Counting My Blessings and Praising God

A dear friend of mine was faced with a very difficult medical problem last weekend.  We almost lost her.  She had surgery on Monday and is doing remarkably well!  Looking back, I can clearly see God's hand in it all.  I'm not sure why God allowed her to have that medical problem, but he put people in her path who were able to save her.  She still has long weeks of recovery, but we are grateful to God.

I teach at a private Christian school and because my friend was also connected to our school, we had a prayer service for her.  So often I forget how unique this opportunity is.  I am so blessed to not only work at at a school where we can worship God openly, but also to live in a country where freedom of religion is still a Constitutional right.

Southern Women

I found this You Tube video the other day through a link on a message board.  It's crude at times and could possibly offend someone, but I found it funny and oh so true.  Be sure to watch episodes 2 and 3, which may be even funnier.

Sh%t Southern Women Say

Labor Day Weekend Update

Once again it has been a long time since I have posted to this blog.  I considered deleting it, but then realized that I would also lose the few articles that I've written and the pictures that I've uploaded.  Considering I lost 5 years of pictures as a result of the great hard drive crash of May 6, 2014, I'm not too eager to delete anything from that time period.

What's going on? School is back in session.  I'm still teaching first grade.  This being my fifth year, I think I am starting to get the hang of it.  We have a new reading curriculum, which is taking some getting used to.  I think I have just about figured out the basic weekly structure, which means that I can do some planning and copying in advance.  That will free up some of my breaks to work on fun stuff, such as games and other activities.

The kids are in fourth and second grades and still love school.  We are so blessed to be able to attend and work at Friendship Christian School.  It is our second home.

We adopted a dog last summer.  Well, Mark adopted the dog and the dog adopted me.  He is a schnauzer/yorki mix from a shelter.  He weighs 15 pounds and his name is Smokey.  He is not particularly fond of Mark, but he loves me unconditionally.  Don't tell Smokey, but I am really a cat person.

I have some home improvement projects that I would like to get off the ground, but money is a little tight right now, as Mark may be looking at a job change in the next few months.  His boss is in NJ and we expect that he will be asked to move to NJ and since we are not moving...well, he may be looking for another job at some point.  If he had an option to move somewhere else, like KY, GA, AL, even TX, it might be ok; but NJ...nah...we have the kids to think about.  Plus, I can't understand Yankee accents.

This is the Saturday of Labor Day weekend.  We are at home.  Several of our acquaintances/friends from church are camping.  Although we do not normally camp on Labor Day weekend, it is a little discouraging to find out that nearly everyone in our circle of friends at church are involved, while we were not invited.  I guess we could have invited ourselves, but it's not the same as having friends ask "What are you doing x weekend?" and "We've going camping, why don't you come?"  Maybe I'm just throwing a pity party at this point, or maybe it's my depression kicking in, but I often feel like I'm not in the loop for the friends thing.  It's like high school all over again.

So....I'm going to clean house, do a little cooking and maybe paint the back door.  I have an appointment for a massage this afternoon and I have some ebay auctions that I'm watching.  It should be a good weekend.

Christmas 2011, so far! (pt 2)

Here are a few more pictures.

We were lucky enough to be able to attend "A Walk Through Bethlehem" put on by the Woodmont Christian Church. The line was long and it was crowded once we were inside, but the educational value was immense. Even if you don't celebrate Christmas as Jesus' birth, I would encourage you to take your family to this event, just to learn more about life in Bible times.

Below is a picture of Joseph, Mary, and "baby Jesus."

We enjoyed a "Grinch Day" at school in the lower elementary. Here are some of us with our Grinch shirts!

Mark's birthday is December 13. We bought an ice cream cake for him. John didn't exactly tell Mark what we bought for him, but he did say, "Don't look in the freezer, Dad!"

Once school was out, we had more time for other projects. I bought a pre-assembled gingerbread house at Walmart and the kids decorated it. We even used some leftover Halloween candy on it!

The kids love crafts and they love making presents for others. Here they are hard at work on some things for the grandparents.

Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas!

Melissa

Christmas 2011, so far! (pt 1)

It's been over a year since I posted. I'd like to do better, but we'll see what the new year brings. I don't apologize. My life is full and I spend too much time online as it is. That being said, here are some pictures from our family Christmas activities so far this season.

