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.

One Year!

I can't really believe that we've already been married a whole year!  It's gone so fast!  I was just thinking on the way to school today that on this day last year, we had 8 inches of snow on the ground! Today it is 52 degrees :)  I was happy to have the snow on our wedding day.

This past weekend we did some fun things to celebrate our anniversary.  We stayed at a Bed and Breakfast!  Though I think I still like the idea of a Bed and Breakfast, I don't know that I would go back to this one...  It was an interesting experience.  The house was quite messy and she was definitely a liberal "Ann Arborite"  but we still had fun!  We used a gift card to the Melting Pot for dinner, which was amazing!  A three course fondu meal! :)  We also used a gift card to the Oasis, in which we got to rent a hot tub for an hour.  It was pretty of fun, too!

A weekend of new experiences! Can't wait for year number 2!

"Dear Parent: About THAT kid..." by Amy Murray

From another blog:  Great, extremely true reminder!

Dear Parent:
I know. You’re worried. Every day, your child comes home with a story about THAT kid. The one who is always hitting shoving pinching scratching maybe even biting other children. The one who always has to hold my hand in the hallway. The one who has a special spot at the carpet, and sometimes sits on a chair rather than the floor. The one who had to leave the block center because blocks are not for throwing. The one who climbed over the playground fence right exactly as I was telling her to stop. The one who poured his neighbors milk onto the floor in a fit of anger. On purpose. While I was watching. And then, when I asked him to clean it up, emptied the ENTIRE paper towel dispenser. On purpose. While I was watching. The one who dropped the REAL ACTUAL F-word in gym class.
You’re worried that THAT child is detracting from your child’s learning experience. You’re worried that he takes up too much of my time and energy, and that your child won’t get his fair share. You’re worried that she is really going to hurt someone some day. You’re worried that “someone” might be your child. You’re worried that your child is going to start using aggression to get what she wants. You’re worried your child is going to fall behind academically because I might not notice that he is struggling to hold a pencil. I know.
Your child, this year, in this classroom, at this age, is not THAT child. Your child is not perfect, but she generally follows rules. He is able to share toys peaceably. She does not throw furniture. He raises his hand to speak. She works when it is time to work, and plays when it is time to play. He can be trusted to go straight to the bathroom and straight back again with no shenanigans. She thinks that the S-word is “stupid” and the C-word is “crap.” I know.
I know, and I am worried, too.
You see, I worry all the time. About ALL of them. I worry about your child’s pencil grip, and another child’s letter sounds, and that little tiny one’s shyness, and that other one’s chronically empty lunchbox. I worry that Gavin’s coat is not warm enough, and that Talitha’s dad yells at her for printing the letter B backwards. Most of my car rides and showers are consumed with the worrying.
But I know, you want to talk about THAT child. Because Talitha’s backward Bs are not going to give your child a black eye.
I want to talk about THAT child, too, but there are so many things I can’t tell you.
I can’t tell you that she was adopted from an orphanage at 18 months.
I can’t tell you that he is on an elimination diet for possible food allergies, and that he is therefore hungry ALL. THE. TIME.
I can’t tell you that her parents are in the middle of a horrendous divorce, and she has been staying with her grandma.
I can’t tell you that I’m starting to worry that grandma drinks…
I can’t tell you that his asthma medication makes him agitated.
I can’t tell you that her mom is a single parent, and so she (the child) is at school from the moment before-care opens, until the moment after-care closes, and then the drive between home and school takes 40 minutes, and so she (the child) is getting less sleep than most adults.
I can’t tell you that he has been a witness to domestic violence.
That’s okay, you say. You understand I can’t share personal or family information. You just want to know what I am DOING about That Child’s behaviour.
I would love to tell you. But I can’t.
I can’t tell you that she receives speech-language services, that an assessment showed a severe language delay, and that the therapist feels the aggression is linked to frustration about being unable to communicate.
I can’t tell you that I meet with his parents EVERY week, and that both of them usually cry at those meetings.
I can’t tell you that the child and I have a secret hand signal to tell me when she needs to sit by herself for a while.
I can’t tell you that he spends rest time curled in my lap because “it makes me feel better to hear your heart, Teacher.”
I can’t tell you that I have been meticulously tracking her aggressive incidents for 3 months, and that she has dropped from 5 incidents a day, to 5 incidents a week.
I can’t tell you that the school secretary has agreed that I can send him to the office to “help” when I can tell he needs a change of scenery.
I can’t tell you that I have stood up in a staff meeting and, with tears in my eyes, BEGGED my colleagues to keep an extra close eye on her, to be kind to her even when they are frustrated that she just punched someone AGAIN, and this time, RIGHT IN FRONT OF A TEACHER.
The thing is, there are SO MANY THINGS I can’t tell you about That Child. I can’t even tell you the good stuff.
I can’t tell you that his classroom job is to water the plants, and that he cried with heartbreak when one of the plants died over winter break.
I can’t tell you that she kisses her baby sister goodbye every morning, and whispers “You are my sunshine” before mom pushes the stroller away.
I can’t tell you that he knows more about thunderstorms than most meteorologists.
I can’t tell you that she often asks to help sharpen the pencils during playtime.
I can’t tell you that she strokes her best friend’s hair at rest time.
I can’t tell you that when a classmate is crying, he rushes over with his favourite stuffy from the story corner.

