Lord, I need you

Another favorite song! 

Packer Training Camp

I feel like I've been able to so many new things since I got to Wisconsin. Yesterday I went to Green Bay with my cousins and their boys to the Packer training camp. It was very fun. We didn't get to sit in the bleachers, but we had a good spot at the fence. We had a great time, and it was so nice spending time with my cousins. 

I don't have to do the fighting.

You need only to be still. 

Isn't it wonderful that God promises to be there all the time?! 

Yup, I'm a Nerd!

Monday I drove to Green Bay to do some shopping and get out of the house for a bit. It was nice. I have to be honest though. My real motivation for going that day was so I could take this picture at Barnes and Noble. Ha!! Julie has gotten me completely hooked on Doctor Who!

Needing Febreeze

     Yesterday grandpa told grandma that he wanted a cinnamon roll and some coffee. I don't think the above picture is what he had in mind.
     Grandma stuck the cinnamon rolls in the microwave, hit start, and continued with what she was doing. Not long later smoke was pouring out of the microwave. And by pouring I really mean pouring. They ended up just a tad over-cooked. Today the house doesn't smell like smoke as much as it did yesterday, but I think I'm going to get Febreeze anyway. I want to make sure the smell doesn't stay in the furniture. Yuck!
     I was feeling a little down yesterday. Grandma seemed to be in a nasty mood in the morning and was taking it out on Grandpa and I. It made me feel nervous about being here and living with them for this unknown period of time. I'm so glad that the Lord knows our every thought and every need because yesterday He supplied those needs that I didn't even know I had. 1) I was able to have lunch with some great friends from home. It was so good to see them. Betsy's family lives in Wisconsin and they were there visiting so we met halfway for lunch. It was a great distraction from the frustrating morning. 2) My mom talked to my grandma in the afternoon and asked how things were going with me being there. Grandma, without any hesitation, said they loved having me here. 3) I'm trying to make it a habit to help my grandma check her blood sugar every night before bed because she gets confused about the meter. Last night after helping her she cupped my face and very sweetly said thank you. Those things were just what I needed. 

My spot

See that blue basket there? This is my space in the kitchen. I know it is small, but I was actually pretty excited that grandma made that space for me. :) it means that I don't have to carry my coffee supplies to my room every day.

Jesus paid it all

All to Him I owe!

Sketching again

Line from a favorite worship song. 

Accidentally crumpled the corner. 

Day One

I had to laugh yesterday. It was my first day living with my grandparents (without the rest of my family here) and I got out of bed, went out of my room and my grandparents weren't home. Ha! It was only 8:30 in the morning. There was no note or anything. Had to trust that they were ok. I hope that if they have to go to the emergency room in the middle of the night they would let me know. Actually I think they will. Grandma came in my room late last night to help her check her blood sugar. I'm glad she feels comfortable doing that. Anyway, they came in a few minutes later. They had been at the grocery store. It is going to take some major convincing to get my grandma to stop driving. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to drive to work everyday, even though I live just a couple blocks away from the school, just so she doesn't have access to the car all the time.

laugh, cry, and harmonize

I definitely cried last night during our last song.
For the past year and a half I've been so blessed to sing with this girl and her brothers. We've laughed, cried, and harmonized with each other. I feel like they are part of my family.
This is where I dislike change. Its not so much the location change, but the people change. I'm going to miss those three so so much. Thankfully I know I will keep in touch with them and see them when I come to visit. I'm so happy that the Lord gave me the joy of leading worship with them. I was encouraged by each of them every week we sang together. They challenged me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus as we praise His name. I'm excited to see how God continues to grow each of them closer to Him. I know that God is going to do amazing things in them and through them!

Give me Jesus

I drew this last night before I went to bed. I woke up in the morning with the phrase/song stuck in my head. It caused me to pick up my Bible before I did anything else. So thankful for little reminders like that. It was such a sweet time in God's Word and praying. I love that time so much. 

I like these little flowers. 

Be Still

It is easy to get worked up about things and worry. But God tells us to be still and let Him take care of things. As I've said many, many times His way is much better than my own way. Stop worrying and overthinking. Let the Lord take care of it. 

Playing around with chalk pastels. 

Silly Girls

 I love sleepovers with this silly girl! She is so much fun. Here is our froggy picture. Haha! It hardly looks like us! Kinda creepy. 

Our morning has been full of donuts and Wild Kratts. Perfect relaxing morning! 

