A Common Love

A Common Love

A common love for each other

A common gift from the Savior

A common bond holding us to the Lord

A common strength when we’re weary

A common hope for tomorrow

A common joy in the truth of God’s word.

We sang this song tonight at church. I love the meaning of this song because it is all about family... church family, our brothers and sisters in Christ! What is so meaningful to me is the love, strength, bond, hope and joy that spills over into all parts of life. Today was a hard day for many reasons. Kelly and I ran the Route 66 5K. It was the toughest 5K course we have ever ran... there were many HILLS. Today is Diane Cook's birthday. She is the amazing woman who inspired my blog. She is David's sister (Kelly's sister in law) who passed away on June 2nd of this year. Her faith was amazing and so deep. She left behind 2 little girls and a husband who love and miss her every single day. My heart breaks for them. Today, Kelly and I ran in her memory. We were reminded of her each time it was hard to run or to keep running. She did it again! She inspired us to keep on running the race... I am reminded of the verse in 2 Timothy 4:7 which says, "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."

Diane Cook

Each day is a gift from above. God gives us each day to live according to His purpose. I so often fall short and I am thankful today, everyday for His grace and forgiveness. I was thinking about ALL of this as I took the Lord's Supper today. It is my favorite part of worship each Sunday. Today, I give thanks for life... mine and yours and Diane's who touched so many with her grace and faith. Ya know, some days are hard and it is difficult to remember that the trials make us stronger and more faithful. May we all cling to that and those who love us, give us strength, hope, joy and share our common bond.

Route 66 ~ Nov. 22nd, 2009

I am thankful for the common bond we share.

Looking on the bright side of things...

Have you ever known someone who seems to glide through life with a smile, never having a bad day, always in a great mood?  Life is perfect when you have Jesus in your heart, right? Uh, yeah..no... It isn't perfect so why do some people act like it is?  I haven't "hung around" perfect people lately (like since college) because they make me feel stupid and like my faith is lacking. The truth is... God never said this thing called life would always be happy and easy.  I TRY REALLY HARD to see the positive in all things but there are just times when I have to admit, life is hard or frustrating. 

This has been a hard year in teaching... for many reasons.  I am not going to spend the time to recount those things here.  You'll just have to trust me when I tell you... it is a difficult year.  I am trying to see the positives... and there are many to reflect on.

Flash + Dreamboat = Flashboat!

(AKA... Sarah and Me!)

~ I LOVE my co-teacher, Sarah Hicks! She cracks me up every single day! I LOVE her organizational abilities and how she is working so hard to get me to perfection in that area! DUDE! She SO has her work cut out for her!

~ The smiles on my students' faces are always a positive and all 27 of them are making AMAZING progress in all areas! WOO HOO!!

~ My desk area is naked!!! I am SO EXCITED!! Sarah has de-cluttered me and MADE me throw lots of stuff away as well as donate boxes full of misc. stuff.  It is a CLEAN kind of feeling!

~ Laurieann... who laughs when times are hard and just keeps moving forward.

~ Tobi... who works hard to unify the team and keep us stuck together.  She is there to unite us always!

~ Micah... who communicates how she is feeling and validates us all.

~ Kelly... who vents, listens, encourages and sticks to the plan, even when it is hard. This "big class adventure" is something... so glad we are in it together!

~ Rocket Brothers... can make almost any day better.  I am so thankful it is just a few minutes away! WOO HOO!! This will tell you how stressful this year has been and how we are spread so thin... TODAY was the FIRST EVER "TEAM Rocket Run" of the school year! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??

~ Wednesday nights... this might seem a bit weird to some. However, it is the energizer I need in the middle of the week to keep going. God is good... ALL THE TIME!

~ Running... it is amazing how much better I feel after I run on Mondays and Thursdays.  I am sure it is partly the run and partly the company but it is good, nonetheless!

Kelly, Me and Bridget AFTER the Tulsa Run on October 31st!

I am SO proud of us!!!

Sometimes it helps to just focus on the positives...

Family Matters

This weekend was pretty amazing... it was quite a week at school.  I would say one of the hardest of my career but that is all in perspective now.   It is funny that you can go through something, all caught up in the emotion of it and look back, realizing it really was beyond your control.  Well... that is how it was last week.

My weekend started in the most amazing way!  At 5:30 on Friday, I went to church.  I met my family there... Mom, Don, my girls and Todd, David, Kelly and the boys.  Tim was there too and so was another family (neighbors of Mom's). This was something I have prayed for since... forever, honestly. My mom establishing herself at church in her faith and wanting to be involved in worship every Sunday. YAY!!!!  My mom was baptized for the remission of her sins on Friday at Broken Arrow Church of Christ.  God has the power to make HUGE dreams come true!!  Mom hasn't been a member of a church in over 38 years but now she attends BA COC with us every Sunday.  The amazing part of this story is that Don, Mom's husband was raised in the church and his daddy was a Church of Christ preacher in Arkansas. Don is right at home at the Broken Arrow church.  Kelly and I got to go up to the "pool" to help Mom get ready.  There really are no words to describe how it felt  to hear Mom confess her faith and watch as she was buried with Christ.  It was pure joy! 

Mom and I on November 6th, 2009.

This road we are traveling is a long and curvy journey.  I am so glad to have Mom there with me! Is it weird to say you are proud of your mom?  Well... I am! YAY MOM! YAY GOD! It was also neat to see the relationship that Kelly has built with Mom and Don... I know they appreciate her welcome hugs every Sunday. Isn't funny to think how all of this came about and how the Lord brings people into our lives at just the right time? Mom wouldn't be at church right now if she hadn't come to my baptism in June. I clearly wouldn't have been baptized in June without Kelly's influence and so this is how it was intended to be. Praise be to God!

Mom with Tim.

       Raised to walk in newness of life!

Don and Mom with Emma, Katherine, Todd and I