Pay it Forward!

I've had one of those weeks . . .

Nothing particularly terrible - in fact, the last month has registered many a terrible work days. Computer issues, printer issues, copy machine malfunction, and recruiting (which registers as a four letter word to me) have left me frustrated.

This week wasn't like that . . . it was just . . . blah.

Ministry can be a tough "business" to work in. Don't get me wrong, the highs in ministry are AMAZING! The wins in ministry mean that eternity is being impacted in a positive way. NOTHING beats that! But the lows and lulls in ministry can make you question your calling.

And then . . .

out of nowhere, two notes of encouragement from two completely random people from the congregation show up in my mailbox! When I say random, I just mean that they weren't from the people (like my mom or staff members) who somewhat-regularly encourage me. They weren't from close friends. They were from two wonderful, thoughtful women that I don't even know very well.

Wow! Just when I was feeling blah . . . God knew I needed a little lift. He worked through two different people to give me encouragement when I REALLY needed it.

This was a good reminder for me. How many times do I THINK encouraging things about or toward someone, but do nothing about it. I'll be writing a few notes of encouragement this week because I need to "pay it forward".



Let this be your challenge too! Who can you encourage this week? It's amazing what a little encouragement does for the soul!

Proud Mama

I just have to take a moment to tell everyone how proud I am of my little 1st grader, Faith.




She's only been in 1st grade for a month now, but she has come SO far. She's reading beautifully, she's writing all the time and really doing well at sounding out words. She's correcting sentences using capital letters and punctuation, and she's even done some alphabetical order stuff. When I taught fourth grade back in the day, I had kids that couldn't do what she's doing - literally!

I stand amazed at how God created us. I'm amazed at Faith's little brain that is learning and filling up with information every day (if not every hour). I'm in awe of how a little one can start to make sense of these squiggly lines we call letters and numbers . . . that they can apply meaning to each of them and use them correctly at the ripe old age of 6!




I'm delighted to see how far my little girl has come - academically, socially, emotionally and spiritually. I pray for all of these areas . . . and have seen God's faithfulness in answering them.

I really have been loving the conversations we have each night as I tuck her in too! Since we're apart for most of the day now, she has much to get me caught up on. I hear all about her friends, and the "naughty kids" . . . about her random acts of kindness on the playground like playing with a special needs Kindergartener. I've gathered, through her stories, that she LOVES school, has a social conscience AND a real heart of compassion and the desire to help others.

The things I hear about most are recess, Gym and Music. Occasionally Spanish and Art get thrown into the mix, but recess, Gym and Music are the faves.




Last night she was telling me all about the jump roping games the girls at school play. She LOVES watching the "big girls" and absorbing absolutely everything she can about what they do and how they do it. She told me about her favorite rhymes:

Cinderella dressed in yella
Went upstairs to kiss a fella
On accident she kissed a snake
How many doctors did it take?
ah1, ah2 ah3 etc.

OR

Down by the river where the green grass grows
There stood (insert girl's name) sweet as a rose.
Along came (insert boy's name) and kissed her on the cheek
How many kisses did she get that week?
ah1 ah2 ah3 etc.

She said the girls sometimes pick the names of boys they DON'T like and then scream. It's so fun to hear about her days!

I told her jump rope used to be my favorite thing to do at recess. My favorite rhyme was:

Not last night, but the night before
24 robbers came knockin' at my door.
When I ran out . . . . . .
They ran in, and this is what they said:
Chinese jumpers do the kicks, the kicks, the kicks
Chinese jumpers do the splits, the splits, the splits
Chinese jumpers turn all around, around, around
Chinese jumpers touch the ground, the ground, the ground
Chinese jumpers get outta town!

Anyone remember that one? Chatting with Faith has brought back a lot of fun childhood memories!

I'm so glad that Faith is enjoying school, that she has lots of friends and, most of all, that she has a kind and compassionate heart. School isn't always such a happy experience (Jr. High anyone?), so I'm glad that she's enjoying it for now. Faith has made her mama and daddy very proud.

