(i heart ms paint)

AND...who's to say we aren't?  :)

 But we still anticipate, Lord willing, a WONDERFUL weekend visiting our Sprouty-Sprout in Athens.

We would appreciate your prayers for....safe travels and an edifying weekend. 

Write-y mood

I am in a very write-y mood today.  I just need to focus in on a topic or two to write about. 

We're studying Timothy in our girls' Bible study right now.  Tonight was 1 Timothy 2. 

v.1: I exhort, therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men.

My first thought when I read this was, am I praying for all men?  Not that I think that's what this verse is telling us to do...clearly we don't know everyone so it is difficult to pray for all men without some ridiculous, sweeping generalization like, "I pray for everybody!" (Maybe that isn't ridiculous...?)  But, rather, is everyone I know getting prayer?  Is there someone I could pray for that no one else is praying for?  So after I read this I asked God to open my eyes to think of people I had interacted with that day who could maybe use a prayer.  The friendly, mustached custodian at school, the farmers I drove past on the way home, our principal....I don't know.  It was a good reminder.


And yes, this is 2 posts about prayer in a row, and I am writing this right after I said that tip-tapping a blog post about prayer while I could be praying is sort of silly.  So, you know, as a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool to his folly?  (That is me a lot.)  At least I am lying prone on my bed this time instead of supine, so I'm not contradicting everything I said in my last post...

In other news, well, it's been a busy few weeks.  The Sunday School Camp-Out was this past weekend!

:)  :)  :)  :)  :)

(Thanks for the pic, Syd)

It was delightful.....of course.  Speaking of prayer, it was a very good weekend, and we hope our relationships with the Sunday School kids continue to grow and prosper. :)

Mmmmmk.  G'night.

Being helpful

Often, when someone in need is on my mind, and I don't have the energy to spend time with that person or act in a hands-on sort of way, I think to myself, "Well, I could at least sit here and pray for that person.  That would be the least I could do..."

But really, that is backwards thinking.  Praying for someone would be the most I could do, provided I was praying sincerely...and not as an excuse to sit around... And by praying for the person, my love for the person would probably increase, and subsequently, my desire to act would increase. 

In conclusion, praying for someone is not the least I could do, and I should stop thinking so.  That being said, I cannot pray or act very effectively while I am lying supine on my bed, laptop on stomach, fingers tip-tapping a blog post. I should pray more often...and lie supine on my bed less often.

So, ta-ta. :)

How to Say No

...This is NOT a tutorial.  If it were, I would be the last person on Earth who should give it. It is more of a question.  Granted, sort of a rhetorical question.And please, spare me the speech pathology cracks... Yes, I know how to vocalize "No"... But When should I say No.....and, occasionally, Why should I say No?  That is the question.

Erica once gave me a book entitled, When I say No, I Feel Guilty... or something like that. :)  Good stuff-- I should dig it out again.  But I don't have trouble saying no when I really want to; it's more an issue of discerning when I should want to say no,  but don't. 

Where am I going with this?  Well, this week was really busy.  And I did a lot of extra-ish, social-type things, as usual.  I didn't regret doing any of these things.  The only other thing I would have been doing would probably be sleeping, and who needs that?  (Just kidding...oh, how I do love sleep.)  But what is my purpose and/or motivation in doing these things?  If I get more sleep, would I be more effective in my job?  Thinking of the 50 kids I'm serving at school, would I be of better use to them if I took a couple evenings off from the social schedule?  Most likely.  And that will probably come.  But for now, it seems like there are still some young'ns that need to be trained up just a bit more in certain YG traditions (i.e. PERKINS) before I bow out to focus on other things...and there always seems to be some family function back home on the weekends that I should make an appearance at...  So I'm treading some murky waters right now, trying to figure out my role and how I am supposed to be fitting into God's plan RIGHT NOW.

Someday, I might say no.  When it's necessary.  But for now, I'll probably just keep being a sucker. :)  For a little while, at least.

Turning....

On Sunday afternoon, I got to hang out briefly with one of my favorite groups of people, which I call “UIYG 1”.  It was super fun to see everyone.  Some things never change, and some things do.  This simple little thought gave me simultaneous hope and sadness for the seemingly imminent morphing/scattering of “UIYG 2” in the next year.  And “UIYG 3: The Next Generation”, is upon us…which is good to see.  Mostly.  I mean, it is good.

I went from that little gathering to my parents’ house, where I had similar thoughts about another one of my favorite groups of people…..my family.  A few things never change, but most things do...  

Shortly thereafter, I felt a strong urge to bury my head under a blanket somewhere.  From dislike of change... or from the usual over-stimulation of seeing 8 ridiculously adorable children running down a picturesque green hill wearing matching homemade capes that say "Super Cool Cousins"?  You decide. :)

Either way, having a hyper-nostalgic personality can be really exhausting at times...