Million MAGA March! A Day to Remember!

Amazing Day!

Prayer on the grass outside the Capital...May God give us mercy!

My friend, Robin 

American Patriots 

This is our friend, Preston 

Washington Monument 

Washington Monument 

Thankful for these friends

Lincoln Memorial

Leaving for Washington, DC.

Almost a million strong! 

Washington DC. 

 This past week I had the opportunity to have a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Last Friday morning, I dropped our children off at school, and I climbed into a car with three other dear ladies from our church. We headed to Washington, DC., to attend the Million MAGA March! 

Regardless of whom you voted for in this past election, you’re kidding yourself if you think that there was not election fraud happening! Last Monday, I happened to see a post about the Million MAGA of march in Washington DC. There was some chatter about it in our ladies group page from church, and I asked, “Who wants to go?” I never really thought that some of us would be able to actually attend! I mentioned it to Roger, but said, “I don’t see how I’d ever be able to go, especially on such short notice.” He replied, “Well, you could try. You could see if any of the other ladies from church can make it work.” I called our school administrator and asked if I could take a day off on Friday. She agreed. One step down! We were able to arrange for lodging near Washington, DC. Two steps down! Our pastor’s wife, Beth, and another dear friend, Robin, were also able to say yes to coming with us. It was truly of God that all the details could be worked out on such short notice! 

We left on Friday morning around 7:30am, and we arrived about 8:00pm near Washington, DC. The day in the car had been spent with great time of fellowship, prayer time, and discussion about the state of our nation. While we were excited to attend this rally and support our President, this is also a somber time in our nation as we look to the future. What a privilege that we can cry out to our Heavenly Father and we know that He hears us! While He may not answer in the way that I am praying, I can rest confidently that He does hear our prayers. 

Around 7;30 am, we left our place of lodging to head into Washington, DC. We were able to find the metro station, and we purchased passes for a day of riding the metro. We got on the metro that was about 25 minutes outside of the city. As soon as we entered the metro, we knew we were headed in the right direction. There were already people inside that were wearing Trump hats, carrying American flags, talking about the election, and patriotism was running high! As we settled into our seats, a gentleman sat behind us. He was probably in his early sixties. He looked so sad that I couldn’t help but smile (yes, I pulled down my mask to smile). He  smiled back, and we struck up a conversation with him. Beth and I talked with him about where he had come from for the rally. He had driven from Kansas City, Missouri, to come to the rally. He had driven seventeen hours by himself. His eyes filled with tears as he talked with us expressing his deep sorrow over the state of our nation. He said he just felt like he needed to come to this rally to show his support. He had no idea how many people would come, but he felt like he needed to come. His comments echoed much of ours as my friends and I had discussed that we hoped it wasn’t going to be a rally for the President with just the four of us! The man introduced himself as Preston, and we continued to talk. He went on to explain that he had spent several years in Washington DC during the Reagan and Bush administration. This man had a wealth of information! As we neared the city, he encouraged us to be sure to stick together and stay on the main streets. As Trump supporters, he wasn’t sure what the atmosphere would be like. 

Preston got off the metro at the same station that we did. He was/is very familiar with the city and he directed us towards the Freedom Plaza. We walked past the Trump hotel, and we encountered more and more Trump supporters (but not close to one million!). Because we were in the city so early and the rally was slated to start until noon, we had planned to wander around a bit and see what we could see. Preston offered to take us to see the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the WWII Memorial, the White House and the Washington Monument. We agreed! This was a nice older gentleman and certainly none of the four of us knew what we were doing or where we were going! It ended up being Preston and I in the front as we started off walking. We had several deep conversations throughout the morning and at times both of us had tears or were shedding tears. This man has a deep love for America, but what struck me is that he also had a clear knowledge of the Bible. We talked about several parts of the Bible, our relationships with Jesus Christ, and God’s love for His children. I am absolutely convinced that God brought Preston into our life for that day in Washington, DC. 

What a morning! Preston mentioned that he had never seen the city so boarded up or the White House so protected. As we walked past the White House, the motorcade went by! Yes, President Trump! I was only able to see him give a thumbs up, but Robin got to see the President! That was exciting! We enjoyed the opportunities to see the memorials, and there were American Patriots walking around everywhere. It still didn't feel like a million people, but it was probably about the safest day ever to walk in Washington DC! It was truly a day that I will never forget. 

