A Lifetime of Love

"Jesus said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you; go in peace'." ~Luke 7:50 I am going to share a secret with you (my reader, whoever you are): I carry an immense amount of guilt with me about my abortion 13 1/2 years ago. I know that when I placed my faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save me, all my past sins were forgiven (even my abortion) and I am now righteous before the Lord (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:1-9, Romans 5:8-9). However, the pain and guilt as a result of such a horrific sin were often brought to the forefront of my mind each time I heard the word 'abortion.' I have been struggling and dealing with these emotions for a long time; I even consulted with my pastor looking for wisdom and insight about the forgiveness offered by the Lord. Sunday I received my answer in the form of the above verse. Do you see what it says? Did you read the words carefully? It says my faith has saved me; GO IN PEACE . That is such a freeing statement that I immedia...

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us," ~Ephesians 3:20 Today the little kids have their end-of-the-year parties at preschool. I just cannot believe how fast this year went by, and how gracious the Lord has been to us this school year, particularly to me. I keep thinking about and meditating on the above verse, and how the Lord has truly shown Himself to me through this verse not only over the course of the school year, but my entire life. He has answered so many prayers, and provided for me in ways that I never could have imagined. God really is so good despite the fact that I am so undeserving of any of His blessings. Let me share just a few of the ways the Lord has blessed and encouraged me: · Salvation- this in itself is a miracle and you can read my testimony here . · Meeting TJ- read about our life together here and here . · Miscarriage- God used my grief for His glory. Read about it ...

"When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? The Lord is in his holy temple; the Lord is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them." ~Psalm 11:3-4 I'm still here. Not much to say or write about in regards to me or my immediate family, at least not anything that really matters in light of eternity. Received some news this evening at church. Brandon, a 12-year-old boy in my church, battled a brain tumor at the age of 9. He found out this morning it returned. His mom, Kristy, notified my pastor this afternoon, and my pastor notified the church family tonight. Yes, I wrote church family, because we are a family. We laugh together, cry together, encourage and support one another, and pray for each other. Brandon's news is testing the foundations of our faith as a church; however, as the above verse continues, the Lord still reigns and is in control over the situation. In my human-ness and limited understanding as ...

I just wrapped up my first week of being out of school. Surprisingly, I stayed constantly busy! I thought I would have more time to get all of my "To Do" list items completed, but I was wrong. With the few weeks of school that remain for the kids, I am trying to stay involved and volunteer. I spent time in the classroom at the preschool and Th's school this week, as well as chaperoned a field trip yesterday. We had fun and my kids are enjoying the one-on-one time with me. I am also trying to get ready for VBS. I am teaching again this year. I have the privilege of teaching the 5/6th grade boys. I am excited and need to get working on decorations for my classroom. The theme this year is "Polar Extremes." I thought I would decorate the class with a snow theme. I plan to incorporate some fake snow, if I can find it at the craft stores. Since it's almost summer, I don't know if it will be available to purchase. Despite everything else, most of my thoughts r...

Teagan is 7 months old today! I can’t believe how fast the time passed since her birth, especially in the last 2 months since she’s been receiving Early Intervention services. She has made such great progress with the help of her Early Interventionist (EI) and physical therapist (PT). In fact, this past Sunday, Teagan finally began rolling over independently! T.G. was sick so I kept her home from church Sunday night. I had her in the bathtub, trying to bring her fever down a bit. I had Teagan playing on the carpet right outside the bathroom door. I had placed her on her back and put some toys just out of her grasp, reachable only when she rolled onto her side. I was washing T.G. and periodically checking on Teagan. I heard Teagan begin to fuss, and when I turned around to check on her, she had rolled onto her belly! I was very excited! She rolled 2 more times before I actually witnessed her rolling, and then she did it again yesterday for her EI. I can’t wait to show her PT her new ski...

Hi there! Remember me? I'm still here, struggling to get all my "paperwork" finished by tomorrow, Wednesday at the latest. Plus, it's Spring Break, and someone has at least one appointment every day. Today it was my turn. Fun. My sis and Kaylee are coming tomorrow. They were supposed to arrive last weekend but I had too much schoolwork to do. I still do. I wrote 2 assignments and submitted them. They were all wrong. I misunderstood the assignment. I had to re-write most of it. 19 pages and countless hours wasted over 1 simple word that was omitted from the directions. What word, you ask? Lesson plans that include completed assessments. I submitted my lesson plans and left out the data. I still have 2 more assignments to finish before Thursday. I also have to teach 1 lesson next Monday for my final observation. After that, I'll be DONE! Graduation is in 26 days. PRAISE THE LORD!!!!!!!!!

The PT evaluation is complete; I am just waiting to go over the “official” results with Kathy (the PT) and Crystal (EI) on Thursday. Unofficially, Kathy said that Teagan has a 2-3 month delay, which doesn’t seem so bad until you consider she is just now 6 months old. It means she functions as a 3-4 month old baby- not good! It sort of took me by surprise and I really can’t help but blame myself, mostly for my lack of unavailability to “play” with her like I did with the others. On the bright side, at least I put my pride aside and was able to get her the help that she needs, and just since Friday’s meeting with Kathy, I have already seen some progress. Teagan has learned that she can roll from her side to her back by using her arm for momentum. It may seem like a small feat, but it’s a step closer to rolling over. Also, she has been grabbing her feet more, and she enjoys playing “Peek-a-Boo” and me singing the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and “Pat-a-Cake” using her legs. I had her sitting for a...