Noah's Quilt

My most recent quilt. I love the colors. My second attempt at applique. Still need more practice. 

I made this for sweet baby Noah. 

I really like how it turned out! I have extra fabric, I just might make another. 

Philippians 4:6

One of my favorite verses. I'm constantly saying this verse to myself. 

Mighty to Save

I like this song. 

Deitueronomy 31:8

Nothing is a surprise to Him! 

"Calm My Anxious Heart" by Linda Dillow

One of my lovely coworkers loaned me this book when I was going through some struggles this year. The table of contents caught my eye right off the bat. Chapter 10: Trusting God with the What Ifs. Chapter 11: Trusting God with the If Onlys. Chapter 12: Trusting God with the Whys. I struggle with those things all the time.
Unfortunately I didn't get to read the book and I need to return it to her soon. But I was able to catch some of the things she highlighted when she read the book. I now have this book on my amazon wish list. It is one I will probably get sometime soon.

Here are some of the highlighted statements that caught my eye.

"We can only trust God when our focus is on Him and not on our circumstances." 

"If we are to find contentment in the midst of trial and uncertainty, we must accept our situation as being purposely allowed into our lives by a personal and loving God."

Psalm 92.1

Are you giving thanks to the Lord on a regular basis? Lately I feel like I've been grumbling more than thanking the Lord. Since I've noticed that I'm trying to be more purposeful in how much I thank the Lord for all He has done for me. And let me tell you, He has done a lot for me. 

I really should take pictures with my better camera. Oh well next time. 

Oh Wow!

I wish I could have kept it this clean while I was teaching in there! 

It was a very strange feeling to look at my cleaned out classroom as I left to turn in my keys. I've been teaching in this classroom for the past 4 years. There have been some fantastic memories in this classroom. I'm so thankful for the time God gave me to teach at RVC. I always knew I wanted to teach there. In my senior yearbook (from RVC) I had to tell where I'd be in the next 10 years and I said, "go to a Christian college, get married, and teach at RVC." Two out of three! :) RVC is like home to me. The teachers, especially the elementary teachers, are like family. Over the last 6 years I knew that I could go to any one of them and talk about anything. We shared a lot of laughter and tears over the last few years. I know that God put each of them in my life for a reason. Not only were they look friends and peers, but they were all amazing godly examples. Whenever I came to them with a struggle they pointed me right to Christ. God is so good! 

It is hard to say goodbye, but at the same time I'm excited to see what God has in store for me down the road. 

Who can be against us?

Such a great reminder. 

No matter what is going on in our lives, God is still for us. Nothing can hurt us. That's not to say things won't be hard. We still need to lean on Him. Safe in His arms. 

Micah 6.8

The markers didn't turn out the way I was hoping. I think I'll use watercolors next time. Hopefully that will make it less streaky. 

Trust

Lots of changes going on right now. I need this reminder to trust God. He has everything in His hands and I know that He won't let me fall. 

The packing has begun

Well, school is out. My grades and end of the year paperwork is all turned in. Now for the huge job of packing. Starting with my classroom and then will start on my house next week after a quick trip to Seattle to visit Lindsay and her family.
I didn't realize I had SO much stuff in my classroom! Obviously there are a lot of things that aren't mine in my classroom, but I bought a lot out of my own pocket. Books, books, books. I have at least 5 boxes of books that are mine. Not huge boxes, but still it is a lot of books. And I totally have more books at home. What can I say, I love books! There are a lot of things I'm not shipping to Wisconsin right now since I know I won't need them for teaching 1st and 2nd grade. I figure I can keep them in storage for a while. I'm honestly not sure how long I'll be in Wisconsin. A year for sure, but beyond that I have no idea. Just want to follow what God has planned.

I was able to get in contact with one of my new coworkers and she sent me a few pictures of the classroom I'm going to be using. I needed a little idea of how much space I have. It turns out that I have two rooms. Both are on the small size, but I'll take what I can get! It is fun to start thinking about how I'm going to set it up. The bright green walls in the extra room are a little shocking. I'll have to figure out how to tone that down a little. :)
If you think of me, please pray. Pray that I'll be able to get everything done that I need to do and that I won't get overwhelmed by all of it. I'm excited for this new adventure. (just trying not to think about the sad part of leaving yet)

Movies

I have a movie fetish. I love buying movies. I buy them long after they come out on DVD so they are usually under $10. I love going to Walmart to look for cheap movies! Since my collection has grown I'm able to watch movies in a thread. By thread I mean I see how I can connect movies by actors/actresses. I'm trying to see how long of a thread I can come up with.

