Spring Break

We had fun in IL with my family. Now, if I could just locate my camera cord, I'd be able to upload some pictures! Though there aren't many. I'm usually preoccupied with kids or having fun to stop and document the memories. :) It was neat to see our nephews and how they're going up. The kids had fun playing with their cousins - in the mud, in the garage, in the leaves, in the basement cubby hole, and everywhere else in between!

The prophet

Some days I feel like Amos or Obadiah...a simple prophet declaring a message of impending punishment. Only it falls on deaf ears. God's patience is enduring...

Mine is not.

I love art!

Though I'm not teaching in an official capacity, I still love to teach. These days, I'm just doing it for free. :)

That's why I look forward to Fridays. I have fun serving lunch with the 6th grade students. Plus I get to see & love on my own kids. Then, after we clean up, I head over to the 4th grade class & teach an Art lesson. It's not as consistent as I would like, as there are always a lot of activities planned for Fridays, but these are examples of a few of the projects we've done so far. I love getting to do art as much as the students do. Most of my ideas have come from this great website.

A mosiac

Optical Illusion: contrasting colors

Painting & blending colors/perspective

I'm usually too busy helping kids to take pictures, but I plan to get some "action shots" this afternoon. It's fun to see what they come up with. They are all so creative! We only have about 6 Fridays left, but I'm excited about the 6 things we'll get to create. I might even brave a tie-dye lesson! We'll see...

Time to grow up...

Suddenly I was feeling overwhelmed.

An almost panicked stress that takes over and becomes all-consuming.

Soon was I was feeling sorry for myself, and looking for a means of escape.

I didn't feel like doing (or dealing with) what needed to be done, so I retreated to my computer instead to waste time & roam blogs.

Long story short...I found myself here, which lead me to this...a story of a boy growing up in one of the poorest areas of Kenya. Guess what he has written over the door of his cardboard hut?

God loves me enough to feed me, bless me, and give me hope for the future. Amen.

Ugh. I'm overwhelmed with paperwork, laundry, toys, and clutter.

Time to grow up.

My Heritage

Abbie came home from school the other day with questions about her ancestry. Philip had it easy, as he comes from a "pure bread" German/Prussian Mennonite heritage. I'm more of a "mixed breed". :) And though I could remember some of my ancestry, most of it was sketchy. But my Grandpa had a passion for genealogy & spent countless hours researching. It is because of him that I can explain what "third cousin once removed" means. At one point I remembered getting a stack of charts and statistics. I promptly filed them away without giving them much thought. But yesterday, I went searching.

Phil laughed at me while I studied the papers, saying Grandpa would be so proud that I was spending time on this, and confident that none of my cousins would be! But mixed in with great-great-grandparents, and birth dates, and marriages...I found something precious. A story. A timeline of my Grandpa's life. It wasn't anything fancy. It was a simple story full of facts & dates, but in between the lines, I saw something beautiful...

My Grandpa became a Christian at 18, just four months after hearing the message of salvation for the first time. Early on, God placed a passion for missions in his heart. At 21, he married my Grandma. By 26, they had finished their Bible degrees, been accepted by a mission agency, and were anticipating serving in South Africa. In the midst of pursuing his dream, his family grew...by four. Life must have been incredibly busy. He was installing furnaces, involved in church ministry, raising support to go oversees, and parenting an 8, 6, 3, & 1 year old. In the summer of 1955, my Grandma contracted polio. Because of her health, and a risky pregnancy 3 years later, my Grandpa's dream of becoming a missionary became impossible. I sometimes wonder if he was disappointed, disillusioned.

This week I have been studying the life of Joseph. Joseph was stuck in prison for 13 years, after being sold by his brothers, and then falsely accused by his boss' wife. It must have been incredibly frustrating to be living in those circumstances without the hope that life could change. And even after helping Pharaoh's cup bearer, he was again forgotten & in prison for another 2 years. But despite what may have seemed like a bleak future from his perspective, Joseph continued to be faithful in whatever he did. And in the end, when he faced the people who had in effect "set the ball rolling", he told his brothers, "...it was not you who sent me here, but God."

My Grandpa did not live a glamorous life. He lived and he worked hard. But more than that, he was faithful. He was faithful to his wife for 42 years. He was faithful in praying for his children & grandchildren. He faithfully served on Missions Committees. He was faithful in serving God right where he was. And God rewarded his faithfulness, as three of his children went on to serve oversees as missionaries.

I never heard him complain that his life hadn't turned out the way he planned. I saw him trust God with His plan.

It is a heritage I hope I will pass down to my children.

Just what I needed...

It seems the last several weeks (months?) have been a roller-coaster of emotions for me. There have been uncertainties, challenges, and struggles with disillusionment. I know that my circumstances are unique to me, but everyone can relate to the emotions.

I love my Bible study, despite the fact that I manage to cry over something each week. I can't help it. I have a leaky eye. It's hereditary...just ask my Dad. :) Every week I walk away feeling overwhelmed, "Wow...that's what I needed to hear..." It's not often what I want to hear, but what I need to be reminded of. And it's the first time I think I have felt physically refreshed by the truths of Scripture. It's better than caffeine. Don't get me wrong, I'm still loving my Diet Pepsi, just sometimes it's not enough.

We have looked at life's "seasons" - the growth in Spring, the busyness of Summer, the change in Autumn, and the loneliness of Winter. We have studied the life of Ruth, Solomon, David, and Joseph. I am reminded over & over that God is beside me, no matter the circumstances, the disappointments.

This week for our "homework", we were supposed to make a "timeline" of our lives, from childhood to present. We're to include big events - like marriage, babies, moves, etc. I wasn't looking forward to doing it. I thought it was going to be depressing. But I actually enjoyed it. It was good to look at my past - the difficult challenges, transitions, the people God has sent into my life to minister to me & encourage me @ just the right time, the things He has taught me "through the fire", and the ways my life has been blessed. I finished my timeline & read this:

Lord, I believe and accept that this season, every season past, and every season to come is Your season for my life. Lord, I believe and accept that this season, every season past, and every season to come has divine purpose and is appropriate for me. And Lord, although I cannot fully see the eternal value and purpose of each season of my life today, I believe and accept by faith that you will reveal this to me in the future.

I cried.

That darn leaky eye!

Beautiful Colorado

We had a wonderful week in Colorado with Phil's brother & family. They gave us a gift of free lodging & a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take our kids skiing. We stayed in Vail & had fun riding the gondola our first day there. We visited the Science Center at the top of the mountain, enjoyed chicken noodle soup near an open fire pit, and later Phil, Matthew, Abbie, Grace, & Noah got to go on a snow shoe walk under the light of a full moon.

Nothing like some yummy hot chocolate on a cold, cold day!

Another day, we explored a bit of Vail & took the kids to the Colorado Ski Museum.