I'm going to miss my 4 year olds!

I teach a Pre-K/4 Year Old sunday school class at my church every other month. None of the kids in my class are 4 years old anymore, which means it's time for them to move on. Today was Promotion Sunday and next week they will be promoted to their new class and have a new teacher. I'm going to miss them alot. I will still get to see them each week during singing time. They will be sitting a row behind me. It will not be the same, though. I have fallen in love with these kids over the last year and it was very difficult to say goodbye to them today. I'm sure I will meet a new group of 4 year olds in July and they will be wonderful too, but these kids will always have a special place in my heart. It will be fun to see them grow at a distance. I pray a special blessing for each one of them.

Oh, the crazy things we do for love!

I am the best wife ever! I stayed up until midnight last night and hit redial for four hours straight to vote for something that I didn't really care too much about. My husband is a huge Taylor Hicks fan and we both voted on our home phone and cell phones for him to win this year's American Idol competition. We only managed to get about 140 votes in with two phones dialing for four hours. That's a pretty good sign, but anything could happen with the American Idol voting system. He'd better win! I was so disappointed last week when Elliott went home after I voted half-heartedly for him during the two hours after the show. I exerted much more effort this week. I hope it was worth it.

American Idol Cont.

I was pretty sure that this week was Katherine's week to go, but she had a really great week this week. Her performance of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was absolutely beautiful. There is no doubt this girl can sing. She's just made some poor song choices in the past and has had some pretty weird arrangements. I decided to stick to my original plan and vote for Elliott because I felt that he needed my votes more than Kat. Katherine doesn't need to win this competition to get signed. Elliott does. Steve voted on and off for two hours and managed to get about 50 votes in for Taylor. I had an easier time getting through to vote for Elliott. We'll see what happens tonight.

Final Weeks of American Idol

Okay, I hate to admit it, but I'm an American Idol junkie. I just started watching it regularly this season and it has been quite entertaining. I would have loved to have seen Mandisa in the final 3, but am pleased with the three that are left. I predicted Taylor would win months ago, but I think Elliott may have a chance now. Last week we had two phones voting at our house, both for Taylor because I love my husband. I have a feeling this week Steve's votes will go to Taylor and mine to Elliott. It's not that I don't like Katherine, but she's had a few bad performances. Elliott, on the other hand, has performed consistently well throughout the entire competition. Taylor is just Taylor. You gotta love him. I'm actually listening to some songs Steve downloaded off the internet right now. Pretty good stuff. I wouldn't be disappointed if he won, but he, too, has had a few off weeks. Comments, anyone? Any other AI fans out there?

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday, dear Dad
Happy Birthday to you!

I don't have alot of time because I'm at work, but I wanted to wish you a happy birthday and announce to the world that my daddy is turning 52! You know I don't think of you as old anymore. I thought you were old (excuse me, mature) when you turned 40, but now that I have a husband who is closer to 40 than 30, I realize what a young dad you were as I was growing up. You are a wonderful dad and I thank God for you. I hope you have a great day!

United 93

I wasn't sure if I wanted to see this movie, but I decided to go see it more out of curiosity than anything. It was very well produced. It seemed that it's purpose was to remember those who died on September 11, 2001, specifically those aboard United 93, those who risked their lives to save the plane from crashing into the U.S. capitol. After the movie, I felt very sad, not just because of what happened, but because we have forgotten about it after such a short period of time. This movie really helps to put things in perspective. I remember how our country united and turned to God after the attacks of 9/11. It seems that the spirit of patriotism and the reliance on God have disappeared in a very short period of time. Now, not even five years later, we are fighting about who is to blame for everything and trying to take God out of everything. This movie did a good job of just presenting the facts. I don't believe there was any hidden agenda. I think it would do us all some good to remember where we were as a nation on that fateful day so I would recommend it not for entertainment, but for the purpose it was intended.

Friends

God has blessed me with some really great friends. This post is a tribute to those friends.

My friend, Winter, is in town this week and I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with her while she is here. I thank God that we have been able to strengthen our friendship over the last couple of months. After a period of separation, we’ve been able to get closer and connect on a deeper level. I’ve learned more about her in the last few months than I have the entire time we’ve known each other (almost 10 years – can you believe it, Winter?). I’ve always enjoyed hanging out with Winter, but I’ve loved the heart to heart talks we’ve started having on a regular basis. I hope it continues!

