Just One Of Those Days!

Today was such a happy day, and it wasn't like there was anything spectacular about it :o). Here's a run down on some of the little happenings in my small world today...

• I think, I think, one of my student's now knows the difference between a direct object and an indirect object. After spending 30 minutes with her this morning, it was such a joy to see it finally *click* for her:). I love those "a ha!"/lightbulb moments:D.
• I noticed a ton of PACEs, goal cards, and tests that needed to be filed so I began working on the mountain, hoping to finish it before the students returned to class. I filed the last test just as the kids returned. Hooray! What timing :o).
• Everyone passed their different tests today... the lowest grade was a 94%! That's always an encouragement to a teacher ;).
• I enjoyed watching a vigorous game of four-square and hearing the happy laughter of teenagers during the lunch break... fun!
• I was able to fill up my Toyota with gas for $16.25 ~ under $20.00! I was one happy girl...
• Tiffany brought Dillon to the volleyball field during gym class and I got to get some good "Auntie" time in :o).
• Gym class was fun and it was very satisfying to see the girls developing their skills.
• Only 7 girls went to the varsity game today, so we carpooled down to Oley. What a nice time to chat with Tiffany... I was so busy playing catch up with her that I forgot we had some players in the van with us :o).
• The girls played well today, despite the fact that we were missing 4 players ~ two went away to Oklahoma to a family camp and two had their wisdom teeth out on Friday, so we didn't want to risk a hit in the face (especially considering the one girl seems to be a magnet for a volleyball to slam off her face... no thank you! I don't want her to go through any more pain:D).
• Tiffany and I shared different *driving* stories and laughed and laughed at our silly mistakes, and then told the two teenagers riding with us that we hoped we didn't scare them with our stories ;).
• On the way home, we stopped at a dairy place for some homemade ice cream.... yum, yum!
• This evening on visitation, as we went door to door, we were pleasantly surprised to find a few people that were Christians. Also at another door, once we told the lady we had been leaving some tracts on her door for the past few weeks, she replied with "Oh, so you're the ones." Bracing ourselves for a verbal barrage, we were shocked to hear her say that she took the tracts and passed them out to other people! Wow!!! That sure beats getting turned down again;).
• I found out today that November 11th through the 19th just might find me in the small, northwestern town of Chesterton, Indiana :o) ... I am so excited at the possibility of seeing my "mid-west" family again! I only have two small obstacles to overcome (and I'm hoping Rachel will help me out with the one:D).

Maybe I should have warned you that my thoughts were zing-zing-zinging around everywhere tonight, but it truly was an enjoyable day! When the kids all have their homework done, sweet attitudes prevail, and people were challenged about their soul, then it is a blessed day indeed!

Things To Remember.

This evening I was plodding along in my *last* (yay!!!!!) Bible Institute class and as I listened to my Pastor talk about Personal Evangelism, he began to give a list of "Things to Remember" regarding witnessing. I was so blessed that I had to share it with you!!!

Things To Remember:

~ You are going as the Lord directed.

~ Remember: "What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." (Psalm 56:3)

~ Remember you are not going alone.

~ You are doing the greatest thing one person could do for another. Think about it! If you had the cure for cancer, would you not spread that around to help as many as possible?

~ You will never witness to anyone God does not love.

~ You will never witness to anyone who does not need God's offer.

~ You will never witness to anyone God has not dealt with already (remember Romans 1:20!!!)

~ You can't fail IF you are faithful.

~ Leave the results with God.

"I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase."

~ 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

My Kind Of Day...

