Christine's Corner

Finishing well

2011-05-15T21:24:00.000-04:00

It does not seem possible that tomorrow we will begin the last full week of this school year; wasn't it just yesterday that we were incorporating and designing a logo? The time really has flown by quickly and although a part of me is ready to have a break where I can sleep until 8:00 am, another part of me is sad to think that I will not see these children and our terrific staff each day!

Last week I spent some time writing a year in review newsletter for our Board and I was a little overwhelmed with all we have done! I know that some prospective parents who like what they see when they visit our school are still hesitant because they feel we are too small to meet all of their child's needs. While I certainly respect the opinion of parents, I don't think I agree with that sentiment--our students lacked for little this year! In addition to providing an incredibly rich learning environment, we had a couple of field trips, a visit from the Mobile Science Lab and a couple of guest speakers, had school pictures, a Thanksgiving Feast, a couple of class parties, did two charitable events, entered a float in the Cumming Christmas parade, and re-enacted a Passover Seder, to name a few things!!

Our goals for the year were simple--we wanted the children to feel good about their ability to learn and to like coming to school. By the grace of God we reached those goals and surpassed them! The children did learn and for the most part they improved their attitudes and their self esteem. Some of them greatly surpassed the expected academic goals for their age. We want to finish well and look to the future to see what God has planned for us next year.

Our fence is finally up and the in-house cameras are functioning well. We are interviewing for our additional teacher and have enrolled two new students for next year, with several other appointments this week. We are still awaiting our 501 c 3 status and will need to change our accreditation agency, so there is work to be done, but as always we trust that God will lead and will provide. We appreciate your continued prayers and will try to get to the blog more often.

"I Love This"

2011-03-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

We want school to be fun for children, but the truth is, there are certain academic disciplines that are not necessarily fun. Some of our older students are behind academically and as we have worked with them it has become obvious that there are "holes" in what they do know. Often it is in the form of processing skills, or lack there of. Even if they can successfully complete a task they often do not understand it. In an attempt to help these students "catch up" we introduce them to the Montessori materials which can give concrete understanding. We also have them produce work on paper to help 'cement' concepts and knowledge.

We use the Spelling Connections curriculum for spelling as it is very thorough and phonetically based, but we find it is challenging for them. It requires thought and and writing---both of which are somewhat difficult for several of our students.

Today, as I was working in the classroom, I overhead a student say, "I love this"! I could not see what he was working on, but presumed it to be some hands on lesson. When I looked over to see what it was, I was thrilled to see it was one of our students, who is usually resistant to spelling work and he was commenting on his assigned spelling pages--that was a win! As I smiled to myself I could not help but think, "I love THIS"!

There is work, and there is work

2011-02-27T19:21:00.000-05:00

I love seeing children really connect with specific materials in the classroom and engage in real learning. Sometimes it is an 8 year old delighting in locating the major rivers and lakes in Asia, sometimes it is a 10 year old successfully labeling all of the parts of speech in a particular literary passage; this week it was a 6 year old learning to read a "whole" book and choosing to copy said book on paper! When children are truly captivated they work for long periods of time, and when they complete their task they have a peaceful, satisfied demeanor that is difficult to describe. We Montessori teachers have great faith in the "inner teacher" of each child; we simply must observe carefully and introduce lessons to let "the match" happen.

There is a feeling of tiredness one feels after a day of cleaning house or doing yard work--it is usually just fatigue. There is a completely different feeling of tiredness after a great work out or a serious run; it is more of exhilaration. It is the second type of fatigue that we observe when children engage in activities that are purposeful and fulfilling. They will repeat an activity over and over until they are satisfied. With very young children it may be pouring rice or building the pink tower. With older children it is often more academic, such as spontaneously recording all the combinations of numbers to equal 20. It is so different when children choose to challenge themselves instead struggling to complete the typical paperwork often assigned to children in traditional educational settings.

In the next few weeks we will begin to enroll children for our second year of school at the Montessori Children's House of North Forsyth; what an incredible testimony to God's faithfulness! This first year has been nothing short of miraculous in many ways, and we look forward to next year when we believe He will send us a total of 15 students. I am beginning to interview for an additional teacher and are trusting God to send us the perfect one! Daily, I thank God for the way He is blessing our school and appreciate the prayers and support of so many! Often I go home tire at the end of the day, but I am so thankful that it is the exhilarating tired having completed work that is so satisfying! It is a joy to get to do what you love!

Valentine's for Kids

2011-02-12T12:13:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is basically celebrated by two groups of people: those who are in love and children who have visions of eating conversation hearts and chocolate candy. Since we do not encourage either of those things with the children at school, what would be the best way to celebrate Valentine's Day with children? We decided to focus on love--God's love for us, our love for Him, and brotherly love between each other.

Paul taught that as the Spirit of God is alive in our lives we will display His fruit. Much like we can look at an apple tree, or a peach tree, an orange tree, a banana tree, or any other fruit bearing plant and identify the type of tree it is, so people should be able to observe us and by the fruit we bear, know that we have His Spirit in us. Our Bible discussions this week focused on those fruits--love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We discussed what each of those things mean and what it looks like in our behavior to exhibit those qualities.

We made a form, bordered in hearts, for each child to give to every other child. This special Valentine includes a space for the giver to list at least three positive qualities they appreciate in that person. It could be one of the fruits of the Spirit or any other encouraging trait. It was interesting to see how the children thoughtfully considered each of their friends and the uniqueness of that person.

Yes, we will have a little party with red fruit, heart shaped cheese, valentine cookies, and juice. We decorated paper bags and will let the children exchange any Valentines they bring from home, but our emphasis will be on how much God loves us and how we can express His love to those around us.

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day with children?

Monday Melodies

2011-01-24T21:04:00.000-05:00

Often when I observe children working in a Montessori classroom it reminds me of listening to a lovely symphony; thus was the case this morning. It began with a time of tuning up. The children arrived slowly over a period of about 10 minutes. As they entered the room they started their routine by washing hands and selecting an activity; that is when the music began. A couple of children warmed up in the library, glancing through familiar titles. Three banded together to assemble a floor puzzle of the Presidents, and one soloist carefully arranged silk flowers in 6 different vases and then decorated each of the tables. It was a lovely harmony of activity and spontaneous socialization.

During our morning meeting, one could almost hear the unison as the children recited pledges, read Bible verses, and shared prayer requests. Although their ages and grades are varied, their spirit of curiosity, and joy unite them. It is a lovely sound. By the end of the day I had observed many choruses produced by this very alive yet soothing group of musicians. The youngest and newest member enjoyed repeating his part several times--rehearsing it over and over to perfection. The more seasoned players delighted in tutoring their less skilled colleagues while building their own self confidence. The melodies were enchanting.

Some days the tempo is more stimulating, and the volume less soothing, but today the orchestration was perfect and the music delightful.

Praying Boldly

2011-01-21T20:01:00.000-05:00

Last week our pastor, Andy Stanley, challenged our prayer life a little. He suggested that often we pray mundanely and do not ask God for Boldness. While I agree with him, in principal, I believe that throughout the journey of this school I have consistently asked God to bless us in such a way that only He could get the credit. I also believe I have been faithful to give Him all the credit every step of the way.

I have been asking Him for 2 or 3 more students this semester. Two would get us to the financial 'break even' point and three would give us a little breathing room. So after last Sunday's message, I boldly asked Him to please direct 2 or 3 students to us now. We only want to enroll children that He brings, but surely there were a couple out there who simply had not found us yet.

That being said, it has been a rough week. My husband was out of town on business all week, I got sick on Tuesday and missed 2 and a half days of work, and our teacher had a medical emergency with her eldest daughter and missed a day and a half--not our best week. But I had Boldly asked God to send us some students NOW, and with what I can only attribute as some Heavenly humor, He chose to answer my prayer. Not only did He send us 2 students, but they are siblings whose parents have been looking for a Christian Montessori school for a long time, and they came to visit us while I was sick and Sherry was distracted!!! "when I am weak, He is strong." They are great kids, our students fell in love with them and see them as an answer to their prayers (yes the children have also been praying for more students), and I really believe that they will be a great 'fit'.

So we are thanking God for His perfect timing and grateful for the challenge to ask God for big things--things only He can do, and to ask with boldness!

Kids say the cutest things

2011-01-19T12:12:00.000-05:00

During the month of December the children attempted to memorize the first 19 verses of the second chapter of Luke, and because of the poetic nature of the language, we opted to have them learn the King James Version. To help them with understanding, we selected about a dozen of the words we felt they might not know and typed them on small cards with definitions on other cards, thus creating a matching lesson. To introduce the lesson I reviewed them at group time by asking the children if they knew what the word meant. The words included "abiding", "with haste", "espoused", etc. Of course the children did not know any of these words, but then I asked if anyone knew what "abroad" meant, and one of the younger boys excitedly waved his arm, "I know, I know--a girl" he said proudly! :)

(BTW, they all learned the first 15 verses perfectly and most got all the way through verse 19!)

At lunch last Sunday, we were eating with my daughter and her best friend Maureen. During the mealtime discussion my daughter told a story about her boyfriend who is a deployed marine. Ryan thought for a moment and said, "Hey mom, Maureen and marine are homonyms, right?" I think he is getting it!!

We're Back!!

2011-01-14T22:17:00.000-05:00

It is impossible to believe that we are 2 weeks into the new year and that we have been in school for four months!! I know you think I have abandoned the blog; I simply needed a little hiatus, but hopefully I am back and thrilled to report to you on our first semester.

As I have consistently stated, this school is the direct result of God leading us and we pray that everything we do is only because of His blessing. We had some specific goals and He has exceeded our expectations in so many ways. First of all--God brought us the perfect teacher to begin our journey. Miss Sherry is not only an extremely competent reading and math teacher, but she is compassionate, caring, and very dedicated. She and I work so well together. She is definitely the lead teacher, but her weaknesses are my strengths and my strengths are where she is weak. In a small school we both wear several hats, and have many non-conventional duties, but we share them and for the most part our days are filled with joy!

We asked God to send us the children He wanted to be here. I am disappointed that He brought so few--mostly because it means that Edgar and I must financially support the school for much longer, but am so thankful for the five we have!! The big WIN is that I can assure you, the changes we have seen in our students over the last few weeks can only be attributed to God! We knew that many of the students came to us with a low self esteem and/or a dislike of school, so our first goal was to create an environment where children loved to learn and would feel successful. I truly believe we have met that goal! On the days when I become frustrated with the lack of prospective students, I go into the classroom and look at the incredible children that He has given us! They are learning, they interact more like siblings than peers, and they are feeling so much better about their own abilities.

Lastly, I have loved seeing the children grow in their understanding of God's Word and their desire to learn about Him. We have seen their prayers mature, their ability to memorize scripture increase, and their ability to apply the truths they are learning expand. We are on an incredible journey together and we are so grateful for the opportunity. We still need your prayers, and we long to have more students because we know their are more children who need to be here (and we need the money) but we are more confident today than we were 6 months ago, that this is exactly what we need to be doing!!

Open House

2010-07-18T21:33:00.000-04:00

What a whirlwind week! The renovations went well, but as usual everything took longer than we had planned. Inspections and weather put us two days later than we had hoped, but our contractor did a great job, and Brian and Joe got everything painted and decorated in record time! Thanks to my sister who came up for the week, our good friend Joe, and our teacher Sherry, we pulled it all together in time for the Open House on Friday. We will need to work on the office and finish up some of the lessons in the classroom, but for the most part the room is all set and we are quite pleased with the results.

Thanks for some of your suggestions on marketing. We are more aggressive on the Internet and now that our signs are up we are getting more calls. Here are a few pictures:

This looks a little cloudy, but Chris did a great job on the front doors!

Once inside, you are ready to enter the Children's House! There is an area for visiting children.

This is a shot of the library

This is from the language area--looking into geography with art in the background

Part of the math area

The grammar area

We had a great time at the Open House and appreciate everyone who came out to see us!

Suggestions welcome

2010-06-26T23:02:00.001-04:00

Marketing is an interesting thing. There are so many options and so little money. People need to know that we exist.We have a pretty specific target audience and a clear vision The classroom will be stunningly beautiful, the materials are amazing, the teachers are so dedicated and excellent, the curriculum is proven, but we must "get the word out".

Last month we did a quarter page (expensive) ad in a local magazine and only got one email response; yesterday I learned why: we printed the wrong phone number!! I couldn't believe that I missed that--I approved the copy that had an 8 not a 5. The upside is that I spoke with the very gracious lady whose number we did print and she assured me there had been several calls--but of course she did not know the correct number to give them. Ugh, I can't believe this, but it is done and now I must move on.

We do have another ad coming out in a "state of the schools" annual publication, but it won't be distributed until early August. We also have a tentative date for an Open House, and we need alot of people to attend, but I am not sure the most cost effective way to let people know about it.

Theater ads would be great, but much more expensive than what we can afford.

We have a working relationship with a very talented, local photographer, www.ananchel.com and they will invite their clients and even give a discount coupon to all who attend. What are some other ways we can let people know about our school? I appreciate any suggestions you have. We know there are children near us who are struggling with learning and who have lost their self confidence. Our school CAN help them. Would you please help us let them know? Please comment here if you have any suggestions. Our website is www.mchnf.org.

Lastly, if you missed the last post, we urgently need prayers for this Tuesday morning, June 29. We need our plans to be reviewed and passed so we can start construction on the renovations Thursday morning, July 1. Thanks so much!

Riding the Roller Coaster

2010-06-25T09:13:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the ups and downs of living a life of faith are like riding a roller coaster--exciting, thrilling, terrifying, and can make one's stomach do awful things. This week has been like that. The high points include knowing that we are only a few days away from taking possession of the leased space, talking with some great potential parents, meeting an amazing teacher who wants to support and encourage us, and finalizing the furniture order. But the lows were pretty deep and twisted. When our contractor went to the county office to begin pulling permits he was told we needed the Architect to draw new plans and they could not review them until July 20th; this is almost three weeks later than our "countdown to opening" schedule!

I have said over and over that this whole project is a result of God's prompting and not only do we depend on Him "to meet all of our needs according to his riches in Christ Jesus", but we want to make sure that everyone who even hears of us will know that it is His school. We pray that things will happen in such a way that ONLY God can get the Glory. He continues to answer that prayer by placing obstacles in our path that require divine intervention! We need our plans to be reviewed, THIS Tuesday and we need them to be passed--we are on our knees with anticipation. I did speak to the man at the planning office with whom I had met a few months ago and pleaded my case. He said he would "see what He could do" and I was thinking 'great' and I will see what God will do! :)

On a more personal note, our family enjoyed a wonderful visit with family in California--the time went too quickly. Edgar's dad is fading fast; he is in the last stages of cancer and at this point we are praying for a peaceful and painless ending. We are reminded again that ALL things are under His control.

I don't really like roller coasters, I tend to be more of a carousel kind of girl, but I am so thankful that at least I know Who is at the controls on this ride I am on! As always, your prayers and support mean more than you will ever know--thanks for journeying with us!!

More than just decorations

2010-05-29T15:31:00.000-04:00

As the beginning of summer approaches, marked not so much by the June 21 date on the calendar as by this Memorial Day weekend, we have spent a little time at our house decorating. My daughter was helping me put out the red, white, and blue flowers, the stars and stripes table runners, and several other nick knacks I always bring out at this time, she said, "Mom, why do you do this?" It reminded me that patriotism is not automatic--we must teach it to our children and take every opportunity to remind them of our Christian heritage as well as the fact that while we are at the pool and enjoying a picnic this weekend, men and women, many only babes themselves, are across the ocean fighting for our freedom.

My dad served in WWII and rarely talked about the atrocities he witnessed, he made sure we knew to stand at attention and salute the flag whenever it passed and to hold our hand over our hearts when we were at a public gathering and the national anthem was played. Not too many people do that anymore and it is very sad. We must certainly teach the facts of history but we must also instill the pride and passion on which our nation was founded.

This week as I have talked to several parents about enrolling their children in our school, I had the opportunity to discuss parts of our curriculum, I was thankful to be able to tell them that in addition to all of the wonderful Montessori materials we have to teach Math, Language, Science, Geography, and History, we will also teach Bible and patriotism!

A little school update: yes we have talked with several parents and have enrolled some boys and girls this week. Some of the students will benefit from the SB10 scholarship fund and some have been home schooled and will need some divine intervention to help with tuition. We are telling everyone we know who lives in GA about the tax credit which is a win-win for the donor will certainly help our scholarship fund for all our students. It is our prayer that every student who want to enroll will be able to do so.

Please do continue to pray for God to send us the students He wants to be with us and for Him to fill our school with those 21 children by the end of June. God reminds me almost daily, that He is in control and that He is working things out in His time, but I am still impatient! Your prayers are greatly appreciated!

I also met with the contractor and discussed the additional bathroom and petition we need to have. Of course it will cost more than we had budgeted, but we are hoping to be under contract and have him
begin pulling the permits by the middle of June. We take possession of space July 1 and hope to have all the renovations completed by July 10 so we can set up the classroom! We finalized the order for the furniture and will lace the order in time for everything to arrive about July 10 also.

I hope you have a wonderful and safe weekend. I hope you have time with family and friends, and I hope you take some time to remember why this is Memorial Day.

To God Be the Glory

2010-05-16T21:47:00.000-04:00

This week has been so exciting as we have seen God at work in so many ways. To see our school name really on the list of approved schools for SB10 monies was so exciting, but there have been many other ways God is showing His faithfulness!

We continue to have Montessori teachers apply to work with us, and we are continuing to pray about hiring one of them or sending someone to training that starts in a few weeks. We need to have clarity on that soon.

Our one teacher began her distance Montessori training this week and she and I visited a very interesting Montessori preschool that works with special needs children. The school is about an hour away and is directed by an wonderful Christian lady with whom I felt an instant kinship. She spent a lot of time with us and we learned about HANDLE and are so excited to learn more. (see www.handle.org for more info). It is an amazing method, being used around the world to help children with brain function disorders. We think God has some plans for us to use this approach with our students in some way and to work with this delightful lady somehow.

We also launched our Facebook Friend page and have about 60 friends. We will add news there and hopefully some pictures soon.

We also answered all the questions regarding our 501 c 3 application, we hope, and will get that in the mail this week.

Edgar and I had an interesting conversation this week; he is the practical provider. It went something like this:

Edgar--"So you already signed the lease on the building right?"
Me--"Yes, we had to do that for our SB10 application April 1".
Edgar--"For one year or two?"
Me--"For two--that is the least they would accept."
Edgar--"And you have hired at least one teacher?"
Me--"Yep"
Edgar--"How are we going to pay for that if we don't have students?"
Me--"We are going to pay for it the way we have always planned--with tuition money."
Edgar--"How many students do we have now?"
Me--"We have one so far, Ryan, and his scholarship covers his entire tuition."
Edgar--"So how are we going to pay the bills?" (tone of voice becoming a little more intense)
Me--"We are going to pay for it the way we have always planned--with tuition money."
Edgar--"But you just said we only have one student, our son!"
Me--"This is true, but it is only the 2nd week of May, I have asked God for a full enrollment by the end of June, and a waiting list by mid July--(I'm going for the 12 baskets left over!!)"
Edgar, shaking his head--"Okay."

It may appear as if i have blind faith--maybe I do, I am not sure. I do know I have Faith. Today our pastor, Andy Stanley, preached part 5 of his series Guardrails and it was regarding money. It was not only a great message, but a wonderful confirmation that God is our Source for everything including the students we need to pay the bills for our school! I have consistently asked God that if He wants us to open this school He would do it in such a way that it would be completely obvious that only HE could accomplish it. I promised to be careful to give Him ALL the glory--Seems to me He is right on track! Praise God!!

GREAT NEWS

2010-05-05T15:29:00.000-04:00

Today we submitted additional paper work to the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship committee and we were APPROVED!! This is such wonderful news and a miraculous answer to prayer. Now those students who are currently enrolled in a public school and have and IEP Individual Educational Plan can receive scholarship funds if they choose to enroll in our program!! This has been a long and tedious process, but so worth the effort. Thank you for praying for us and for continuing to ask God to lead the 21 children HE wants to be in our school to enroll.

Marching Around the Walls--Lap 5

2010-05-04T09:22:00.001-04:00

The last couple of weeks have been such a blur and and mixture of great excitement mixed with tremendous anxiety. The new materials I ordered have come in, I spent two days visiting local up-scale childcare centers handing out our new brochures, we are driving around town with magnetic signs on our cars, and we assembled 25 enrollment packets. My dreams are filled with classroom set up and we even purchased a couple of zoo toobs to set up some history lessons and story starters. God has been so faithful in providing the place we wanted and the staff we need. We have interviewed with a couple of other teachers and are feeling really good about our staff. The third part of the puzzle; however, is not yet falling into place. We really need students!

