Slowing Down

Yes, I've been MIA for oh, I don't know, two and a half months, now. I didn't know life could be busy--so non-stop--so full of necessary things, there has been no way to cut back. Or at least I haven't found the way yet. Finding the balance between full-time work, school, home, and family has been a huge struggle for me lately. 

I couldn't be more thankful for this thing called Fall Break--I'm off Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week. Praise the Lord for a few days to relax and be re-energized. Hoping to maybe catch up on a few posts about teaching and other smatterings from life over the past couple of months, but we'll see. I'm off in a few to grab lunch with one of my sweet besties from high school, whom it has been WAY too  long since we have enjoyed each others' face-to-face company.

Just wanted to share this quick word from my time with the Lord this morning. I often allow Satan to steal my joy for today by falling into his ever down-spiraling cyclone of worry, unrest, and misery in thinking about the future. For instance, instead of waking up with joy this morning because I've been given this day--and given this day off from work--I was already bemoaning the fact that Thursday would be here in a flash and was worrying about how I was going to accomplish/catch up on everything that has fallen by the wayside lately as well as lesson plan for next week. Crazy much? Yes, I know so. Choosing joy and rest in Christ must be intentional. I must bathe myself in His presence in order to combat the joy-stealing, worry-igniting schemes of the wicked one.

The scripture from Jesus Calling for today:

Luke 12
²²And he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. ²³For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. ²⁴ Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ²⁵And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?^{[c] 26}If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? ²⁷Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin,^[d] yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! ²⁹And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. ³⁰For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. ³¹Instead, seek his^[e] kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
³² "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

{How beautifully appropriate. The Lord knows just what we need.}

I pray this encourages you to slow down, fix your eyes on Him, and savor today. Father, please give me grace to remember the birds and the lilies today.

P.S. A true word from Ann Voskamp for today: "Read it [the Bible] because it’s manna and and you’ve got nothing to give if you haven’t gathered, and you have to gather it at daybreak if you are going to gain from it the daylong."   

Wings for Our Troops

Some of you may remember (back last December) me mentioning my cousin Chad who lost his life while serving in Afghanistan. My heart just broke for his mom, Tami (my mom's cousin), especially since Chad was her only child. 


CPL Chad S Wade, USMC dancing with his Mama

Of course, since we don't have children yet I can't fully imagine the pain she went through and still feels, but I can tell you that I am amazed at how she has responded to such deep loss. Tami and her husband have started a non-profit organization called Wings for Our Troops that aims to help our men and women in the military get home to their loved ones before and after deployment.

Until Tami shared her vision for starting the foundation, I never knew that our soldiers were responsible for their travel expenses to get home to see their families. If they can't afford the plane tickets, then their opportunities to visit their families are limited. (If Paul was in the military, I can't imagine how hard it would be to have the stress of not being able to spend time with him before or after he deployed due to financial worries.) So Tammy and her husband (along with many other people, particularly Tammy's sister, Amber) are hard at work getting this foundation established which will help relieve the financial burden on our soldiers.  

Finding a way to transform your loss into a vision for helping others is truly a testament to the way God uses all things--even tragedy--to bring about our good and His glory. I am excited to see how the Lord continues to bless their efforts and enables our soldiers, who otherwise would suffer through missing their loved ones, to enjoy time with their families before and after deployment. Join me in spreading the word about Wings for Our Troops! If you know of a soldier who may be in need of the service this foundation provides you can contact Wings through their website. You can make secure donations there as well. 

I know that I take our freedoms so for granted most of the time, but I am so thankful for Chad and others like him who gave their all to ensure our liberty and let others around the world have a chance at experiencing freedom, too. Because of moms like Tami and the rest of Chad's family, our military will know that they truly are appreciated and cared for. 


**A family in our Connecting Point (Sunday School) class also has a non-profit, Tickets for Troops, that supports our military by providing them with free tickets to fun events (like sports games, etc.) so that the families can enjoy qaulity time together after thier loved one returns from a deployment. Learn more about the great work Tony and his wife are doing here.                

The Birds Still Sing...

It's a messy life isn't, it? This world is full of people battling sickness, death, hurt, exhaustion, hunger, unemployment, discontentment, anger, and the list goes on. This morning as I was praying for the needs of dear family and friends, I had a moment where I thought, "Wow. This world is full of junk. We are full of junk." I was overwhelmed by all of the "bad" stuff going on in this life. BUT, just as I was thinking about all of this--I mean, the exact same moment--the Lord tuned my ear to the sound of the birds outside. They were just chirping and singing away, their melody seeping in through my closed windows. I felt the Lord telling me, "Yes, this world is full of junk and suffering, but this world is also full of good--full of Me." All of the hurt we experience in this life does not change who God is. His character--his perfect goodness--remains the same. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

And He is ever kind, ever gracious to give us reminders of His goodness...like the birds he made me hear when I started to get mired down thinking about the difficult stuff.

image via

Oh Lord, that you would tune my ears to hear (and my eyes to see) You, to hear your beauty and your grace echoing all around me.

