Unexpected

Every Friday morning I wake up well before the sun and head to work early. Friday's are FCA days. The Fellowship of Christian Athletes Meets at 6:30 am at our school. It is the only time that we can meet. It hurts to get up that early, but I do it for the students. Now, I am no athlete, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to openly share what I believe and meet some different students in the school, so I volunteered to help out. We have around 20-35 students on a regular basis. Pretty good for 6:30 in the morning. 

Today we had a new guest speaker. We often have youth pastors in to speak( if you are ever interested, please let me know!) but today was someone new. They are called Broken Voices. They make films and challenge people about how they walk out their faith. It was really encouraging. I am going to watch their new DVD, Anthem, tonight. Anyway, they showed a short film and then spoke. I think that the students really enjoyed it. All I  knew was that my heart said "pray for me."

After they wrapped up, I told the guys that I felt like I was supposed to ask them to pray for us as teachers, walking the halls of a forgotten mission field. I started crying. The other leader got emotional. Times are tough. As many times as you tell someone you work with drug dealers and gang members, that one of your students has had three abortions by the age of 17, it takes a while to sink in. This is our everyday life. This is our everyday walk. We can't openly profess our faith in the classroom. It wears on you. They agreed to pray for us. They are visiting other schools in the area. I am curious to know the differences between the schools. We are going to stay in touch. 

I found my self praying on the way to class, "God let your light shine through me." Now, I am asking you to pray for me, that God's light would shine through me. So many of these students are in a desperate state. They need the Lord. I want them to meet Him. All that I can do is pray. 

So, today, I cried in front of strangers and some students. That was unexpected. God moved on my heart for my school, my workplace. If I can cry in front of them, I can cry in front of you and ask you to pray. Not just for me, but for all of the teachers walking out their relationship with God in front of students and coworkers. They may be the only Jesus that those students ever meet and so many times their hands are tied with what they can and can not say. Please pray that they would have opportunities to share one on one with students. Pray that they would have discernment. Pray that God would shine through them without words. 

Thanks for praying, and thanks for reading. Has anything unexpected happened to you lately?

Tea Party

There are a lot of tea party's going on today. Will someone take a tea bag for me?

Just Thoughts

My friend Meghan wrote a beautiful post on her blog about her mother. It made me think. I thought about writing a couple of days ago and didn't. So here I am. 

I have mentioned my neighbor before. She is now 94. She lives on her own. She has never driven. She used to work in cotton fields. She always wears dresses. She loves to eat strick-o-lean. She hates to cook and clean. She loves to garden. She doesn't like reading, but always reads her Bible. Her name is Alice W. She has known me since I was in my mother's womb.

Every week I try to take some time to visit with Mrs. W. Usually I take her some leftovers so that she doesn't have to cook, and we visit for awhile. I love our visits. Sometimes I hear the same stories over and over. Sometimes she tells me how the reports on the news worry her. Sometimes we talk about the weather. Sometimes we talk about God. I love our visits. 

I was thinking after our visit last night, why don't we spend more time with our neighbors and our elderly? It doesn't take much time. It doesn't cost me a thing to visit with Mrs. W but I am richer for our friendship. I find myself visiting her more often lately, as I leave wondering if that was the last time that I will see her on this earth. One day she won't be here to go visit. I know this. I am trying to soak up our times together. She is full of wisdom. She taught my mom that you don't have to go to church to have a relationship with God. That was during a rough spell when I was really sick. She helps me to slow down. I try to enjoy our lulls in conversation.

This isn't very poetic I know. And I am ending abruptly. I just wanted to remind myself to slow down, to take the time to enjoy those that are in my life. When it comes down to it, I know that those are the times that I will cherish. What will you cherish?

Spring Fever Made This

The warm weather got my gardening instincts going. I started some tomato seeds and some basil seeds. The top photo is the basil. They look like tiny green mushrooms. The tomato plants take a long time to get big enough to transplant. That is why I started them so early. I planted some heirloom varieties and some hybrids. Only one kind has yet to sprout. We will see what the next few days bring. 

