Praying for Troy

Hello friends,
I just wanted to write a quick note asking you to pray for my cousin Troy. I just found out that he is battling depression pretty harshly. My sister has been receiving emails from my aunt and she seems pretty worried about him. He has been attempting to hurt himself and refuses to see a counselor or any sorts saying they don't know anything. Please be praying for him. It is especially hard for my aunt. I'm sure as a parent there is the thought of "what did I do wrong". Pray that she will find strength and hope in the Lord. My sister is trying to give her a lot of encouragement seeing that she went through a lot of the same situations that Troy is going through now.
Thank you for your prayers.

Jamie

Friday Fave Five

I skipped a week, but I'm going to try to keep this up.

1. Watching tv with a puppy sleeping on my lap. I've been house sitting and thier dachsund puppy likes to take naps on your lap while you watch tv. So relaxing.
2. "When the Little Baby Boy was Born" - I sang a solo with my church choir on Sunday. It was such a fun solo! I love singing!
3. Queen Jamie (has a nice ring to it) - Today I was the Queen at the Pre-K and Kindergarten wedding for Q and U. It was quite the event. We even had a pastor say the opening prayer.
4. Danika's smile. It is so fun getting home in the afternoon. She always has a big smile on her face when I walk through the door. I love that little girl!
5. Psalm 103:11-12 - "As high as the heaven is above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness to those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us." I am so thankful that the Lord loves me so much greater than I can even imagine. I totally don't deserve it.
   

Peet's Coffee

Now that Wolfe Coffee is no more :o( We all went to Peet's this morning.

Very nice atmosphere, but a little busy.

Dad was there too, but he was too busy reading the paper to take any pictures. :o)

Friday's Fave Five

A while back I was looking at blogs and saw this idea. I don't even know the person who did this, but I liked it so I thought I'd try it. Every Friday (hopefully) I will be looking back at the week and reflecting on the great things that happened. I think it will be a great way to be thankful for what the Lord is doing in my life on a regular basis.
So here it goes!

1. Walking with Stephanie. Steph and I have decided to go walking twice a week together. Yesterday we found a great place to go walking. It was so relaxing.
2. The time I spent with the Lord. Recently I've felt that my time with the Lord daily has been lacking. I'm working really hard at being consistently in the Word. This week I have had some wonderful mornings spend with my Savior.
   
3. Danika's "talking". I love hearing Danika "talk." She really just jabbers away sometimes and it is so sweet.
4. 5th grade art class. The 5th grade class is the hardest one to teach for me. But this week there were a few students who really put a lot of effort into the work they were doing during my class and I really appreciated it.
   
5. Isaiah 41:10 - "Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not look anxiously about you for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you. Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." The verse I am working on memorizing right now.
   

There is none like you

"Helpless children are safe in Your arms.
There is none like you."

Right now (I wrote this on Friday) I am sitting in the Sacramento convention center drinking a white mocha and listening to my ipod, I would be in a seminar right now, but my throat is killing me and I am afraid I will fall asleep while listening to the speaker (not that the speaker is boring :o).
I'm sitting here listening to Shane & Shane, one of my favorite Christian groups. Just now the song "There is none like you" came on. I love their version of the song. This one line really rang out to me as I was listening to it. "Helpless children are safe in Your arms." I don't know about you, but I have times when I feel helpless. Maybe I feel alone, or the world is against me, or I am trying to do things by my own strength (which doesn't work). What a great reminder that even if I am feeling helpless I am safe in the arms of my Savior. I can turn to Him and have peace because there is no one like Him.
I am so thankful for the one who sent His Son to die so that I may be able to spend eternity with Him. I am thankful for those arms that surround and protect me from harm.

