New

We moved into our house two weeks ago!  The closing process went surprisingly smoothly and we were living in the house that very day!  The house was so much dirtier than we even thought!  Our families helped us clean the house and move everything over that weekend.  So far we have finished cleaning, painting and decorating the living room.  There is so much work to be done!  I know we have all the time in the world to finish the house but we are excited to fix it up and it’s fun to see it looking better with a coat of paint!   This week we began pricing out and brainstorming ideas for the counter top.  I cannot wait to make that look better.  Right now it is 1x1 inch tiles with lots of yucky grout in between and it grosses me out!  Josh painted the front door and shutters and those look good!  Josh is also working on the wallpaper removal in the kitchen which is impossibly hard to get off the wall.  Even all my mom’s tips/tricks to get it off didn’t work!  This week I am working on the hallway.  I do the trim and then the edging and then the paint rolling.  Although it’s a lot of work, it is fun because it is ours J 

We also got a dog!  One of Josh’s students needed to get rid of a dog because of a move and we inherited him.  He is wonderful!  He’s an American Bulldog and the cutest and sweetest dog ever.  It seems so silly but this dog has brought so much joy to our lives!  He is so goofy, cuddly and wrinkly. We love him!  God just keeps blessing us.  Life is very fun right now!

Stories Already!

Yesterday we were out at recess and one of the little guys in my class was racing his friend, tripped, fell and lightly skinned both knees.  There was only a tiny bit of blood but he was wailing as if his legs were going to fall off! :)  I sent him into the office to get a couple of band-aids.  I put the band-aids on his knees and he was still crying quite loudly.  It was time for us to go inside and pack up to go home.  His sister came over and said, "Lets pray over your knee..."  It was the cutest thing!  Child like faith!  They believe God is big enough to heal his knee!  Pretty cool!

Yesterday we began writing stories, which at first is really just drawing pictures.  I went around to each student and wrote down what they told me their story was about.  One girl showed me her picture and said, "My story is about how my mom dresses up in scary costumes."  Hahaha I suppose maybe she was talking about Halloween but it sure was funny!  I sent it home ;)

New Crew

Surprisingly the first week of school was great!  Of course I forget each year how helpless the little Kindergarteners are when they first arrive.  They are everywhere except their seat, they cry when it's time to go home, they try claiming, "You are not my friend!" when someone does something they don't like...  Haha!  And here I go again, trying to make little independent, kind, thoughtful people.  I think I have a great group!  They are all eager to please and are like little sponges already, soaking up the knowledge.  I can't wait to dive into our curriculum because I think they are going to be a very bright crowd!  Good stories to come, I'm sure! :)

Trying my hand at canning!

As we get closer and closer to buying our house, the more and more frugal we are trying to live in order to save up the 20% down payment.  We are right on track to have the amount saved up by October!  Josh has been tutoring in the mornings before our summer camp job.  Since we drive one car, that puts me to work 2 hours early!  Though I was dreading it at the beginning, I've been really enjoying the mornings reading and "pinteresting" :)  I have a new love for pinterest!  I'm learning all kinds of new things from DIY projects to decorate our new house to canning!

God is allowing our garden to produce so much this year!  It's so cool how the produce spread throughout the whole summer.  In the beginning we had tons of lettuce and ate salads almost every day!  Then for the last few weeks we've been overwhelmed with summer squash and zucchini.  Next it will be bell peppers and tomatoes.  Because we will have so many tomatoes (provided the groundhog doesn't chow down) I will try to can them for sauces, salsas, etc.  My mom gave me her old canner (which she said she used when she was my age!).  We've only had a few cucumbers so far but I was able to successfully can a jar of pickles!  The dill smell is super hard to get out of the kitchen.  I made them 3 days ago and the smell is still wafting around!  I figured I would try out the canner with only 2 jars just in case I didn't do it right and ruined them.  I tried one jar of pickles and one jar of berry syrup.  The pickles sealed and can now be stored but I failed on the syrup...  Oh well :)  It's fun to try!   I'm hoping that canning some of these things will save us some money!  We'll see...

