His Abounding Grace

Well, so many things have happened since my last post. It's been quite a life, but the Lord has continued to show me His grace and mercy through it all. I am so thankful for His goodness and His encouragement through times of trials and overwhelming circumstances. He never changes even when everything in our world seems to. He lifts up our heads when we feel like keeping them down. He places peace and gladness in our hearts when we feel like giving up and crying. He helps us to stand when we feel like falling. He is our strength when we feel so very weak. He fills each day with His wonderful blessings and I absolutely love being His child.

One of the greatest news in my life is: I'M ENGAGED! At the age of 34, God has blessed me with the most wonderful man. He has been a source of Godly strength, support, and love. Even with the news that I have a genetic blood disorder and may have to have a hysterectomy in the future, he has stood by me and has encouraged me to continue to put my faith and trust in the Lord. When we pray together over the phone, it touches my heart to hear his prayers of intercession to the Lord for me. It is such a wonderful experience to humbly go before the Lord knowing that it was His abounding grace that led us to each other.

I am now back home with my family and planning a wedding. Although I miss teaching at times, I'm really enjoying the break. I am currently looking for a job, but I know in God's timing, He'll bring me the job that's perfect for me. He has provided so much for me and has met my financial needs each month. God is so very good! At the same time, I definitely appreciate and would be extremely thankful for any and all prayers concerning my search for God's will.

I look forward to blogging about my wedding planning journey. We have a very limited budget. My colors are black, white, & purple. Hopefully I won't get too stressed since I tend to be a perfectionist at times. We'll see.

"And we know that all things work together for good..."

I know I haven’t posted anything in awhile, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things. In the past 7 months since my last post, I’ve gone through so many different trials. Just to name a few....one of my best friends was diagnosed with cancer, my family’s house burned down, and just recently a little boy who was going to be in my Kindergarten class this school year died in a car accident. Through it all, God has shown me how great He is, and how small my trials are in comparison with the mightiness of His hands.

Trials have a way of bringing forth blessings. My friend had surgery and is now cancer free, my family is going to get a brand new house built for them, and during the little boy’s funeral, the church was packed and over 60 people accepted Christ as their Savior. The Lord has taught me the importance of trusting Him with everything. After all, He is in control of all things and knows what's absolutely best for my life and the lives of the people I love the most.

He Still Amazes Me

These past weeks since I've last posted have been so busy and especially trying. I have to say that this school year has been filled with so many trials. It has been by far my most challenging since I began teaching. To be honest there are times I feel like quitting, but God reminds me that He is the One Who called me into the ministry and my life is His. There hasn't been a trial yet, that God did not know about. He is continally using circumstances and situations in my life to mold me and prepare me for what lies ahead. So many things have happened in my life, but God is still ever faithful to His Word. He constantly provides for my every need and gives me continual strength.

The above picture is what happened to my car a day before Christmas break. I was in my house putting presents together for my teacher friends, when there was a loud knock at my door. My roommate answered the door and it was a police officer. Someone was street racing or under the influence and turned into our street and hit my car. It was a hit and run. No one has come forward but a witness said it was either one of our neighbors or someone associated with them. Thankfully no one was in the car. Not too long before the accident occured, I was about to step out and get a gift card for my aide, but my roommate offered to get it for me in the morning.

I was able to handle the whole situation calmly and it's all because God prepared me with my tire incident that happened just weeks before. I was able to give tracts to the witness and police officer and the witness commented on what a great attitude I had. I told them that it was all a part of God's will and He had everything under control. This is so true, and as I type this, the Lord has already provided for my $500 deductible need. I know I always say this but I can't help it~ God is so good, all the time. He still amazes me!

A Christmas Parent Gift

I have been doing this wreath ornament craft for the last three years and the parents of my students love it. It is made with puzzle pieces from the dollar store that my students glue around a ring of cardstock. I then spray paint it green. My students add red berries with puff paint. They glue their pictures to red cardstock and I hot glue the wreath and cardstock together. I also hot glue the ribbon on and that's it. So simple but yet a special gift from the heart. It is a beautiful addition to the family Christmas tree and the picture in the middle is a wonderful memory of their Kindergarten school year. Parents think it's too adorable.

Winter Wonderland

I know it's kind of late, but here some ideas for Christmas & Winter bulletin boards...

The Reason for the Season

My Floating Gingerbread Helpers :)

I love this board with the white lights and the iridescent shred for snow.

It's so pretty!