Around 11:45am, we headed back towards Freedom Plaza. As we got closer, we could see throngs and throngs of people! It was an amazing sight of American flags, Trump flags, banners, posters, and the American spirit of patriotism. Preston’s eyes filled with tears almost immediately as he said, “I never expected this. This is amazing! I never thought all these people would come to this rally!” As far as the eyes could see, there were people. People that had never met each other came together in a spirit of togetherness. The atmosphere was pleasant, happy, upbeat, and really, really amazing. As the time loomed closer to noon, we weren’t sure what was going to happen. We knew we were marching to the Supreme Court, but someone had to start the march. Suddenly we heard a voice over a loud speaker. It wasn’t a loud enough microphone for the amount of people, but we managed to ease up closer. Someone from the Concerned Women of America welcomed us to the rally. Next someone prayed which I was not expecting. I have no idea who prayed, but whomever it was, I could agree with as he prayed. He prayed for God to give us mercy as a nation. He prayed that evil would be stopped. He asked for forgiveness on our land as we recognized that we had sinned against a Holy God. Surprisingly enough, people were quiet and respectful for the most part. There was a group of young men who rudely interrupted the prayer every once in a while with their chants of “America First” and that was annoying. But others also found it annoying, and the preacher continued to pray. It was encouraging to hear him pray. Following the prayer we sang the National Anthem. Do you have any idea what it is like to hear almost a million people singing the Star-Spangled Banner?! It’ll give you goosebumps and send tears to your eyes, let me assure you!  Shortly after the National Anthem, there seemed to be a surge to turn around and start walking towards the Supreme Court. It’s about a mile and one-half to the Supreme Court, and there were people everywhere. At every intersection, throngs of people merged with the Main Street to head towards the Supreme Court. So many nationalities of people were represented. We passed a group singing “God Bless America”. We walked with people with signs stating, “Teachers for Trump”, “Stop the Steal”, “God bless the President”, and many many more signs. It was truly magnificent. As we neared the Supreme Court, we could see a group of Antifa on the outer fringes trying to stir up trouble. They were yelling obscenities and trying to engage people. However, no one was engaging them. There were plenty of people taking pictures, but we just walked on by. As we approached the Supreme Court, we weren’t really sure what was going to happen next. We assumed that someone was going to speak, but we had no idea whom. We visited with the people around us and met people from Connecticut, South Carolina, Nevada, Wisconsin, and many other states. Everyone seemed to be saying the same thing, “We had no idea how many people would come to this, but we felt like we needed to be a part of this rally.” We were all really surprised at how many people came. Another lady from the Concerned Women for America got up in front of the microphone to say that the speakers were having trouble getting to the Supreme Court due to the crowds of people. We were near someone who had a wireless speaker playing some worship music. It was beautiful. Preston asked Beth and I if we felt like God could use something like this event to bring a revival to America. Oh, yes, I absolutely do. He said that he felt the same way, and he is also praying for a great revival in American. 

Someone named “Alex Jones” got up to speak, and I was not a huge fan. I can appreciate his heart for America, but I can think of better ways to state the same thing. He doesn’t have the authority to say that we are starting the next “revolution”. He was a little too far right for me to feel comfortable with, but like I said, I can appreciate his enthusiasm. He did pray, and he did pray for many of the same things that I would pray for in America. After he spoke, there seemed to be a lull and no one seemed to know what was next in the order of events. People starting to leave as it was nearing 1:30pm. A lady got up and began to speak. Unfortunately, her voice was so terrible in the microphone that it was awful. Her voice should be used on the enemy not on Patriots!  Preston said that he needed to get headed home, and we also decided to begin to leave the rally. Preston said that he could get us back to the metro station, but we decided that we weren’t quite ready to leave. He said his good byes to us, and he headed toward the metro. We looked at each other for a moment, and then decided that most of us didn’t have a lot of energy left. We sat on the grass outside our national capital building, and we prayed. Nothing magical or mysterious happened, but to pray on the grass outside the capital was a memory for me. I’ll never forget this day. It was about two pm, and we decided to head out of the city. We found the metro station, and headed back to our place of lodging. 

It was good to sit and reflect on the day’s events, and we all felt so glad that God had orchestrated the events so that we could come. We left for Maine around 5:30 am. What a day! I spent most of the day in the car making lesson plans, writing notes, and trying to find out where I could get a Covid test! In my opinion, our governor has no business telling people that they need to have a Covid test when it is so hard to get one! I tried for endless hours to get a rapid test scheduled somewhere in our state, but to no avail! I finally had to ask for a substitute teacher for Monday, as I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get a Covid test before school on Monday morning. 

