Finally!!!

I am an AUNT!!!

Danika Joy
8 lbs 15 oz
21 in
9:20 am
December 13, 2007

no pictures yet. I'm heading home tomorrow morning. Hopefully I won't get a speeding ticket. :o/

Lean

This weekend was my sister's baby shower. Yes, for those of you who do not know my little sister is having a baby girl in less than a month. I am very much looking forward to becoming an aunt! Anyway...Gay Kimmel gave a wonderful devotional at the shower, and I thought I would share it. I was very blessed by her words and I hope you are as well.


One of my gifts is a daily devotional that I have read year after year, Streams In the Desert by L.B. Cowman. Life happens to all of us and this is a precious reminder to me everyday that God is walking with me.

Song of Songs 8:5 Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her/beloved? There are many ways to read The Song of Solomon and as I was preparing for this time of sharing, my focus was reading God’s Word to understand ourselves in the context of
Our relationship with Jesus Christ as a child of His. As parents, let us remember that we are also children—a child of our Savior and Lord.

In a southern church I learned a great lesson at a prayer meeting: As one man prayed, he asked the Lord for various blessings, just as you or I would, and he thanked the Lord for many blessings received, just as you or I would. But he closed his prayer with this unusual petition: And O Lord, support us! Yes, support us on every leaning side!”

Do you have any “leaning sides”? This humble man’s prayer pictured them in a new way and illustrated the Great Supporter in a new light, as well. He saw God as always walking along side the Christian, ready to extend His mighty arm to steady the weak on “every leaning side”.

Guess what? Parenting is no easy task. If there is only one thing that you remember from my message today, let it be the word LEAN! How many of us have heard from a teacher, a parent or a grandparent, “Stand up straight! Sit up straight! My message this morning is “Lean—Lean—Lean”. Lean on Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. He is the lover of your soul—He is the only one who will never leave you or forsake you. Your humans, your human friends and human family and human family friends, we will disappoint you and fail you. Christ won’t. Lean on the Lord and be a parent who leans on the Lord.

Hopefully, every one of us here today will have a new reminder now whenever you say or see or hear the word, “LEAN”! From a parenting perspective:

L = Love (Loving Leadership (parenting means leading, setting boundaries)
E = Encourage (Be a positive influence in your child’s life; inspire her with courage or confidence.)
A = Admonish (Correct, teach, to scold especially in a mild and good-willed manner; to caution and advise)
N = Nurture (feed, protect, support, train, snuggle, play with her)

Parenting requires leaning. Lean on Christ. Life requires leaning for each one of us whether we are parents, preparing for parenting, or just living life. May each one of us be reminded that God designed our lives to be entwined with His. He wants us to LEAN on him.

As we continue to live our days, may each of us be reminded to LEAN on HIM. So…may you never read the word LEAN again without being reminded of this message!! Let’s LEAN on Christ, each one of us.

The shower was especially a blessing because of all the people who came and showed support to Julie and our family. I was very encouraged by the love that was in the room of 50 or so women. God is so good. I am so thankful for my church family at home and for a loving God who takes care of all of our needs.

Matthew 6:25-34

For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life,

as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body,

as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns,

and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace,

will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'

For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Tickle Me!

I just thought this was cute. :o) So there you are!

Jan Brett

I had such a great night tonight!! I drove down to Pasadena to see Jan Brett. She is an amazing children's author and illustrator. It was really cool. She gave a demonstration of how to draw one of the polar bears from her new book and talked about how she started writing the book. I was totally inspired. I really want to write a children's book and get it published. Someday.

Jan Brett was so nice. She talked to everyone who came to see her. She had great conversations with the kids and I was able to talk to her for a little bit.

Here are some pictures from the event. :o)

(Yes I've been having fun with the photo grids :o)

"California is Burning"

"California is Burning" ... gee that sounds so wonderful. This was the title of the news tonight. Thankfully the part that is burning is not in my neighborhood anymore. I only had to evacuate for one night. It is really nice to be back in my own bed. Everytime I watch the news I am just amazed at how many fires are going on at one time. This is insane!! It just gives me another reason as to why I like Northern California. There aren't nearly as many fires up there. :o)





















Here are some pictures I've taken in the last couple of days. The smoke pictures are from Sunday as my dad and I were driving back to the house after church in the afternoon. It was so crazy. It really made me think of cartoons when the evil comes over the land and the hero needs to come in and save the day. It was this HUGE black cloud. Well you can see in the pictures. :o) The others were from today. As I was leaving school there is this big field and the helicopters were landing there to fill up with water to drop on the fires. Also, as I was driving home tonight I saw 6 fire engines in a row heading out to where the fire had been near my house. 6 engines in a row is a common sight down here right now.



