God LOVES to bring us joy...

I am a first grade teacher. I love (LOVE) my job, but some days I get worn out, I fail to see opportunities that come up. I committed to God that I would share Jesus with my class everyday and every chance I got. So, I do. About 2 weeks ago, it seemed like an ordinary Tuesday. It seemed normal until the afternoon. One of the little gals in my class had a "melt down" in P.E. class. The coach decided to take a teaching moment and talked with her about making decisions that please Jesus. (BTW...I had talked to the class about this very thing in the morning devotion time before snack break. I told them it was impossible to make choices to please God without having Jesus in your heart and then told them how to accept Jesus) The P.E. coach told her pretty much the same thing I had. She then asked the little girl if she had Jesus in her heart, the girl said no, but she'd like to. So...the coach prayed with her. YEAH!!!

The kids in the class could hardly wait to get back into our classroom to tell me about it. So we rejoiced with the angels. A few minutes later another little gal raised her hand and asked me if I would pray that prayer with HER to ask Jesus in her heart. I said, "You bet!". She came up to my desk and I prayed (out loud) with her so the rest of the class could hear and pray along if they wanted to. And so we rejoiced with the angels again. I then thought class was going to get back to "normal", but no...another little girl came to my desk and asked me to pray with her. I was almost ready to hyperventilate at this point. 2 of the girls had gone out into the hallway to work on their monthly scripture memory and the 1st gal I prayed with lead her friend in the salvation prayer in the hall. As we were rejoicing that time, one of the little boys raised his had and told me he had prayed in his heart at his desk, but he would do it again out loud if it wasn't okay to pray in his heart. I told him it was absolutely okay and so we rejoiced AGAIN. What a day it was turning out to be. When the class got back from afternoon snack break, 2 more little boys had prayed to ask Jesus in their hearts. I was so overwhelmed I couldn't keep from crying in front of them. I told them they were tears of joy.

One week later the first little gal I prayed with had prayed with two more of the boys in my class, and I prayed with another boy, as well. So far, 9 out of the 12 have prayed to receive Christ and one in kindergarten. There has been a revival in First Grade this year and I'm so honored to be part of it.

I'm so grateful to the Lord for using me in the lives of these little ones and that He's used them in my life, as well.

This is for Kamala!

Okay, just for Kamala...I sat down to blog on Sunday and decided to take a nap instead. ;-) I decided that was the most productive thing I could do. It's actually the first time in a very long time I layed down to rest and didn't feel guilty for it. Thank the Lord. I love to nap, but I'm such a guilty napper. I know there's always something else that needs to be done, but I know that isn't always wise either. Sometimes, the wisest most productive thing we can do is rest. Now, for all of you "Marthas" out there, I know how hard that can be, but remember, Jesus gently reminded her. "Martha, Martha! You are worried and upset about so many things, but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen what is best, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41. Sometimes sitting at Jesus feet is a time of rest for us. A time to unwind from the day and renew our strength.

Okay, okay...so I'm getting fatter!

Well, I can no longer wear my jeans. I tried to. I even tried to use a rubber band on the button and loop it through the button hole and back to the button. But it's just too uncomfortable. So, I went to Walmart and bought me some maternity pants. They're fine and even cute, but how can I be "fat" when I'm only 13 weeks along? I've gotten some really cute clothes from my friend, Vanessa, but I've put off wearing them for as long as I can. How is it that my body just (seemingly) all of a sudden, decided to shift every bit of fat I already had on my body to my stomach? What a mystery this whole pregnancy thing. With my first, I didn't wear maternity clothes until I was in my 6th month. With my 2nd...about the same. With my third, quite a bit sooner. I think it was my 4th month. But this little guy has me all wrapped up in month three. Oh well... Why would I want to hide such a beautiful thing? No, I'm not posting any uncovered belly pix so don't get all excited. Don't get me wrong pregnant bellies are wonderful, but if you've taken such pix please keep them to yourselves. I love your pregnant belly, just covered. I guess I'm not hip. ;-) Oh well, I'll leave that to the "younger" moms.

Daddy/Daughter Valentine Dance 2008

Can you believe how beautiful these girls are? Their Daddy is pretty happening, too! They were off to dinner out and then the 3rd Annual Daddy Daughter Valentine Dance hosted by our school. The girls (and dads) really look forward to it every year. I'm so thankful for it. They come away with such wonderful memories every year with their Daddy (who absolutely dotes on them...btw...) What amazing things they'll remember as they grow up and prepare for "Mr. Right". He'll have big shoes to fill and that's alright with me.

As for Cade and Mommy. (no pix to share) We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and rented "The Empire Strikes Back" & "Return of the Jedi". What a great night we all had.