I'm late, I'm late, for a very important date!

with my pillow that is. So it's way too late for me to be posting, but I guess that's what I get for having a parent night tonight--a 12 hour work day. Anyways, sometimes belting out songs in a house by yourself with a guitar is a very relaxing thing. No need to worry about who's listening, or when your fingers (which lost their calluses long ago) land on the wrong string. It's all good. Except for that occasional guitar twang that throws you off. But thankfully if your heart is right as you're worshiping the Lord, it doesn't matter. I'm looking forward to the day when we're worshiping around the throne. My personal hope is that we will be singing in four part harmony, not limited by time or the end of a verse, but that it'll be one gloriously long span of worship where people are not conscious of "how good they are," but that they will be free in their singing, improving as the Spirit leads (all decently and in order of course). But anyways, I realize that what I want has absolutely nothing to do with anything, and that what we will encounter when we get there will be much better than I could've ever imagined. Of course, I guess I should confess before I sign off that I am officially joining Sylvia's campaign to "Sing Hymns Loudly." Now I really need to sign off...goodnight....zzzzzzzz

The Five Year Old

So tonight I took the five year old and the three year old over to visit Grandma. It was a real nice visit--its amazing how small kids can minister to older adults, in a way that I never could. When we got there Grandma was in a pretty foul mood, but by the time I left she seemed to be doing better. On the way back to the kids house, the five year old asked me if I had any kids. I told her that I didn't because I wasn't married. She then proceeded to think out loud, pondering the fact that if I got married my husband wouldn't know her and her family. So she then concluded that I should see if any of their neighbors were guys. She suggested that we go door to door telling people about Jesus and seeing if there were any men available to be married. Now, I've had many family members tell me that I should be out shopping for a man, but this is the first time I've had a five year old bring up the subject!

As Time Flies

Well, when I first started writing, it was about the one year old, then the one year old became the two year old and now he is the three year old. Perhaps its just a sign that I'm getting older, but its just amazing me how fast time is flying. When I first met the one year old he was 6 months old! I am so glad the Lord has blessed me with good friends with small children. It is just absolutely wild watching the kids grow and develop--not only that, but I think the Lord uses kids to speak to us in a number of different ways.

Tonight as I was helping the 3 year old using the "rather large potty," he says something to the effect of "don't let me fall in" with a rather frightened look. I respond, "I won't because I'm going to hold you." He replies, "I won't fall in because you're holding me." A rather simple conversation, but as I was crouched down, holding him up, it was neat watching his face change from fear to a simple trusting that I was going to keep him from falling. And yes, there in the bathroom, while the Lord has a captive audience He's reminding me of that childlike faith in which we are supposed to trust Him to keep us. It is nice to know that in the midst of living in such a complicated world where I have many responsibilities, I can seek refuge in His simple message of hope and salvation, leaving my worries and cares to Him.

(PS-As I am writing this, I am sitting on the wonderful couch located in the now cleared living room. At last I can live in more of the house and not be restricted to my bedroom and the dining room table!)

Progress: One Step at a Time

Sometimes I wonder if we undervalue the baby steps we take in our lives. Unpacking, for example. Obviously I can't unpack a house in one day or most likely even a week or two. So why do I fret when it seems to take me forever to get something done? When I moved in we still hadn't painted one of the two bedrooms, and as a result, everything that was going in the unpainted room was packed into the living room. I've been living here for a month now, but just tonight have I managed to clear the living room to the point where I can sit on the couch. Progress has been made! Sometimes it feels like I should shout from the roof tops when I actually complete a task that I haven't been able to get to in a long time.

Days like today remind me that our walks with the Lord are similar...one step at a time. We don't grow up over night, so why should I expect the Lord to take away all of my imperfections in the blink of an eye? Granted, we know that the Lord could do it, but instead He chooses to purify us in the fires of the ordinary, everyday circumstances we experience. I find this to be fascinating--that the trials I go through were specifically designed to purify me and mold me into His likeness. I guess that perhaps this is how Paul could rejoice in his sufferings. He tells us to rejoice in our trials. Lord, help me to have that attitude!!

Work: It does a body good.

It's officially been well over a month since my last post, although I must confess that it feels like a year. In that time I've moved from my apartment into a house and started teaching in two schools (my regular school and a local Christian school who hired me at the end of March). Change seems to be the buzz word in my life lately. Not a bad thing, just new and different--getting used to new routines. Moving, starting a new job and attending a new church is more than I bargained for, but it has been good. The Lord definitely knows my needs better than I do. Life is never boring around here, that's for sure!

So I got home from work feeling rather discouraged. Things at one school are chaotic and depressing in a variety of ways and I'm rather bummed about only having four private students at this point. I was hoping for 7-10. One of the downsides about living alone is that sitting and stewing over a matter is becoming a regular pastime. Thankfully my mom was coming over to do some yard work, so it forced me to get outside and cleaned up all the branches from the weekend's storm. It's really a duh! thing, but I am forever amazed at how doing simple manual labor type tasks can bring a body out of a funk. I am very thankful for that.