Number 26

Today is my sister Nancy's birthday. She is in Florida with my mom and other sister, Karen. (sniff) Somewhere along the line, we have gotten in the habit of buying each other strange cards featuring three sisters. We then assign each other the appropriate "match-up" to the stranger in the picture. So, in honor of our twisted ritual, I send these pictures to you, Nancy. Have a wonderful day! You are loved...so very much!

Nancy, you are the one in the middle, wearing the more daring "v-neck" as Karen points it out for the camera and I try to plead with you to not go out in public with such revealing apparel!!!

You and I showing off our new scarves!


Hmm...who's who in this one???

There's nothing like the real thing!!! Didn't we have fun???

Lounging on Harv's boat!

Abba

Abba. Scripture tells us that Abba is Aramaic for Father. Jesus instructs us to call God Abba. Just think about that for a minute. What a closeness we are allowed to have with our God. We are His children, and He delights in being our Father.

When I am down in the dumps, I have a tendency to forget that God is my heavenly Father. I act more like an orphan. I start getting all anxious about how I am ever going to handle the "junk" of life...and I forget. I forget that I'm not alone. I forget that I belong to Someone. I am a child of the King!!!

When I start to remind myself of WHO I belong to, my heart calms down. No need to worry. My Father is going to take care of me. He always has, and He always will.

Life has been pretty difficult lately and I've needed to be reminded of my Father's love for me over and over and over. Maybe someone reading this today feels the same way. If you do, I hope you enjoy this story and I hope that it will remind you of this fact: if you know that Jesus is your Savior, then God is your Father. We never have to act like an orphan. We never have to ask, "Who's my daddy?"

A seminary professor was vacationing with his wife in Gatlinburg , TN. One morning, they were eating breakfast at a little restaurant, hoping to enjoy a quiet, family meal. While they were waiting for their food, they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting with the guests. The professor leaned over and whispered to his wife, 'I hope he doesn't come over here.' But sure enough, the man did come over to their table.

'Where are you folks from?' he asked in a friendly voice.

' Oklahoma ,' they answered.

'Great to have you here in Tennessee ,' the stranger said... 'What do you do for a living?'

'I teach at a seminary,' he replied.

'Oh, so you teach preachers how to preach, do you? Well, I've got a really great story for you.' And with that, the gentleman pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the couple.

The professor groaned and thought to himself, 'Great .. Just what I need ... another preacher story!'

The man started, 'See that mountain over there? (pointing out the restaurant window). Not far from the base of that mountain, there was a boy born to an unwed mother. He had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked the same question, 'Hey boy, Who's your daddy?' Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, 'Who's your daddy?'

He would hide at recess and lunch time from other students. He would avoid going in to stores because that question hurt him so bad. 'When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, 'Who's your daddy?'

But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast that he got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about him, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, 'Son, who's your daddy?'

The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, 'Who's your daddy?'

'This new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to that scared little boy. 'Wait a minute! I know who you are! I see the family resemblance now, You are a child of God.'

With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, 'Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it.'

The boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, 'Who's your Daddy?' he'd just tell them , 'I'm a Child of God.''

The distinguished gentleman got up from the table and said, 'Isn't that a great story?' The professor responded that it really was a great story!

As the man turned to leave, he said, 'You know, if that new preacher hadn't told me that I was one of God's children, I probably never would have amounted to anything!' And he walked away. The seminary professor and his wife were stunned. He called the waitress over and asked her, 'Do you know who that man was -- the one who just left that was sitting at our table?'

The waitress grinned and said, 'Of course. Everybody here knows him. That's Ben Hooper. He's governor of Tennessee.'

Choosing To Believe

I have had a week full of welcome and unwelcome surprises.

This is a picture of my MOST welcome surprise!!! This is Jean and her beautiful family. Jean was a student from my very first class that I ever taught in my whole life...I was squeaky clean out of college when I taught her in 6th grade. I also had her for 7th grade and 8th grade...poor child!!! That class was and forever will be very near and dear to my heart. We had so much fun together! When they were in 8th grade, our big goal for the year was to have a class play. This was uncharted territory for Calvin Christian, but I think we blazed a pretty awesome trail! We performed "Cheaper By the Dozen" and each and every student contributed and helped in some way. Jean was the mother of the whole brood and carried off her part with a confident spirit that belied her tender age of thirteen.