Here is my current thread:

1. Sherlock Holmes
2. Miss Pedigrew Lives for a Day
3. The Wedding Date
4. Pirates of the Caribbean
5. The Tourist
6. The Holiday
7. Sense and Sensibility
8. Two Weeks Notice
9. The Lake House
10. Must Love Dogs
11. Serenity (had a little help from IMDB to figure this one out) 

Each movies connects to the one before by one actor or actress. And I try not to use the same actor or actress twice in a row. I know I'm a little weird. But I think it is a fun way to figure out what movie to watch.

Romans 12:12

I LOVE THIS ONE! 

I've been having so much fun trying out different writing styles. 

Be Still

Its a little wild, but I like it. 

I might add a little more color to it. 

Faith Hope and Love

Just doodling

Colossians 3:17

Having fun in my sketchbook. Trying to keep my eyes on Jesus. 

(oops, its a little fuzzy)

Label: Encouraging

As I've posted before, the last month or so has been full of some discouragement at work. I've had times when I've felt trampled over on a number of occasions. But in the last few weeks God has brought a lot of encouragement into my life. I'm so thankful that He hears our prayers and comes to our rescue. As a result of this hard time I've started a new label in my email account. (I'm kinda a crazy email labeler. If I save it it gets a label and leaves my inbox) My new label is "encouraging." For those times when I need to read something encouraging I can just pop into that file and remember the people God has put into my life and see how they have pointed me to Christ. God has truly blessed me with the people He has put in my life. So many godly people who point me to Christ.

Feeling Blessed

I had such a wonderful birthday yesterday. God is so good. He knew that I needed a day full of blessings. I've been so focused on the negative lately that I'd lost sight of how much God is blessing me on a daily basis. During my quiet time yesterday morning I prayed that I would be able to see God's many blessings and He did just that. I was blessed by texts, calls, facebook notes, a coffee delivery, hugs, and former students singing. I'm so thankful that God gave me that day of reminders of how much He loves me and all of the people in my life who love me too. Now instead of focusing on the negative around me...or the possibility of negative things happening (because that is what I was starting to do a lot)... I'm looking for the many blessings from above.

Take refuge in Him!

It is hard to not let people steal your joy! 

Only hours after deciding to not let my joy be stolen I heard from that same mom again at school. I was completely deflated. I'm so thankful for those who are praying for me and encouraging me through this. I need to leave it in God's hands. It is so easy to try to take care of it on my own, but that has obviously failed so now I need to give it to the Lord. 

Psalm 5:11-12But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;    let them ever sing for joy,and spread your protection over them,    that those who love your name may exult in you. For you bless the righteous, O Lord;    you cover him with favor as with a shield.

Keeping scripture close at hand today!  

Don't steal my joy!

Was struggling this morning with a parent of one of my students. It seems like I get an upset email from her at least once a week, and lately more than once a week. There doesn't seem to be a way to please her when it comes to her child. The sad thing is that this situation is causing me to want school to finish sooner. I don't want my last few weeks at RVC to be like that! I want to enjoy my students and coworkers while I can! So my prayer right now is that I won't lose site of the joy I have in being here at RVC.

Lord,
     Protect my heart. Satan is trying to bring me down. Help me to focus on the truth and your love. I pray that I will be able to stay focused on finishing well at RVC and that you will be glorified. Please soften the heart of this mom and give me and the school's administrators wisdom as we work with her. I pray that I will find joy in everything I do here at school for the next few weeks. Thank you for the blessing of teaching here and the wonderful students you have given to me.
                       In Jesus Name, Amen.

Evening at home

Was a little anti-social this weekend.

Some of my favorite times at home involve these things! 

A Big Change

My grandma and I making pie last summer. 

