One reason I love being a teacher

Kindergartners make me smile. For one half hour each day, I go into a kindergarten class and work with one student. I sit down at his table that he shares with three other classmates. One of the students, Zach, always gives up his chair for me. You know, those really little chairs. As I sit down next to my student, his classmates start telling me, all at the same time, what work my student needs to finish. (It takes him a bit longer to finish his work each day.) They tell me, just like they were the teacher, exactly how he is supposed to complete his classwork. I smile. They are all so cute. The only girl at the table, Clara, is 6 going on 20. She's adorable. Anyway...today was an especially eventful day. My student finally colored "in the lines!" Yes, he has always "scribble scrabbled" as his tablemate Nathan would say. But today, I thought, I'm going to get him to focus and show him how to color without scribbling. Amazing. He colored within the lines...well, sort of, but close enough. He took his time and tried really hard. Nathan was so excited for him that he started yelling out to his other classmates, "He's coloring in the lines!!!! Look, he's coloring in the lines!!" Okay, now you have to imagine what it's like in a kindergarten classroom at 2:00 in the afternoon. There's 23 kids all over the room, doing all sorts of activities. It's centers time. Mass confusion. And unfortunately the teacher was absent today and not able to witness this historic event. The sub really didn't understand the significance of my student coloring in the lines. But I did and so did his tablemates and other classmates. But most importantly, he did. If you could have seen the proud smile on his face, it would have made you smile. I did. And that's one of the reasons I just love teaching.

Trusting

Don't steal tomorrow out of God's hands.

I think I try to do this all the time. I'm not a very patient person when I'm afraid. When I'm worried, and I ask God for help, I'm not very good at waiting for the answer. But I know there are lessons to be learned in the waiting. Trials can be long. Somehow short trials don't have the same lasting effect. I know all of this, but it's still hard.

Yet, I'll wait. And pray. And wait more. And hope. And I know my prayer has been heard. And He will answer it...in His time. Because He is a loving, faithful God.

Spring Break!

It was officially spring break for me at 3:15 this past Friday. Yes, I'm 50 years old and I still get very excited about spring break. That's because I teach, and I get a much needed break in the middle of a hectic spring semester. But I don't head down to Padre Island, or Destin or any other "party" place. Definitely too old for that, though I am reminded of a few spring break destinations of the past...
- when I was in high school, going on a cross country family car trip from New Jersey to Colorado Springs to see my dad's brother and his wife. All six of us in the family station wagon, my dad, mom, three brothers and myself. No seat belts that I can remember. The station wagon with the third seat that faced out the back of the car. (It made one of us carsick.) We stopped in every state, going and coming, plastering those ugly state decals all over the windows of the wagon. Yeah, we really looked like Chevy Chase in Family Vacation. But it was fun. Never had been west of Pennsylvania before. And definitely never where they wore cowboy hats and boots. We were New Jerseyites, from right outside New York City. We had car trouble in Tumcumcari, New Mexico and were taken for a ride by some auto mechanic there. Had to spend the night in some dive of a motel that had donkeys right outside our window. But what great memories of that trip.
- When I was in college, going south from Rutgers in New Jersey to see my folks in Florida. It was me, Bob and five other guys, all in one car, driving straight through to West Palm Beach. Took us 24 hours and as soon as we got to my folks' house, the guys all jumped in the lake. I think the car was ready to explode. It was pretty nasty.
- After marriage, with kids, driving down to Florida to take in the warm waters of the Atlantic and enjoy my mother's wonderful cooking. We made that trip many times. Their house was always relaxing for us. Bob particularly enjoyed the couch glider on the porch! That was his spot after the long drive there.
- With teenage kids, skiing in Colorado, and trips around Texas. Winter Park, Colorado has some fond memories that still make us laugh. It was in Colorado that Bob first found his love for skiing.

But this spring break is an example of how life changes. How you adapt to the lifestyles that come as families grow up. Becca came home today from UArk. The three of us will leave for Austin in the morning where we'll meet up with Pam. She and Becca will have some sister time for two nights while Bob and I head off to the Hill Country. We're staying in Comfort, TX. We've never been there, so we're excited about exploring some new sights around Texas. Then we'll c0me back to Austin and visit with Pam and John for two nights before the three of us head home again. Becca will go back up to school, and Bob and I will go back to work.

We're thankful that we can do this. Thankful that our kids want to spend time with us and each other. So we still get to make spring break memories. Even after all these years.

Have any spring break memories of your own?

26 years ago...

