JOY~JOY~JOY

We enjoyed more than two weeks in Lima and just returned home today, Wednesday, Nov 30. I would like to give you a glance at how most of our days were spent in Lima. Alison and Justin gave us their bed and they slept in Cailyn's room. Her room is very big and even with her trundle bed there is room for an extra mattress. So we slept in comfort and enjoyed our own space. On the first morning Corban and Cailyn headed to our bed and we read and talked!!


Cailyn has to be at school by 9:00am. She wears a uniform which makes for a simple dressing time. Breakfast time before Cailyn is off to school.

While she is at school, Corban enjoys us reading and playing with puzzles, stacking blocks and playing with all of the animals that he has. One of the new animals we learned about was the Ibis!!! He is just getting into dinosaurs and so we enjoyed pretending with all of sounds they make. The door to the back yard is a sliding glass door and Corban is ready for it to be unlocked as soon as breakfast is over. Out he goes to kick balls and find snails....we brought a magnifying glass and he loves to check out all of the snails and leaves in the backyard. The boy can really kick the ball and he is always ready for a ride on the tricycle or walk to the park (he calls his adventures)!!


Cailyn gets out of school around 12:30 except on Wednesday and that is because she has ballet. We went early to pick her up and looked at the ballet class practicing through the window. She will have a ballet performance the day after we leave. Pictures will have to do!! The little girls at her school have their hair always fixed with hair twisted and then in rubber bands. Alison enjoys fixing Cailyn's hair, but Cailyn is very good at fixing it herself. On the first Sunday night as we went to meet with the community of believers here we noticed she had fixed three ponytails and had some hair hanging down also...made us think of some others in our lives who are free spirited with their taste in fashion. She is also very good at dressing herself. She wears leggings under most of her outfits and so she has one of every color. When she matches it all up we are always surprised to see her outfits!! I remember Alison wanting to pick out her outfits at four years old.

Corban is quite the charmer. He loves to smile and move around with lots of activity. Some of his favorite question are "what was that sound?" or "what does that mean?" There are workers everywhere you look - shoeshiners, workers in the parks raking leaves, workers cutting trees, workers cleaning windows, workers helping you get a parking place when getting into the grocery store or coffee shops, workers sweeping in front of residents and watering the yards. Corban notices each one and is constantly saying, "he working". He is able to say everything he wants to in English and Spanish. He talks constantly.



When Corban wakes up there is time to play in the backyard - we talked about some of Jesus' followers being fisherman and we pretended to go fishing. We also had a grand game of kickball. Cailyn is very celebratory when she wins!!




Each evening as the children went to bed the four of us played Settlers of Catan, speed Scrabble, and talked about their lives in Lima, the ministry of teaching about Jesus and enjoying outings with girls and guys groups.

Lee Fletcher and Wes Yoakum getting ready for Catan.


The girls (alison, angela, cathie, tara, stacey, and kami) gathered for a time of meditation and praying. This is a new monthly activity lead by a friend,who is in Lima with her children and husband (he is the director of Feed the Hungry in Lima, Angela and Ryan Smedes.

Lord Willing, Lima, Here We Come!

As I layed down last night to go to sleep I asked Daniel to read to me the entry for November 12th in Jesus Calling. Side note - I reached to get something out of the car yesterday as we were doing a last errand and a sharp pain came in my back! It has stayed with me as I have put ice on it and prayed for God to relieve me.

So I wanted to know what was written in the book for November 12th. It started out "This is a time of abundance in your life. Your cup runneth over with blessings. After plodding uphill for many weeks, you are now traipsing through lush meadows drenched in warm sunshine. I want you to enjoy to the full this time of ease and refreshment. I delight in providing it for you." Sounds like He wants me in Lima!! HaHa!!

I do see this trip from the Lord so I leave you with some pictures of preparation!! I know God will take care of this back muscle issue. I'm expecting and know He has a plan!!

As we put our 4 duffle bags in the back of the car Cele, (short for Celebration, she was born near Thanksgiving) our Australian Shepherd thought she was going too!!








Gluten free snacks for the flights.