{And as I finish this post, I realize God is still trying to teach me the lessons He first used Ann Voskamp's book to show me. If you have not yet read One Thousand Gifts, don't miss out.} 

He's a Jokester...

My husband totally gets my laffy-taffy-joke-sense of humor. The fact that he gets it doesn't mean he doesn't make fun of me for it, but at least he gets it, right?!

So I went to my classroom today for the first time to try to get some stuff done. I texted Paul these pictures...

And his response...
"It looks classy. ;)"

I was seriously laughing, all alone in my little classy classroom.

Don't judge me. Don't you dare judge me! :)

His mercies are new every morning!

Dew on the squash leaves.
The first bloom on one of my tomato plants. 
And those petunias just make me happy.

{Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you?} Matthew 6:28-30

First Crop!

Picked my first strawberries this week! perfectly ripe and sweet!

And I've got more on the way...

It doesn't really hurt my feelings too much that Paul won't eat strawberries...more for me! :)

In other news...here's my little garden--that was planted extremely late and may be a bust...though I'm really hoping for better luck!

{sweet potatoes, squash, and tomatoes}

Thanks to my hubs for digging up all the grass, tilling, and making the box!

Squash is blooming. That's a good sign, right?!

 

I realllly want some tomatoes! Please, grow!

{My granddaddy would be proud, I think. He always had the biggest and best garden. We think he even invented the tiller--at least he built one before you could buy one. You can see a picture of it here. Pardon my bragging. One more example of why my brother told his kindergarten teacher that his granddaddy was "a genius"! :)}

I guess, I've taken a break from the mounds of homework for long enough...back to it! Happy weekending to you!

For Us Girls...

My mom has just recently moved and taken lots of stuff out of storage, so when I saw her last night she gave me a bag of some of my old stuff that she came across while unpacking. One of the things in the bag was a frame with a beautiful reminder that my sweet friend Roya gave me several years ago at Christmas. 

{Interject a little background...}
Roya is one of a special group of friends from Briarcrest--we go way back to 5th grade! Although I don't get to see these precious girls very often (just once or twice a year because we are all running in different directions), they are a blessing in my life, and we have the best time at our Christmas get-together every year. Roya is now in Texas working on her Master's in Genetic Counseling--we always knew she was going to do great things! Love you, Roar!

After re-reading the words in the frame, I thought I would share them here because they speak great truth and encouragement to all ladies.

I Made Her

I made her...she is different. She's unique. WIth love I formed her in her mother's womb. I fashioned her with great joy. I remember, with great pleasure, the day I created her.

Psalm 139:13-16

I love her smile, I love her ways. I love to hear her laugh, and the silly things she says and does. She brings me great pleasure. This is how I made her: I made her pretty and not beautiful, because I knew her heart, and knew she would be vain...I wanted her to search out my heart, and to learn that it would be Me in her that would make her beautiful. And it would be Me in her that would draw friends to her.

Psalm 139:17 & 1 Peter 3:3-5

I made her in such a way that she would need Me. I made her a little more lonesome than she would like to be... Only because I need for her to learn to depend on Me. I know her heart, I know if I had not made her like this she would go her own chosen way and forget Me...her Creator.

Psalm 62:5-8

I have given her many good and happy things...because I love her.

Psalm 84:11 & Romans 8:28

I love her broken heart...and the tears she cried alone. I have cried with her and had a broken heart too. Many times she has stumbled and fallen alone because she would not listen to my voice. Isaiah 52:6

So many times I have sadly watched her go her merry way alone, only to have to return to my arms sad and broken. Isaiah 62:2

And now she is mine again...I made her, and then I bought her.

Romans 5:8

I have to reshape and remold her...to renew what I had planned for her to be.

Jeremiah 29:11

I want her to be conformed to My image...

This high goal I have set for her because I love her.

2 Corinthians 2:14

I hope these words remind you that you are a beloved daughter of the King, and He desires only the best for you! It's true. Do you believe it? Do I believe it? 

So if you're searching, you can find fulfillment and purpose in Him--and Him alone.

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

Philippians 3:8a