Washed.

There have been many things going on lately in the life of me. I just figured that if I have any readers out there (which is a BIG if), I would let you all know that I am not dead, nor did I fall off the face of the earth.

I have been struggling with many things and quite frankly, I just haven't felt like writing anything. Shocking, I know, especially since I like to talk. A lot.

What I really need is a long vacation to my favorite spot in the world, where it wouldn't be a vacation at all, but a mission to help the sick and cure the hungry. If I could, it is where I would be permanently.

It's raining as I look out my office window, and I feel like it is washing away everything that I have feared, hated, cared about, and missed in the past month. (Just the month, nothing more) I am glad of this because I know that it is God showing me that He's got this whole thing called life under control and that I should quit worrying, quit trying to control my life, and that He loves me.

Earth.

Everyone, I cannot express just how excited I am that I am starting this new devotional book with my Sunday school class. It's the cutest thing, and the notebook matches, which wasn't my intention when I bought it. It just happened. Anyways, the book teaches us how to care for God's beautiful creation that he made for US.

I don't know about you, but when I think about that, it just amazes me that he would actually take the time to think about humans. Even though we do not care for it as we should, he still gifted it to us. Isn't that an amazing thought?

"I Get By With a Little Help From My Friends"

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. A) I got a real job at the office of a fitness/wellness business; B) Winterfest came and went; C) I got to hang out with my best friend from university; D) Spring has sprung.

God is the ultimate provider when we earnestly petition through prayer. Hence the provision of a job actually relative to my degree. I had people praying that I don't even know praying for a new job. I'm thankful for sisters in Christ who truly care for one another.

Winterfest is this conference held over a three day period and God moved heavily through the crowds. It was amazing.

I love my life right now. Now, only one thing left to petition for, and if you know me in person, more than likely, you know what this petition involves.

Misbehaving Monkeys

Today, I have made up my mind that in my Sunday school classroom, there will no longer be ANY misbehaving. At all. The past few times in class, we have had too many behavioral problems, with all of the kids, not just one. I, in turn, took away the privilege of getting a silly band at the end of class, we haven't done anything fun in three weeks. Tomorrow, I am taking claim on my room, and there will be no more misbehaving.

Now, I ask myself, "What are you gonna do if someone begins to cause problems?" My answer? I have absolutely no clue, but I will figure it out when the time comes.

I have recently been discouraged about how I cannot keep them under control and how I feel that they aren't learning anything because they are focused on the one who is acting like a wild monkey and has no qualms about what he is doing.

Thankful

It's Thanksgiving Eve! Yes, I do consider the day before Thanksgiving a holiday, even though no one else does.

I figured, for today, I could make an abbreviated list of things I am thankful for.

1. Jesus saving me

2. My lovely family

3. A home to keep me warm and safe

4. My car, even though she is a stubborn little thing sometimes

5. Having clothes to wear in these cold months, when I know that in many villages in Honduras, many people don't have sufficient clothing

6. I am thankful to have the opportunity to provide Christmas for two beautiful kids I know who's parents are in a rough patch

7. I am thankful for my friends and the time that we get to hang out and be typical girls

8. For the cooler weather

9. For the experiences I have had in Honduras that opened my eyes to a hurting world

10. For the many years to come

Promises and the Ark

Again, I am still listening to Christmas music. It doesn't hurt to get in the spirit early.

Yesterday, I wrote about my wonderful Sunday school lesson. Now, I'm going to tell you about it.

I taught on Noah's Ark. I'm sure you think, "Lady, you teach 9-11 year olds, not four year olds." I thought the same thing, at first, until I read the whole lesson.

It was on God's promises, and promises in general.

We all know the story: God tells Noah to build an ark, which made him the laughing stock of the community. The joke was on those people when it rained for forty days and forty nights, and the water stuck around for around five months. The raven Noah sent out, just flew back and forth, the dove he sent out, came back twice and didn't return the third time. God told Noah that he was putting a sign on earth as a covenant. That sign was a rainbow. It was God's promise that he wouldn't send a flood to destroy the whole earth and all of man again.

We then talked about what promises are, and how absolutely no promise should be broken, and how it felt when a friend breaks a promise, especially if it involves a secret.

I don't know about you, but I haven't forgot about God's promises to me. He has given me plenty of rainbows to remind me that he has not forgotten, nor broken his promises.

I'm very thankful that he hasn't forgotten that promise.

GASP! Worship!

