A Calling

At one time I thought I was called to the foreign mission field. I ended up in California and Seattle. From there I traveled to other countries. I loved that time of my life. I had a passion for the homeless and the street kids. I loved working with those afflicted with AIDS. I could not imagine anything better than learning about other cultures and sharing God's love with them. Then I ended up back home and hoped that God would tell me to go somewhere remote and wonderful, to a place where I could really make a difference. I am thinking that He has.

Everyday I drive about 5 miles to my mission field. Every day I work with the weary, the broken hearted, the unwanted and downcast. I encounter drug dealers and gang members on a daily basis. I work with the elite, the rich, the liberal, the conservative. I am surrounded by the poor and needy. I know the hungry, the abused and the afflicted. I know the affluent and privileged. I watch the abused become the abuser. I have known of the baby that was aborted and the baby that was born. I have heard about the sexual escapades. I work with the marginalized of society. 

I am in a mission field.

Sure, it is not the remote and wonderful place that I imagined. It is sort of foreign soil. It is a place that most people do not want to work. Many have quit in the past. Most christians are underground. Liberalism rules. Most teachers turn blind eyes to what takes place in the hallways. Most do not know of the many gangs that are active at our school or of the amount of illegal substances and weapons that walk through their classroom doors. I do. I have eyes and ears and a caring heart. I can't help but see. I can't help but hear. I can't help but pray.

I am currently struggling with a couple of my students. Every day with them brings some hardship or another, another manner of disrespect against me. I am trying to be the Hands and Feet. I am afraid that sometimes I fail. But I have been reminded that I have been put there for a purpose. If I can help one student learn, one student to believe that they have potential, say a kind word where one hasn't been spoken, acknowledge someone's pain or success, then I pray I have succeeded. 

It is a tough place people. One of my students was arrested today. It has hard been hard to walk the halls this week. It has only been by the grace of God that I have. Thanks for reading. If you want to pray for me and my students, I will gladly accept it.

For now, I am enjoying my cup of tea. I plan on enjoying some nicer weather this weekend and getting in some good reading!  How about you?

P.s...I am reading

1) The Bible-working on reading daily!

2) Educate yourself at www.abort73.com

3) Our new presiden't agenda at www.whitehouse.gov

4) Inkheart-it's good so far

Baby, it's Cold Outside...

You can't deny it. It is c-o-l-d! I am trying to plan my day and figure out how to keep warm. I am thinking that there will be a lot of cooking going on this weekend! The cold always makes me think of a warm kitchen. When we were little and it would snow or ice my mom would cook up a storm. Or at least that is how I remember it. I think she cooked so that the oven would heat up the house, especially if the power was out. We had and still have a gas stove. And for those of you who don't know, I live in the house that I grew up in. Childhood memories come back pretty easily, although we have changed things in the house a lot.

So what should I cook? I need to bake some bread sometime. We went through almost 2 loaves this week, using it for sandwiches and with dinner. I am also thinking of making some zucchini bread. Yum! Cooking a whole chicken is on my list. I love to roast a chicken then make stock out of the bones and extras. From the stock I want to make a hearty minestrone. It is definitely soup weather. I have been craving squash casserole, but Dave won't eat squash. I'll share my casserole with my 93 year old neighbor or is she 94 now? We always share what we have with her. She hates to cook. Maybe I'll give her some soup too. I can't forget breakfast. I love breakfast. Nice hot grits. Yum! 

On to some pictures from the holidays. First, our cutie cute niece. How can you resist that smile?

Here is the family on Dave's Dad's side. Here we have Dave's sister, Dad, Aunt & Uncle, Grandma, Dave, me, Another Aunt, Brother-in-law, and Step-mom.

And a shot of Dave and I. Isn't he cute?

Oh, an update on my mom. She is doing well. She went back to work half days this week and she made it. She'll do that for another week and then try 8 hour days. She still has a low energy level, which the doctor said is normal. And she had someone clean her house for the first time this week. The doctor recommended it so that she can save her energy! The house will be cleaned every 2 weeks once it gets in shape. Mom is relieved. Thanks for praying! She still a lot of healing to do but she is on the way there. Also, she needs to have a couple of other surgeries that she knew about before all of this happened at Thanksgiving. She has to decide when to try to plan one of those at least. The other she wants to put off until she can't stand it anymore. Sigh. I'll let you know when she makes her decision.

Work is shaping up. I got my schedule and I love all of the teachers that I work with. I only have one or two difficult students and I am coming up with a plan on how to handle them. I can handle the schedule I have right now. Usually it changes a couple of times though. I am hoping that I get to keep what I have. Hopefully the year will go by quickly and before you know it I will be thinking about next school year.

