Chinooks and Amish Bread

My day started out REALLY rough this morning. First of all, I feel bad. To make matters worse, I woke up about 45 minutes late!!! When you work 30 minutes from home that is never good. Then, it was one of those days where none of my clothes seemed to fit right. There were tears and thoughts of calling in sick. But alas, I made it to ECHS not a moment too soon. I felt much better when the school day started. My students were delightful today (this is not an every day occurrence, so I cherish the days when they come:) ) and my day got progressively better.

During my planning period, I got to see a Chinook (super bad military helicopter) land on the front lawn of the school. They called them in when a few prisoner escaped from the prison down the street. {That was a joke} But seriously, we really did have a Chinook on the front lawn. I think the ROTC set this special treat up. It was the talk of the school and all the kids got to go see it during their lunch period.

When I left school I went to the gym with Jessie. Then, I got to go have MEXICAN food with Richard, Lynz, Jonathan, Sarah Lynn, Steven and Alicia. Could this day get any better???? Yes, it can. Then today was day 10 with my Amish Friendship Bread, so I had to put it together. Those Amish sure are patient. It's been killing Richard and I having a bag of dough on the counter and nothing to show for it....

Then, I realized....I think you are supposed to have friends in mind when you make your Amish bread. If you've never made it before, at the end, right before you put the final ingredients in, you make 4 "starter bags" to give to friends so that they can share in the joy that is Amish bread. Now I have a dilemma...what if my friends don't care for Amish bread...their watching their carbs, they don't like Amish people...you get my point. So now I will go to bed thinking about who to give my Amish Friendship Bread bags to. Anybody want some???

Bible School

It was lookin' bad on Sunday. I didn't have anywhere near the volunteers for VBS that I needed. Tonight, after looking over things with the fabulous D.W., I feel 100 times better. Communication is going to be the key to getting this VBS thing in order. I love the new online registration tool. It rocks.

Other great news, my sweet, beautiful friend Lyndsey is well on her way to raising the money she needs for her 3 month mission trip to Africa. The Awanas at church raised over $800 (their goal was $500!!) God is so good. He supplies all of our needs. I shall not want....neither shall you:)

BLESSED

I have been a little stressed out lately. This is really quite interesting because I can usually roll with the punches in most situations. However, lately all the little stresses have just added into one big stress. That is not good. Especially for a child of God. When I was chatting with my Sunday School people this morning (whom I love so dearly) the Lord spoke something to my heart that kinda surprised me and made since.

I realized that I am doing what the Lord wants me to do. I do justly, love mercy and I'm doing my best to just walk humbly with my God. So why all the stress?? Here's the answer that God gave me: its all MAN MADE. I'm sure this is old news to all of you, but I have got to get into my thick skull that when I start feeling like this, it is not a feeling or situation that my Father in heaven wants for me. This is what comes from living in a fallen world, so as a child of the King I must let go. I have to remember where my help comes from and lift up my eyes.

I am so blessed. From the top of my head to the soles of my feet. My life is living proof of how God lavishes good things on his children. I am so thankful for my family. My amazing husband. My dog. My job. My cool car. My friends.

BEST OF ALL, I AM LOVED BY THE CREATOR OF THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH WHO KNOWS ALL THINGS AND HAS EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL. HE'S GOT THE WHOLE WORLD IN HIS HANDS.

Emotions

I have had an unusually emotional week. I can't really explain why, other than my body is completely out of whack lately. Don't worry...I'm getting it looked into:)
Anywho, I had to stay at school late today (on a FRIDAY) and I have to admit that it was kind of nice being there by myself and getting a few things done. As I was leaving Springfield, I remembered that one of my student's grandmother had passed away on Wednesday, so I pulled in to the Strickland's funeral home just to make an appearance even though I was grossly under dressed. I was so glad I stopped by. I could tell it meant a lot to my student to see someone there "for him". His mother followed me to the parking lot and we ended up talking for a minute. It brought back many memories from my daddy's death. The funeral home was one of the most difficult things for me. As a matter of fact, I didn't stay for very long. I ended up handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at a friends house.

After we ate dinner tonight, Richard and I started watching a show about these two college students that got in a terrible car accident. One of them died and one was in a coma. Their identities were mistaken. For 5 weeks one family sat in the hospital praying and the other family buried and mourned their daughter. Neither suspected anything. Finally, when the poor girl woke up she was able to tell the people her name and communicate that she was not who they thought she was. How traumatic. One family got a miracle and one family was devastated. God works in mysterious ways.

For some reason this made me flash back to the Saturday morning after daddy died. I woke up to hear the lawn mower outside my window. I thought the events of the day before were just a bad dream. In reality, some men from the church were cutting our grass like dad did every Saturday, but for a split second my heart leaped.

I hope and pray that I never take my family and friend for granted. Life is a vapor...here one second and gone the next.

Unbelievable

In a crazy turn of events, Richard and I may actually be moving to Haiti. I know this sounds crazy. But, before you flip out and the hysterical phone calls start flooding in, it would only be for one week. I guess you wouldn't call that "moving" per say..more of a mission. Our friends Amber and Bryan told us about an opportunity to serve God's children in Haiti doing some construction and outreach. The construction, of course, is Richard's forte and I might just swing a hammer myself. Although, power tools are more my thing. Be praying for us as we make these decisions.

Brin's Bloggin' Debut

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKx1KgaQuQI

This is a video of our dog!

Angels among us

There's a little old man I work with in Effingham who is a retired baptist minister. He is super cool. He's so laid back. He wears cowboy boots and a cowboy shirt some days and that just makes me smile. He is a substitute teacher and I get to talk to him every now and then. It turns out that he knows my grandparents, the Howard's.

Apparently, there is some unwritten rule that all baptist ministers must know all the other one's with in a 60 mile radius...who knew?!? Anyways, this sweet little old man asks me about my grandparents every time I talk to him. He has a real heart for fellow retirees and likes to see them taken care of. He told me the other day about this "Adopt an Annuitant" program that they could apply for and possibly get a little extra cash every month (enough to cover one of their very expensive prescriptions). I got the application online and within a month, they started receiving this money!!! Then, the other day, he comes in my class and gives me an envelope with a cashiers check for $100 to give them. He said, "Now, don't tell them who this is comin' from." Needless to say, he is one of my favorite people in the world now and I feel like giving him a huge hug every time I see him. Let's pray some blessings down on this sweet man and his wife.