i love our little cherubs

Kids are the fastest way to my heart and the kids of Second Mile have surely captured my heart. I am blessed to even be a part of the community of Second Mile, let alone be able to teach the kids. Over the past two and a half years it has been my goal to develop relationships with all of them. Yes, I want to be the fun one but I also want to be someone they can talk to about anything going on in life. It's a hard balance, but I'm working on it.

Tonight, I got to teach our 2nd-5th grade class about the Hebrew name of God, Jehovah-Or. That lesson is for a whole other blog post but I was reminded how great of an honor it is to teach our kids. I am blessed by them. I am challenged by them and their tough questions. I am pushed towards being a better follower of Jesus because of them.

I simply have no other words than "Wow! I am the luckiest girl alive!" My little 2M Cherubs, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your lives, I don't ever take that for granted. Thank you for being a constant reminder of how great it is to have child-like faith. Thank you for letting me vicariously live through you. Thank you for allowing God to use you to redeem so many parts of my life. I am a better person because of you.

When Two Thinkers Get Together

I spent the morning having coffee with a friend. We had good conversation and a few good laughs. As we caught up on the week's happenings, I realized how thankful I am for this lady. We get each other, we understand the crazy happenings of each other's brains. She understands how I process and I'm really grateful for that. Sometimes I feel a little crazy because of the way that I "feel" and think through things. To her it's not crazy, it's normal. This was a great way to start my day. Thanks for coffee, Andrea!

Even Teachers Learn From What They Teach

I often laugh at the timing of things in my life. A couple posts ago I shared what my second verse was for Moxie Memorizers. 1 Corinthians 2:1-4. I was reminded of this verse as I was preparing my lesson to teach on Sunday.

I was going through my lesson and reading through all the scriptures and trying to fully comprehend what I am teaching the kids. Kids ask really tough questions sometimes and I try to prepare myself.

Anyways, I'm teaching about the Hebrew name of God, Jehovah-Or, the Lord is Light. Let me tell you, this curriculum is pretty powerful stuff. The main points in this lesson are that God is light and there is no darkness in Him, He exposes sin in our lives to push us towards repentance and that He guides us and provides direction for us. Pretty awesome stuff! As I'm reading the story of David, which is the main story of this lesson, I am reminded of other scriptures that go perfect with these points.

I could tell the kids on Sunday that God's light overcomes the darkness around us but why would they listen to me and believe me? I mean probably because I'm trustworthy and I wouldn't tell them something that wasn't true on purpose but I want to allow God's word to speak for itself. So I'm using John 16:33. Love that verse! It's so encouraging to me that even though evil surrounds us, Jesus has already overcome this world. Wow!

This brought me back to 1 Corinthians 2:1-4. I don't want my message and my preaching to be with wise and persuasive words but I want it to be a demonstration of the Spirit's power. That way the kid's faith does not rest on the words that I use to teach them but instead on God's power.

Thank you for showing this to me today, Jesus.

A little arrogant?

According to Myers-Briggs I'm an ESTJ (you can look that up if you are curious what that means) but basically I thrive in the orderly rule following ways of life. I know my stuff and can argue for it. Couple that with having Input as one of my top strengths and it is a recipe for arrogance!

I love to collect information and constantly refer to my brain as a filing cabinet. So watch out because everything you say/do gets filed away :) Anywho, I am particularly enthralled with religion, politics, history, you know the least controversial things in life ;)

I've noticed lately and by lately I mean in the past 2 years how arrogant I am when it comes to religion. I've taken my fair share of religion courses at U of A and it seems like the more I take, the cockier I get. When it comes to religion, especially my own, it's almost as if I have a photographic memory. I can get through tests/quizzes/papers without ever studying or reading the book. I don't know why but that's just the way it is.

I am saying all of this to let you know that I am fully aware of this current situation. Arrogance is bad but arrogance in religion? Yikes! God definitely has something to say about that! He has been gently but firmly reminding my heart of my own sinful ways. How arrogance affects the Kingdom and how it affects the ways He will use me in the future. Refinement is so not fun but it is so so beneficial :)

Thankful Tuesdays

So many times I get caught up in my own frustration and fail to stop and remember all the really amazing things going on in my life. I'm going to take one day a week to highlight something that I am really thankful for. Hence "Thankful Tuesdays" :)

Today, I am thankful for horrible Algebra teachers because it provides ongoing opportunities for me to hang out with a really cool 8th grade girl that I know and by default I get to hang out with her family too. I sure am a lucky girl!

burned.

