Christmas in a hospital

Well, the past few days have been a little crazy for our family. My Grandpa (Dad's Dad) is in the hospital in Knoxville and my Grandma (Mom's Mom) is in the hospital in Athens. Mom and I are leaving at 5 am tomorrow to go stay with my Grandma while my Dad is staying at the hospital in Knoxville. So we have decided to postpone celebrating Christmas until I get back from Pennsylvania. It will be hard this year, but God is always good and He is always in control. There's always something I can praise Him for!

I'm a Preschool Teacher!

Well, again God has provided for my needs in an amazing way! I'm so thankful that I serve a God who is continually faithful and always shows Himself to me in wonderful ways. I had been working in the Children's home as a substitute for a few weeks and they just weren't able to hire me full time. Because I'm trying to go back to school in August, I need a full time job with good pay. I was really discouraged at first because I really wanted to stay at the children's home. I had become very close to them but I knew that if I continued to work there I would never leave. So I prayed about it and talked to my parents about it and the next day I got a call from a preschool that I had taken my resume to back in August. I had an interview the following day and got the job! I am now teaching a class of 8 two yr olds and I love it! They are so smart and I'm so proud of the progress that they've made. They know all of their shapes and colors and can count to ten. They also know the days of the week and the months in order. This is such an important age and they are learning alot! Potty training is very......interesting! We're still working on that one!:) I feel so blessed to be able to go to work everyday and teach these cute kiddos...God is good!

Leavin' on a jet plane!

I am always amazed at how God brings people into our lives in the most wonderful ways. I met Mike a few years ago in college and we have been friends ever since. He is such a great guy and I have enjoyed getting to know him better over the past few months. For a couple of years he has been working in Hawaii at a Christian school. And he will be coming home (Pennsylvania) next month for Christmas........and yes, I will be flying to PA to see him!! I am definitely looking forward to spending some time with him and meeting his family:)

Ephesians 3

For the past week I have been reading through Ephsians 3 and verse 12 has constantly been on my mind... "In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him." In society today we are continuously told that each person needs to build up his self confidence. He must be proud of who he is and love himself. Well, the more I studied this verse the more I realized that the only confidence a christian should have is confidence in Christ. We are NOTHING and we have NOTHING apart from Him. In John it tells us that "He must increase". And in order for that to happen, we must decrease. Confidence doesn't come from loving yourself and being proud of who you are........It comes from knowing that the God of this world chose to send His Son to die for wicked people who don't deserve His love. A person's worth and value are found in Christ and Christ alone. We can come before Him in confidence because He is the One who gave us this confidence!

Therapeutic Crisis Intervention Training

Today was my first day of job training and my brain hurts!!! We spent 8 hrs on Therapeutic Crisis Intervention and there is so much I need to know before I move in with the kids. There are many details that I normally wouldn't have thought about, but with the situations that we deal with we have to know every aspect of how we can deal with each child. As I was reading some of the Crisis materials, my heart broke for these kids. They need God's love and I pray that He will love them through me. I'm so excited to see what God is going to do! This will be a very difficult and overwhelming experience at times, but God's plan is so much better than mine! Please keep me and the kids in your prayers!

My Sister

Most people know that my sister and I are freakishly linked....we know everything about each other! We've always had a close relationship and she was my first and best friend. We've had our fights ( one in particular involved a hairbrush and tooth paste) but we've always managed to make up. When we were kids I believed EVERYTHING my sister told me......because I was such a trusting person :) Well here are a few things my sister told me that have proven to be very untrue...

1. Lightening bugs will turn into faries if you catch them and put them in a peanut butter jar.

2. Aligators live in the couch and come out at night

3. I was adopted

4. My family found me on the door step

5. Kissing a frog WILL make it become a prince

6. If you climb into the dryer it will eat you

7. If you swallow a seed, that fruit will grow inside you and eventually you will die.

I could name many more but these were the ones that made me laugh the most!