So crazy!!

Fires

Due to the multiple fires in the So Cal area last night I had to evacuate from the house I have been living in. I'm still not sure how close the fire got, or if the fire is still moving. But this was a very new and frightening experience for me. Thankfully my dad has been here for the weekend. That was a huge blessing. So last night we stayed at a hotel.

Please pray for:

• the firefighters - there are several fires around So Cal right now (or as of last night)
• the family I live with - they don't know what is going on with thier house
• all the people affected by these fires - as of last night 25 homes and structures had been burned down and 500-800 people had been evacuated.

Pumpkin Patch

Tonight I went to the pumpkin patch here in Santa Clarita. It was so much fun! I haven't been to a pumpkin patch in years. Michelle and I decided that we wanted to decorate pumpkins so we had to go get pumpkins. We headed out to the pumpkin patch with her family. My roommate Lindsay came as well.

I think the pumpkin patch is 10 times better with a little kid along. :o) He was so cute! He ran around the pumpkins and got to see all the different animals they had there. We went and looked at the sheep and goats and he just waved at them. It was too cute.

I promise that we were getting pumpkins. But I think someone was a little confused when they were labeling the crate.

We made Jack and Ryan take a lot of pictures.

Lindsay and I decided that Fiyero in Wicked looks a little better looking than this one.

Ryan, Michelle and Jack have pretty much become family to me. It is so nice to have a family to be around. On Fridays, Michelle and I get together and then I just hang out with the family. It is such a great change from doing homework all week. Ryan leads the Bible study and Michelle disciples me. They are an amazing couple. I am so thankful for them!

You know you live near L.A. when...

You go out to check the mail and find a paper warning you that tomorrow you may hear explosions due to the filming of "The Unit" on a near by street.

True story :o)

An angry 6th grader

I just wanted to ask for prayer for a certain 6th grade boy.

I have been working in a 6th grade class for the past several weeks. Last week there was one boy who just started showing a lot of anger. He would write things about hating school and how terrible his life is. I was just so sad for him. This week I came to find out that his parents are going through a divorce. This explains why he is so angry. It is terrible for kids to have to go through this kind of thing.

Today I was wondering around the classroom checking on student's work. I came to him and he only had a few words written for his poem. I had asked the class to write a Cinquain about a family member. For most students this is a simple task. But for this boy it was very difficult. I read what he had on his paper and wanted to cry for him. His poem was about his mom and it consisted of words about her being evil and terrible and other things I cannot remember at the moment. I didn't really know what to say to him, and in a public school I cannot say what I would normally say to someone who is hurting so badly. This is why I am asking for you all to pray for him. He really needs the love of Jesus in his life as well as the love of his family. According to him everyone in his family is terrible.

Please pray for him.

The strangest things happen to me :o/

So I have some friends that think there should be a sitcom made up of some of the oh so interesting things that happen to me. This one is a doozy.

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First of all, once again my car has been causing me troubles. This time it was in the shop for almost 3 (yes I meant to type 3) weeks. It was kind of a nightmare, but I was learning more about trusting the Lord. So I FINALLY get my car back and it technically isn't fixed, but I got it back anyway. (That could be a whole other blog) I was totally excited to have my car back. I got inside and looked around a little bit just happy to sit there for a second. As I was looking around I saw a ziplock bag on the floor. If my memory serves me right, and I'm pretty sure it does, this particular bag once contained goldfish. I had been forgetting to through it away for weeks. (Yes I can be a slob at times) But when I saw the bag this time in my car it was empty. I thought that was kind of funny and I picked it up to get a better look at it. There was definately a hole chewed in it. And it was flithy. I was completely grosed out!! Upon further scrutiny I found several presents of a different sort (note the pictures below). Whatever had been living in my car the weeks I was away from it was kind enough to make his/her presence known.

My dad...oh my dad...was kind enough to say to me when I told him, "I hope it doesn't climb up your pant-leg while you are driving. Oh dad! That was while I was driving too! I was doing just fine until he said that! I have come to the conclusion that the rodent is no longer living in my car. I got it cleaned out so I will surely know if it is still there upon seeing more of the lovely presents on the floor.

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And that is why my friends think parts of my life would make a great sitcom. I'm not sure how I feel about that still.

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Please turn your eyes if you cannot handle such graphic pictures.

CSET

A month ago I took the dreaded CSET (California subject examination for teachers). I have been waiting for the results and I finally got them today. And I passed ALL three tests!! I am so excited!! What a relief. For those of you who don't know about the CSET it is an insane test. Well actually it is three tests. 1 - English and History; 2 - Math and Science; 3 - Music, Art, Child Development and PE. It took my 5 hours to take the test. And I have to pass all three tests in order to student teach in the Spring. Honestly I was expecting to have to retake at least one of the test. Praise the Lord I don't have to!! God is so good.

