Grande Finale Fun

Today I had the year end party with a group of my Sunday School girls. Sharing summer plans, thanking God for everything we could think of that starts with "n", pizza and juice boxes and a super fun craft!! Cards made from THE most amazing and fun sparkly design scrapbook paper I found at Winners. The girls just LOVE fun paper. It inspires them to make beautiful creations. Talking about beautiful creations...they are each a masterpiece - God's "workmanship" as I've been teaching them from Ephesians 2:10. That's probably been my main verse over the last 10 years or so to teach from. I've been working with some of these girls for a number of years now.

They are an absolute delight. As you can clearly see!!

(Oh - some of these pictures are from last class when we made wise owl cupcakes - also a fantastically fun and delicious craft which was thoroughly enjoyed!)

This was the first time I taught Grade 5 & 6 and I found it to be much more of a challenge than the younger ages. But what I've found over my many years of teaching kids is that they just really want to be loved and listened to. (some of those girls have LOOOONG stories to tell and there is usually not the time to give them all free reign and then there's ME who loves to talk more than most of them!!!)

They love to do fun crafts and they love stuff that's all about them. So over the years we've created "All About Me" posters, memorized lots of Bible verses about how special they are to God, eaten lots of yummy snacks, sung songs and learned to listen for the voice of Jesus.

The memorizing has surely been a very great help to me. I try to teach the girls with actions, songs and rhythm to help those verses STICK! I realized after I started studying learning styles that God had me teaching to all the learning styles without even realizing it! So cool and those tricks sure help me too. And then there was the part of every class devoted to the fun of being THANKFUL!! Because the way we enter His Sweet Presence is with thanksgiving in our hearts! So.... we began almost every class by thinking of things that we usually didn't remember to thank God for. This year we did that by taking a different letter of the alphabet for every class and finding things starting with that letter to say thank you to Jesus for. Here is my class helper standing next to a sampling of what we discovered we were thankful for. A really great exercise if you ask me!!

I've often felt like a failure if the class doesn't go as I had hoped or if I wasn't able to come up with amazing crafts or stories or, or, or.... But in the end I trust that the fruit will be good. Jesus just asks us to be faithful with our little gifts, to bring them to Him with love in our hearts and to trust the results to Him. It's that little problem with perfectionism or being a high achiever and I hope one day I'll be free of that. Until then I just need to coach myself along and remember the truth about "faith expressing itself through love". Doesn't have to be perfect. It sure needs to be loving though if it's going to bear the right kind of fruit!

And it was super easy to love those girls. May God remind them of His Word that they have "hidden in their hearts" in the years to come.

Poppies and Such

Fridays used to be my favorite day of the week. All the anticipation of the weekend ahead of me and most of the work behind. Anticipation is an amazing gift!!

So much of life has been rearranged since then and the days don't quite have the same feel and effect as they previously did. But I still like Fridays even though I'm often home alone due to lack of planning and motivation to create or search out an "event" to be part of.

Yesterday was one of those amazing days.

Got some heavy paper work out of the way first thing in the morning. My brother helping me (over the phone) to wade through apartment stuff that is kind of over my head. I'm trying to be a big girl and trying to manage the books. The learning curve continues.

Anyways, a dear friend and I had planned a "fun day" and she helped me to run a few errands before we joyfully headed over to a private little beach while sipping on our shared starbucks frappacino.

The little beach was flanked by a fence on either side and had huge willow trees that created a beautiful canopy over the water. I found shade and she found sun and it was glorious to feel the breezes and to hear the waves gently lapping on the shore. Such a delight to sit at the lakeside and to drink in the beauty and warmth, blue sky and water.

Conversation flowed easily as we discussed the glories of God and pondered the mystery that He is. She sketched and I read notes out loud from the Ignatian Retreat I attended last weekend. We were encouraged again by eternity and the brevity of our sufferings here in comparison to what lies ahead. The time was sweet and passed quickly and we headed home to enjoy a brief rest before running poor Moose to the vet AGAIN due to his infected ear.

It's been a couple of months now and the last vet visit and ear drops did not lead to the hope for cure. He tried to be brave, enduring a rather extensive examination, ear flush, and nail clipping after weighing in at 71 pounds. We left with a new prescription of ear drops that I am praying will effect a cure on the poor hound. He has been shaking his head so much the last couple of months it's amazing it hasn't flown off!

