Bad Days & Lemon Juice

Ever have one of those terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days? If you are familiar with this children's book you know that I am talking about...

 

There are some days I just want to move to Australia!!!

 (you must read the book to understand what I mean :-))

Due to sickness going around, I only had 3 of my girls today in class. In the afternoon, we were going a bit stir crazy in the classroom, so we were invited to join the elementary students in their afternoon activity. First of all, the students listened to the story being read about Alexander and his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, and then they discussed why his day was so horrible - because of his stinky, grumpy attitude!! Hmmmm...I know I needed an "attitude check" by this point in the day!

 

In the story, one of the things that went wrong for Alexander was that his teacher did not appreciate the "invisible castle" he drew in class. After the story was over, the students were given the opportunity to draw an invisible picture. Did you know that if you write with lemon juice on white paper and then stick it in the oven to heat for a time, your hidden message or picture can be revealed?! The students enjoyed discovering that today!

It was hard to take a good picture of the end result, but my girls enjoyed themselves :-)

A Birthday Memory I'll Never Forget

A few months ago, I was browsing through the family email when I came across Beverly Lewis' newsletter. She is definitely one of my favorite authors, so when I see her newsletter I always quickly scan it to see when her new book is coming out. However, this particular newsletter captured my attention when I saw -much to my amazement- that one of her book series was being put to a musical! I LOVE musicals, and just the thought that it would be based on my favorite author's book made it even more intriguing. I looked for the location and discovered that it was going to be taking place near Lancaster, which is only about 2 hours away. Then I noticed that in October, Beverly Lewis herself would actually be coming to the musical, and there would be a special dinner with her before the show. When I discovered that it "just so happened" to be the same week as my birthday, I subtly mentioned to my Mom that it would be a perfect birthday present! Well, my Mom picked up rather quickly to my subtleness, and booked tickets for the two of us to go the day after my birthday!

So my Mom and I were off to Bird-in-Hand Family Restaurant yesterday to enjoy a yummy meal with Beverly Lewis, and later on, enjoy an Amish musical! This family restaurant was like a mini Shady Maple, with the same delicious Pennsylvania Dutch food served. I was quite happy to eat my pork & sour kraut with fluffy mashed potatoes!

We soon discovered that Beverly Lewis is a very sweet and personable lady. She came around to each table to greet all the guests personally and chat with them. It was one of those moments that I couldn't believe was actually happening! I have seen her smiling face on the back of many of my favorite books, so to actually carry on a conversation with her was pretty amazing! My Mom thanked her for always having a clear Gospel message in her books, and she replied that was the reason she wrote. Without the Gospel, there would be no reason to write. Beverly then gave a short talk before she began signing books. She was quite inspiring!

Book signing time!

I just did a quick scan through the bookshelves in our house, and between all her Amish series I currently have on my shelf, her teen series I read when I was younger, and her children series Alayna collected, we have a total of 56 books written by Beverly Lewis!! She is quite the amazing author, and if that number doesn't prove that to you, nothing will! :-)

There are certain moments in your life you want captured, and this was definitely one of those moments!

After dinner and the book signing was over, we then went downstairs to the area where the Amish musical was taking place. Although it wasn't the grandeur of a Sight & Sound production, the cast did an AMAZING job with both their acting and singing!! It was obviously a condensed version of this particular book series, but they captured the emotions of the story quite well. There were moments where we were dying of laughter, and moments where we were wiping away tears. By the time the musical was over, it was rather late, and we still had about a 2 hour drive home. My Mom bought me the soundtrack to the musical, so we played it all the way home to keep me awake as I drove. :-) Oh yes, it was definitely a birthday memory I will never forget!!!

God's Faithfulness

For the past couple of months, I have been going through the Bible study on Becoming a Woman of Faith. It has been such a HUGE blessing to me as I read, study and answer questions about faith found throughout the Bible. In the first chapter, the author quotes from another book. Its been such a good reminder to me that I just wanted to share it with you!

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He has called us into fellowship with Himself; He has owned us as His possession and has assumed the responsibility for our control and He will not lay it aside. What He has begun in us He will continue. His work in us does not depend upon our love for Him but on His love for us; not faith in our faith but faith in His faithfulness is what He wants from us.

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The part I highlighted in bold is what really stood out to me in this quote. I think that so often in the Christian life we get focused on ourselves - wondering if we have enough faith; wondering if we are doing all that God wants us to do. We say that we are trusting in God and having faith in Him, but in reality we are having faith in OUR faith in God. We can't trust in our weak faith to see us through life's challenges - we need to put our trust in God's faithfulness!! God is not dependent on us - we are forever dependent on Him. And the good news is that He will NEVER fail us!!

The Book I Never Finished

It all started in elementary school - writing stories. My one friend and I would draw pictures and write countless stories together always "comparing notes" so to speak. I remember having a conversation in the car one day that when we grew up we were going to be authors of children's stories. Our future was all set.

In fourth grade, I remember writing a play called "The Spirit of Christmas" where all my friends had parts. It was all planned out. We were going to perform in my friend's garage. We practiced our lines during recess, sitting in a circle on our snow-mound "chairs". I remember getting really frustrated because I had spent all that time writing that play, and no one was cooperating!! Needless to say, that play was never performed. :) Sadly, I must have thrown my copy of "The Spirit of Christmas" away. I would have loved to bring it out again and just laugh and laugh. :) All I can remember is that it had the "Little Women" twist, where there were four sisters who had to plan Christmas by themselves because their parents were away, and they were getting too caught up in the food preparation and the gift buying, forgetting the true meaning of Christmas.

Unfortunately, none of my stories that I wrote during my elementary years survived. :( I think the one day I opened my drawer, saw a pile of paper, and decided to get rid of it all so the drawer could close again! Little did I realize the sentimental value of those stories!