Aren't the autumn colors so pretty?!? I noticed the trees planted close to a nearby store are dropping their leaves and changing color. It was so pretty to see! I had such an enjoyable day today ~ having no responsibilities or schedules to be mindful of. Instead, I got to browse through the local Goodwill store and walk away with a few bargains. One bargain was a game called Rummikub which I got for $1.97. I've played it at the Spang's house lots of times and even at Winter Camp once. It's a lot of fun and for less than 2 bucks:)

Then I found a skirt for $4.00 that is very similar in style to Hannah Lise, the same style that the girls in school are wearing as part of the standardized dress code. This is a real blessing to me, for I couldn't afford the skirts at $25.00 a piece, but I did want another khaki/taupe skirt to use for school. Now to find a similar black skirt...:)

My third bargain of the day was finding a nice shirt for my mom and it also happened to be a Christopher & Banks which is always a nice perk:D She seemed to like it, so hopefully it'll work for her. That's the one problem shopping for the person when they're not there; you don't always know about size and style. But I have a pretty good track record for picking up shirts for Mom so I'm not too concerned;).

My fourth bargain goes to show the Lord has a sense of humor! Just this morning, I switched out all of my spring/summer clothing and replaced it with fall/winter clothes. I happened to glance at a long-sleeved shirt and with a sigh put it in the bag to give away because the shirt never really fit me to begin with, but I just liked it, so I kept it around anyway. I only wore it around the house because it was too *frumpy* for anywhere else. So as I meandered up and down the aisles of the Goodwill, I happened upon the long-sleeve shirt rack and saw the exact same shirt I had at home! The only difference was it was a size smaller and it fit me perfectly:D. I silently smiled to myself, and realized God is always blessing me even when I don't deserve it. What are the *odds* that I would see that shirt today, of all days? It just goes to show that my hands need to be empty in order for Him to fill them.

The rest of the afternoon was spent at an unhurried pace, which if you know me, is rare! I even got to enjoy a movie I got out of the library. I've owned "Part 2" for some time, but never realized it was "Part 2". But after watching "Part 1" today, a lot of "Part 2" makes sense now:o). (I can already hear Tiffany say, "excuse my blonde friend.... she's a little slow!").

With a new strand of white lights intermingled with ivy on my bookcase, and a carmel apple candle burning while "Walking Through The Flames" softly fills the air, I am completely satisfied with my day and am ready for Sunday. Pastor's doing a series on "Eternal Security" and I'm sure "Part 2" will be a blessing... especially since I've already heard "Part 1";).

Happy Sunday!

All I Ever Want To Be.

I drove down to Philly Thursday night and woke up Friday morning at 6:30 to incessant crying from my nephew... apparently someone was ready to start his day! As I gave Andrew his medicine and fixed his breakfast, I hummed along with the music I had playing in the background and blissfully noted that I was still hanging out in my pjs; and at 7:45 too! On a normal day, I'm usually drying my hair and making a mad dash towards the kitchen to have a quick breakfast at that time. But this morning I experienced the more relaxed side of a Friday morning.

After spending the day watching my nephew, I have reconfirmed the thought in my mind: someday I would like to gladly turn in my last timesheet at work and be a stay-at-home-wife-and-mother. Now I know that being at home is more work than going to work, and it takes a lot of hard work to run a home smoothly and be a sahw! I have many examples in my church of ladies who stay at home and who know they are fulfilling the role God has placed them in.

I absolutely love listening to my nursery team talk about their daily lives and even our last time in the nursery we had a conversation about how my life is now compared to those ladies and how their lives were at my age. One of the girls was talking about how she was married by the time she was 20 and how she is sure I would like to be married too, but in the meantime I am enjoying my single years. And I am enjoying these years. Right around the time I graduated from high school, a lot of girls in my church were getting married at 19, 20, and 21. I've blown past those years;o) and that's ok. I think about Anne of Green Gables and how 25 was considered to be an "old-maid" age in that period of time. I would rather be "old-maid" and single, than "married" and in a marriage that is not God-honoring.

I told the girls on my nursery team that I'm in the "sit-still-my-daughter" stage, found in the book of Ruth (3:18). It's not up to me to pursue every Ezekiel, Jacob, and Paul (or any other guy for that matter;o)... and just for the record, I don't know any guy by those names:D). I've dated once in my life, (well actually twice, if you count the guy and I being so shy that we never talked to each other, but through a third party; I was in 6th grade then)...anyway when I was 15 and newly saved I dated for a couple of months, and when it ended, I told myself I would never do anything like that again. Sometimes my family questions my decision to wait for God to bring the right one along, and sometimes I even wonder if I'm sane!:) But my God is faithful and His way is perfect.

