2nd Track Meet

So our little track & field novice, who still insists on competing in the tall person events, just finished 1st place in all 3 of her events at her 2nd track meet ever.

While I love to watch her sprint and jump, I'm much more impressed by the integrity and loving kindness I saw displayed by these teams while I was volunteering out on the field today. When the girls weren't racing against each other, they were caring, sharing, and making friends with their competitors. It's not so much about who wins the race but about how well they love others with grace.

 

I enjoyed helping run the stopwatch and cheer my head off for our runners. After the meet, we were asked to bring Lily home, but we brought her to our house instead for dinner.  I had nothing planned, but my girl insisted she and Lily would cook dinner.  She ended up spending the night, and they made pancakes for breakfast, too!

Note:  If my daughter invites you over for dinner, she may talk you into helping her make dinner, and you will have so much fun you will never know you just blessed me by doing a chore I dread. 

I promise I tried to serve our guest as Southern hospitality requires, but my daughter makes household chores so much fun, maybe her next guest will beg to clean our bathrooms!

High School Mini- Reunion

I helped coordinate a small high school reunion in October.  This reunion was intended to be casual.  The next one in five years will be big and fancy.

I've aged 20 years in the last five years, but I skipped having my hair and make-up done, for truly, why should I care what everyone else thinks about my outward appearance anyway? My value is found in Christ alone and any beauty that truly matters should come from the Spirit radiating through me, not from outward adornments.

 ³ Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— ⁴ but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. (1 Peter 3:3-4)

With the most divisive presidential election in my lifetime involving nationwide violence and heated exchanges on social media and across the extremely biased and corrupt mainstream media networks, I was concerned that the reunion would be filled with political conflict.  One classmate in particular had shared some fighting words with me over social media, so I was especially concerned how conversations would go with him, so I prayed that politics would be kept out of the evening.  And for the most part they were.  Actually, what happened that evening was miraculous.  My political polar opposite classmate greeted me warmly and asked me to say a blessing before our meal.  What public school has ever had a group blessing before the meal?  The thought of praying corporately never occurred to me.  This guy who attended "church" with Hillary Clinton, majored in religion, and insisted I was wrong when I simply stated that all God's words were true.....calling me arrogant while acknowledging that he is essentially shaking his fist at God and insisting that He was wrong when he wrote the inspired word and that the church could win a lot more souls if He had left out the unpleasant parts....you know...about sin and judgment...the whole reason Jesus came to earth and what the gospel of salvation is all about.  But I digress....

So on the fly, I publicly thanked God for the roots we all share....same experiences, same hometown, same school, same teachers, same commitment to unity and to loving one another.  Something like that anyway.... and the evening was so much fun without any disputing whatsoever.  Thank you, Lord!

Our primary reunion planners (I just took care of registration & internet marketing)

I was known as the goody-goody in high school.  I never really felt like I belonged in any one clique, and we certainly had a cliquey school.  I just tried to be a friend to everyone without labeling myself or others.  I may have felt distanced as a result, but God used it for my protection.  The ladies shown below were always nice to me, however, both then and now.

Such sweet ladies

I really wish I had spent more time getting to know A, the nice lady in blue pictured above.  Maybe she was just making flattering small talk, but what she shared with me at the reunion touched me deeply.  She said she always watched me in high school and knew I was different and was inspired by me.  She said she reads my blog posts as part of her devotional time and that she has been hosting international students as a form of ministry for the past 12 years, since she did not expect to have the resources to travel globally.  I never hosted an international student for a lengthy period of time at all, so I'm not sure how I could have influenced her to do that. No, the Lord both inspired and prompted her to love the nations in that way, but if she saw the Lord in me, then all glory to God because far too often, I find myself quenching the Spirit and speaking or acting in the flesh and not the Spirit.

I shared how she had encouraged me with the 12 and13 year old girls in our Bible study group as a reminder to them that others are always watching them and learning from them, and that if they choose selfless love over self-interest and do the hard thing God wants them to do, even without any reciprocation or maybe even being persecuted for it at the moment, their classmates will grow-up and develop immense respect for them when they are older. And God will always reward them for their faithfulness.  How I want to encourage them to keep that eternal perspective!

Ben (who traveled from Arizona to attend) & Pete

I haven't seen Christine since high school, but I was thrilled to learn that she is teaching now.  No doubt she is called by God to that vocation.  Teachers are heroes!

The guy pictured below in red may disagree with me on politics, but we both agree that his Boy Scout Troop makes some delicious venizon chili.   I'm so glad they shared their cooking talents with us.