However, when I was going through my journals and notebooks in the recent past, I uncovered this one.

One of my favorite books to read in 3rd - 4th grade, was a book called "Spunky's Diary." It was a story of a cocker spaniel, but it was told from the dog's perspective. I always thought that was neat because don't you always wonder what an animal is thinking?! I must have read that book at least a dozen times.

Well, when I got this journal, I must have felt inspired to write a story inside it. Looking closely at the inside front cover, my first inspired title for a story was "Michelle and the Haunted House". Apparently, that story never got past the title because it was soon erased and replaced with the title "Princess". I was going to write a story about a golden retriever puppy. It seemed fitting seeing how that was on the front cover!

I got halfway through Chapter 3 before the "inspiration" must have left me, and I moved on to greater ambitions. I can't remember when exactly I started writing this story, but it was after we had gotten Christy, our golden retriever, so I had to be about 13 or 14 years old.

I'd like to share my story with you now, but I warn you of two things- first, even though it is going to really annoy me, I am going to leave all grammatical and spelling errors in the story to give it the "authentic, original touch" and secondly, just so you know, the story get's cut off rather abruptly at the end, right in the middle of a sentence. Why?! Who knows!! Young girls, who inspire to be writers, tend to change their minds rather quickly. :)

Princess
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Dedication -

To my Godly parents

Also to my Golden Retriever Christy to all the fun and happiness we have had together

Chapter 1
My Family

Boy! was that sun bright. I yawned as I stretched getting all the kinks out. I slowly sat up. My eyes were still shut a little bit. As I squinted I was rudely shoved by a head. I collapsed in a mound of hay. "Go to sleep!" my mother commanded. I closed my eyes, but sleep wouldn't come. I layed there daydreaming. Four days. Four whole days since I came into the world. I loved those four days. I was still weak and a little blinded but I loved life. I squinted again. Leaning against me was my older brother Spunky. He was ok I guess, but I needed more time to get to know him. On the other side of me was my one and only sister Lucky. My mom said she was the runt of the pack because she was the smallest and the weakest, but she looked ok to me. Across our cage layed mischievous, fat Rolly. To me he was always pushing us aside and stealing Mom's milk. In my short life I knew I didn't like him. Then last but not least was me! My name was Princess. I was second oldest. Rolly always sulked because he said he could tell in just four days that I was Mom's favorite. I knew that wasn't true. Mom loved us all equal I could see that. Yes I was contented with my world, and when I was older I couldn't wait to explore it.

Chapter 2
My New Home

Over the next few weeks we grew bigger and bigger. Mom says that if we grow any bigger we need a new pen. As I grew my curiousity grew too. Mom soon nicknamed me "curious cutie." I asked her one day "Who are us?"
"We are dogs" she answered.
"What kind?" I asked.
"Golden Retrievers" she answered going over to the water dish and lapping up some water.
"Why such a long name?" I wondered. Then I asked, changing the subject,
"What are those big black and white things?"
"Cows" mom answered.
"We live on a farm, she continued, Since you are getting older you are noticing more things. Like for instance those humans over there"
I looked through our cage and saw some "humans" running around.
"Who are they, and what are they doing?" I asked.
"They are coming around to feed me. It is feeding time for everyone. For the cows, chickens, horses, dogs and sheep" she answered curling up in a corner. She called to us "feeding time!" As I sucked away I thought of all I had seen that day. I couldn't wait for tomorrow to see what new things it brought.
Next morning, as Mom was giving us a bath she explained "You are getting to the age where one day some humans are going to take you away from me"
As I listened spell bound she explained that we are all going to separated from each other and how we would probally never see each other again.
By the time she was done there was tears on all of our eyes. She kissed us all gentley and said, "Why don't we all take a nap."
I woke up suddenly hearing something I felt Mom stiffen beside me.
"What's wrong?" I asked suddenly getting scared. "It is the humans," Mom explained, "they have brought more humans."
"Sooo?" I asked wondering what was so wrong.
"That usually means they are going to look for puppies for sale" she said quietly.
I got scared, and I started crying. Mommy I don't want to leave you!" I couldn't hear her response for all of a sudden our cage door flew open and human hands reached for me, and my sleeping sister Lucky. "Mommy!" I cried.
"What's happening?" sleepy Lucky sobbed.
"It is ok girls you'll".....but we didn't hear the rest. I was snuggled in two human arms. I would never admitted it, but I was comfortable. I look up at the human. She was smiling at me, talking in human language. "Oh Mom, Dad I know I want this one!"
"Just lay them on the grass," our human owner suggested.
I was gently layed on the grass. My eyes widened as I looked around. In the five weeks I had been alive I had never been out of my cage. Lucky was still trembling with fear, but I was ready for fun. I ran as fast as my wobbly legs could take me. I didn't get far before the human girl picked me up.
"Oh Ma!" she cried, "this is my puppy I know it!" the older human woman scooped me up and did some strange things. She looked in my eyes, felt my legs, and while she did it she talked to me. Even though I didn't know what she was saying I liked her so I licked her on the cheek. She thought that was wonderful or something cause she held me tighter. I glanced over my shoulder at Lucky. She was still trembling and wasn't moving. I decided I had to talk to her. Squirming trying to free myself from the lady's arms, she finally put me down. I ran over to my sister.
"What's the matter?" I asked her.
"They're going to take you away from me and our family I know it" she said crying.
"Oh don't be so silly," I scolded.
"But remember what Mom said?" she continued. I didn't have time to answer, because the human girl picked me up, and handed me to my human owner. She put something around my neck, and set me down again. Whatever it was, boy! was it itchy. I gave it a scratch with my hind leg, but the itchiness wouldn't go away.
Soon the human family left much to my disappointment, and we were put back in our cage. Our brothers had lots of questions, but Mom was silent eying my "itchy thing." I asked her, "Mom what is this?" giving it another scratch.
"A collar," Mom replied quietly. "It means they have bought you"
Well, that dampened my evening. "Oh Mommy!" I cried then added, "No!" I'm not going!"
"You have no choice in the matter" she said.
Well, I thought inwardly, I hate those people taking me away like this. I will never never go anywhere with them. After all am I not the princess?
Next morning I awoke with the sound and smell of a human coming close. I grew scared, "Mom?" I asked nudging her.
"Goodbye" she said quietly then went back to sleep.
Goodbye? I wondered, but not for long. The cage door again flew open and I was picked up. No! I wanted to protest, but they wouldn't understand anyway.
I was taken to the human house and I stayed there 2 weeks. During those weeks I explored every nook and cranny. Soon I forgot all about Mom, Luck and the brothers. I just enjoyed all the attention and had fun. Until one day the door flew open, and I ran to meet the person. It was the human girl, and her family. I stopped in my tracks. Oh no! I cried, they are going to take me away. And I was right. The girl picked me up and carried me out. She cradled me in her arms and started singing to me. I grew so contented I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Chapter 3
Adjusting to My New Life