We have interviewed with a half dozen prospective parents and our school is really just what they are looking for, but no applications have come in yet. I feel like Joshua marching around the walls of Jericho. I know is not day 7 yet, but I am not seeing any indication that the walls are going to fall. I keep looking for cracks, but all I get is an occasional pebble falling down. It is times like this when the enemy really wants me to doubt: did God really call us to do this at this time? Is He really going to provide the students? Are we really going to be able to make budget? Are we going to get the scholarship funds? Am I going to look extremely foolish to have tried to open a business in this economy?

I do believe know that God asked to to open this school in this place at this time and I am confident that He will provide exactly the 21 students who He wants to be here--I just wish He would give me an idea of who they might be!! I have always asked for three basic things: a place, a staff, and students. He has provided first two already! Our Big Idea in Upstreet last month was Trust and this month it is Patience--God does have a great since of humor! Now for some great news!

Taffy was here and we served at the Orange Conference--while she was here we also visited Buckhead School Uniforms and selected our school uniforms--we will have Navy and Khaki skorts, shorts, and slacks. The shirts will be Hunter green, light blue, and yellow! Also, we partnered with Apogee to accept GA Tax Credit funds for our students' scholarships. Please check out all the great information on that at our website--especially if you live in GA. Today I am hopefully finishing up all the paperwork needed to submit our 501 c 3 application, and most importantly, I am talking one more time to the lady who heads the Special Needs Scholarship Program.

This brings us back to our most urgent prayer request. We have 3 potential students who would love to enroll, but they must have the scholarship funds to do so. The GA Senate is over for this session, and we were not able to get any assistance from the Senator's office--I am not fully convinced that the young girl trying to help us really understood the problem. Right now our accountant is working on a projected profit/loss statement along with documentation from our coffee business to allow that business to sponsor the school--all in an effort to prove our financial viability to become a qualified school so the students who are eligible to receive the Special Needs scholarships can enroll with us.

I have consistently prayed that God would work such a miracle in allowing us to open this school that only He could receive the Glory. We are in the final few days now to get our school approved and we need that miracle NOW, so please pray that hearts would be softened and the committee would approve us--we have one week before the final vote.

We are marching, we are praying, and we are EXPECTING walls to fall!

Let the little children come!

2010-04-16T08:18:00.000-04:00

This week our website launched and we are so proud of it--the guys at Blue Tangerine Solutions did a great job, as usual. Check it out and let me know what you think www.mchnf.org ! We have magnetic signs on our cars and the big wooden sign goes up in the yard--at the school site--this morning. The business cars and brochures should be ready on Monday. We are asking EVERYONE to earnestly pray that God will send the 21 students He wants to be enrolled this fall and that He will provide a way for them financially so they can attend.

We have had a few discussions with a young girl at the Senator's office and are not totally convinced she understands the process and the battle we are up against, but have sent another letter to the Special Needs Scholarship Committee in an effort to gain approval for the children who qualify for that program. We appreciate your prayers for that effort also as it will make a HUGE difference and in some cases a defining difference for some potential students to enroll. The basic problem we are having is proving financial viability since we are not yet in operation and cannot produce a three month profit/loss statement. If you know any creative CPA's who could help, please let me know!!

In addition to the great study in Esther that has been so meaningful in this process, I am also reading a book by Priscilla Shirer entitled One in a Million. In this book she challenges us to be the one in a million who is totally controlled by God's leadership and uses the story of the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Promise Land as the backdrop. The fact that they spent 40 years in the wilderness before arriving at the land of milk and honey is a challenge to draw close to God during the desert experience and not to wander. I know that the next few weeks of being TOTALLY dependent upon God to provide the students could be a time of wilderness, but I am praying for peace in my spirit and quiet confidence that "He who began a good work will see it through to completion". I know that "He is able to do IMMEASURABLY more than we ask or imagine". From the beginning, we have asked that God work in such miraculous ways through this entire process that only He could receive the Glory and providing the students will certainly be something only He can accomplish!

Thank you again for your words of encouragement and for your prayers. I am so excited to for the children who will be freed from the discouragement of traditional education and standardized testing and will become self confident and find joy in learning. With God's guidance we will provide Exceptional Christian Education for Exceptional Students!!

For Such a Time as This?

2010-04-04T21:36:00.000-04:00

As I said in my last post, we got our application to the Special Needs Scholarship committee turned in 24 hours early. We felt really good about our application, until I got an email at 1:30 on April 1st. By the time I was able to speak with the lady at the committee to learn exactly why we were denied, we had less than 2 hours to send in an amended application. The real problem is that it appears the system is designed to not allow new schools to qualify.

We knew from the beginning that they would be looking for us to be financially viable--what we didn't know was that the only documents they would accept are documents that we cannot produce until we have been in business for at least three months! The other real problem is that if they do not approve us this year, any children who enroll in our school this year will never be able to receive their scholarship because the law states that the student must be enrolled in a public school the year preceding the year they apply for the scholarship. This is really unfair and discriminating, we feel. We know that many of our students will not qualify for or need the scholarship, but we also know there a some that want to enroll but will not be able to attend without it.

Our Board has written a four page rebuttal to this decision and are fervently praying that the committee will reconsider. We have even suggested that they grant us a provisional approval the first year which would protect the students: they could get their scholarship this year and if we are not approved then the second year they could stay with us and lose their scholarship or change schools and keep it. Because of my study of Esther this semester, I has occurred to me that perhaps God will use our situation to set a precedent for other new schools. And who knows but that we have come to this position for such a time as this? We have a good friend who is related to our state senator and he discussed our situation with him today and gave him our rebuttal to review. He told our friend that he would look into it and see what he could do this week!

So, again, I ask you to PRAY!! First of all that we, like Esther, are careful to be respectful of the authorities in place and not offend them. Most importantly, we pray that everything we say and do will Glorify God and be an example of Christ's love. We also pray that the Senator will carefully read the rebuttal and successfully intervene on our behalf. Lastly, we do pray that the hearts of the committee will be changed and we will be accepted as a school eligible to receive Special Needs Scholarships and that God will provide all the students we need to pay all of our bills and be a financially viable school!!

Thank you for all of your prayers and encouraging words. We KNOW that God is in the center of this entire project and that He is in control! Our scripture this week is Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Holy Week--when God did the unthinkable

2010-03-31T23:23:00.000-04:00

An amazing week. It has only been two weeks since my last post, but so much has happened I hardly know where to begin. My most overriding emotion is gratitude--to many of you who have faithfully prayed, to our Board and good friends who have worked hard, and most importantly to God for His faithfulness. April 1 is the deadline to have our completed application in to the Georgia Dept. of Education to be a school eligible to accept SB10 scholarship recipients. One of the biggest challenges to this application was getting the location for our school--documented by a Certificate of Occupancy and a signed lease. The CO was quite challenging as it required several inspections, the installation of a fire alarm system, and the business license. The tricky thing is that a church is meeting in the same space for the next 3 months and they needed to be approved also. All this to say--it is done!!! We sent the completed application in yesterday, with 24 hours to spare!

From the beginning we asked God for a place, a staff, and students. Well, now it is time to start enrolling students, which is also a little challenging since we need to have at least 15, of the 21 total, enrolled by June 1 and we won't have a classroom to show anyone until about July 15th. So again, we ask your prayers for God to select the 21 children He wants to bring to our school--the ones we can truly help. The website should be live in about a week, which is about the time the business cards, the tri-fold brochure, the magnetic car signs, and the big wooden yard sign should be ready.

This next week we hope to finalize our 501 c 3 application, sign off on the insurance, and finalize the staff handbook. We are also finalizing the design for the build-out that needs to be done the first week of July--it is going to look so amazing! God has done so much in the last three months, and believe me, only He could have accomplished all of this!

But this is Holy Week, the time we stop to remember the incredible love of our Savior and the unthinkable sacrifice He made on our behalf. I am once again overwhelmed by what that means. I pray that you will find the time in your busy day to pause and remember and to give thanks--not just for the way He daily answers our prayers blesses us beyond measure, but for the fact that He chose to love and forgive us when we were all so unlovable and so unforgivable. Have a Blessed Easter--we are indeed blessed!

Timing is everything

2010-03-13T20:56:00.000-05:00

This week in our Beth Moore Bible study on Esther we are to the point in the story where Queen Esther stands before the king and He extends his scepter allowing her to speak, and to live! We learned about the importance of her fasting for 3 days before entering the court, but also how odd it was that when she had the chance to reveal her enemy for his evil plot she chose to wait. There was a long discussion of why she waited, but we came away understanding the importance of timing. We were reminded that "those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength", but also that those who wait upon the event, or the relationship, or the thing--will lose their strength! That was profound for me, as I feel I have been waiting for so many things that are out of my control, and it was making me weary.

As I began to change my focus, and wait upon the Lord, trusting that He is in control and He is the God of the details as well as the God of the Dream, my anxiety lessened, and my strength was renewed. Many things have come together this week and I am more confident that we will achieve the goals and meet the impending deadlines.

Our teacher "A" has worked out the details to join us part time and has a peace about it--Praise God! We met with landlords and pretty much came to an agreement to lease the space we need. The required improvements should be completed on time. We opened a bank account, sent all of the necessary information to our account to complete the compilation report needed, secured our domain (www.mchnf..org), discussed business card design with the printer, assembled the binders to submit for accreditation and application to GA Dept of Ed for Special Needs Scholarship--only a few items to go to complete it. We have our first Board Meeting scheduled for this week, and will hopefully get an approval from the insurance underwriters.

It is exciting to see so many things come together, in just the right time. We see God's hand in providing two of the three main things we asked for from the beginning--the staff, the location, and now it is time to begin recruiting the students. Please continue to pray as we have more important decisions to make and important work to be completed before March 25. I will try to do better at updating this blog.

Blessings to all

Exceptional Christian Education for Exceptional Children

2010-02-25T18:30:00.000-05:00

This has been a relatively peaceful week; I feel your prayers and thank you. Not alot has changed in the last few days, but I believe we are on course. We are still awaiting news that our "teacher a" will be able to work part time at her school and part time for us. We need to be ready to sign a lease on the building within the next few days. We are working on a packet to submit when we apply for accreditation. We cannot be fully accredited until we are operational, but we just need a letter from the consultant stating that we are in the process.

We filed the papers for incorporation, so we are official! Montessori Children's House of North Forsyth. We almost have all of our board members--so excited for the great team God has assembled, and soooo ready to have a few more people reviewing and editing my work. I got the rough draft of the 501(c)(3) application and thankful that the company who filed the incorporation papers will also assist in completing this 28 page form and file it! We need to tweak the rough draft of the by-laws, but that should be very doable, especially with the assistance of some talented Board members!

A friend is working on our logo. I took the old one I had in 1980 and she is going to modernize it a little. I found the jump drive containing all the documents I created at my last job (Thank you, Jesus!) including the Staff Handbook, the Parent Handbook, and quite a collection of forms. This is making my task sooo much easier. In about 2 hours I had the Parent Handbook ready for Board review. I will work on the Staff Handbook this weekend.

Today in Bible Study, (Beth Moore/Esther) Beth had us think about our greatest fears and how they can be so crippling if we let the enemy keep threatening us with the worst case scenario. She challenged us to say "If (worst case scnario) happens, then GOD will still be on His throne and still take care of us! I believe now, more than ever that we are called to open this school at this time and in this place for His Glory, IF this is not the case, He is still God and we will remain in His Grip.
Praying expectantly

Getting closer, but still a long way to go

2010-02-21T00:07:00.000-05:00

It has been a few days and sooooo much has happened. First of all let me say I can tell you all are praying and I really appreciate it! Of course someone out there is praying for me to have patience, and when I find out who it is they are dead meat! :)

There have also been a few questions, and since I often get ahead of myself let me clarify the deadlines we are facing: Because we have a very specific target audience--children who have been in the public system and have a current IEP because they can get free scholarship money to attend "eligible" schools--we must be an eligible school to insure a full class. In order to be an eligible school we have to have our completed application in to the school board by April 1. The application has to include the Certificate of Occupancy of the space in which we will be meeting, the resume's of the teachers, the proof that we are in the process of accreditation, and proof of financial viability. There are many components to this process and they are all lined up like dominoes!

Now for this week's report: we still do not know if we can lease the space we want, but it is looking much more favorable in our direction. I spent some serious time with the landlords and the fire marshall this week, and I think as soon as I can go to the landlords with a real offer, they will accept it.

So disappointed that we might not get "teacher a", but trying to be open to whatever God wants, I put a small ad online to try and find a teacher. I got three replies--2 international and one local. I met with the one who is local and found her to be delightful! She does not have an elementary ed degree, but does have a BS in liberal arts with a minor in psychology. She has home schooled, worked in a couple of Christian elementary schools, and done extensive tutoring. She is not Montessori trained, but has always been intrigued by Montessori and is willing to take the online course. Her philosophy is very similar to mine and I think she would be a great fit! I still think we need "teacher a" because she does have an elementary ed degree with a specialty in special ed and almost nine years experience.

Now for the really exciting part--if I hired the lady who is local, "teacher b", full time and could get "teacher a" part time I think it would work. "Teacher a" and I talked about this option and she said if that were possible she would know with clarity that this is what God wants her to do. She has really struggled with this decision as she believes to strongly in what we are trying to do and wants to be a part of it, but she is one year away from her long time goal of being vested and does not feel God wants her to give that up. At any rate, she spoke with her principal to see if she would hire her part time next year. This would allow her to complete her required 10th year in the system to be vested, and also let her work with us. At first the principal said "no", but then said, "Let me work on it"!!! So needless to say we are so excited that this could be the win-win for everyone that we have been praying for.

The best part of all is that after several stressful days and nights, both "teacher a" and I have a peace that God is working things out and He has reminded us how trustworthy He is. We still can't totally trace His hand in every detail, but we do trust His heart. We are more confident than ever in the vision for helping children and offering exceptional Christian education for exceptional children at this time and in this place.

Thank you so much for your prayers--please continue to pray for God to guide each step and for us to clearly see what He wants us to do. And if you are the one praying for us to have patience, please--quit it!!! :)

Decisions, decisions

2010-02-16T08:05:00.000-05:00

We had a great weekend in Charleston with family and I let my mind relax a little as I continued to ask God to clearly reveal the next steps, if any. We have had some very positive and encouraging things to happen.

Most excitedly (is that a word?), is the fact that Sunday afternoon I got a call from the owner of the place we originally wanted to lease. As it turns out, the church is meeting in the space, but no contracts have been signed, and the owners really feel our school would be a better fit, so they wanted to know if we were still interested!! This is the end unit of the building where hundreds of children with special needs come for therapy sessions each week. They offer physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc. One of the owners who is Ryan's therapist, told me this week she has at least six students who are very interested in enrolling! Even better news is that they will do the renovations necessary to meet the fire code and although I would need to sign the lease soon so that I could get the Certificate of Occupancy before April 1, there is a possibility the church would continue to meet there until I needed to move in, July 1st. This would give the church additional time to find another location and would help me as paying rent for 5 months before we have any income is a bummer.

I also have heard from six of the eight people we asked to be on the Board and five have agreed to do so! The team is looking great as there is a diverse mix of people with varied expertise.

A lady called me and asked if I would be interested in doing some infant/toddler Montessori teacher education for her. This would be an on going, part time job doing what I love! It would be a way to earn some serious money for the school and would be very doable as I have done it several times before and have what I need--God provides!

The only real obstacle, and it is huge, is that our original teacher still feels she cannot commit to this. I am very saddened as I know she would be perfect for the job. I have listed the job through a couple of Montessori job search websites and spent a couple of hours reading resume's. I emailed one girl who showed promise, but I do not have any peace about hiring someone I do not know. I have spent a pretty sleepless night praying and thinking.

It is critical that when we open, we are a huge success for several reasons: most importantly because this a venture of faith. I know that God is directing all of this and His name is all over it in every way. He must be glorified in all that is done. It is also critical for children as it is a big step for parents to remove them from a public system, even a broken one, and move them to our school. We must make a huge difference in their lives, and that responsibility lies directly on the shoulders of the lead teacher. I know that this has been a difficult decision for "teacher A" but I am confused that she is getting one message, to stay where she is, and I am getting an opposite message: she needs IS the teacher.

Our immediate prayer request is complete clarity. I will need to give an answer regarding the building this week and I cannot sign a lease without the right teacher in place. If I do not sign the lease, they will offer it to the church and that space is lost. I am also running out of time to meet the April 1 deadline, so PLEASE take a few minutes now and ask God to clearly shut this down or to make His will abundantly clear as to who is to teach for us if we are to open this fall. Thank you so much for your prayers!

Prayer

2010-02-10T09:48:00.000-05:00

This was on Ragamuffin Soul's blog yesterday, but it so captures where my heart is today that I stole it. I hope you will have the courage to pray this over whatever situation you find yourself and I really hope you will pray it for me.

My Lord God
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself,
and the fact that I think I am following
your will does not mean
that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that my desire to please you
does in fact please you.
And I hope that I have that desire
in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything
apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this
you will lead me by the right road
though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always
though I may seem to be lost
and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear,
for you are ever with me,
and you will never leave me
to face my perils alone.
- Thomas Merton (1915-1968)

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

2010-02-08T19:47:00.000-05:00

Today has been a difficult day. Several important things have changed and that could have a major impact on the ability to open the school this fall. I am trying to not be discouraged, as I must trust this is all part of His plan, but I am confused and not quite sure what to do next. Let me elaborate.

First of all, as I said at the beginning, I have been preparing for some time to be ready in case God leads us to open a school again, but I have not tried to manipulate anything. So, when Ryan's teacher said she had been giving great thought to leaving her job and helping me provide an environment for him and other kids in his situation, I felt this was perhaps a nudge from God. Then when so many other things feel into place so easily, it seemed apparent this was THE time. I (and many of you, thank you) have been faithfully praying for God's leading each step of the way, and I trust He is leading, even today.

Today, our teacher told me she has decided not to move ahead with us, and although she believes in what we want to do, she is unable to be our teacher. While I certainly do not ever want anyone to do something unless that is what they feel God wants them to do, I thought we were past this. I am saddened on many levels because if she is not the one, then the chances of some of the other student's at Ryan's school who we had hoped would join us, probably will not. This means that we will need to look harder for students and more importantly that Ryan will not have any of his friends move with him next year. I am struggling with understanding this since we are well into the process.

Secondly, we are facing an approaching deadline that could be very difficult. In order to have the school eligible to receive the scholarship funds we must have our completed application in no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday, April 1, 2010. There is one part of the application that seems impossible at this point: we must have a signed Certificate of Occupancy. This gives us less than 2 months for the architect and the site engineer to finish their drawings, the owner/builder to bid the renovations, the bank to approve our mortgage, and all of the work to be completed! The really frustrating thing is that the meeting to approve our application will not take place until May 13th, so the application will sit there for 6 weeks, but we cannot submit it unless it is totally complete on April 1--no exceptions.

So......we have already paid the architect a sizable deposit--do we have him just stop? We are not sure where to begin to recruit a teacher and have no one "in the wings". What does this mean? Is God putting the brakes on this all together or is this a test to see if we are willing to hang tough? I really don't know, and would really appreciate your prayers.

Did I mention that we sent letters to all potential Board members this weekend? We also completed most of the paper work to file for incorporation--do we go ahead and submit it, along with the $1500 fee? I am just not sure and would really appreciate clarity. Also, as a side note, I almost didn't share all this lest we appear as a failure before we even get off the ground, but that would seem to really be hypocritical; we have shared all of the good things, and so it seems we must also share the bad and the ugly. This is where we are--sure wish we had the Board of advisors now!!

February 4th

2010-02-04T22:45:00.000-05:00

Thirty years ago today I opened Montessori Children's House on Merritt Island--what a long time ago--I don't FEEL that old. In some ways it seems like just yesterday. I had worked for my Bible College professor in Kansas in the little school she opened. I saw all the work that she did and I spent two years getting to the little church building before dawn on Monday morning to set up the school. Then I stayed late on Friday to pack it all up. Those were long days, but I was young and it worked. The children taught me so much and my professor, Betty, taught me so much. When I moved back to FL I was sad to leave, but vowed to never open my own school--it was just too much work!