I never expected to bring a spider bread plate to an event, but Halloween was approaching!

 I always have to give props to my long time friend, Craig (pictured at left in photo below).  We attended church and school together since 6th grade.  We went through confirmation together, co-led the high school youth-group, served together in student government, did music ministry together in nursing homes, and I even accompanied him on the piano during his All-State music competition.  He made it!  My closest friends had crushes on him, so I was often playing matchmaker for him, but oddly enough, he is the reason I met my husband!   The whole story is summarized in the Our Love Story series on this blog in which I referred to him as "Curly".

Our colors were black & gold, and our mascot was the bulldog.

Feasting and Fellowship with Fun High School Friends

Our table where I did talk faith & politics privately with the guy in yellow (upon request)

Our Mini-Reunion Guests Attending

A time to dance...

Chris's fiancee' is a dance instructor!

Top Quotes of the Week

During my readings each week, I come across quotes that seem especially relevant or that I want to remember, so I'm going to try to start recording them here for future reference.

The most pondered quotes by me this past week include:

"The argument is that mathematical laws, in order to be properly relied upon, must have attributes which indicate an origin in God. They are true everywhere (omnipresent), true always (eternal), cannot be defied or defeated (omnipotent), and are rational and have language characteristics (which makes them personal). Omnipresent, omnipotent, eternal, personal… Sounds like God. Math is an expression of the mind of God...Modern natural science was created by people who said that they were trying to 'think God’s thoughts after Him.'” - from an interview with Vern Poythress by Jerry Bowyer, "God in Mathematics", Forbes 

Biblical Masculinity

I fell asleep reading these words in a book by John Piper, "At the heart of mature masculinity is a sense of benevolent responsibility to lead, provide for and protect women in ways appropriate to a man's differing relationships."

Then as soon as I woke up the following morning, Facebook sent me this applicable quote by my son when he was only 5 and likely only modeling the "mature masculinity" his father possesses.

While my husband was away on a camping trip with our daughter, I commented to my 5-year old, "I don't like it when Daddy is gone for the night."

My boy put his arms around me and said, "Well, I guess that means I'll have to protect you tonight, Mom." And so he did.

2016 Elections

"Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens."  (Exodus 18:21, Jethro's advice to Moses)

Given that Hillary is clearly very ill as evidenced by her most recent public fainting incident (I'm convinced she has advanced Parkinson's Disease) but still lying to cover up whatever it is, she is not able. She obviously is not a man and given her lust for power, her compulsive lying, her gross corruption, her bribes, pay-for-play, stealing items and even large furniture from the White House, and her long history of corruption, she is certainly not the type of leader Jethro had in mind. 

Of course, Trump isn't exactly qualified either.

"A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is his delight.

When pride comes, then comes disgrace,but with the humble is wisdom.

The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness. (Proverbs 11: 1-5) 

And this is why I'm so outspoken about the elections this year. The corruption, deceit, greed, and battle against God and all that is good and right is epic.  We must fight it.

Trials

Context:  After my daughter shared all her frustrations over the AAU basketball tournament today and with the way other players are treating her, I replied, "If it is causing you so much angst, maybe you should take a break from basketball now and just focus on field hockey."

She replied, "No, Mom. I can't quit. Besides, bad days make better players." 

That quote must have come from the Lord, for it sounds a lot like Romans 5:3-4.

"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4) 

Living Life Abundantly

"Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."  - Helen Keller

Friendship

"If you want to make friends, spend more time noticing and caring about others than you spend trying to get others to notice you." -Paraphrase of a quote by Tony Dungy from his book, Uncommon

 M3 Memory Verse

 "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.^"  (Romans 12:1)

Football: Let the Games Begin

Our son's first scheduled football game got cancelled after a tropical storm flooded out the fields, so the first official game the team got to play took place last weekend.

Go Chargers!

Well...technically the games began four years ago when football games required less equipment, fewer players, and only a short "commute" up to the 3rd floor rec room of our last house.

He was chosen to be one of the captains for his team based on his character, obedience, respect for authority, leadership, and team-building, so he got to walk out on the field for the coin toss.

Coin toss

He played cornerback for defense, rotated between guard or wide receiver for offense, and also served on the punt team. Notable moments from his first game included a nice open field tackle for a loss on the opposite side of field and forcing  a runner out of bounds to prevent a touchdown by the opposing team.