At least I have the option of running to Meijer to grab whatever I need, basically whenever I want.  It's probably been only in the last 100 years that people had this convenience!  I'm afraid we might starve if we could only live on what I (successfully) canned or grew! Hah!  There's something that is so interesting though about that simple life.

I found this quote about slowing down and living more simply :
"As we make an effort to slow down we are able to hear God’s message more clearly.  Whether you are at home, in the car or on the football field, act with compassion, be loving and kind, and put others before yourself." Tracy Lynn

We're Buying a House!

A couple months ago we'd started looking for a house and went to get pre-approved and were quite disappointed because they said we should stop looking until we have the full 20% down payment.  With our summer work and Josh's tutoring money it would be October before we had the money saved.  So we stopped looking.

The last week of school, Mary, one of my co-workers was talking to me about our house search and off the cuff said, "My boyfriend rents a house in Allen Park and might be willing to sell..."  Turns out he was willing to sell, but it wouldn't be available to buy until October when he comes back into town from Mackinaw Island. He wanted to do it all without listing the house and by owner to avoid realtor fees.  Both of things were huge signs that this must be the one!

We went and looked at the house a couple of times, one with my mom and dad doing some inspecting.  And we decided that we really wanted it but the price was a bit high for our budget.  The house needs quite a bit of work so we factored that into the price.  We prayed that God would give us a number to offer to him.  We offered a seriously significant number lower than his asking price and just prayed and prayed that God would work on this guy's heart to sell it to us for lower.  He called just yesterday and we got the exact price that fits perfectly in our budget and below our means.  It's so crazy how after we finally stopped looking, God just dumped this house into our laps and the perfect price.  God is so good! 

P.S.  It's only a mile from Josh's work, so he can ride a bike or walk to school when the weather is nice!

Pictures to come ;)

Boy do I feel honored!

The other day one of my students excitedly told me that she was getting a bunny on Friday for a pet!  Of course I asked her all of the usual questions:


"What color?"
"Where will it stay?"
"What will you name it?"


She thought for a second and then exclaimed, "I'm going to name it Mrs. Andrews!!!"  I think that's the first bunny in history with a name like that!


Haahahahahaha!

Let them see you in me (I changed the words to relate to me)

Take away the worksheets
Take away the words I teach
Take away busyness
And all the words You let me "preach"
Does the girl I am today
Say the words You need to say?

Let them see You in me
Let them hear You when I speak
Let them feel You when I teach
Let them see You
Just let them see You in me

Who am I without Your grace?
Another smile, another face
Another breath, a grain of sand
Passing quickly through Your hand
I give my life, an offering
Take it all, take everything

With every breath I breathe
Trying to teach your biblical truth
But I pray they’ll hear more than just a lesson
In me


Let them see You in me
Let them hear You when I speak
Let them feel You when I teach
Let them see You
Just let them see You in me
Just let them see You in me

My Meijer Trip

The other day I went to Meijer and boy was it an experience!  About half way through the shopping trip, they announced that they were not able to take any electronic payments.   Supposedly all Meijer stores' system had gone down and they were only accepting check or cash at that time.  I was hoping that by the time I got done shopping the problem would be fixed.  Well, it wasn't.  I eventually weaved my way up through the extremely crowded store and got to the check out line.  It looked as if they were still only taking cash or check.  I thought, no problem I will just park my cart in an inconspicuous part of the store and walk up to the ATM to get out cash.  I left the cart in the middle of a deserted isle and went to get in line at the ATM.  Everyone else had the same idea so there were about 9 of us in line. There were seriously 8 old people in front of me!  It was taking each one SO long to get their money!  The had to get out their glasses, read over everything twice, push the buttons multiple times, etc.!  All the while, I'm watching the poor costumer service people collecting carts that had been abandoned because of the payment problem.  Good thing I parked my cart far away from the check out!  I got a little nervous after I watched 12 carts being collected.  Thankfully none of them were mine.  I watched carefully as each cart went by with a stressed looking costumer service employee.  They were even starting to put the frozen and refrigerated items away.  FINALLY, I got up to the ATM and withdrew enough money for groceries.  I zoomed back to the place where I had parked the cart and it was.... gone!  They thought I'd abandoned it and they took it to the customer service desk to empty it!  I speed walked over to the desk, picked my cart out of the other 20 some carts.  They had already put away all of my frozen and refrigerated things! :(  So, I went back and had to start all over again making sure everything on my list was actually in my cart.   Haha, what a fiasco!

