Commiting my Ways to God and Relying on His Word

This summer I’m reading Me, Myself, and Lies by Jennifer Rothschild, a study Beth Moore is going through along with thousands of women all over the country.  Mom and Mel are also doing it.  It’s all about the thoughts that we speak to our soul, whether they are human thoughts or whether they reflect godly thoughts.  What it comes down to is this: if you’re not in the word frequently, if you’re not around people that are in the word daily, then your words and thoughts to yourself will not be that great.  Here’s the embarrasing truth: I say to myself that my day was just too busy to find a quiet time with the Lord, but yet I found time to watch a 2 hour movie with Seth or to read 6 articles on www.msn.com.    Time with my husband is great and being well educated is also beneficial, but neither should come before intimacy with my Creator, my Father, and my Friend. 

5 Random things I never want to forget:

1. The way that our 3 year old puts his arm around me when I lay with him and then kisses me on the shoulder.

2. How hot it has been the summer of 2009-so far, ten days over 100 degrees!

3. My first date with Seth to Walnut Circle…new outfits, a borrowed cars, flowers, and a teeshirt from Mexico.

4. How delicious Mom’s rocky road cookies were as a kid, warm, right off the wax paper.

5. The excitement of having  a garage sale, as a kid getting to eat doughnuts and see what kind of odd people showed up, and as an adult seeing how much we can make getting rid of our junk.

Writing Project Pieces

Here’s some things I wrote recently….

 

If You’re Not from Purvis

 

 

If you’re not from Purvis, then you don’t know the Tornadoes.

You couldn’t know how the whole town comes together on hot Friday nights in the fall

to watch the Nader’s play.

You wouldn’t know how every store in town sells purple and gold teeshirts

and displays a sign in the window supporting their athletes.

If you’re not from Purvis, then you don’t know the Tornadoes.

 

If you’re not from Purvis, then you don’t know small town country livin’.

You don’t know about ropin’, rodeos, or huntin’.

You wouldn’t know what a pretty house is because the two acres around it lie between a foul smellin’ pig farm and a dilapidated shack.

If you’re not from Purvis, then you don’t know small town country livin’.

 

If you’re not from Purvis, then you don’t know Southern dialect.

You wouldn’t know what a winda, a weddin, a pilla, or wudder is.

You probably wouldn’t see the beauty of a sun tanned four year old in scuffed up cowboy boots saying, “Yes ma’am,” to his momma,

If you’re not from Purvis, then you surely wouldn’t appreciate Southern dialect.

 

But, if you are from Purvis, then you know the name of everybody on your old dirt road.

You can’t go to Anderson’s Drug Store or Movie Star Restaurant without seeing a friend.

You know that the town is early to rise, and goes to bed in the same manner.

“Y’all have a good night,” can be heard from hospitable store keepers as they lock the doors under an unset sun.

If you are from Purvis, you and your family will most likely stay in Purvis

Because no where else can you enjoy the safety, charm, and character of a town like Purvis, Mississippi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ashley’s Furniture

 

Where did our love for Ashley’s begin? I remember getting a Papasan chair as a Christmas gift from Seth during my engagement period. I remember another time, before we got married, coming back to Mimi’s house from a weekend away and returning to new couch pillows, curtains, and a new furniture set up as a surprise from Seth. Those were the times I realized what kind of man I was marrying. Unique, talented, and slightly unlike what I had imagined my husband being. Our first big purchase together as a married couple was a kitchen table. Seth was so involved and considerate of what would be most aesthetically appropriate for our style, dining area, and home. Although Hattiesburg has countless furniture stores, something drew us to Ashley’s. Was it the constant commercial advertisements? The mailers? Or just the name? I wish I knew.

 

The table was rectangular, sturdy, and black. The chairs had a tall back and a thick soft leather cushion. Over the past few years, and having a food obsessed dog and now a three year old that eats like a college rugby player, the table is used and abused frequently. Our three year old’s chair is typically sticky with a crumb here or there from the latest hot dog or cookie. Since Easter, his place at the table stands out with a bold Spider Man place mat. My spot at the table is recognizable by the pile of papers or books in my place. Papers to grade, books from which to find inspiration or encouragement. Seth’s spot is cleared, unless my things overflowed into his.