 

See that red cleat sticking up just over the top right of #63's helmet in the photo below? That's our boy, one of the team captains, making his first tackle at his first football game ever.

 

He had a scrimmage this past week, so my husband tried to take a few pictures (below) with our SLR camera. If our kids continue field sports, we will need a nicer telephoto lens.  Even his iPhone takes better action shots than the SLR.

So far, playing football has brought out more toughness, discipline, endurance, and speed from our son. He set a PR last week for running, coming in 2nd place. The other kid who beat him is in his 5th year of Pop Warner football, so for this to be our son's first year, I think he's doing really well.

After that game, and after weeks of trying to find sports drinks that did not have food dyes, corn syrup, excessive sugar or other toxic chemicals, I decided to make my own for the kids to drink the rest of the season. My batch included sea salt, organic coconut sugar,magnesium, calcium, potassium, zinc, B vitamins, kale, chia seeds, and spinach. And as is typical of healthy drinks, it looks like bile. Did they drink it?

Our son liked it.  Our daughter wasn't too crazy about the gritty texture of the chia seeds floating around undissolved.  Oops!

Last Summer Hurrah

The kids were invited on a last minute trip to the mountains with some close friends of ours.  We don't typically allow sleepovers of any kid, but we know this family well and felt comfortable letting them go. They stayed at a gorgeous golf course home in a rural part of the mountains.  They hiked, slide down water falls, and soaked in the God's marvelous beauty.  I'm thankful for all the ways this family has poured so much of their hearts and time into our kids.  They adopted both of their children via an open adoption with regular contact with the kids' biological parents, so I have also enjoyed observing from a parent's perspective the many ways they unconditionally love and support their children as stewards of God's gifts and not as possessors. 

Celebrating Our Independence

Independence Day grows more somber every year as we see the freedoms protected by the U.S. Constitution ignored or overridden by executive orders and justices legislating from the bench.  The gross overreach of each branch of government is unbelievable, yet no one seems to be stopping it.  The corruption is so deep that a life long criminal and proven felon is now on the the Democratic party's choice for POTUS.

But far too many brave men and women fought, suffered, and/or died to set us free, so I will celebrate the spirit of their sacrifice and the hope America offers to suffering people around the world for as long as any remnant of freedom remains, and I will continue voicing my concerns and campaigning against systematic government tyranny until the day I die.

Each year, our neighborhood hosts an Independence Day celebration on our cul-de-sac with grills, potluck, games and movies for the kids, small sparklers and whatever is allowed in our strictly regulated town, and a show the kids put on for the adults.  We live in a very diverse neighborhood in which Americans are the minority, but you would not know it from my pictures.   Most of our neighbors are Hindi, but we also have Arab Muslims, Chinese, and South African neighbors living next to us, but I guess they were note as interested or available to celebrate our American holiday with us.

We hosted two families for a cookout at our house on July 4.  My college roommate and long time friend (we were bridesmaids in each others' weddings) drove over an hour to join us. Their oldest daughter just graduated an will be living a few steps from where we shared an apartment at the same university this fall. She is an exceptional student, home-schooled all through middle and high school, with over 45 college credits obtained through our local community college. She was one of 12 admitted to the design school this year and received the top award across all colleges at the summer enrichment program offered for prospective students.  I wanted to congratulate her in person.

This couple has been fostering two kids (half-siblings who had never met each other and never even knew about each other until they came to live with my friends). These children came with a number of physical, mental, and emotional needs as  children of drug addicts, but their progress has been remarkable, and my friends (who have known suffering more intimately than anyone else on earth in ways that few can possibly comprehend and who will continue to experience suffering as my friend battles her latest diagnosis, MS) are in the process of adopting them permanently.  The work God is doing in their little lives and in my friends' hearts are amazing.  They are very young children, and m my friend is older than I am with MS, but they are persevering.

Her husband just got his first assignment as a Guardian Ad Litem, which is a volunteer role I hope to assume one day when I can find the time to complete the 30 hours of initial training.  He answered questions I had and further confirmed that I God has uniquely gifted me for that type of ministry to orphans, but I'm praying for the right time to begin as my kids are my primary ministry right now, and I keep getting pulled in so many directions with all my many interests and passions.

We invited another family who have two adopted children via open adoptions.  The son's birth mother was recently born again and is on fire for the Lord.  She flew out to meet her biological son for the first time a few weeks prior, so I was eager to hear how that went. These parents are amazing to me in their openness with the adoption. They are not the least bit possessive over their children, seeing themselves as stewards over God's children for a time and then will let them fly wherever they wish to go when they are grown. Their daughter wants to move out west where her birth mother lives, and they are supportive of any dream she has. That astounds me, as I know I would be so jealous, but their love is unconditional, Christlike love - the purest form.