When I woke up I was curled up in the girl's arms. She smiled and petted me. 'We will be home soon Princess" she said. I yawned and went back to sleep, but not for long. Soon we stopped suddenly and I jumped. I stood up and looked out the car window. "Where was I?" I wondered. The girl picked me up and climbed out of the car. Before me was a big white-framed house. She put me down, and together we ran to the back yard. Boy was it big! I ran to my heart's content. Soon I became thirsty. The girl brought me a bowl of fresh water. I drank till my inside's bulged. She took me inside the house. She said to me, 'It is time for supper, so you stay in here." She put me in a big box with soft blankets. I yawned, not caring about anything so while the family ate I slept. I was awakened by someone picking me up. I opened my eyes and saw a strange human. He was a boy human not a girl human. I got scared but he cuddled me close and took me outside. He set me down, and I ran off. Soon I got tired of running so I plopped on the cool grass. The boy human called for someone and the girl came outside. I was so happy to see her. I ran to her and she cuddled me. After a while she sat me down, and ran off with her brother. They started throwing this round thing back and forth to each other. As curious as I was, I ran to play with them. They threw the round thing at me. It was to big for my mouth so I started batting it around with my paws. We played with it for awhile, and then when we were all exhausted we went inside. They told me to "go in box." I didn't understand what they meant. So they put me in my box. They said "Goodnight" and left. I thought the would return so I layed there. Another human man came in. He patted me on my head, and scratched my ears. Then he said the human word "Goodnight" again and went away. All the lights were turned off and it was very dark. Soon I realized that they weren't coming back, and I started crying. I missed my mom, and my siblings. I wanted them. I was so confused. "What am I going to do?" I wondered. Soon my cries turned to sharp, little barks. A light went on, and the girl came in. I was never so happy to see her. I stood up in my box and wagged my tail. She came over, and cuddled me in her arms. I sighed and went quickly to sleep for I was very tired. When I woke up it was dark again. I was alone again. Where did the girl go? I wondered. I started crying and this time the.....

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And that, folks, is how my story ended. I am not sure why I stopped in the middle of a sentence and never continued on. It remains a mystery and always will! I guess I just lost interest rather quickly! Maybe someday I will feel the inspiration to write another story (or continue this one...haha!).

So what do you think should happen next in the story? How should it continue? How should it end? Feel free to post your thoughts. ;)

Though None Go With Me

Tonight as I was taking sermon notes at church, I flipped to the back of my notebook, and found a quote that I had written down after hearing it on one of the movies I own. It's a great movie called "Though None Go With Me."

This young lady named Elizabeth is going through a rough time because her fiance is going off to war as a chaplain. The quote I wrote down is from the last sermon he preached before leaving on the train for Korea. It really helped Elizabeth finally surrender her life over to God and follow Him unconditionally. Little did she realize all the struggles she would face in the future.

"Our personal power is limited, but God's power is infinite. All that is required is one simple prayer, 'Not my will, Lord, but Yours.' Why are we so afraid of turning our lives over to a greater will? Why do we seek guidance, yet fear what that guidance will say to us? Because it means that we have to say to God that I accept whatever it is that You have chosen for me, and I trust that You will give me the strength to deal with it. There's an old hymn that says it far better than I can, 'Though none go with me still I will follow - No turning back, no turning back."

I would highly recommend both the movie and the book. Obviously, the book is better and goes to a deeper spiritual level than the movie, but both are excellent and may just bring you to tears! I have both so if you ever want to borrow either, feel free to ask!

*Edited* I was getting tired of the movie trailer immediately starting up each time I opened my blog, so I decided to just post the link...if you want to watch the trailer you can click here.

Abiding in Christ

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me."

John 15:4

What did Jesus mean by that?

He meant, "Find the meaning of life in Me. Find your value and confidence in Me. Find your purpose and direction in Me. Find the source for all spiritual achievement in Me. Find the strength to live each moment in Me. Find the wisdom to navigate the many turns of life in Me. Find forgiveness from all your sins in Me. Find the satisfaction of boundless joy in Me. Find the most glorious peace in Me. Find the most perfect love and acceptance in Me. Find the most satisfying life for all eternity in Me."