When I got back to Florida I worked several part time jobs, including doing some substitute teaching in some of the local elementary schools. I saw some amazing teachers and some precious children. I also saw many worn out, over worked and underpaid teachers who had no joy. The "system" had drained from them the ideals and dreams that first inspired them to teach. They were not bad people, they just lost their motivation to give their best and it was the children who paid the price. Day after day I saw children whose eyes were once filled with curiosity and excitement gradually glaze over and they lost their self confidence. I remember the day I came home and told my parents, "Even if I do everything wrong, I can do better than this."

Seventeen years ago today I had the honor of beginning my Montessori birth to three training--that was life changing. Rachel was just a toddler herself and I learned so much. Since that time I have not only opened several infant and toddler classes. I have also been blessed to teach adult students some of the amazing things I learned. This day early in February has significance for me in my Montessori career.

I believe opening a Montessori for older children who learn differently is what we are supposed to be doing at this time. I don't have all the answers, we don't have all the funds, and I am not totally convinced that we have found the location. I do know that there are children, my son included, whose eyes are beginning to glaze over and who are losing their self confidence, and even if I do everything wrong, I can do better than this, and I must.

2010-02-03T10:47:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a very busy day! I talked to my accountant to discuss getting on with filing our incorporation papers and filing for our 501 (c) 3 status with the IRS. I knew this was an involved process and was prepared to put in the time necessary; I did not know how expensive it is! For Pete's sake we are non profit, that means we don't have an extra $100,000 lying around to fund this project!! Well, it is not that much, but it will cost about $2500 for him to do the work and then the IRS can take a year to tell you if they accept your application. He suggested I do more internet research before I contract with him.

To make a long story short, I spent several hours researching, viewing sample bylaws--the writing of which is a big part of the process, and praying about approaching potential Board members. I learned alot and think we will use a different, faster, a little less expensive, service to incorporate, but we must do that today! We also decided we are not ready to hire the grant coaching/writing service yet. They, too are expensive, but until we have our status approved by the IRS our chances of getting funding are very slim.

Edgar and I talked again about how much more work this is to rent and renovate the house as opposed to locating a place to lease that would require much less work. We feel the house is the best location, but determined to drive around a bit more and just look for a place to lease. We then reviewed our commitment to this venture and our motive for doing it.

It is true that I feel this is my "life's work" and I have a strong passion for doing this well--I also have a basement filled with Montessori materials that really need to be used! The real urgency for this though is our son. Ryan is an amazing little boy whom we adopted late in our life. Most of our friends have grandchildren his age, but we love him so much and are so grateful to have him! He is struggling in school and I feel we can, and must do better for him. We don't care if he makes great grades, we just want him to reach his God-given potential and feel great about himself. He is on the Autism spectrum but we refuse to let that define him. He learns differently and we praise God for those differences. He should not be forced to remain in a system that requires he be measured against children who learn conventionally. Scripture teaches that we should "train up a child the way he should go..." The idea being that we should give support and structure to the personality, and development God intended. He has two more years of elementary school and we must to everything in our power to make sure he can be successful.

Okay, I will get down from my soapbox, but I say this to say we are absolutely committed to opening a program this fall and are confident God will show us where it is to be and how we will do it. For now I am working on the bylaws and a letter to invite Board members who share our passion and are willing to help us accomplish it.

One last note--the owner of the 7 acres called me to see what we thought about the property. He also mentioned that a church was looking at it too!!!!! I asked God what in the world He was thinking, (God and I go way back; He is not offended when I question Him). I am reminded: one step at a time, one step at a time. This post should give you some specifics to pray about, and if any of you have suggestions/experience regarding the non profit filing and bylaws I would love to hear from you!

Some professional assistance

2010-02-01T21:16:00.000-05:00

As it turns out the little house around the corner is charming. It does need some renovations but it is almost across the street from the elementary school, which means advertising to our target audience would be greatly simplified. It is also zoned correctly, sits on an acre of land, and is about a mile from my house---sweet.

Today I spent most of the day with the architect, the fire inspector, the folks at planning and zoning, and the realtor. This house is very doable, but we had to hire an architect to draw plans as the house was built in 1936, and we will need to add a bathroom and open up a few walls. We will also need to hire an engineer for the site plan. The owners of the house are custom builders and will give us a bid on doing the required work. We are hoping they will do most of the work at cost so that they can sell the house and we can include the cost of renovations in the mortgage--feel free to add any and all of that to your prayer lists for us!

I believe that private schools should be accountable to an outside agency. The preschools I have directed or owned have always been licensed and often won awards. We want to have our elementary program accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission. This will not only give credibility to our program, but more importantly, it will allow us to accept SB10 Scholarship money from our parents. This will not only be of great value to our parents, but will virtually assure us a full class.

We moved to GA in the summer of 2006 and in the spring of 2007 our Govenor signed SB10 into law; he signed it on my birthday. :) This is designed for children with special needs who have been in the public school system and have an active IEP for at least one year. Should they decide to enroll their child in a private school, they are eligible for scholarship funds from the state--funds which will continue through the 12th grade! The interesting thing is that schools must qualify to receive the scholarships, but they do NOT have to do anything to accommodate the needs of the student!! In order to qualify, the school must be accredited and complete all of the paperwork for the scholarships correctly. We can qualify as a non-traditional program, but by July 1, 2013 we must have a campus that is at least 4 acres.

So, while the architect was here we walked the 7 acres that we found two weeks ago--did I not mention that yet? Oh yeah, God is just showing Himself faithful in so many ways. We were driving on a road near our shop that we travel all the time, but just noticed a little "for sale by owner" sign. The 7 acres are about 5 miles from the house and the owner will finance the property! Since we know we have only 3 years to build on at least 4 acres, this was an unexpected blessing! It is in a great location and the architect walked it today with us and felt was a great property--flat enough but with some great trees! Not sure how we are going to finance two properties at once, but we are taking this one step at a time.

Lastly we are supposed to sign with a grant writer/coach tonight. It is exciting, scary, fun, and amazing watching God orchestrate this amazing adventure! Thanks for your prayers!

Never presume anything!

2010-01-31T21:09:00.000-05:00

Almost 18 months ago we were all set to open a small Montessori preschool program. The typical model of Montessori schools is that a single preschool room opens and as the waiting list grows, another class is opened. Then parents love the program and want their children to continue in Montessori, so a lower elementary class is started, and/or they have younger siblings so a Toddler program is added. This was our plan also.

We found the "perfect" location as it is in a great location--highly visible from a major highway and in a building where occupational services are offered to children--so it gets alot of traffic from families. We spent time checking with all the local officials and did a budget, a floor plan, etc., and all was going great until we got the Environmental Health office. It seems this relatively new building was built on a small piece of land and does not have a sewer system. Since preschools require a lot of sinks and toilets and the septic field was already at maximum capacity we were stopped in our tracks! Very disappointing but we took it as a clear indication that this was either not the time, not the place, or neither.

A few weeks ago as it became more clear that we needed to start with an elementary program, we went back to the "perfect" space we wanted to lease--it has set new, unoccupied for almost 3 years. This time, because we were talking about older children, the bathroom was no longer an issue--yeah! We got permission for 15 students and 2 adults. We were so excited and called the landlord to hear these words, "Oh, I wish you would have called sooner--we are signing a contract with a church this weekend to lease that space." Wow! I was really surprised and had a flashback to a very difficult time in my life 22 years earlier.

In 1980 I opened the first Montessori school in Brevard County, FL. The school began in my home church in a rented space, and in 1983 I built a building for 100 children. When Edgar and I met in 1986 and decided to get married, I knew I would need to sell the school. We had two groups who wanted to buy it. Both groups promised to keep the staff and students; one was a couple whose child was enrolled in the school, the other was the church to whom I had been leasing the school to on the weekends. The church had an investor who was out of the country but who had pledged to front the money when he got back in town before the end of the school year. Both were good offers, but we wanted to support the church so we accepted their offer and the parents invested their money elsewhere.

Two weeks prior to the closing the investor came to town and decided he didn't want the church to own our building and he withdrew his offer. To say this created a huge amount of stress is an incredible understatement! I won't recount the entire story, but suffice it to say it was a difficult time. Now, I certainly do not want to have our school anywhere but where God wants it to be, but this thing with churches is a bit unnerving!

Believing that we are supposed to open this fall with an elementary program, we sent back to our knees and asked God for the next step. This was on a Thursday. Friday afternoon Edgar came home and said, "Hey, what do you think about that little house just around the corner? It is for sale and I think we should go look at it." So we did.....stay tuned.

Something is going on

2010-01-30T23:40:00.000-05:00

While waiting to see if God was going to ask me to open a school, I was busy doing all I knew to do--I think I mentioned a few of those things in my last post. The really surprising thing is that all the while I had a real peace about the whole waiting thing. I seriously was not anxious or impatient, just peaceful.

I was not as peaceful regarding my son's education. I know I am somewhat idealistic, but I want him to retain his excitement for school, his wake up in the morning before dawn and eagerly prepare for the day happy. I also want him to learn, but more importantly, I want him to want to learn. He used to. But this year he is in the third grade and the majority of his education involves testing and preparing for testing. If he is being fully educated it is not translating. His joy of learning is fading, and that is leaving my spirit anything but peaceful.

Early in the school year I asked one of his former teachers if she would consider tutoring him. She said "yes" and that helped some, but this is a year that requires the memorization of math facts and the ability to process abstract concepts in language and math--things that are difficult for a child who is just beginning to think abstractly. And he has homework--I don't like homework. He gets on the bus before 7:00 am and I pick him up from after care about 4:30. That leaves 3 hours to have dinner, shower, brush his teeth and play. Yes, play. I think it is important to still be a child and play. If he can't get it in the 7 hours he is in the classroom, then he is just not getting it and sending him home with more school work to be completed is just insulting; I don't like it.

Around Thanksgiving I began to suggest, jokingly of course, that she resign her job and just homeschool Ryan and a few of his friends--as it turns out she is tutoring several of them. I painted a lovely picture of a shortened work day, the opportunity to inspire children, and help them accomplish individual goals. Obviously she could not afford to do that, so I reluctantly dismissed the thought. Evidently she did not.

Just after the first of the year she told me she had been given serious prayer and thought to what I had said. I could not believe my ears, but decided I should further investigate the possibility of getting together a few kids and hiring her. When I began to look into all that would be involved, things begin to happen so quickly, so easily, and so unexpectedly, my only conclusion had to be--"hmmm I wonder what God is up to?" Let me tell you--He is up to alot!! I will tell you more next post.

I believe He asked

2010-01-28T21:47:00.004-05:00

Blogging is an interesting thing and obviously there are a variety of reasons why one chooses to blog, for me it began as an easy way to communicate with family and friends. Then came Facebook and Twitter and that seemed easier so I have not written on the blog for over a year. Now I want to begin again, and for a specific reason--I want to share my current journey and I need to know there are a group of you supporting me--in prayer, in well wishes, and with advice. So if you would like to accompany me, read on.

I have had an amazing life and am so grateful for the millions of experiences I have had, wonderful friends and family in my life, interesting jobs, and glorious Bodies of believers in many states with whom I have had the honor of serving. Not all of the paths were paths of my choosing and some were difficult, but my loving Heavenly Father has used each part of the journey to perfect His plan for my life. I am still here, so obviously He is not finished--thank you God.

About 2 years ago our pastor, Andy Stanley, preached a sermon based on the story in Matt 14 when Jesus walked on water and Peter joined him. The part I had not really noticed before was when Peter said, "tell me to come to you on the water". See, Peter asked the Lord to ask him to come and when He did, Peter was able to walk on the water.

I have had a dream for several decades that I wanted to open another Montessori school--one that was fully Christian and would honor God, but 'I have been there, done that', and I know the work and risk involved, so I have not opened another school. After hearing that sermon, God began to work in my heart and I felt a strong conviction to say, "tell me to come (do)" and I even wrote and asked some of you to pray for me as I waited on the Lord to ask; thank you for those of you who have prayed--He heard you.

I felt that God was asking me to do some things as I was waiting, so I did what I knew to do. I have been listening to many podcasts on leadership, reading blogs and even some books on leadership, I lost 65 pounds (still hoping to lose another 40) so I could work on the floor in the classroom if I needed to teach, and prayed earnestly for God to give me a specific vision for what He wanted me to do.

I believe He is asking and I think it is time for me to blog about this journey for several reasons. First of all for accountability--I need courage to follow through and do the work. Also, there may be some of you who are feeling called to do something bigger than yourself and hopefully following my journey will be of help to you. So, if you are interested, check in--I will write as much as I can and would appreciate your insight, suggestions, prayers and feedback.

Thanks and hang on, this promises to be quite a ride!

Our Jonesy

2008-12-22T23:02:00.003-05:00

For the two or three (family members I'm sure) who still check in to see if I am still a member of the blogging world, a little video for your viewing pleasure. We celebrated Christmas last night with Grandmommie and Granddaddy Bishop. The hat and Ryan is wearing and the whip he is wielding in this video are are by far his favorite presents! Hope I can load this video!!
Will try to blog a little more often too, not like we haven't had a ton of stuff going on.

I won!

2008-10-28T16:59:00.002-04:00

It has been a long time since I have won anything, in fact I don't think I can remember if I have ever won anything before, but today, I won. I hope you read Beth Moore's blog--mostly because she is funny, insightful, wise, and it will bless your heart. Occasionally she runs a contest and gives away prizes, and today I was the first runner up in her latest, see:

Our next five winners are:
1) Christine at "Christine's Corner"
2) Trish Wagner
3) Sue in Las Vegas
4) Gene54
5) Twinkle

*Applause and cheers for these five siestas*

So Thanks Beth, that made my day! Could you pass my name on the to folks at Publisher's Clearing House, they often give away things too.
Happy Tuesday!

Night for Africa

2008-10-25T08:03:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago we had the honor of attending the 2nd annual night for Africa sponsored by 410 Bridge. Last year it was held at Northpoint Community Church and was really cool. This year they moved it to the Gwinett Center to coincide with the conclusion of Catalyst 08. I think that worked because so many of the Catalyst conferees stayed for it. Obviously the setting was not as intimate, and many of the participants were tired, but it still was an amazing evening.

In addition to great music by Fee, we heard the children from Africa sing, and Jeff Foxworthy hosted the event. He is very funny, but also a very committed Christian who openly shared his faith. The event was a fund raiser, and I hope they raised a lot of money because they are doing some amazing things for Jesus in Kenya. Oh yeah, and at the end all we groupies went down for autographs and pictures!

Next Time

2008-10-24T15:55:00.001-04:00

This is dedicated to all my friends and family members who are pastor's wives!

What we need is Change

2008-10-22T07:59:00.003-04:00

I really love this time of year, especially here in north GA. The air is crisp, the sun is bright, and the leaves are turning millions of colors of red, yellow, and orange. I have already made the first batch of cabbage patch stew, and am considering getting out the hot chocolate. My fall decorations make the house seem so cozy and warm. The seasons are changing and it is exciting. It is interesting to me that when fall comes and everything changes I welcome that; usually change is difficult for most of us. Maybe it is because this change is so clothed in beauty; or perhaps it is because I have experienced this change before and am confident of the outcome. For whatever reason, I welcome the change in weather and am grateful fall is here. Change seems to be the buzz word during this election year, but all that is accompanying it is not very beautiful. We have two weeks left and there will be change; I only pray it will be a change for the better.

I strongly support our democracy and encourage everyone to vote, but I have also been reminded, in Proverbs 21:1 that "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases." The Lord is in control and regardless of who wins the presidency, His will will be done. He is not limited by man, good or evil, and should He choose to allow us to pursue our greedy and evil ways, that does not mean He will abandon us. I believe it does mean that Believers will be forced to sacrifice and live out our convictions more faithfully, and that may be a change for many. As Tony Campolo reminds us, "We are not called to happiness, but to holiness."

Yes, change is in the air, and I believe that for many Christians we may be on the brink of changing from somewhat of a complacent faith to an active testimony of God's grace. The leaves would never be the beautiful colors of fall were it not for the fact that they were dying. The Lord wants His bride, the Church, to be a beautiful witness of His love. The change we see in the future could be that she will need to die to selfish desires, and let His love change her to be a brillant, muliticolored picture to the world. I agree, it is time for a change.

Our Tennessee Vacation

2008-10-17T07:52:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago I mentioned that we took a short family vacation and someone commented they would like to know more about that, so if you are still reading, let me tell you.

We went to Chattanooga for 3 days and had a nice, relaxing time. The city was not as big as I thought, which was a pleasant surprise. We went to Ruby Falls, which I had heard about for years, but did not realize it is an underground falls--several hundred feet underground. Lookout mountain is a long mountain, located in more than one state. When you visit Ruby Falls you begin by going down in an elevator a couple of hundred feet. Then you walk almost a mile underground in the cave. While we were walking on almost ground, the mountain above us was getting higher, so by the time we reached the falls we were almost 1000 feet underground. All of this was a little disconcerting to both Rachel and Edgar; strangely enough that did not bother me--my issues are with heights.

The falls were pretty, I think the water falls 45 feet and there are colored lights that have been placed there to give a lovely effect. It was cool and damp in the cave but not uncomfortable. The little boys did well with all the walking. We did not do the incline railroad, but it was a nice adventure.

A little surprise was that Lookout Mountain, the tourist part, is actually in Georgia! To get to it you start up the road in Tennessee, but when you get to the top you are in GA!! I remember seeing the signs for it all in TN and VA when I was younger, no signs in GA. I took my word for it that you can see 7 states, I looked, but with out the map lines it is hard to tell. The wildflowers on the path were really pretty and I did okay with the heights.

We also ate at one of my favorite places, one that we do not have in GA--Qdoba's! It was great! We also visited Cheeburger Cheeburger--a LOT of great American food! We ended our visit with a riverboat lunch cruise. The kids enjoyed the view and we had a couple of hours to just visit and relax.

We always enjoy time with family from CA. The boys are so cute together, the van ride with eight people is an adventure, and overall it was a great trip! There you have it!

Best Alarm Clock

2008-10-15T22:38:00.004-04:00

So when Edgar is away on business, he really likes for me to let Ellie, our dog, off the lease at night. She normally sleeps right inside the back door, but on a lease. She is a great watchdog and will alert us if any unknown being--human or animal comes in the yard, so I have no problem with her sleeping inside; I do prefer that she stay on the leash as I do not want her wandering around the house-ever.

But, being the submissive wife that I am (quit snickering) I let her off the leash the other night and let her sleep on the floor beside Edgar's side of the bed. At 5:55am Rachel came into my room breathing very heavily and with fear in her voice said, "Mom, Mom, Ellie was is my room and I felt her breathing in my face--it scared me to death!"

Evidently at some point early in the morning, Ellie very quietly went upstairs to check on the children and when she got to Rachel she very lovingly laid her head on the bed right next to Rachel's face. Needless to say, the child was AWAKE!

Where Do I Begin?

2008-10-13T23:30:00.002-04:00

When you get too busy to blog and you go weeks, months!, without a word, it is increasing difficult to get back into it. So many things have happened, but I must resist the temptation to try and blog about all of them, lest this would be so long no one would read it! I will hit the highlights and vow to be more faithful in writing. We are doing well by God's grace.

Rachel--a Sr. this year (how is that possible?!?!), beautiful, smart, independent, in love, missing Kenya, singing in choir, co-leading a group of 7th grade girls at church, and still won't learn to cook!!
Ryan--doing really well in school--almost reading for pleasure, active in cub scouts--he is a Bear this year, gaining more skills in soccer and playing very well, is our resident expert on the Titanic.
Edgar--jet setting between Jamaica and South Fl--finishing a cemetery job in FL and farming in JA. At home he and Ryan are enjoying their new canoe, and is contemplating opening a coffee roasting operation here.
I am staying busy with the coffee Internet business--creating gourmet coffee baskets, co-coaching 17 amazing kindergarten volunteers at church, and praying about the possibility of a Christian Montessori school here.

The weather in north GA is more than amazing, leaves are turning color, air is brisk, and I am loving every minute of it. We would love to get a contract on our Greensboro house, but God is faithful and keeping us dependent on Him.

We were reminded a few weeks ago that if God invites us to do something He will guarantee its success. So I am doing some 'housekeeping' things to be prepared so that if He asks, I will be ready to say 'yes'. The trick is to let Him do the asking.

She's Driving!

