A Precious Moment...

"Teacher, I have a cookie in the box for just You!" :)

God's Perfect Plan

In sorting through some boxes of music recently, my mom discovered a song that someone had written for me when I was born. We have been unable to unravel the mystery of who wrote it, but one phrase that was repeated through the song struck me.

"God has a plan for you."

When I was born, my parents decided that I should be an organist. You see, I was born on J.S. Bach's birthday, and had long spindly fingers and restless feet. My parents started my brother and I with piano lessons when I was about 8, and no matter how I complained and pleaded to quit, they would not let me give up. When I was about 13, I switched to a different teacher, who helped me to play well enough that I actually enjoyed playing. After about two years of lessons with her, she suggested that I begin teacher training. Now, I had long thought that I would like to teach, and when my mom came home from meeting with my teacher and told me her suggestion, it was as if a light dawned and I suddenly realized that teaching was what I was supposed to do, even though it had not been part of my plans.

After I had been teaching for several years, God reminded me of one of His plans for me that I had resisted for many years. My parents had gotten the idea "somewhere" that I was going to be a church pianist (playing for church services, choir practices, etc.) The church we were in did not present many opportunities for this, and I was surprised when Daddy started telling people that I was going to be a church pianist. This was also not in my plans, and I protested that I was a teacher, not an accompanist.

Then, God's plan moved my family to our present church, and soon after we settled there I was put on the offertory schedule. From there, I learned how to play for congregational singing, and now am not only playing for congregational on Wednesday nights, but I am also accompanying the teen choir!

Then, two years ago, God once again reminded me of another long-resisted plan. In talking with a friend at church, the subject of the organ came up, and my friend asked if I had ever considered playing the organ. Just as when I realized that God wanted me to teach, it seemed as if a light had dawned, and I suddenly thought that yes, I could do that! We "happened" to have a small organ in our house, and my piano teacher "happened" to have majored in organ at college. The church I was teaching at had a beautiful organ that I was allowed to practice on for hours on end, and soon I played for church for the first time.

Then our church's organ died, and through that God provided a beautiful new Rodgers organ --but our primary organist had moved away, so now I find myself playing the organ every Sunday --just as God had planned before I was even born!

Sustained by Almighty God

This schoolyear has been flying by so fast, it hardly seems a week ago that nine shy and nervous four-year-olds walked through the door of my classroom to meet their equally shy and nervous teacher. We have just finished the twelfth week of school, and as I look back on the progress each student has made, I cannot help but rejoice in the One who is able to keep us from falling! (Jude 1:24)

It has been a long and exhausting couple of months, but I have been blessed beyond measure to see how God has strengthened and helped me. He has given me strength when I was weak, He has given me patience when I was on the verge of frustration, He has filled me with joy when my students were crabby, He has given me energy when I had thought I could not make it through the morning. How I am reminded of the verse in 2 Thessalonians that tells us "Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it."

Early Thirst

(Psalm 63)

The quiet light begins to dawn.

My soul awakes, as it is drawn

By silent thirst, with op'ning eyes

To cast off night and from slumber rise.

~

A soul a-thirst, all consuming need

To open Thy word and upon it feed.

As a droughted land, dry and parched I lay

'Till thus I awoke at break of day.

~

I long, not for water for a thirsty tongue ,

Nor yet for heart-soothing songs to be sung;

No! 'Tis more needful than all for me

To wake, arise, and commune with Thee.

~

Oh, with my thirsty eyes to see

Thy power and glory revealed to me!

--To know your blest presence nearer yet

Than when in Thy house with Thee I met!

~

More than life my Lord, my all!

Thy lovingkindness doth upon me fall.

I shall proclaim how great Thou art

With joyful lips and hungry heart.

~

While life is in me, I'll praise Thy name

And bless Thee, evermore the same

With greatful heart my hands I'll raise

And offer up my inadequate praise.

~

I come, and know that Thou shalt fill

My hungry soul, this morn so still,

As with a feast of extravegant things

Fit to be set before the richest kings!

~

Thus satisfied at last, I raise

My sated heart and lips to praise

The greatness of Thyself, and then

Begin to hunger, and to feed again!