Okay, so after my nerves got the best of me, my lesson on worship turned out beautifully. The class was unbelievably participative and LOVED the pre-class worship session!!

I know! GASP!!

Who would have thought that a class that ranges in ages from 7 to 11 would even remotely enjoy a completely quiet moment to bask in the glory of God, for the duration of a song.

I was completely shocked. At the end of the lesson, I told them that we would be doing the pre-class worship session weekly, they all cheered, "YAAAAY!!!!" I am so glad that they are eager to praise God.

Okay, I know that this is totally off subject, but I am getting a wireless modem today, which means that I will finally be able to blog about Pico Bonito National Park in Atlantida, Honduras. The reason I can't so it now is because I am having to use the PC instead of my laptop, which happens to have all of my pictures on it.

Love Never Fails Us

You will be very happy to know that my lesson in my NEW Sunday school class was a hit!! I believe that deep down, the kids enjoyed learning about love. Even though we had a few who couldn't seem to sit still for more than a few seconds. This, I am okay with because at least they were in church.

I explained to them that loving is very important, even if it is someone that they truly dislike, or if it is a kid in their class at school that smells and looks like they hadn't bathed in a while.

I passionately believe that we should love on "the least of these." They are most important in my eyes, and if I can convince my kids of this, then I will consider my life a success.

Love is everywhere, we just have to learn to bring it out in every situation. Love never fails us, therefore, we should never fail it.

I am very adamant that children learn to love each other and the world. I would call it my mission to love on people. Young people, older people, poor people, or rich people. They are all beautiful in God's eyes and deserve our love. ("our" being Christians)

Please, if you do nothing else, teach your kids to love. You can learn to love too.

Love and Brownies

Tomorrow, I begin teaching Sunday School at my church for a class cutely named "Kingdom's Kids."

First, let me say that I love love LOVE the age groupd, and the kids, that I will be teaching!!! I teach ages 9-11, they will 'graduate' to the teen class at 12! Last week was a trial run, with me not knowing that the class would become mine, so I feel that I did my best, considering I wasn't prepared at all!

However, tomorrow, I am going to rock this teaching gig as well as I can! I wrote a beautiful lesson on Love. I think that one thing the kids will pull away from this lesson is that love is indeed needed immensely in this world, and that it is a Christian's job to show it to everyone on the planet.

I am going to make my lovely children brownies and let them write letters to people they love.

As all of this is going on, amazing worship music will be playing in the background, giving everyone a sense of God's Holy presence.

Ya'll I am so very excited for this journey to begin!

As I proceed, I will write stories about my beautiful class, and I may even post a picture of their beautiful faces!!

Fairytale Charmer

Personal claims on things

that aren't real.

Things that only you can imagine.

A feud between friends,

both claiming a fairytale charmer.

Claiming that he is theirs.

Dreaming, letting your

brain wander off to

a place only you can imagine.

This is something I found in an old, small notebook from my junior year of high school. I could probably go to far in depth about who this small story is about, but for reasons that only I can understand, I shall keep that to myself.

This "fairytale charmer" just happend to break my fragile heart, not just once, but twice, without ever realizing that he did it. I was ignorant and remained friends with him long enough for it to happen twice.

I assume that I wrote this at a time when God was not the most important person in my life and I let "life" get to me. I also assume that the two girls feuding over "fairytale charmer" were dumb enough to even believe that he would ever give either of them a chance, which later, he ended up giving one of them a very undeserved chance. I was not that girl, which only made me try harder.

Luckily, I am not that high school junior anymore. Now, I could care less if a guy gives me any attention at all. I mean, yes it is nice, but I do not crave it as I did then.

It's funny how we can change over just a few short years. That was only five years ago, and here I sit, graduated from University, 22 years old, and clinging to God even tighter than I ever thought I would. He keeps me sane.

Is it Theatre or Theater?

Aside from it being FOREVER since I last wrote, today is FRIDAY PTL!!!!! 

Now, this past Sunday morning, I decieded that the lighting outside was perfect some awesome picture taking... To the left you see my  tulips growing, reaching higher and higher to God. I have others that I took that morning before running off to church, but this one stands out for some reason, I just cannot pin point it. Things so simple in life can give you joy and looking at these tulips, I am happy. 

Often times, we pass by without ever stopping to take a moment and realize the beauty of our God's Creation. We are too busy to slow down and take in the scenery He has granted us with. I am thankful each day for the beautiful things that He places in front of me from time to time to remind me just how wonderful HE really is.