2008-08-27T23:12:00.002-04:00

Yes, it is true, Rachel finally got her Driver's License! It is not that she has taken the test before and failed it, it is that she has not taken it before. She passed with a score of 95 (he graded her down for going too slow), but I really don't think teens need to be driving and have made her wait. The truth is she drives pretty well and if we ever decide to let her borrow the car I am sure she will do fine!

Ryan had his first soccer practice with the new team; it was very encouraging. We have been with the local recreation league for the last three seasons, but made the change to the YMCA league this year. Our first two seasons Ryan's coach was his uncle Phillip and it was a great experience! The last season, after Phillip and Anita moved away, the coach was not so great and the whole experience left much to be desired. My expectations really are not that high--I want a coach who speaks English, shows up for the games, does not stay on his cell phone during the practices, and doesn't let the team just play for the first half of each practice.

Saturday we got to the field a couple of minutes late and the coach was not there, and my first thoughts were, "Oh no, here we go again." To my surprise two of the dad's were there and knew the coach couldn't make the first practice so they were prepared to fill in. They ran drills with the kids, demonstrated techniques, and led a fun and encouraging practice! All of their comments to the kids were very encouraging and really reminded me of the old days with Upward Basketball. I am really looking forward to a great year.

I plan to blog about the great time we had at the HS mini reunion and our Tennessee vacation, but not tonight. Tonight we plan to stay up and watch the "two moons"--hope you get to see it.

The old phone

2008-08-15T10:36:00.002-04:00

We have had a very busy month and I intend to do some serious blogging soon, but for now, let me share a simple story that was sent to me via email. In some ways I think the blogging community has replaced "Information please" for many people. Thank you for your entertaining, comforting, and often inspiring words. You never know what impression you make on others.

When I was quite young, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighbourhood. I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.

Then I discovered that somewhere inside that wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was 'Information Please' and there was nothing she didn't know. 'Information Please' could supply anyone's number and the correct time.

My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbour. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer. The pain was terrible but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy.

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlour and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlour and held it to my ear. 'Information Please' I said into the mouthpiece just above my head. A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.

'Information.'

'I hurt my finger...' I wailed into the phone. The tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

'Isn't your mother home?' came the question.

'Nobody's home but me,' I blubbered.

'Are you bleeding?' the voice asked.

'No,' I replied. 'I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts.'

'Can you open the icebox?' she asked.

I said I could.

'Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger,' said the voice.

After that, I called 'Information Please' for everything. I asked her for help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts.

Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary died. I called 'Information Please,' and told her the sad story. She listened and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, 'Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?'

She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, ' Wayne - always remember that there are other worlds to sing in.'

Somehow I felt better.

Another day I was on the telephone and asked for 'Information Please.'

'Information,' said the now familiar voice.

'How do I spell fix?' I asked.

All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest . When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed my friend very much. 'Information Please' belonged in that old wooden box back home and I somehow never thought of trying the shinny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.

Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity, I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.

A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle . I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister who lived there now. Then, without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown Operator and said, 'Information Please.'

Miraculously, I hear the small, clear voice I knew so well.

'Information.'

I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, 'Could you please tell me how to spell fix?'

There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, 'I guess your finger must have healed by now?'

I laughed, 'So it's really you,' I said. 'I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?'

'I wonder,' she said, 'if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls.'

I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.

'Please do,' she said. 'Just ask for Sally.'

Three months later, I was back in Seattle . A different voice answered 'Information.' I asked for Sally.

'Are you a friend?' she said.

'Yes, a very old friend,' I answered.

'I'm sorry to have to tell you this,' she said.'Sally had been working part-time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago.'

Before I could hang up, she said, 'Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne ?'

'Yes,' I answered.

'Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you.'

The note said, 'Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean.'

I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

Never underestimate the impression you may make on others.

Whose life have YOU touched today?

Lifting you on eagle's wings. May you find the joy and peace you long for.

Life is a journey --- NOT a guided tour. So, don't miss the ride - enjoy life - enjoy family and friends - you don't get a second shot at it.

From the Inside Out

2008-07-24T08:19:00.003-04:00

Well, as much as I enjoy checking my blogline feeds each day, thank you Phillip, and reading everyone else's posts, I can't seem to get to mine too regularly. Sorry, we have been very busy this summer but I will try to do better at making regular posts.

I finally finished reading Andy Stanley's book, It Came From Within. In it he describes 4 negative conditions of our hearts and how to turn them around. The over riding theme is that no matter how you try to dress up the outside, what is on the inside has a way of always coming out--usually at the most inappropriate times. Thus the need to make sure our hearts are in good condition.

I guess God wants to make sure I really get the point because He is giving me some real life illustrations. Remember the problems we were having with the Greensboro house--the leak on the main floor from the toilet, we thought, that was right above it? Remember how we sent Brian up three times to make MAJOR rennovations in the house? He replaced toilets, rebuilt seals and upgraded everything--remodeled the laundry room screened porch, and family room, replaced a ton of stuff. Then we had the wooden floors sanded and refinished, cleaned the carpets, cleaned the house and had it staged. It is gorgeous! The landscaper did his thing and we signed up with Help u Sell and scheduled the first Open House for July 13th.

On July 11th we got a call from the Realtor--the ceiling in the front hallway was leaking and the water was running down the wall--WHAT?!?!?!

To make a long story short, we had him turn off the water and electric and had a roofer check to see if the roof vents were leaking--they have had a lot of rain. All that checked out so we sent Brian up for a fourth trip. He turned everything on and waited--no water. He thought it must have been the A/C condensation. So he repaired the damage and came home. We rescheduled the Open House for this Sunday and yesterday got a call--this time with very ugly pictures--it is leaking again!! Only now we are 24 hours from our first wave of summer guests and our vacation right before school starts, so we can't go back up there now. We have contacted a local man our house stager knows and he will look at it Friday morning. I think he will need to tear out the wall, oh my I don't want to think of the mess that will make!

The moral of this story: No matter how good it looks on the outside, if there is a problem in the heart of the home, it will show and must be dealt with! Okay, Lord we are trying to get at the source of the problem, and if you are trying to tell me something about my heart, could you just come out with it and let me let you fix it? I really need to sell this house. Amen.

Summer fun

2008-07-20T13:50:00.010-04:00

We had a great week with my niece, Anita, and her two girls, Savannah and Rylee. They drove over from Charleston so that we could enjoy some summer memories. The time went by too quickly, but the weather was awesome and the kids enjoyed some great times at the pool and at the park. We were surprised to see how well they were all swimming and learning to dive. Having Rachel and Brando there to play in the water was a nice break for we adults. Thanks to Anita, we also got some great picutes!! Hope you enjoy!

out for a drive

2008-07-17T21:16:00.002-04:00

Since moving from Fl, one of the things Edgar and I really enjoy is going for rides in the country. I know, I know the price of gas is making it an expensive hobby, but both here in GA and while we were in NC we love to do it. The other day we were driving and had an interesting thing happen. Here, we made a video to share:

Plan a Date

2008-07-09T08:58:00.002-04:00

I think the longer you are married the more you have to schedule dates with your spouse. It is not intentional, it is just that kids, jobs, life can take over your calendar and before you know it you can't remember the last time you had a real date. Edgar and I work together, from our home offices, so we have a lot of time together, and often by the end of a long work day we are just too tired to 'go out', but we are working on changing that.

A friend sent me this link to a new movie that is coming out in September and I have marked my calendar to go out with my husband to see this. Take a look at the trailer, and maybe you will want to mark your calendar too, and set a date with your spouse!

A Little Americana

2008-07-05T11:23:00.002-04:00

There is something nostalgic and refreshing about a small town celebration. The whiff of barbecue in the air, the site of babies in strollers, moms and dads walking hand in hand, and youngsters with balloons; it is nice to see a little glimpse of Americana in your own backyard. We began the celebration Thursday evening with blankets, lawn chairs and meeting up with friends to watch the fireworks. Had a great spot and the weather was perfect. Then we got up relatively early Saturday morning to go back for the parade.

We got front row seats and enjoyed watching people set up their camping chairs, umbrellas, blankets and get settled in for the show. There were a few clowns, several police officers on motorcycles. The city of Cumming has this parade annually and most of the participants are old steam engines or restored antique cars. Rachel and Ashley rode with Brandon and some of his cousins on the family steam engine, while we watched from the sidelines. Most of the people on the engines or floats threw candy which is OK, but you can really see the greed in people as kids and adults fight over who can take home the biggest sack of bubble gum and tootsie rolls---why??

Other than the rude lady and her equally rude little girl who sat beside us, it was a great experience. Having spent so many Independence Days in south Florida where it is way too hot to go outside for a parade, this was nice.

Those Lazy, Hazey, Crazy Days of Summer

2008-07-02T08:44:00.003-04:00

Summer is supposed to be a time of leisure, at least that is what my 17 year old daughter keeps trying to tell me. Sleeping until noon, spending hours at the pool, hanging out with friends until the wee hours of the morning, thus the need to sleep until noon. Actually all of this sounds quite attractive to me also, but this little issue of trying to earn a living keeps interrupting my plans for leisure. And as if that were not enough, our 8 year old son has an internal clock that seems to be in sync with the sun. He is ready for sleep about the time the sun goes down, 9:00 pm, and is wide awake when the sun comes up, 6:30 am. Edgar and I find ourselves awake and waiting to know that the teenager is home and nestled in and then up at the crack of dawn to try and monitor what creative things the boy is up to so early. We are exhausted; I am ready for more leisure!

It is the second day of July for pity sake, the kids have been home from school for 40 days. Biblically speaking the number 40 represents testing--it rained for 40 days and nights when Noah was on the ark, the children of Israel wandered in the desert for 40 years, Satan tempted Jesus for 40 days, etc. Does this mean that beginning tomorrow my testing of trying to be calm, pleasant, encouraging, and supportive while in a state of zombiehood (spell check does not consider that a word, but you know what I mean) will be over and I can just SLEEP?!?!?

Actually I do enjoy having them home for the most part. I even sneak down to the pool with them occasionally and momentarily forget my many responsibilities awaiting me once I come back to reality, I mean home. Ryan and I enjoy playing baseball or bowling on the Wii, and Rachel keeps trying to teach me how to play guitar hero, but it is rather futile.

This weekend we do plan to just chill out a little. Ryan and I are hoping to get everyone up and out of the house so we can enjoy the Parade downtown on Friday and Saturday is the annual cookout/hangout at our neighborhood pool. There are a couple of Independence Day musical celebrations on TV this week that I hope to view also. I don't want to ever forget that the reason we can take a few days off and enjoy some leisure time is because of the men and woman who served and died for this country. We have friends and family members in Iraq right now who will not have leisure time because they are actively protecting our freedom.

What will you be doing this holiday weekend? Do you have plans to relax and chill out? How will you honor those who have served and are serving our country to give us this freedom?

A Good Day

2008-06-22T13:51:00.002-04:00

This was a great Sunday to be at church. I am only serving in Upstreet as a substitute this summer, so there are Sundays when they don't need me and Edgar and I can go to the service together; today was one of those Sundays.

First of all it is great to know that regardless of what is 'on the menu' for the day, it will be done with excellence. Rarely to people actually look forward to the announcements at church, but the video announcements done by North Point Ministries are so well done, it is entertainment along with information. Edgar even leaned over, shaking his head and said, "these guys are so creative', and they are.

Worship was led by one of my favorites--Cori Moon. She has a rich mezzo soprano voice and not only can sing so well, she truly leads us in Worship. Today, along with the usual acoustic guitar and drums we had a cello, and two violins. After opening by reading from Psalms she led us in one new son and a couple of older hymns. It was really very meaningful.

Our speaker was John Woodall who gave an inspiring challenge to dads to Teach their children consistently, to Model authentically, and to Pray constantly. His story of raising his own four children to adulthood was not one of all peaches and cream, but very real and practical. At the end Mike Gleason did an awesome job with Cinderella, while the Steven Curtis Chapman video was on the screens. It was a great morning of worship.

We will spend the rest of the day resting, reflecting, preparing for the work week ahead, and thanking God for the awesome privilege of parenting two amazing kids.

I've Been Tagged

2008-06-20T20:58:00.002-04:00

Kathy tagged me to do this, so here goes. . .

WHAT WAS I DOING TEN YEARS AGO? Ten years ago we were living in Pompano Beach and I was staying home helping Edgar with the businesses. We had a fully licensed AMS Montessori School with 5 students in our home. Rachel worked with me using some of the Elementary level materials and we hired one of our good friends as the teacher for the school. Rachel and I were very involved in the home school support group at our church where she was in hand bells and several co-op classes. I sang in the church choir and one of the praise teams. We had a girl from Denmark living with us and had just returned from an around the US 3 month trip. We have precious memories from those times.

MY FIVE FAVORITE SNACKS: I love pastry of most any kind. My favorite desert is Lemon Ice Box pie, mom's recipe. At the movies one must have some popcorn, don't you think? During the summer especially we love to snack on fresh fruit of all kinds. And of course no list would be complete without mentioning dark chocolate.

FIVE THINGS N MY TO DO LIST TODAY: We are getting ready for Edgar to come home after having been away for a week, so today's list was a bit scattered. take Ellie to the groomers to be bathed, pick up coffee from the roaster, take the packed coffee orders to FedEx, finish paying some bills online, spend some quality time with Rachel and Ryan.

THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE A BILLIONAIRE: Wow, a billionaire, now that holds much more possibilities than just being a millionaire!! Well, after giving the Lord 15%, uncle Sam 30%, and saving (in some kind of interest bearing account) 20%, I would make sure my close family members all had homes that were paid for and college funds for their kids. Now for the really fun stuff--I would want to sponsor a couple dozen more kids in Kenya and through World Vision. I would also need to give serious consideration to opening that Christian Montessori School I've always dreamed about.

FIVE JOBS THAT I HAVE HAD: The paying jobs include: being a cashier at Kresege (anyone remember that one)?, being a TA for my college music prof, assisting in the office of Development for my college, working as secretary for MIHS Adult Ed, working as a sales associate and a switchboard operator at JC Penneys, working as a Montessori Teacher and preschool Owner/Director, working as a Montessori Teacher Educator, serving as a Children's Minister, Co-Owner of Internet Coffee Business. Sounds like I can't hold a job, huh? This list would be incomplete without mentioning the most important jobs--the ones without a paycheck--wife and mom.

FIVE BAD HABITS OF MINE: I often start reading books, but never finish them. I stay up until the wee hours of the night watching TV movies when I am alone. I rarely do any kind of formal exercise. I spend too much time with my macbook in my lap--mostly reading blogs. I prefer to sleep late whenever I can, which is not very often.

FIVE PLACES I HAVE LIVED: Arkansas City KS, Merritt Island FL, Manhattan KS, Vero Beach FL, Lantana FL, Deerfield Bch FL, Pompano Bch FL, Greensboro NC, Gainesville GA.

FIVE RANDOM THINGS PEOPLE WOULDN'T KNOW ABOUT ME: I worked as a DJ in college for our college station. I love scrambled egg sandwiches with bacon, lettuce, tomato, cheese, and peanut butter--all the food groups! I taught an eight week class to adult students who mostly spoke Chinese--had an interpreter. My mom left me in the hospital for the first 10 days of my life because she was tired and wanted them to get me on a schedule--it only cost my parents 50 cents a day, I have the bill! I would love to visit NY when the weather is perfect so I could go to Central Park ad visit the Statue of Liberty.

FIVE CD'S I'D HAVE TO HAVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND: Well first of all I would really hate to be on a deserted island--too much sand and humidity for me, but I understand the real question here. Anything by John Denver, The Carpenters, or Sara Groves. The Best of the Beachboys, and anything by Chris Tomlin. (I think CD's were not out when John Denver and Karen Carpenter were recording, but you get the idea).

That should fill you in on most anything you would want to know--not even sure I knew all of this stuff until tonight!

2008-06-19T19:53:00.003-04:00

First of all I sure wish I could figure out how to put Youtube videos on this blog and not just the link!!! I obviously need a blog technical tutor--ugh

I haven't mentioned lately how well my son is doing--he is such an awesome little man. He went to VBS last week at a local Baptist church, our church does not do VBS, and he did so well. First of all entering any new situation is a bit of a challenge, but he went right in and participated enthusiastically all week! We did take a friend with us, but Ryan did not know him--he knew his mom. The highlight was Friday evening at the program when he got up on the stage with the other 350 kids and not only sang in front of a packed out congregation, but even did the hand motions. Edgar, Rachel, and I were all blown away--it was awesome.

He has also learned to navigate my iphone. He knows how to go to You Tube, type in the name of some of his favorite things, Noah's Ark, the Titanic, and Eight Below, and he brings up movies and sits and watches them!! (Yes, I did think about asking him if he could show me how to load videos on to this blog, but I don't want him on my macbook!!).

We are going to the pool almost daily and he tans so easily and deeply--drives Rachel and I nuts, but I am going to try of give you a glimpse of my Coppertone Baby if I can do it without being obscene! Here he is looking for a movie on my phone--yes I do have to remind him to put on clothes after he showers!

2008-06-19T12:49:00.002-04:00

A friend sent this to me--take a lesson it is awesome. file:///Users/jablum/Desktop/NationalAnthem-CactusJH.wmv

Texas Tech University Basketball game, Feb 9th

Five girls ages 6-8

Am entire arena remains silent throughout the song.

I love seeing young people express patriotism; I fear it is lost on many.

A few comments

2008-06-12T21:10:00.002-04:00

Most of us list other blogs and from some of those lists I have found some really interesting sites. I wanted to call attention to a couple that I have listed. First of all if you have never visited thepioneerwoman.com you are missing a real treat. She has a little of everything and she posts almost daily! Whether you like seeing her pictures of life on a cattle ranch, or want a little tutorial in photography, or need to add to your recipe file (not if you are dieting, though), she has something of interest for you. Then if you want a sweet, be it sappy love story, you can read the true story of her romance with her husband, to whom she refers as 'Marlboro Man'. It is a great story and she is an excellent writer.

The other site that is very good is 97secondswithGod. Here Prodigal Jon, of the Stuff Christians Like blog, is doing a daily devotional --one for each chapter of the Bible beginning in Genesis. It is not too late to start as he is only on chapter 5. It is thought provoking, inspirational, and is a nice on-line devotional.

The others, many of which are my good friends and family, are also wonderful and I do appreciate the consistent updates.

There's no place like home!

2008-06-11T20:03:00.002-04:00

In the last week we have done a fair share of traveling and spent too many hours on the road! We are almost ready to put our Greensboro house on the market and let me tell you--that house never looked as good as it does now, at least not when we lived in it! In addition to the fact that it would be financially a wonderful thing to only have one mortgage, I really do think it is a great house in a super neighborhood. I pray the Lord will send the right family to come and make some wonderful memories there and I pray He will send them SOON! Brian is almost finished with his work, Edgar made a second trip to help, and the floors will be done next week. We would appreciate your prayers.

Now that we are back in our real home in GA, Ryan and I are going to VBS all week--he is having a ball and I am really enjoying the 5 year olds. We are teaching the kids to Know God's Truth, Speak God's Truth, and Live God's Truth--a big challenge for us all.

We are looking forward to several friends and family members coming by this summer for a visit and we will do a short trip to Tennessee for a little family vacation. I have recently learned that several people with home I graduated from High School actually live in the Atlanta area, this is something considering how many decades ago that graduation took place! Even more exciting is the fact that 4-5 of my dearest HS friends are among those in the area and we are planning to get together in July. Most of us have not seen each other, or had any communication in over 35 years, but the recent emails and phone calls have been delightful.
The really scary thing is that most of us were in Chorale together and we are planning to meet where there are guitars and pianos--could give all new meaning to 'joyful noise'.

Time for a heart inspection?

2008-05-31T21:51:00.002-04:00

It started with just a little musty smell, not overwhelming, but it was there right when you walked in the door. Then we noticed a little moldy spot in the downstairs bathroom, not a big spot mind you, but definitely an indicator that all was not well, but a little scrubbing or at best a small section of replaced drywall and it would be fine, right? Then it happened. Brian was taking a shower in the downstairs bathroom and all of the sudden the ceiling above him began to cave in. At this point it became clear that we had a problem. First of all, you may be asking, "Who is Brian and why is he in your shower?" Brian is our good friend who is an amazing handyman, plumber, electrician, carpenter, guy who can fix anything and everything and he has made three trips to Greensboro so far to do a little fixing up on our house there so we can sell it. He is staying at the house, thus why he was in the shower. The little musty smell was from the upstairs powder room toilet, which happens to be just above the downstairs shower. The problem was that the toilet had old seals which were causing leaking, which caused moldy spots, musty smells, and ultimately a collapsed ceiling. Now the good news to all of this is that it happened while Brian was there, he can fix everything, and it will all be much better in the long run. All of this got me to thinking. . .