The thing is, dear parent, that I can only talk to you about YOUR child. So, what I can tell you is this:
If ever, at any point, YOUR child, or any of your children, becomes THAT child…
I will not share your personal family business with other parents in the classroom.
I will communicate with you frequently, clearly, and kindly.
I will make sure there are tissues nearby at all our meetings, and if you let me, I will hold your hand when you cry.
I will advocate for your child and family to receive the highest quality of specialist services, and I will cooperate with those professionals to the fullest possible extent.
I will make sure your child gets extra love and affection when she needs it most.
I will be a voice for your child in our school community.
I will, no matter what happens, continue to look for, and to find, the good, amazing, special, and wonderful things about your child.
I will remind him and YOU of those good amazing special wonderful things, over and over again.
And when another parent comes to me, with concerns about YOUR child…
I will tell them all of this, all over again.
With so much love;
Teacher.

Finger Cast

I put out those pencil top erasers the other day in the writing center.  The kids weren't supposed to touch them until further direction.  The other day out at recess, a boy came up and tattled on a girl in my class.  He claimed that she had an eraser in her hand.  After further inspection, I noticed that sure enough, the girl had a bright green eraser in her hand.  As she saw me looking intently at the eraser which was now capping her finger, she said (quite loudly!), "Nuh  uh!!  It's a finger cast!!"  The boy was not buying it.  The boy again told me very seriously that she was carrying an eraser.  She retorted, "No it's not!  It's really a finger cast!  It just looks like an eraser!"   Though I was laughing hysterically inside, of course I kept my composure and we had a nice chat about telling the truth :)  Then I came home and laughed quite hard about that!

Last 2 weeks

A lot has happened since I last wrote!  First of all, Josh's dad had 2 strokes 2 weeks ago.  He was in the hospital for the last two weeks and is now trying to lead a somewhat normal life back at his home.  We've been visiting or helping him every spare minute we have.  He's doing a lot better and is able to walk a bit with the walker.  He lives alone, so that poses all sorts of other challenges.  Anyway, we need prayer that this wouldn't been too overwhelming and for his dad's smooth recovery.

We moved!  Guess what!?  The week of the move, there was another flood and another big hole cut in our ceiling!  That totals up to four times our ceiling leaked and they had to cut it open!  It was almost funny this time!  Glad we're out of there :)  We really like our new place.  It's a bit smaller (but cheaper :)) and nice enough for us to save up our money for a house next year. 

Call us crazy....but also in the last 2 weeks we went down to one car (to save more money for the house).  I think we'll only do this for a little while, considering it's kind of hard to completely coordinate our schedules.  So far so good though!

School is going well!  I love my class and they are pretty low maintenance, which is great since we have so much other going on!  Thanks for your prayers :)