Day at home to wash, clean, blog, etc. Kenny called and said that he checked out the bug damage in my prayer chapel. He let me know how much it would cost and he said, "You know, I always feel His presence when I am in your chapel." I said that I did too and after I hung up, I went for a walk and just sat in my chapel. Even though God is always with me, I sense Him in a special way there. I made a list of prayer requests. Some of you reading this...your name's on that list. I left it there with Him and He is praying too. Thankful that I was able to go to bed at 8 this eve.
Tues.-Slept well last night. Taught 3 music classes for 5th-12th, 2nd grade reading, and Select Choir. We learned an African Christmas song, thanks to Mrs. S. While Susan and Graham practiced their Silent Night duet, Doreen and I started making napkin/painted plates. We were there for 1 1/2 hours ! Left school around 5:45! I made beach plates for my shore girls and she made 2 beautiful fall plates. Christi and Philip were hunting in the eve. Michael in Richmond. Christi and some other girls her age are starting a ministry for girls 13-16. They'll meet twice a month on Monday's 6-8. Susan is going to join them.
I am thankful that I can read and sing and play the piano. I am thankful that I can cook and clean. I am thankful for my mother who made these things possible.
Wed.-Taught the younger grades in music. Worked on plates. Made molasses cookies at school and at home. Stayed home from church in the eve. Spent time with Susan.
I am thankful for the little boy who drew a tiny little house in the top left corner of his paper. (I had them coloring to Mozart and Handel.) Lines were drawn to the center of the paper and then swirls of color filled the middle. His melancholy brown eyes looked up at me through endless to-be-envied eyelashes and he said with soft certainty, "This is music coming from the house and it touches all the people. They can dance in it and they can be the music." I felt a bit weak-kneed after that and had to kiss him on the top of his head. I am thankful that Susan and her friends were able to help me make cookies today at school. They took pictures of each other's "helping hands" for the year book. I am thankful that even though it is hard at the time, God's faithfulness brings things to light, and life lessons are learned by all. I am thankful that Michael is home and that he keeps telling me how much he loves me and how happy he is to be home with our family.
Thurs.-Good day. Art with K-2. Making and painting little play dough creatures-drying them in my dehydrator. KL was painting her miniature baby Jesus wrapped up in a play dough blanket and Sam said, "I thought your baby Jesus was a hot dog!" When the children finish the main art project, they color on the back of Kroger scrap paper with magic markers, as happy as clams. Some of them hurry through the main project because they just want to draw. Doreen and I finished our plates. It's been good to chat as we work together. Michael made wonderful tortillas tonight for supper. Philip went to Harvest to attend Bible Study-Truth Project. He's surprising Christi since she thought he'd still be in Richmond. Susan is cleaning her room and looking for her gym shirt. Yippee. She just found it. She needs to wear it during the parade tomorrow. Phil and Michael went to pick up Phil's truck at the garage. Phil was out planting rye seed until 1:30 this morning. He was an ice cube when he came to bed.
I am thankful for nights at home with happy family coming and going and hugging and kissing.
I am thankful for the opportunity to talk to Dianna and Sara in the eve. and catch up a bit.
I am thankful that God does not despise a broken and contrite heart and for the peaceable fruits of righteousness.
I am thankful that my little boy who always says that he misses last year's art teacher sighed happily today and said, "I Love Art!" He painted a volcano he made. He also painted the Titanic. Both realistic objects were made from salt clay by his own careful hands.
Fri.-Railroad Festival Day at school. Free dress day. Washed, cleaned, walked, corresponded, cooked. Michael home. He picked up Susan from school. Weather in high 70's. So beautiful. Sometimes I think I could be a hermit. Love being home. Finished 'Celebration of Discipline' by Richard Foster this week, and started it again. I didn't want it to end. If I were allowed only one book besides my Bible, that book would be my choice.
I am thankful for Susan's good day in school. I am thankful that when I was playing the piano last night and Phil was paying bills, he pulled out his guitar and played along with me for awhile. I am thankful for the email from one of our pastor friends in Pa. He sent an article about Janelle that was in a church magazine. There was the picture of Janelle and Micah, sitting on our sofa that Susan had taken last week accompanied by a very nice write up.
Sat.-Today we went to the Appomattox Rail Road Festival. I remember we went for the first time soon after we had moved. We didn't know a soul. This time, I was shouting out at different participants in the parade and saw many others we knew as we struggled through the crowds. Susan and Mikayla, wearing their CCA t-shirts, carried the parade's banner at the beginning of the parade. I had to drop her off at Thomas Furniture's parking lot and turn around and leave. She had to ask different staff people where she should go. I parked at Robinson's Funeral Home after getting 'lost' in one of the back roads and walked to Baine's where I met Phil, Freeman, and Alli. They left after the parade and Susan and I walked around a bit and sat in Baine's to rest while drinking a skinny caramel latte and talked to Tina and some other folks we knew. Came home and visited with Alli and took it easy and then cleaned some house later in the day. Phil, Susan, and I watched "Never Been Kissed" later in the eve. I was snuggled on the easy chair with my Winnie the Pooh blanket and suddenly realized that a little mouse was viewing the movie right beside me on the arm of the chair. I freaked out. It ran over to the sofa. Phil lifted one end of the sofa and let it thump and then lifted the other end and let it thump. No terrified mousey. Phil sat down and looked down and there was the mouse, on the floor beside the sofa, waiting patiently for us to settle down. I need to kill this thing before I get attached to it. I admire it's courage and down right audacity.
