God chuckled

God has a sense of humor. Last week I wrote a lesson to teach to the ladies in my small group. It was about different ways you can live your life:
* in REACTION to your circumstances and things around you.
* in ROUTINE - the same way you always have.
* a RICH, REWARDING life! God has told us in His Word that He wants us to live an abundant life. What a gift from Him.

Sunday morning I arise to prepare to go to church and teach this lesson. And CandyMan is sick. I could almost hear God chuckling!

How could I teach that lesson if I was living in REACTION (which is actually often my ROUTINE when my kids get sick)?? I can imagine God thinking, "how is she going to handle this one?"

Not only did I need to be at church, I needed to be at my first day of classes on Monday morning (my debut return to college after almost 20 years). If you know me (and if you are reading this, you probably do), then you know that it is a horrible thought to me to have to miss the first day!!

But God had prepared me for this, since I had been studying His Word just that week preparing to teach others. He is good. And He had a plan.

I went to my small group and taught the lesson. I am right now sitting in the library at my college after attending my first class and awaiting the next one. CandyMan went to the doctor this morning and he doesn't have what we feared. (Swine Flu has been confirmed in a couple of children in their school. My duckling does NOT have it. I'm praying they don't get it.)

All is good. He is in control! I am trusting in Him.

I'm a School Girl!

Can you believe it? I sure can't! I'm a school girl! I'm going back to college!

Classes begin on Monday for me. I'm excited and anxious all at the same time! I'm going full time. And the government is paying for all of it (through grants). It's an offer I can't refuse! I have one year of classes to take before I'll qualify to get into nursing school (that is my plan).

Please be praying for me!! I can't imagine how I will balance it all - full time college, 2 part time jobs, and 3 full time kids!! :) I need peace, financial provision (I still have to pay bills afterall), sweet sleep and an occasional break!! I'm trusting God to take care of it all!

I did it!

I did it! I met my goal! I had so much fun doing it, that I forgot it was my goal until someone reminded me that I'd met it! Ha!

One year ago I set a goal to lose enough weight and get in shape enough to water ski. It was my dream. When I was young I used to slalom all over the lake. At the age of 17, I was in a serious car accident and herniated a disc in my lower back. I was never able to ski much after that. I've missed it - for 20 years!!

I can't even describe how good it felt to do this again - I did it twice in one day! And I can't wait to do it again!

Another first that I did last week:

Our church has broken ground!

NorthStar broke ground on our new property a few weeks ago to build our new building. The Sunday afterwards, they had enlarged some photos from the event and put them on the wall in the foyer of our current location. Here is one of the photos:

Here are some shots that I got:

Happy Birthday, Guitar Hero!

It's my oldest son's birthday today! I have such sweet memories of the last 12 years with him. This is his last year before becoming a teenager!! Look out world!



Pray for him this day! He has 2 finals at school - Math and English. He has the middle school musical this evening (he has a speaking part in it!). I am taking him a "donut cake" to share with his class at lunch and hopefully we'll have time to go out to dinner after school/before the musical. Life is so busy this week, it is hard to really celebrate. I feel sorry for him in that way. When you home school, the birthday child is with you all day and you make it a full day celebration. Today is more like an adult birthday for him. He's not used to it. I'm trying to make him feel as special as possible, under the circumstances!

He has grown up so much in the last few months and is doing much better than he was for the last few years. I'm so happy for him and I'm so proud of him!

I am called to be FREE!

Galatians 5:1 says we are called to be free! That was the theme of this weekend's women's retreat that I attended. It was a beautiful event of worship, teaching and activities! I'm so blessed to have been able to go. It was by Living Vessels Ministries - "The Esther Experience - Called to Be Free".

My children were well taken care of - Missy by a young lady who did all kinds of girly things with her and fed her lots of sugar! Guitar Hero and Candy Man were taken camping by some men in the church and then fishing on Saturday! A "Man's" weekend! So good for them all!

I feel like God is telling me that my season of healing is over. It is time to reach out to others going through what I have been through in the last 3 years. I am ready to be used by Him!

Cardboard Testimonies

Candy Man and I were asked to be apart of our church's Easter service. We did something called "Cardboard Testimonies". If you haven't seen this before, you can watch videos on YouTube where other churches have done it. It is extremely powerful!

Basically, it was explained beforehand about how having God in your life can change your life. Then 30 or so of us got up and "told" our changes using cardboard. Candy Man's was one of the most powerful testimonies. It received a lot of attention. I was soooo proud of him. It wasn't easy for him to do this. I have to share it with you:

I had to share my latest change that God has done in my life as well! May He receive all the glory!

Missy loves her family

Of all of my children, Missy Prissy loves her family the most! She knows every one by name (even distant cousins). She notices if any of them get their hair cut (even if she hasn't seen them in months!). She is concerned if she thinks they don't feel good or are upset. She loves them all so much and isn't shy to show them!

I was recently at her school for a Festival of Nations party. On the wall were pictures and sentences that the children had written completing the following: "My favorite place to go is..." There were all kinds of answers like the movies, Disney, the pool - that kind of thing. I couldn't help but chuckle when I read my daughter's:

(It says: "My favorite place to go is to Kentucky. I play with my cousins.")

It is all roses!

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." --2 Corinthian 12:10

(Taken from 4/8 devotion, "Streams in the Desert")

George Matheson, the well-known blink preacher of Scotland, once said,

"My dear God, I have never thanked You for my thorns. I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses but not once for my thorns. I have always looked forward to the place where I will be rewarded for my cross, but I have never thought of my cross as a present glory itself.

Teach me, O Lord, to glory in my cross. Teach me the value of my thorns. Show me how I have climbed to You through the path of pain. Show me it is through my tears I have seen my rainbows."

Amen!

Science Fair, Great Visit with a Friend, and a Funeral

Game Master's Science Fair was last week. He did a great project on how magnets affect electronic memory. His grade was 103! I am proud of him.

The weekend before that, we had a visit from Jennifer and Jason. I miss that girl so much. It was so good to spend an evening together. Wish we didn't live so far apart...

My Grandmommy died on Monday. We went to Kentucky on Wednesday. Ended up staying until Sunday. There were terrible complications with digging the grave and it delayed the graveside service. Gave us more time together as a family though.

I'm still waiting to hear if the kids will be going to First Baptist Academy again next year. It is not clear to me what God's will is in this yet. He knows. That is good enough for me.

I've got much work to catch up on! Busy, busy!