Excerpt from When God Writes Your Life Story

~by Eric & Leslie Ludy

Serving by Loving

Paul intreats us: "Stand fast...in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." (Gal. 5:1)

Our freedom from bondage to sin can be illustrated this way. It is as if a woman had a male employer; she is paid for her work in weekly wages, and under the rules of her employer, whom she has tried to please, but toward whom her service had been one of obligation only. Finally, however, the employer falls in love with her, and she becomes his bride and shares all his fortunes. At once the whole spirit of her service has changed. She may perhaps continue to do the same things that she did before, but she does them now from a different motive. The old sense of duty is lost in the new sense of love. The cold word "employer" is transformed into the loving word "husband."

"And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi (my husband); and shalt call me no more Baali (my Lord)" (Hos. 2:16)

But imagine this bride beginning after a while to look back on her low estate and to be so overwhelmed by the retrospect as to feel unworthy of union with her husband, and consequently to lose the inward sense of this union. Who can doubt that very soon the old sense of working for wages would drive out the new sense of working for love, and in spirit the old name, "my employer," would take the place of the new name, "my husband"?

We exclaim at the folly of such a course. But isn't this just what happens to many Christians?

-Hannah Whitall Smith

Our Very Hungry Caterpillars

It's been two days....

Yay! They are still alive and moving around...that's a good sign :) My kiddos definitely enjoy watching them. Today I bravely set the container on our story-time table, so they could have a better view of them.

I had to have my kiddos move back rather far for this picture so I could actually see what they were doing! As soon as I was done taking the picture though, they instantly closed in, banging heads together as they each tried to get a better look. Their noses were practically sticking to the container! Those poor, innocent caterpillars! I hope they have strong little hearts :)

Yesterday I went to the library and got some books on caterpillars/butterflies and ladybugs (hopefully, Ladybug Land will be arriving soon!). I got some fun & silly books and also some educational books. (a nice balance for a K-teacher!)

You simply can't have caterpillars in your classroom without reading this classic book by Eric Carle entitled The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

For a college project, I actually made a felt board activity out of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" story. I just printed out the colored templates, laminated them, and stuck Velcro on the back so they would stick to a felt board. If you click here, you can find the templates I used. There are TONS of printable activities on the DLTK's Growing Together website!

So in case you have never heard the story of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", let me use my felt board pieces to tell the story. My kiddos really enjoyed using the felt board pieces and I have a feeling this story will be requested over and over again these next few weeks!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

by Eric Carle

In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf. One Sunday morning the warm sun came up and - pop! - out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar.

He started to look for some food.

On Monday he ate through one apple. But he was still hungry.


On Tuesday he ate through two pears, but he was still hungry.







On Wednesday he ate through three plums, but he was still hungry.






On Thursday he ate through four strawberries, but he was still hungry.







On Friday he ate through five oranges, but he was still hungry.






On Saturday he ate through one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon.


That night he had a stomachache!




The next day was Sunday again. The caterpillar ate through one nice green leaf, and after that he felt much better.







Now he wasn't hungry any more - and he wasn't a little caterpillar any more. He was a big, fat caterpillar.

He built a small house, called a cocoon, around himself. He stayed inside for more than two weeks. Then he nibbled a hole in the cocoon, pushed his way out and....




he was a beautiful butterfly!!

When Life Hands You a Lemon...

Have any of you heard the expression "When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade!"? When I first heard that quote, I thought it was really thought-provoking. Bad things happen in life, but there can be good things that come out of it. I was thinking of this quote the other day, and I figured out how I would probably say it.

"When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. But I can't figure out the recipe!"

We are all familiar with the verse in Romans 8 about how all things work together for good to them that love God, but sometimes it is really hard to see what possible good can come from the bad situation we are facing. I have figured out yet something else about myself (writing 100 random things about yourself definitely helps you think about who you are!) - I am a problem-solver. I want to see things get resolved. I want to help people resolve their issues. When I was in elementary school especially, I was ALWAYS put in the position of "peacemaker". I would find myself in the middle of some argument trying to figure out who was right and who was wrong. Usually, there was wrong on both sides, but not always.

I have just gotten used to being put in situations like this. I don't mind being the "listening ear" and trying to help people in their times of need. I WANT to help. However, sometimes it is a very difficult position to be put in. The Lord wants us to help others "bear their burdens" but there comes a time when we just have to let things be when you realize that nothing you say will make a difference, or change a situation. Recently, I have become soooo absorbed with trying to solve the problems of the world that I notice that even in my devotions, instead of focusing on my own relationship with the Lord, I am thinking about how such-and-such a verse will help so-and-so with their problem.

I think I am slooooowly learning the "recipe" of how to make lemonade out of the "lemons" of life. LET GO AND LET GOD HANDLE IT!! I have to get to the point where I realize I CAN'T handle problems on my own....God doesn't NEED me to figure things out. He has every situation ALL under control! That thought was such a relief to me. The weight of the world doesn't have to rest on my shoulders! God can handle everything just fine without me - "Miss Fix-it" - being able to figure out a solution! :D

The following excerpt is a story from a book entitled "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver. It is pretty lengthy, but I was thinking about this story the other day and it fits in with how I am feeling right now....

The story is told of a man who met God in a lovely valley one day.

"How are you this morning?" God asked the fellow.

"I'm fine, thank you," the man replied. "Is there anything I can do for you today?"

"Yes, there is," God said. "I have a wagon with three stones in it, and I need someone to pull it up the hill for me. Are you willing?"

"Yes, I'd love to do something for you. Those stones don't look very heavy, and the wagon's in good shape. I'd be happy to do that. Where would you like me to take it?"

God gave the man specific instructions, sketching a map in the dust at the side of the road. "Go through the woods and up the road that winds up the side of the hill. Once you get to the top, just leave the wagon there. Thank you for your willingness to help me today."