Have I ever wondered? Yes. Do I get discouraged? At times, yes. And to be honest, the innocent questions that come from well-meaning people does tend to get frustrating. But I stand on this: if a man is to lead his family and has been given the responsibility by God, why would I ever want to pursue after a man in the hopes of catching him? If I'm not to lead in the family, why lead in a courtship? But sometimes this can be hard to convey to a generation that grew up with dating and girls pursuing boys.

I am thankful to God for all the different opportunities He has given to me now. Life does not begin at marriage; rather, it is something to be experiencing now! Babysitting my cute, adorable nephew every Friday is just one of the many purks!

All I ever want to be,

Is what you want of me, Lord.

I give myself to You.

Tradition With A Twist.

I am a big fan of traditions and one tradition for me is to go the fair every late September/early October. With the exception of one or two years, I have gone every year for the last 15-18 years and I absolutely love to go! I have fond memories of getting out of school early:D and being packed up with everyone else in the station wagon and going away. My favorite part of the fair was going to see the animals and looking for the baby piglets, goats, and chicks. We would spend a lot of time walking through all the barns and gazing at the animals. I really enjoyed looking at the horses and intently reading all the little "did-you-know?" posters and placards around the stalls. Ahhh yes! The memories:)

Fair time rolled around again on Saturday and with it came some new (and unexpected) memories! First of all, it was five girls in the car where the conversation ranged from trying to figure out whether it was a volunteer fireman or a biker who had passed away and whose funeral seemed to be what woke this one sleepy little town up to memories being shared about the time we almost got hit by a car when we came off of I-80 coming back from the fair two years ago. Secondly, we girls were happily chatting while I drove on I-80 when I noticed the red lights that started to shine in front of me and I vaguely remembered my mom's passing comment on Thursday night: "Just be careful on I-80 as the two lanes drop down to a single lane for a while." I'll be honest: I *heard* what she said, but I didn't *really hear*. Because if I would have *really heard* her, I would have realized that weekend traffic on a major interstate is a tad bit different from the slow-poke drive on a weekday (and in my parent's case, it was on Wednesday that they went to the fair) and I would have found an alternate route to take.

Mental note for next time.

Make that a written note for next time;). I don't trust my memory!

So for the next 1 1/2 hours, the girls and I made our way over approximately 3, maaaaybe 4 miles. Let me tell ya, we got to study the highway paving job real well! Have you ever noticed how the highway is made up of a bunch of different colors? No? You've never noticed? Well I'll fill you in since I had all the time in the world to sit in my parked car on the highway and look at the beautiful artwork under my tires. It truly looked like a mosaic masterpiece and I was almost sorry that highway travelers never have a chance to explore the wonders and beauty of free art right under their, uh, feet. Almost, but not really!

I tend to get practical in a situation like this and think to myself, "well, the only way around this is through this" and that's exactly what I thought Saturday. It did help that there were four other girls in the car, plus I'm a people-watcher (remember?) so I'm sure I would have endured and perhaps even enjoyed the wait. As it happened, there were four other girls in the car and, I might add, one of them had to go to the bathroom really bad! So to pass the time, we played a game. It was pretty fun to try to find all the letters of the alphabet on the cars ahead of us... the car directly in front of us had the letters like "q", "u", "w", "x", "y", and "z" so let's just say the game probably lasted all of 3.5 minutes:).

Jen was in the middle of telling a story when I exclaimed, "Girls! We're about to go over 15 mph!!!" but my excitement was short-lived as we soon dropped down to zero. So then Rachel suggested singing a song with different noises. "Victory In Jesus" sounded neat with the alto and soprano voices blending together with "do-do-do... da-da-da-da":D. It was even better when we actually sang the words;).