Sometimes, many times, we have little 'issues' that begin as just a little musty smell, which can be covered up, but it is always a symptom of something else that is going on. Sometimes it is hurt feelings between loved ones, or 'little white lies' (what is a white lie anyway?) told to conceal something relatively minor, or just plain jealousy. Regardless of what it is, the musty smell in the foyer almost always means a more serious problem somewhere. We don't always have a super duper handyman to find and fix the problem, but we do have a Heavenly Father who desires to reveal and heal all.

Tomorrow as you go to church to express your worship corporately, I pray you will spend a few minutes asking God to poke around your heart and make sure all is well. I know that is my plan, for as frustrating as it is to have to fix leaks and replace ceilings, it is better than living with musty smells all the time.

Empty Nesters

2008-05-26T10:31:00.002-04:00

Sunday morning our birds left us. We actually saw them moments after they had all left the nest. The mama and daddy bird along with all four little ones were in the front tree chirping away and fluttering about. All too soon they were gone and we could take back our front porch. There was one unhatched, I presume infertile, egg left in the nest, and I feel a small sense of pride that the other four survived so well. I was going to keep the nest, but it has a 'crown' of bird poop all around the top, so I am rethinking that decision.

Edgar, Ryan and I spent a great day at the Atlanta zoo on Saturday while Rachel attended both a morning and afternoon class at Barbizon. Then Sunday because Upstreet and Extreme were closed, we all got to worship together as a family. Eddie Kirkland did an amazing job leading worship, and I have yet to hear Andy preach a bad sermon. In light of the sad news of Maria Chapman this week, his sermon on "When God says no" was most appropriate.

The pool is now open and Ryan is so happy. That boy could spend all day everyday in the water if we allowed it! Saturday evening we enjoyed a little informal bar-b-que with the four other families in our community who actually use the pool! It is great motivation for him to finish his chores early so he can spend long hours at the pool each day--ahh, summertime!

I hope you watched the National Concert last night on PBS. It was a moving tribute to our soldiers past and present who make it possible for us to live this free lifestyle we enjoy. I grew up in a family that emphasized patriotism; my dad was a WWII vet, but it is difficult to instill those values in my children as it is not really popular. We know a couple of people now serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and I need to remember to send emails and letters on a regular basis, not just on Holidays, to thank them for their service. We plan to spend a little more time today in memorial for the freedoms we enjoy.

Well, the Princess is still in bed, Edgar is playing with his new toy, I mean cutting the grass with the riding lawn mover he bought from uncle Jeff, Ryan is outside watching dad, and I need to head to the office to finish packing coffee. Have a great day!

Cinderella

2008-05-21T23:40:00.002-04:00

We just learned that the Steven Curtis Chapman family has experienced a terrible tragedy today and we should all stop right now and pray God's mercy for them. Steven and Mary Beth are champions for children and for adoption. They not only adopted three daughters from China, but established an organization to help Christian families with international adoptions. Today, one of their teenage sons accidentally ran over their youngest daughter with the family SUV. My heart breaks not only for the family in general but especially for their son. I cannot imagine losing a child and the incredible pain they are experiencing. I certainly cannot imagine going through something like this without the love and comfort of our Savior.

I have recently come to love one of Steven's more recent songs: Cinderella. The song is a tear jerker anyway to anyone who has a daughter. In light of today's events, the words are almost haunting:

I dance with Cinderella, while she is here in my arms
'Cause I know something the prince never knew
I dance with Cinderella, I don't want to miss even one song
All too soon the clock with strike midnight, and she'll be gone.

Oh God, let us never take our children for granted and when you do take them home give us your divine grace to ease the pain until we can be reunited in Your Presence.

Some random thoughts and updates

2008-05-19T19:57:00.006-04:00

First of all I am a year older, well actually just about a week older since my last post, but I did have a nice birthday yesterday and appreciate the many well wishes. Billie and I had a great time in Atlanta on Friday. We went to lunch and looked around some cute shops in the Virginia Highlands area and ended our afternoon by going to the movies, such fun! On Saturday Edgar, the kids, and I attended Amanda's wedding and took some pictures since we were all dressed up. The wedding was lovely and they looked so happy. Of course they are on their honeymoon this week so we have no extra help in the office!!

As for our little birds, it seems we have 4! Their eyes are open, their fuzz is beginning to shed and feathers are beginning to appear. The pictures are not too good as mama bird was not happy to have me peeking into the nest, so I took the pictures from inside the house. We also became concerned that once they start to fly the nest is not in a tree over grass, but on our door over a wooden front porch, so we set up a little safety net, "just in case". I am really excited to see them learn to fly, a little sad to know they are almost gone, and a little excited to have my front porch back--especially since the weather has been so beautiful.
Lastly our garden is overflowing with strawberries! We planted four plants late last summer and they have spread all throughout the garden. We carefully kept them covered through the various frosts, and now the garden is overflowing with sweet, red strawberries. Of course Rachel and I are in the dog house because we have not done any strawberry picking yet, but we will I am sure. For now, Edgar has been faithfully picking a couple of bowl fulls each day, yummy.

Sharing Mother's Day with the other Mother here

2008-05-11T19:40:00.003-04:00

This Mother's Day I find that I am not the only Mother in this house today; our baby birds have arrived!! We confirmed 5 little eggs last week and think all five hatched, but for goodness sake they are so small it is hard to tell! We pulled a chair into the foyer, up to the glass door and each of us took turns peeking into the nest. We saw a nest filled with little squirming, fuzzy, lumps. We didn't stay long because mama bird was hovering nearby anxiously wanting to return to her nest. With all of the high winds we have had the last 24 hours, these little birds have no idea who well protected they are to have their nest on our front door under the porch!

Hope you all had a restful day of worship and a time to treat moms like a queen! I got flowers, cards, and an itunes card--it has been a great day!

I remember. . . .

2008-05-10T22:17:00.003-04:00

She was born in 1915. She lived through two World Wars, the Great Depression, The Korean Conflict, the Vietnam Conflict and spent over 70 years in the work force. Her own mom died before she was 10 years old and she practically raised her younger brother while taking care of her dad. She made most of her own clothes, the few she owned, and learned to be quite a cook.

She loved to sing, and as a young woman shared a radio show with her best friend where she sang and played the piano. During this same time she worked as a waitress for a small diner and after a 12 hour shift would go dancing until all hours of the morning. Although a woman of high morals, she told me she "felt so sorry for the young men going to war, so she got engaged to a few of them--so they would have a reason to come home." I don't know how many actually did come home, but one young soldier from Oklahoma made it back and she married him. When I asked how daddy proposed, she replied, "He said, 'do you want to get married or something?', and I said, 'We'll get married or nothing!!'".

She never lost her work ethic. Yes, even in the 1950's when June Cleaver was the ideal wife and mother, my mom worked outside the home--she had to. It took two incomes to support her dad and we two girls. Even though finances were always tight she managed to save enough pennies from her grocery budget to make sure every holiday had special meaning and special treats; a box of conversation hearts at Valentine's, a hollow chocolate egg at Easter. We never knew that we were poor.

Mother never met a stranger. She would strike up a conversation with anyone she met and made friends with most of them. Her big smile and generous ways were her trademark, but she was no pushover. On more than one occasion I remember my father attempting to deal with a car repairman, insurance agent, or less than attentive sales clerk. If things were not progressing to his satisfaction, he would simply say, "Would you feel more comfortable speaking to my wife?", to which the answer was always the same, "Oh no sir, I'll be right with you!' Don't even asked how many times we would be eating out and see mom march back to the kitchen with a plate of food that was not prepared to her satisfaction!

Formal education was a luxury and completing the eighth grade was as far as she got. Her skills in math were exceptional, and at 48 years old she began working at a service station as their bookkeeper. The previous bookkeeper had kept most of the figures 'in her head', so it took mom over two years to fully reconstruct the books, but she did it, and kept them 'penny perfect' for many years. Two decades later, she taught herself how to use a computer to keep books for another service station.

Although I never heard my mom say an audible prayer, I know she prayed, often. She took us to church faithfully and lived out her faith to all who knew her. Once in an adult Sunday School class an insensitive teacher asked her a question to which she did not know the answer. She never overcame her embarrassment of that moment, and never returned to an adult class, but she did not forsake Sunday School. For over 27 years she served in the church nursery. "The babies have no idea if I can answer Bible questions, I just rock them and sing to them." (I am confident that in the last 11 years she has been in heaven she has found some babies to rock!)

When I was in college, Roe vs. Wade was a very hot debate and I mentioned to her that when the mother's life is in danger, or the viability of the fetus was at stake, certainly abortion would be OK, wouldn't it? She then told me that when she found herself pregnant at 37 years old with her second child, the Dr.'s all advised her that to attempt to carry a child to term could endanger her life and the odds of the child being born healthy were slim. She thanked them for their medical advise, but reminded them that the child she carried was a gift from God and if He did not want her to have it, He would let her know. Nine months later she gave birth to her second healthy daughter, me.

Thirty seven years later when I became pregnant I found great comfort in the knowledge that giving birth at an older age ran in the family. I am so sorry that she did not live to see Rachel grow up and never even met Ryan. She would so have loved knowing them.

My mother was not perfect, but she was a great mom. She sacrificed much and did the best she knew how. I am so grateful for her strong will, her undying faith, and her unconditional love. I only hope I can be half as inspiring a mom as her I miss you mom, Happy Mother's Day.

I Have 11 Friends

2008-05-05T22:31:00.003-04:00

That's right, I have 11 friends. I know this because I signed on to my newly acquired Facebook account and it told me so, right up there at the top. I'm feeling pretty good about this, I mean I know I have a lot of acquaintances, but now I have 11 people who actually consider me their friend.

I have no idea what a Facebook actually is, I presume it is a book of faces, but it says I have 11 friends so why isn't it called Friendbook? I don't know what to do with it either. I see there are walls, although I have have never actually seen a wall, is it supposed to be made of brick? I see that people write on these walls, I don't know how to do that either. Oh, there is a Super wall, I guess it is bigger or maybe more expensive, not sure.

Then there are groups, and one of my friends has an Entourage---I had no idea! I have noticed that sometime people poke each other. I have not done that, I was taught that was rude.

I have heard about Twitter and asked my nephew Phillip, who makes a point of knowing all about these things, what it was. He simply said I had no business getting involved with that, and since he is a professional Christian, I didn't question him (although a lot of professional Christians seemed to be into Twittering).

There is this thing for we older folks called TeeBeeDee, but I think I will wait to join that one. It could be more complicated than this book of Faces thing. The point of all of this is simply to say that I am quite happy to have 11 friends. Four of them are related to me--do they still count?

Have you seen my table?

2008-05-04T15:38:00.002-04:00

I had the strangest dream last night and it has preoccupied my thinking all day, without any resolution, so I thought maybe you could help.

In my dream we were having dinner on the table I inherited from my parents. It was not an expensive table, I grew up in a home with few material items, but it was a very interesting design. It looked like a simple hallway-type table, about 3 and a half feet long and maybe 2 feet deep. When Edgar and I had it, I kept an embroidered cloth over it and a couple of hurricane lamp/candles on it as I recall. It was a brown veneer, and not very pretty, but it had a great design. See, the front part pulled out and stored behind the doors in front were 4-5 leaves that stored folded in half, but when opened fit across the parallel pull-out panels creating a table for 4, 6, 8 or 10 people. We used it many times growing up and Edgar and I used it a few times when we had company.

Now here is the mystery: I have no idea where it is! I don't know if we gave it away, forgot to pack it in one of the moves, or simply lost it. I do know that it is not in this house and we do not have a storage unit, so where could it be? I remember having it in our first home, 22 years ago, in Vero Beach, and I am pretty sure we had it in the apartment in Deerfield Beach. I can't visualize where it was in the Pompano Beach home, nor do I ever remember seeing it in Greensboro. Can you help?

If you remember seeing it, or dining on it please let me know where. If we gave it to you, then could you refresh my memory on that also. I don't necessarily want it back, but it does have sentimental value and I hate to think that I simply lost it somewhere.

That's it. If you know where the table is please let me know! Thanks so much.

A Few Observations

2008-05-02T19:54:00.002-04:00

I love to watch people. You know, in public places when you can just sit back and observe human behavior. I had many opportunities to do just that at the Orange conference. Young student pastors, new moms, seasoned pastors, teenagers. Most of the participants were there eager to learn more of the Orange approach to ministry, but it was interesting to observe the skeptics. Some of the ideas are difficult and require mental and spiritual wrestling. For many it was as if they were hearing truth, or heresy, for the first time. For most it was a time of great excitement and a little frustration--loving what they were experiencing and trying to figure out how to implement it in their church. I remember those days.

I mostly enjoy observing children, especially really young, non-verbal children. Their sense of wonder and natural curiosity is really amazing; you can almost see them learning. Every interaction is a lesson, every activity a scientific experiment. Discovery leads to bolder experimentation as they move from their comfort zones to new and more challenging discoveries. It is much more rewarding to observe them making self discoveries than to always give them directions. Of course some direct instruction is necessary, but the lessons learned by experience seem to "take" quicker and last longer.

Maybe that is why God left so many mysteries to our faith. The Bible, although very interesting, is not always an easy read. There are many concepts for which there is no reasonable explanation, they simply require faith. Maybe He delights in our discoveries as we study His Word and desire to know Him. Perhaps He intentionally leaves us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. With this thought, I pray as we endeavor to bring glory to our God, may our lives filled with amazing discoveries that delight our Heavenly Father.

I'm seeing orange

2008-04-28T23:44:00.002-04:00

I have just come from the first main session at the Orange Conference--wow, Reggie Joiner brought a powerful message on what our main focus must be--treating the prodigals the way the loving Father treats his own son. Steve Fee led worship, Lanny Donahoe did his usual shenanigan's, Sue Miller did a nice piece on volunteers in the church, and all in all it was a great end to a long, but fun day. Last night and all day today I worked registration and was at the desk where attendees could update/change their breakout sessions. I really like getting to meet all the people and think this was a good fit for me because I actually could speak semi intelligently about the content of most of the breakouts. I sort of felt like a guidance counselor helping student drop and add classes. Eating dinner in the same room with a ton of other volunteers and well-known worship leaders is a nice perk too. Also got to reconnect with several people who were there last year--I love this stuff!

I am staying at a hotel very close to the conference, thank you Edgar, and the room is really nice, but the bed is the toughest, lumpiest, most uncomfortable bed I have experienced in a long time. I was up a lot last night and am hooping my state of near exhaustion tonight will allow me to simply pass out and not notice the lumps!

The only down side to all of this is I do miss my family. Rachel called tonight and chatted my ear off about her adventures in Jamaica and tried to catch me up on the latest HS drama--I love that kid. I barely got in a word and didn't even get a chance to tell her I met a couple who were on her Africa trip last year. I really appreciate Anita taking good care of Ryan and hope to speak with Edgar tomorrow.

Time to sleep, tomorrow will be another long day.

Empty Nest

2008-04-25T07:59:00.002-04:00

No, I am not referring to the birds, they are still here and we have seen one egg, but I think she laid more. I am talking about our home. It is 7:45 am, Ryan is at school and Edgar and Rachel are on their way to Jamaica. Edgar's dear uncle Keble died last week. He was an incredible man who served Jamaica for decades in politics, revolutionized the coffee industry there, survived being a POW, and was a dear man whom we dearly loved. The country is honoring him with a State funeral and Edgar and Rach are attending and representing the family. Rachel met him on her only other trip to JA when she was 2 years old and we were there celebrating his 75th birthday.

So my little nest is empty for at least a few hours and in addition to processing and packing coffee orders alone, Amanda has finals this week, I am tackling Ryan's room. I convinced Edgar to help me rearrange it some last night and today I need to go through all his stuff--eek. The new arrangement will be much better and it will satisfy my need to 'spring clean'--well, maybe I still need to tackle the pantry, but not today!

I have had Chris Tomlin's, "How Can I Keep from Singing" in my head for the last few days. The words are so good and the tune very catchy. He starts by saying 'there is an endless song echos in my soul. . . " If you have not heard it, the chorus is:

How can I keep from singing Your praise?

How can I ever say enough?

How amazing is your love.

How can I help from shouting Your name?

I know am loved by a King

And it makes my heart want to sing!

What more can I say? What more could we want? This day I hope you truly know that you are loved by The king!

More nest pictures

2008-04-24T07:03:00.004-04:00

The nest is almost finished--didn't they do a great job?! We are tip toeing around the foyer area as to not disturb the mother bird.

No shaken birdie syndrome

2008-04-22T14:08:00.005-04:00

One of the things I love to do is to change out some of my decorations inside the house with the change of season or holidays. I mean, why only decorate for Christmas? Of course I don't go all out but I change a few nick knacks and table decorations. I have also added putting a wreath on the front door since we moved to Georgia. A few months ago I saw a metal basket in a catalog and really liked it. My dear friend, Billie, gave me one for Christmas and I put some silk flowers and hung it on the front door. Just before Easter I found a bouquet of wild flowers so I got a couple and put in the basket--looks quite nice I think.

When I came home a few days ago I noticed there were a couple of birds on the front porch flying around and chirping like crazy. I thought, "hmm, I wonder if they are making a nest up in the ceiling?" So I looked around on the porch and didn't see a nest so I dismissed it. Then a few days later I was in the house and saw birds on the porch again. This time I stood and watched and noticed they were flying near my metal basket. After they flew away I moved in to get a closer look and there was the beginnings of a nest! Seems the birds liked my flowers, too!

So now I need to make a sign asking everyone to avoid the front porch and especially front door for a few weeks. I think the birds are house finches, and I am really pleased that they have chosen to nest with us. Because the door is glass we will be able to see them from the inside, but must be careful not to frighten mama bird away once she lays her eggs.

I was able to snap a few pics while the birds were away gathering more twigs. Isn't it amazing how birds, bees, and spiders build such intricate homes--our God is so creative! (Ok blogspot is having trouble uploading images right now--I will try to add photos later)

We do hope you will come visit us, we love to have company--but come through the garage door if you please, we don't want any 'shaken birdie eggs!"

Prom Pics

2008-04-20T14:12:00.004-04:00

Many year ago when I was homeschooling Rachel, she began telling me that someday she really wanted to go to public school. When I asked 'why' she replied, "so that I can go to prom". Since those days she has attended private school and almost 2 years of public school. Last night the purpose of her educational quest was fulfilled: she went to prom! Actually the whole day was spent in preparation for the blessed event, but she went with her boyfriend and a couple of other kids from school. They had a great time, came home early and all was well. These are a few photos.

Whirlwind Trip

2008-04-10T09:23:00.002-04:00

Well it is spring break for the kiddos and so we decided to take a little road trip; we went to Greensboro. In the past when we have 'gone back' (we used to live there) the trip seemed long and we left wishing we could have seen more people, not this time. For some reason the trip moved along-we did stop in Taccoa Falls to check out a potential college for Rachel. The falls were awesome and the college is promising, we will see. Both kids were able to see several of their friends in Greensboro; Rachel and I even got in a few innings at the Greensboro Grasshoppers opening night baseball game. (Yes, they named the baseball team after an insect--folks, you gotta know that NC is famous for basketball not baseball!) We all ate our way through town trying to hit as many of our favorite restaurants as possible and even spent time seeing many of our former colleagues and church friends.

The main reason for our trip was to meet with a painter and house stager to prepare our house for selling. Our renter will be leaving soon and it is time to get our house spruced up on put on the market. I think I had forgotten how pretty our old neighborhood was! The really exciting news is that we all agreed that with a little work we can finish enclosing the closet in the basement and then we will have a second master suite and a 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom house! If any of you know someone who is looking to move to NC, Greensboro is a great town and in about a month we will have a super house deal!!

Driving home last night I found myself very aware of the white lines on the road. I know they are always there, but with trucks whizzing by and dark curvy roads, I was comforted by simple white lines on the edge of the road. It reminded me how important it is to have boundaries. We don't often welcome boundaries, but in reality they not only provide limits- but freedom. I remember learning in college some great advice: never accept a job that doesn't have a job description-if the employer doesn't have one, you write one and present it to the employer for approval prior to signing on. It is very freeing to know exactly what is expected of you rather than spending time creatively trying to meet expectations only to learn your understanding of the job is not what your employer had in mind!