"No problem!" the man replied and set off cheerfully. The wagon pulled a bit behind him, but the burden was an easy one. He began to whistle as he walked quickly through the forest. The sun peeked through the trees and warmed his back. What a joy to be able to help the Lord, he thought, enjoying the beautiful day.

Just around the third bend, he walked into a small village. People smiled and greeted him. Then, at the last house, a man stopped him and asked, "How are you this morning? What a nice wagon you have. Where are you off to?"

"Well, God gave me a job this morning. I'm delivering these three stones to the top of the hill."

"My goodness! Can you believe it? I was just praying this morning about how I was going to get this rock I have up to the top of the mountain," the man told him with great excitement. "You don't suppose you could take it up there for me? It would be such an answer to prayer."

The man with the wagon smiled and said, "Of course, I don't suppose God would mind. Just put it behind the other three stones." Then he set off with three stones and a rock rolling behind him.

The wagon seemed a bit heavier. He could feel the jolt of each bump, and the wagon seemed to pull to one side a bit. The man stopped to adjust the load as he sang a hymn of praise, pleased to be helping out a brother as he served God. Then he set off again and soon reached another small village at the side of the road. A good friend lived there and offered him a glass of cider.

"You're going to the top of the hill?" his oldest friend asked.

"Yes! I am so excited. Can you imagine, God gave me something to do!"

"Hey!" said his friend. "I need this bag of pebbles taken up. I've been so worried that it might not get taken care of since I haven't had any time to do it myself. But you could fit it right between the three stones here in the middle." With that, he placed his burden in the wagon.

"Shouldn't be a problem," the man said. "I think I can handle it." He finished the cider, then stood up and brushed his hands on his overalls before gripping the handle of the wagon. He waved good-bye and began to pull the wagon back onto the road.

The wagon was definitely tugging on his arm now, but it wasn't uncomfortable. As he started up the incline, he began to feel the weight of the three stones, the rock, and the pebbles. Still, it felt good to help a friend. Surely God would be proud of how energetic and helpful he'd been.

One little stop followed another, and the wagon grew fuller and fuller. The sun was hot above the man pulling it, and his shoulders ached with the strain. The songs of praise and thanksgiving that had filled his heart had long since left his lips as resentment began to build inside. Surely this wasn't what he had signed up for that morning. God had give him a burden heavier than he could bear.

The wagon felt huge and awkward as it lumbered and swayed over the ruts in the road. Frustrated, the man was beginning to have visions of giving up and letting the wagon roll backward. God was playing a cruel game with him. The wagon lurched, and the load of obligations collided with the back of his legs, leaving bruises. "This is it!" he fumed. "God can't expect me to haul this all the way up the mountain."

"Oh, God," he wailed. "This is too hard for me! I thought you were behind this trip, but I am overcome by the heaviness of it. You'll have to get someone else to do it. I'm just not strong enough."

As he prayed, God came to his side. "Sounds like you're having a hard time. What's the problem?"

"You gave me a job that is too hard for me," the man sobbed. "I'm just not up to it!" God walked over to where the wagon was braced with a stone. "What is this?" He held up the bag of pebbles.

"That belongs to John, my good friend. He didn't have time to bring it up himself. I thought I would help."

"And this?" God tumbled two pieces of shale over the side of the wagon as the man tried to explain.

God continued to unload the wagon, removing both light and heavy items. They dropped to the ground, the dust swirling up around them. The man who had hoped to help God grew silent. "If you will be content to let others take their own burdens," God told him, "I will help you with your task."

"But I promised I would help! I can't leave these things lying here."

"Let others shoulder their own belongings," God said gently. "I know you were trying to help, but when you are weighted down with all these cares, you cannot do what I have asked of you."

The man jumped to his feet, suddenly realizing the freedom God was offering. "You mean I only have to take the three stones after all?" he asked.

"That is what I asked you to do," God smiled. "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. I will never ask you to carry more than you can bear."

"I can do that!" said the man, grinning from ear to ear. He grabbed the wagon handle and set off once again, leaving the rest of the burdens beside the road. The wagon still lurched and jolted lightly, but he hardly noticed.

A new song filled his lips, and he noticed a fragrant breeze wafting over the path. With great joy he reached the top of the hill. It had been a wonderful day, for he had done what the Lord had asked.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:28-30

A QUIET Field Trip

Today I took my kiddos to a nearby library for our afternoon activity. I was a little nervous because I wasn't sure how well they would do with the whole quiet thing - they tend to be a rather noisy threesome! :D However, before we left school, I sat them down and had a little discussion about this field trip.

They were given 2 rules:

1) You must use quiet voices.

2) You must use walking feet.

When we arrived, we headed straight for the children's corner. They discovered this big blue pillow-type chair in the back corner, and it was quickly claimed by all! To start us off, I let them each pick a book to read together. Since there are shelves and shelves of books, I wasn't sure how long the decision-making process would be, but surprisingly, for the most part, they were satisfied with the first book they laid their hands on!

I LOVE reading children's books! It was a special treat for me today as I read these NEW books to the children. There are so many hysterical, nonsense stories out there that are just fun to read. Last year, when I watched one of my students after school, I would take her practically every week to this library, and we would just read and read and read! Not only was it a time filler, but it was also lots of fun. :)

Can you tell they were enjoying the pillow?! :)

They were totally chillin' out as they listened to their teacher read.

After I finished reading the stories to them, it was then time to browse around. I told them they could either just look at books or have an adult read them a book. (There were 3 adults for 3 children! :D)

Abbi claimed the big blue pillow chair...

Joshua claimed the rocking chair...

And Stephen claimed his Daddy's lap!

