY! Basically, it's a long story that ends with me getting to see Mom more often, which I love! My sister is headed to New York City for the summer to work as a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ. I couldn't be prouder of her! We have been so blessed :)

Friends: So many friends from throughout my life have been going through some life changing times lately. I have been blessed to be a part of birth days, birthdays, supporting missionary friends, and supporting missionary family members. It is such a privilege to see the Lord's hand in the lives of those I love!

That's about as good as the summary gets for today. And here's to hoping I get a little less lazy....

What I've Been Learning

The Lord has been using all kinds of means to teach me about His love and purpose for me:

Dr. Dean Haun's sermon---God loves ME. Not just the world. Not just His Son. ME, too!

Persia Baptist Women's Conference---God has given me the role of wife (and hopefully, one day, mother). This means I have the amazing opportunity to further the gospel through loving my husband (with a phileo=passionate, enjoyment, affectionate kind of love), working in my home to keep it presentable and open to whoever will come, and mentoring/discipling and being mentored/discipled by other women. What a gift! This revelation came through Carolyn Mahaney's book Feminine Appeal, based on Titus 2:3-5. Read it; it's worthwhile! Oh, and the purpose for all of this is "that the Word of God may not be reviled." (Titus 2:5) Pretty weighty.

School---Praising the Lord for my job teaching kindergarten, and realizing that I have a much bigger and more important job than just teaching academic content to these five-year-olds, I must be a teacher with a purpose, God's purpose, of demonstrating His love for them. Even if I can't come right out and tell them, I can show them. Over and over and over again. Every day.

Sidenote: I'm so thankful that the Lord knows and plans for what is best for us! Kindergarten is what I DID NOT want to teach, but God knew what was good! Thank you, God, for having plans other than the ones I had for myself :)

God is so good! I keep learning this is new ways. I am so blessed!

"And you will succeed!"

Dr. Seuss was right!

Workout Progress:

Day 1: walked more than I ran, but completed 1/2 mile
walked 3+ miles with a friend!
Day 2: still more walking than running, but completed 1/2 mile
walked 2 miles with a friend after church
Day 3: ran more than walked (!!!) and completed 1/2 mile


WOOHOO! I can't believe the progress in running just 3 mornings!

DVD Review: Read and Share: The Jesus Series, Life and Miracles

I loved this children's animated DVD! I'm a sucker for cartoons anyway, so this was right up my alley! The animation is okay, but the narration and events included are phenomenal! It's so refreshing to see quality, depth, and Biblical accuracy in programming for children. This DVD has it all.

The 30-minute program included some of the miracles that Jesus performed in his earthly ministry. Some were well-known, like walking on water and feeding 5,000. Others were not as well-known, but still as important as any other. One of the most endearing events was about Jesus calling his plain, ordinary disciples away from their daily lives and into his ministry.

This DVD would be very educational for any child, but children over 8 or 9 may not like the graphics. It seems very plain and video game-ish. However, the content cannot be beat.

I would be glad to recommend this DVD to anyone who has or works with children!



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