Half-way through September already! On one hand the month is flying by and on the other hand, it’s felt like one very long month where every day is Monday! Garett and Chandler had a good time on the High school retreat last weekend, but they came back really tired! (Read that as grouchy!) Our kids tend to go to bed earlier than most teens, but we’ve found that it works for our family. The kids are generally in bed by about 8:30pm and get up around 5:30am. It’s what has worked for years for our kids, so when we find the kids go several days with late bedtimes, it affects all of us! Anyways, Garett and Chandler said that the retreat was fun. It was an opportunity for fun, fellowship and preaching. We are thankful that the school puts the retreat in the calendar.
Travis and Emma have been playing in a school league for soccer on Saturday mornings. Travis finds it a little bit boring as it’s a lot of younger students, but Emma does enjoy it. Last Saturday several of the boys went to work for the farmer bagging corn, while Travis, Emma and I went to soccer. It was an overcast day, but that was kinda nice. I feel like most of the soccer games we’ve spent sweltering in the heat, so it was nice to not feel overheated!
On Sunday we re-visited the church that we went to last Sunday. We went to a different adult Sunday School class and this one had couples closer to our ages. The one last week was a great Sunday School lesson, but Roger and I were about the youngest ones in the class! (And we aren’t that young anymore!) We enjoyed the opportunity to interact with couples our age. The boys are in two different Sunday School classes, but they are in pairs of two. Wyatt and Travis are together in a class and Garett and Chandler are together in a class. What did surprise me was how few middle schoolers and high schoolers come to Sunday School? Is that a pattern across the nation? Do you think Sunday School is an effective means of reaching kids and families with the teaching of God’s Word? A lot of older people still go to Sunday School, but what happens when the older generation dies off? Is there a better way to minister to those around us for discipleship and evangelism? Are churches being as effective as possible in reaching the community around them by offering Sunday School? Is the purpose of Sunday School for discipleship or evangelism or both? If both, how is that happening? Sometimes…don’t overreact now…I think that Sunday School for kids has become a repetition of the same Bible stories over and over again. How many times have kids in Sunday school heard the story of Noah’s Ark by fifth grade? But do the know the attributes of God? His character? How to lead a friend to Christ? I don’t have a solution, but it is something that I spend some time thinking about. Roger and I want to be actively involved in our children’s Christian education, as we are the ones responsible, but it’s also important that the church we settle down in have a plan to help come alongside our children to encourage them in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Anyways, that was a little bit of a rabbit trail, and one that I probably have more questions than answers to.
We dropped Garett off at school at 7:00am on Monday morning for his trip to Washington, DC. He was both excited and nervous to go. It’s a tenth grade trip, so the whole class was going. Garett doesn’t have a cell phone, so we haven’t heard from him all week. I think he might prefer that he had a cellphone this week, but ya know…we want to hold off on giving our kids a cellphone as long as possible. Teens are becoming increasingly attached to their cellphones, and seem to be struggling to have real, personal relationships with actual real people. I have to put my phone on silent at times and remind myself that not every text needs to be answered immediately-I’ll apologize now to those friends of mine that have to go days before randomly hearing from me out of the blue! We are thankful that Garett had the opportunity to go to Washington DC, and we are looking forward to hearing about his experiences.
This has been a rough week for Emma and her momma! Emma is struggling so much with school. She is struggling far more than we thought that she would. School has never come easily for her, but she has liked school so far. This year it’s been a difficult transition for her to a new school, new curriculum, new friends, etc. She likes her teacher, and Emma is a pretty social child. However, most of the kids in her class have been in this school for several years or all of their lives, so sometimes finding a close friend can be a challenge. I’m worried about Emma, but the Bible clearly tells us that we cannot add height to our stature by worrying…I’d probably be 90 feet tall if that was the case! I worry and then pray. Then I battle with wanting to pick up my worry again, and again, and again. I’m thankful that God does not become weary with me. We are praying and working towards coming up with a solution to hopefully help Emma not be so overwhelmed and weary with her school work.