My mom and I just sat on the couch and chatted while they entertained themselves by quietly looking at books. It was pretty amazing to me how well-behaved they were, but I wasn't going to complain!! In fact, there was a lady there who came over to me after we had finished our story time, and the first words out of her mouth were, "I'm a born-again Christian too!" I was like....how in the world did she know??? She was a homeschool mom and she gave me some "tips" on things she learned while teaching her kids how to read. I just thought it was pretty neat that she could tell the difference in us!

Once they had finished browsing and each of them had picked 3 books to take back to school, we closed out our field trip with another story time. This time they each choose a carpet square to sit on.

This was the only time I really had to remind them to use their quiet voices. One of the books required interaction as they pointed to different colors on each page. It got a bit noisy there for awhile as they tried to point and name all the things that were of a particular color!

When we got back to school, they all took their armload of books, and put them on the bookshelf.

So now we have 9 new books to read during story time for the next couple of weeks! I can't wait to read them, especially the one book entitled Old Mr. Mackle Hackle. I just had to laugh when it was added to the stack!

A Home For My Books

Tonight I tackled some more of my room. I really wanted to get my books organized, so that is what I focused on tonight. Of course, along the way, I had lots of cleaning and rearranging to do, but I am definitely happy with the results!

My new "reading corner"

This bookshelf has some devotional books, biographies, and some of my favorite series by Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, and Lori Wick.

This bookshelf also holds some more of my favorite books (mostly by Janette Oke) and of course, my "beauty products" on top :)

This used to be my main bookshelf in the back little hallway of my room, but now it contains books that I wouldn't necessarily label as favorites, and also those new books I just blogged about! I haven't read any of them yet, so I don't know if any of them will eventually fall in the "favorite" category or not!

This is what it looks like all together. Not quite the fancy library, I know, but it suits me just fine! It looks so cozy and inviting especially when I just have the little light on and the rest of the room is dark! Right now, I just want to go curl up in the chair with a good book!

My books have finally all found an organized home again! Now the question is, where do I put the next round of books I am sure to get? Well, never fear...these shelves are deep, so if worse comes to worse I can just do double rows! I've done that before! :)

Yay! I can cross "organizing books" off my to-do list. Now what do I tackle next in my room???!!!

Books Anyone?

Remember when I wrote about my family's book collection a couple of months ago?

Well, for Christmas another 8 books were added to my personal collection. Then, tonight after church, I was given 3 huge bags of books. Here they are neatly piled on my coffee table in 6 stacks with 7 books in each stack. :)

If you do the math...

8 + (6x7) =?

...that would be 50 new books added to my personal collection within the past 2 weeks.

Yep, I'll definitely be busy for awhile!

The only question is....WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO PUT THEM ALL??!!

Pilgrim's Progress

For Christmas, my family got a newly released movie called Pilgrim's Progress - Journey to Heaven, based on the classic story by John Bunyan.

If you have never read Pilgrim's Progress, you really should! Its an allegory of the Christian life, and it really puts the Christian life in a new perspective. We are really on a journey, and along the way we face many obstacles, but it is all worth it in the end! We watched the movie as a family the other night, and it was really good! It has some modern adaptions, but the truths are all still there.

When I was in 9th grade, we did a study on Pilgrim's Progress in Bible class. Any of you fellow EBA alumni remember this book?!

Actually, it was one of my favorite studies because it helped me see the Christian life in a whole new light. I had just gotten saved at the beginning of that school year, so I really could relate to some of the things Christian was going through on his journey to the Cross.

Another part I really enjoy in both the book and the movie, is the part when Christian and his companion, Hopeful, end up in Doubting Castle. So often, in my Christian life, I end up in the horrible dungeon of this castle. Christian and Hopeful were there for days or maybe even weeks before they realized that they had the key to unlock the dungeon door all along! Around Christian's neck hung the Key of Promise. This key symbolizes God's promises to us as believers. It will unlock any door in our "Doubting Castles". And, indeed, it unlocked the door and they were again free to continue on in their journey.

I would definitely recommend watching this movie! I remember when we watched another movie version of Pilgrim's Progress in school, and it just wasn't the best quality and was kinda...ummm...cheesy? However, this movie has a lot of visual effects, and the message is A LOT clearer. Even if you have never read the book, the movie explains things in such a way that you will understand what is happening and how it relates to the Christian life.

Here is a trailer of the movie:

When Things Don't Go According to Plan

Tonight my Mom, Alayna and I headed off to Hackman's bookstore to see Kate Gosselin at a book signing for her new book. If you don't know who Kate Gosselin is...does the title "Jon and Kate Plus Eight" ring a bell? This is a really popular TV show on The Learning Channel (TLC). It is about a family with twin girls and sextuplets. Needless to say, they have a pretty crazy life! What started off as a 1 hour documentary about their life has turned into a really popular TV series. I think it is so popular because it is so real life. You see a typical, crazy day in the life of the Gosselins, and I think people like to see that other families lead crazy and stressful lives as well! Obviously, with two 8 year olds, and six 4 year olds, there are not too many calm moments throughout their day.

Anyway, I have begun to really enjoy watching that show because I like seeing how a big family's life works! :) Kate is a VERY organized woman, and I think that attracts me to that show as well because really...how organized can you be with 8 kids? Well, she definitely tries her best! So, tonight I was really looking forward to seeing Kate in person. I was even going to be happy with just a glimpse. As we were heading to the bookstore, I decided to text one of my friends who I knew was going to be there. When I asked her if she had seen her yet, she was like...There are over 1500 people here and they are not letting anyone else in to see her!! My initial reaction was shock at the thought of over 1500 people, then my shock turned to disappointment. I had been looking forward to this experience. Then my thoughts turned to Kate. Can you imagine signing that many books in the space of a couple of hours?!! Poor woman! We were nearly there, so we decided we were going to just shop at the Walmart nearby and perhaps see a glimpse of the crowd so I could get a picture :) However, the road leading to the bookstore was literally bumper to bumper traffic, horns blaring, lights flashing, soooo we decided it was not worth the aggravation! Many of those people were probably heading to see Kate, and wow, would they be disappointed to find out that no one else was allowed in! So, yes, things didn't go according to plan tonight! Oh, well, life will go on, I am sure :)

I then got to thinking about Jon and Kate's life, and how things didn't go according to plan for them. Kate couldn't get pregnant on her own, so they turned to fertility treatments. They were blessed with twin girls first, and thought their family was complete. However, as the girls got a bit older, they thought they would just try for one more....and well, ended up with 6 more! I am sure they never thought they would ever have that many children all at once, but God had other plans for them. I really enjoyed reading their story, Multiple Blessings, and in the last chapter, Kate entitles it "One Day at a Time."