So on Monday morning, I dropped the kids off at school and began hunting for a place to get a Covid test taken. Every place I called said that because I didn’t have any symptoms they would put me down for a test that you get the results in three to five days! I don’t have three to five days! Ugh! I finally managed to snag an appointment in Portland but it wasn’t a rapid test. The lady at the CVS place told me that it would possibly take up to 48 hours to get my results. Great- not! But what choice did I have? I asked for a substitute for my class again on Tuesday, and checked often for my results...nothing! By Wednesday, I was about to go crazy as I have now used up all my personal days, and I wasn’t even sick or on vacation! I called an area clinic and asked if they had any possible openings. She replied that she could get me in at 2;15pm on Wednesday, but the results might take 24 hours. Seriously? So if I am dying, no one is urgently telling me that! I decided to go ahead and take another Covid test just in case they were able to get my results to me sooner than CVS. Let me assure you, while both Covid tests that I took were different, there is nothing comfortable about anything going that far up your nose! I did not sleep well on Wednesday night, as I was fervent in prayer that I would get these Covid results back. Praise the Lord! By five am. the results were in my email....negative!(Which I suspected I would be negative all along! Not to mention the fact that if I did actually have Covid there is no way that I could’ve caught it while being out of the state for less than 72 hours!) About ten am. on Thursday morning, I got the results from my Covid test at CVS. Another negative test! So, I guess I’m good for hugging for a while! 

So, on Thursday morning, I was finally able to return to school. I had certainly missed my class, and I am so thankful to be back at school with them. Yes, I would travel out of state again. Yes, I would set up a rapid Covid test before I left the state. Yes, I will continue to live my life and live it abundantly! Yes, I think the virus is real. No, I do not think it should control my life.  No, I will not be manipulated by fear, chaos and confusion. Yes, I will still love people who disagree with me. No, I don’t need to argue with everyone who does not see my opinion. 

It was an amazing day in Washington, DC. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to be a part of making history. God is so good!

The weekend reminded me that we are not alone in our prayers for our nation. There are many, many like-minded people who are also praying for our nation. There are still American people who want to do the right thing, who want America to be a God-fearing nation, who desire America to be a place they want to raise their children and families. May God grant us mercy we do not deserve, but so humbly and fervently ask for on our nation! Please continue to pray with us! 

Forts, Fervent Prayers, and Great Expectations!

One of many forts in our yard. 

First snowfall 

Another fine fort! 

Thankful Turkeys...I love the reminders of all that I have to be thankful for in my life!

Fort #3

Fort #4

Fort #5 

I’m going to warn you in advance that this is a heavy blog post. There’s a lot of  heaviness going on around us both in our nation and our state. Christians...we need to be fervent in prayer! 

 I don’t know about you, but it has felt like one very long week! I felt all the emotions this week, and not the positive ones! Disappointment, fear, anger, frustration, heartache, have run away with me at certain points this past week. Thankfully, I have the Fruit of the Spirit, the joy of the Lord, confidence in an Almighty God, and peace from my Heavenly Father to fight against all the emotions that threaten to overwhelm me. 

I don’t know how you voted in the election, and truthfully, I would hope we can still be friends regardless of whether or not we voted the same way. However, as an American, I’m concerned about our election process. Whether or not you think there is a case of fraudulent voting, corruption, and vote stealing, this is a big deal to me. However, to me the bigger deal lies in needing to know the truth. If my vote was corrupted this time, this cycle will continue to repeat itself until our votes really will not matter. Whomever is controlling the strings will be able to determine the election. And that, my friends, should be a cause for alarm! If there happens to not be corruption of the election taking place, then have that truth come to light. But if corruption is happening, then I am also praying that that will come to light. We need truth! But without God, truth is amoral. It’s whatever the next person decides is truth. We used to have enough of a moral compass in people that regardless of whether or not they knew Christ as their personal Savior, they would still hold to moral values. Wow...that’s changed, hasn’t it?! As a country we murder millions of babies every year in the name of “pro-choice”. Marriage is no longer just between a man and a woman. Women marrying women and men marrying men has become accepted. It’s also acceptable to change your sex identity or to identify as a dog if you choose. We certainly do not deserve God’s mercy on our nation, and I am fully aware of that! But as a faith-centered, freedom-loving, Christ- serving mama, I am pleading with God to have mercy on our nation! As I’ve looked into the faces of my students as well as my children this past week, I’ve been moved to tears multiple times as I have cried out to God. “Lord, please send revival. And may it start with me.” 