My husband thought a flag cake was disrespectful, so he went with a fireworks theme instead.  I loved the freedom this year of watching someone else shuck the corn in my place.  The kids have been very interested in cooking this summer.  Our daughter preparing most of our meals all summer long!

The two families had much to talk about and exchanged useful resources.  It was a nice pairing, and I'm so glad it worked out with our guests not knowing each other at all at first. We talked for four hours straight, losing track of time, so we arrived at the fireworks display just in time for the finale, having missed most of the show. Oh well....I'll take edifying conversation over the most elaborate fireworks display any day.

Cheese burgers, hotdogs, veggie burgers, chicken, corn, baked beans, vegetables, fruit, cookie cake, and S'mores!

The Great American Race Birthday Party

Shortly after school let out, our son attended a really fun birthday party for Parker at a local park.  ("Parker's party at the park" - say that 5 times fast.)  I am blogging about it here because it was such a really fun party theme idea, and it's one our daughter would like to replicate.  She and I helped with some of the games and challenge events. Parker's mom went over the top planning ten activities that took much longer than she expected.  She even provided matching shirts to identity which boys were pairs, with a different color shirt for each team. That particular detail was specially ironic to me because we were late arriving to the party because my could not find any shirts and shorts that matched, and he had tried on a dozen items by the time we gave up, and I drove him to the party is mismatched clothing, only to have him change shirts as soon as he arrived.  Ha!

Each team has to complete each event successfully in the order specified by the moderator who sat in the middle of the park.  Each team would receive a slip of paper providing the instructions and location of their next challenge event.  When that event was successfully completed, then the team would run back to the moderator and get their next assignment.  That way, each team was working on a different challenge at different times so as not to get bottle-necked at one activity.  Whichever team finished all ten activities first won. Out of the ten activities, some were hard and some were really hard for each team, but none were easy, and each team would consider different activities to be the hardest.

One of the neatest activities involved writing 15 words of affirmation on a poster designated for each kid.  Some kids were cheaters about it, writing things like nice 15 times or you are very, very, very, (12 total "very"s).....cool on each kid's poster.  But other kids wrote some really thoughtful comments, and those touched my son far more than I expected them too. He wanted me to read all the nice things people had said about him again that night before bedtime. Words of affirmation are my number one love language, so I totally get his desire to read them over and over.

Making Hard Decisions When God's Will Isn't Immediately Clear

I've been struggling since last March over whether or not to continue teaching STEM next year. I love the students.  I love learning.  I love the life lessons that flow from it.  I'm passionate about bringing STEM enrichment to our school and want my life to count most of all.  Teaching is fulfilling in the sense of doing something that has value, but some days I wonder what I'm doing in the classroom with no teacher training and no expertise on classroom management. All I have is a love for STEM, kids, and the STEM methodologies I employ, for the way they ignite a love for learning and appeal to non-traditional learners.  But I'm not very efficient at lesson planning, and I never know when to stop improving my lessons.  I always have that oppressive, nagging stress of having to plan the next lesson, and I rarely do anything on weekends because I'm so wrapped up in lesson planning.  I never have the sense or verbal affirmation that I am a good teacher, so I keep trying harder and harder.  The parents have expressed great gratitude for all my efforts, but that just makes me feel guilty when I consider quitting.  I'm hoping just giving up tutoring will free up more time, but the engineering job I love is taking up more and more time as well.

I struggled with guilt over enjoying my consulting/engineering job so much and fearing I was taking the easy, worldly road instead of the seemingly more fruitful road of teaching.  I'm hard on myself and tend to think I'm supposed to do whatever is the hardest instead of what is the easiest. That pattern is evident throughout my life.  Almost every decision we make for our kids has been the harder one on us but with the highest potential for long term benefit for them.

I have received some very positive feedback recently at work for modest efforts compared to the grueling efforts I put into teaching, yet teaching is such a thankless job. I spend all year begging the school to let me implement just one small change (because no one who is better equipped to do it will do it and because lack of funding is the excuse for every new idea), yet at my job where I use my strengths on a regular basis without needing to put in so much effort, I am rewarded and appreciated for nearly ever little idea I suggest.  Even so, if I am seeking the approval or man or vain flattery to stroke my ego instead of seeking only to please God, then the job is bad for my heart, bad for my pride, and not what I should be doing.