This is our Christmas countdown "clothesline." It hangs across the double windows in the kitchen. The envelopes are numbered and contain a card suggesting an activity for the day. In November, I spent quite a bit of time checking schedules and planning activities. The envelopes are numbered because the activities are pre-scheduled. I also left the envelopes unsealed, so I could change cards around if necessary. We were able to do almost everything listed on our cards.

Here's Molly in her favorite spot beneath the tree. She claimed it even before we had the tree completely put together! Today there are so many presents under there that she is finding it harder to find her spot.

We went to Breakfast with Santa at The Factory in Franklin. It was a really nice set up and the food was really good! Santa commented on John's Grinch shirt :)

One of our Christmas tasks was to try the pretzel/hershey kiss treats. We made them with peppermint kisses. Yum-o!

Jamie the Elf has made his yearly visit and has been into a bit of mischief. Normally he's pretty good, but this day we found him in the pantry sipping the syrup!

John's Christmas program at school was all about bears!

He was a panda bear and his friend, Josh was a polar bear. The program was super cute!

That's it for now. I'll try to remember to post again later :)

Melissa

Fall Ball

Ellen is playing softball for the first time. She had taken two years of dance previously, but last spring she watched John play T-ball and decided to quit dance and try softball. She is six and normally would have been eligible to play T-ball, but there weren't enough six year olds signed up to play, so she was placed on a team with seven and eight year olds. It is coach pitch, which means that the coach pitches to the batter. She gets five pitches, unless she strikes out first.

Ellen knew next to nothing about softball when she started. She has had to learn all of the basics, plus the rules of the game. She had to learn how to hold the bat, how to throw a ball, how to catch a ball, as well as what to do with it once she has the ball. She has progressed a lot. She was even awarded the game ball at the first game for most improvement.

Her little team has had some politics problems with the coaches, and they haven't won much, but the girls seem to be having a good time. Ellen never talks about the scores, but focuses more on what she did during the game. She always comes out of the dugout with a smile. She loves softball and is already asking to play again in the spring. It looks like I will be toting my lawnchair to many more games!

Inside Out Simplicity

I recently won an advance free copy of an ebook. The only stipulation was that I write a review and post on my blog, which I am happy to do. The book is Inside-Out Simplicity by Joshua Becker of the Becoming Minimalist blog. Here is a description of the book from the blog:

The book, “Inside-Out Simplicity: Life-Changing Keys to your Most Important Relationships” is a 360 degree approach to a simplified lifestyle that goes well beyond the external fixes to our complicated lives and focuses on the heart issues required for a simplified life. It is based on the premise that a truly simplified lifestyle begins in a person’s soul. And it will help the reader find an inside-out simplicity by focusing on the key life-changing principles necessary in their most important relationships.

The book is short (109 pages) and can easily be read in an evening. I love the message this book, but I'm not sure that I would buy it, because most of the material can be found on Becker's website. Actually, purchasing another "thing" goes against the minimalist lifestyle (unless, of course, you can justify the need). Basically Becker points out that things can get in the way of having healthy relationships with friends, family, spouses, children and even God. Before I encountered the spirituality chapter, I remember thinking how much of the book had a religious slant, without actually mentioning religion. The chapter on "Why Our Words Matter" emphasizes kind and gentle words and the importance of being honest. Becker also discusses the problems of gossip and how it can damage relationships. The chapter on "Why Our Sexuality Matters" encourages committed relationships and portrays pornography, soap opera television, and romance novels as potentially damaging to the marriage relationship.

The chapter on "Why Our Spirituality Matters" was a pleasnt surprise. I thought it would focus on mediation, time alone to regroup, journaling one's thoughts and so forth. Instead, it focuses on a search for God.

There is nothing more central to your heart and soul than your view of God. And our view of God influences our daily lives in countless ways.

Becker goes on to say that Jesus led the "ultimate, simplified life." This goes along with some thoughts that I have had recently. I have started a journey to simplify my life and to also grow closer to God. As in all things, Jesus was/is the ultimate example. Becker lists out several reasons why following Jesus' example can lead to a "deeper, more simplified life." This section of the book was so refreshing to me. I had not viewed this work as a religious publication, but as it was, the central concepts are very much in line with the Bible. These thoughts re-enforced some ideas that had been spinning around in my own head.

Becker's book is not a "get organized, get rid of your stuff" book. Don't look for this book to be a "how to" book. It is more of a "why" book. Our reasons behind our actions is what drives them and if we have our reasons built on a firm foundation, our actions will have amazing results. Thank you, Becker for a wonderful, thought provoking work.

If you are interested in ordering the book, you can visit this link.