Voiceless Rejoicing

The past 4 days I have been without my voice due to allergies. I naturally tend to complain when such things happen to me, but Ephesians 5:20 says that we ought to give thanks always in all things, so here are a few things I am (silently) giving thanks for.

*My K-4 class is learning to pay close attention to their teacher.
*I actually experienced silence in my classroom during a schoolday!!
*I am less likely to say something I shouldn't
*I have an excuse to sleep more. : )
*I got to enjoy listening to my church's choir sing during the cantata rehersal today.
*Tea, anyone?
*I have an excuse not to make phone calls. : )

Seriously, though. It is strangely blessed to be without my normal speaking voice for a while. I am learning to appreciate silence, and to listen to others.

Thought this was funny...

So there I was, finishing up the last few things at my desk after re-decorating my classroom for the month, when I chanced to look over and see this:

My first inclination was to be annoyed that the banner I had just worked so hard to hang straight was now falling off the wall, but then the irony of it struck me and I had to laugh.

God is so gracious! : )

Hyper-ness and Hilarity

I am writing from sunny (well, it was before the sun went down.) Florida! It is the last night of our trip, and I am writing this while Katie packs her remaining belongings. --I think she might be trying to pack most of it into her shoes... but I can't be sure.

It has been an amazing trip thus far! We have both been enjoying the seminar, while trying to cram as much of the knowledge that has been flooding over us into our brains as possible.

Speaking of cramming as much as possible into an inadequate space... we have spent much of the evening trying to make all of our ever-increasing stuff fit back into the bags that were full before we came. Thankfully, much of my accumulated "useful junk" is flat, and my bag looks like it will actually close! (Although it might be necessary for me to sit on it to make it do so.) It seems like every time we walk past the bookstore we end up buying something new...

Church tonight was a blessing, although we both miss our beloved home church very much. --After all, there's no place like home. (she says as she dons her imaginary ruby slippers and thinks of rain, chilly 85 degree summer days, and home-cooked meals.)


In addition to our studies, we were able to do many "touristy" fun things on this trip. Monday we went to the beach, admired the blindingly white (but wonderfully soft and un-rocky) sand, dipped our toes into the balmy water (which wasn't actually all that refreshing, since it seemed not to be much cooler than the air) and collected shells, which I have packed very carefully in my bag. --I'm choosing to be optomistic about their future well-being during the course of our travels tomorrow.-- We also visited a great historical fort nearby, which was fascinating! Unfortunately, that was where I found out that it is possible for me to get sunburnt through a layer of sunscreen if the sun is hot enough.

Today we were able to go to a wonderful show at the planetarium here on campus. --We were especially impressed by the "specially designed" seats that automatically reclined. (Some people are so easily amused!) Seriously, though, the show was amazing, and so refreshingly free from evolution! It was quite an experience!

Our time here has been a great blessing, and it is exciting to see how the Lord is preparing us for the coming schoolyear through these few days of training.

Hopefully there will be some more posts about our trip, once I am home...

Evening Thoughts

Softly fades the light of day
As here alone I sit and pray
Yet, truly, not alone am I
For God Almighty who hears my cry
Is ever present in peace or strife
-‘Tis He who brings true joy to life.

And as the sunset casts on all
Its glittering golden glow, I call
To He who created all in my gaze
Which now doth cheer my heart and amaze
For the One who created all beauty and grace
Has gone to prepare for me a place!

Now as I hear the birds’ soft call
The trilling strains which rise and fall
I remember Jesus’ words, which said
Behold the birds, how they are fed.
They reap not, sow not, nor gather and store,
God feeds them. Doth He not value you more?

My eye doth on some flowers fall
And quickly then do I recall
Christ’s words again, from that same place:
Consider the lily’s pretty race
They toil not, spin not, yet beautifully arrayed,
By God, tho’ so swiftly they are decayed.

Yet God, who marks the sparrow’s fall
And paints the world’s bright colors all
Who provides each creature sufficient food
And rains down blessings, great and good
He sees my tears He knows each sorrow,
And His children are given a bright tomorrow!