So my prayer partners have been praying with me over the decision, given that I don't feel like I can do both, or certainly not do both to my standard of excellence without my family suffering as a result.  My husband prefers that I be at the school, but during my years of teaching/tutoring, he has had to pull a lot of weight at home because I've been too busy with lesson plans and student events to take care of my duties as wife/mom.  Today, our church published a devotion I had spent over 10 hours writing last week about wives submitting to their husbands (based on Vashti & Xerxes in Esther 1), so I know I should submit to him.  Yet he hasn't insisted that I work at the school.  He just wants me to keep my focus on the kids, which is wise indeed, for they will be gone before I know it, and I don't want to miss out any opportunities to sow into their hearts.

Then a wise mentor advised me to do what brings the most fulfillment, not necessarily the most happiness.  That's tough because no matter where I work or serve, if I do it for the glory of God, then He will bring eternal fruit out of it, but I feel most fulfilled in relationships with others.  When teaching STEM, I connect in some part with the young students, but not so much with other adults, and I much prefer to work with adults where we can talk on a deeper level - applying God's truth to critical life issues, sharpening one another as iron sharpens iron. I connect more easily with adults, but I did find some of those connections with high school & college aged students, so I know I'm supposed to work with that age in some capacity at some point, be it as a bible study leader or Sunday School teacher or just being involved with athletics programs in which my kids participate.

But the connections I have at my engineering job are different, deeper, richer, and more diverse.  The practical aspects of the job make it the clear choice in the eyes of the world, and make me seem a fool to give it up, but I must always remember that man's wisdom is foolishness in the eyes of God, and God's wisdom is foolishness in the eyes of man.

¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”  (1 Corinthians 3:18-20)

This particular workplace is unlike any other with the rare benefits of a relaxed, encouraging, team building environment, flexibility to manage oneself, strong support staff, opportunity to travel across the state in a consultative role meeting people from all walks of life without going too far to necessitate an overnight stay, so I'm home with my family in the evenings, an inner circle of like minded people who meet to pray for our country and our co-workers during lunch off site, a full scale health and wellness program, fun co-workers, and potential for full-time employment when the kids are older.

When I left my career to stay home with the kids full time, I never thought I could return to my original career field, given that the industry is always changing and my technological savvy has dwindled over the years, so to have the opportunity to pick back up where I left off but with more of an engineering/process improvement focus, which is more my wheelhouse, is a miracle.  Part-time engineering jobs are few and far between, but with this job, I get to practically set my own hours, depending upon need and my own availability, so I've been averaging just under10 hours a week when most convenient for me.  It really is the perfect scenario.

Then when my husband enrolled our son in Pop Warner football (two hour practices every day) and both kids added an extra music lesson each week, I considered how much busier the kids and I will be (not just our kids but other students I had anticipated would want to take my STEM class), I sensed the number of students available to take my STEM class would be lower this year. My own son would not have the time, and he's the reason I started the program in the first place.

So, I have been discussing other options with the administration for including STEM as part of the regular school day while adding small Olympiad type clubs for the few students who cannot get enough STEM enrichment.  I committed to helping out with new programming, but I declined to continue in the all consuming role as administrator, developer, and teacher who also handled all the registrations, accounting, equipment purchasing, lab set up and clean up, marketing, facility rental, curriculum writing, etc.

My heart sunk as I considered all the fun we had last year, so I went to work today feeling conflicted.  I had shared with my prayer partners the night before about how much better my relationships have become with my children...connecting on a deeper level with more mature conversations and less drama.  One friend said, "Maybe your new job where you are being fulfilled (maybe she meant utilizing my God given strengths and bents) is affecting your attitude and the joy you experience in parenting."  Bam! I had never considered that leaving my children to go do something outside of the home could make me a better parent, but oh how I need the escape..not every day of course, but one or two days a week makes for a nice break, and I do think about my kids while I travel to/from work or client sites.  I think about ways to love them better, and I usually come home energized and happy.  When I taught at the kids' school, I came home and crashed on the couch not wanting to look at another kid until I had slept at least six hours.

