Sunday evening 9/9

Can you believe the weekend is over already?  It seems like we just finished the school week, and now we're headed right back there tomorrow morning!  Where did my "time off" go???

Seriously, our family spent Saturday running our heads off.  Chad had to work, so he was gone from around seven until three or so.  I wasn't home when he got off work, so I can't attest to the exact time.  This particular "overtime" doesn't even count as such because he had Monday off due to Labor Day, so technically he only worked a regular work week.  Still, praise the Lord for his job!  Amanda, Katie, and Ashley went out soul winning on Saturday morning, the older girls on buses and Ashley with Children's Challenge.  Normally, Emily goes as well, but she has been suffering from a slight cold (start of school means lots of new germs!), so I kept her home to let her body rest a bit.  We picked the girls up around one o'clock and began our errands........well, my errands.  I needed to go to the Dollar Tree (good stuff for only a buck!), then to Wal-Mart (for other stuff the Dollar Tree doesn't carry or can't match the price), and then to the library.  I had several items that I needed to get for my classroom (YEA!), and I knew the Dollar Tree was the place to go.  Same story at Wal-Mart except we picked up some stuff for home, too, and Emily got to finally spend the last of her birthday gift cards.  She "invested" in a couple of LaLaLoopsy dolls that she has been craving and has been unwilling to put them down since---even for bedtime and church!  That last stop at the library wasn't my errand as much as the kids', but we all went in for a bit.  A few months ago, we had lost a book that Emily checked out.  We searched the house twice over and could find no sign of the missing item, so we informed the library and were charged a replacement fee.  Lo and behold, last week Emily found the book in her toy box or some such obscure place.  I know we looked there already, so I'm not sure how it magically appeared there; but at least it finally materialized so we could turn it in to the library and get a refund on the fee.  Plus, the two older girls needed to look for books for upcoming book reports, so they were able to look around some.  We didn't get home until nearly six o'clock!  All of us were tired, hungry, and, frankly, miserable.  Amanda quickly fixed spaghetti for dinner, after which our spirits improved.  Nothing like full tummies to make life more bearable!  Then, Chad ran out to the store and came home with a tub of ice cream to finish off the evening.  Thank God for Dad.........and ice cream!!!

Eric, I had to laugh when I read your comment.  I appreciate the thought behind the words---truly I do---but we are a small Christian school with smaller class sizes than other schools.  The reason for my laughter?  I have only six students!  :-D  Of course, each class size varies each year, and there is a limit to how big (or small) a class will be allowed to get.  I have had as many as eleven students at one time; our second grade teacher had nineteen one year.  Last year, with 3rd/4th combined and 1st/2nd combined, those class sizes were obviously increased---as was the teachers' workload!  But, this year, I am blessed to have six eager young minds to teach and influence and mold and train for Christ.  What a privilege to have such an opportunity to help bring up "the next generation."  Of my six, two are very high-energy, loving attention but loving praise for good behavior as well.  One is an over-achiever, which trait can be channeled into putting energy into helping the teacher and serving others.  The others are still finding their place in the classroom, unsure of where they'll fit in this new school year.  My job there is to help them choose to follow the good behavior displayed by the others while refusing to join in the bad behavior.  Sounds so simple, doesn't it?  }:-{  I love teaching, and I am so looking forward to helping these students grow and develop into exactly who God designed them to be.

Dale is doing well.  He is remembering to write down his assignments---and do them!  He spent a few hours this weekend doing homework, which I didn't consider unreasonable.  (He may have!)  His quizzes so far show that he hasn't been studying like he should, but how many parents have faced that same dilemma?  He'll get the hang of things again eventually.  I'm just so deeply glad that he's able to be in school and is keeping up at least with getting to classes and listening.  Thank God for His blessings on Dale!

I have to share this last thing with you.  At church tonight, we had the Lord's Supper.  Our pastor chooses not to announce these happenings, so it is always a joy to look up front and see the trays decorating the Lord's Supper table.  When it came time for us to pass the tray containing the unleavened bread (body of Christ), everything went smoothly.  Amanda helped hold the tray for Dale while he reached in and chose a piece.  We prayed quietly while the rest of the congregation was being served---we sit on the front row---and ate the bread when instructed.  *Isn't God good for allowing His Son to die for us so that we might go to Heaven?*  Then, it was time for the juice (blood of Christ).  Once again, Amanda held the tray for Dale while he chose a cup.  Mind you, these trays are quite heavy when filled, so Amanda had all she could do just to keep it steady for him.  Poor Dale!  Just as his fingers closed around a small cup, his hand jerked badly, causing him to crush the cup.  This, in turn, spilled the juice all over the tray and into the other already-filled cups.  Remember:  while the trays are being passed around, the organ is playing softly.......so, when Dale's hand jerked and he dropped the cup, the resulting clatter was quite loud!  To make matters even more comical, the look on Dale's face was hilarious.  There he sat with a horrified expression covering his features, as if he thought that crushing one of the communion cups would result in instant banishment from the church!  I leaned over and whispered for him to just choose another cup, but he was too terrified to make the attempt.  Amanda solved the problem by picking one up and handing it to him.  She then passed the tray to me; I chose a cup and handed the tray to Chad.  Dale was still sitting there, gingerly grasping this tiny plastic cup as if it contained poison.  I asked him if he wanted someone else to hold it for him, and he gratefully nodded yes.  The poor guy had grape juice splashed all over his tie and drying stickily on his fingers.  We (Amanda, me, the row behind us, and a couple of folks on the platform) were trying to control our giggles and maintain a solemn expression during this reverent time.  As it turns out, Katie, sitting in the row behind, got the cup that had been the victim of the outpouring of extra juice.  She had to sit with one hand cupped underneath the cup of juice while it dripped all over her hand.  And then she had nothing to wipe it off with!  Needless to say, while we enjoyed sharing the Lord's Supper, we were all relieved when communion was over.  Communion was followed by a hymn and hand-shaking (quick one-minute fellowship).  I was laughing so hard this whole time---since I couldn't during the Lord's Supper---that I was crying!  Oh, thank God for crazy times and fun memories.

Gotta go now.  God bless and have a great week!

Psalm 23: 1  "The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want."