96 Marshmallows

The other day it was our 100th day of school!  Hard to believe we're already more that half way through this year!  On the 100th day, we celebrate by doing a lot of 100 kind of things.  The students were asked to bring in 100 of a certain item.  It had to be something small enough to fit into a Ziploc baggie.  One student brought in 100 marshmallows.   One of our activities throughout the day was to count the 100 items that they brought in.  I had them put their items into groups of 1, 2, 5, and 10-all different ways to count to 100.  When this boy was getting close to 100 he realized he had a problem.  He came up to me very concerned and told me quite convincingly that he had not brought enough marshmallows.  He only had 96.  I would have believed him if I hadn't seen the white sticky substance all over his lips!  He had brought the right amount, he just ate 4!  When I told him what I thought may have happened to the other 4, he got a guilty "You caught me" grin and went back to sort his now 96 marshmallows.  Haha, can't trick me!

A Fresh Vision for Prayer

*I am reposting this from a blog I like.  It encouraged me today and I hope it encourages you as well!

A Fresh Vision for Prayer

Whenever a new year begins, our society encourages us to “turn over a new leaf” in self-improvement areas such as fitness, diet, and personal goals.  And while it can be good to establish fresh vision and discipline in these areas, none of them are as important as our daily time with Jesus Christ.  Yet it’s all too easy to allow time with Christ to fall by the wayside, simply because we don’t have a clear vision for how to structure our prayer times.  Time with Christ can begin to feel stale and dutiful unless we are purposeful about protecting our prayer life and cultivating our daily intimacy with Him.
But how do we connect with the King of the universe in a significant way? There is no magic formula for prayer and seeking God, and every prayer time will probably be a little different. But a good rule of thumb is this - make it all about Him, instead of all about you. Meditate on His goodness, faithfulness, and majesty. Praise Him for all He has done in your life. Thank Him for His astounding work of redemption in your soul. Dwell upon His amazing promises and reckon them as fact, no matter what your feelings or past experience might say. Worship songs, Scripture, and Christ-centered books or sermons can all assist you in doing this.
Of course it’s not wrong to tell God about your fears, hopes, dreams, and feelings. In fact, the Bible tells us to “cast our cares upon Him” (1 Peter 5:7) and to “present our requests to God” (Phil 4:6). But far too many of us spend the majority of our prayer and quiet times meditating upon how we feel rather than upon who God is. When we behold the beauty of our King, our own thoughts, feelings, and worries will fade into the background. As we delight in Him, He grants us the desires of our heart. As we turn our eyes to Him and away from ourselves, He “fills us all in all” (Eph 1:23).
Here are a few other tools that have helped me maintain freshness and focus in my prayer life:

Keep a Prayer Journal

I love to keep a prayer journal because it allows me to record the faithfulness of God in my life. Whenever I am walking through a season where my faith is being tested, it is uplifting to read back over my journal throughout the past years or months, and see how many times God has come through for me.
Spend some time thinking through what tools could assist you in having more effective prayer and quiet times. Can you set aside an area of the house that is quiet and free from distractions? Can you download some worship music or audio Scripture to listen to while you pray and meditate upon Him? Word of Promise is one of my favorite audio Bibles, because it is professionally dramatized and is enhanced with beautiful music. Starting out a prayer time by playing a few of the Psalms from Word of Promise has proven a wonderful tool to help usher me into the presence of God.