Studies show that young children will tend to stay in one area of an unfenced yard, but use the whole yard if there is a fence. Certainly the white lines on the road prevented us from straying into areas that were unsafe and provided guidance and freedom within those limits to get us home safely. It is too bad that we often view God's rules as restrictions to limit our freedom, when in reality, when we know the limits (and the truth) it will set us free!

I wonder

2008-04-02T08:21:00.002-04:00

We have enjoyed a few very busy days with extended family and although tiring, very enjoyable. In the middle of all this I received two unrelated phone calls from people with whom I had professional relationships in the past. The first was from the young man who was my ministry assistant in the last church where I served as Children's Minister. He and I worked very hard to create relevant environments for the children and found that we had much in common regarding creativity and desire to worship and serve. He has been working full time in the restaurant management field and called to ask about our church and say that he is ready for a change in his life. As Edgar and I are praying about moving our coffee business from our home to a location where we could roast, pack and ship, and sell retail, we have also considered a small coffee shop but quite frankly don't want to be tied down to having a shop to run. Of course if our friend decides to move to town he will need a job and that might be a great fit. Can't help but wonder what God might be up to, . . . hmmmm.

Then I got a phone call from a lady who lives in GA and is a Montessori teacher who is involved with helping small churches open preschools as a ministry to grow their church. She is working with a new church school and of course setting it up with a Montessori curriculum. One of the most rewarding things I have ever done is train teachers in the implementation of Montessori education on the Infant and Toddler level. The course is so informative and practical for educators and parents. She wanted to talk with me about the possibility of training some Infant and Toddler teachers for her new school. Can't help but wonder what God might be up to, . . . hmmmm.

Lastly we have been working with Ryan's school and a local psychologist to best evaluate him and support and assist him with his learning. We had a appointment last week and the Dr. had more questions than answers. We thought we were on a pretty clear path, but now feel we need to gather more info before we make any final decisions. Of course we want to be careful to not put him through too many tests as is it very taxing. So we have personal knowledge, observations, evaluations, and screenings that all play a part in the puzzle, but right now all the information is very inconclusive, can't help but wonder what God might be up to, ...hmmm.

What we do know is that God is faithful and His mercies are new every morning. As for what our future hold, that is unsure, but we know that He knows and we trust Him.

Awesome weekend

2008-03-23T21:22:00.005-04:00

We did not get to do the Seder meal like I had hoped, for a variety of reasons and I was a little bummed about that, but thanks to the wonderful staff at our church, we attended an amazing Good Friday service and Sunday morning celebration. Major kudos to the staff and production volunteers at Browns Bridge Community Church for going the extra mile(s) to make this a worshipful weekend. Friday night the focus was on remembering the incredible sacrifice Jesus made for us. The music, communion, and Lane's talk really set the tone for the weekend. This morning our family attended the 1:00 service together after Rachel and I volunteered in Waumba Land, our preschool environment, during the 11:00 service.

Dinner was at home with the family, quiet, but nice. I am so grateful for family, church, and most of all a resurrected Savior!! I hope your weekend was awesome!

Preparing for Easter

2008-03-19T09:29:00.003-04:00

As we are preparing for Easter (in the middle of March!!) I am excited to share the Passover Seder with Ryan. For years we did a small Seder in all the preschools I directed or classes I taught, then when we were homeschooling Rachel we did a full blown dinner with all the families. But we haven't done it for Ryan and actually I really miss it too, so this Friday, after we go to our Good Friday service at church, we will come home and have Passover. If you have never done a Christian Passover meal with your family, I strongly encourage you to consider it. Not only is it a great review of some OT history but I assure you that you will never celebrate the Lord's Supper the same. When you contemplate the vast amount of symbolism in the Seder and see God's handiwork in redemption from the beginning of time, it will bless you and deepen your faith. When we first started doing this some 20 years ago, I really had to dig to learn what to do and what everything means. Now all you need to do is Google "Christian Seder" and you will have enough information to get you well on your way. If you don't want to do a Seder, this year, then I encourage you to at least go back and read the Exodus story, descriptions of the Feasts in Leviticus, and meditate on redemption.

Another interesting read is that of Good Friday. I realize that traditionally we accept that Jesus died on Friday and we honor that, but many scholars disagree and feel that He actually died on Wednesday or Thursday. Again, about 24 years ago my Sunday School teacher, Phil Plemmons, introduced the thought of a Wednesday crucifixion. I have enjoyed researching that idea, and tend to agree with him. With another Google search I found some well researched articles and one of my favorites is brotherjosh.blogspot.com/2006/04/good-friday-what-day-did-jesus-die-on.html.

What ever you are doing to prepare for this most important day of the year, I pray that your Easter is a joyous celebration of the Gospel and you can rejoice in your salvation.

Getting ready for spring

2008-03-16T14:14:00.004-04:00

You may have heard about the storms we had in Atlanta, thankfully are were spared, as were our friends ad family, but we did get some much needed rain. Unfortunately for the second week in a row our soccer game was cancelled.

We did have an adventure Saturday, though. We drove down to Buckhead because Rachel has started here 12 week course with Barbizon, a talent and modeling agency. We will repeat this journey every other Saturday for the next 6 months, but she is really excited about these classes and we think it will be a great experience for her. After the classes we stopped at the mall to eat and she and I got her prom dress. Boy it is a good thing she is working and earning some money!!

The sun has come out and today Edgar is digging a hole in the front yard to add a small pond for the turtles. We are ready to move them from the very noisy, gurgling, aquarium upstairs to their own environment outside--yeah! Spring will officially be here in a week, but we are jumping the gun a few days. Hope your week is a great one!

Child Like Faith

2008-03-09T13:47:00.002-04:00

So Edgar is out of town again--this is the second trip this week, but that means business is good, so although we don't particularly like it, we appreciate the income. This morning the kids and I all had to be up and out of the house before 8:00, which was a little challenging with the time change but we made it.

We went in early because I had an appointment to do a baptism interview with a little boy. When I met him and his mom I was struck by the fact that he was really little--I mean young, small, and short. When I ask him how old he was and he said "five", my first thought was 'he is too young to understand this very important decision'. Boy was I wrong!

This precious little guy told me the day and the time he asked Jesus to come live in his heart. He then went on to describe, in his limited vocabulary, the concept of sin and how it applied to him. When I asked him why he wanted to be baptized, he said, "because I sinned and Jesus died for me, and I want to make Him happy." Wow, pretty good don't you think? I looked at his mom who had been careful to keep her back to us so as to not influence his answers to my questions. She said, "I know he is young, but he has been asking for months when he can be baptized, and we kept thinking about what Jesus said about child-like faith, so here we are."

This got me thinking about the concept of 'making Him happy'. I know what to do to make my kids happy, to make my husband happy, to even make my dog happy. But making God happy is a big order. I mean, He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, He doesn't need anything, and He already knows everything. There is nothing I can do to make Him love me more, or less, than He already does because His love is perfect.

I know that we can bring sacrifices to God which are pleasing, and the psalmist refers to mediating on His word in a manner that is pleasing to God. I think it will be interesting to study the Bible and see how many things we can do to actually make God happy. I want to live my life in a way that is pleasing to Him. As we preparing to celebrate Easter many Christians choose to 'give up' some of their favorite things as a sacrifice; I would like to discover specific things I can actually do to 'make Him happy'. If I am successful, I think both God and I will be blessed.

Our First Soccer Game this Season

2008-03-01T13:31:00.003-05:00

This morning was an historical occasion for us--Ryan played his first soccer game today without uncle Phillip being his coach--and he did it! This is pretty significant for him and at the first practice I had to literally drag him onto the field and stand with him for about 5 minutes, so the fact that he willingly participated in the game was huge! He remembered many of the skills he learned last year, thank you uncle Phillip for your leadership and patience, and he is improving! He blocked a couple of goals from the opposing team and made two goals--one for his team and one for the other guys, but hey the ball went in the net! Looking forward to a great season!!

Okay someone please teach me how to add photos where I want them!! The soccer picture is at the bottom of this page.

It's Gonna Get Messy

2008-02-28T18:21:00.002-05:00

We have a local barbeque franchise whose tag line is: "It's gonna get messy" and the unspoken completion of that statement, is 'but it is so worth it.' I sometimes think that is the way it is on my journey of attempting to live my life as a fully devoted follower of Christ. It can get messy.

In the second chapter of Mark we read the story of the four young men who were determined to get their paralyzed friend to Jesus. When they could not get through to him, they undid the thatched roof and lowered him down to where Jesus was teaching. I've studied this passage in Sunday school and heard many sermons about it, but they all focused on the determination of the friends and the mercy of Jesus to heal. I read this again the other day and was struck by the thought of the roof.

I love to have company come over and I try to do my best to clean the house and make everything look presentable and comfortable for my guests. My husband says he likes to have company because that's the only time I cook--which is not true! I say I like to have his family come to visit so I can get some of the things on the 'honey do' list completed. The kids usually moan when I mention guests because it means their rooms need to pass inspection.

So I was thinking about the woman of this house. Knowing that Jesus was coming over, I am sure she went to a lot of trouble to prepare for him. Had I been in her place I am sure I would have been hysterical when those friends started tearing apart my roof! Can you imagine the mess that would make, and she didn't even have a Dyson! I am sure I would have done everything in my power to get those men to stop, and of course had I been successful I would have missed not only a huge blessing, but I would have missed being an eye witness to a miracle.

I wonder how many blessings or miracles I have missed in my lifetime because I didn't want things to get messy. I am comfortable with order and predictability. I like to plan ahead and set short range and long range goals. I need to remember that messes can be cleaned, and miracles sometimes come unexpectedly. It sometimes is gonna get messy, but if God is in it, it will be so worth it!

Reflections

2008-02-24T16:54:00.003-05:00

Sometimes I am so filled with gratitude I can hardly hold it in. Today is one of those days. The sun is shinning on a gorgeous, crisp, and clear Georgia day. My precious little boy is in the back yard doing one of his favorite things--playing with his dog. As I sit on the sofa in my bedroom, in a house this is far nicer than I ever thought I would own, I am grateful Grateful for a fenced yard, grateful for a dog is lets her master tie her to a wagon and lead her all over the yard trying to convince her she really is a sled dog. Grateful for a child who innocently plays in his imaginary world with seemingly not a care in the world. Grateful for a husband who supports his family well and loves us despite all of our inadequacies.

And then there is our daughter. I can hardly believe that she will soon be 17 years old and preparing for her senior year in high school. She recently had pictures taken by a local photographer who made her some cards to distribute to her friends in school in hopes of acquiring more business. One of the pictures was used in a magazine to advertise for the studio--she is stunning. Of course I think so because she is mine, but several people who have seen the ad have called to tell me so; it is validated. The pictures show her outward beauty; I am grateful to also know her inward beauty. She is stunning because she has a contagious smile that can light up a room, and a heart as big as all outdoors. But her love for others and her willingness to give of herself is what really makes her special. Today I was so proud of her as I watched her go up on stage to pray for a sixth grade girl from the small group she co-leads at church who was baptized at our Family Birthday Celebration. She is an amazing young woman that daughter of mine, and I am so grateful to be her mom.

Then there is our church. I know there are many wonderful churches and I am not trying to suggest that ours is superior to any of them, but I am so grateful to worship with such an amazing group of people. Today I was especially grateful for my 5th grade team. We have two greeters who not only efficiently check in over 65 regular attenders each week, remembering most of them by name, but who also greet an average of 10 visitors each Sunday and make them feel welcome and safe. I was also grateful for small group leaders who met with their students, engaged them in conversation, and opened the Bible and shared truth from their hearts. It was an awesome day and I am so grateful to be a little part of that ministry. Most of all today I was grateful for a small group leader who travelled many miles, at personal expense, to be there for the boy from his small group was baptized today--what commitment; I am awed at such dedication.

I guess most of all I am grateful for a loving, forgiving, and merciful Heavenly Father who loves me and showers me with incredible blessings. I am grateful for His precious Word that gives meaning to my life and reminds me of all I have for which to be grateful.

I know there will be many days when I am frustrated by the many things in a day that make my life difficult, fail to meet my expectations, and generally tick me off. But for right now, I am just feeling grateful--it's a great feeling!

Random Thoughts

2008-02-16T17:05:00.002-05:00

We had a great Valentine's Day. Edgar and I don't go out on many dates--rarely leave the kids, or should I say Ryan, with anyone. But this year we did, and we had a great time. Amanda, my personal assistant (I love that) came over to sit with Ryan because Rachel was working and we went to dinner at a great little place in Vickory Creek area, Atkins Park. We enjoyed some good food and good to talk without correcting a child's dinner manners. After dinner we went to a play at the Cumming Playhouse, Neil Simon's Last of the Red Hot Lovers. It is an old play, but very funny and the actors did a great job. It was fun to go out together and know that the kids were in good hands

Friday morning Amanda and I visited the Montessori Academy at Sharon Springs. Taffy and I had seen the school last fall when we did our little market research of area schools and childcare centers, but did not have the opportunity to observe classes in session. Amanda is an education major and personally believe that any college student who plans to teach should at least be exposed to good Montessori. It was a great observation and she was certainly impressed.

Last night we enjoyed good food and great company when one of the family's from church came over for dinner. We ate and laughed and all had fun, even the kids. I am so grateful to have a home where we can entertain comfortably. It doesn't have to be fancy but we really enjoy having people over.

Today Edgar was determined to clean out the garage--we got through several more boxes. Maybe by the time spring arrives and the weather warms up we will be able to fit the van in the garage!! He is happy to put boxes on shelvers where I would prefer to have them unpacked and put away. In this great big house we still can't find room for all our stuff, I know, I know--we have too much stuff, but it is good stuff!!

Tonight Ryan's cousins and our good friends are coming over and we will grill out and he will fix our two PC's. Yes, we do love our apple computers, but the kids still have PCs and yes they are always breaking. Tomorrow we will go to our favorite church, Brown's Bridge Community Church where we will worship and serve. We also have some friends coming for the first time, so I am excited.

Hope you all have a great weekend and an awesome time of worship tomorrow where ever you may be! We are so blessed to be able to worship our Living God freely. May we not ever take this for granted.

This is good news--right??

2008-02-09T17:15:00.000-05:00

For those of you who know me personally or have followed this blog for a while, know that we have a very special son named Ryan. He is 8 years old and just terrific. His brain works a little differently and after homeschooling all last year, I realized he wasn't ready for 2nd grade, so we enrolled him in the local public school. God graciously placed him in a wonderful class with a teacher who won teacher of the year this year! She has done an incredible job,and Ryan has made some progress-- Ryan adores her and she loves him, too.

Even with all of this, it has become apparent that Ryan is struggling with academics. We requested testing and yesterday got the results of all the tests. We had an IEP meeting (Individual Education Plan) with his teacher, the principal, vice principal, school psychologist, speech therapist, special ed teacher, and Edgar and I. They had administered many tests, some of which we had requested. We met for an hour, they gave us a lot of information and recommendations. Very little of what they told us was new information, more just confirmation of what we had suspected for a long time. Part of me wanted to scream, "This is what I tried to tell all of you last August", (we had an IEP then, but I was told he had to be in school 12 weeks before they could do further testing). As I have thought more about it I realize that having Ryan have the opportunity to be with his First Grade teacher has been a huge blessing and he would have missed that experience had he been tested the first week of school.

Ryan also seems to have ADD, not hyperactivity, but Attention Deficit Disorder--this was suggested by the clinicians we saw last summer in Chapel Hill. He struggles with staying on task and becomes easily distracted. We requested that he be screened for Asperger's Syndrome, which they did. This is a disorder that falls in the spectrum of Autism and affects one mostly in the social and language areas. Only a medical Dr. can diagnosis this, but the results of the screening indicated a high probability in all areas.

The bottom line is that he qualified for Special Ed across the board. Beginning this Monday he will go to a special class for 2 hours each morning and 2 hours each afternoon with 4 other children. He needs one on one help with reading, writing, math, working independently, and social language assistance. He will still be with his regular class first thing in the morning, and for his extra curricular subjects-- PE, Spanish, Music, and Art. He will also have lunch and recess with his regular class, and then end the day with them. He still needs to have an Occupation Therapist do some screenings so he can receive help with writing.

I know in my heart this will be of great benefit to Ryan, and that this is good news. This validates what I had been suspecting, and he now qualifies for extra services, but I also know that he struggles with change and new environments. So we ask your prayers for a couple of specific things:

1. That the transition will be smooth and Ryan will quickly bond with his new teacher
2. That the children in his new class will be about the same level as Ryan behaviorally, academically, and mentally--he imitates peer behavior so we are hopeful for positive role models
3. That we will make the right decisions regarding possible medication for him
4. That all of this will prove to be effective and through it all Ryan will improve academically andmaintain a good self image.

Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement. We are taking things one day at a time and claiming God's promise, "I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you; plans to give you a hope and a future" We know God has a wonderful future for Ryan and we are so thankful He has entrusted him to our care while He prepares Ryan for whatever that future will be.

Ryan's wisdom

2008-01-28T23:44:00.000-05:00

Just time for a quick note you might enjoy. Ryan and I were driving past one of the new apartment complexes in our area over the weekend. He noticed that their community pool, unlike most others in our area, was not covered. He said very matter of factly, "Those people who live there must be penguins"! I didn't have the heart to tell him it was a heated pool.
More later.
C

To my great, great, great grandchildren

2008-01-23T07:17:00.000-05:00

One of my resolutions this year is to get back to working on my scrapbooks. I am not very artsy or creative, but I can copy great layouts and love to see all the pictures put together with memoribilia; I even try to journal. I have enough Creative Memory supplies to be a consultant, a space in the spare room dedicated to scrapbooking; now what I need is a Nike conviction: Just do it!! It was --easier with just one child--obviously she would inherit the albums, but we have two precious children so now I need to do double books--for a person who is creatively challenged this requires serious commitment! I think it is important and hopefully will be appreciated long after I am gone. I have only a few pictures of my parents when they were young and virtually no pictures of my grandparents. I would have liked to have had some of this history; there are some things that should be passed down. Lately I have been reminded of some other things that that should be passed down.

For Christmas my sister gave me the Sara Groves CD Conversations. It is not her newest, but it has some really great songs which I am learning to appreciate. One of my favorites is the cut, Generations. In this song she recounts the effect that Eve's decision has on all of us and applies that to us. The chorus and bridge are this:

Remind of this with every decision,
generations will reap what I sow.
I can pass on a curse or a blessing
To those I will never know

To my great, great, great granddaughter:
Live in peace
To my great, great, great grandson:
Live in peace

Not only is this a lovely song, but a great and convicting truth. So I am amending by resolution. I do want to get a few albums completed this year so I can give my children and grandchildren some tangible family history, but more importantly I want to carefully weigh my decisions so that I can bless them now and for generations.

It's Snowing in North GA!!

2008-01-16T20:09:00.000-05:00

Yes, it is January 16th at 8:10 pm and it has been really snowing for about 2 hours. (As opposed to not really snowing like what it did over the holidays when we had a houseful of company, and snow came down but did not stick). Now it is sticking--the ground is covered with white snow and it is looking like school will be cancelled tomorrow--woo hoo!

Rachel went to work this evening and they closed early so Edgar has gone to bring her home, Ryan is in bed, but thinking about being home from school tomorrow and working on his Titanic model with dad, and I finally nailed the chicken pot pie recipe--it was really good. If you want the recipe let me know, I have already typed it up, yum, yum.

As i am watching Deal or no Deal, I just saw the greatest trailer for a new show. Teens who have declared they want to have children, are allowed to "borrow" kids for a period of time to test their skills. The few clips we see depict the kids screaming and the teens having meltdowns. The best part is the final line, "it's not TV, it's birth control"!!

Well, I hope you are all having a great evening. We are going to sit in front of the fireplace and view the snow continuing to fall for as long as we can.

Blessings

A Sense of Accomplishment

2008-01-11T23:01:00.000-05:00

We have had a whirlwind week and I can say that as I am ready to retire for the evening I can do so with a sense of great accomplishment. With the addition of bluemountaincoffee.com we are packing a lot coffee these days. One of my best Christmas presents is the addition of our first ever regular employee. She is a delightful college student who is the daughter of one of my friends from church, and she is a real God-send to us. Amanda learns very quickly and is willing to do anything we need done. Today she and I organized and packed away all of our Christmas decorations. Together we have re-organized the office, set up new office policies, and are in general buzzing circles around Edgar--he loves it, though. Robbie came over and got all my computers working in tip top condition, and I even finished the laundry this evening--is it even possible to FINISH laundry??!! All in all 2008 is looking to be a year of organized efficiency--just the way I like it.