Now as the light begins to fade
I think upon the price He paid
-For such a sinful wretch as I
Who so richly deserved for my sins to die-
Of His prayer in the garden of Gethsemane
And His suffering and death on Calvary.

Then through the twilight a bird’s call sounds
A bubbling chirp which with joy resounds
He’s alive! He arose from the grave again
And with Him hope and salvation for men
Who repent and believe, as I did that day
When Jesus’ blood washed my sins away!

Now thankfulness within me swells
To Him who now within me dwells,
The three in one, the Trinity
Who lavishes love and kindness on me.
And as soft breezes brush my face,
I thank Him for His bounteous grace.

As I hear the birds’ soft evening song
I raise my voice and sing along
Here at the closing of the day
The Doxology I sing and pray
“To God, from whom all blessings flow”
My heartfelt praises upward go.

And now has fled the light of day,
The light has faded clean away
The sweet-voiced birds are now at rest
And I sit and think how I am blessed
For God Almighty, Omnipotent, He
Is ever near to talk with me!

Turning Around

I was on my way to church for visitation last Tuesday night, when my car suddenly started making a very odd rattling noise. Not knowing much about cars, I could not figure out what it was, but since I would have to drive the car home anyway, I decided to wait until after visitaton to do so. As it happened, there was a lady on my way home who was open to a visit, so off I set.

As I started to back out of the parking spot, I noticed that the noise got much worse when the car was in reverse. I decided to try to keep from backing up until I got home. I turned down the lady's street, only to get to the end (a dead-end, of course) and realize I had passed her house. There wasn't quite enough room for me to turn around, so I was forced to put the car in reverse. Grumbly thoughts were just coming to mind, when I looked up. There in the sky right in front of me was a beautiful rainbow! --I stopped grumbling.

It was then that I remembered that I have a powerful and loving God guiding my steps. He knew that I would drive right past the lady's house and need to turn around, and He also knew that my car would be all right until I got home. Perhaps He placed that rainbow in the sky right where I would see it at my most grumbly moment to remind me of His care and protection.

Why Fall is My Favorite Season...

~Rain!

~The scent of woodsmoke in the air

~Bundling up for a walk

~Rustling through the leaves

~Sitting by the fireplace drying off after a wonderfully wet walk

~Baking bread

~Looking out my window at the vibrant leaves

~Watching the seasons change

~Rejoicing in the goodness of the Lord that spreads such beauty throughout the world!

Happy Fall Everyone!!

Adopted

How sweet to be a child of God
In times of peace and rest
When thankful praises smoothly flow
From heart and mouth, for well I know
How much my Heavenly Father has blessed.

How sweet to be a child of God
In times of want and woe
When in my Father’s arms I hide
There, through His grace I safe abide
Though harsh the winds of worry blow.

How sweet to be a child of God
Where e’er my pathway lies
In health or sickness, toil or rest
My Father gives that which is best
For He is infinitely wise!

Day 5...

Today was the final day of NBT. The teachers all looked tired this morning, especially the evangelists, but all were smiling and energetic by the time their classes began lining up. Somehow, the law of entropy did not apply to me this week. Instead of becoming more and more tired with each passing day, I ended up with more and more energy each day. (Probably due to the fact that so many people had been praying that all the NBT workers would have strength and energy.)

30 in attendance again this morning, and once again, some were absent, but we had enough visitors to balance it out.

Tonight we had the final program, and only about half our class showed up. It was great to see the kids that did show up recieve awards and cheer the other classes on. I sat at one end of the third grade row, by some of the boys. They were a bit wiggly toward the middle of the program, but for the most part, once I told them to be still, they were. (Though I think it was partly due to the fact that they were so tired that they didn't want to move anymore.) : )

In all, it was a great week, even though I did have to go outside of my comfort zone quite a few times. --I suppose that's partly what made it a great week, just seeing the things that God was doing in my heart and life as well as in the hearts and lives of many boosters and teens.

Day 3...

Another amazing day today! We had 30 boosters in our class, and even the boosters who like to squeak by with the minimum of effort are getting excited about bringing visitors and earning ribbons.