This week, Chandler came to school and opened his locker door. Sitting on the shelf starting at him was a mouse! Chandler slammed the locker door and told Wyatt he needed his lunch box container to catch the mouse. Chandler opened the door and the mouse escaped down the hall! Several of the boys in the hall managed to snag the mouse, and the mouse’s life quickly came to an end. The next day, it was discovered that the mouse had had babies, so that caused quite a stir! Thankfully, I think the mouse problems are behind us now! It did provide for a funny topic at the dinner table that night. I’m thankful for laughter! I’m also thankful that I was not a part of being in the hallway when the mouse was being chased around.
Chandler had another cross-country race last Monday. I seriously do not know how they run in the heat as I think I’d be throwing up! But anyways, Roger was able to get off in time to come to Chandler’s meet. The girls ran first this week, so we were there in plenty of time. Chandler took off with the pack, but by the 1/2 mile marker he was falling behind. He told me he had a cramp in his side. Well about the only thing you can do during a race is keep running, try to regulate your breathing, and keep moving. It worked itself out, but Chandler was in about the sixth spot. He managed to pull off a win with a time of 21:01. It wasn’t his best time this year, but he ran hard and worked through the cramp. We had left Wyatt and Travis at soccer practice which is normally done by 6:00pm. When we pulled up to the school it was 6:03pm, and Wyatt and Travis had been waiting for almost an hour! The coach had dismissed practice early, and there was an assumption that all the kids either had rides or a way to call their parents. However, Wyatt and Travis just had to wait patiently for us to arrive so that they could be picked up from practice. It probably wasn’t their favorite memory from this year, but they survived it!
I helped with art classes again this week. I’m not an artsy person, but I can generally follow directions. I clean up, pick up and set up for the next class while the teacher begins instructions. We have over 200 kids that come to art classes in one day, so it’s a long day. By the time the last class rolls around, we are tired but it’s like a well-oiled machine. I enjoy working with the art teacher, so that makes the day more fun.
I do the library classes on Tuesday and Thursday and those are some full mornings also! I have the opportunity to work with a great lady who helps me out a lot! It seems like every time we turn around there is a pile of books that need repairing or sorting, books to be shelved or something else to do! I’m thankful that Jennifer and I also seem to work well together and the time goes by smoothly. We’ve brainstormed a lot of library ideas,
Garett arrived home from Washington DC around 6:00pm on Friday. He was happy to be home, and we were happy to have him back. Actually, Roger and I were happy to have him back. I’m not sure his brothers missed him too much! Garett was full of stories and adventures from his week away, and we had some good times of laughter and discussion. We are thankful for this opportunity for him. God has been so good to America, and we have been blessed. I pray often and fervently that God will send a revival to America, and that God will use our young people to bring revival. Sometimes it’s easy to feel like the evil has already won, but God’s Word tells us to be faithful, make disciples, be fervent in prayer, and to trust in the Lord. Until the Lord calls me home, I want to be faithful to do what God has called me to do today and that includes loving Jesus, loving my spouse, loving my children, loving other and doing the next right thing. I am so thankful for the promises from my Heavenly Father. What an awesome God we serve!
We went back to the church we visited last Sunday. The kids seem to really be enjoying the services and the boys have asked about going to a teen activity this Friday. We’ve been going to the Sunday night service as well which has been a reminder to us that Emma has not sat as much in church services as the boys have! During our time in Maine, Roger and I were involved with teen group which happened on Sunday nights. Emma would come along with us to teen group, so she didn’t have the opportunity to sit in Sunday evening service. We had to have a discussion about our expectations after the first week, but we are seeing improvements. We don’t go to church to be entertained, and sometimes boredom is not a bad thing. Even when bored, children need to learn to sit still, not disrupt others, and be polite. I see some adults and teens still struggling with those same concepts!
It was a wearying week, but God was faithful just as He always has been. I am thankful for the wearying valleys as they give me another opportunity to grow in my faith. I don’t always like the experiences in the moment, but God gives grace for every moment. It’s still been really warm here, and it’s odd to see people decorating for fall with the temps still in the high 80s!
In closing, God is good, and He is faithful. I am thankful that He loves me unconditionally and that I am forever His child.
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