Jean and I have kept in touch over the years, but imagine how high my heart leapt when she told me she was coming to Houston!!! We had dinner together on Monday night, and closed the place down! It was thrilling to listen to her life story and marvel at God's faithfulness and unfailing love. Jean now lives in Tuscon with her five (!) children, and I can't believe her oldest is in her first year of college. It was wonderful to see her again after 30 some years!

Because of my late evening out on Monday, I wasn't quite ready to face Tuesday. I was thinking up all sorts of excuses in my head of ways I could get out of working. But, I pushed the thoughts aside and valiantly, albeit sleepily, ventured out to conquer the day. Despite my contrary spirit, I was happily blessed by each student. I just love those little "joys" in life that God sprinkles unexpectedly in my path!

My first "joy" came from my Arabian student. She joyfully told me how she talked on the phone to her parents and told them all about me. She told them I was very beautiful (!) and that I was very nice. My travel time to my next student is about 30 minutes. During my drive time, I thanked God for His blessing of encouragement. I marveled at how He allowed me to teach someone from Saudi Arabia. I also found myself amazed that my name was spoken in Arabic and that I was described to her family so far away. Simply amazing!

My next student is new to me. We have only had a few lessons. She is from Columbia and is jaw-dropping gorgeous! She has two precious sons who are 4 and 5 years old. At these early stages of their time in the U.S., they are still figuring a lot of things out. During these weeks, I am more than just a language teacher. I help them walk through the puzzling maze of adjustment. I grocery shop with them, help them find different stores or shopping centers. I have even gone to the doctor with them! Well, Tuesday was one of those special "new moments" with Caterine. Her husband is out of town and it was her oldest son's birthday. She is used to having many friends and family members to share "fiestas" with...but here, in this new country, it would only be the three of them - not even her husband would be able to celebrate. In an almost tearful question, she asked if I could sing with them, eat cake, and open the presents. Those Latinos sure know how to party! I LOVE the way they celebrate! Even the way they sing "Happy Birthday" is much more exciting than our version. I was so thankful I could be there and help them ease through a day that might have seemed a little lonely.

Okay, so those were my welcome events...yesterday held the unwelcome events. I won't linger long on these. Suffice it to say that yesterday gave new meaning to the saying, "When it rains, it pours"! The final jolt came when I got a call from Bill telling me his radiator was shot and he was stuck on the highway. After all the fun of finding a tow truck and hearing the total cost to repair the car, we drove home exhausted and in silence. As we turned into our subdivision, Bill said, "I assume this is blog worthy?" Yes, dear, it is! What a day!

Finally I was able to do a little quiet time reading. I was encouraged by this question: Is Romans 8:28 still in the Bible? Good question to ponder. Helps me keep things in perspective!

Max Lucado reminds us, “It all works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out yet, then it’s not the end.” So...it isn't the end...except for when it comes to this post!

Thank you, Father, for the challenges as well as the joys that You send. Both are allowed by You and both will shape my character. My prayer is that I will always remember that I am Your child. Forgive me for the many times I act more like an orphan!

Let's Pay Teachers to Babysit

A friend of mine, and a fellow teacher from my days in Mississippi, sent me this article. When I read the title, the hairs on the back of my head began to tingle a bit. Few things rile me more than the deplorable state of our educational system. And jumbled up in that mess is the horrible salaries teachers make. There is always some wise guy who brings up the issue of teachers only working 180 days out of the year. Well, to proverbial "Mr. Wiseguy" out there, I humbly submit this article. I think it presents things from an interesting perspective.

Are you sick of high paid teachers? Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do - baby sit! We can get that for less than minimum wage.



That’s right. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time, or any time they spend before or after school. That would be $19.50 a day (7:45 to 3:00 PM with 45 min. off for lunch and plan — that equals 6 1/2 hours).



Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to baby-sit their children.



Now how many do they teach in day…maybe 30? So that’s $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year!!! I am not going to pay them for any vacations.



LET’S SEE…. That’s $585 X 180= $105,300 per year. (Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries).



What about those special education teachers and the ones with Master’s degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children

X 180 days = $280,800 per year.



Wait a minute — there’s something wrong here! There sure is!



The average teacher’s salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students=$9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student–a very inexpensive baby-sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!)

WHAT A DEAL!!!!

Gotch Day

I have posted here before about adoption. It is a topic very dear to my heart. I marvel at the courage of birthmothers...what a tremendously difficult decision it must be to give a child up for adoption. I also marvel that in this day of all-too-easy-abortions, the story of adoption continues.