God is good

I wrote this a while ago, but I wanted to share it.


It is so great to see the Lord's work. Sometimes the hard times make it difficult to see the Lord's hand, but I am always reminded in some way. For instance, the other day a coworker of mine had to take her car in to be fixed. She does not have the money to pay a big bill on her car so she was praying that the bill wouldn't be too huge. In the end it cost $18 to fix her car. She was shocked and found out that amount included the payment for the labor. She went on to ask how much it would cost to get a tune-up for her car and the mechanic said they checked for that also and the car didn't need one. Wow! What a huge blessing from the Lord.
My co-workers and I were talking about this situation and one of them said that it is great to be around believers who encourage others by telling these kinds of situations. We serve such an awesome God. This great God has a plan for everything. This is something we have been talking about in the class I teach at work. (A class of 5 & 6 year-olds) We have been reading through a book called The Lamb. It has been such a great reminder of how God has a plan and we need to trust Him and not simply ourselves.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." - Jeremiah 29:11

Yet another wedding

Well yesterday was Mary and Ryan Rotman's wedding. It was such a beautiful wedding and I am so happy for the both of them. I am also very excited that they will be living in Santa Rosa. It will be great to be able to see them when I am home from school. Mary looked so beautiful and I had the privilege of doing Mary's hair for the ceremony. It was a little nerve racking, but it turned out pretty well.

I was also able to see my best friend, Kelley. It was so good to see her and her husband, Jevon. I hadn't seen them since Christmas. It is so hard to live far away from my friends. Kelley is one of the only friends I actually keep in contact with from high school. I am so glad I have her. The Lord has really blessed me with some amazing friends.

Chorale tour

I just got back from 2 weeks of Chorale tour. It was incredible. We flew to Indiana and took a bus from Indiana to Kentucky, back to Indiana, then to Ohio, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and ending in New York City. I just thought i would share some highlights of the trip.



We visited Southern Baptist Seminary.
After they gave us a tour Al Moeler and talked to us.
It was really neat that he took time out of his
busy day to let us ask him questions.




On my birthday my friends put a sign
and streamers next to my seat. :o)

Yes we went to the Indianapolis Moter Speedway. There were several cars practicing. It was extremly loud. I don't understand how people can sit in the stands and be able to hear when there are more cars going around the track.

This church in Indiana was built to look like a
church that Thomas Kincaide painted. It was a beautiful church.



One of the families we stayed with at a trophie room. :o/
I almost ran into one of the deer while i was taking a picture.
I was a little freaked out.




In Pensylvania we sang in McKeesport.
That is where the King family live.
It was so great to see them. It had been four years.
I loved spending time with them and it was really hard to leave.






New York City!!





One morning in New York some friends and I got breakfast
and ate in Central Park. It was really pretty.


My friends and I went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway.
It was so much fun!!


These are just a few things that happened. I was able to stay with some really great believers. It was neat to hear about how the Lord has worked in thier lives. I hope that I was as great of an encouragement to them as they were to me. It was great to be able to serve the Lord for those two weeks.



The Grand Finale was singing at Carnegie Hall. It was such a great experience. We got two standing ovations. It was so incredible.

Graduation

College grad

Tonight I graduate from The Master's College!!

And tomorrow I leave for Choir Tour. YAY!!

I forget

Oh the joy of singing in a different language. Most people won't understand if you mix up the words. I have done that several times. It comes in handy, unless there is by chance a person who knows Italian or French. Then you are in trouble.

(Disneyland pictures and stories to come soon)

Because He Lives

God sent His son, they called Him Jesus

He came to love, heal, and forgive.

He lived and died to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives.

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Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.

Because He lives, All fear is gone.

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living just because He lives.

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This is a familiar song to me, but one I had not heard in a long time. Sunday I went to church with my roommate and her family and this song was sung by the children's choir. It hit me while I was listening, how true these words are. Because He lives I don't need to worry about anything. The Lord gives me so much more than I deserve. This weekend was a hard one, but through so many things, like this song from church, I was able to remember how much the Lord loves me and is taking care of me. I am so thankful that God lives so that I can face tomorrow, have no fear and have hope. Thank you Lord!

I'm gonna be a teacher!

I just found out that I made it into the Credential Program here at Masters! I am so excited! I wasn't feeling very confident about how my interview went yesterday, but the feedback I received today was very good. I am so thankful. God is so good. He has been teaching me so much about trusting Him with everything. It is hard, but I am learning. I am excited to start the program in the fall and student teach next spring. I know that it will be a challenging year, but I am getting really close to being able to do what I have wanted to do for most of my life...teach!