Even with all of the feeling of accomplishment, it has also been a week when my heart has been heavy. Two local college girls have died in the last few days, one was murdered and the other one's cause of death is still undetermined. I was reading Psalm 10 yesterday morning which begins, "Why, O Lord do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?" I understand how David felt, but how grateful I am that he goes on to write, "The Lord is in His holy temple, the Lord is on his heavenly throne." (Ps 11:4)

As a mom I have found myself feeling over protective of my children. I want Ryan to feel free to play in the back yard where it is fenced AND in the front yard where it is not, but I am not so confident. I want Rachel to enjoy time with her high school friends, but I find myself a little uneasy when she is away. Then with all of this locally, we are most concerned about the political climate in Kenya right now. Rachel is still planning to go back to Kenya this summer and we are trusting God with those plans, I must admit, I am a little nervous.

So what does all this mean? It means I am increasingly thankful to have such a loving, merciful, omnipotent Heavenly Father who is completely in control and who knows the future. He is neither surprised nor afraid of what is happening and all He asks is that I trust Him completely. Perhaps that is how I can be the most efficient and accomplish all that is on His agenda for me this year.
Blessings

2008-01-07T22:13:00.000-05:00

So we have survived the holy days--15 overnight guests , 4 celebration dinners, 3 Christmas programs, 32 loads of laundry, 894 coffee orders, 87 Christmas cards, and numerous games of SkipBo! Tomorrow the last of the overnight guests leave, the kids return to school, the Christmas decorations get packed up and life returns to normal. . . . . .Oh, I do hope not.

What have I learned over the last few weeks with all of this activity? What will be different in the weeks to come? Did we honor the Lord with our activities, and our celebrations, and our worship? While we spent time enjoying the company of our loved ones, did we spend enough time in His presence? Was He pleased with how we spent our days, and nights? . . . . . I pray so.

Each year I try to do something different to focus my attention on the amazing miracle of grace that we celebrate at Christmas. This year my mind kept returning the the fact that there was no room in the inn. Our home was filled with people, but we had room for everyone, that night so long ago no one could find room for God's Son. Isn't it interesting that God often chooses to visit us when it is most inconvienent? When our schedules are packed, when people need us most, when our "to do" list is too long to even read--that is usually when God shows up in an interesting and often unconventional way. For me, this year, He showed up Christmas Eve.

With all of the additional coffee work this year, Thank you Jesus, I simply ran out of time to fully prepare for the 'big day'. After spending endless hours putting together "Santa toys", straightening up for the inth time, and finishing a couple of loads of laundry, I decided that the only way to finish all the cooking necessary for Christmas dinner was to cook for the remainder of the night--so I did. Amidst the baking of pumpkin pies, baking sour cream pound cake, and preparing the turkey for roasting, I began to think about God's preparation of the 'big day'.

I remembered one of my former Sunday School teachers, when asked to tell when he was saved, said, "In the mind of God I was saved before the foundations of the earth were laid, but I came to the saving knowledge in 1961." I have often thought about the truth of that statement--God was preparing for Christmas before He created us. He loves us so much, He wanted to provide a way for us to be with Him forever, before we even existed. As I was making preparations to simply feed my guests, I was thinking of the fact that God spent all of eternity preparing for me. I am the reason we have Christmas--of course you are too, but this is my blog.

Christmas Day was great, as were the following days as we celebrated family with family. As we move on and begin thinking about the New Year, I want to remember all the preparations that were made so we could not just celebrate Christmas, but so that we could begin a new year, a new life, an eternal relationship with Him. I pray that I will take the time to prepare my heart daily to receive all that He wants to continue to give. I do not know what the 2008 journey will be, but I am so thankful that He has already prepared for me all I will need.

With great Expectations,
C

The Holy Days are Here!

2007-11-27T21:23:00.000-05:00

Well, again it has been awhile and although I am tempted to write about all the many events over the last month, I shall refrain. Have you ever wondered why the two busiest holidays of the year are a month a part? I want to enjoy my Thanksgiving decorations a little longer, but. . . .

Thanksgiving was very nice; it is good to pause and reflect on the many blessings we have. It was lovely to have many of our friends and family in our home to share a meal and make sweet memories. We serve a Mighty God who is ever faithful.

We are officially in the season of Advent. This is the season of expectant waiting to celebrate the birth of our Savior. I love having the house decorated--I don't really relish the job of decorating, but I do love the end result. I love all of the reminders of the holiness of the season. I love putting new candles in the advent wreath, I love setting up the many Nativity sets I have collected over the years. Ryan has already found 3 of the 5 children's sets I have and he has been 'playing the story' for days. I love the fact that the first thing we put on our lighted tree is a very large nail and we hang it in the front, near to top to remind us why He came. I love the Christmas music--sacred and secular, vocal and instrumental, old and new. I love surfing the net for a 'treasure' I might find for someone dear. I love imagining what Mary and Joseph were thinking and feeling four weeks before Jesus was born. I wonder if they were excited or just terrified?

Most of all I love being reminded that not only is His name Emmanuel,God with Us, but He is also the King of Kings, and Prince of Peace. I love Christmas, and I am most grateful.

With great Anticipation,
Christine

Of Celebrations and Convictions

2007-10-31T20:22:00.000-04:00

One thing about blogging is that it gives one an opportunity to be completely opinionated--actually I think that is expected in a blog. I find it easy to be opinionated, but have tried to temper my comments as it is not my intent to offend or alieante, but time has come to make an exception.'Why now you say?", because today is October 31 and I am finding it increasingly difficult to remain silent on a subject about which I do have such strong feelings.

Most who know me already know--we don't celebrate Halloween, we try to be very consistent and to our knowledge do not celebrate any occultic holidays--but it is very hard to ignore this one. From mid August through the end of October, one cannot go into any retail store without being bombarded with jack-o lanterns, tombstones, black bats, spiders with webs, and of course, witches. Most of my family and friends do celebrate this holiday, "innocently" with thier children--how it is possible for any of this to be innocent is beyond my understanding, but I think I know what is meant. I "innocently" celebrated it for years. When Rachel was very young, a Godly Christian teacher began to lovingly challenge me to learn more about Halloween--not just its origins but how it is celebrated today. Her real challenge was to me as a new mother and what I would do to protect my child. So I began to read more and what I found is that Halloween is a celebration of death that is sacred to modern day witches.

Now let me slow down as I know that some of you reading this now are becoming defensive. The fact that we do not celebrate this is not to say that I condemn anyone else who does. What I do believe is that this is a personal, spiritual conviction and I know many strong Christians who do not share this conviction. The fact is that in our culture witchcraft is becoming more and more popular and Wicca is recognized religion that is spreading like wildfire. As a religion, it is having a stong, be it subtle impact on our culture. As a mother, I am concerned that my children are taught that Halloween is simply a harmless and fun holiday. I certainly do not have a problem with costumes or pretending, my issue lies in the problem of association. A friend of mine many years ago stated it this way--"there is nothing wrong with draping oneself in bedsheets and marching down the middle of the street, unless of course the Klu Klux Klan is active in your community."

Last week I asked Ryan's school if the children wore costumes to school or if they had Halloween parties, because if they did he could have stayed home. I was told they did not; however, when he came home today, he had language and math papers with Halloween themes, a spider from the cupcakes a classmate brought to share, and an orange and black necklace he made in art class. (Of course Ryan was so proud that he made a tiger necklace--orange and black :)!!). I am not so niave as to believe he has been scared for life, but I do believe we Christians have accepted a double standard--Halloween is a religous holiday and all the symbols of this holiday are widely accepted. Why is is a nativity or a cross is banned when witches and bats are welcomed?

If you celebrated Halloween tonight, we prayed for your safety, we think no less of you, and we hope you think no less of us. Should you desire to read a little more about my conviction, I will share two good websites. (Someone please show me how to reference these in my blog so you can just click on them): www.theselittleones.com/evenachild/editorials/htm and www.lasttrumpetministries.org/tracts/tract10.html

Great news--tomorrow is All Saints Day--Let's Celebrate!

Young love

2007-10-26T07:19:00.000-04:00

If you are not a regular viewer of Animal Planet, and I can't imagine why you wouldn't be, you may have not noticed the new show from Steve Irwin's daughter, Bindi--the Jungle Girl. Let me assure you Ryan has seen this show and is completely smitten with its star, Bindi. As he has become older, Ryan is more intentional about his time, and I have observed that he plans his activities around the times this show airs.

About a week ago he told me we needed to send Bindi his address and invite her to come visit so that they could play. I half heartedly replied, "Ok honey, we will." He then proceeded to remind me each day that we needed to write to Bindi. I really thought that will all the excitement of meeting the family in the mountains and having 3 days to play with his cousins, he would forget about Bindi--not so.

When we returned Monday, I began to look for an address to write to her, amid the comments from his older sister telling him,"She is not coming--get over it". I cannot find a physical address but we did find an email address, sort of. At any rate we wrote the letter and asked her to have her mom contact his mom so I could give her directions to our house. When he goes to bed he prays for Jesus to let Bindi answer his email. When he wakes up he asks it I think she has read his email, when he gets off the bus, he asks if Bindi has responded to his mail. While I admire his persistance, there is a part of me that so wants to protect his little heart from breaking. I hate the thought that he is going to be so disappointed, and yet there is a little part that thinks maybe, just maybe, this will be the letter to which she reponds and decides to come visit this little guy who is so 'taken' with her. I have tried to explain that she gets thousands of letters and simply cannot grant all requests, to which he innocently responds, "But mom, I know she would like to come visit us--I think she will come."

God knows the desires of our heart, and unlike we earthly parents who are so flawed in our ability to always guide correctly, He has a perfect plan for us. It must break His heart when he sees us spending so much time and emotional energy begging for something He knows is not in our best interest. He wants to protect us and has told us, "Above all else, guard your heart . . " (Prov 4:23). That is great advice, but not so easy to follow.

I am waiting to see what will happen with the Bindi letter; I am even more excited to see what God will do in Ryan's heart as he continues to learn to 'trust God no matter what'.

Off in search of fall

2007-10-14T23:38:00.000-04:00

I am surprised to discover something about myself I really did not know--my mood is affected by the weather. I always thought it was silly when people said they got depressed when it rained for days (got depressed because my hair frizzed, but not because the sky was gray)! I am finding I am becoming one of those people. When it rains for days I seem to have less enerygy; when it it really hot I am more grumpy, and when it is supposed to be fall and all the leaves are green I am a little frustrated.

When I look at the calendar I can confirm it is fall, but the temperature and the green leaves on the trees don't seem to know this. I spent so much of my life in Florida where the only way to tell it is fall is by looking at the calendar, and I am so very happy to be living in a place where we can feel crisp cool air and view gorgeous leaves of red, yellow, and orange. But this year the drought and heat wave is making that impossible. I am especially disappointed because my sister is here for a few days and I bragged last year so much about the fall colors that she came to she them this year. We will head up the road tomorrow for a few days of girl time in Helen, please pray for Edgar and the kids while I am away, but I am less than hopeful to see fall colors. Next weekend we join the Bishop clan in Cashiers, NC where it will be cooler, but most likely still green. None the less, it will be fun to see everyone and spend a few days away. Most of the family will spend the week, but we will come home on Monday as the kids have school.

When I contemplate the fact that the changes in weather can affect my mood, I am more grateful that we serve an unchanging God. The fact that He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow does not make me feel bored or frustrated, but rather secure and comforted that He is not affected by weather, my moods, or circumstances. When i remember that His love and care for me does not fluxuate based on my behavior I am amazed. He knows my heart, my inner most thoughts, my failures, frustrations, and yet He chooses to lavish me with His love and affection.

Today, although I miss the changes in leaf color I delight in the consistancy of our God.

"Where do I begin?. . ."

2007-10-01T22:32:00.000-04:00

Some of you are actually old enough to remember the old movie "Love Story" and the title of this blog will have you singing an old tune in your head. For the rest of you, take it at face value--when you wait this long to blog it is difficult to know where to start. Let me just say, I love reading everone's blogs, so sorry I haven't kept up, will try to do better. Let me just hit the highlights and will go from there.

August
The kids started school--Ryan is repeating first grade at the local elementary school where he started last year. He now has a GREAT teacher and he is loving it! Most of it is review at this point so his confidence is way up. Rachel is having a much easier beginning as she knows many people. She is taking some really tough classes though. For her AP US HIstory she has a teacher who insists on getting these kids, mostly JR.s, ready for college. Pray for her as she is struggling in this one. Also Advanced Trig is giving her fits, but AP Psych, Amer Lit, Spanish III, and chorus are great. Also she is dancing 2 nights a week, co-leading a 6th grade small group at church, playing her guitar and leading worship at her high school FCA meetings a couple of times a month. We also kept Anita and Phillip's girls for 10 days, ages 1 and 3, while they went to Kenya. Actually it was not too bad, they are precious, exhausting, but precious, and grandmommie Billie stayed with us and helped alot.

September
Ryan started soccer again, thanks uncle Phillip for coaching again, and he is a Wolf cub. He also turned 8 this month, and the big event was having his tonsils and adenoids removed and his tongue clipped. He was a real trooper for the surgery and his recovery is going remarkably well--thanks to so many of you who are faithfully praying for him. Rachel's social calendar keeps us hopping and she is getting very good on her guitar. Edgar, Rachel, and I attended the live recording of Northpoint's newest worship album--it was an incredible night. We are loving our church and the awesome worship and teaching we experience each week. I am still an coach on Upstreet, our children's program, and have moved with my 4th graders and our team up to 5th grade. God is doing amazing things at our church that is less than a year old. We have incredible environments designed for 350 kids. Last school year we averaged over 600 and this year we are averaging over 780, with our high attendance being 805! What an amazing thing to see our volunteers ministereing to these kids and them engaging so well.

October is here and Edgar and I will celebrate our 21st wedding anniversary on the 4th. We are also looking forward to getting to enjoy a few days with the Bishop's at the family reunion later on this month. Also, my sister is coming up for a few days and she and I are planning a girls only overnight to the mountians.--that's it so far, you are pretty caught up and I WILL try to do better.

If any of you are still reading, let me end this by sharing a little story from surgery day. Ryan loves his little plastic animals--he has hundreds and he catagorizes them, lines them up by two's to board his ark, and carries one or two of them everywhere. The night before his surgery we talked about the fact that he keeps them in the palm of his hand because they are so precious to him. I told him that the Bible tells us that God holds us in the palm of his hand, which is the most tender and sensitive part of our hand. As he was going into the operating room, holding a little jaguar, I told him that he would fall asleep and his hand would open and I would keep the jaguar for him, but God never sleeps and he would keep Ryan in the palm of his hand all through the surgery. When he woke up it took a little while for him to become coherent. When he spoke, he saw his jaguar on the bed rail where I had placed it and he looked up and said, "Mommie, Jesus kept me in the palm of his hand". May we all remember that as we go through our days--we are precious to God and He keeps us in the palm of His hand.

Blessings,
Christine

Password problems

2007-08-03T09:38:00.000-04:00

Ok, so you may have noticed that I haven't posted in a while. It is not because we were in California for a week have a fantastic visit with the Paffords which included a 2 day trip to San Fransisco, nor was it because when we got home we had jet lag and a full week to catch up on coffee orders and business paper work. It wasn't even because we are gearing up for the new year of serving in children's ministry at our church and had several things to do. No, the real reason was because I couldn't remember my password to log on!!!!

I do understand that with all of the problems people have in cyber space including identity theft, there have to be safeguards in place. But for pity sake, don't they understand that one losses one's memory with age and the threat of someone wanting to assume my identity and blog for me is a significantly low risk?! You may say, "Well you need to keep a list of all your passwords", to which I would answer, "You are right, and I do, but I FORGOT to include the one for my Blog!!"

At any rate enough of the ranting and raving for this morning, suffice it to say I will try to do better.

Rachel came home safely from Africa and within 24 hours we all got on a plane to California. It was a fun week of visiting with 'the nephews' as Ryan says. We did a few 'touristy' things but mostly just had a great visit. When we took the boat tour in San Fransisco we went under the Golden Gate bridge and around Alcatraz Island. We also rode the cable cars and ate at several great restaurants including the Cheesecake Factory which is on the 8th floor of the Macy's building and Bubby Gump's on Fisherman's Warf.

I appreciate all of your prayers for Rachel on her trip, she loved it and can't wait to go back, as I knew she would. If you go to her blog you can see pictures. I also appreciate your prayers for us as we make decisions regarding Ryan's health and school. We talked with a pediatric ENT and think we will have his tonsils and adenoids removed, and have his tongue clipped. We believe this will help his speech and also allow him to have more recuperative sleep. We also have him re-enrolled in 1st grade at out local public school, but this time with an open IEP and promise of special services and a modified written requirement. I will blog more about that as we know more.

Tomorrow morning I am off to the 'mother ship' known to most as Northpoint Community Church for a morning kick off of our children's ministry for the new year. I am so thankful to volunteer in this amazing program with such wonderful volunteers and staff. I am even more thankful that Ryan gets to participate in Upstreet! Thank you Lord, for faithfully fulfilling the desires of my heart.

The Real Weaning Begins

2007-07-15T17:02:00.000-04:00

I would love to say that I can tell you all about what Rachel is doing in Africa, and I can tell you what was planned, but alas the phone service where she is has been very unreliable and we have not talked but once for about 2 minutes! She was doing well Wednesday evening, really loving being with the children at Tumaini and not seeming to mind the cold showers and less than dependable flushing toilets. I did speak with Steve Taylor, Donna's husband, at church this morning and he said they delivered the milk cows to the widow/mothers yesterday and were on their way to church and the soccer game this afternoon. By now they should be back at the hotel with one day left at the orphanage, a day and a half for some safari, and then back on the plane for the long journey home, I do know that Rachel is not ready to leave. This time has gone by way too quickly for her and she is already planning to go back next year.

I was thinking last evening that one of the things that made this trip difficult for me was the fact that Rachel is experiencing something very significant with people we do not know, and more importantly without her family. I know that this is part of the 'wings' in the goal of 'giving your children roots and wings', but it is not easy. I am so happy for her and thankful for this opportunity, but it is such a reminder that my baby girl is becoming her own young woman and moving away from our nest. For her sake I am sorry the trip is winding down, but for me I can't wait to see her and have her home. If she follows in my footsteps and decides to go far away from home for college in a couple of years I will be a basket case!

I am knee deep in children this week as Ryan and I have moved to Sugar Hill for a few days to take care of Savannah Grace and Rylee while Phillip and Anita take a mini vacation. It will be fun, but alas another reminder that this ole gal is no spring chicken! Grandmommie will take over for me on Thursday so I can go to the airport and meet my girl when she gets home. Then Edgar, R & R, and I get on a plane Saturday to fly to CA for a week with the Paffords.

Thanks again for all your prayers for Rachel, keep me before the throne as this week I do my best to mommy a one year old, a 3 and half year old, and an almost 8 year old. You might remember Edgar as he is at home taking care of all our critters :).

The Eagle has Landed

2007-07-11T00:13:00.001-04:00

We got a phone call from a very excited Rachel this afternoon about 5:45 our time. They were in Nairobi, she got her Visa (thank you God), her luggage all arrived, she bought her Kenyan Shillings, and they were already at the Presbyterian Guest House where they will stay the first night. She got plenty of sleep on the plane and sounded very excited. As we go to bed about midnight Tuesday she will be up and ready to head out for the Tumaini orphanage; they are 7 hours ahead of us.
I will try to post updates over the next week or so as we receive news. Thanks again for all your prayers!!

Complete Perfection

2007-07-10T09:45:00.000-04:00

In the Bible the number 7 represents perfection, or more accurately completion. In Hebrews we are told to "fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith". We usually think of the word perfect as an adjective, but here it is a noun. It is Jesus who will bring to completion or perfect our faith. Many Christians and non Christians consider the number seven to be 'lucky'. I am not superstitious nor do I depend on luck, but this week God showed our family how He is the completer and perfecter of our faith.

Many of you have joined is in praying for Rachel's trip to Africa with Heart for Africa. You have generously given money to make this trip possible and have prayed faithfully for all the aspects of the trip--most recently for the arrival of her passport. We applied for the passport 14 weeks ago, in late March when there was no discussion of a need to expedite said passport. So we waited, and waited, and waited. Then ten days ago we began calling the 800 number only to be put on hold for over an hour each call and then be told, "we have your application and will begin processing it soon". We even called our congressman who said we could start the process over and overnight the paperwork and funds to his office in Washington DC and we could get it in 5-7 business days, but we did not have an additional birth certificate! All of this to say it was truly in God's hands; we did all we could do and it was totally left to Him (as if that weren't the case anyway!!)