Thank you, Lord, for loving me.

i forgot it

Well, I wrote something to put on my blog while I was at the Teacher's Convention yesterday and I don't have it with me. So I'll just have to post it another day. Today I'll just tell you about the convention.
I was so excited to go to this convention. I have wanted to go to the teacher's convention since I was in high school. I am such a nerd. But oh well. I had a great time. I was able to go to some great seminars and come up with some new ideas to use in the classroom. The whole trip started out on the wrong foot for me, but it didn't ruin my time. We left at 5:30 am on Thursday and wouldn't you know...that would be the day my alarm clock decided not to work. Yeah, go figure. But I dashed around the house and was ready when they came to pick me up for the second time.
There was a family that led worship in the general sessions at the conference. They were so good. They were called the Annie Moses Band. What a fun group to listen to and worship with. They have a Celtic feel to their music and it was fantastic. I was amazed at how much energy they had on the stage. It made me tired just to watch them.
Well, you will hear from me soon. As soon as I find the paper I had been writing on. :o) Hope you are having a great weekend!

PUMPKINS!

Yay for Fall!

I love fall. I love the colors. I love the weather. I love the warmer clothes I can wear. I just love it all!! A group of us headed out to the pumpkin patch over the weekend. This picture is post-corn maze. Praise the Lord we made it out. :o) It was a lot of fun.

Even though it was tons of fun at the pumpkin patch it made me miss the friends I have in So Cal. I was remembering the pumpkin patch I went to last year. I miss you Michelle, Ryan, Jack and Lindsay!! I thank the Lord for all of the friends He has given to me, both far away and near by. God is so good.

My pumpkin as of tonight. :o) I haven't carved a pumpkin in years. It was fun.

My art blog

I've decided to start another blog. I will still be blogging here, but I wanted to start one about the art classes I am teaching. So check it out sometime. www.1sttimeartteacher.blogspot.com
Right now there isn't much to it, but I plan on adding to it soon. :) Hope you are having a great weekend!

Give Me Jesus

In a couple of weeks my church choir is going to be singing this song. Unfortunately I will not be there that Sunday. I am so disappointed. This is such a moving song. Reading the lyrics does not do the song credit. The music is extremely beautiful and I feel convicted everytime I sing or hear it. I recommend finding this arrangement on itunes or somewhere else. (arranged and orchestrated by Robert Sterling)

In the morning when I rise, give me Jesus.
You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.
And when I am alone, give me Jesus.
You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.
And when I come to die, give me Jesus.
You can have all this world, but give me Jesus.

What a great reminder that Jesus is so much more wonderful than anything this world can offer us.

I'm Back

Well it has been a very long time since I have posted anything. I've had so many things to blog about and very little time to do it. For now I just thought I'd update everyone on what is going on with me. I moved back to Santa Rosa in May. It is nice to be home and with my family. The summer went by so fast. It was full of Summer Day Camp, several weddings, family reunion in Wisconsin (picture below), and my niece Danika of course. :o) I was hired at Rincon Valley Christian School as the new elementary art teacher and kindergarten aid. School has been in session for just over a month. So far so good. Teaching is a very tiring job, but I love it. One of the big challenges I have is my voice. I have lost my voice every week, so if you think of me please pray that I will learn how to use it properly.
Just this last week the students painted banners for the school's Walk-a-thon. I designed them and the kids painted them. (I'll put pictures of these up soon) They turned out so well. The kids loved them and I got a lot of possitive feedback. It was so encouraging.
Well, there is my update. I'm sure I missed a few things, but I'll try to post new stuff more often.
Happy Friday!! And have a wonderful weekend!! I know I'm looking forward to it. :o)

(My family at the lake in Wisconsin)

How Deep

I sang this song in church this morning and the words are just so wonderful that I thought I would share them with you. Sovereign Grace Music has some wonderful songs that you can buy online.
I am so thankful that the Lord loves me!

How Deep
You were broken that I might be healed
You were cast off that I might draw near
You were thirsty that I might come drink
Cried out in anguish that I might sing

How deep is Your love
How high and how wide is Your mercy
How deep is Your grace
Our hearts overflow with praise
To You

You knew darkness that I might know light
Wept great tears that mine might be dried
Stripped of glory that I might be clothed
Crushed by Your Father to call me Your own

How deep is Your love
How high and how wide is Your mercy
How deep is Your grace
Our hearts overflow with praise
To You

Only Women Understand

I found this on the Girl Talk blog. I thought it was funny. 