Yesterday, I met via Facebook, a family that just adopted. I tried and tried to find a way to post their "Gotcha Day" video here on my blog. ("Gotch Day" is what adoptive parents call the day when the child is actually place in their arms.) Well, for some reason, I just couldn't figure it out! Frustrating!!!! I did, however, figure out a way to post their blog, where you can view their heart-warming video. I hope you all take a few minutes out of your day to visit their blog and follow their story...it will put a smile on your face. It will also put a smile in your heart!

http://flitterbugsblog.blogspot.com

UPDATE!!!! I figured it out!!!!!!!!

Did you know....

While talking with a friend of mine last week, he shared some staggering statistics that, I must admit, never crossed my mind. Maybe they never crossed your mind either. And then yesterday, another friend sent me this video on the same topic. I'm curious...how do these facts make you feel? I found them to be rather staggering and a bit unsettling (or maybe it was the music!!!!!).

Do You Text and Drive?

Very sad, but a message that needs to be shared...

Retirement Home Talent Show

A friend sent this to me and I thought it was priceless! Somehow, I can't quite envision this happening at the Holland Home!!

An Interesting Path

Travelers, there is no path; paths are made by walking.

Antonio Mechado

This morning I was washing my face...well, I take that back. It was more like I was splashing myself awake. I'm going to be honest here. I'm not a morning girl. Every ounce of me wishes that I was. I wish I was that strong, self-disciplined woman that wakes with the sun, walks/exercises, gets in a good hour of quiet time, sits at the table enjoying coffee while catching up on the recent news.

Oh, how I wish I could proudly declare that I was that kind of woman. I'm not. I never have been. I can burn the midnight oil with the best of them, but, alas, a morning person I am not.

And so I roll my grouchy old body out of bed at the last second, splash water on my face to wake up, try my best to look presentable, and head out the door. I leave the house by 7:30 in order to reach the town of Sugarland by 8:00. Enroute, I either listen to praise music and talk to God, or I have a Beth Moore Bible study via DVD, or a combination of all three. I don't drink coffee (never have!), and I'm usually never hungry when I first wake up, so I grab a big glass of ice water that stays in the car with me all day long and gets replenished from time to time.

My first student is a young married mother of three. She is from Saudi Arabia. She is living here for one year while her husband manages a petroleum project here in Houston for his country. He speaks English. She does not. She has only been in the States since Christmas. In the few weeks that I have taught her, she has learned a lot! Her progress is amazing. I mean, how does someone that normally reads and writes from right to left suddenly change gears? How does our alphabet make any sense to her? Her alphabet doesn't make any sense to me! But there we sit, from 8 - 10, and we have fun together.

Starting Thursday, I add another student. She is from Columbia. She doesn't speak any English. So we'll start from scratch, learning the alphabet, learning our long and short vowels, learning the sounds of our consonants, etc. etc.

I digress! Back to this morning, as I splashed water on my face...I thought about the interesting path God has chosen for me. It's certainly not one that I would have chosen for myself. I have no earthly idea why, but this morning my mind (which LOVES to travel about on its own and is known to wander about quite aimlessly!) thought about Norma Potts and high school study hall. We both had just broken up with our boyfriends and thought our lives were over (at the tender age of 16!!!). I distinctly remember writing her a note during study hall that said "Just think, Norma...ten years from now we will both be married and living happily ever after!"

Well, it was a nice thought. But ten years after I wrote that note, I wasn't married. Either was Norma!

So why am I writing all of this? I guess it's to remind myself that God has a plan - a path - and it might not seem like such a wonderful path while I'm on it, but as I look back, I realize that it's not only a good path, it's a GREAT path!!!

I mean, who ever thought I would still be teaching? Not me! I was ready to hang up the towel long ago! And never, in my wildest dreams, would I think I would share my mornings with a young, pregnant woman from a far-away land. Or that I would spend my Thursdays with a 12 year old from Japan. Or have the joy of listening to countless stories from people that have lived all over the world. Or have the blessing of helping a 48 year old woman return to college to fulfill her dream of teaching. And who could have ever thought up the idea of moving me from Michigan to Mississippi? And now Houston! Not me! I'm the one that made permanent marks on I65 by digging in my heels when I had to move to Mississippi.

Once again, I find myself holding on tightly to the knowledge that God has a plan - and reminding myself that my job is to trust and to obey. Once again I find myself at a crossroads on this path called "life". Once again, I feel the path changing. Once again I'm being asked to venture out into the "unknown". But I'm not fretting. I'm trusting. And I sorta' can't wait to find out where His path will lead to next. I can only say this because of the One who is leading me. He's never failed me yet! And I know that He never will.

