Snuggling

For whatever reason, my camera will not connect to my computer anymore. So that means that I can't post many pictures that I take. Well, I am starting to work on our end of the year slide show for work so I got my pictures put on a disc at Walgreens this afternoon. On it is one of my all time favorite photos. This is a shot the day after Lindsey's wedding. Erin and Gregg were loading the car to head home so I was holding Liz (what a sacrificial helper). Anyway, this is the first time that she laid her head on my shoulder and snuggled up with her aunt. Totally melted my heart! It has happened several more times since then and it still turns me into a puddle. But this was the first time. It isn't outstanding of either of us but the moment was precious. I do love this little girl!!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

This is the highlight of the weekend:

Another niece or nephew!! SO excited!! Go here to read more.....

A Money Rant

I am blessed to have met some amazing people in the past few months! Many of them are spending parts (or all) of their summer working in foreign mission fields. As we all know, this is not cheap and fund raising is a part of the experience. I've received several emails, notes, and letters asking for help in prayer and in giving.

Now, a few weeks ago, I took the car in and girl is in need of some serious love. I have been given a list of things to do and an estimate for what to expect the cost to be. It is do-able but is going to require some serious self discipline and good stewardship.

So how are these two things related? I would LOVE to give to my friends going abroad to serve those needing the Lord. However, my hands feel pretty tied right now. Is it lack of faith that if I give, my financial needs won't be met? Is it showing good stewardship to just stick with my budget?

Oh, money, how you frustrate me......

On the Road Again....

I officially feel old.....

This week we are finishing up a campus wide project called Wolfe Road Trip: Where's Your Destination? We each picked a state or country and researched it as a class. On Thursday, we are doing a scavenger hunt around the school to help learn about all of these new places. We are also making passports so they can stamp where they have "been".

To prepare for the road trip idea, we spent our Social Studies lessons talking about how to prepare for a trip. After talking about packing our clothes, I asked what they would pack to do in the car while they were driving to their destination. Here is the list I got: Nintendo DS/PSP (handheld video games), cell phone, iPod/mp3 player, DVD player, iTouch, and laptop. WHAT!?!? I even tried to guide them to other activities and they couldn't think of what they could take. I told them that when I was their age, our car bag was filled with books, coloring books and crayons, activity books, paper and markers, a doll, and travel games. We played games (ABC, license plate searches, etc) and sang in the car. We looked out the windows and talked to each other. I asked them to raise their hand if they talked to each other in the car. NONE of them raised their hands! No wonder they talk so much at school! It is the only time they have someone to listen to them! Then, we talked about what their parents would need to drive them to their destination. Thankfully, we got gas, a map, and a cell phone out before they all started yelling GPS, GPS, GPS!! I told them that they were all spoiled.....

What a sad eye opener!

Of Course.....

A few months ago, I posted about a town hall meeting in regards to the future of our school. It was looking scary for us because we LOVE our school but others had the idea in their heads that we were not worth keeping around. In the ende, we felt encouraged because there was talk about rebuilding our campus. A steering committee was formed and the talks began. As the year has gone on, it has become apparent that the "powers that be" have made up their minds about how they want things to play out and don't have much (if any) concern about teacher or community input. There has been a lot of political stuff and talking out of both sides of their mouths going on. It has been disheartening to say the least.

A co-worker is on the committee and they had a meeting last night. All of our fears are pretty much coming true. It looks like my campus has about two years left before our kids are re-zoned and we close down to make way for an IB school (for students smarter than gifted and talented). Absolutely NOT the kind of school I want to work in. So it looks like I'll be on the job search again in about two or three years. I find it kind of funny because I remember telling people that I thought God had me on a five year plan in Houston. Pretty close with four! I'm not saying I'll leave the city but, honestly, it wouldn't break my heart. It has been a huge blessing in many ways but I'm just not digging it for the long term. I'm not worried about it but significantly more disappointed. I LOVE my school, staff, kids, etc. Now it looks like it will be coming to an end. So we will see......

Rising Up to Call Her Blessed

Happy Mother's Day all you hard working, ever loving, gracious women! This morning I woke up in my very comfortable bed and I had a bit of longing to be waking up with my mom. That is alright though. In two weeks, we will see each other again and there will be lots of hugs. While there are many women that are due great honor today, there are four that I would like to focus on right now.

Mom - I cannot begin to count the blessings that you bestowed upon me in the past 29 years. In the past few, I've been so thankful for your strength and stability. You have been my sounding board and shoulder to cry on more than either of us would have liked you to have been. You have laughed with me and counseled me on all manner of things. You have made yourself available to phone calls about nothing more times than either of us can count. You have supported me even when things have not quite gone according to plan. But even more, you have prayed for me and over me. This in itself has me humbled before the Lord in daily thanksgiving. You are my blessing for life! For all of these things, I am thankful beyond words! I love you!