 

Embrace Godly Discipline

During the seasons of my life in which I have embraced a disciplined lifestyle as an act of worship, my intimacy with Christ has flourished. But whenever I say, “It doesn’t matter how much time I spend in prayer,” I find that my relationship with Him slips to the back burner, and I end up talking a lot about Him without really knowing Him. It is not the mere act of “being disciplined” that draws me close to Christ. But discipline allows me to hear His voice, understand His Truth, and connect with His heart in a way that is impossible when I’m controlled by selfishness and apathy.
It is important to recognize that godly discipline and human willpower are two different things. Willpower only lasts temporarily and is dependent upon our own ability. Godly discipline goes far beyond mere human “oomph” and comes through yielding to His Spirit and relying on His grace. It is impossible in our own strength.  Even if personal discipline doesn’t come naturally for you, remember that anyone can embrace godly discipline. All you must do is take steps of obedience and call upon Him for the strength and grace to do what you could never do on our own.
Here are some practical ways to start building godly discipline into your life:

* Memorize a simple scripture to recite the moment your alarm goes off. I love to whisper Psalm 118:24 first thing in the morning: “This is the day that the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.” Meditating upon Truth turns my focus toward my King and helps me to ignore my body’s plea to pull the covers back over my head.

* Recruit an accountability partner with whom you can honestly share the areas in your life that need greater discipline. Ask that person to pray with you and encourage you as you seek to make changes in these areas, by the grace of God. Having a trusted friend with whom you can share your failures and successes can make a tremendous difference in pushing you toward a more disciplined lifestyle, enabled by God’s grace.

* Start gradually. If you are used to waking up at 9 a.m. and you try to switch cold turkey to a 5 a.m. wake-up time, chances are you will wane in your commitment after a day or two. Instead, try setting your alarm for 20 minutes earlier for the first couple of days. Then, set it for another 20 minutes earlier and work on that new discipline for a few days. Continue this pattern until you have reached the wake-up time that you feel God is asking of you. Let your body get used to change over a period of a few weeks. You can do the same for lengthening your prayer sessions. If you have only been spending five minutes a day in prayer, don’t jump to an hour (unless of course you believe that God is asking you to do so!)  Instead, add an additional five minutes each day until you reach the length that you feel God desires.

Remember that every step to build godly discipline into our lives should be an outflow of our love for Christ, not a way to gain spiritual “brownie points” or prove our own righteousness (since we have none outside of Christ anyway!).

Get Back Up on the Horse

Most of us will go through unusual seasons in which regular, consistent prayer just doesn't happen. It may be the birth of a child, a hospital stay, a family emergency, and so on, when every spare moment of our time and energy is given to "survival mode."  Last year, Eric and I walked through a season like this. For several weeks, we were in the midst of an intense crisis involving several people that we were close to. And while we did pray during that season, it was just short bursts of crying out to God whenever we could steal away for a few minutes.
I knew that God was giving us grace for what we were walking through, and that He was sustaining us supernaturally even though it wasn't possible for us to spend hours in prayer each day. But as soon as things calmed down and life returned to a relatively normal pace, I knew it was time to build regular, consistent prayer back into our lives.
When life seems to buck me off my normal prayer routine, I have learned to rise up on the strength of God and get back in the saddle as soon as I possibly can. Instead of feeling like I somehow have to play "spiritual catch up" when I haven't spent much time in prayer for a while, I rest in the comforting fact that I can pick up right where I left off. No matter what I have walked through, my God is unchanging and He is always ready and waiting for me to cast my cares upon Him!

~~

        When prayer is missing from our life and we are controlled by temporal cares and pursuits, we’ll spend countless time and energy trying to make our life work, constantly failing and beating our head against the wall in frustration. But as it says in Psalm 1, when we meditate upon our Lord day and night, we become like a tree that “brings forth much fruit” – and everything that we do just somehow works. Life becomes fruitful instead of frustrating.