Top Ten Things Only Women Understand

10. Cats' facial expressions.
9. The need for the same style of shoes in different colors.
8. Why bean sprouts aren't just weeds.
7. Fat clothes.
6. Taking a car trip without trying to beat your best time.
5. The difference between beige, ecru, cream, off-white, and eggshell.
4. Cutting your hair to make it grow.
3. Eyelash curlers.
2. The inaccuracy of every bathroom scale ever made.

And, the Number One thing only women understand:

Other Women

Sad but true

The story you are about to read is true (but with a little exaggeration) the names have been omitted to decrease the embarrassment of those involved.

*clearing throat*

OK here we go....

There once was a young woman who loved working with children. She loved kids so much that she spent her entire summer working with kids. She had so much fun. (Do you get to point? It was fun) Anyway, every week she would go with the kids on a field trip. Some weeks they would not need her help, but on this particular week it was decided that this lovely young woman would go with the kids on the field trip. Unknown to everyone, except the Lord, this field trip would cause this lovely young woman a great deal of pain.

It was a field trip they went on every summer, rollerskating. This young woman really enjoyed rollerskating with the kids and was excited to go on the field trip. The rollerskating started out wonderfully. The young woman skated with the younger kids to help them around the skating rink and was doing a great job staying on her feet (or skates) the entire time. Her arm muscles were getting a tremendous workout with two young girls on either side of her. That is until the disastrous event occurred.

One of the older kids was having a great deal of difficulty staying up on her skates and she was very much ready to get off the rink so I (I mean the young woman) skated toward her to help her off the rink. As they were getting near the exit the young girl fell. Her fall would have been just a minor detail to this story were it not for the fact that her skates collided with the lovely young woman's skates. The lovely young woman crashed to the floor landing mostly on her left hand. As the lovely young woman was attempting to get up she realized that moving her left hand hurt quite a bit. Needless to say the lovely young woman did not continue on the field trip. She went to a doctor and discovered that her left wrist was actually broken.

And typing this story does not feel very good on that wrist at this moment, so this story is coming to an end. As you have probably discovered the lovely young woman is me (Jamie in case you didn't know). I have a fractured distal radius. Thankfully it is not too bad and I only need to wear a brace. God is good. I am thankful that it is my left wrist instead of my right.

I have so many more things I need to blog about so I'm sure you will see another blog soon!!

The goodbyes have begun

I hate saying goodbye to people. And the decision I made to move back to Santa Rosa is causing a lot of sad goodbyes for me. Don't misunderstand, I really am excited to move back to Santa Rosa. It will be nice to be home, but at the same time I am going to miss the people I have gotten to know in Santa Clarita.

Tonight I babysat for the Barczaks for the last time. I have been babysitting Weston and Ryan for almost 2 years now and I love watching them. We have such a great time and they are such well behaved little boys (4 and 2). Seriously, I would stop a movie and say it was time for bed and they would run to the bathroom to brush their teeth.

Anyway, when I was putting them to bed tonight Weston (4) looks at me and says, "Jamie, you know what is sad? When I go to college I will have to leave Ryan." So we talked about how that is sad, but he will have a fun time and he still has a long time until he goes to college. Then he says, "But you know what is happy? I will get to see you at college!" So sweet! I nearly broke down. (I have been extremely emotional when saying goodbye to people)

Jen (Weston and Ryan's mom) told me that she remembered the first time I babysat. They were going out with some friends to see a play. They got my number from someone who recommended me so I met them for the first time that night. When they got in the car with their friends they were asked who was watching the boys. "Jamie" was the response. "Jamie who?" Jen and Andy didn't even know my last name. :o) But it all turned out alright. Obviously, since it has been 2 years.

