Audiobooks

Well, I'm about to hop in the car and head west for Pleasanton. This is the second time in two weeks. Last week was Jenn's baby shower and tomorrow in Lin's wedding. So much to celebrate!

With time on the road, I have grown to really appreciate the beauty of audio books. I am a slow reader so this is the perfect way to get some "reading" done without having any distractions. I've recently read "Teaching Lolita in Tehran" and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time". Both are very good and I would recommend them both to you. Today, I'm welcoming something with a little more depth. I'll be listening to "A Heart Like His: Intimate Reflections on the Life of David." I thought it would be appropriate because giants seem to be a running them in my mind the past three weeks. God is doing something here so I thought I would see how David handled a life so close to God's heart.

I hope everyone is enjoying this season of celebration, reflection, and anticipation. Love to you all!

Radioactive Holiday Greetings.

I hope that everyone has a very wonderful Christmas Eve! Before we get down to the joy behind our season, here is a little (one and a half minutes) jingle bells silliness for you and yours. Seriously, who has the time? I'm glad they did. :)

Oh, Mama!

Tonight I called Mom to tell her something pretty random that I was momentarily excited about. After we got off the phone, I thought, "What is Mom going to do when I start dating someone?" She'll probably be a hair relieved to not get four calls a day (sadly this is one of the few days that I'm not exaggerating) about everything from doctor's appointments to the price of medicine to baking questions. She'll still get calls, of course, but some brave soul somewhere will be inheriting an endless stream of over excitement over tiny things.

Everyone start praying for the man now!

The Voice of the Lord

It is an amazing thing when the Lord speaks a word over your life. Peaceful and confident, silencing fears and building hope and faith. In unexpected times, when we need it most, God makes Himself known. Blessed be the Lord!

Smart Kids

I already shared this with a few of you but I thought I would share it with everyone. It is too funny to pas up as a post.

So we got to school yesterday and it was 65 degrees. As we were going to recess it was 44 degrees. I was excited because I got to wear my scarf and fun hat with the fuzzy ball on top of it. We got out and it was COLD so the kids started acting like huddled penguins to stay warm. Suddenly they all took off fast towards to wall. Apparently, they found the dryer vent from our Life Skills class blowing warm air out of the dryer and they huddled around it to stay warm.

I have smart kids!

Is That Really Simple?

I got my January issue of my favorite magazine, REALSIMPLE, yesterday? Two things caught my eye immediately. First, the issue's feature article is entitled "Feel calmer now: 20 essential lists to organize your life" OK...if I had time to sit down and make 20 different lists, I don't think I would need them. If you can do that, you have time to get quite a bit done! I mean, I'm juggling a lot of balls already without throwing 20 extra lists into the air with them. The sad thing is that I will most likely read the article and then find time to write out each list and decide on its usefulness. I'm such a nerd!

The second things I noticed was the quote for the month. I love quotes! Every issue of this magazine has one on the spine. This months is really good. Here it is: Life comes in clusters, clusters of solitude, then a cluster when there is hardly time to breathe. - May Sarton. Can I just say - so true!

Converge

As you can tell from the previous post, Erin and I attended Converge on Thursday night. CeCe Winnans and Travis Cottrell were there and Beth spoke. It was interesting because the lesson that was given was not about the birth but about advent - waiting in anticipation. She used Luke 1's story of Zechariah and Elizabeth. I spent the whole lesson feeling like I had a spiritual bull's eye on me. There may have been 6,000 people there but it landed all over me. I'm no going to go into all of it here because it is just one of those Mary things - you know, something treasured in my heart. Besides, I'm still trying to process it so that it really sticks. Instead, I'm just going to write down a few things I took down as special to me. You may think them everyday statements but they are bringing tears to my eyes even now. Hope they bless you in some way today!

• God doesn't just show up. He prepares a way for Himself to come.
• The answer to our prayer is issued upon the beginning of our saying it. We just don't get it right away.
• Answer to our personal prayer is often wrapped up in the answer to a corporate prayer. There is often something bigger in play.
• He will bless you with what you want or He will bless you with more than what you did not know to want.
• Blessed are you when what comes naturally to others comes supernaturally to you. (This was the biggest one for me.)

On a Day Like Today...

Today ended in worship - just as it should. I hoped Travis would sing "In the First Light" and, praise God!, he did. What an amazing gift this man has been given! Listen below or read the lyrics.



Then, the blessing of all musical blessings, we ended with "In Christ Alone".



Merry Christmas and love to you all!

SNOW IN HOUSTON!

Yes! About 20 minutes before dismissal, snow started falling at Wolfe Elementary! I'm not sure who was more excited - my six year olds or their teacher! We were ALL jumping around and crowding around the windows. We "bundled up" and went out in our Atrium to watch tiny flakes float down to cover our coats and hair. Nothing stuck to the ground but it didn't matter. REAL snowflakes were floating onto OUR school! And it was 72 degrees yesterday! What joy! Our resident teachers from the North thought we were all WAY over excited but when this is what you get every 5 - 10 years, you take it! So in honor of the snow, I actually left work right after the kids did, came home, plugged in the Christmas Tree, and am enjoying some hot chocolate (with the very rare treat of marshmallows). I'm even more excited that Erin posted a picture of my sweet niece during her first snow.

Happy Winter, everyone!

A Light One of Graditude

It is a bit late but here are a few of the little joys in life that I am very thankful for. All of these are the icing on the cake of significant blessings I already have. These just make life that much sweeter!

• Being able to bless someone with a gift
• The smell of the new barbecue place just up the street
• Apple cider and iced tea (but not mixed together)
• The Christmas Song by Dave Matthews
• Gorgeous new pictures of my niece
• Waking up and feeling rested
• Anticipating a sister date for Converge (10 days but who's counting?)
• Getting the house ready to set up the Christmas tree
• Being finished with Christmas shopping!
• Climbing into a bed of clean sheets

I am truly blessed!