Well, after talking about food I am hungry. I am off to make some grits! Thanks for reading.

The Longest Week Ever

Ok, maybe not the longest week ever, but did I really go back to work this past Monday? It seems like ages ago. I have been praying for grace with students. Lord, help me to not chop their heads off with words or looks. It has been a rough week to say the least.

 Just a tid-bit folks. I have found out where all of the social security money is getting drained to! It is going to students diagnosed with disabilities. Granted, some rightfully receive it - the ones who are moderately to severely intellectually disabled, that will never be able to hold down a job that will support them. But I learned this week that many people have learned how to work this system. See, if you have ADD, ADHD, emotional behavioral disorder, etc., you can apply for social security disability. I have heard more than one kid this week say that they were in school to get that check. I even heard a story of parents telling their children to act out in school. Ugh. Sigh. That is my venting for now. God, give me grace.

On a lighter note, Lleulu had a photo shoot with my sister last weekend. She is a really gifted with an eye for photography and a love for animals. Lleulu warmed right up to her. Here is a picture that she took. It's my favorite. For more pictures, check out my sister's website.

Lots of people have been talking about New Year's resolutions. So, I thought that would jump on the bandwagon.

 1. I have got to get in shape. My friends Jen and Jamie are going to run a 10k. Now, I am not pushing for that as I have never been a runner in my life. But I might try the 5k. They have inspired me. I am going to commit to exercising 3 times a week minimum. I might need some running shoes!

 2. I have to get into God's word on a regular basis. Again, I am going to shoot for a minimum of 3 times a week. This is going to me more good than anything else! And oh how I need it!

 3. Pay down debt. I know we can pay at least one credit card off this year and get going on more. This is a huge goal. Once the first is paid off, the snowball effect should come into play and will see the debt shrink! 

 4. Make some date time with my hubby. We love to stay home. There is no place like it. But let's face it, it is good to get out. I am planning on one date night/day a month. If we try it, I am sure that we will like it. The time spent together, focused on each other is essential.

Well, that's a good start. I have couple of other thoughts in my head, but I am tired after my exercise and Dave just got home. I'm going to spend some time with him. 

I have pictures of the holidays to post. I will try to get those up soon. Thanks for reading!

Sigh

Work starts back tomorrow. I feel like Lleulu right now. She is asleep on her back on the couch, totally zonked out. My sister gave Lleulu her own photo shoot today. She is trying to get a business going taking photographs of people and pets. She is great with the pets. I will post some when I get them from her. I think Lleulu posed most of the time. Silly pretty kitty.

Tomorrow is a teacher's work day. That should help with the shock, no students for one day. I still might need come extra caffeine. I will keep you al posted.

I painted the bathroom on a whim this weekend. I will try to take some pictures of that soon too.

Now I am going to wind down and enjoy the last night of the weekend. Goodnight ya'll!

Where'd It Go?

Where did my Christmas break go? I can't believe that I only have two more days until work begins again. I should be grateful that we have a work day before the students come back. Being on a regular schedule will be good though. I have to start going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. It is going to hurt.

It seems like a lot has happened in the past week. I guess it has. We traveled to South Carolina to see Dave's dad, step-mom, and Grandma. Other family were there too. It was a good time. Their new house is lovely. The neighborhood is really nicely planned too, lots of sidewalks and shops nearby. I can't wait to go back when it is a bit warmer!

After SC we headed to NC to celebrate Christmas with Dave's mom, step-dad, sister and her family. A good time was had by all. Their new house is great too. Lots more room for everyone. We will have to go back when we can spend more time. 

This week flew by! 2009 came before I was ready for it. And good news too. I do not have  a splenic artery aneurysm! Yay! The techs today were certain. The doctor had emergency surgery, but will be in touch. I had been nervous about this in the back of my mind. I am relieved. 

I got to see Heather twice this week. That was a miracle. I love that girl. I love my girlfriends. I didn't get to see near as many of them over my break as I had hoped to, but we have plans in the making. I hope that this year brings lots of good times with friends. 

This year we also have 3 friends fighting tough battles. My great uncle Terrell and our friend Stuart are both currently battling cancer. One of Dave's coworkers was diagnosed recently and the news isn't good. All of this has been a lot to take in and we are still processing the news. We are praying hard too.

Looks like an uphill road to start the year. We have lots to be thankful for and lots to pray for. Thank you for your prayers and support this last year. I am excited to see what this year brings our way. Hopefully you will get to see it all here. Thanks for reading!