I will definitely miss this family.

The Tongue

Last year while I was still living in the dorms I was in a small group. In this group we were going through an Elizabeth George devotional on the book of James. We didn't get to finish it before school got out and I just picked it up this semester to continue going through it.

The last two lessons I've read were on the tongue. This always a hard thing for me. But Elizabeth George quoted something from the Life Application Bible that I thought was very encouraging.
So here you go!


"If no human being can control the tongue, why bother trying? Because even if we do not achieve perfect control of it in this life, we can still learn enough to control to reduce the damage it can do. It is better to fight a fire than to go around setting new ones! Remember that we are not fighting the tongue's fire in our own strength. The Holy Spirit will give us increasing power to monitor and control what we say. As Christians we are not perfect, but we should never stop growing.... God works to change us from the inside out. As the Holy Spirit purifies our hearts, He also gives us self-control so that we will speak words that please God."

Faith

Doubt sees the obstacles. Faith sees the way.

Doubt sees the darkest night. Faith sees the day.

Doubt dreads to take a step. Faith soars on high.

Doubt questions, "Who believes?" Faith answers, "I."

Very delayed

So my spring break was about a month ago
and I am just now posting about it.
Student teaching has been very busy.
It all started out with a bang as Michelle and I got pedicures! So fun!
The only dilemma was the tip.
We weren't sure what to do and so we just left.
Awkward! But we still had a good time. :o)

After a delicious meal with the Anthony family,
they drove me to the airport. We had a great time listening to
"Boyz in the Sink."Jack entertained by playing
the air bass and singing along.

Home was wonderful. I was definitely in need of some time off and time to spend with my family. Danika was the biggest perk, to be honest. She was adorable. Even when she cried. But I'm her aunt so I'm a tad biased. We did a lot of window shopping and just had a nice time. All of the girls in the fam went to Railroad Square in Santa Rosa just to look at Antique shops and we had such a nice time.

I loved making her smile. And I totally got her giggling really hard. (There is a video of it on my facebook)

I took Dani to the park for the first time (sorry for stealing that first Julie). She didn't really care about it, but it was still fun. Amazing how she didn't mind this swing, but when she is in the swing at home she can't stand it.

Julie and I took Danika over to see Lance and Jill Wallace. Gabe and Emma just wanted to hold her the whole time. We had such a nice time with them.

Julie and I have this silly tradition of taking pictures in the back seat of the car no matter where we are going. Good memories. :o)

It was hard to leave, but I had such a nice time.

So there is my spring break in a nut shell.

Almost a week away from Spring Break!

So I'm in my second week of my new teaching assignment. It is definitely different than my previous one. But the Lord is really challenging me and showing me how I need to trust Him more. I am especially excited because my spring break is coming up really soon! Yay!! I am really excited to be going home for a week. I miss my family, but they all know that I am especially excited to see Danika. She has changed SO much since I last saw her in person. Here is a recent picture of her.

All dressed up for Easter with her mommy. My family just laughs at me because they know a little more of what she is like when she is not smiling like in this picture. But right now I don't care. I just want to be able to hold her and spend time with her and the rest of my family. I am definitely ready for a break. My next post will probably have lots of pictures. :o)

Have a great rest of the week!!

The Nails

This song has been a favorite of mine since the moment I heard it. I haven't sung it in a while until last night at the Good Friday service I went to. It is such a good reminder of what Christ did for you and me. I don't dwell on this as much as I should. I am so thankful for Christ's willingness to take my sins. He could have looked at the cost of what He was going to do and turn His back, but He died a terrible death so that we can have eternal life. Wow! What an amazing gift. "Forever my love, forever my heart, forever my life it's Yours." Lord, it's Yours.

what will they say next?

