Family

Even though there is distance between them, I hope Lilly Mae and Sarah Beth can get to know each other well and become good friends.  During our family visit they played well together for the most part and enjoyed each other's company.  SB even cried after LM went home. 

In ten years I'd love to see the sweet innocence of these girls as teenagers the way I see it here.  Our only hope is Christ.  We are trying to teach this to SB.   She will make mistakes, I know.   I just pray that when she does, her response will be to stand in awe at the grace of Christ and love him more for it.

Girls Beach Trip

Last week ten of us girls from church went to the beach for a little R&R.  Not that we don't love our families, but it was high time some of us got a little break from the everyday responsibilites. 

Some high points for me were: 

-Grocery shopping and seeing almost all of us buy healthy food rather than junk.  Ok we ate the occasional peanut M&M...or two.

-Seeing our total spending come to $95 including lodging, gas, and groceries for 4 days.  That's what I call a trip!!!

-4 lovely days of sun.

-Spending time talking with girls who don't normally have lots of time to talk due to the fact that they are raising 3-4 kids each.

-Talking about Jesus and how important He is to each of us.

-Praying for the needs of others as they arose.

-Not getting sunburned. (Somebody shout!)

Some things I learned about these girls along the way:

-The motherly instinct comes out in most of us even though our homes and families are far away.  (Those dishes and clothes were constantly being washed rather than piled into a dirty heap.)

-Erin may never win a frisbee tournament but has great taste in fabric.

-Rita likes to play games and is definately a child at heart.

-Melissa is a born leader and die-hard workout diva even with an 8 month baby belly.

-Jessica is about to marry a really nice guy who really loves her.

-Bekah is a no holds barred kind of girl who appreciates her marriage and God who holds it together.

-Becky is a farm girl for life and is pretty much self-sustained.

-Kim is a devoted sister to Kerry and a sweet friend to all.

-Kerry is also a devoted sister to Kim and is a natural born cheerleader.  She needs no pompoms.

-Beth stays sweet through the worst of headaches and thankfully doesn't snore.

Across the street from the condo.  I despise pink houses.

Cliche, but I saw it so I photographed it.



These are mine.



Thank you husbands for letting us go for a few days.



Cha Cha Cha CHANGE

If you've read this blog before or you know me, then you know what line of work I'm in.  I teach "talented art" to a small groups of kids each day in a public school setting.  Due to the nature of my job, I tend to keep the same students for a number of years.   Some I've taught for 5 years now.  I've practically watched them grow up.  I've gotten to know their parents as friends and feel very comfortable seeing familiar faces every new school year.  Next year will be more of the same and I'm glad of it. 

One thing gets to me though.  Once my students move to 9th grade I lose them to another teacher.  I know it's for the the best, but it doesn't make it any easier.  They always make me feel like I'm the key to their success as an artist, and while I'm flattered, really my desire is for them to take what they know and run with it, learn something new, get a fresh perspective.  

My greatest desire for my departing students is that they would remember my everyday life, while FAR from perfect, is pointing to Christ and bearing fruit.  If it isn't, then the greatest artist to come from under my teaching would be wasting paint.  It's true that I love art, but I love Jesus more.  I'd rather see the gospel advanced in their lives than visual arts.

To my students who read this blog:
I love you,
I'll really miss you,
Come and see me,
Ride the bus back to the elementary school next year if you must.

Ahem... Happy Cinco de Mayo!  Tomorrow is SB's actual birthday.  I don't think I'm gonna tell her.

About Christmas

This picture is worth a thousand words.  Todd and I want so much to translate what's here into our girl's heart.  There are a lot of tv shows, music, stores, well-meaning adults, other kids, and whatever else I've left off trying to tell SB that Christmas is about getting lots of presents and that there is an old guy in a red suit who's gonna creep into our house at night and drop them off to her. 

We've come to realize that we have to be vigilant in teaching her about Immanuel - God with us.  Christmas is about Jesus coming to earth as Immanuel.  He was and is our ultimate gift.  That's enough.

What Makes Me Smile

 I often wonder if what I try to teach Sarah Beth hits home.  When we drive down the road we look at clouds and trees and animals and talk about them. Todd and I always ask her, "Who made the (object of God's creation)." She knows the answer and gladly spits it out.  She knows a few Bible verses too.  She also happens to know where people were first called Christians. 