 

It started with the table, but as our home and family grew, so did our furniture needs. Not too long ago, we determined that we needed a new dresser, since our original one had drawers falling out, water marks on top, and was just plain ugly. With a husband like mine, that could only last in our bedroom for so long. So, we determined a trip to Ashley’s was in order.

 

After falling for the black dining room table, we knew black was sort of our thing. Elegant, but comfortable. Stylish, but inviting. We were drawn to just a few dressers with, of course, black. We especially loved the ones with a multitude of drawers, considering the small size of our bedroom. There is certainly no room for a chester drawer* or nightstand. So, we settled on the perfect dresser. The top was brown, the bottom black. The handles were the new style, I guess called cup pulls, perhaps satin nickel. Sleek, sexy, and mature.

 

Could we stop with just the dresser? No. Ashley’s had a special that day. (Shocker) If you spent a certain amount, you would get $500 in gas cards and a $100 prepaid Mastercard. Who can turn down a deal like that one? I could, but my Seth could not. We left the store not only purchasing the dresser, but also a new designer couch. Realizing our current recliner didn’t match, we sprung for a new one of the same style. And I bet you can guess the color of the couch and recliner.

 

We are now known for our strong support of Ashley’s. As we are trying to save money with a growing family, we are perfectly content now going on a date to Backyard Burger followed by a walk through Ashley’s Furniture. The salesperson’s know our faces and don’t mind that we treasure the times we get to explore their store and dream about our next purchase. Or purchases.

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Chester drawers is a Mississippi term for “chest of drawers”

No time, but oh well.

I don’t have time to post, but here I am at almost 11!  Today was Seth’s first Father’s Day.  I hope he enjoyed it.  You can’t go wrong with Movie Star for lunch, right?  Tonight we saw “The Proposal.”  Mrs. Gale babysat with us.  It was a cute movie that made me want to visit Alaska.  I can’t last any longer than this.  going to bed now!

I’m Back!

So, it’s been a long time friends!  I had issues with remembering my password for a while, but it’s no excuse.  I am in the National Writing Project’s summer institute at USM, a grad course that teaches teachers how to teach writing better.  The strategies focus a lot on writing workshops and things like that.  I am learning so much; I wish I could have had this before struggling through my year at Baxterville.  But, one thing I am learning that will stay with me is that the more you write, the better you write.  So, I am going to write in various text forms, as much as possible.  Journaling, blogging, twittering, letter writing, whatever.  I just want to get better.  All the great writers were born with the same amount of talent in writing as myself.  But, they were dedicated and determined to get better so they spent countless hours READING and WRITING.   Therefore, I will spend more time doing those two things.  And I will learn that occassionally it is okay to leave a pile of clothes on the bed to be folded later so that I can enjoy a book or do some free writing. 

Having said that, this is all the writing for tonight    I have an adorable, sweet, handsome husband waiting on me to go to bed.  I hosted a premier jewelry party tonight and I am tired.  (But, it was worth it for free jewelry!  Gotta love that!)  Anyways, be looking for more posts to come!

Thanksgiving Eve

It is Wednesday of my Thanksgiving break. I have looked forward to this week for months and it’s more than half way over I have accomplished a lot and had lots of fun though. We had Seth’s family over for pizza and a movie last weekend. We are half way through re-doing our flower bed. I am almost finished Christmas shopping.

Enough of that. I have a 10-12 page paper due early next week. The class is Libraries in a Multicultural Society, and I got to choose my topic. I don’t know how it came about, but I decided to write on library services to foster families. It is so much more enjoyable to write about something I am genuinely interested in. I have never previously considered bringing the two together, but I do think it is a great thought. I’d love to do it myself if given the opportunity. (and time!)