Oh, and if you're interested in what Faith is up to, feel free to visit HER blog: www.thaifsthoughts.blogspot.com. I thought it would be a fun way for her to document her days and practice her writing and reading. So far, she's loving it. She's already posted twice.

How Big of a Slacker am I?

REALLY Big - that's how big!

I can't believe another month has gone by with nary a blog-post! Even my faint attempts at TRYING to get caught up didn't come to much! I don't think I even got to Faith's birthday which is June 28!

I'm such a loser!

Well let me see if I can get ya'll caught up (that is if there still is a ya'll out there interested in this dead blog).

Summer was awesome. We spent lots of time outside enjoying the sun and water! We played at the cottage, went to the big lake, had pool parties with friends, went to Fredrick Meijer Gardens, sprinkler parks and much much more! It was one of the most fun and relaxing summers I can remember! The girls are at such nice ages (6 & 3). They're independent enough that I don't have to watch them quite as closely AND I'm not lugging around diapers and all the things that go with those!

I'm really grateful for some much-needed rest and recuperation time. I needed it after Sports Camp . . . and before the chaos of planning for the fall.

That's what happened to the last month of bloglessness . . . fall planning, scheduling, meeting, calling, emailing, more calling, recruiting, organizing, more recruiting and more organizing. The last month has been insane with all things Children's Ministry. Only just this week do I feel somewhat settled and clicking into a rhythm. I'm still in need of a solid handful of volunteers, which is frustrating, but I have to remember that this thing is God's deal not mine.

On the home-front all is well. Faith is doing great with the transition into all-day everyday 1st Grade! She has an amazingly wonderful 1st-year teacher (who happened to be my sister's suite-mate at Calvin) who is enthusiastic about teaching AND has an obvious love for the Lord and for her kids! Faith was also lucky enough to get her "best good friends" in her section of 1st Grade. She loves reading and writing, and recently told me she's going to be an author when she grows up. She's already penned her first several books this week! I'm really surprised that Faith isn't more exhausted after a day at school . . . but as soon as she gets home and has her snack, she's either chomping at the bit to write a book or do homework! The kid LOVES homework. She's actually bummed when she doesn't have any. I know this will wear off eventually, but in the meantime, it's very sweet!

Faith has also enjoyed playing teacher to Bella (Bella also thinks this is great). They spend a lot of their together time making books, or playing school. I love seeing that!

Bella, is transitioning well too. It's weird for her having Faith (or as she says, Thaif) gone everyday. She's kind of at a loss for what to do now that her "social coordinator" is gone. She's getting the hang of it though, and has even figured out that she can play with Faith's things when she's gone and NOT get yelled at!

Every morning Bella asks, "Where are we going today, Mom?" She's devastated every time the answer is, "No-where, honey. We're staying home today!" She insists on doing something each day. She's a mover and a shaker people! No home-body here!

I've been really enjoying my alone time with Bella. I feel like I'm catching up on what I missed with her when I was busily trying to keep up with Faith's antics. Bella has always been such a good little girl . . . easy to "ignore" when big sister demanded so much of my time (and discipline). We now have time to read books - just the two of us, or paint with watercolors or play with playdough, or make cookies or banana bread. She's a joy to hang around with! I love our time together.

My time with Faith seems to be that much sweeter now too. We're not at each other's throats all day and exhausted by bed-time. She actually comes home happy . . . ready to chat about her day . . . she's snuggly with me . . . wants to read books and "talk" . . . she even told me the other day how much she missed me! I'm very much enjoying my time with my grown-up girl! I love her goofiness, her desire to "talk" about things that are important to her . . . and I'm especially loving her need for "Mommy-time". It just feels so good to be loved and needed by her . . . when the last several years have felt like a constant battle.

I'm so grateful to God for where this family is . . . we're in a good place. I feel settled, fulfilled, comfortable . . . just happy, content! God is good! I thank him everyday for my two beautiful gifts! OK, three, if you count Mike!

I'll try to be better about posting, now that we're in a rhythm here! If you're lucky, I might even post a picture or two!

Thanks for being patient with me!