Then today I had the most awesome workday. I got to travel with my favorite like-minded coworker, and we shared openly about about our fears and our faith.  Being politically minded in this day and age can certainly wreak havoc on the spirit as the truth of our nation's utter corruption and eminent demise is ugly indeed. As I drove, I shared so many treasures stored up in my heart. She didn't mind my rambling, though, for she was truly listening and ministering back to me. All the related scriptures I've memorized in the past came to remembrance and poured out, encouraging us both..  So much wisdom teachers and mentors have given me over the years, and life lessons I taught my STEM students came to mind just when we both seemed to need them most.

We talked a little about the Black Lives Matter movement and the all out assault on police officers kicking off a sort of civil war in our country during our drive.  I tried to infuse hope into every word I spoke instead of my more typical "Obama raised this terrorist organization in our own nation to destroy us" type rants. Even though I was trying to encourage her, I was actually encouraging myself in the process and being reminded of how much I need to fill my heart with God's truth to push back so much of the negativity flooding the headlines.

When we walked into the restaurant recommended by our clients, we saw two police officers in uniform sitting with a large group of people not in uniform, but we assumed if they were eating with policemen, they were supportive of men in blue, too. I told my co-worker that I wanted to buy those policemen lunch, and she was all in. On that extremely rare occasion, I actually had some cash, just two larger bills. So I asked our waitress to put one of my large bills in with the check she brought to the police officer's table and to tell them someone wanted to say thank you to the police officers for serving, but not to let them know who.  We wondered if the lady would really do it or pocket the cash. We talked like we weren't paying any attention to the police officer's table, but I think the waitress did exactly as we asked her, and she came back later, beaming about how much they appreciated it.

Then I got to thinking....those police officers and everyone at their table were white.  This town we were in seemed old school and more segregated compared to where I live where white Americans are the minority. Our waitress was black. Both my business partner and I are white. She may have assumed we only appreciate white people, so I pulled out the other bill (same amount as I gave the police officers and same amount she would have pocketed had she not been trustworthy) and added that to her usual tip with a note of thanks. My friend and I were both glowing because it just feels good to bless someone. I'm not the spontaneous Random Acts of Kindness type person, though I certainly have wanted to be more aware of ways to serve others, so this was all a God thing. 

I now have no money in my wallet, but my heart is so full. I don't actually bring home any money after paying taxes, giving tithes & offerings, and paying a nanny, so today was a net negative for me financially, but the internal blessings are immeasurable.  

Anxieties overwhelm us when we feel like we have no control over what's happening in the world and when evil seems to be grabbing little victories.  Even though we know God has won the war, the little battles sent to wake up the world to their need for Christ can make us feel beaten.   But we can make a difference, pushing back hate right where we are, simply by loving others near us with simple acts of kindness and generosity.   How can we be anxious when we just cheered up six hearts today with less than what a counseling session with therapist would cost?

All the way back we talked some more, and we both realized how much God had ministered to us both that day.  She filled my love tank, and I think God worked through me to help her. What if I had been silent about my faith as the politically correct, and many Democrats, especially Hillary Clinton, insist?  She and I never would have connected on a heart level or been able to share spiritual truths in a way that will mold our hearts not just for now but for eternity.

After work I wrote out the following notes and quotes to share with her so we can both use them as reference when either of us grow anxious or weary of the world.

The world may be broken, but He restores my soul.  The world is filled with evil and corruption, but He leads His people along paths of righteousness! (Psalm 23:2-3)

Violence and wars rage around us, but He is our peace. (Isaiah 9:6, Micah 5:5, John 16:33a)

Evil seems to be winning the current battles, but He has won the war. He has overcome the world. (John 16:33b)

Trials befall us; loved ones leave us, friends betray us; and injustices overwhelm us, but God's love never ceases and His mercies are new every morning. Great is His faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Rebounding Video: Imagine you are the top tennis ball, supportive like-minded friends could be the middle ball, and Christ is the basketball. 

Consider Daniel and Joseph who went from imprisonment or captive slave to second in command in pagan nations.   Mordecai is another example with some great humor to enjoy when you consider all the many instances of irony for proud Haman.  Ruth, Job, and Jonah have great rebound stories too.Any hardship or suffering we face will enable us to soar higher than we ever were before. Believe it. Claim it. See also Romans 8:28 and Jeremiah 29:11.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly." -John 10:10 -NASB

(Note:  Just because Satan wants to kill and destroy does not mean that God will stop giving us abundant life.  Christ has already won the victory, and nothing can snatch us out of his hands, so we much choose to live in the knowledge of that truth.  We have to let the thief steal our joy.  God doesn't give the spoils back to the defeated one.  That's our choice.)

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33 

(IOW, Satan may seem to win a few battles, but God has already won the war!)