My pastor told me once that if I wanted to be able to distinguish truth from non truth then I should saturate myself in what I know is truth instead of learning about everything that is not true. He definitely knew a thing or two!

I was reminded about this lesson yesterday morning as I was participating in a religious service of a religion different than my own for a group project in my religion class.

If you are not rooted and have a foundation in the truth and you choose to play with fire, like I did yesterday, you will get burned. Bottom line.

I will not be doing that anymore!

The Life of a Soccer Mom

As some of you know, yesterday I got the privilege of hanging out with 4 pretty awesome kids while their parents were out of town. I joked that I was living the life of a "soccer mom." Boy was I right!

I started off my adventures with Starbucks and headed to pick one of the kids up from school. Then it was homework time, picking up 2 of the kids from basketball practice, dropping one off, making a store run for smoothie mixings, getting home, some of the kids eating dinner, piling all the kids in the car, picking up the last kid from practice, going to the Redbox and picking out a movie and not having everyone be happy with the movie choice (democracy rules always and it was a 3-1 vote). We finally get home, the other kids eat dinner and finish homework. 3 of the 4 kids need showers. The movie finally goes in. Pheeww! Then we try to make smoothies without a blender. That was interesting. We had to settle with the food processor. It was comical for sure!

The kids make their lunches and get ready for bed, we pray, they go to bed and then tell me they need shirts for school tomorrow so I'm off to do laundry. Finally by 9:20, laundry is being done, all the kids are in bed and I'm off to clean and do the dishes. By 10 I am EXHAUSTED!

All this to say, this little experience confirmed that I want kids but definitely not right now! I have so much more respect for the moms I know. It's such a tiring but rewarding role that they play. I am very grateful that I get to see them "in action" and continually learn what it means to be a good mom.

2nd Verse for February

I finally got Philippians 2:1-11 down. Pheww!

Now onto my second verse for the month.

"When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demostration of the Spirit's power." - 1 Corinthians 2:1-4

I have been reading through the book of 1 Corinthians lately but have been stuck on this section of chapter 2 for some time now. I want to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified but how do I live that out in my every day life? So many times, I try to use fancy words in order to explain the gospel or just don't speak out at all. My message will only be effective when I rely on the Spirit's power. People will not ever choose to live for Jesus because of what I tell them. They will follow Jesus because of the Holy Spirit working within them. Pretty good news in my book!

Oldies :)

As I was writing my previous post about my dad and powerlifting I came across a lot of really old pictures. So I figure why not share them with the world. Brace yourselves, it's about to get a little crazy!

The younger brother and I

Church intern, Bob, who stayed at our house

Grand Canyon (our shirts said on the front "Itty Bitty Fish" and on the back "GREAT BIG GOD")

My dad taught us how to jump off our roof into the pool. So scary!

We are just slightly partial to the University of Tennessee

Those penguin pajamas were my favorite!

Dinner at The Sugar Shack. Best food in Scottsdale!

8th grade promotion dance. I was really skinny and really white!

Hope you enjoyed that little trip down memory lane. I sure did!

Husband, Father, Powerlifter, Hall of Famer

Many of you have seen as a result of Facebook that my dad is a powerlifter. For those of you that didn't know that, you know now :)

He has been doing it for the past 35 years which means that I basically grew up on the stuff. Weightlifting meets throughout the year, Saturdays spent at the gym, dumbbells and squat bars and trophies. Powerlifting is in our DNA.

I have spent countless hours in high school gymnasiums watching my dad lift, pull and push hundreds of pounds of weight. It amazes me every time. As I watch him, I am reminded time and time again of the things that he has taught me.

Dedication: There is NO way that you can show up to a meet and bench press 500 lbs. It took my dad 20 years to do that. 20 years! That's basically my entire lifetime. He is so devoted to lifting. He has gone to the gym 3x a week since before I was born. He endures pain and injury (yes, he did rip off his bicep muscle) and with little complaint. I want to be dedicated to something that much one day.

