Awesome Conversation

.... between my mom and my little brother. I am so proud of who he is growing up to be! Heaven knows he's not perfect ;-) but he truly wants people to know about God. And he has such a funny, yet humbling way of expressing that sometimes.

Wesley: "What's in the box?"

Mom: "This is a box of toys and supplies that was put together to send to orphaned children."

Wesley: "I hope you put a Bible in the box."

Mom: "Well, this is for kids who don't speak English, so that would have a hard time understanding a Bible we send."

Wesley: "What language do they speak?"

Mom: "Spanish."

Wesley: (the gears of his little mind are turning....) "Well, I'm learning Spanish in school. I will write a Bible in Spanish so they can read it."

(Such dedication! Although somebody had better tell him they already translated Bibles into Spanish before he puts in all those hours. :-)

Me: "Do you know how to say 'Bible' in Spanish, Wes?"

Wesley: "No. But I know how to say 'fish'!"

And there you have it. My little brother may follow in the footsteps of the great Adoniram Judson or some other fellow Bible translator.

Seriously, I can't wait to see how God uses him as a light in this world. He's definitely a light in our little home!

"Christianese" in Action

God, I want to get so much closer to you than I am.

Do you mean that?

Um, I think I do.

Thank you for your honesty frail child of dust.

You know three specific things I showed you this week that are standing between you and further growth toward me.

If you really mean this desire you speak of, then you will correct these things you are willingly choosing to struggle with. Don't worry; I will help you....

(You know how it's easy to say things that sound like the right thing to say when you're talking with God? Those phrases that Christians use because they've used them so many times before and they sound nice.

Well, they mean nothing without action behind them. Listen carefully for phrases like that in your Christian walk, and then consider what ways your life would change if you truly mean what you said.)

At least, this was God's rebuke to me today.

The Post that Almost Made me Late for Work :-)

Hmm, so much I could tell you today, little blog.

Today it was nice being off school (especially on such a beautiful spring-ish day). I was able to spend the morning filling out applications and working on my resume. All that paperwork stuff is getting me excited to see what God has for me next year!

Megan and I had a fabulous lunch at Panera bread today. It was good to catch up with her and laugh with her. She is such a sweet girl, I'm really glad God brought her into my life. :-)

And now, I'm off to spend an evening waitressing. If you think of it, pray for me to get everything done that needs done before I land in Africa next week. There is alot of prep work still to be done!

And hey, check out this adorable new journal I got just in time for Africa.....

Some journals, just make me want to start writing. This one is so, me. The front has all these phrases like,

God is awesome, even when circumstances aren't * What we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory He will give us later * better late than never * He will give you the strength to endure * that's so much better then 'hang in there' * we boldly say what we believe * we never give up * we are not afraid * we stand true to the Lord * God knows our hearts * when I am weak then I am strong * when the coffee is weak then I am cranky * consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds * all things work together for the good doesn't mean they all feel good * a kindhearted word is the just right thing*

And I echo the words on the journal, "So True."

(I just realized this goes along perfectly with my devotions this morning. If you haven't looked at Hebrews 10:32-39 in a while, check it out! Such an encouraging passage to keep on enduring! Someday we will receive the reward. And the greatest one of all is SEEING Christ).

Mercy Triumphs

Isn't it interesting that in most all disney movies, the good guy is the one who shows mercy in the climax?

Take "The Lion King" for example. Simba and Scar battle it out in the epic second-to-last scene. Simba has a chance to kill Scar. He refuses, under the premise, "No Scar, I'm not like you."

I love that the movie writers do this, because it subtly speaks to their young viewers that the hero does not have to be the one who gets the upper hand and comes out ahead based on his brute force. Instead, the "good guy" is equated with the one who is willing to walk away from the fight because he possesses greater character.

It's so great for kids to see that!

And then, as if that wasn't good enough, the movie makers also see to it that justice is served to their villainous character. Rather than making the hero dish it out in cruelty, they arrange for the bad guy's last evil plan to be the one that does him in.

In Scar's case, he tries to jump Simba (right after Simba showed him mercy, I might add), and falls off the edge of Pride Rock, finally getting what's coming to him.

I bet you never would have guessed how many positive messages your child is intaking into his subconscious while watching such a carefree little cartoon. Funny how even the most childish-seeming movie can be an effective avenue to instilling a deeper message about God's design for men of valiant character.

Latest Status

Just bought a plane ticket.... Look out South Africa, here I come to do the second round of student teaching!!!

Praise God for the way He provides and works.

"The larger the obstacle, the more obvious it is that my great and loving God is the one paving the way."

I could not be more thrilled to be spending these next 2 months with those kids!!! I have a feeling that 2 months will not be enough.... :-)

And it all started tonight.

Or maybe it started last April when I first expressed an interest in student teaching over there?

Or did it start several years ago when I spent 3 amazing weeks in their beautiful country?

Or maybe it was even before that, when God first planted the seed of dream and desire to go there into my heart.

I can't wait to see what will happen next! And it will be HIS work.

Philippians 1:7 He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Flash of Perspective

I hate to complain, especially here on my blog for everyone to see.... ;-)

but I've got to write what's on my mind tonight, and I must say that vaccinations do NOT feel good!

I know you're thinking, "Thank you, captain obvious," but the kicker is that my arms are immensely more sore this evening than when the needle initially went in. (Now I know why babies cry continuously for the whole day after getting their shots).

On the upside, the nurse was running behind, so I had 25 extra minutes to read the book that I started last night. It is getting good!

One more thing, on my drive home from school today, suddenly the soft piano music of the song "I Can Only Imagine," came on over the radio. Do you ever have moments of life when, for a flash of an instant, things are in perspective and it really hits you deep down, "This life is not going to last forever"?

Here I am, at the beginning of my teaching career, passionate, and raring to go as ever.... But how am I going to feel 20 years down the road when I've been keeping on kids' cases all day about sitting in their seat and putting their paper in their folder and not gnawing on the end of their eraser?

Haha, it's going to be draining. Tiring.

Day in and day out, Lord-willing, being faithful to Him, in His grace. The days will be long, the years will be short, and then, in less time than it takes to blink, this life will be over.

As my heart sang along with that song, I was filled with hope and joy that I have more to look forward to than this life. I have the face of my Jesus waiting at the end of this long journey. So why would I let even the passion for a GOOD thing, take the place of my passion for Him?

This fresh excitement for teaching should never be permitted to take the place of my excitement for knowing Him better.

What I put into teaching is what I will get out of it....

Don't forget - the same goes with my relationship with my Saviour!

I love those little "perspective flashes." :-)

Library Run

I went to the library last night to find a read-aloud book to read with my class after lunch.

I found the book I wanted in about 5 minutes.

I spend about 35 MORE minutes wandering around the adult fiction section.

I didn't truly have the time for that ;-)

I came back with 5 fiction books that I technically DON'T have the time for.

I can't wait to start reading!!

lol

Make time for the good stuff of life..... For me that's books. What can I say? If I want to teach first and second graders the joy of reading, I have to let myself experience it once in a while :-)