       It is hard to believe that there are only 2 full weeks left of school! (I'm totally not counting the last week of school -- it consists of a big party on one day and a half day) Usually at this time I'm super excited about summer coming. This year I am excited about summer, but at the same time I'm feeling sad. This last day of school this year will be my last day teaching at RVCS. I've been teaching at RVCS for 6 years and it has been so much fun! Leaving is hard for me to do, but at the same time I'm excited about what the future holds.
       Where am I going? Wisconsin! I've accepted a job at a small Christian school around the corner from my grandparent's house. For the last few years I've thought about moving there to help them out. They are in their early 90s and probably shouldn't be living on their own anymore. I thought about going out there last year, but a teaching job wasn't open anywhere around and I need to work. I prayed about it and the door just seemed to be closed.
       Apparently that closed door was only temporary. This January the door flew open. I wasn't expecting it. It is neat when you can look back and see how God is working in your life. His plan is so much better than mine. I was asked by my grandparent's pastor to consider the 1st/2nd grade teaching position at their school. I prayed a lot about it and applied. I figured I'd apply and see what would happen. I continued to pray for the Lord's leading and peace. In February, or March...can't remember which month it was, I heard from the school about a phone interview. After the phone interview I flew out there during my spring break, touring the school, and had another interview. 2 days later they offered me the teaching position. Whoa!! More praying!
       So many thoughts were going through my head. As I went into that tour and interview I prayed for lightning from the Lord. Lightning didn't come though. There was no absolute clear sign of what I should do. My friends and family asked me how it went and what I was thinking about doing. I didn't know how to respond. So I kept praying. About a week after my trip to Wi I felt an incredible peace about teaching in Wi. It was such an amazing feeling.
       Needless to say, my grandparents are thrilled. I told them I'd be moving out there in July and they wondered why I was waiting so long! Ha! I'm so excited to be able to spend time with them and hopefully be a blessing to them. But at the same time I'm sad to leave my parents, sister, Danika, friends, and school.
       Ca is definitely home for me. This move to Wisconsin is going to be shocking I'm sure. I wonder how this California girl is going to do at shoveling snow for several months out of the year?!

Sad

It's sad when you hold your breath every time you check your school email because there might be an email from the parent you can't seem to please. 

But praise the Lord, God is in control. I know I can rely on Him! 

Oh my...

To the good looking guys riding bikes through the park today.
No I do not usually push a stroller with an American Girl doll in it and only an American Girl doll in it. I hope you had a good laugh over how ridiculous I looked! It is a shame that the owner of the doll was nowhere in site so I looked like a wanna-be mom walking next to my friend with a real baby in a stroller. No wonder I'm single! Lol!

That was followed by an older couple looking at my strangely, laughing with me, and then asking if I was practicing being a mommy. Lol! What an interesting walk it was! Good times!

Oceans

For as long as I can remember song lyrics have had a huge effect on me. I'm so thankful that God has blessed people with the ability to create amazing song lyrics that draw my attention to Christ. I'm also thankful for the beautiful way people create the music so these lyrics just flow out of my mouth. I'm definitely one who loves to harmonize and appreciates the music we sing in church. 
In the last several months there have been some great new worship songs in the Christian Music industry. We've been singing Hillsong United's "Oceans" for the last couple of months at my church. I love this song. As I was driving home tonight I was singing along to this song on the radio and the words to the bridge hit me even harder than before.  

"Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders
Let me walk upon the waters
Wherever You would call me
Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander
And my faith will be made stronger
In the presence of my Savior"

I've sung this bridge countless times and never really let the words sink in. So often I put a border on how much I'm going to trust the Lord. "I'll only trust you with this, and not with this." Why do I put that border on my trust in Him when I know that what He will do is so much greater than anything that I could possibly do. There is no limit to what Christ can do! Over the last couple of weeks I've been struggling with trusting God with everything. I feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster. One minute my faith is totally focused on Christ and the next I'm doubting and full of anxiety. I know that God is working at growing me closer to Him. The second half of that bridge is my prayer right now. "Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Savior." I know that as I trust God with EVERYTHING He will cause my faith the grow. 

The mess is coming to an end!

Well, for once I have an excuse for my crazy messy house/apartment...whatever you want to call it. I'm in the process of moving. By next weekend I should be all moved in to my new place. I'm really excited about it. It is a little bigger than where I am now and the location is so nice! But I think most of all I'm excited about a fresh start. As I've been packing and gradually moving things to my new place I've been purging. I have so much stuff. And a lot of it I don't need. My prayer is that I'm getting rid of enough stuff that I can enjoy the new space and not feel like it is totally packed like my current home is. A fresh start is going to be wonderful!

Here are some pics of the new place. Danika made sure to pose for every picture I took. :)

The living room is a little smaller than my current home. I may be surprised when I move my furniture in though. We'll see. All of the other space is bigger though.