Supper on the patio was followed by a water color extravaganza and paintings of poppies were created by all of us thanks to our amazing teacher. The beautiful daughter has an obvious gift and her painting turned out to be a masterpiece! I can hardly wait to get it framed and up on the wall!!

The evening culminated with the three of us tucked onto my King Bed where we enjoyed the Life movie about reptiles and amphibians. Most amazing to be sure. Those Komodo Dragons are cool blast from the past but they are ridiculously brutal. Mating rituals in the animal kingdom certainly bring out the worst in the male species! I think it's just brilliant that technology and extremely persevering photographers have given us these wonderful glimpses into creation.

A lovely Friday.

A good friend a beautiful daughter and a very inspiring God.

Rescued Again

A roller coaster day for sure.

Started out way to early by mistake. After a sleep that was interrupted by ladybug. She is usually the quietest, sweetest little bed partner.

But not last night.

Somehow I must have heard her wandering around the room and I had memories of her sneaking pizza at our Father's Day Outing. Knowing her constitutional intolerance for anything unusual (as in not dogfood or popcorn) I was out of bed and taking her outside for a potty break in no time flat!! I took time to admire the stars and the treetops in the dark night. This happened twice. And unfortunately I'm not one who usually drops right back into a deep sleep after I've heaved my body in and out of the wheelchair. SOOO, sermons were listened to and I tried to take advantage of the remaining quiet hours.

Anyways, the mistake too early awakening took place before 6:00 am. and it led into a very nerve wracking unsatisfactory dialogue between beautiful daughter and I regarding summer employment.

Thankfully, after I tried returning to bed twice to rest and find composure for my soul we had a very successful outing to set up the soon to start summer job. There was such victory and I could sense God's blessing on my girl for overcoming what seemed an insurmountable mountain of fear and confusion. Blessings that included a supervisory position due to her knowledge of Spanish! A higher wage due to that position and free lunches. Oh Glory.

What a marvelous rescue from the Father of Lights!!

So, the darkness has no victory in this house or those who belong to it.

I am grateful to the Father of Lights. Truly He daily loads me with benefits.

Truly I need to count those blessings and give thanks often.

Today I'm thankful for God rescues.** He proved faithful again.

**I'm so thankful for the Ignatian Retreat I attended that reminded me of the value in remaining quiet and peaceful before God. ***Let the uncomfortable selfish me drain out and let the marvelous life of Jesus come in. A constant pattern of death being replaced by LIFE!

**I'm super grateful for my sense of smell in this season of green abundance and scents galore. When I drive I am overwhelmed with the myriad of beautiful smells that are flowing around me through my open windows. **Thankful for family pot luck suppers held outside in summer paradise *** Watching my little people and their friends run through the sprinkler, jump on the trampoline and swing from ropes*** Seeing Oma and Opa and Tante in our midst watching their favorite people and smiling with the joy that family brings ** My sister comes to gatherings and makes my heart happy. I will believe for her rescue and thank God in advance for it! **The smell of my handlotion, scented with Pichouli making me happy right now **My glorious environmentally friendly air conditioning blowing cool air so I can fall asleep after a hot day*** Good night!**

Possibilities

So much potential.

So much of God.

I don't want to squeeze Him out of what is really His

As I transition into this strange new phase of life.

I'm really trusting Him to open good doors,

To close the ones I am not to enter.

There are so many possibilities, like pools waiting to be lept into!

Pool of such varied depth and color and taste and endless unknowns.

I don't want to jump into the wrong ones so therefore I have to take God at His word when He says that

"The plans of the heart belong to man

but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord"

Proverbs 16:1

In this last week I have marked two pools that are definite possibilities to jump into next fall!! I feel a little presumptuous perhaps?

A little apprehensive.

Kind of excited.

They're not big changes but they are definitely new for me and are beginning to bring some form and texture and structure to my future.

I must sigh a big sigh and simply move ahead trusting.

Trusting.

For new beginnings.

For favour, for success, for new horizons and that God will "enlarge my territories for His Name and Kingdom's sake". That's part of a prayer that I pray fairly often for myself and my kids and Ron. That prayer ends with asking God to keep us free from harm and to help us not to cause pain.