Well, yesterday was my first day in the 4th grade classroom. It went better than I thought it would. The main thing I have to remember is that I have to treat this students a lot different than the 1st graders. I can't clap a rhythm to get the kids attention anymore. Thankfully my new master teacher has a big bell she rings. So that will help when I start teaching. I don't have much else to say about 4th grade because it has only been one day, but I do have a funny story already. :o)

The teacher was introducing a new science topic to the students about animals. The questions she asked was: "Who knows what it is when a larger animal eats a smaller animal etc.?" (she was looking for the food chain) One student raised his hand and said "Cannibals." He was all excited thinking he had the right answer and he was totally wrong. The teacher was a little shocked by his answer becuase she was not expecting that and gave a funny look and said he was wrong. She didn't dwell on it and moved on to another student who said the right answer. My goodness, you have to be so poised when you are a teacher. You just never know what the students are going to say next.

1st Grade

I miss my 1st grade class!!!

Last Friday was my last day :o(

And I miss them a lot!

They sure were sweet kids.

This is what I came upon when I went to pick them up on Friday morning.

All of the kids brought me flowers! It was so sweet. Later in the afternoon we had a little going away party too. Yesterday I had to go back into the classroom to pick something up and I got a huge group hug. I miss seeing those kids.

Monday I start in a 4th grade classroom. I'm praying that the Lord will teach me a lot and that I will learn to love these kids just as much as the 1st graders.

a good reminder for me

The other day I wanted to grab a book to read while I was at Starbucks. I looked at the few books I have down here in SoCal and grabbed The Remarkable Women of the Bible by Elizabeth George. I have had this book for several years now and only made it through chapter 4. I have the tendency to do that with books I get. I am really excited to read them and then they get pushed to the side. Well, the Lord has amazing timing. I love to see how He works in my life and the chapter where I had left off totally applied to my life right now. God is so good.

As you may have figured out from the title, the book talks about different women in the Bible. :o) The chapter I where I had stopped was about Rebekah. I don't think I have thought a whole lot about Rebekah, but this chapter made me think of her in a different way. Elizabeth George talked about her as a single woman. Usually I think of her as being married and a mother. Elizabeth George wrote about her purity, busyness, hospitality, and energy. These were the things you learn about her when Abraham's servant saw her at the well. She is such a great example. She did not spend her time looking for a husband or just sitting around. She did the work she needed to do and helped others while she did it.

This paragraph is what hit me the most:
"A single Christian woman is to live her life in a way that reflects her complete dedication to God. As one who is unmarried, she has the privilege of undistracted service to God and caring for "the things of the Lord" (1Cor. 7:34). Every day a woman is single is another glorious day to serve God wholeheartedly and without distraction. Her singleness is her "green light" from God to go all out in service to others."

Wow! Often it is hard for me to think of my singleness as being a gift from the Lord. But in being single the Lord has given me an amazing opportunity to serve Him and others without distraction. My prayer is that I will remember this and take advantage of what God has given to me.

Portraits for Missions

There is an amazing photographer from my church. I am always checking his blog to see new pictures he has taken. I found out through his blog that he was going to be taking portraits for missions. He did this last year also. He had a few days set aside where all the money he made on pictures would go toward his summer mission trips. I decided that since I liked his photography so much that I should support his trips. :o) It was very fun. Here are the pictures I got.

Thanks Lukas!

My Valentine

Oh what a fun Valentine's Day! It started with a bang and an exhausting 1st grade valentine party. I never knew how tiring those parties are for the teacher. :o/ After school I went to my Valentine date's house. He was sleeping when I got there so I woke him up after a while and he gave me a valentine.

This one to be exact. :o)

Ok, you got me. I babysat on Valentine's Day. But we had a fun time. I made him a tuna sandwich and we watched Bear and the Big Blue House and later Cars. I have no complaints.

It was nice to hang out with Jack and give Ryan and Michelle a chance to go out for dinner.

The Lord has been teaching me a lot about being content in my circumstances. Right now the Lord seems to want me to be single and I am working at remembering that His plan is a whole lot better than anything I can think of.

New Pics of Danika

Yay! Julie sent me some new pictures of Danika!