So, on Saturday-two days before she was scheduled to depart--on the 7th day, of the 7th month, in the 7th year God showed His perfection again and sent Rachel's passport via FedEx Saturday delivery!! Needless to say there was great rejoicing at the Munn home. We had already dug out the suitcases, filled one with clothes and shoes to leave in Africa, and packed the other one with most of what she would need. We wanted to be as ready as possible should the passport actually arrive.

I had already asked a few questions to Donna at Heart for Africa regarding, 'what if it doesn't come'? Even as I was asking, I kept thinking, "God I really believed it was Your will for Rachel to go on this trip--could it be I am not in tune with you on this?" It is amazing how the Enemy will try to make us doubt our faith or our relationship with our Heavenly Father. He cannot thwart God's will, but he can make us doubt ourselves.

The passport arrived about 11:00 am and we went straight to Walmart to finish getting the last minute Africa-specific supplies we needed--insect repellent with Deet, electrical outlet converter, etc. (We even found $1:00 folding umbrellas to send to the ladies in Africa!) It was a very exciting day and we went to bed exhausted.

Sunday morning I woke up with a terrible headache and could not stop crying. I think after all the anxiety of waiting for the passport I was more emotionally drained than I realized and the water works just poured. At any rate, by the evening I was all cried out and was ready as I could be to send her off. It is one thing to take your child to another continent; it is a whole new ball game to send her!

We all got up very early Monday morning and took Rachel to Donna's where she rode with several others to the airport. As I write this she is in the air on the final leg of the journey and should arrive in Nairobi at 3:10 pm Monday afternoon our time, which is 10:10 pm in Africa. She has called from each airport stop--Chicago and Brussels--and was so excited each time we spoke. I can really feel the faithful prayers of so many who have prayed for this trip and who are continuing to pray--thank you. I especially appreciate those of you who called or came by to specifically pray with Rachel. I am so grateful to hear all of what God is going to do in the next 9 days not only in the lives of the people in Kenya, but in the lives of the Munn's.

Thank you Jesus, for being our perfect Savior who always completes what You begin!

Thoughts on Freedom

2007-07-03T14:43:00.000-04:00

It is difficult to believe that we are already into July; the summer is passing quickly. We will celebrate Independence Day tomorrow and we will do so with the traditional gathering of family(those who are local at least), eat too much food, and possible enjoy watching the skies light up with beautiful fireworks--depending on what city officials have deciding in light of the current drought. I am sure we will have a great time; we all enjoy being independent.

I wonder if we will give much thought to the price that has been and is currently being paid so that we can enjoy this independence? I know that I try to ask God each day to give wisdom to our local and national leaders, and to protect those in harms way, but I am sure that I really do not appreciate all the freedoms I enjoy. My grandfather fought in the civil war, my father and Edgar's fought in WWII. I will never know the real price they paid, nor I believe, will I ever really appreciate what they bought for us. I hope we will all do our best to honor what has been done and work to ensure our independence is not lost in the future because we fail to remember.

I love living in a free country, in fact I am sure I don't even realize all the freedoms I have because I have never not been free. It is certainly in our nature to desire independence. In my years of working with young children, independence is the driving force behind most of what they do--God made them that way. It is that same drive for independence that usually gets them into trouble. You see we all want unrestrained freedom, and that doesn't exist. My precious little niece who is a year old today wants the freedom to climb to the top of my stairs with no restraint, but she does not understand that before we can grant her that freedom, she must be responsible enough to come down safely. My son, as I am writing, has packed his suitcase and had decided he will move into the empty house next door--he wants the freedom to play with his toys and only clean them up when and if he wants to. He doesn't understand the responsibility involved in home ownership--or toy ownership. Fortunately he will soon change his mind and be able to exercise his complete independence and come home.

As a Christian, I want to enjoy all the freedom that I have because of the debt my Savior paid, yet as I read my Bible I understand that I have been bought with a price and that I am not my own. Now don't think that I am speaking of a legalistic code that I am forced to follow, but rather a behavior modification lifestyle based on gratitude. I am free to love my enemies, to pray for those who persecute me, and to turn the other cheek when someone assaults me. All of this is because I am no longer a slave to sin but a servant to righteousness. It is a responsibility to live free in Christ, just as it is a responsibility to live as a free citizen. I pray that we all take a few moments this Independence Day and ask God what He would have us do to fulfil our responsibilities to live free.

Celebrate and be grateful!

Getting ready for Africa

2007-06-19T20:44:00.000-04:00

Time is getting closer for Rachel to go to Africa and as the time passes there is still much to do. We would appreciate your prayers at this time. First of all, her passport has not arrived. She applied 11.5 weeks ago and they are very backed up right now. She needs to get her passport and her Visa SOON! Although it is possible to go to Kenya with just a passport, should the country of Kenya decide to not grant her a Visa for some reason, she would have to come home alone. Her mom would really like to know that all the paperwork is in place before she leaves Atlanta.

Secondly, she goes Friday to get the rest of her shots and medicine. I know all of this is to protect her, but the thought of intentionally injecting her with several potentially deadly diseases is a little nerve racking for me--those of you who know me well know that I am severely allergic to Drs. and most medications!

Lastly, she is very close to having all her funds in place for this trip. We are so grateful to all who have generously supported her in this faith venture. She still needs about $500 and we are trusting God to provide that also.

I am really excited for her to experience this time in Kenya and know that God is going to do amazing things to and through her. I believe she will experience the greatest joy and deepest sorrow as she serves these children and families in Kenya. I pray that she will have a much greater appreciation of God's unconditional love and a much stronger hatred for the Enemy.

I know that preparing me to let her go is a time of faith testing and faith growing for me. I think I understand the risks involved and the potential good that she can accomplish, but letting her go is a stretch for me. I think of the thousands of parents who have sent their children on to a foreign country as full time missionaries, and my release is so small. I am reminded that my Heavenly Father sent His Son on a mission trip one time and my gratitude far outweighs my current fears. Thank you God for letting us play a small part in what you are doing.

Successful travels

2007-06-08T19:57:00.000-04:00

We are home from our whirlwind trip to NC. Thanks for all the prayers, we had a safe trip and even spent a day in Greensboro taking care of several business issues and visiting with friends. We also got some confirmation on some of the concerns we have had regarding Ryan's learning differences. I will take a few moments here to recap our trip.

We traveled to Chapel Hill to meet with a couple of learning specialists at the Center for Student Success. The Center is a part of the organization All Kind of Minds. Dr. Mel Levine, a pediatrician, began looking at how and why children process information. When the labels ADD and ADHD became very fashionable, Dr. Levine was much more concerned as to why some children have the difficulties and some do not. He developed a system whereby a student can be evaluated and have a neurodevelopment profile defining the student's strengths and weaknesses. Once this is done, strategies are developed to help the student use his/her strengths and work around his/her weaknesses. The evaluation is done by educational specialists and pediatric neurodevelopmentalists.

The whole process was very respectful and positive. Ryan spent about 4 hours with the clinicians while Edgar and I sat in a room observing the whole process via a computer monitor and headsets. At the end of the morning, we went to a long lunch while the clinicians conferred. After lunch, we met together and they told Ryan what a terrific brain he has and explained some of what they had learned about how he thinks. It was important that through out the entire process Ryan was included and we all did our best to explain to him why we were there and what we were doing. We will get a detailed report in 2-3 weeks but this is a brief summary:

Assets:
1. Receptive language: understands what he hears and reads
2. Expressive language: communicates his ideas
3. Memory: remembering, storing, retrieving what he has learned
4. Higher order cognition: being a good thinker
5. Sequential ordering: recognizing and putting things in proper order
6. Gross Motor Functions: large motor coordination

Areas to Work on and Around
1. Attention Controls:
A. Processing controls--having trouble processing input deeply, staying focused,
getting distracted, and taking 'mind trips'--especially with visual input
B. Mental effort--running out of fuel to process
2. Graphomotor function: handwriting

One very interesting thought was that he needs to see and ENT and possibly have his adenoids removed. Although he gets enough sleep, it is not necessarily restful sleep and therefore when new info is presented, he responses by being very tired and listless.

At any rate, there is much more to come but we think he will repeat first grade and go to the local public school. Our prayers now are that he will not have to wait 3 months to get an IEP (individualized educational plan). Once he has the IEP he can begin to get special services. I have expressed three main concerns with the assistant principal: Ryan needs a nurturing teacher who is OK with hugging him some, he cannot do a lot of homework--he struggles so with writing, and a 6 hour school day is huge for him. We also want to protect his self image and help him be a confident learner.

We rest in the fact that we know he is 'fearfully and wonderfully made', and we are so grateful that God entrusted him to our care. He brings such joy to our home and we know that with God's grace he will have a wonderful year next year.

Thank you again for your prayers and concerns. I will try to let you know as we learn more and discover practical strategies to best help him.

2007-06-03T23:10:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is a big day for us. Edgar, Ryan and I are driving to Chapel Hill,NC where Ryan has an appointment at the Center for Student Success. He will be seen by a group of clinicians who will observe, interact, and hopefully give us some answers to the many questions we have regarding Ryan's learning processes. He is a very bright little boy who loves life, but not school. This Student Success Center specializes in evaluating children because they recognize that children come with 'all kinds of minds'.

We are not looking forward to the 7 hour drive to and from, but are hopeful for some insights. We appreciate your prayers for our travel safety as well as for the assesment itself. Rachel has chosen to stay home with Uncle Phillip, Aunt Anita and the girls as most of her Greensboro friends are still in school. I think Ryan will radiate the love of Jesus to the clinicians as well as charm them with his smile, but then I am prejudiced. Will keep you 'posted'.

"Two are better than one because they have a good return for thier work." Ecc.4:9

Things that go bump in the night

2007-05-29T14:22:00.000-04:00

I am finding that my schedule is once again digressing from the normal 'go bed at a decent time so I can be up, showered, and ready to go by 8:00am' to my more natural 'stay up until about 2:00am and sleep in until 9:30'. This really is not good when you have kids. Now that school is out Rachel could easily follow the same schedule--and often does, but Ryan never sleeps past 8:30am and is usually up before 7:00. The problem is that he is creative and very independent--yes that is a nice way of saying he gets into everything!!

Being a conscientious educator, I have encouraged him to get up and let the dog out, feed her, and watch television quietly. He invariably adds making himself breakfast--which always messy no matter how I try to prepare for him the night before. Some sarcastic, violent cartoon is usually substituted for the educational TV program we discussed, and more often than not he can't resist running out into the backyard in his underwear chasing the dog who is loudly barking. All of this to say that staying up half the night is rarely followed by a restful 'sleep in' morning. None the less, my nights are getting later and later.

Over the weekend I found myself up particularly late one night. I was Internet surfing, playing spider solitaire, and halfway watching an old movie. Everyone in the house was sound asleep including the dog. About 2:23 am the silence was broken by the high pitched sound of a little voice. At first I thought I imagined it, but then a few minutes later I heard it again. Just a few words but enough to make my heart beat a bit faster.

Years ago I decided that I would not live my life in fear as that is the antitheses of faith, but when you hear these kinds of noises in the night it takes a little reminding. The fact that Ellie was sound asleep and not barking her head off gave comfort because had it been a real threat she would definitely announced it. I carefully walked into the hallway between our bedroom and the family room and waited. No more voices spoke for several minutes so I decided all must be well and went to bed.

The next day, Ryan and I were reading in the family room when the voices started again. This time it was clear to me that the voices were coming from the corner of the Family Room where I have two baskets of toys; one for each of my nieces who come often to visit. There right in the middle of one of baskets was a red Sesame Street stuffed toy--Tickle Me Elmo--to be exact and it was talking. The mystery was solved and Ryan calmly said, "Oh listen mom, Savannah Grace forgot to turn off Elmo, I'll do it." I was immediately transported mentally to a little house on Third Street in Arkansas City, Kansas where I lived with my family when I was 5 years old. I had been given a 'Chatty Cathy' doll for Christmas that I dearly loved. By about March she no longer talked, even when I pulled the string in her back. I kept her in a cradle by my bed and one night as I was almost asleep, she suddenly said, "I love you". I remember lying there in such terror. I wanted to scream, or run to my mom in the next room or something, but instead I just laid there paralyzed with fear.

I wonder how many times we as adults allow situations, or relationships to paralyze us with fear, when all we have to do is open our eyes of faith and see that our fears are completely unfounded. Sometimes I think we even allow our fears to prevent us from expressing our love and worship to God. We try to keep our relationship with Him private so as to 'not offend anyone'; we keep our worship very controlled so as to 'not draw attention to ourselves'; we even fail to openly give thanks for our food because of what others might think.

I've learned that most things that go bump in the night, usely just lie there during the day, and life is too short to allow any kind of fear to prevent us living out our lives of faith to the fullest.

A Sacred Gathering

2007-05-21T19:22:00.000-04:00

Last Friday evening Edgar and I celebrated what might be my favorite birthday to date. We went to my favorite eatery--Sweet Tomatoes, then we went to Northpoint Community Church for what was called a Sacred Gathering--wow.

This event was not widely publicized, in fact most of my friends up at Brown's Bridge (where we attend) were unaware of it. I think with 3 campuses and multiple services, the number of people now attending on a regular basis, over 27,000 total, it is unreasonable to open the invitation to all three campuses, but I am so glad we heard about it. It was a service, not a ticketed event, and it was amazing.

We arrived a little early and the auditorium doors were not yet opened. (I still think is so cool to attend a church where people line up outside the doors at each service waiting to go in). When we did enter, we noticed several "stations" of tables with candles, white linens, and the Lord's Supper juice trays and round loaves of bread. Since it was my birthday, Edgar conceded to let us sit near the front--I don't see too well when we are in the back. The light's were low and Bill was playing lovely music on the piano. As the room filled, Edgar commented how happy people here are. It is true, there was a sense of peaceful joy in the room.

Promptly at 8:00 three ladies came with stools and the singing began. First a solo, then a couple of duets and a trio. All hymns about the cross including one of my favorites, In Christ Alone. Next the ladies left the stage and we began congregational singing with Todd Fields on guitar, two other instrumentalists--one on cello, and one using snare sticks on the bongos. One of the ladies also joined Todd in singing. The tempo picked up a little and the songs still focused on the cross.

In the center of the stage was a large metal, back lighted cross suspended about 10" off the ground. The sacred part of the evening was unfolding with each song as we collectively and musically meditated on the loving sacrifice of our Savior. Most of the time events at the Northpoint Ministries campuses are termed "foyer" events. They are designed for regulars to bring guests to a safe and comfortable environment to just see what it is all about. This was definitely different. This Gathering was designed for believers who have a relationship with their Heavenly Father.

When Andy got up to speak, he drew attention to the scriptures where the angels first announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds and reminded us that the 'Good News' was to all people. He then challenged us to really focus on the all for whom Jesus came. He reminded us that while it is 'a really cool way to spend a Friday evening' and it is important to spend time intimately communing with the Father around the table we have come to know as the Lord's Supper, it is also critical that we never lose sight of the all. He then asked us if there was a least one person we know who is not a believer. Then he asked the really uncomfortable question: are we actively petitioning God for the salvation of that individual? I immediately thought of one of our neighbors. We have come to know the father and are beginning to know the rest of the family. They are good people, but they do not know the Lord and we have been inviting them to church. I look forward to the day when they connect with our Heavenly Father; I am trusting God for that day to come soon.

We spent sometime praying aloud in small groups and then in a very orderly and respectful fashion stood and each row was guided to one of the tables where we could take a cup and piece of bread. As we came back to our seats to meditate and individually partake of the elements there was a hush in the room exceptt for the piano music.

Once everyone finished the music began to pick up tempo and become more celebratory. The next 30 to 40 minutes over 2500 worshippers filled the room and I'm sure the heavens with praise and adoration unparalleled. Kristian Stanfill, Steve Fee, Eddie Kirkland, Todd Fields, and several other musicians led a time of music and worship that honored God and inspired His people. It was truly a Sacred Gathering, and an awesome birthday date!

Okay, so maybe I am a conference junkie

2007-05-16T21:36:00.000-04:00

One of the really neat 'perks' of living north of Atlanta and attending a Northpoint Ministries congregation, is meeting and serving with some wonderful people. I have the pleasure of being a 4th grade coach in our elementary small environment called Upstreet. I work with some amazing men and women who love Jesus and pour themselves into the 50+ 4th grade boys and girls who come to our room each Sunday. We have Small Group Leaders, Greeters, and Production folks. Then on Sunday afternoons I serve with a small team of parents who show up each week to prepare and serve a snack supper to about 120 high school students during their worship and small group environment called Inside Out. All of these folks volunteer and many volunteer in other ministries also. So in addition to good fellowship and awesome worship experiences, this has opened the doors to several other ministry opportunities.

Two weeks ago about 1500 college student leaders gathered at the Thirsty07 Conference, a ministry of Louie Giglio's organization, Passion. I had the incredible opportunity to volunteer at the registration desk and on the Touch team. I met people from all over the country who came to Alpharetta to give of themselves for 3 days to serve God and others. I had the opportunity to hear some amazing servants of God, including Francis Chan, Louie Giglio, and David Crowder.
People came because they were are thirsty to hear from God, and God showed up--it was such a blessing.

Last week, Edgar let me move into the Hyaitt hotel in Smyrna GA for 3 days so I could volunteer at the Orange conference, sponsored by the Rethink Group--wow! (My wonderful niece, Anita, really made this possible because she came and stayed with my kids.) For years I looked forward to the Grow Up conference at Northpoint as a conference attendee. It was there that God opened my eyes to new ways to think about children's ministry. I always described it as "a big party where you learn alot". The Rethink Group, under Reggie Joiner's leadership now has expanded their ministry and are challenging church leaders around the world to combine strategies to be more effective. The Orange Conference was their first conference and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to be there serving over 3800 attendees from all over the world. The main sessions were as great as I had expected; inspiring worship, hilarious skits, and challenging messages. In addition to hearing from Reggie, Sue Miller, Francis Chan, and Donald Miller, Jeff Foxworthy made an appearance--what fun.

Did I work hard? You bet, this old gal was exhausted, but it was glorious! Did I make a difference? I hope so; I was simply one of many who were a 'little part of something big'. I can hardly wait until next year when hopefully I can serve again. I guess I really am a conference junkie, and I am so grateful to have such incredible conferences in my neck of the woods. Thanks, God.

2007-05-16T00:23:00.000-04:00

This is a milestone week for me; I am another year older, hopefully wiser, and have decided to begin this journey by beginning a blog. It has been a while since I kept a journal and perhaps this is a way to re institute putting thoughts on paper. I don't know if it will be read by anyone, but I believe the value is in the composition more than in the audience. So I begin.

My over riding thoughts just now center around my increasingly feeble attempts at parenting. Yesterday was Mother's Day and my own mother died when my first child was 5 years old. I have spent the bulk of my career working with children and their parents and although I have a lifetime of experiences, I seem to have few answers.

My children amaze me each day. It is a little tricky having an almost grown daughter who feels ready to spread her wings and a young son who still filters most of his world through his parents. I believe in helping children to become independent, yet the thought of her stepping out into the world without me is terrifying. Always bright, fearless, eager to try new things, and happy, she is passionate about the injustices in the world and is going to Africa this summer to do her part to make a difference. I am proud, excited, nervous, fearful, and expectant all at once. The last sixteen years have gone so quickly and daily I think of things I want her to know before she goes off to college.

My son has a heart of gold. He is imaginative, thoughtful, bright, and struggles with processing basic academic information. I have spent my life as an educator and yet feel like a failure when it comes to helping him learn. I want to celebrate his uniqueness and am angry that he must conform to be considered successful. As I observe him daily I so admire his innocent love of life.

I am thankful that of all the attributes of God, He refers to Himself most often as our Father. His example to us of how to parent our children with unconditional love is one of the gifts for which I am most grateful. I want to give good gifts to my children, to love them, to support them, and to guide them. Most of all, I want to point them to their Heavenly Father who, unlike this earthly mother, does know what is best for them in all situations. I will continue to pray for wisdom and take it one day at a time, but at the end of the day, each day, I must give them back to their Father and ask Him to work through my good intentions to accomplish His perfect plan. After all, they are simply on loan to me.