Erin - Happy Yo Mama's Day! Watching you become a mom has been more fun than falling in love with your new daughter! The love you have for her makes you radiate more beauty every day! You take everything in stride and are as real as they come! I'm so thankful to be able to learn good mom skills from you! Your heart is growing by the day and everyone around you are blessed by it. Liz is blessed to have you as her mama!

To my future mother-in -law - For the man that you have raised him to be, I thank you! Though I have no idea who you are, I want you to know that you and your son have been prayed over by many. I hope that you are being honored today.

Dana - No, not me. :) I have a co-worker who announced a week and a half ago that she is pregnant. As exciting as this is, she is deeply on my heart. She lost her first baby at eight months and had to deliver him stillborn. This little, growing life is an answer to prayers! I'm praying for peace and a healthy, well developed little one for her. I'm praying her sorrows are being turned to joy. She has blessed my life and I pray that this baby blesses hers!

So all you mamas out there, I hope today has been a good one for you! You are highly esteemed and worthy of some pampering!! Blessings!

Songs in the Morning

I woke up this morning with the hymn "My Jesus Knows Just What I Need" playing in my head - specifically the chorus. It has been "playing" since 5:00. It makes me wonder what this day is going to hold.....

Being Jesus

On Sunday morning, I was standing around talking to a group of girls (with a random guy thrown in) after an intense class entitled Confirmation of Discernment. We had spent our time discussing how the church is presented in our modern day culture, our identity in our culture vs. our identity in Christ, and who we are in Christ. While we discussed what we were still trying to wrap our minds around, one girl brought up the Compassion Bloggers trip a few of us had been keeping up with. For those of you who don't know, Compassion sent some people with highly popular bloggers to Calcutta to see the mission and meet their sponsor kids. They blogged about their experiences in an effort to encourage more people to sponsor children. (I'm just about convinced.) I kept up with Melissa and Angie. As we talked about it, the girl who brought it up made a statement that has stuck with me the past three days. She is feeling a call to Cuba and has a heart for the poverty stricken and persecuted church. She was discussing what we saw/read about India and her experiences in Cuba. She simply said, "I just don't know how to be Jesus in America."

What a statement! We turned it over and over for a while. We just finally had to decide that being Jesus in America looks SO different than being Jesus in the rest of the world. We are not outright persecuted and find ourselves SO blessed. Here, it is more of a struggle against ourselves, our loyalties, and our hearts. In other places, it is a fight against the physical demands of life (poverty, persecution, lack of rights, etc).

Like I said, it has been on my mind for three days. Last night, I was reading The Resurgence blog (which is AMAZING, by the way) when I ran across a post entitled Simplified Missional Living. In many ways, I think it hits the nail on the head for modern day ministry here in the states. However, I keep finding myself wondering, how am I being Jesus to the world around me? I know we can answer the expected answers but when we get down to the reality of presenting a flesh and blood representation of the Savior to a self-centered, over-indulged world, where does that begin? What does that look like? How in the world does that even begin to happen?

Talk about some food for thought quickly followed by a HUGE helping of humble pie!

Hmmmm.....

When you sign into Hotmail, they have started recommending a few people in your contacts list to add to their networking site. The contacts are pulled at random and listed by email address. This evening when I logged in, there were the email addresses of the last few guys I dated/talked to - from most recent to least. My brain went on overload as it went down multiple memory lanes at once.

What in the world!?!?

Memory Verse - May 1

Today, I have a renewed sense of trust in God. So whenever people make comments to me to the likes of, "What do you expect Him to do, drop it in your lap?" my new response is "Why not? He can if He wants to." He did with my job! I'm not giving in to being a slug but I'm being a lot more open to what God can do if I get out of His way. He can totally handle it! I'm counting on Him!

Memory Verse for the next two weeks is from Isaiah 43:18-19 (emphasis added):

18 "Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
19 See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.

Your Two Cents

I had this thought pop in my head during a women's breakfast this morning. We were discussing prayer and then went into time on our own. Weigh in and let me know what you think:

Debt is another form of gluttony that we as Americans have bought into. Wanting too much and not being content with what we have, we spend too much and throw ourselves further into a hole we struggle to get out of. We wallow in our stuff and drown in our interest rates while bemoaning our choices, only to addictively do it again and again. And our gluttony is killing not only our present but our futures as well - tying our hands of the good God would have us do if we weren't too busy crawling out of our pits. Thank God that He allows us a way out! For all the good I want to do, it is time to break that chain. Time to be a good steward. Time to live the way He has called me to. Time to stop being a glutton!