So I thought I'd share them. :o)

Who wouldn't want to see this adorable baby?!

1st grade science

Today I taught a science lesson to my first grade class. It went really well, except for a minor problem. It was actually kind of funny. :o) It is good that I can laugh about my mistakes. It was a lesson about temperature so I wanted the kids to be able to see the mercury in a thermometer go up and down. So I had a cup of tap water, some ice, and a thermos full of hot water. It was all going great until I got to the hot water. The kids were all in a circle and were struggling to stay in the circle. I put the thermometer in the thermos and watched the red mercury (I don't think it was actually mercury though) go up and then I heard a Pop (!). Yes the thermometer broke in front of the whole class, my master teacher AND my advisor who was observing the lesson. It was actually rather funny. I had a good laugh over it and the kids thought it was really cool. Note to self: don't use super hot water for an experiment in class.

-----

Another funny thing happened in the lesson. We were talking about thermometers and I was reviewing what we know about thermometers. I was trying to see if they could remember what was in the thermometer (mercury) but they were all having a hard time remembering. I was about to just tell them, when I noticed this one little boy who was ernestly raising his hand. So I asked him if he thought he knew and he said yes. And the answer he gave was "Venus." I wanted to laugh SO badly! It was so cute. I just told him that he was very close then I told the class the word was mercury.

What a fun day. :o)

some days

It has been a long day and I am definitely feeling tired. These kinds of days are when I tend to get down in the dumps and everything turns negative. Ok, things don't turn negative, I make them negative. Sometimes I'll just watch a sad movie so I can just cry. Do you ever just feel like you just need to cry?

Sorry, this is depressing. But, tonight I've decided that I'm not going to dwell on the negative. So I'm going to make a list of things I am thankful for.

• The Lord of all creation loves me!
• Parents who have raised me to love God and love others
• encouraging friends
• the Bible
• my sister
• best friends both far away and close by
• a car that runs well
• a college that teaches me how to follow the Lord
• a faithful God when I am faithless
• the rain and the sunshine
• Danika
• my pastors (past and present)
• getting coffee with Michelle
• people who listen
• the Hall family
• not knowing what is to come (although sometimes I wish I knew)
• old movies
• music
• my salvation
• forgiveness
• singing to Jesus
• the funny things 1st graders say and do
• smiling babies
• laughter

Thank you, Jesus, for helping me look at all that you have given to me. I pray that I will keep my focus toward you and not myself. Thank you for loving me and making me your child. - In Jesus' precious name, Amen.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Well, now that I am student teaching I am realizing that I have funny stories to share. I am working with 1st grade and sometimes they say and do really cute/funny things.

This week we have been talking a little about Martin Luther King Jr. On Tuesday I read the class a story about him. Most of the students didn't know much about him so I was interacting with the students while I was reading by answering questions. Well, we got to one part of the book that talked about "White Only" signs that were up everywhere (parks, restaurants, restrooms, etc. ) One little girl raised her hand and said...

"It is bad to have white only bathrooms because some people would pee in their pants."

I had to work really hard at keeping a straight face! It was definitely a smile and nod moment.

I'm sure there will be more cute quotes to come!

Shoes

Why is it the shoes I always want to buy are way too expensive?

I guess that is what Payless Shoe Source is for.

My niece

Ok here are more pictures just for fun!!

What a beautiful little girl!


She rolled onto her side by herself! Julie and I were shocked. She is only 3 weeks old!

Danika's first time in her swing which I put together without instructions. :o) She looks happy in the picture, but she didn't last very long. We spoil her rotten.

Yay for reading stories!

It was really hard to leave for SoCal. I miss her already!! And I miss the rest of my family too. :o)

Danika Joy

Well, I thought I was a little overdue to put up pictures of my adorable niece. There are more pictures on my facebook just in case you want to see more of her. :o)

Here are a few favorites. Oh yeah! Happy New Year!!

They look a little blurry on my screen. I might have to fix them when I get back to the faster internet connection. (I hate dial-up)