I meet with a small group of girls on a weekly basis. We started meeting at my friend Jill’s house a couple years ago. When she had her first baby and started preparing to go on the mission field, we started meeting at my house. The group has evolved over the years as two of the original members are serving as missionaries in Asia. Jill is getting ready to leave in September and she will be missed. I already miss her because she hasn’t been meeting with us regularly, but I will really miss her when she’s thousands of miles away! I know that God is going to use her in mighty ways and I’m very excited about partnering with her in this new adventure. Please be praying for Jill and Ryan as they are still trying to raise support to go to North Africa. They’ve sold their house, car and most of their possessions, but still haven’t reached 80% of their budget, which is needed before they can buy tickets. Jill has demonstrated her strong faith in God and displayed many other characteristics of a godly woman that I strive to imitate. Thank you, Jill, for your friendship. I don’t want to exclude the other members of our group. Amy, you have been a blessing in my life. I sure appreciate your sweet spirit. Debi and Shelly, I’m glad that you are a part of the group because you might actually stay in the Joplin area! I’m looking forward to getting to know you more in the years to come. Mandie, I’m so glad you joined us. I know you will benefit, as I have, from the accountability this group provides. Thanks to all of you!

One of my best friend’s from Chile, Ely, recently moved to Arizona. Her husband is working as a Spanish minister at a church in the Phoenix area. I called her up after not having seen her in almost 12 years and we’ve talked on the phone a few times since. It’s so nice to be able to pick up the phone and call her whenever I feel like having a conversation in Chilean Spanish! I hope I don’t drive her crazy. I have plans to travel to Phoenix in August to visit my grandparents and hope to spend some time with her as well. I look forward to rekindling our friendship and I’m so glad that God has placed her in my life again.

Through Ely, I’ve been able to make contact with some of my other friends from Chile that are living in the U.S. I never dreamed that so many of my friends would end up living in the U.S. or visiting as often as they do. God works in mysterious ways! It’s been difficult to stay in touch with people in Chile because our lives are so very different, but I love and miss the Chilean people. I feel blessed to have them here and so accessible. I hope to start developing closer relationships with them.

I also thank God for my boss, Cathleen, who is also a friend, mentor and support to me. She is an amazing woman and I’m learning so much from her, both from a work and spiritual standpoint. I realize how very fortunate I am to have her in my life.

Lastly, I want to say a few words about my younger sister, Kim. She is such a wonderful example to me. I know she’s younger than me, but I look up to her! She just turned 21 and will graduate college in a year. She has a heart for missions and is praying about where God will lead her after graduation. It makes me sad to think that she will be leaving for an indefinite period of time considering that we are just now becoming friends. I really want to take advantage of the time we have together and develop a closer relationship with her. We will be setting aside one day a month for the next year to do just that. I’m really excited about our bonding time, Kim.

I thought I was done, but I figured I should probably thank my husband, Steve. When I think of friends, I think of people outside of my household, which is why I didn’t think to acknowledge him sooner. Really, he should be at the top of the list because he is my best friend. He knows me better than anyone in the whole wide world and even though he may not always like what he sees, he still loves me (trust me, it’s not easy sometimes!). Steve, I really appreciate you for who you are. You are such a wonderful man and I feel very lucky to have married you.

I could go on and on thanking the many people God has surrounded me with, but I think I’ve written enough for one day!

My Testimony

I've called myself a Christian for a long time, but I've let my past get in the way of developing a close relationship with God. Just within the last several months, I have accepted God’s forgiveness for the sins that I’ve committed in my life, things that I had confessed and repented for over and over during the last several years. I don’t know why I didn’t think the message of forgiveness applied to me. I am accepting His grace and love for the first time in my life and just now figuring out what my life was meant to be. I've been so busy trying to prove to myself that I am loved that I couldn't hear God calling me, telling me that I am deeply loved, completely forgiven, fully pleasing and totally accepted. Since I started recognizing God's presence in my life, I've found true contentment. My life is so complete! I hope that you know how much God loves you. The greatest love you have ever experienced pales in comparison to God's love for you. You are very special to Him and He wants to pour His love on you and give you the desires of your heart. I pray that you won't wait as long as I did to find out what He has in store for you. Hopefully by reading about the way God has blessed my life, you will become convinced that God can use anyone. I won’t get into details about the past because it’s irrelevant. I’ve wasted enough of my life living in the past. I’m anxious to see how God can use me in the future!

My First Introductory Post

It seems that blogging is the thing to do now so I might as well start. I actually really enjoy journaling, but only I can look back on my personal journals. One of the things that really inspired me to start blogging is that I recently stumbled across an old friend from Chile’s blog. I hadn’t seen him or spoken with him in almost 12 years, but I was able to get reacquainted with the “grown up” Tito by reading his blogs. It’s a really great way to keep people informed about what’s going on in your life. So….that’s why I’ve entitled my blog “A Glimpse Into My Life…”. Another reason I chose to start blogging is because I’ve really been convicted lately to share my testimony. God is doing awesome things in my life right now and I feel compelled to share them. My testimony will be the subject of my next post because it is the most important thing that I have to share. I’m sure I will post a lot of useless information on this blog, but the most important thing that I can pass along is what a difference a close walk with God can do for your life.