Now that I’ve got 3 pages written tonight, its time for a break. Card games! I hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving. We have so many things to be thankful for.

Election Day 2008

I voted today!  I am so glad this day is finally here, but at the same time a slight sense of dread looms in the back of my mind at the possibility that my guy many very well lose.  Ugh. 

Today was a good day, yesterday, not so good. It was a Monday and I hadn’t prayed over my day, so it was rough.  It is so important to cover your day in prayer, before you begin it.  My students’ lack of concern and inattentiveness just got to me.  I told another teacher that I had been yelling all morning and she said, “You yell?”  Yes, I do yell.  I don’t like to though because it does not come naturally at ALL, and I usually end up jumbling my words and saying something that doesn’t really make sense.  Fortunately, most days I can get through without raising my voice too much. 

I have been pretty busy lately, but that’s how I roll (as some of my boys would say).  We are planning a retreat for our college/young adult group for December 5 and things are finally falling into place.  There is still plenty of work to do, but the main things are taken care of. (location, speaker, sign up info, etc.).  My friends at church are also starting to get excited about it, whichs brings so much joy to my heart!  I want our group to delight in the Lord and sharpen each other in Christ when we are together.  I am praying this retreat will do a work in our group to inspire those types of relationship.

We did get our foster care paper work turned in.  Finally!  We should have a home visit in the next week or 2, so we have some work to do in our home   Anyone want to come over and clean, paint, etc?   Ha, ha.  Actually I love to clean, so I will get to it. 

I better go, the election results will be coming in later and I’ve got an assignment to do for class.  

P.S. If you haven’t seen the movie, “Fireproof” you should.  It was wonderful!  Seth and I already have a great marriage, but it inspired us to want to make it even better and serve each other more unselfishly. 

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Eph. 4:32

Not much….

The above pics are from last Friday night. We stopped by and visited Maddox and Ms. Gale before going dancing.

Nothing too eventful right now.  Still enjoying my job.  The library collection has come a LONG way in the past 2 and a half months.  I looked at one of the reports on the database, and in the past 10 days, I have barcoded and added over 60 books to the database!  I work hard, but it will be soooooo great when everything is in the system. 

Seth finally thinks he knows what his masters will be in. He’s thinking business administration.  He found that Copella College is an accredited online college that offers the degree, and he could finish in 2 years, but for $30,000!!  How does anyone do that?!  We are NOT getting loans for that.   If its in God’s plans for us, we’ll find a way somehow.  (USM offers it in a 5 year program, and he would have to go to the USM campus for classes, ugh.  But, it’d be about half as much as Copella) 

We are a few weeks away from having all of our foster care paperwork/training complete!  It’s scary and exciting at the same time.  Last weekend I worked on setting up a bedroom for a kid to stay in.  Monday I bought some school supplies at Hudson’s to put in a little desk in there.  It’s hard to set it up not knowing how old or what gender the first foster child will be. 

I guess this is all for tonight.  I need to write more lesson plans, and Seth has some to write too.   It will be nice when one day we don’t have lesson plans to write

Ramblings from a late night teacher (9 pm is late now)

According to my sister, I haven’t blogged in a while (if you recall Mel, we were going to do this blogging thing together, remember?).  Well, I have really seen God do a lot of different things lately.  I have learned a lot about how great our selfish choices disapppoint God through the hopes that teachers have for students.  When a student throws those hopes (full of life and blessing) out the window to continue a habit and keep up a reputation with peers, it can deeply hurt the heart of a good teacher. I can do that same thing to His heart, and that’s good to keep in mind.  I’ve seen how God gives more than we can imagine when I see Ms. Gale’s home and how beautiful every aspect of it is.  I am overjoyed when I think about where I was about 3 weeks ago, stressed, tired, and wondering how long I can teach middle schoolers.  Since that time, God has completely turned my feelings around. I do still have some bad days where I go home with a throbbing head ache and dream of homeschooling my own kids to keep them away from the dangers of public schools’ atmosphere and influence.  But, honestly most days I smile and laugh and enjoy what I do as I learn how to do it better.  It can only be God’s peace.  I am no longer trying to keep my head above water, but now I am enjoying the swim.  I know there are better places to swim and explore, but for now I am content and can enjoy my day with few, if any, complaints.  I know, its amazing!  Only God.    

