neat video

a coworker shared this with me yesterday. it's pretty neat!

aaaahhhhhh, a peaceful Saturday

it was so nice this morning to be able to sleep in a bit! :) thanks, God!!!!

i have started the stamping on some graduation cards and when i get back from a mom's taxi run i will start doing major lesson planning and homework time. if money allows, i think i am going to go buy myself some plants for my front porch flower pots too.

hope you all have a terrific weekend!!!!

my payday prayer

each month as i drop the bills that i've paid into the post office box around the corner from our home, i say a prayer thanking Him for providing for those bills to be paid. it's not a ritual i go through, but something i do to let Him know i'm a grateful recipient and that i do not take His provision for granted.

today my prayer went like this; i put each bill in the box one at a time and said:
God, thanks for taking care of us.

• for the money to pay these bills in my hand.
• for jobs to earn the money.
• for a warm, safe place to live that provides this sanctuary away from the world where my family can live in love and laughter.
• for insurance that protects our home and cars in the event disaster should ever strike us.
• for Rosie (my car) and Toto (Rob's car). There was a time in our lives and not very long ago at all when we couldn't even qualify for an auto loan on our own. we are so grateful.
• for water and power and heat and a.c. thank You for living in such an advanced place where these technologies make our lives easier and better. please let me not take it for granted.
• for phones to be able to communicate with our kids and each other in the middle of all our many obligations and most of all to be able to just talk and share and hear our "back home" loved one's voices from so far away and not totally lose touch with them.
• for internet to stay in touch with our family, do work at home, go to college and study.
• for these medical bills- well, God- thanks for insurance that paid for most of the bills in hand. thanks for insurance that helped provide much needed medical care for Matthew when his leg was broken. without it he might have not gotten the care he needed- the surgery to fix his broken leg. he could have been in pain and had a badly healed break or been denied care and ended up with a bone sticking out of his leg, or an infection, or so much worse. in another place or time he would not have had that option. thank You that You provided healing for him and now provide for us to be able to pay a portion of his medical needs.

God, thank You that You take care of what we need TODAY! i may now know about tomorrow's needs, or next month's or this summer's, but You already do and just as you keep taking care of us one month at a time, You will continue to provide our needs. You have never left us, and You won't start now. Thank You for that!

Let the Waters Rise

There are two songs that are really speaking to our hearts right now (that'd be Rob and me). One I blogged about the other day here... This song (Let the Waters Rise by MikesChair) is similar and reminds us both that we are doing what He called us to do. It is getting harder than we either one ever would have imagined, but we are trying our very best to remember that He is here with us in the storm and that He promised to never leave us or forsake us.

Some of the lyrics that really jump out at me:
"There's a raging sea right in front of me, wants to pull me in, bring me to my knees. So let the waters rise if You want them to, I will follow You. I will follow You... I will swim in the deep 'cuz You'll be next to me. You're in the eye of the storm and the calm of the sea... God, You know where I've been, You were with me then. You were faithful before, You'll be faithful again..."

My Momma has been sending me verses this week on facebook and it has encouraged me a lot! I found another one today as I was talking with God and thinking about things. If you're going through a hard time, maybe they'll touch your heart to. I hope someone else will be encouraged.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned..." Isaiah 43:2


"You are my hiding place; You will protect me from trouble..." Psalm 32:7


"If the Lord had not been on our side when men attacked us, when their anger flared against us, they would have swallowed us alive. The flood would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us, the raging waters would have swept us away.... Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." Psalm 124: 2-5, 8


This Tuesday, May 4, there will be a court hearing that may decide the future of my school, and will most definitely affect the children who learn there. It may decide the future of the teachers who work there. Please pray.