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." - Philippians 4:8

(Note: Push out negative thoughts by filling your heart with positive truth - then there isn't any room for negativity.  God gives us lots of armor in Ephesians 6 but, he gives us one offensive weapon, the sword of truth or His WORD.  Conquer anxious thoughts with upper cuts, jabs, and thrusts of that might sword.)               

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength."  - Philippians 4:13

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength." Corrie Ten Boom

"I counted dollars while God counted crosses
I counted gain while He counted losses.
I counted my worth by the things gained in store,
But He sized me up by the scars that I bore.
I coveted honors, and sought for degrees.
He wept as He counted the hours on my knees.
I never knew till one day by a grave,
How vain are the things that we spend life to save.
I did not yet know, 'til a Friend from above,
Said richest is he who is rich in God's love."
(Author unknown) 

[My note - nothing we lose here on earth really matters in the big picture - it's all a blip on the timeline of eternity.]

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (1 Corinthians 4:17)

“Please help me not to be so busy making a living, I forget to make a life.” 

When I came home after that awesome work day, still riding the buzz brought the random acts of kindness, I came into the kitchen to find the kids working together...on their own initiative...happily preparing one of my favorite meals from scratch for dinner so I would not have to cook after a long but fruitful work day. Random acts of kindness are contagious and bring healing to the soul, so let's keep the RAK virus spreading across America where it is needed most.

Parenting Discovery: If kids see what you deem as a chore as a form of creative play and the decision to do that task is their own idea with the freedom to make whatever they want instead of being told to cook something you specify for dinner, then it isn't a chore they complain about, but rather, a fun project to enjoy - TOGETHER! 

Fine Arts and Forever Friendships

I have over a month of blog catch-up to do, so this post reverts back to the middle of May, and I'll try to post chronologically since then. 

Speaking of posting late and out of order....it's nearing the end of June, and I still haven't blogged about our family trip to Israel in January. I'm giving myself permission to skip it completely unless I get suddenly inspired and find supernatural energy to share about it here. I drove myself crazy and stayed up all night long last weekend trying to finish all the scrapbook pages from our trip to Israel in January.  It was the hardest scrapbook project ever, and I am burned out.  I waited too long after the trip to do the scrapbook, so my memory failed me, and I had to keep doing research to identify each photo.  It was maddening, but my shiny orange package containing an extra large scrapbook from our trip should arrive on my doorstep tomorrow.  To learn more about our trip, come visit us.  We can so some porch sittin' while I share all about it as you thumb through my scrapbook.  I'll serve you tea or lemonade out on the porch and enjoy your company more than any adventure story I could share.


Authenticity in Friendships
Friendships come in all forms, styles, seasons, and situations, but the friendships I value most are the most authentic ones. There is no pretense with these types of friends. When they knock on your door after years have gone by since you last saw each other, you greet them in standard workout clothes, no makeup, and uncombed hair because that's the real you, and they accept you just as you are. As you show them around the new house, you don't mind if they peek into the junkiest closets because they've already seen the messiest corners of your heart and still love you anyway. If you forget your southern manners and forget to serve fresh sweet tea (because you are too focused on them and what they have to say), it's okay because they know they can help themselves to anything in your home because what's yours is theirs and we're all family here. 

"To love without condition, to talk without intention, to give without reason, and to care without expectation. That is the heart of a true friend. " -Author unknown

Kids' First Contemporary Christian Concert
They say all of our senses fade as we grow older, so why is that as a vibrant young college student, I thoroughly enjoyed music concerts, but now that I am over the hill, I can't even sit through a contemporary church service without the highest rated forms of hearing protection?  In college, I would push myself hard all week to free up a few hours to attend a concert with people I barely knew. But now that I'm in my 40s, I spent an entire month dreading the decibel levels I would experience at the Big Daddy Weave concert.  Who pays over $100 to go deaf, anyway?  That would me....because I love my husband and attending this concert with his wife and kids is what my dear hubby wanted for his birthday present.  

Perhaps my problem isn't so much "crabby old woman syndrome" as it is the superhero hearing powers we women get when we become mothers. This superpower enables us to hear our kids' every movement, every breath, every text stroke, every whisper behind our backs, every tear that falls upon their cheeks, and every sneaky step toward our secret chocolate stash. :-)

Lucky for me, we arrived "late", which was still an half hour before the show was scheduled to begin, but too late to get seats up close, we sat up high on the very back row in the center. I had a perfect line of sight without once needing my earplugs.  YAY!