Here is an excerpt from that chapter:

"Having twins and then sextuplets was never in my childhood dreams; and yet that is the destiny God has chosen for me. Meeting Jon, getting married, and having the girls seemed to fit perfectly with what I had imagined. The "happily-ever-after part" seemed to be lost forever in a sea of six little blips on an ultrasound screen. In time, however, devastation, fear, and anger turned to resignation, acknowledgment, and acceptance. I wanted more than acceptance, though. I knew accepting the fate I had been dealt was just the first step. I wanted to not only survive my calling; I wanted to rise up, grasp it with both hands, and thrive in my calling as Jon's wife and the mother of all eight of our children.

The only way to do that was to pay close attention to the lessons God was teaching me. While I could possibly list a hundred such lessons, I will, in honor of our six life-changing miracles, limit my list to just the following six:

1. God is in control

2. God is gracious and strong

3. God can be trusted

4. God is love

5. God will provide

6. Give God the glory and praise

In light of all this, I thought I would post the most recent "Jon and Kate plus Eight"episode on here for all you who might want to watch it. :) There are 6 parts to the episode, and it is about 40 minutes long.

Five Short Chapters

In her book, Authentic Beauty, another one of my favorite authors, Leslie Ludy, paraphrases a poem by Portia Nelson. I was thinking about it just now, and of course, whenever I get a thought nowadays I simply must blog about it, you know!! :)

Chapter one: I am walking down a street. There is a hole in the sidewalk. I don't see the hole, and I fall in. It is not my fault. It takes me forever to get out.

Chapter two: I am walking down the same street. This time I see the hole in the sidewalk. I fall in anyway. It takes me a long time to get out.

Chapter three: I am walking down the same street. I see the hole in the sidewalk. I try to step over it, but I fall in anyway. It is my fault. This time I get out quicker.

Chapter four: I am walking down the same street. I see the hole in the sidewalk. I walk on the other side of the street and avoid falling into the hole.

Chapter five: I take a different street.

How often in life do we make the same wrong choices over and over simply because we think we can handle the situation better than before?

Wouldn't it be much simpler just to take a different street?

Communication is the Key

Ever since I have started this blog, I find myself thinking about blog post topics a lot. When something exciting happens or I hear something funny or especially if something is bugging me, my first thought has now become, "I should blog about it!" So this morning, when I should have been concentrating on getting ready for school, my mind was swirling with what I should blog about next. Well, I have been reading this one book, and this morning as I was reading, I was getting so frustrated! Something had happened to this one girl, and rumors were being spread about her that were completely untrue. Her fiance heard the rumors, and confronted her about them. However, instead of letting her explain, he jumped to his own conclusions about what he thought had happened and drove away in a huff, leaving his bride-to-be crying and begging him to return. I just wanted to reach through the pages of the book and shake the guy! I mean, WHY did he have to leave before she could explain what had happened??!! I have discovered that this is yet another one of my pet peeves - miscommunication!! Last year I was watching a movie with some friends, and as the movie dragged on for hours, I was just getting so annoyed! I literally yelled out, "Just communicate, people!" I mean really...what could have been solved in the first 10 minutes of the movie dragged on for what seemed like 5 hours! If they had only communicated, things would have just been soooo much simpler! That often bugs me about the books I read. In this one series, it takes 5 books to finally conclude the story. If the main characters had just communicated in the first place, it would all have worked out soooo much better! Did you ever think about how much movies & books are made up of miscommunication? Many authors and producers would go out of business if there was no complicated miscommunication issues in their stories! When I read a book or watch a movie, I always see both sides of the story, and I know what the truth is, so it is always frustrating to me when the people involved in the issues just don't see the solution! However, when its a real life situation, it is soooo easy for me to jump to a certain conclusion about a matter. It could be the simple fact that someone didn't say "hello" to me that day so I think they are upset at me about something. Or maybe I heard a rumor about a person, and instead of searching out the facts on the matter, I immediately assume its true and judge that person based on that rumor. I am a girl who tends to over-analyze matters a lot, and I second-guess people's words or actions towards me. So like I said, I am not one to judge others in their lack of communication! I guess I am just saying that I see that it is a real problem in our world, and especially in our churches. Christians get into so many arguments and disagreements simply because they didn't search the matter out and communicate with each other. They jumped to their own conclusion, and obviously, they think that what they think is what is true. My Dad always says that there are 3 sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. Throughout elementary school, I always was in the middle of some little "cat fight" with my friends. Many a day would find me in the girl's bathroom having this "meeting" about so-and-so who did this or said that. I always seemed to be the middle man/peacemaker. I would always be the one they would come to and tell their side of the story. Even now when I become this "middle man/peacemaker" in a situation, I just find it sooo disturbing because I never know what the real truth is! Every one has their own side to the story, yet I can see truths from both sides. I just think that if people truly communicated with each other, and didn't come into the conversation with their mind already made up about what they were going to believe about the situation, I think lots of problems would be solved! Communication is indeed the key! However, many people don't want to let their guard down, set aside their pride in believing that they are always right, and learn to trust others (I am preaching to myself just so you know!). One of my favorite Christian authors is Elizabeth George, and in her book called Loving God with All Your Mind, she writes this:

What kinds of thoughts do you tend to have about people? I doubt that they are always pure, positive, and prayerful. Which one of us hasn't slipped into second-guessing, analysis, and suspicion? Which one of us hasn't been plagued with self-doubt or crippled by negative thoughts, insecurity, and worry? A woman choosing to think on what is true and real, however, depends on others to tell her and on God's Spirit to show her when she fails or offends someone. She refuses to second-guess or draw conclusions about people's behavior. When we think no evil about people, trust what they say and do, and believe that either they will come to us or God will reveal to us where we have offended them, we will nurture love and confidence in relationships. Thoughts about people, which are based on what is true and real, liberate us to generously and joyously love and serve one another.

The Lord is my Shepherd

The following excerpt is from a devotional book that I read every morning entitled "God is Enough." The devotionals in this book are excerpts from some of Hannah Whitehall Smith's books and journals. This particular excerpt is from her book, The God of All Comfort. When I read these words for the first time about a year ago, I was going through a really rough time. These words were indeed a comfort and reassured me of God's love and care for me! It just happened to be yesterday's and today's devotionals so I just had to share them. Hope they are a blessing to you!

Hundreds of times you have said, "The LORD is my shepherd" (Ps. 23:1), but have you ever really believed it to be an actual fact? Have you felt safe and happy and free from care, as a sheep must feel when under the care of a good shepherd? Or have you felt like a forlorn sheep without a shepherd or with an unfaithful, inefficient shepherd, who does not supply your needs and leaves you in times of danger and darkness?

Answer these questions honestly in your own soul. Have you had a comfortable religious life or an uncomfortable one? If the latter has been your condition, how can you reconcile it with the statement that the Lord is your Shepherd and therefore you shall not want? You say that He is your Shepherd, yet you complain that you do want. Who has made the mistake - you or the Lord?

But here, perhaps, you will meet me with the words, "Oh, no, I do not blame the Lord, but I am so weak and foolish and ignorant that I am not worthy of His care." Don't you know that sheep are always weak, helpless, and silly, and that the very reason they must have a shepherd is because they are so unable to take care of themselves? Their welfare and their safety do not in the least depend on their own strength or wisdom but wholly and entirely on the care of their shepherd. If you are a sheep, your welfare also must depend altogether on your Shepherd and not at all on yourself.

Let us imagine two flocks of sheep meeting at the end of the winter and comparing their experiences. One flock is fat and strong and in good condition, and the other flock is poor and lean and diseased. Will the healthy flock boast of themselves, saying, "See what splendid care we have taken of ourselves, what good, strong, wise sheep we must be"? Surely not. Their boasting would all be about their shepherd. "See what a good shepherd we have had, " they would say, "and see how he has cared for us. Through all the storms of the winter he has protected us. He has defended us from every wild beast and has always provided us with the best of food."

On the other hand, would the poor, wretched, diseased sheep blame themselves and say, "Alas! what wicked sheep we must be , to be in such a poor condition"? No they too would speak only of their shepherd. "Our shepherd was very different from yours. He fed himself, but he did not feed us. He did not strengthen us when we were weak, heal us when we were sick, bind us up when we were broken, or look for us when we were lost. In times of danger or of storm, he forsook us and fled."

We all understand the responsibility of a shepherd toward his sheep, but the moment we transfer the figure to our religion, we shift all the responsibility from the Shepherd and lay it on the sheep. We demand of the poor human sheep the care and power to provide what can only be provided by the divine Shepherd. Of course, the poor sheep fail, and their religious lives become miserable.

My Family's Collection (Part 2)

I couldn't post about our "video library" without mentioning my family's "book library"...(imagine, books in a library??!!) Anyway, yes, I had to come to the realization that we do, indeed, collect books as well as movies. I discovered that today especially when I took pictures of all our book collections! :D It probably isn't quite as many as some people have, but it seems like a lot to me!

My personal book collection...

These are deep shelves, so there are 2 rows of books on some of the shelves. Many of the books I collect are by my favorite authors - Janette Oke, Beverly Lewis, Wanda Brunstetter, and Lori Wick.

This would be my "overflow" bookshelf. Many of my devotional collection and biographies are on this shelf. And, in case anyone is wondering, I do not organize my books alphabetically or by size...although I do try to organize them by author at least :D

The overflowing bookshelf in our dining room (plus a few photo albums!)

Alayna's bookshelf in her room...

A lot of these books used to be mine when I was younger...like the Berenstain Bear books and Mandie books on the top shelf!

Last year when I was getting ready for Kindergarten, I filled these totes with some of my childhood books...and yes, these things were full!

Now they all reside on the bookshelf in my classroom.

I would say that at least half these books were mine when I was a child...some were passed down to me from my next door neighbor, and some were even part of my Dad's collection when he was a child! (I won't say how old that makes them!)

This would be the bookshelf my kiddos get to choose from when it is story time. If you would take notice to the book on the bottom shelf on the left, you might recall from this post that it is the SAME book I got for my 4th birthday...19 years ago!

So, if you are wondering if we have enough room for all of our various book collections, take a good look at this picture of a shelf in a corner of our storage room in the basement...(wow..that was a lot of prepositional phrases in one sentence!)

The answer would be NO!! :D

So, again, the whole point of this post is...well, if you ever want to read a book, there might be a SLIGHT chance we have a book you might want to read! If you are in our area...feel free to come on in to browse, borrow, and benefit!

No donations necessary...this time :D