Jesus Can Change Your Life & Heart

Our Christmas Party

Thanksgiving has come and gone and Christmas is just around the corner. I absolutely love the sounds of Christmas and hearing songs about the Savior. Last night was our church & academy Christmas party. Have I mentioned how spoiled we are? We are so blessed to have such a loving pastor & church. I can't believe I get paid for doing what I love!

Upon entering the pastor's house we were given a roll of pennies to be saved for later that night. Then, we had a delicious 4 course meal which ended in triple chocolate cheesecake. It was the best! After a short devotional emphasizing that "life doesn't get better than this," the games began. Our pastor's son announced that we would be having an auction and we would be using our roll of pennies to bid on various wrapped gifts. It was tons of fun! I waited to bid on lot#37 because 3 and 7 are my favorite numbers. I unwrapped my gift and guess what I got for only 25 cents? A rotten apple and....... a $50 gift card to Wal-Mart. What a blessing! God definitely provides. I needed exactly $50 to pay for my perscription medicine. Guess where I get my medicine from? That's right~Wal-Mart. God is so good and always takes care of His children.

And He Always Provides

After hearing the wonderful news about my mom, and my students doing a fabulous job on their program, I was on a high. I gave a praise the next morning in our meeting about God’s goodness, and our principal responded with, “Just wait...”. Those may not have been his exact words, but he was alluding to the fact that in the Christian life there are ups and downs. We’ve all heard the saying, “You’re either in a trial, just come out of one, or just about to go into one.” I don’t particularly like this saying, but I’ve found it to be true. It seems as if when all is going well, something happens to test your faith. Nothing that is out of God’s control, but I often respond like it’s the end of the world. On Thursday, here comes my trial. I know a trial strengthens your faith, produces patience, shows you your points of weakness and your need of dependence on God, and makes you realize that God is in control of all things, BUT…I just wish at the time, I didn’t have to go through them. Now at the end of the trial, I can always look back and thank the Lord for the lessons I’ve learned about myself and what He has revealed to me about Himself.

On Thursday, during my lunch break, I ran home for a couple of minutes. It was a trying day at school and I just wanted to get away and relax. As I walked out the door and approached my car, I noticed something shiny by my tire. I must have ran over a bolt, because there it was glistening in the sun. After school, I go to Discount Tires, thinking this is an easy fix. So… the tire guy inspects my car and tells me some devastating news. All of my tires need to be replaced because they’re cracking, and it’s going to cost $305.00 to fix. So...how do I respond? Do I thank Mr. Tire Guy for his wonderful news? Do I thank the Lord for showing me that I needed new tires before I travelled home for Thanksgiving? NO…I get into my car and I start to cry like a big baby. What a pity party! I started thinking how in the world was I going to come up with the money to pay for new tires. I asked the Lord why this was happening. I call my mom and I start crying to her. I then call my stepdad to ask if there is anyway he can help me, and he says he’ll see. I do pray throughout my crying session, but I know it wasn’t a prayer of complete faith. I always have faith for others, but it seems that I have the most doubts when it comes to my own situations, even though God has proven His provision time and time again. I drive my car to the church where it can be towed easily, should the air leak out of the tire with the bolt, and my roommate drives me home.

I get home and I pray for God’s miraculous provision. I call my best friend, Rebecca, who is one of the best listeners I know, and she encourages me with God’s Word. What a day! My faith is renewed and I know God will work it out somehow. The next day gets better, as my mom calls me and tells me that my brother is going to help me and my stepdad will call me on Saturday morning. This morning comes, and he calls, my brother gave him $100 and together they are going to pay for my tires. What a blessing, huh? Well… I was beyond elated that they were going to buy my tires and I was thankful to the Lord that He provided through them, but…my stepdad is unsaved and with me working in ministry, I didn’t want him to have a bad perception of church and ministry. I’m sure he wasn’t thinking that, but I was. So my roommate follows me to Discount Tires where I drop my car off and my stepdad pays for my tires by phone. The tire place even gave me a discounted rate, now my tires were going to cost $279 and some change. Another blessing!!! My roommate and I then leave my car there and we run some errands. While in a store, my phone rings, it’s the church secretary. She tells me that someone donated $280 towards fixing my tires. I never told the church that I needed new tires. I kept saying, “Are you serious?” I felt like jumping up and down in the store because God knows my heart. Now, I can give my stepdad and my brother back their money, and it’s a testimony on how God provides for His children when they serve him. I called my unsaved stepdad and he said that someone must have heard his prayers. Well we all know who that Someone was. The Lord is so good…all the time, and He always provides even when our faith is weak.