When we had left the church parking lot in the morning, I would say the weather was nice. By the time we left the art museum (read: highway), it was overcast and starting to sprinkle a tiny bit. But by the time we got to the fair, all seemed well, so I left my jacket and umbrella in the car.

I regretted that decision later.

All of us girls had sweaters/jackets over our shirts, but it was still pretty chilly. Poor Jen only had on backless sneakers and no socks and was absolutely freezing. Finally we all agreed to duck into the warm buildings to warm up... and to, umm, see what was in them too;) After we did the buildings, we walked around a little shivering outside and telling each other we were all going to have colds in the morning. It was on this thought that we left the fair and said good-byes at church two hours later.

My mom and I have been watching one episode of "Road To Avonlea" each evening (thanks Becky!) and Saturday evening was no different. I snuggled in my warm pjs and hunkered down under a cozy afghan, all the while feeling a little *tickle* in my throat. Comforted by the fact that I was not going to suffer a cold alone but have four other sympathizers, I finished the episode and crawled into bed. Sure enough, Sunday morning found me with a cold. As I went around and said good morning to the other girls, I said to each of them: "you have a cold too, don't you." It was a statement, for I was sure I knew it as fact.

But nooo. Each of the girls looked at me and each of the girls said, "Oh no... I feel fine!"

Hmph.

That's just the way it is...:). I don't think I'm going to make this a part of my going-to-the-fair tradition. I really can do without the cold next time... and the traffic pile up. But hey, what's a little variety for the day, right? After all, it could have been worse... we could've been stuck in traffic for 3 hours:D. Sometimes, that's just the way it is!!!

Bein' An Auntie...

I have a sister who lives in Florida, a brother who lives in Indiana, another sister who lives in Philadelphia, and two brothers and a sister who live within 10 minutes of my house. "Of course" the ones who live in Florida, Indiana, and Philly all have children and "of course" those who live within 10 minutes of me do not. (Well, there's supposed to be an arrival come March that will live only 5 minutes away!)

But I absolutely looooove being an auntie! To hold a newborn baby and be awed by the fact that a sibling just tripled their responsibilities is amazing! To remember that sibling was the same one who fought with me as a child, bossed me around, made me play "school", "church", and "house" where I was *always* the baby, borrowed my clothing (yes, even my oldest sister couldn't resist taking my nice white shirt:D), and now suddenly has a baby of their own is mind boggling.

I remember the birth of my niece. I was all of 9 years old, and I remember going to the hospital and seeing my sister-in-law in the room holding this baby girl. My first nephew was only hours old when I got to hold him at the grand age of 13. The next baby was when my sister-in-law had a c-section while I was at Bible Institute, and after class I drove over to the hospital to meet my new nephew. Another time I flew into Florida on a Tuesday night and hours later my nephew was born. My most recent nephew I first saw on Thanksgiving of '05. I also have one nephew that was not born into our family, but is loved just as much as the rest of them.

It was a way of life for me to offer to babysit my nephews and niece and spend lots of time with them... that is, until they moved back in August. It's been the strangest feeling not to run over to their house, not to see them in church, not to have them stop by for Sunday dinner. It's been very different to have no toys strewn around our kitchen, computer room, and foyer. I miss playing volleyball with my niece or throwing a football with my nephew. Of course my nephew in Florida I only see a couple of times a year and really take advantage of getting in those snuggle moments when I can:o).

But starting this Friday, I get to babysit my 10 month old nephew every week! Sure, I have to drive an hour, but it's totally worth it! (All aunties should be agreeing at this point!) And, there's a new baby coming to town in '07 (we all are hoping for a girl!)

Annnnnnd......

We just found out that another new one will be joining our Florida family come April!!!!

How exciting! I have a feeling I'll be making a trip to Florida to welcome nephew/niece #8! But that's ok, because I loooove being an auntie!

Calling All Cheap I Mean (Ahem) Bargain Shoppers!