10,000 Miles

I remember the day when I first saw your face
And I knew my heart would be changed
Your friendship brought joy and I loved every part
You always had the right words to say
But it was your smile that changed my day

And I'd cross every ocean and climb every peak
I'd travel the world to see you
And I'd face all my fears and courageously fight
For the one that's worth fighting for
And I'd run 10,000 miles to see you smile


You took all the bad and long,boring days
And you made them all just slip away
You may never know what my heart truly feels
But this one thing will always be true

I'd cross every ocean and climb every peak
I'd travel the world to see you
And I'd face all my fears and courageously fight
For the one that's worth fighting for
And I'd run 10,000 miles to see you smile

Living Hope

When I went to China in July 2005 it completely changed my life. I remember stepping off the plane in Fuzuoh and wanting to go back home immediately! It was hot, it smelled bad, and I hadn't slept in 21 hrs. When we finally made it to the hotel, I spent alot of time asking God why He brought me here. It was a long first night. The next day I met my students and I knew why I was there...to share the love of Christ with them. It was so easy to love each one of them and I loved being there teacher. Each child was so special to me. One of my favorite times of the day was at 6:45 am. I would go up to my class room and sit in the desks of each student and just pray for them. I felt like I had developed such a close bond with each of them. I was not able to openly speak about my relationship with Christ and because of that I realized what it meant to share Jesus with your life. I didn't have my words, but I did have my actions. I miss those kids so much and I pray that I'll be able to see them again one day.

Living Hope orphanage was such an awesome experience. As soon as I walked in the door I knew that God had given me such a special love for these kids. I spent hours playing, coloring, singing, dancing, and hugging these kids. All they wanted was someone to love them. Ever since then I've known that adoption was defnitely something that I would do and hopefully God would give me the opportunity to open my own orphanage. I'm so thankful that God gives us opportunities to serve Him even though He doesn't need us.

Forgiven in Full

I don't know about you but sometimes I struggle with doubting the forgiveness that God gives. There are certain things that I specifically struggle with and sometimes I feel like all I do is ask for God's forgiveness again and again. When I was in highschool we went to camps and youth retreats where I would make a "committment" not do something. And my new life style would last a good two weeks and then I would be in the same situation again...struggling with sin. It wasn't until I was in college that I actually realized that I would ALWAYS struggle with sin because I am a sinful person. I then remembered something my youth pastor said a long time ago..."God wants you to take joy in the fact that He paid your debt in full." So many times I give into feeling defeated over my sin that I forget to take joy in the fact that Christ died for my sin! And with HIS strength (and none of my own) we can fight the battle of sin! God doesn't hold our sin against us; once we repent He forgives us completely. (Psalm 32:2) One of my favorite songs is Before the Throne of God. The second verse will always remind me that "He made an end to all my sin."

When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there,
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just is satisfied
to look on Him and pardon me.

New Job!!

Well, for the past few weeks I have been doing nothing but looking for a job. I have passed out over 30 copies of my resume and have had no luck. My mom was looking online at different jobs when she came across Tamassee DAR School. I had never heard of this school and decided to check it out. It is a school/children's home that deals with families in crisis. As soon as I called the director and had my first interview, I knew that this was the place for me. The position I'm taking is called the Parent/Teacher position. This means that I will be living in a house with 8 children and just basically being their mother. All of these children come from difficult situations and they need alot of love and care. I will hopefully be able to start part time in two weeks and then after the training period I'll be hired on full time. My goal and the goal of the director is that after I graduate I will be the case manager. I'm so thankful for God's provision and I'm excited to see how His plan unfolds!

Here is a link to the website...check it out! www.tdarschool.org

New Phase of Life

Sometimes I am amazed at how life changes so fast and so drastically. One minute you have your life completely planned out and the next minute you have no idea what will happen next. This is kind of where I am in life right now. I don't know what's coming next and this is not the easiest place to be. But God has taught me so much. Throughout all of the inconsistencies of life, God is always faithful. He never changes and His grace is always sufficient. I found a quote by Hudson Taylor that has been such an encouragement and challenge to me ... "I'm no longer anxious about anything, as I realize that He is able to carry out His will for me. It doesnot matter where He places me or how. That is for Him to consider, not me; for in the easiest positions He will give me grace, and in the most difficult ones His grace is sufficient."

So for now I will enjoy the journey and always be willing to follow where He leads....