A Severe Case of Gratitude

Last night I prayed with Kelli B., Sarah H., and Amity Z. What a spirit- lifting time of prayer we had. Everyone's prayers were filled with words of joy, praise, and gratitude. Some of those ladies are really struggling in different areas, yet they lifted their voices in heart- felt worship toward a good, holy God!!! Amen and Amen! As we finished and went our ways my heart was filled with admiration for those three ladies, gratitude to God for putting them in my life, and a new perspective on my own struggles. The things I fight with in life seem so trivial compared to some of the things mentioned in our prayer group. How can I be so focused on my silly little problems when I should be praying for others, serving others, sacrificing my time and energy for others?! I know God cares about my personal trials, but I also know He wants me to give them over to Him so I can focus on others' needs more than my own.

A Really Young Substitute?!

Today after lunch I was getting ready to read to my class as usual. We are reading Holes by Louis Sachar. We got to laughing and I told my class I would not be able to read because I was laughing so hard. Of course, I wasn't totally serious, but Ally Sides volunteered to read, so I decided to let her. To make it easier for the rest of the class to pay attention to her, I let her sit in my chair at my desk. (I went and sat at her desk!) She did a fantastic job, and I got a few minutes to relax and enjoy being read to.

Beach Babes

Thursday after school until about fifteen minutes ago I had the privilege of babysitting two of the most wonderful little girls ever! They go to LBC & A so I know them very well, but this was the first time to stay with them. Friday after school we went to the Imagination Station and the beach. My first time at the beach this year!!

Walking back up to the car my mind was filled with images of times past.....playing with Nicole, Amanda, and TAD every day at the beach; walking the pier; climbing on the rocks. Since I am taking the summer off, I plan to spend a couple days a week at the beach. Sounds lazy, I know. But I am so thankful for our lovely lake. Come visit and see for yourself!

Jesus' Selfless Outlook

Tonight in prayer meeting Pastor Pearson gave a great challenge from John 13-18. In chapter 13 Jesus tells that Judas will betray Him and that Peter will deny Him "thrice". Chapter 18 bears the fulfillment of those events. During that time period from the foretelling to the fulfilling, in those four middle chapters, Jesus focuses on others- His disciples, and even you and me. Jesus, the God-Man, was about to be betrayed and denied by two of His most devout followers. Soon after that He would be crucified. Talk about a trying time in life! Yet His concern, His care, was not for Himself, but for His followers. He actually prayed for us. Amazing love! Read those chapters; be encouraged by Christ's example. Let His love bring you to your knees in awe...let it move you to proclaim His name!

A Perfect Likeness

Tuesday afternoons I have just my six boys while the girls are at P.E. We do science for the first half, then they have some free time to do...whatever. Josiah "got into" the chalk and started drawing on everything, including my podium. He was working diligently for quite a while on some major work of art (or so I thought) Then he turned the podium around to show that he had drawn a lovely portrait of me. Am I really that gorgeous!?!

"I Like This Game!" (and a check for $200)

Those words are music to a teacher's ears. My kids just love to play games, especially math games. Today we played a great game that reinforced types of numbers and place value. Sounds a bit young for 5th and 6th graders, but they loved it! I had enough numbers written on slips of paper so each student could have three. Each started out with one slip of paper held on their forehead or chest where they couldn't see the number. When I said "go!" students went around to classmates asking 'yes' and 'no' questions to figure out their number. Once they figured out their number they came to me and I gave them a new number. They had about 4 minutes to get through as many of their three numbers as possible. Whoever got through the most numbers in that time, or whoever figured out all three numbers first, was the winner. Students exclaimed over and over how much they enjoyed the game....yay!! We will definitely be playing that one again!

After school I found a check in the mail from Sprint for $200. I was expecting a rebate check, yes. However, I thought it was going to be $50, not $200. I was totally blown away...thank you Lord!

ER

Looking out the window behind the computer I get a perfect view of the clear night sky. Near the horizon the sky is a fading orange as the sun sinks into the lake for the night. But up above, high in the sky for all to see is a lone star (or is it a planet?!). Spindly branches of the tree outside our window are spread like fingers tenderly surrounding and protecting that precious speck of light. What a beautiful night......and what a day this has been.

I had to stand up today, in the middle of the church service, to take mom to the ER. She was having severe chest pains all of a sudden. No child wants to hear that from their parent! She is fine now, no need to worry. But, we did have to spend, oh, eight hours in the ER waiting for tests and test results. Half the church showed up and half our family. I was annoyed for a minute, really. Don't they know I am an adult and am perfectly capable of handling things myself? "Go home everyone!" I wanted to say. However, as I think back through the day, I must give thanks for God for providing us with such a loving, supportive church family, and an ever- loyal biological family. Not only does God so graciously wrap His own arms around us, He also gives us many other arms to enfold us as well.

Here I Am!

The past several months I have enjoyed reading my former soccer coach's blog and another blog belonging to a good friend of mine. Today I decided to create a blog of my own. Why? I like to communicate with people. I like to hear what is going on in everyone's life, so I thought maybe someone, somewhere might like to know what is going on in my life. Don't worry, I won't tell you every detail of every day. This spot will be a place for me to lay out my thoughts, my feelings, my joys, my concerns of the moment. I will tell you the funny stories from my classroom. I will let you know how the jail ministry is going. And, I will try to be an encouragement by sharing things that I learn from my personal Bible study.

I chose the title "Stand up Straight" for a couple reasons. First of all, I am six feet tall and happy with my height. Ask those who know me well...I may enjoy flip-flops more than any other type of shoe out there, but I do love a good pair of 3" wedges or heels! When I wear the heels, I stand up straight as always. There is no shame in being tall. God made me tall and I have no problem with that.
Another reason I chose the title "Stand up Straight" was to describe how I feel about life in general. People who 'slouch' through life are lazy, careless, thoughtless, and blind to reality. Folks who stand up straight are confident, hard- working, and aware of their surroundings. I want to stand up straight in all of life.....whether it be in my spiritual life, my career, or my home. I will stand tall, work hard, and move forward in life.

As I post on this blog, I hope you will see me standing up staight in my life. I hope you will see how I am moving forward, taking risks, living life to its absolute fullest.