days off

Days off are... glorious. It is sunny outside, my washing machine is chugging along, and I get to wear sweats as long as I want. I absolutely love being home and doing mundane household tasks. Dishes, laundry, cleaning etc etc... I can read my bible whenever I want, read other books too, go grocery shopping, and plan my week of school. Peaceful days like these are glimpses of heaven. Although I'm pretty sure I don't have to do laundry there :).

Jesus,
Help me to be productive on days off. Help my mind to be saturated with you and help every thought in my head to be captive to you. I pray for trust. That in every area of my life I am leaning in on and trusting you. I love you Jesus and thank you for all the amazing people I have in my life!
~your daughter

90something cupcakes

On Friday, my class had our Valentines Day party. There was more sugar than I have ever seen in one room. At one point I counted and there were something that 96 cupcakes... ABSURD! You may ask... did you make sure that specific parents were going to buy specific things? YES! I did! But somehow we ended up with 90something cupcakes and by the end of the day I had put two on each child's plate and two in an extra baggie for them to take home. Nevertheless, that day was one of the hardest in teaching. They were on so much sugar I was glad to see them go. The 90something cupcakes was the funniest thing that day but something happened that truly touched my heart. One of my students had a quiet excitement all day and would hint that he had something for me. I told him I was very excited and that he would have to wait for the end of the day at the party. It finally came that time and he brought me over an oddly shaped package. He really wanted me to open it right then so I began to rip away the wrapping paper and I started to find something crimson... What in the world, I began to ask myself. I completely took the paper off and found a WSU pullover fleece hoody. Wow! It was unbelievable, I told him that I really wanted to talk to his mom about it after school and to thank her for the gift. After school I walked over to his sweet mom and told her how much I loved the gift. She began to tell me that her son had come home one day from school and told her how much I loved the cougars. He told his mom how much he wanted to get me something that I loved. Well, they don't have much money and so I imagine she probably told him no. He began to tell her that he would give up all of his hamburgers and pizza if he could just get me this hoody. Wow... It doesn't sound like a lot, but this is a seven year old child giving up what he cherishes and probably doesn't get very often to love his teacher.

I can totally learn from my first graders, they teach me just as much as I teach them. What an amazing example of giving good gifts. Jesus gives us the best gifts and we are to emulate that. I am so tempted to give people gifts that are convenient for me but to truly give a gift you need to sacrifice something of your own...

His Name is Exalted

The Lord Is My Strength and Song
You will say in that day:
"I will give thanks to you, O Lord,
for though you were angry with me,
your anger turned away,
that you might comfort me.

Behold, God is my salvation;
I will trust, and will not be afraid;
for the Lord God is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
And you will say in that day:

Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name,
make known his deeds among the peoples,
proclaim that his name is exalted.

Sing praises to the Lord,
for he has done gloriously;
let this be made known in all the earth,
Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
~Isaiah 12:1-4

Reading this last night, I realized that what he is saying is very true. God was angry with me! My sin angers him, and it should. But that isn't the final statement. He knows how sinful I am and he looked on me and changed that anger into comfort. Jesus is the propitiation, the reconciliation between myself and the Almighty God. Because of Jesus, I am able to have a relationship with the one who created this insanely beautiful earth and who created each of us. It truly is unbelievable! Jesus is my strength and my song... without trusting in him I become an anxious, fearful, scared little girl. But through him I can be a trusting, victorious, liberated WOMAN! Because of this, I have to make known his deeds, I have to thank him for what he has done, and I have to exalt his name to the people.

1) He has been drawing my dad nearer to himself. Jesus is THE only hope for turning that & all life around.
2)He has drawn Chris and I closer to himself and each other. We are ready for crazy, adventurous life through Jesus. Every day we have been given another little glimpse into it. It's so sweet!
3)I have joy going into my classroom now... HALLELUJAH!
4)We are about 5 days from being members at Mars Hill Church, where the bible is preached & my heart is being utterly transformed!
5)We have awesome community through our church. It is an incredible gift to live life with these people... you know who you are!
6)We are healthy... I completely take for granted the fact that my husband, family, and I are for the most part completely healthy in all ways. I am reminded of this when I look at these two people... who are either victoriously praising Christ through their battle or have a family that is...
www.prayforkate.com
http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/


I praise you Jesus.