26 years ago, at 9:04 pm, after 28 hours of intense labor, my first-born child was born. Like many new parents in the early 80's, Bob and I did not know the sex of our child prior to the birth. Sonograms were usually only performed if there was a suspected need. We had an "old-fashioned" doctor in Dr. Robert Doty in Richardson. (He passed away several years ago, some years after he delivered our third child, Becca.) Bob and I really wanted a boy as our first child. Of course, we would have been just as happy with a girl, but for some reason, I thought a boy would be nice as an older sibling to the girl I hoped to have also. And I thought it would be great for Bob to have his oldest be a son. (Both turned out to be true.)

So on Friday the 13th of March, in 1981, at 9:04 in the evening, our 7 lb. 15 1/2 oz., 21 inches long son was born. We named him Steven Charles, after my brother Steve and Bob's father Charles. A funny little fact was that I was also born on Friday the 13th (in April) and born at the same time, only in the morning.

We brought home our first born, placed him in his bassinet and sat down in the living room of our house in Richardson. Bob and I looked at each other from across the room, and simultaneously realized that we were now parents and had to take care of this little human being. We were only 24 and 25. We immediately called his mother. I think she was on the next plane from New Jersey to Dallas. She stayed for a week or so, and then my mom took the next shift. By then, we were ready to take on this new adventure. And what an adventure it has been. Steve was your typical active boy, playing with the guys in the neighborhood, coming home all scraped up and dirty. As a toddler, he pushed the limits. We broke a few wooden spoons. He was athletic and artistic, curious and funny. (Mommy, I'm full.) His teenage years were like being on a roller coaster at times. (And I don't like roller coasters.) But he has turned into a young man that has made us extremely proud. A man searching to know God. A man with a heart for people. He's still athletic, artistic, curious and funny. We love him and are very thankful that he came into our lives 26 years ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY STEVE-O! ( By the way, I gave him that name.)

On the top

My devotional this morning had to be shared...

"Crushing weights give the Christian wings. It seems like a contradiction in terms, but it is a blessed truth. David out of some bitter experience cried: 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove for then I would fly away and be at rest.' (Ps. 55:6) But before he finished this meditation, he seems to have realized that his wish for wings was a realizable one. For he says, "Cast they burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee.'

The word "burden" is translated in the Bible as "what he (Jehovah) hath given thee." The saints' burdens are God-given; they lead him to "wait upon Jehovah," and trust. The burden becomes a pair of wings and the weighed one "mounts up with wings as eagles."

This is a picture I needed to "see" today. The load we think will crush us was sent to lift us up to God. My place is not beneath the load, but on the top.

Looking Up

Okay, so I thought I'd better lighten my tone and mood. Seems I got a few people worried with my last blog. Sometimes you just have to vent. But I am in a much better mood today. Bob's coming home today after being gone for a week and a half in Japan and Singapore. The house has been quiet. I've kept myself very busy, but I've missed him. I don't think I'd be one of those people who like living alone. The first few days of having my schedule all my own is nice, but it gets old after awhile. So I'm looking forward to seeing him later today!

And after talking with my daughters in the last few days, I realized (again!) that there are blessings to be found in the midst of trials and tribulations. All of a sudden some really cheesy lines of some oldies just popped into my head. Keep on truckin'. Gotta believe.

Hope you all have a great day!

It's war

I'm in a battle right now. Maybe not a physical one, but definitely a spiritual one. Everyone has most likely been through them in their lifetime as a Christian. As long as we are living in this world, we will need to do battle. The devil is alive and grabbing hold. Right now he's holding onto someone I love dearly. And I don't want him to win this. He's on one side, I'm on the other. I'm reaching out and trying to grab hold of my loved one, trying to pull her out of his snare, but the grip is weak and I feel like I'm losing my footing. Why do I feel like this? Is it doubt? Am I trying to do this on my own power? Everything I believe tells me I cannot win this battle on my own strength. All of my past experiences in dealing with the devil tells me I need the Lord's power. I can grab hold of my loved one, but it is God's strength and power on my side that will win this. Now am I patient enough to wait for that time when God will extract the evil stronghold? I don't feel very patient right now. I'm worried and scared. I don't feel like I have on my whole set of armor to do battle. The battle may be long, but I can't grow weary. I can't back down. Too much is at stake. But God knows that. He knows my heart. He knows my loved one. He loves me. He loves her. She's his child. He brought her into the world. She belongs to him. He won't give her up. It's a battle and it's war. But God is up for it. And he will be victorious!