How about your path? Ponder today all the delightful twists and turns you have taken, that you would have never in a million years chosen to take. Think of how God has used those detours to mold and shape your character. Yes, indeed! God always has the perfect path - custom-made - for each one of us!

You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 16:11

Oh WOW!!!

I've been cleaning. It is mind boggling how much "stuff" I am able to hoard! There is a new show on OWN (Oprah's new network) where a man helps people discover the "why" behind all their stuff. I guess it's rather convicting...it has me cleaning out things that I should have gone through five years ago!

One of the bags I went through was full of mud-encrusted jewelry that I salvaged from the aftermath of Katrina. Even with all the dirt, it was very apparent what was the "good stuff". The chains were broken and knotted, but they glistened and proudly showed off that they were, indeed, gold!

The pieces were of no sentimental value to me, so I had Bill go to the "Gold Store" to see if they would buy the gold. They did!!! He just came home with $83.00!

WOW!! Once again, I know this will be filed away for a good illustration at one of my talks or in my book...but that's for another day. Right now I have to clean some more!

In Memory

On January 7, I wrote a good bye to our sweet dog, Gracie. I know many people can't relate to the loss of a family pet. "They're just dogs!" is what I'm sure many people think. For us, Gracie was a part of our family and she taught us so much about unconditional love. She was always there to greet each one of us whenever we came home...always so happy to see us!

Well, over the last few weeks, we have received a few things in memory of Gracie. The first thing to come was a card. It was signed by all of the staff of the Vet Hospital. And not just their signatures...most of them wrote a special little note to us about our sweet dog. They also enclosed a poem.

Then a package arrived. I carefully unwrapped the delicate piece from the protection of bubble wrap. The clinic sent us a plaster impression of Gracie's paw. It is a precious keepsake.

And then yesterday, another card came. This one stated that our vet made a contribution in Gracie's name. It is to a Christian Vet Society that provides medical help to animals throughout the world. That just made my heart smile. It's so Gracie...that gesture just captured the essence of the type of dog she was...she was always so ready and willing to give of herself. I like the thought of knowing that in some small way, she is still reaching out and helping others through this ministry.

Some people may read this and think all of this talk about a dog is rather "stupid". I disagree. I'm thankful to a God that created such a vast array of animals. And I'm thankful for the one He sent our way. And I'm thankful for all the love she poured into us for so many years.

Hummingbird

A friend of mine sent me this video. I found it charming! Now I want my own hummingbird!

This is my third video that I posted today...can you tell that all my classes were canceled and that I am stuck in the house because of the icy roads????? Houston had over 300 accidents today because of the ice.

Adopted For Life

I just "accidentally" ran across this free download offer. I say "accidentally" in quotation marks because I know it was no accident. I have many friends dealing with different aspects of adoption. I hope you can access this free audiobook download of "Adopted For Life" and that it will be a blessing to you as you travel the road of adoption.
http://christianaudio.com/free

Weather Update

Yesterday I posted about the hysteria that Houston is experiencing because of the weather. This video will give my Northern readers a little insight into the South's tolerance of cold weather. By the way, we did not get any snow, but we did have an ice storm and it closed EVERYTHING...I even got an email from my grocery store that it would be closed until tomorrow. Gotta love the Southern Experience!

Funny� Snow in � The Blogs at HowStuffWorks
Houston

Brrrrrr......

Weather is consuming the news these days, isn't it! My daughter's college has closed. The Chicago Public Schools have closed for the first time in 12 years. Even Lake Shore Drive in Chicago was closed to all traffic.

Now, I can understand all the "hoop-la" over the Chicago weather...after all, they received about two feet of snow. But, here, in Houston, the weather is also capturing a lot of attention. I really don't understand why, however.

We have no snow (Yet! We will probably get 1 - 2 inches on Friday.). The only thing that has happened is that our temperature has dipped into the 20's. But this uncharacteristically cold weather has plunged the fourth largest city in the United States into "crisis mode"!

Schools have closed! Our water didn't work most of the day. Shopping centers are deserted. Even Chick Fil A was closed for Pete's sake!!!!!

I guess it's all relative. Most people here have never had to cope with two feet of snow, unlike those of us who know what it's like to shovel a sidewalk or defrost icy windows.

So, I'm giving you all fair warning...if I suddenly 'disappear' for a few days, chances are that our cell phones have frozen and that all technology has come to a halt because it's cold in Houston.