Melissa is as excited about gas prices as I am:o) Apparently prices in her area have dropped to $3.00, while prices in my area have dropped down to the low, low price of $2.23 (for now anyway). I know this good thing can't last forever, so I'm planning on taking advantage of it while I can.

But what I would like to know is this: in your neck of the woods, wherever you hang your hat, or pillow your head, what are prices like? Are they touching $3.00 or hanging out around $2.00? It would be interesting to see the responses. But here's the catch: you have to respond and let me know what the prices are and what state/country you are from:o). Oh, and if you know me in *real life*, go ahead and tell me the prices you found... remember, I haven't traveled too far from home in a while:D. I'm not sure I know what's going on in the next town:D. Perhaps I'll just have to come visit you... and pick up a bargain along the way!

Accounting.

I finished reading "One Shenandoah Winter" (T. Davis Bunn) on Saturday and pondered the following:

As they were walking down the hospital corridor, Nathan was suddenly struck by a thought. "I forgot all about Brian."
Poppa Joe followed him over to the pay phone in the hall. "The pastor?"
"I promised I'd come by this evening." When the operator came on, he asked for the number for Reverend Brian Blackstone of Hillsboro. As he waited he went on, "He was going to give me my first lesson in the Bible."
As Nathan fished for change to pay for the call, he glanced up. "What's the matter?"
For the first time that exhausting day, Poppa Joe was genuinely anxious. "I took you away from getting to know the Lord?"
"It's all right."
"No, it ain't." The old man looked stricken. "It ain't all right at all."


In the book Poppa Joe was saved, and Nathan was not. But the part that hit me was that Poppa Joe had cancer and went to the hospital to get the lowdown on it, but became extremely bothered when he realized Nathan (his backwoods doctor) didn't have an opportunity to do a Bible Study because of him.

Which got me thinking. Do I tremble when I prevent a lost person from having an opportunity to hear about my precious Savior? Do I count my life as nothing in order for that soul to experience everlasting life? Here's a quote from the book "Stepping Heavenward" (Elizabeth Prentiss):

~ "If it is true that God notices every little thing we do to please Him, He must also notice every cross word we speak, every shrug of the shoulders, every ungracious look."~

God has noticed all those cross words, shoulder shrugs, and ungracious looks I've given out. Makes me think of the verse that says every idle word will be accounted for one day.

Search me, O God, and know my heart today.

Try me, O Saviour, know my thoughts I pray.

See if there be some wicked way in me.

Cleanse me from every sin, and set me free.

(Words by J. Edwin Orr)

It's The End Of The Week...:)

I came home from work Tuesday evening and groaned, "It's only Tuesday and I am dead tired!" I love my mom, for her response was so typical: "Well dear, just keep at it." No matter what, huh?

Let me take a moment and explain how a typical week goes for me and tell how I'm (gainfully I hope!) employed:). Here it is... a typical week: BUSY!!!!!!! While that is true, it leaves out all the details of why I love what I do.

I am: the correspondence Bible Study secretary, the hands-on worker for Challenge Press (I put the books together from start to finish), a supervisor in our ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) Christian School, the volleyball coach, the gym teacher, a babysitter on Fridays (starting in two weeks), a student finishing up Bible Institute, and hopefully a friend, guide, helper, and an encouragement!

While that is a little more detailed than the word "busy", it still leaves out a lot of stuff! For instance, this week found me at HBC on Monday night, visitation Tuesday night, church Wednesday night, a volleyball game on Thursday afternoon, the Ruth Ladies Missionary Group Fellowship with the Heinz family ~ home for about one more month before heading back to Chile ~ on Thursday night, and a volleyball game this evening.

Whew! I'm tired just thinking about all of it again:) You know, as I sat at the volleyball game today, I noticed a player of mine who was really bothered by a play she had made. Granted, it could have been better, but I don't expect perfection. So I cheered out, "It's ok! Just shake it off and get back in the game!". Later in the huddle I told the girls I had noticed that they seemed to be really taking to heart the mistakes that had been made. So I mentioned, "The point is lost; we can't get it back. Why don't we just go back in there and start afresh?". That seemed to work, because I noticed the teamwork and unity amongst the girls improved. While we didn't win, it helped to put it all in perspective.