The 3 family rules: In our family, we live by three fairly simple rules. In whatever we do we must 1. try our best, 2. work hard and 3. have fun. Anytime I would be upset after a bad grade or a lost basketball game my dad always brought me back to those three rules. "Did you work hard? Did you try your best? Did you have fun?" Most of the time I could answer yes to those three questions and he was happy with that.

Last month, my dad was inducted into the Weightlifting Hall of Fame. Such a great honor that he worked 35 long years for. I am so proud of him, his dedication to the sport and all of the hard work that he has put into it. He deserves this honor more than anyone else I know.

Congratulations Dad! You never cease to amaze me!!

Perfect Match

When I was at work today I was thinking about how much I have grown to love Pump It Up over the past 4 months. In the beginning it was hard. There were many days that I didn't want to go to work because I felt like my job was useless. I mean I stand around for hours on end. Pretty boring.

Then something in my mind and heart shifted. I started really interacting with the kids and their parents. I found joy in watching kids and parents interact in a healthy way. It was refreshing and something I hadn't seen a lot of. With that mindset I actually desire to go to work throughout the week.

Right after I began thinking about all of this I got to witness a little girl throw up all over our floor, I got to clean it all up (my first time ever) and make sure she was ok. Yes, even after throw up I still love this job.

I am thankful to be at a job that I love. I know working at Pump It Up won't last forever but I am glad that I get to be there in this moment in my life.

love and surrender

Yesterday at the gathering we sang a song that I've always loved. But it wasn't until last night that I really understood the magnitude of the words that I was singing...

"I surrender everything, every part of me"

"Your love makes it worth it all"

That isn't easy stuff. I don't know about you but I have such a hard time surrendering. It is going to have to become a daily discipline in my life I think. Let's get real probably an hourly thing knowing my track record. But it's something that I desire in my life even if it means I'm spending more time surrendering than anything else.

The last part of the song is what got me the most. I want nothing more than to be able to say that His love made and continues to make it worth it all. The surrender, the refinement, the struggles and hardships, the victories and defeats, the joy and sadness. Jesus loves makes it worth it ALL! I don't know if my heart right now can say that but Jesus continues to be faithful to me in the journey and I am closer than ever to that point.

some things just have to be forced

I am a performer and a perfectionist at heart.

I don't do things unless I am absolutely sure that I will be good at them.

How's that for prideful?

Failure makes me feel useless, insecure, incompetent and weak and to be honest who really likes to feel that way?!

BUT, I know that being a performer and a perfectionist hinders me in so many ways. So I'm stepping outside of my box a little bit.

I've decided today to take up photography. Nothing too fancy, nothing professional but in my free time (yeah right!) I want to learn the ins and outs of it. In the beginning it will probably be ugly and I'll probably be mad that I can't get it right and I might even cry a little bit but I'm ready to throw off all the things that hinder me.

I am not saying this necessarily for accountability, although that would be nice, but for me to mark this journey of refinement in this area of my life. Refinement is hard but I figure I might as well learn how to do something new because of it.

Craftiness + Last Names = Productive Day!

A few months ago some family friends got married. In their new house is a frame full of pictures that spell out their last name. When my step-mom saw it she wanted one for herself. Since I'm the one with the fancy shmancy camera now, it became my task.

I didn't know how it was going to end up because to be honest I'm really not all that crafty. But after about 60+ photos I finally got every letter of our 8 letter last name. Here is the finished product.

Now, I need to work on getting this baby framed!! My good friend, Meredith, suggested doing this as gifts for people in the future. So watch out friends, you might be getting your name spelled in pictures!

I suffer from Globophobia

As I am typing this I am thinking about just how much I HATE balloons. Everything about them I don't like. You blow them up and they threaten to pop right in your face, you carry them around and they threaten to pop in mid air. I mean what is there to like about them? I don't know but I am determined to no longer be a globophobe.

I once heard that if you surround yourself with whatever you are afraid of it helps you get over it. So, maybe I need to sit in a room with a thousand blown up balloons or join a support group. Yes, there is such thing. Ridiculous, I know!

