Spring

Spring has sprung.

I was delighted the other day to discover one of our neighbors completely devoted their front yard to springtime flowers.

"Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection, not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime. " ~Martin Luther

Things That Made Me Smile

It is about time for another random post of things that have made me smile lately. There have been many, here are just a few...

My bike man set me up with some super sweet urban transportation. Saving up for, a pink helmet and pink seat... Not pictured, the pink gloves and my awesome peddling muscles which are getting better all the time...

Sometimes they make me cry, sometimes they make me mad, but I can't deny these boys make me smile and I am growing to love them all dearly.


Reasons to celebrate. And so much ice cream I have to work to finish it...

Sunshine, of all varieties, so I can wear my sunglasses...

And being with people I care about. What made you smile today?

Raisin Bran: The Breakfast of the Daughters of Champions

I can really be a creature of habit sometimes. I have lived here in Omaha for over 4 months now and I could count on one hand the times I ate something besides Raisin Bran for breakfast. I have sampled several varieties of the cereal, but always something with raisins and, um, bran. Whatever that is. I started eating Raisin Bran because when I was growing up, my Dad ate a bowl of it every night. Eventually he moved on to Wheaties, the "Breakfast (or in this case, late night snack) of Champions", but Raisin Bran will always be Dad's cereal in my mind. And if Dad thought it was good enough to eat every night, there must be something special about it. Needless to say, I have found it works pretty well as a breakfast for myself too.

This morning, as I was slicing up the banana over my

cereal (something else I learned from my Dad, eating a banana every day), I realized how lucky I am. I am lucky because unlike most of the kids I work with every day, I have a Dad who cares about me, who has spent 24 years doing everything he can to give me the best, who I can go to for advice, who will taught me what was right and wrong, but most of all, who set an example of putting God first in my life. You see, I have two breakfast traditions. I don't just eat Raisin Bran and a banana every morning, I also try to read my Bible while munching away, starting my day with God's word. Why? Honestly I can say it is because a. I know I want to have God as the focus when I start my day, and b. for as long as I can remember my Dad has shown by example the importance of putting God and His word first every day, rain or shine, no matter how much of a hurry you are in. As I slid the cereal box back into the cupboard I grinned. Wheaties might be the "Breakfast of Champions", but Raisin Bran is the breakfast of their daughters. At least this one.

What I Get to Do

Whenever someone asks me about my work I always start by saying, "It is going awesome; I totally love my job!" Then, more often than not, they ask, "So what exactly do you do at Compass?" When I tell them I write all the tutoring for our kids, they usually give me a look that says, "And you love your job so much because....?" I try to explain that I get to do so much more than just tutoring though. Which is the point of this post. To show a few of the other things I get to do at my job. And hopefully explain why I love it so much.

I get to ask the little girls in my small group at Kids Church

how I can pray for them .

I get to sit with them while they watch the puppet show and the Bible story.

I get to help them make crafts to remember the Bible lesson by.

I get to totally dominate while playing Hangman. (Or vise-versa...)

I get to read to my kids at the library.

I get to teach them how to find books by the authors' name.

I get to read stories to my kids.

I get to help them write thank you letters and Valentines.

I get to lose, hopelessly, to a first grader in a math game.

I get to have stories read to me.

I get to be a comfortable seat.

I get to talk to plants.

I get to ride in the van on field trips, squealing with everyone when we go over the bumps.

I get to be a part of life skills learning, such as shopping for someone else.

I get to learn new things, like ice skating.

I get to wear hot pink pants to work. And work with these awesome people.

I get to wear awesome costumes and lead impromptu skits.

I get to hang out and color with my friends.

I get to drag people on trash bags

down snow covered hills .

But best of all, I get to be here.

Spring in the City

Spring in the country is my favorite time of year. The snow melts, the dirt I love becomes mud, the trees bud, the tulips push up from a long rest through the earth. Green, the color of hope, unfolds exponentially each day, slowly overtaking the brown that has held the countryside captive since October. This is my first spring in the city. I have to admit, I had low expectations. Make that, have low expectations. I mean, there are no mile long fields of mud to watch haze over green when the corn comes up. All my favorite trees and bushes are an hour an a half away where I can't check on them every day and see how much life grew since the day before. Cement and concrete don't care what season it is, they are always grey. Yesterday I walked to my errands because I couldn't stand the thought of paying $3.75 a gallon for gas and missing the sunshine. I was almost back to the apartment when I saw it.

Nothing trumpets "Spring is coming!" like dandelions. And apparently not even miles and miles of cement and concrete are enough to keep them from making their announcement in the city. My hope has sprung. Maybe spring in the city will be an adventure after all....

Where I Come From

So, this whole city life thing still entertains me sometimes. Especially when I see things I have never seen before.

Because where I come from, they are called peeping Toms, and we don't need signs telling everyone they are there...

Love

I read the following quote this morning and I had to share it. C.S. Lewis so beautifully states the essence of a lesson I have been learning about love and hope to continue to learn as God puts His love in my heart.

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one...Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket-- safe, dark, motionless, airless-- it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable...the only place outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers...of love is Hell." ~C.S. Lewis