Whirlwind Trip

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.