Thankful Beyond Measure

Today I've spent Christmas with a missionary family here. I am always humbled by the goodness of God's people. This wonderful family has taken me in as one of their own and treated me like part of the family. I almost cried this morning spending time with them. Something new that I've never experienced before was a treasure hunt for presents. A tradition this family has is writing a quatrain to find your next gift. So you read the poem to make it to your next present and next clue. They were quite amusing poems and we had many laughs. We read the Christmas story at lunch and it's always good to be reminded of the importance of why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. It's been a great day! :-)

Merry Christmas!

It's 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve and I'm pretty excited about Christmas tomorrow. I'm looking forward to making some new memories.

Sleigh Bells Ring, Are You Listenin'?

I am in the Christmas mood today. It could be because tomorrow is the last day of school before three weeks off. (insert EXCITEMENT here) Yes, I just said 3 weeks! I am in desperate need of a break. Please pray for the staff as many will be traveling. Please pray for me as well as I've been inwardly grouchy lately from lack of sleep. I tend to have a hard time sleeping when I've got a lot on my mind. And I always have a lot on my mind as it nears the end of a nine week grading period. We have our class Christmas party tomorrow which should be a lot of fun. Famine relief is Saturday and I'll try to remember to take pictures and post them.

Critters

I have to say that the tree outside my classroom is the best tree on campus. I've seen three animals in it already this year. First there was a vervet monkey, then a sykes monkey, and then a hyrax. I didn't have my camera the day the hyrax climbed in my tree. I used my computer a few weeks later when I saw the hyrax again.

Interesting fact: The nearest relative to the hyrax is the elephant. Don't believe me? Check out the dictionary. :-)

Church and Nerf

Yesterday we had our Christmas program at church. It went well. The children were adorable singing their songs. We had a luncheon after church. The food and fellowship were both good.

I was so exhausted from the day that I ended up falling asleep after I got home. When I woke up I gathered my clothes to take over to a friend's house to wash. When I arrived at her house she, her kids, a visiting kid, and another friend were all playing a nerf war. Of course once I started my laundry I joined in. When I played I got to use the water gun since there weren't enough nerf guns. By the end we were all sweaty and wet. It was probably one of the best times I've had this year. It's nice to know people with kids because then you have an excuse to act childish and play games. :-)

At Your Feet

The following song has been the theme of my heart the past few weeks. How precious it is to first of all know the Lord, but how much better it is that I have access to Him all day, every day. Anytime I stray from Him even a little and think that there might be better elsewhere He patiently waits for me to return. He doesn't judge me or think ill of me but loves me unconditionally. Without Him my life would be empty and meaningless.

Here at your feet
I lay my past down
My wanderings, all my mistakes down
I am free
Here at your feet
I lay this day down
Not in my strength, but in yours I have found
All I need, you’re all I need

Chorus:
Jesus, Jesus at your feet
Oh to dwell and never leave
Jesus, Jesus at your feet
There is no where else for me
There is no where else for me

Here at your feet I lay my future down
All of my dreams I give to you now
I find rest, I find peace

Chorus

Here at your feet I lay my life down
For you my king, you’re all I want now
And my soul sings

Chorus

Quiet Time

I've started something new in Bible this week. I teach my students Bible for 45 minutes every day. I have started having them read in the Bible the last 10-15 minutes of class. I told them to start in Genesis and that each day they'd continue where they left off. Today was so encouraging because several of them were discussing what they were reading with other students on the way to morning recess. It's neat to hear the excitement in their voices. I think they're surprised at how interesting the Bible is. If they get nothing else from 5th grade I'd like for them to fall in love with God's Word.

"If we expect great things from God we will receive them." I don't know where I heard that quote but I like it. In the soon to be 12 years since I received Christ I have witnessed some pretty amazing things. I have seen God move in spectacular ways and I'm learning that the evident movement of God is not necessarily seen everywhere. God is everywhere and always working but so many times we miss out on what God is doing in the here and now because we are distracted. I have begun to pray for revival - both at my school and my church. I believe that if God's gets a hold of the youth and the youth take hold to God then remarkable things can happen.

FRiEnDs

I've been trying lately to daily count my blessings. Today I am thanking the Lord for friends. Do you ever notice how sometimes you can become instant friends with a person and then other times it may take years before you warm up to each other? Very few of my friends were instant friends. Even my two best friends were acquaintances for a while before we got close and eventually became best friends. I am thankful for all my close friends!! The reason I know I can open up to them and our friendship can abound is because we encourage each other in the Lord. Many of the godliest and most trustworthy people I know are my friends. I'm glad that they tell me the truth even if it'll hurt because they know in the long run that it's best for me. I'm thankful that we can pray together and pray for each other. I thank God for all the wonderful people he's allowed into my life!!