 

The music was fabulous. Plumb has just enough 80's electronic sounds to soothe this girl's soul...like comfort food might soothe a foodie, and I'm loving the thoughtful lyrics and melodious sounds coming from newbie Jordan Felix. Big Daddy Weave, whose last name is Weaver and who is on one of the largest dads I've ever seen with at least three kids, has such a BIG heart for ministry and strong worship oriented vocals, but my favorite part of the evening was watching our two kiddos rock out with all their hearts....well until the 3rd grader fell asleep in my arms.

Plumb was awesome and her personal story behind her song "Need You Now" which she co-wrote with a resident of our small community of residence whose last name is the same as my maiden name was especially moving.  I was so intrigued by the personal stories she shared at the concert to provide the context for her songs that I read all about her online after the concert.  I love artists who sing about their own personal battles without sugar coating the Christian life, yet always ending with God's truth and a message of His saving grace and redemption through any storm.

I think my favorite song from the concert was "Beloved" by Jordan Feliz (who looks just like Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean), which he wrote for his baby girl. My daughter and I cried like babies through it. It would have made a great theme song for our PK group as it assures young women of their worth and how immensely loved they are.  The lyrics begin with the following:

Head full of questions, how can you measure up?
To deserve affection to ever be enough
For this existence
When did it get so hard?
Your heart is beating, alive and breathing
And there's a reason why
You are essential, not accidental
And you should realize
You are beloved
I wanted you to know
You are beloved
Let it soak into your soul
Oh, forget the lies you heard
Rise above the hurt
And listen to these words
You are beloved

Click here to read all the song lyrics.

School's Weekend Art Festival

I may complain about improvements needed in STEM subjects at our school, but the school's fine arts programs are top notch. We have the most amazing band director (who also patiently endures the job of teaching recorder to middle school students while also serving as facilities maintenance director) ever, but I really wish we had a marching band. Marching band brings with it so many wonderful experiences, valuable life lessons, and significant memories from my childhood days.

The concert choir travels around the country.  I love to hear them practicing during 7th period. It sounds like a chorus of angels echoing lightly through the halls across the gym from the auditorium. 

Our daughter's middle school drama team took home more awards and the highest awards of any other team in the state at the NCTC competition.  They were also the only team to stay at the event all day long simply to encourage the other schools as they performed.  Many of our high school theater students receiving acting scholarships and admittance to the NC School of the Arts where their light for Jesus shines ever so brightly.

Each class of art students (required in K-5) submitted pieces into the festival. Below are some unique and downright funny art pieces by our kids.  The third graders created the tree mural shown below. Our boy's decorated plate is on the right edge of the tree to the far right in the picture.

Our boys' plate

Given my left-brained logical, realistic mindset and STEM background (I can't even suspend my disbelief long enough to get through a cheesy movie), imagine my confusion when I saw this piece by my wildly imaginative, extremely right-brained daughter.

It's called "Wall of Banana", and the assignment was "Hidden Faces" using surrealism . I could not wrap my brain around the concept of a banana with a face sticking to a wall, but the 12th graders loved it (or were amused by it) so much they gave her the "Seniors' Choice Award" and took a photo with her in front of it.  Looking up the definition of surrealism at least helped me understand why I did not understand the piece. "Surrealism style uses visual imagery from the subconscious mind to create art without the intention of logical comprehensibility."

I'm glad this American Gothic drawing my son drew of his dad and me did not get finished in time for the art festival. He brought it home on the last day of school, and I could not stop laughing.  I had trouble with drawing facial features to the correct proportions at his age, too. What a fun assignment for the kids.

Our son performed in another piano recital at a local assisted living center in May.  Both kids passed out handmade greeting cards to the residents after the show.  They really seemed to enjoy having the students perform for their and immediately asked the students to come back for more recitals.  (The facility where the recital was held last year is much more exclusive and about 5-10 times more expensive, so when they got a brand new high dollar grand piano, recitals were no longer allowed.)

He is at the point now where piano has become fun for him, especially when he gets to play songs he likes.  He did not deliver his best performance after not having much time to practice the week before, but considering he played some of the most difficult pieces at the recital, he recovered well and put on a nice little show.

I especially enjoyed listening to a duet performed by a piano student and her grandfather. I sure hope I get to play piano duets with my own grandchildren some day.

He enjoyed goofing off with his piano teacher's sons (who were in his class his first year at school but who returned to homeschooling the following year).