If you want to start tomato seeds, now is the time. My friend Kristie had the idea of keeping the soil warm on the clothes dryer. I think it made a difference. After they sprout they need sun, so into the dining room they have moved. Mine sprouted in about 7 days. They still have about 2 months before they get to go live outside. They have a lot of growing to do! I will keep you posted on their progress.

A Portrait of Us

I was walking into the kitchen this morning when I saw this.

It dawned on me that this is such a clear image of me and Dave. My african violet that I bought myself for Valentine's day and the tube amp that Dave built. They were on the kitchen table together. Dave had been taking pictures of his amp yesterday and left it there. I just thought that it was neat to see this morning. 

I love my husband. I love that he likes to build things, like this amp. He researched it and built it. It works and sounds great. Yesterday he worked on my car. Last week he put siding on the house. He has built me countertops and ceilings, a digital tv system and dvr. I love that my husband can do anything that he puts his mind to. I don't care if building an amp is nerdy, I think it is pretty sexy. 

Have you told your man lately how much you love and appreciate him? Make sure that you do!

some down time

This weekend we get some downtime- a nice day off of work. I get two. This always causes us to move slowly through our weekend. The rain yesterday didn't speed us up either. I got caught up on laundry and some shopping. 

This last week I got a head start on yard work. I took advantage of the warm days and cut down a holly tree, raked a bit, trimmed the roses, tidied the flower beds and started some seeds. I still have a lot that I want to do. Maybe I will cut down some more stuff on Monday. Dave and I hope to get some more siding on the house. Winter will be back soon. We are just getting a head start on spring.

Not too much else to report on here. That's a good thing. 

Tuned In

Wow! I decided to go for a bike ride this afternoon instead of a walk. I thought that it was a good idea, but now my ears are freezing and they hurt. At least I got some exercise!

I have had so many things swimming through my mind that I want to talk about, well, write about. On the way home from work today, and it wasn't the easiest day, I heard part of a song that hit me hard. It said something like "When I see my Daddy I am going to throw my arms around his neck and tell Him that I've missed Him." I put in the capitals because I realized that is how I felt this afternoon. I just wanted to crawl up into my heavenly Father's lap and tell Him that I missed Him and hug on Him a while. It brought home the point for me that I work in a place that isn't very friendly towards God. I know that He walks with me through the halls every day, but sometimes, we need our Father's warm lap. So I am going to to some snuggling with God in a bit.

Dave has been building and working on our myth box and digital tv signal lately. A myth box is kind of like a homemade tivo or apple tv. Anyway, he has worked very hard on it and when we hooked everything up and got our first digital signal it was so clear! We got ABC clearer than I have ever seen it in this house. Amazing! We also get some new channels like Retrotv and a weather channel. So cool! All it took was a digital tuner and some tweaking of the antenna. Now Dave is building a huge antenna so we can get even more channels and better signals. It is very exciting.

What has this got to do with anything? Well, I realized, as we tuned in and got a different, clearer signal, that our relationship with God is very much the same. No, I don't need a digital tuner to hear God. But how much have I missed because I haven't been tuned in to Him? Maybe I was only getting part of what He has for me, or I could have seen a clear picture instead of getting static.  This has made me ponder, "How I can get more tuned in to God?". The biggest part of that for me has been reading the Bible every day. My days go so much better when I read the Bible. My attitude is better. I have more peace. 

Hmmmm... maybe I am on to something here. When I actively seek God and study His word I am more tuned in to what He is doing in my life and how I can extend His love to others. 

This is what I have been using as a guide to start daily reading. It is published by YWAM. Every week has a people group to pray for- including statistics, a memory verse for the week, daily reading suggestions to get you through the entire Bible in one year, prayer points for every day and information to help you pray for things like people who work in science, missions, the church, etc. It has really been helping me to stay focused and excited to get into the Word of God. If you are interested in ordering one I have made the picture a link. I also use the calendar at work, so I can sit and stare at my calendar and be reminded to pray for a people group or read the memory verse for the week. I love this!! It has made many days much better just by getting my focus right.

Ok, my ears still hurt and I think I am getting a headache from having been in the wind. I am going to make a hot cup of tea, pull out my planner and Bible and get to it. Love you all! Hope you are encouraged to get tuned in!

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.