Later this evening I thought about what I had told Jill. Shake it off. Hmm. I could probably put to use some of my own advice. When a week just seems to be so overwhelming and I'm bushed before it's half-way over and there were some problems that occurred that I wish I could fix, I just need to remind myself to shake it off. At the end of every game, or almost every game, we have a team huddle to "break". The girls will ask me what we're going to say and I always say, "'All for God', because in the end, that's what really matters." One girl commented today she knows I'm going to say that every time and she loves to hear it, but I want to make sure these girls know that. I have an opportunity to use it as a "teaching moment". The volleyball game we played today probably didn't have much eternal value, but it might've helped shape a girl's attitude and spirit. Even as I sit here thinking back on my week, I see a week that is now only a distant memory on a past calendar page. It can't be redone. But the one redeeming factor is, to quote Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it... no mistakes yet." I like that. Tomorrow is a brand new day...

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness."

~Lamentations 3:22-23~

Batting A Thousand.

Tonight I walked into the Junior Church room and got some puzzles out of the closet and onto the table. Since no little kiddos had arrived yet, I decided to put my organizational skills to the test by tackling the books in the closet. After that was finished, I stared across the hall as the 4's & 5's classroom filled up with kid after kid after kid. Meanwhile, I sat on a kid-sized chair waiting for a kid to show up for my class. Just one. That was all!

Finally one kid did show up and began to work on the puzzles. The next one was a not-so-happy visitor child who would much rather stay with Grandma and Auntie rather than me. But she suddenly changed from not wanting me to wanting my lap. I suppose the clown puzzle won her over;). After that, it started rolling. Joshua, usually so very happy, started this crying/poochie lip/"I want Daddy..." thing; Margaret wasn't too happy with Kaysha or I; and the Joeys (yes two of them:D) didn't want to leave their Mommas right away. Finally one kid would settle down, but then another one would take a look at either Kaysha or I and start bawling.

Ouch!

We had a few kids try to outdo each other with the whole crying thing: first Joshua, then Margaret, and then back to Joshua. Aiy-yiy-yiy-yiy-yiy! We were definitely batting a thousand! Eventually we got to the story time about the rich young ruler who came to Jesus asking what must he do to go to Heaven. So I stopped the story, and asked, "When you die, where do you go?" and Joey answered so nonchalantly, "hell". Oh. Ok!

Next I asked several kids if they loved Mommy & Daddy. After shaking their heads or answering "yes" I said, "God wants you to love Him even more than your mommy or daddy." So I turned to one little boy, and asked him that question: "Stephen, do you love your Mommy & Daddy?" He sat there and said after a long pause, "Ummm..... no." I recovered quickly and asked him what he did love and he replied, "my truck!" Oh wow! I think we were rapidly heading down hill:).

There were a few other "incidents" tonight, like one little girl telling me her daddy got unclothed (she forgot to mention he had a swimsuit on!) or one little boy who came running out of the bathroom missing his clothing from the waist down but proudly proclaiming, "I went potty BY MYSELF!" But you know what? I love teaching junior church. It adds so much life and laughter to my day, and it is so sweet to have the opportunity to be a guide for these little ones.

It might not seem important to most people, but I guarantee you this: just unleash the junior church kids and let them sit upstairs in "big church". All it would take was one service (perhaps two if a few people are hard of hearing!) to realize that junior church is important! I'm so glad that I get to be one of their (many!) teachers. I think back to the first class I taught; now many of those kids are in 4th and 5th grades! It is special to have them as babies in the nursery; teach them as toddlers and pre-schoolers in junior church; and work with them in the elementary. Of course I'm gonna start feeling really old when those kids that are in 5th grade now graduate from high school! But that day is a far away day. Until then, I look forward to teaching the 2's & 3's come Sunday morning in Sunday School. Each time is special; each student a joy. But I'm ready for more laughs as a result of childhood innocence!