Not sure why

I'm not sure why God allows certain things to happen in our lives. When hard things come up our initial reaction can often be "why Lord!" That has been my reaction today. Why did today have to go like it did? It wasn't a crazy life changing thing, but it was hard. In the midst of that I was reminded by a friend that God knows and for whatever reason He has me going through this trial. It makes me think back to a recent message I heard in church. "God is sovereign over every situation in your life. And since God sovereignly places us where we are, where we are is a place of worship." So my response needs to be to worship Him, surrender, and seek Him. It definitely is a hard thing to remember, but I really want that peace that I know God will give me when I seek Him.
So if nothing else because of this trial I am learning that through the trial I can and need to worship Him. I'm reminded of the worship chorus: "Lord, I need You. Oh, I need You. Every hour I need You. My one defense, my righteousness, Oh God, how I need you!" I think that song will be on my lips all day tomorrow.

Twelve

Not much to say for today. I spent the entire day on my couch with a box of kleenex and paper bag handy. Not feeling terrible, but the cough and majorly stuffed up nose put a damper on my weekend. I left the house once to get more kleenex. Ha! 

To make the evening a little more enjoyable I lit my Christmas candles. I love having candles lit. It makes my house feel cozy. 

Eleven

I love this girl so much! Friday was her sixth birthday. I can't believe that she is six already! Time is flying. Six years ago today I held her for the first time in the hospital. Such a wonderful memory. 

I love her excited for everything. For her birthday dinner she wanted rice cakes with cream cheese and bacon sandwiches. She let the rest of us put tomatoes and lettuce on our sandwiches along with the bacon. Then we went and saw Frozen together. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling good at all. I'm pretty sure that was the worst day of my cold. 

Ten

One of my students randomly handed me a bouquet of flowers after school on Thursday. I still don't know why since she wasn't at school on Friday. It was so sweet. Definitely brought a smile to my face. 

Nine

My friends tonight. 

Hoping this cold doesn't last long. 

My head is pounding...waiting for 8 to take some more. 

Eight

Tuesday we had our Christmas concert at school. I love my coworkers!! 

Wendy for her laughter. Betsy for her logic. Patti for her compassion. Kim for her help. Linda for her listening. Martha for prayer. 

I told them it should be our new tradition to take a group picture after every concert. 

Seven

One of my favorite ornaments. 

I've had this one for a long time and I always love putting it on my tree. 

Seven...

My computer is being goofy so I'll have to post "Seven" tomorrow. 

Six

I was blessed with two concerts today. This afternoon I was able to see my Dad direct and my Mom sing in the Healdsburg Chorus Christmas Concert. It was wonderful! The music was beautiful! 

I'm so proud of my parents and how they using their musical abilities to glorify God! I'm so blessed to have their example. 

The second concert was my church's Christmas Concert. And to my wonderful surprise I saw this lovely lady there! I'm praising the Lord with how far this girl has come since her back surgery a few weeks ago. God is good! (oh and I totally had to stand on my toes to be this level with her!) 

Five

Peanuts Uno with Dani this morning. I love our little sleepovers! 

Four

Took this cutie to Barnes and Noble tonight. We braved the cold and rain. 

Surprise, surprise she spent the entire time looking at Star Wars Angry Birds books. 

Since it is our school book fair the teachers went there and sang Christmas carols tonight. 

Three

Took my kiddos to Barnes and Noble today to sing Christmas Carols. 

I loved hearing them sweetly sing about Christ's birth. 

Such a simple yet great ministry opportunity! 

Treated them to some hot chocolate. Check out the result.
We had the 5th grade with us too so thats about 30 hot chocolates.
They loved it!
And I guess even the Starbucks workers were taking pictures of all of the red cups. :) 

Two

My favorite view this winter! 

I love my little tree. :) 

One

Favorite spot to sit this winter. 

A little hard to see but it is my parent's new gas fireplace. 

Love love love!! 

So thankful

I'm a little late in writing about thanksgiving, but better late than never! 

God has been so good to me! I have a wonderful family who loves me and loves the Lord. I've been blessed with great friends. I have a job that I love. And most of all I'm thankful that I am a child of God. Life would be terrible without the hope I have in Christ. 

Facepalm

Gotta love those days when you encourage a friend and later realize that you need to listen to you own advice. I just want to smack myself on the head and tell myself to get with it! So after telling my friend to start reciting God's truth and promises I now need to do that myself.
TRUTH: God loves me more than I can even imagine.
TRUTH: I have been saved and will spend eternity with Christ!