Christmas In July

My daughter received these peonies to celebrate the birth of her first-born.
No, you're not cross-eyed.  They are out of focus.

I played Bible roulette again this morning with my Women's Devotional Bible.  I pick it up from the side table and read whatever page it opens to.  Do you ever do that?

Today I happened upon this poem by Anne Ortland, a Christian musician and author.

Incarnation

"The Lord is in His holy house"-

Oh, grace beyond describing,

That Christ in me should please to dwell-

Immanuel residing!

"My soul doth magnify the Lord,"

I sing with lowly Mary,

That God should choose to enter in

This

      humble sanctuary!

I read it through a couple of times, marveling at her word pictures and the truths of which she spoke.  Her inspiration came from Luke 1, the story of the angel's announcement to Mary that she would become the mother of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

Luke 1:35 & 37 jumped out at me:  

The angel answered...

"... no thing (word change and emphasis mine) is impossible with God."

Luke 1:37

A favorite daydream came to mind immediately.  For several years my Dear Husband and I have been mulling around the idea of moving closer to our children.  We want to experience life with them on a WAY more regular basis.  We want our visits to be unhurried, not sandwiched between two 3-hour drives.  

This dream is my impossible thing for these reasons:

We'd need to sell our home.  

In this market?

I would have to quit the job I love.  

Not work with my students?  

How could we afford to replace the health insurance benefits it provides?

DH would need to continue being self-employed.

In this economy?

We would need to forge new lives for ourselves, individually and as a couple.

This means a new support system of church and community friends-can't expect the kids to fill all of our time

This dream and the accompanying thoughts are never far from my conscious mind.   They often surface causing my heart and tummy to ache.  But this morning, as I read Anne's poem and the Truth from God's Word, I laid those cares at His throne of grace.  Because Jesus, the One that Mary bore, in Whom I "live and move and have" my being,* lives in me and with Him no thing is impossible.

What is your impossible thing?

May God give you grace to trust that He is living and moving in your life

with the knowledge that His plans for you are wonderful.

Love, 

Karen

*Paul is quoting the Cretan poet Epimenides in Acts 17:28.  I didn't know that.  Did you?

P.S.  I WILL BE ON VACATION FOR THE NEXT WEEK OR SO AND DON'T EXPECT TO HAVE INTERNET ACCESS.  I HAVE SCHEDULED ANOTHER POST FOR WEDNESDAY, SO Y'ALL COME BACK AND VISIT, 'KAY?  WHEN YOU VISIT AND, PRETTY PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT, KNOW THAT I WILL VISIT YOU TOO WHEN I GET IT TOGETHER RETURN.  

Playing along with 

Beverly for Pink Saturday

Charlotte & Ginger for Spiritual Sundays

I Get To Touch These Lives

Thought you might enjoy "meeting" some of the folks I hang with 

in my job as a speech language pathologist assistant

at 4 different public elementary schools in my area.

I call them my cookies and buddies.

When I began, 11 years ago this month,

I wanted to touch them for eternity,

for Jesus,

even though I couldn't speak His name.

I came up with this:

Tell them they are 

wonderful

at the end of our once a week

20 minute sessions.

I hang posters in each of my schools' small group rooms that say:

I am wonderful.

I can do it.

I ask them to say that before leaving.

Only a handful have resisted, and then only for a week or two.

After that, they remind ME that they need to say it.

I think it warms Jesus' heart to hear His little lambs say that!

Why do I get to work with these precious people?

Short answer:

They need to learn to articulate their sounds correctly 

and use language to express themselves better.

Some of them come to me pronouncing /k/ & /g/ 

like "t" & "d."

I love it when they say my last name which begins with a "G."

Others have lisps, or difficulty distinguishing /f/ and /th/.

Then there are those for whom the book

Hooway for Wodney Wat was witten,

I mean, written.

Without further ado, here are some of the reasons I get out of bed in the morning.

She made huge strides between kindergarten and 1st grade

learning to say /k/, /g/, and /r/.

And she has a fabulous wardrobe.

Wish they made red sparkly shoes in my size.

He gave me a quarter for Valentine's Day last year.

The Wodney Wat Fan Club.
I think they've grown 6 inches in 18 months.

Watched 'em lose 6-8 teeth each and then grow them back in.

Why don't I remember that with my own kids?

Worked with him from kindergarten to 6th grade.

He loved to beat me at Go Fish and board games.

Worked with her for several years at 2 different schools.

What a little lady!

And then there are the scores of devoted teachers and other assistants

who love on our students.

There has to be a special spot in heaven for them.

Yikes, this little crew keeps me hoppin'!

What a joy to hear them conquer their /r/ sound and 

learn to express themselves in grammatical sentences.

I keep data for each student in each session.

And then there's the lovely art work...

 

 which covers the walls and lifts our spirits.

Thank You, Jesus, for giving me this ministry.

Grace and peace to you!

Love,

  

Linking up with Java at

Never Growing Old 

for