I am starting to coordinate parties at Pump It Up and part of the job is blowing up balloons if your party wants them. So, either I get over this fear or all of my party will have miniature blown up balloons. I don't think that would go over too well!

I am not sure this really was worth blogging about but hey, everyone has some weird type of phobia. Mine just happens to be balloons.

There is a reason we are the WORST

I just need to vent for like 5 seconds.

The Arizona public school system makes me sick!!

Somehow it has become acceptable to not teach nor be present in the classroom.

I know a girl that works her butt off and she gets C's and D's on tests because her teacher doesn't teach. THEN, her teacher refuses to go over anything that the kids don't get. What kind of teaching is that?!

Now, I do know A LOT of really great teachers, so I'm not saying this is a problem everything. But, I think that we should all re-evaluate what we consider "up to standard" in the classroom.

This problem makes me want to switch my major for the 5th time to education so that I can try to help this epidemic that is affecting Arizona. As much as I want to, that won't happen. I need to stick to what God has for me. For now, I will help the kids I know and maybe start writing some letters to teachers and principals.

Thanks for listening to me complain. I feel better now ;)

Parenting and Life Lessons

I work at this place called Pump It Up. We are Tucson's inflatable party zone!! Sounds exciting, I know! Working there has been quite an adventure over the past few months. We see and do some pretty ridiculous things.

With that being said, I have learned more about parenting at Pump It Up than probably anywhere else in my life. I mean my job is to watch kids and their parents and how they interact. And let me tell you, sometimes it's ugly! I have contemplated writing a book on parenting as a 21 year old employee of Pump It Up. Maybe one of these days I'll share some of my insight. Or maybe not. Whatever :)

One little girl stealing the hearts of thousands

God has given me a heart for kids and I'm not sure many people would argue with that. I seem to love all kids; even the ones I don't really know all that well. But there is a little girl in particular that has stolen my heart.

Meet Kate McRae...

She is a, now 7 year old, girl that is fighting for her life against brain cancer. Tonight her family received devastating news of a new spot on her recent MRI scan. When I first read this I just began crying. All I could pray was "God, I don't get it and I don't have much to say to you right now but please be true to who you are. You know my heart and what I am feeling." I cannot begin to understand God's plan or timing but I do know a few things.

- God hears our prayers.

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him" - 1 John 5:14-15

- We can approach Him with confidence and ask for unimaginable things.

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

- God has the power alone to heal.

"Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits - who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion." - Psalm 103:2-4

- He is in control

" And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

I am resting in these four truths as I pray without ceasing for precious Kate McRae. Last week, during our annual week of prayer and fasting I was reminded just how powerful prayer can be so I am simply asking you to join me in praying for Kate. Our God is bigger and stronger than cancer, of this I am sure!

2 down, 22 to go!

I am a part of a really great group of women called Moxie at a really great church called Second Mile. At the beginning of this year we started Moxie Memorizers! Each month we commit to memorizing 2 verses. In January I memorized Philippians 4:8 and Psalm 18:2.

For the month of February this is what I am going for...

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:5-11

Over the summer the beloved CK2 started memorizing Philippians 2:1-11 as a team. In short, I failed at memorizing it all so I am giving myself a second chance. I haven't decided on my second verse yet but when I do you will know about it!

I'm back....

One of my strengths according to StrengthsFinder is Input. This is how it is defined - "You are inquisitive. You collect things. You might collect information -- words, facts, books, and quotations -- or you might collect tangible objects such as butterflies, baseball cards, porcelain dolls, or sepia photographs. Whatever you collect, you collect it because it interests you. And yours is the kind of mind that finds so many things interesting. The world is exciting precisely because of its infinite variety and complexity."

When I read this I thought "umm yes this is definitely me!" My collection of choice is information. I have described my brain as a filing cabinet many times before. I file random facts, conversations and details about my surroundings among many, many other things. Saying all of this, I have come back to the blogging world. This strength of mine pushes me to learn new things all the time. Things I want to share. So here we are. Buckle up. My life is usually a crazy ride but hopefully you will learn something along the way! :)