Thanksgiving Break!

It is Thanksgiving break and we have many things to be thankful for. The first and most obvious is for the break. Yay, however looking a little deeper there are many more wonderful things to be thankful for than a break from school. There is family, friends, shelter, food, etc. I know I have been blessed above and beyond imaginable when it comes to my family. They are the perfect set of people for me. Also God has blessed me with numerous friends from many different places. I have friends from church, friends from school, friends from where I grew up etc. God is so good to give us the exact variety of people in our lives that we have!

Have a wonderful day everyone! Enjoy your break!

The Feet Man

This poem reminded a friend and I so much of what we really are doing when we sin that I just had to post it. Today a teacher hand us this poem and we listened to the author read it. It was amazing, so powerful, not only to put yourself into the sandals of the solder who nailed Jesus to the cross...but then to realize that that really is you. We as humans are all in the business of sinning. Before we became Christians our foreman was the foreman for the business of sin. He told us that we had to keep going if we wanted to keep our jobs. The good news is that we didn't. Those of use who have chosen Christ are no longer on Satan's assembly line. Praise God!

The Feet Man

The worst job I ever had was nailing
Jesus' feet to the cross on the
assembly line at the crucifix factory.
Jesus! I'd never thought of myself
as religious before that, but when
I had to strike those nails-- I figured
it up once—more than two thousand times
a day, my mind began seeing things:
little tremors along the skin, jerks of
those legs that were bonier than
models' legs, his eyes imploring,
forgiving. I swear, if a tiny drop of blood
had oozed out of that wood at my pounding,
I wouldn't have been surprised at all.
I was ripe for a miracle, or a vacation.
All I got was worse: with each blow
of the hammer, I flinched, as if I
were the one getting pierced. Doing
that job day after day was bad enough,
but doing it to myself—my arms
spread out from one end of my paycheck
to the other—was crazy. I began
to sweat constantly, though the place
was air-conditioned. It wasn't long before
the foreman took me aside and told me
I was taking my job too seriously, that
if I wanted to keep it I had better calm down.
He was right. I pulled myself together
like a man and put all pointless thought
out of my head. Or tried to. It wasn't easy:

imagine Jesus after Jesus coming down
at you along that line, and you with
your hammer poised, you knowing
what you have to do to make a living.

Philip Dacey 1991

Feet Like the Shepherd

“It is quite true that the up to the High Places is both difficult and dangerous,” said the Shepherd. “It has to be, so that nothing which is an enemy of Love can make the ascent and invade the Kingdom. Nothing blemished or in any way imperfect is allowed there,and the inhabitants of the High Places do need 'hinds' feet.' I have them myself,” he added with a smile, “and like a young hart of roebuck I can go leaping on the mountains and skipping on the hills with the greatest ease and pleasure.

Oh that we would all fallow the Shepherd despite the long journey and the accompaniment of Sorrow and Suffering so that we may have feet like the Shepherd. I'm so glad that He calls me to the High Places and gives me strength to follow Him there.

Preparing for Club Takes Over My Room

Preparing for clubs takes more than just time. It takes space. Lots and lots of space is taken up when I start getting ready for club. Got to get all of those snacks in place. Oh, and the curriculum all in the order that I'm going to teach it. Where is that candy box or the prize treasure box? Oh, don't forget the tickets. Remember the missionary story. Is the Bible story memorized? How can I best share the gospel with the kids this week? These are all things that need to be answered, sorted through, and organized before club starts.....and it takes my bedroom floor to do it. A small sacrifice for a great club.


Snacks and treats

Stories, lessons, visuals, verses

Good News Club member shirt

Change

Yes, this is still my blog. I just changed a few things. The title may be the biggest surprise. What does smiling sunrises me anyway? Well to me they mean smiling at each new opportunity God gives you. To be alive each day with a smile on your face happy for each small blessing that God gives you. To be excited for each ray of sunshine he brings to your life.

Grandpa's Beard

How could that man laying in that bed be the same man who's strong arms carried me safely across the roaring stream? How could he be so happy and so concerned about others when his once very active life is now spent in a nursing home bed? He has spent his whole life working hard to serve others. He served our country in WW II, provided for his family as a laborer and a farmer, and always gave the most patient love to each one of his grandchildren. Now, he sits in the nursing home praying for them. Time changes every thing. The grandfather that carried me across the raging river is the same man that I push in the wheelchair. It seems hard to believe, until you look into his eye and see that twinkle. Sometimes it is hard to see beyond the glazed over look he has so often but it is there, when he smiles and when he laughs I can remember the tickle of grandpa's beard when I gave him good night kisses as a little girl.

The Letter

“You have a letter at home.” The words didn't register at first as I looked confusedly at my father. “The one you have been waiting for.” he stated with drama. Oh, how was I going to possibly wait until after Bible study to go look at that letter “Is it good ?” I asked. “I don't know” was the simple reply. Well I knew that I needed to completely forget about it until after Bible study if I was going to be able to focus at all. But on the way home I was tempted, very tempted, to speed (I didn't for those of you who wanted to know....or at least not much) I ran into the house and looked on the kitchen counter for the letter. Wasn't there. So I looked on the dining room table. Wasn't there. So I asked my mother where it was. “Oh, in your room” she replied “You're going to read it before you even get your stuff out of the car?” she asked bemused. “Yes!!!” was my response as I ran down the hall and burt out the door toward my room (located just behind the house) there it was sitting on the chair by my desk. Reverently I picked it up and looked at it. It was heavy. It was thick. In a moment I ripped open the envelope. Glancing at the first two lines I saw the words I was looking for “Congratulation! You are one of the candidates we wish to welcome into Elementary Education and look forward to having you in the program.” YES!!!!!!