The boosters earn ribbons by memorizing verses, bringing visitors, doing their study in the handbook, and attending. Nearly everyone in our class has passed us teachers by with their number of ribbons. (we each have six ribbons on our name tags, and, of course, can't earn more like the boosters.) I think the highest number of ribbons so far in our group is 12.

At least two more students from our class got saved today! It always amazes me how quickly the boosters understand the gospel and respond to it. There is no hesitating to count the cost, no delaying out of pride, just a simple childlike faith.

During one of the line up times today, I was standing by my class, when I heard my name...sort of. I realized that one of my boosters was trying to get my attention, but was calling me "Mrs. Gwennie". It's so hard for little ones to remember whether a lady is Miss or Mrs., so I didn't correct him just then --at least he was trying. : )

My class is very well trained by now --so well trained, in fact, that when I came to the end of the missionary story today, the boosters wouldn't let me build up suspense as I had planned to. Instead, as soon as I said, "and you know what happened then?" they all replied, "Come back tomorrow to find out!" : )

It's Bible Time!

This week I am helping with Neighborhood Bible Time at my church. For those of you who don't know what NBT is, it's kind of like a hyper vacation Bible school. : ) This year I get to help teach the 3d grade class, which had 23 boosters (kids) today! Thankfully, we had very few discipline issues to deal with, thanks to my "teacher 1" Miss Lowry and her exemplary classroom skills. : ) By the time she had finished the Bible story and memory verse, they sat so still and were so quiet while I told the missionary story, we had a very difficult time deciding who to give the two "quiet booster" prizes to.

Two of our boys accepted Christ as Savior today! (actually, it might be three, but I never heard the outcome of the third one's conversation with the counselor.) I had the privelege of counseling one of the boys, which was my very first time ever to lead someone to the Lord! It was a great blessing to me, and I'm looking forward to seeing how God will work in our class and others the rest of the week!

I plan to write more as the week goes on...so, in NBT language, "Come back tomorrow to find out what happens next!" : )

An Afternoon of Adventure

My brother just bought a convertible.

It needs some work, (well, actually, a lot of work) but the very fact that it is a convertible turns it in our eyes from a piece of junk to a very fun toy. : )

The other day, my brother, (Tristan) Mommy, and I set out to drive around a bit.

Our trip took us along winding country roads and past picturesque mansion-like farmhouses…

And ended at a park on the river.

When we got out, Tris checked to make sure nothing was leaking.

Then we walked out onto a dock, where I almost fell in the river when a boat came in and the dock rocked unexpectedly.

When we started back, Tristan was just talking about how well the car started and ran, when the car suddenly died, and wouldn’t start again.

He took a look at the engine, but couldn’t figure out what was wrong…

So he pushed it into a nearby parking space and called a tow truck.

While we waited for the tow truck, Mommy and I went exploring …

After a while a very nice sheriff came up and asked us if we were all right. We explained what had happened and that we had a tow truck coming, and then he left.

When the tow truck came, the driver took one look at the car and knew exactly what was wrong, and fixed it in a manner of seconds! (a connection was loose somewhere.) Tris was not looking forward to paying $40 for something so simple, but when he asked the driver how much we owed him, he told us that he wouldn’t charge us! It was such a blessing!

So then we had a lovely ride home, and returned just in time to keep from getting rained on, which is important at the moment because the convertible has no fabric on the frame for the top!

In all, it was a very fun adventure. : )

Immediate Obedience

I recently started teaching a Sunday school class at my church. Each week I get to teach ten to thirteen precious 4&5 year olds who are very well behaved. (At least, they are well behaved so far.) I have only been teaching for a few weeks, and I know that the novelty of having a new teacher will wear off any week now, and soon my little students will tire of trying to please me, making my task much harder.

My novelty is beginning to wear off already, but fear not! I have a plan. : ) I have endeavored to run a very tight ship while I have willing spirits to work with, and have tried not to let even small discipline issues go unaddressed. Once children (and adults, for that matter) know what is expected of them, it is much easier to discern whether a matter is an issue is one of rebellion or ignorance.