And most important . . . books and scripture to keep my mind busy as I fly. Daniel laughed and said he shouldn't be surprised after all of these years why I would have so many books to take. I can't wait to dive into some that I have never started! Hope to memorize some new verses and let them take me to places the Spirit wants to encourage me in!!



Luke 11:9-10 So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be open to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be open.

Libraries

My first memory of a library is the one that I volunteered in when I was a girl scout. My mom would drop me off and I would work for an hour or two. I went to locate it on the google map but I can't seem to find it. My next memories of libraries were more about socializing than actually reading. Reading a book wasn't something I enjoyed for many years. So naturally why would I go to the library except to visit with friends. I certainly did not like to read during this season of life!!

As my senior year of college came to an end I realized my mom was right. It would be helpful to get certified to teach school -- just in case I didn't find a job with my criminology degree. Doesn't make sense now, but it did then. Enter the time in which I realized what I had missed growing up. The children's literature classes in college exposed me to the best of all of the children's books. I loved it!!

So as I marched on I couldn't get enough of great books. I enjoyed watching Reading Rainbow with the girls. I would write down all the books they suggested and try to check them out at the Bryan Library. I plan on having some Reading Rainbow time on youtube with Cailyn and Corban real soon!! During this time, 1987, College Station opened a small library and it was so nice to have it close to the house. As our girls grew up they also didn't like the library. I had so many books on the shelves out in the garage that they wanted to just go get one out of the garage. They did enjoy the summer activities at the library and even enjoyed the A&M church of Christ library!!

The girls will remember the Bryan Public Library but if they go back to find it; they will find it has a new name!!

I'm glad to say both of the girls enjoy reading and have found the wonders of all of the free items that are in the public library!! Alison has even found a small one in Peru for the kids. When Cailyn and Corban were here last year, we went every Tuesday morning for reading circle time. What fun!!

So it makes sense when I went in today to get a library book -- lots of memories flooded my mind. I put a smile on my face. I love to read!!

Time Flies

The time from Aug. 1 - almost Nov. 1 has just flown. We have had a trail of people come through Abilene. We so enjoy friends from seasons of the past.



Haley Edmiston came home from Thailand to take care of some health issues and she got to stay in her old bedroom. It just seem like old times - except there was not a trail of baby powder from the bedroom to bathroom! Haley lived with us the first year we were in Abilene.





Patti and Charles Turk came to visit their daughter, Lindsey, who is a senior here at ACU. They are from Mississippi. Patti and I met when we were about five years old. She and Charles are Aggies, but they moved from College Station just as we were arriving in 1980. We have stayed in touch off and on all through the years. It was so much fun to visit. Our husbands connect too and that is always a plus. Historical side note: I met Patti in twirling class in Houston, Texas around 1961. My mom put me in twirling class at five because I had been born two months premature and the doctor told her it would be good for my coordination. From twirling came my days in juggling. Funny how some seasons melt into others.


I have finished two books in the past few months. Radical by David Platt and One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. Both of them made an impact on me. They are both books that I would recommend. I need to put them up on Pinterest (come follow me). Yes, that is another thing that has come into my life. I do not spend much time on this site (yet), but it is fun to have a place to put all of the ideas that would be fun to try. Recipes and books will probably be my favorite categories. Well, and then the grandkids!!

A new job opportunity has come in these months also. I am a part-time worker at Team Financial Strategies. This company is owned by Jody Team. Jody and Rachel Team were a young married couple we met many years ago in College Station. There are two locations of TFS -- one in Abilene where Jody is based and one in Grandbury. I'm learning all kinds of things mainly on the computer. The Teams have two adorable girls about the ages of Cailyn and Corban. We babysat the girls this week.

And that brings me to the next season. We will be spending Thanksgiving (before and after) with Alison-Justin-Cailyn-Corban!! WHOOP!! We have lots of stuff packed and plan on another night of packing as well. They left quite a bit here when they left in January and we have bought quite a bit. Remember the book store I worked at last year - Abilene Educational Supply? Well, when things go on sale at 90% off it is just hard not to purchase educational supplies...so fun!!

Where is My Camera??