I am thankful for the beautiful weather. I am thankful that I don't feel like a stranger in Appomattox. I am thankful for my students who were in the parade and for the fullness of their lives.
Sun.-"Jesus, Jesus...Great is the Lord...the Holy One..." Loved SS class-"Journey" as it is called here. God is always in the process of revealing Himself to us in a deeper way. Mary and Martha had known Him as 'Healer.' When He was 'silent' in His response to their request to come heal Lazarus, He was waiting to reveal Himself to them in a way He never had before-as 'I Am the Resurrection and the Life.' During worship, I began thinking of other ways He does that. Perhaps we know Him as one who has kept us from temptation. Now He wants us to know Him as the Deliverer out of temptation. Or perhaps we know Him as the Good Shepherd who leads us to green pastures and still waters and He is going to take us deeper so we know Him as the Shepherd who takes us through the valley of the shadow of death. In the process of learning to know Him in a deeper way, the center of the process is usually fraught with chaos and crisis and some sort of awful pain. During this time, God is often silent. It's not a nice little handover. He is not who we think He is and we are devastated and then somehow, He takes us in deeper to reveal Himself to us in a way that goes far beyond our original thoughts of Him. ~~~~~
We had a celebration service today where we heard testimonies about the thing that happened during Farmville First. Jamie shared a statement from Margaret Mead-something like, "Never doubt that a small group of people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." He shared significant stories from the people in his neighborhood who were touch by the love of God through their prayers and window washing. John shared about the little boy who wanted to make sure everyone received a Bible. Todd shared about his daughter and her mother coming to Christ. David shared about those he was privileged to pray with and lead to Christ. Warren shared about his awkwardness in ministering to others, and how God came through in spite of himself. We saw a children's clip of the Children's Ministry and a video clip of snapshots taken throughout the day. Pastor Frank shared about fruit. He said that the word 'fruit' is mentioned 1700 times in the Bible. There is fruit that comes from the ground, fruit from the vine, and fruit from the orchard. There is about to be a harvest of souls of orchard proportions. Fruit begins in your mind. It begins with an attitude that is surrendered to God. It is all about Him. (He is the vine and we are the branches and as we stay connected to Him-abide in Him-we will bring forth much fruit. If we bring forth fruit, He will prune us, so we can bear more fruit. It is hard to have a good attitude during the pruning process but it helps to know that He only chastises and prunes those that He loves. ) Actions follow attitudes. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, and faith. The fruit is displayed through our attitudes and our actions. And our actions determine our attractiveness. The world must see something in us that it does not have. (I just read a book about some young boys who wanted to steal fruit from someone else's orchard. It looked so good and juicy. They wanted it because they didn't have any of their own.) (How do we bear fruit? By abiding in the vine. What does that mean? What does that look like? I read John 15 this morning with my cup of tea. "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be My disciples." We abide in His love so our joy will be full because His joy remains in us. So I think we are looking for an attitude of abiding. A staying inside God and bringing His Word into every fiber of our being so that what comes forth from our dependence on Him is sweet unforbidden fruit to feed everyone in our lives, for fruit is to be eaten.) Oh God, heal those who are in physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. Touch them and release them from pain's all consuming power. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Susan stole Adi from me right away this morning. She wanted her so badly so I gave her the bag of animal crackers that Lindsay had given me to feed our perpetually hungry darling and Susan bribed her with those. There was a good turn out of women to the sign up table for the upcoming conference at the end of October. Susan went home with Kelli S. and Phil and I went to Applebee's, compliments of a birthday credit card from some dear friends. Also went to Tractor Supply and bought 3 packs of mouse traps and a big box of bait. Came home to lots of cars. The guys are here with their girlfriends this time, visiting down at the river I think. Haven't seen hide nor tail of them. Phil read and I took a nap. When I woke up, the cows were on our lawn and Phil tore around on the gator to get them back in. Alli and Freeman stopped in later and brought Susan back. They grilled some meat loaf sandwiches in the waffle maker. How sweet it is to see them so happily married. Philip killed two snapping turtles today. We went out in the dark to see the one that he recovered. He wants to make a salad bowl from it's shell. They were taking pictures and they'll probably appear on facebook this week.
I am thankful for God and the way He comforts me. I am thankful for the flurry of activity outside as Erik, April, another girl I don't know, Travis, Christi, and Philip are preparing to go fishing. I think Jordan, Chace, and Michael are still hanging out at the river. They all had bacon burgers and pizza for lunch over the fire. I am thankful for the way Kelli calls me 'Mom'.
I am thankful for the life of my nephew, Abram W. Shneck, born 25 years ago. He was homeschooled until his college years. He loved to sit out on the picnic table and study nature. He was very bright and had great communication skills. He had strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes. On May 20, 2009, Abie and a co-worker were killed when their car was crushed by a tractor trailer truck. He was studying wild life in S. Dakota. He had been there one week. Our love goes out to my sister, Rosalee, and her husband, Jim, and their daughters, Annika and Katrina. They all continue to miss him deeply. Our prayers are with you. May you know God as Comforter and so much more.
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