The economy and presidential election keep Seth and I glued to FOX news here lately.  I honestly cannot trust any other news station right now.  I am definetely concerned about the state of our economy, but I know God loves the world.  He disciplines those He loves, so maybe this is part of His discipline to teach us how to manage our money better and not spend so much on selfish things.  Only He knows what will happen with this and how bad it will get, but He promises those that love him a future with good plans of prosperity, hope, and protection (Jer. 29:11).  He will uphold us through the storms.

I just started a book I’ve seen many women check out and read at the public library.  It’s “My Sister’s Keeper” by Jodi Picoult.  (I’d rather be reading the new Karen Kingsbury book, but I’m waiting my turn for that one).  This book I am reading is very interesting, its about a girl that was created (artificial insemination or something like that) to help her older sister with leukemia live. Her entire life she has to go through surgeries along with her sick sister so that she can donate blood and other things to her.  The book gives the perspective of the mom, dad, healthy daughter, and the lawyer she goes to to sue her parents for not getting her permission for medically using her body.  She’s had enough.  It’s a long book, but I am interested in the story and should finish it this week.

Friday and Monday is fall break for Seth and I.   That means a 4 day weekend!  We will spend it cleaning closets, storage room, maybe painting, etc.  But we’ll also sleep in, play cards, read, and maybe even take Bama for a w-a-l-k.   I look forward to it.  The first 9 weeks of school are pretty much over. 1/4 of the school year already passed.  I love my students, but I am thrilled at the thought of a summer where I won’t work.  I can’t remember the last time that happened.   When I was 11?  (prebabysitting days)  How will we spend our time?  The library?  The park? With family?  Getting ready for kids?   I don’t know, but the thought of it is so so exciting. 

This is getting long.  Maybe this makes up for my lack of writing lately   (I have been writing other things, by the way.  Lesson plans, papers about library services, etc. )  Anyways, I hope this was worth your time reading it.  Please leave comments sometimes.  It’s lonely here    Be blessed and know that you are always victorious when God is in your life.

It’s a Good Day :-)

Things are going pretty well.  My students got their progress reports today and were thrilled, no one failing.  (big shocker there with the dropout prevention schemes in schools right now)  My library kids have just left China and now we are studying Australia.  Tomorrow I am taking a big risk with a 3rd grade class and I’m going to try to do group rotations in the library.  I feel like every week I am putting on a song and dance performance to get everything to work, but I need a break!  So, we’ll see how it goes.  I found the coolest picture of a reading corner (from a classroom) through a google search last night.  Now I have some new ambitions for our little library.

I am watching Joyce Meyer right now.  She just said something great.  She said, “Anything you give up so that you will better your relationship with God, He will bless you many times over.” (something like that).  You have to say it hearing Joyce’s voice in your head to get the full effect Growing in Christ is not all about being blessed (although that is a great benefit), but it’s so refreshing to be reminded how pleasing it is to Him when He sees our obedience and desire to become closer to Him.  But to grow in Him, there are usually things we can give up to get closer to Him.  Sometimes I think I use the computer as a time filler when I should use prayer, reading, and meditation as time fillers.  He rewards those who diligently seek Him.  So lets all seek Him more diligently, and joyfully sacrifice some of the things holding us back from doing that.  Those things could be people or things, but they are no comparison to an intimate relationship with God.  I know there were times in my life when i was closer to God, and I want to get back there and beyond.   Go there with me and find joy in Him.  Be a blessing today!

More changes!!

So, Seth and I are continuing with changes to our house.  We spent hours and hours painting our masterbath the past 2 days and it looks great!  It was a dark redish color that made the small space feel very cramped.  But, we worked on it and it looks like a completely different bathroom.  The pics are below.