My Camera is hanging on the hook in the computer room where we keep it but it somehow didn't get pulled out on a very exciting week -- the pictures would have been so good.

I will just have to drop some names and you will know how good it was!! We started out by getting a surprise visit from Phil and Patti Grassie from NM, and from DC, their wonderful son, Jason Grassie, our son-in-love!! We enjoyed laughter, talk of God and how our lives were going!! The only thing missing was our Hannah!! (next time)

As the evening came Mark Clancy from Lima arrived to spend several days with us. We were then introduced over Skype to his sweet one in Lima, Kami Hill!! Nothing like up to date media that gives us such fun experiences!!

When we woke up on Sunday morning, another arrival had come -- Matt Worthington, from DC...again these guys left their wives in DC, so no Jessie with him!! (next time) Matt was in Abilene for the ACU Summit! He spoke at Summit about Teach for America and how the church can help the public school.

We enjoyed long talks, laughter, and Blue Bell!! But NO PICTURES!!

A Tiny Book in the Bible -- Obadiah

As I continue my study and reading of the minor prophets - Obadiah comes up. Abandon Pride is the title of the chapter. My ears perk up because this is a sin I have been aware of in my life.

"Pride is the urge to stand alone, to stand above all else. It inevitably crowds other people into an increasingly small space; it blinds one to the value of God. Pride is the natural enemy of faith." Dan Schmidt, Unexpected Wisdom.

In Obadiah 3-4..."The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rocks[a]
and make your home on the heights,
you who say to yourself,
‘Who can bring me down to the ground?’
Though you soar like the eagle
and make your nest among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,”
declares the LORD."
-- WOW! That is a scary thought..

"Come follow me"...what does that assume??? The author reminds me, there is one ahead of me -- above me, Jesus Christ! I am not the leader of my life. We know that but do we act on that? In pride, we somehow think we know best, we are in control, the boss. How is it that we can really think that??

I Peter 4:11 Anyone who speaks should speak words from God. Anyone who serves should serve with the strength God gives so that in everything God will be praised through Jesus Christ. Power and glory belong to him forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 4:1-2 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Matt 20:26-27 But it should not be that way among you. Whoever wants to become great among you must serve the rest of you like a servant. Whoever wants to become first among you must serve the rest of you like a slave.

A servant, so grateful for the service they can give, not wanting recognition but wants to please the master. If we are to walk with Jesus, servanthood can not be looked past. It is the way of life Jesus showed to use as an example. We know how to live because we watch HIM and we are letting Him transform us into His likeness!

The BANK!!

We have watched the construction for months and opening day has arrived!! All of campus is buzzing and many have cleared their calendar in the last days to help with clean up before the grand opening. Daniel's office volunteered to pick up trash as the feeding of the 5,000 happens, but the folks pretty much cleaned up after themselves so there wasn't much cleaning to do.

The Money Student Recreation and Wellness Center will have an all-night extravaganza of games, prizes and food. This will allow plenty of time for students, faculty and staff to familiarize themselves with the facility. Daniel was part of a group who enjoyed a tour this week before the opening. He is counting on the pool to supply some relief for his back as he continues to recover from his surgery. I hope to get over there and enjoy the facility also. Pam and Dr. Money were so excited for the day to come for the grand opening.

At chapel Dr. Money challenged all to look up as you enter in to the facility each time and ponder the verse they have as a theme verse.

He also told the students that he felt the name of the facility was just too long and so he asked them to name it. He said he had heard of a few names already and commented that "The Bank" would be a fine name. The only name he asked not to be used was "The Money Pit"!!

The facility is just wonderful. Two levels complete with a leisure pool for volleyball/basketball, water walkers, and lap lanes for swimmer. The original ACU pool is also available for lap swimming. You can see the fountain in one of the pictures as well as the ACU logo. There are many machines and even a classroom upstairs for a bicycle class. There is an 1/8th mile track marked off on the second floor and as you walk/run the track you look down upon the first level. We enjoyed great fellowship as so many entered and enjoyed touring the facility. Can't wait to use this!! I even found a few places to sit and visit in the future with all of those wonderful ACU students that encourage me so much.