me and my girls

It's Sunday morning.

I hurriedly get to my brightly decorated classroom early so that I can greet my charming little girls.

They arrive sweetly dressed in their little Sunday dresses and hair bows.
"Hey Libby!" "Don't you look beautiful this morning!," I say as one of my girls walks through the door.
"Madelyn, I'm so glad you came to Bible class this morning!"
"Austin, I LOVE your dress! Let me see!"
They are beaming in their early morning, little girl radiance.

They help me get out the play dough and the plastic animal cookie cutters. After choosing the play dough color of their choice, we carefully observe each animal shape and say their name. We imitate their animal sounds. Hearing a 2-year-old struggle to say the word "hippopotamus" can be quite comical. Something as simple as considering our plastic animal shapes is a great way to teach that our amazing God has created them.
"Austin, who made the lion?"
Austin: "GOD!!"
Although, sometimes "God" can become the answer to all the questions I ask, I am encouraged to know that their little minds are soaking up Who our wonderful and awesome Creator is...GOD.

After 15 minutes of molding animals out of play dough, it's time for the Bible story.
"Libby, where are your eyes?" (Libby points to her eyes)
"Austin, where are your eyes?" (Austin does the same)
"All eyes need to be looking at me."
I then proceed to narrate the Bible story in the most kid-friendly, mesmerizing way that I can, while trying my capture the attention of my 2 and 3-year old's. In past Bible lessons, we have built the walls of Jericho with building blocks and marched around them seven times. Before allowing them to tumble in a heap, we are sure to leave Rahab's part of the wall standing. We have toyed with a plastic Noah's Ark, while re-telling the story of old man Noah, as he obeyed God, built a big boat to carry all the animals and his family, and sailed for over a 100 days after the rains fell for forty days and forty nights. We have read books on Jonah and Adam and Eve. We have talked about how we must obey mommy and daddy. We have discussed serving and saying kind things to our brothers and sisters.

Austin and the Walls of Jericho

The Walls of Jericho with Rahab's house still standing.

 "Nay one, Nay one..." her quiet, shy voice carries the tune so beautifully.
"Libby, would you like to sing the Seven Days of Creation song?"
"Yeah," she timidly responds.
We all sing in unison of an awesome Creator, Who created everything in six days and then "rested in His heaven."
"Day One, day one, God made light when there was none..."


"Who wants to point to them?"
Hands are raised and my little helpers are eager to lend a little hand.
"Okay, Madelyn, you can take a turn."
She prisses up to the Fruits of the Spirit hanging on the wall. While she randomly points to each one I lead them in saying them in order. =) After a few weeks, it is amazing how well these little ones are able to remember and know the qualities of a Spirit-fillied-life.
"Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control!" (They know the last one quite well and like to say it extra loud. ;)

After class, they clean up their section of the table and we gather their belongings to take home. We open the door and stand at the entrance and eagerly wait for their mommies and daddies to arrive (okay, sometimes it's siblings too ;p) and take them to "big church."

I love my girlies. Maybe one day, we'll have some little guys in class.

As for now, we are content; just me and my little church girls.

(Madelyn was kind of pre-occupied in this video. :/)

Note: All these videos were taken on my iPad..That's why they are so enthralled with watching themselves on the screen. Hehe. ;D

insta friday





 

 

 

1. A selfie on my way to work one day.

2. "Eye" see you. With @apinkfirefly

3. Gotta love life with these crazies.

4. "Happys" from mom and sister to make the day better.

5. Lunch with the sis at our favorite lunch spot.

6. Love the country life.

7. A new-do styled by the sister.

10. Oh, just a note from the brother on a piece of gum wrapper.

11. I love my girls in my 2 & 3-year-old class on Sunday mornings.

12. Nothin' like the wind-blown look. ;)

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@purposelyathome

it's a fallish kind of day.

Last Friday, my sister and I went on an outing. The outing included a stop at the local yogurt parlor and then we were off to the park....with my camera in tow. *insert evil laugh* ;D

The intentions were to take pictures of my beautiful sis. But, she was very concerned about the way she looked and insisted on taking photos of yours truly. =) Anyways, I was able to force convince her into me taking a few portraits of her and she took some of me.

Here are a few of the casual snap-shots of the sisters...

 

the end.

precious Lord, take my hand

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Some think this great old gospel song was written by the famous big bandleader Tommy Dorsey. It wasn't; the author was named Thomas Andrew Dorsey, and he was the son of a Black preacher.

Thomas was born in a small town in Georgia in 1899. When he was about eleven, the Dorseys moved to Atlanta where Thomas was quickly enamoured with the blues and began playing the piano as a vaudeville theater. Later the family moved to Chicago where he attended classes at the College of Composition and Arranging. Soon he was on stage under the name "Georgia Tom," playing barrelhouse piano and leading jazz bands.

After being converted in Chicago in 1921, Thomas began writing gospel songs and trying to get them published. It was discouraging at first. He later said, "I borrowed five dollars and sent out 500 copies of my song, 'If You See My Savior,' to churches throughout the country...It was three years before I got a single order. I felt like going back to the blues."

He didn't, and gradually his reputation grew and his work became known.

In August, 1932, while leading music in St. Louis, he was handed a telegram bearing the words, "Your wife just died." He rushed to a phone to call home, but all he could hear over the line was "Nettie is dead! Nettie is dead!" A friend drove him through the night, and he arrived home to learn that his baby boy had also died.

"I began to feel that God had done me an injustice," Thomas later said, "I didn't want to serve Him anymore or write anymore gospel songs." But the next Saturday, while alone in a friend's music room, he had a "strange feeling" inside--a sudden calm and a quiet stillness. "As my fingers began to manipulate over the keys, words began to fall in place on the melody like drops of water falling from the crevice of the rock:

Precious Lord, take my hand

Lead me on, let me stand

I am tired, I am weak, I am worn..."

Today Thomas A. Dorsey is remembered as the "Father of Gospel Music" and the author of hundreds of gospel songs including his equally famous, "Peace in the Valley."

Taken from the book: Then Sings My Soul

to have a heart

We have a friend.

A very sick friend.

This friend is a father to two and a devoted husband to his wife.

His name....Mr. Jim.


Mr. Jim has had heart problems since birth.

He was the youngest to ever undergo heart surgery...at six-months-old. Doctors predicted that he would not live through childhood. Thankfully, they were wrong.

Now, Mr. Jim is 37 and has been put on the heart transplant recipient list.

I plead with you....ask of you.

Please lift this man and his family up in your prayers.

He is waiting. Patiently waiting for a new heart--a gift of life.

To read the whole story, click here.