Yesterday I was sitting on her rocking chair checking email on my phone and she was setting the table for a nice tea with her animals.  She asked me to get her some napkins from the kitchen so off I went still checking my mail as I got a hand full of napkins.  I sat them on her table and she started passing them out to each guest.  I was reading something about embroidering on my phone when all of a sudden I heard, "Jesus please bless this food. Amen."  I had tuned out all the other conversations she was having with them but when she prayed, I heard it loud and clear.  It wasn't more holy or louder.  I just heard it and it melted my heart.  At that point I exited my email and took this picture with my phone.

Her prayer may be ritual now but one day it'll sink in.  I try to take as many opportunities to observe and verbalize all that God has done for us so that she will someday develop a heart of thanksgiving, knowing that all she has, even her breath, is from Jesus who created and saves her.  Her little prayer gives me hope that this part of her growing up will be one of my most treasured memories.

Deut. 6:5-9
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Brevity

Life is short which is why I never have time to post. So here's a picture my mom took of SB so I'm posting it because I haven't had time to take any myself. I plan to do it soon though.

I love the entire chapter of Psalm 103. We tried to make SB memorize some of it, but she prefers to make a joke out of it so we gave up. Instead of saying, "Bless the Lord, oh my soul." She says, "Bless the Lord... OH MY GOODNESS!!!" and laughs histerically. Here's a verse for you from that chapter:

Psalm 103:15-16 "As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

The brevity of life really hits home when someone you love looks death in the eyes. God has reminded me of it all week. My pregnant sister's husband had a massive heart attack at 31 years of age.

It's a good time for us to examine what we believe when we are faced with the fact that we are not guaranteed our next heartbeat. It's been a bittersweet experience. While tragedy is never enjoyable, Jesus has been very present to my family and very kind to my sister and her husband. My dad was admitted to the same hospital this morning with an illness he's been facing. It's been hard to be so far away from them during this time, but I will make a trip tomorrow in hopes that I can bring some comfort to them as they continue to battle the aftermath of his heart attack and my dad's illness.

Psalm 103:17 "But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children"

Belated Birthday

So it's been quite a while and I have more than enough to say, although I plan to keep this one short. My last post was April 6th. Sarah Beth's birthday was May 6th. We had her birthday party today. The photos in this post were taken a few days ago. Her birthday pics will be posted when I get enough energy to retrieve them from my camera.
What's that you say? Why a month and a half later? Oh...that's a story of its own. May 2nd was her original party date. Plans changed the day before the party. Lots to do with contagious viruses, vacations, rodeos, school, other birthday parties, text messages, the kitchen sink...
In the end things all worked out. We scaled down the party to include close friends of the family and family members. Even with the smaller crowd, it was very busy. She has been receiving presents now for over a month, because people felt bad about not giving her a present on her birthday. They've been trickling in here and there through mail or passing by. She's an old pro at unwrapping packages or removing tissue from bags. Todd says she'll think all birthdays last a month long. We'll have some 'splainin to do next year.
As a christian mother, it is my goal to teach her not to treasure trinkets. Don't get me wrong, I'm so thankful for all the gifts - these people are helping us provide for our girl. Those are clothes we don't have to buy. And those toys - how expensive are they! Yes! I am thankful for every last ribbon and battery. I just want her to know that they will not bring her lasting contentment. Eventually as we all do, she will outgrow the clothes and get bored with the toys. I pray that Todd and I will succeed in teaching her to love and cherish the imperishable treasure who "gives life and breath and all things to all." For anyone reading who doesn't know what I'm talking about - it's Jesus.

I love that smile and those sweet baby blue eyes.

Little bit of attitude coming through there...

The Lord's Day

Lilly

Today I went to visit my sister and her family for the afternoon. We live 2 hours apart and don't get to see each other very often. She has a 2 year old daughter named Lilly who has recently taken a liking to her Children's Bible. Lilly's not a fluent conversationalist, but she know's how to get her point across. Katee, my sister, says that when she carries her Bible around, she repeatedly says, "I have Jesus" and when she is looking for her Bible she says, "I need Jesus."

We met at a restaurant on the river today. There were ducks swimming outside, so we all went to feed them some leftover bread. Katee gathered her things and placed the bread on top of Lilly's Bible because her hands were already full. Someone said, "Now when you try to feed the ducks, it's going to make 5000 pieces." Katee mentioned then that she and Lilly had just read about Jesus feeding 5000 people. When talking about the story Lilly said, "Mommy, Jesus cook."

A child's response to the Bible and to the Lord's tugging at their heart is so convicting. I wish I realized more often that I have Jesus in His word and I need Jesus constantly. One of my constant prayers is that the Lord would make me conscious of His presence in my daily life. If He is always on my mind, I'm sure I'll be quicker to walk uprightly before Him... and everybody else for that matter.

Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.