So, what I did this week was apply for university.

UNIVERSITY!!!

Oh my goodness.

The only reason I did this was because I finished the TESL course well and found out that I can still do school with this slightly befuddled perimenopausal brain of mine! And my classmate from college reassured me that having done that course, the present college level courses she is taking are easy in comparison.

So I've been prepared.

And, one of my instructors actually told me that I have a brain for academics and she encouraged me to continue with my schooling.

I've also begun to realize the advantages and doors that open with a degree.

So I might just be pursuing my degree in something. Right now it's bachelor of arts and I hardly even know what that is.

The other thing I did was say YES to a job offer at the school I've been volunteering at.

To be paid real money for tutoring kids in reading!!

One on one, just the way I like it!

At least it will cover my gas costs for driving to and from the school so often!!

I feel some degree of safety in that I can opt out of both of these "possibilities" but it's good if I begin to move in a direction and set some things in motion. God can continue to direct me if these are not the best places for me to be.

So, that's the beginning of my plans for plunging into pools of possibility that will hopefully be lifegiving for me and others.

Clarity

I wonder why it is that some days I wake up and I am just so much more alive than other days. Able to see life more clearly than usual and to gain perspective on otherwise overwhelming situations...

I love these days of grace and clarity!!

I even had that extra dose of energy thrown in today for good measure and it reminds me that life can suddenly feel different, be different!

Had a most wonderful visit with a dear friend under a big tree in my little red car.

She is one of the few people that shares my passion for coca cola and wouldn't you know it, there was a BIG SALE on that very item at a drive through!!

I just love a good sale!

So we each got a large drink, went through another drive through for baked potatoes, chili and salad and settled in for a good long visit.

Somehow through our discussion I came to the conclusion that God may be leading me in a new direction regarding "church" and that if I make that change I can do so with a clear conscience and with love and integrity.

It won't be the end of the world.

It will be a new beginning.

I'll see how the next few months pan out and follow Jesus where He leads me.

Yesterday I phoned my mom on a whim and asked her if she wanted to go out for a drive. I get so sleepy when I go up and visit in her condo and she isn't able to drive anymore so it just seemed right to go enjoy the beautiful evening outdoors together. She was eager to go so we picked up my sister and went driving along the lake.

OHHHH what a beautiful evening! I drove right up to the water's edge at an unused boat launch. They loved it (we are an easily contented bunch) and felt happy enough just opening the windows and listening to the birds singing in the big trees around us and watching the setting sun on the mountains and the geese wandering at the lakeside. Here's a little snapshot of what we saw...

We prayed together, pulling down strongholds and declaring salvation.

How kind of the Lord to give us such a panoramic prayer time!

By the time the evening was over peace was reigning and our cups were full.

I pray that I will have the energy to do that often in these next months.

Wetness

Oh Glory!!
My lawn is green and the rain just keeps pouring out of the sky!
Tonight was spectacular, in fact.
Big rainfall, dark skies, blue skies, sunshine coming from somewhere, all at once!
Driving down the big hill drinking in the magnificent view - lowslung clouds, misty mountains and a rainbow so perfect and bright that it took our breath away!

Today I sat outside on the patio looking at the green life that has exploded everywhere - trees and bushes and vines and flowers and leaves and grass... listening to the sounds of birds thrilling at all their new hiding spots...and I realized that there are just not words available to convey the majesty and beauty that I get to experience every single day.

I bubble with joy at what I get to see and smell and hear and I can't express myself adequately but God knows that I think He's pretty much the most amazing, fantabulous creative genious that ever was, is and ever will be!!
And to think, the best is yet to come!
Oh. My. Goodness!

And this is just my tiny corner of the world.
So many other corners to discover, vistas to sigh over and glories to behold.
And I am related to the Creator.
Now that is truly something inexpressibly delightful and wonderful waaaaay beyond words.

So my day of thunder and wonder and rain draws to a close.
I nestle in bed, hearing the wetness pelting my window once again while the wind blows over me.
My God is big. My problems are committed to Him.
I will rest under the shadow of the Almighty with His Words caressing my Spirit.

"I have put my words in your mouth
I have covered you with the shadow of My Hand"