Spring Break

I only have a few days of spring break left. This is what I have been doing.

Yes I've gone to the beach a few times now. And for once I'm not completely burned. YAY!! I was using spf 50 though. :o) I am such a delicate person. That picture is Santa Monica from Monday and Wednesday I went to Malibu. It was so nice to relax and listen to the waves. It is so different in NorCal. For one thing you can't wear shorts at the beaches there. Big difference.

spring break is almost here

well, there has been a change of plans. I'm not going home for spring break. I disappointed that I won't be able to see my family, but I think i will get more rest if I stay here. I have been so tired lately and need the time (without 2 days of driving) to relax and get ahead in some of my classes. So thats the plan. I have some friends who are going to be around so I won't be alone or anything. I'm just really excited to not have classes for a week and get some much needed sleep. :o)

I'm seeing Green!

So here is the highlight of my semester!!!

Thursday night I went to Hollywood with my friends and we saw "Wicked"!!! It was so incredibly amazing! I have had the CD for several months now and listen to it all the time. So I knew all of the songs. It was such a fun musical. There were funny, happy and sad parts (not all at the same time of course). If you ever get the chance to see it DO IT!!

If you don't know, it is the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch before Dorthy lands in Oz. It is fun to see how they turn out the way they do. I LOVED IT!!!

Here are some pictures from the evening.

All dressed up for Hollywood!

No one actually bought the program, we just got to take a picture with one :o)

they cost $20!!! outrageous!!

My friend, Stacy, bought me a ticket for Valentine's Day. So sweet! We all wanted to go together and I couldn't afford it. Master's bought a block of 100 tickets so they only cost TMC students $35. What a deal!!

It was such a nice break from homework! And I'm coming home for a few days next week!! I'm so excited for the break! The Lord knows I need it!

A List of "Withouts"

Without trials there can be no maturity.
Without clouds there can be no silver lining.
Without clouds there can be no appreciation of sunshine.
Without rain there can be no rainbow.
Without rain there can be no vegetation.
Without the stress of the storm we cannot realize the worth of an anchor.
Without darkness there can be no rest.
Without darkness we cannot see the stars.
Without night there can be no sunrise.
Without threshing we cannot use the wheat.
Without injury and irritation the oyster will not produce a pearl.
Without a hammer and chisel the stone cannot become a statue, a work of art, a masterpiece.
Without crushing the flowers there can be no perfume.
Without trials we cannot be like Jesus.

~ Elizabeth George

Drumroll please...

Here are the answers
1)The pencil was invented in 1550, and it was a type of a paint brush
2)The eraser was added in 1858 (before the eraser they used bread crumbs)
3)There 2.8 billion pencils made in a year
4)A pencil can write 35 miles (in one line) or 45,000 words


Random facts I know, but interesting
Thank you for playing

How much to you know about the pencil?

In class today I learned some interesting facts about the pencil and I thought it would be fun to see how much you know. :o) NO CHEATING!! Take your best guess and I'll give the answers in a few days (or when I need another break from homework)

1) when was the pencil invented?

2)when was the eraser added to the pencil?

3) about how many pencils are made in a year?

4) how long can the pencil write? (distance of one line or amount of words)

Please Pray!!

Well, today was the second day of classes and already I feel like I have WAY too much to do this semester. So I just wanted to ask for prayer if you think of me. This is my last semester at Masters. I'm really looking forward to being done, but there is a lot to do before I get there. I don't think I've ever taken as many units as I am taking this semester. I know that the Lord will give me strength to make it. Also pray that I can find some sort of job for the semester. Just so that I really don't have any time at all :o).

The Life of a Snowman

Well the Lord blessed us with a day of beautiful snow while we were in Wisconsin.

So of course we HAD to build a snowman.

Just the beginning

It's hard to tell, but there is something there.

TADA

But a few days later the snow was melting,

and our snowman was starting to look very sad.

His face fell off!

In the end our snowman had a very sad New Years celebration.

(I think I need to write a children's book about this snowman) :o)

Kind of a White Christmas

Here are some pictures from my family's trip to Wisconsin.

We were there for almost a week, but there was only one day that we had snow.

Just enough for building a snowman. It was fun!

We stayed at my mom's cousin's farm because Grandma's house was too full. Sharon (Mom's cousin) has a dairy farm and Julie and I got to feed a week old calf. It was fun! The house was really cute and my Grandma lived there at one time.

ok well I have more pictures to post, but the internet at home is not fast...at all. I'll have to go to the library and post the rest. We had such a fun time with all of our family in Wisconsin. Please be praying for my Grandpa. Yesterday he had surgery. In the past his surgery recoveries have not gone well. But PRAISE THE LORD this one has gone better. He went home today and seems to be doing well.