The hardest principle for these little ones, however, is a relatively simple one: immediate obedience. This is a very hard, but crucial principle for anyone to learn. As one preacher put it, “Temporary disobedience is total disobedience.” In other words, to delay is to disobey. If my students won’t respond the first time they are told to do something, my classroom will be a scene of chaos. Thankfully, of all the students, only a few have had to be told anything twice, but it is with increasing frequency.

In re-analyzing the students and my teaching methods, it occurred to me that this is an area that is difficult for me, as well. It’s not so much that I don’t do what I am told, but it is a struggle sometimes to obey immediately when I am asked or when it is implied that I should do something. I am asked to do things at my house more than I am than told to do things, so this is a bigger struggle than you might think. Technically, I could use the excuse that, having been asked, rather than told, I have a choice whether or not to obey and when, but since I know that when my parents say “would you”, they really mean “do it”, I have no excuse. -I know better.

Perhaps the Lord put me in charge of this particular class so that I would be reminded of my need to keep striving in this area!

Driving Test

Yesterday I went in for my driving test to try to get my license. I did pass, (barely) for which I am very thankful, but strangely enough, that wasn't the biggest blessing of the day. --But to explain that I need to give some background.

My driving instructor had taken me to the parking lot at the DMV to practice driving the harder of the two routes they take people on. (It was closed that day) He told me that, of the numbered parking spaces they assign people, the first three were the easiest to pull into. The other three had a planter/traffic island behind them that made pulling in and out very awkward. I had no problem pulling into number 3, so I was praying that I would be assigned that one.

The night before my test, Mommy and I went to practice in the parking lot of the DMV. We spent at least a half an hour just trying to perfect pulling into number 6, (which was the hardest one) just in case I had to. After successfully pulling into it a couple times, another car pulled in and looked like they wanted to practice the same thing, so we left them to it, and drove the test route until we found the next difficulty that needed practice. When we got back to the DMV parking lot, I decided to try pulling into random parking spots so that I could if they told me to at the end of the test. I couldn't seem to park without being extremely crooked, so we gave up and tried number 6 several more times. By that time it was far past my bedtime and I was very discouraged. I came home convinced that I would fail my driving test, and have to re-take the written test to renew my permit, which expired in a couple days, thus wasting both time and money -all because I failed the test the first time.

The morning of my test, I went up to the desk at the DMV for my parking assignment, and was told to pull up in spot number 3! The lady must have thought Mommy and I were very strange to be so happy about a parking assignment. : )

That was so encouraging to me, because it was a reminder that God really does hear and answer prayer. (It also made me feel much better about the test.) : )



~"The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much."
James 5:17

Spring Blessings

My parents decided to give me a camera for my birthday this year. It takes very clear pictures, and has a macro setting, (so I can take pictures up close) and with all the world beginning to bud and blossom, around me, my camera and I have been nearly inseparable ever since. : ) (The results of this are on my flikr page if anyone wants to see them.)

I have had lots of flowers to take pictures of in my new yard, and I have enjoyed making my rounds through the backyard each day, watching spring sprout up little by little. Earlier this month, I was out checking on the violets (which were, at that time, the only thing blooming) when I happened to spot a little white bud in a patch of violets that had previously had seemingly had no intention of blooming. I was delighted, because I have always liked white violets, and thought, in passing, that it would be nice if that one little white violet plant was blooming on my birthday. Late last week, I went into the backyard to check on the pink and lavender colored violets that have been blooming for a while, and spotted a white violet blooming where I thought there were only pink ones! As I made my way around the backyard, it seemed that there were white violets everywhere. They had bloomed literally overnight –and just in time for my birthday!

That may seem a very small and insignificant thing, but it was such a blessing to me to realize that, not only did God notice my wistful little thought, but He cared enough to make it happen, and in an even greater way than I had expected. It is easy, sometimes, to take the little things like that for granted, or to not even notice them in the hurried rush of life. It is important for us to notice when God does little things for us, though, because it is through sweet, personal little blessings such as my birthday violets that God shows us how much He really does care for us.