Today is Veteran’s Day. A day to honor those who have served, fought and protected our freedoms. Our Christian school made Veteran’s Day bags to give to those who have served our country. Each class made a card, book mark or something to add to the bags. The kindergarten class made cookies. They had such fun making no-bake cookies for the Veterans bags (no bake cookies can be made in the microwave, did you know that?) It was a good opportunity to teach the next generation about Veterans Day, and why we should honor and celebrate our Veterans. I am thankful for each one that has served our country. This is an especially hard Veterans Day for us, as Mr. Kevin was a veteran in the Coast Guard. We are unable to give him a card, and that has been hard for us. 

Photo credit: army.mil

In the State of Maine, we did get one victory in the election, in my opinion. Susan Collins was supposedly in the race of her lifetime against Democratic Sara Gideon. However, Susan Collins did win the election, and by quite a bit. That’s a huge praise for us! 

In other, not so good news, from our state, our governor has stated that masks must be worn regardless of the ability to keep social distance. (Side note: two words I cannot stand are “safe” and “social distancing”). Our governor has stated that all businesses (including churches) must put signs on their doors stating that masks are required for entry. Our inside gatherings have limits of 50 people and that is hard on churches also. I don’t keep up on the number of new cases every day because the cases are rising. Honestly, that should not surprise anyone as it is cold and flu season! And we’ve been wearing masks now since June so if masks are really effective, why are the case numbers continuing to rise?! I can appreciate extra hand washing, cleaner surfaces, high-risk shopping hours, grocery pick-up for those who need it, etc. and all that is great. However, this seems to become a matter more of control and not my safety any more and that bothers me. It’s also perfectly acceptable for you to disagree with me, just please do it nicely! 

Good news from the week:

*God is still in control. He is ever-loving and interceding for me. 

* The students were able to complete the first quarter in school! Please continue to pray for the “hedge of protection” around our church and school. 

* I am thankful for like-minded women who are ever willing to pray with me, and for me, and who also are praying passionately and fervently. 

* We rejoice that Susan Collins did keep the Senate Seat.

* We are thankful for all that God continues to do in and through us, and I’m trying to wait patiently. 

Soccer, Victories, Elections!

 

So thankful for these boys! 

Emma was “teaching” school using my teacher’s manual! 

A blessing from a friend. 

I feel like I have so much to write about, and I know I’m going to re-read this post in a few hours and be reminded of everything that I meant to write about! 

What a week it has been! (You probably inserted an eye-roll there thinking, “she says that ALL the time”!)  But we’ve wrapped up the soccer season, prepared a song for Veteran’s Day, had an impromptu supper get together with some friends, finally turned on the heat at our house, and so much more! 

The boys had their last soccer game last Tuesday, and we almost won...but not quite! However, we did get Chinese take-out to celebrate the end of the season, and we ate it at Mrs. Terri’s house. The kids always enjoy their time with Mrs. Terri, and it’s always nice to go to someone else’s house! 

Last Wednesday I taught music classes, and we worked on the song “God Bless America”. I don’t know if you know, but that song is actually written as a prayer for our nation. The verse to the song is not very well-known, but the words to that song can bring me to tears almost every time. In fact, we sang the song in our church on Sunday morning, and I just had to stop singing. “God bless America, Land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above...” Even as I write this, I’m reminded of how truly blessed I am to live in America. There is chaos, confusion, and destruction running rampant in parts of our country, but seriously, I love America. It’s not my God, it’s not my Savior, but it is the land that I love. 

Garett caught a cold on Thursday, so he had to miss the end-of the season barbecue for the soccer team on Friday. He was disappointed, and I was disappointed for him. However, he had a good attitude about it, and I’m thankful that he is old enough to be left at home on his own for a bit! It was about 39 degrees on Friday afternoon, but we still gathered after school for a parent/player scrimmage. It was a lot of fun, and I’m thankful that we could run around and be warm! It was also nice to wrap up the season with a fun event, and I am thankful that the season is over! It’s going to be glorious to go home on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays right after school! 

Roger caught a cold on Saturday, so he and Garett were both kinda down for the day. It was nice to have a low -key day. It was Halloween, but the only one that remembered was Emma. I’ll just look for some Halloween candy on clearance. A dear lady in our church gave our children some money for Halloween candy, and the kids decided that they would rather wait until after Halloween to spend it as then they can get twice as much! One of Travis’s friends asked him what he was going to be for Halloween. Travis gave his standard yearly reply, “I’ll be myself, of course. Why would I want to be anything else?!” Yes, that sounds like Travis! 

Earlier this week, Travis asked for a refund on his quarter. We have these snack boxes at school in which the students can pay a quarter and then pick out a snack. Travis had asked me for a quarter for a snack, so I had given him one last week. A few days later he asked me for a refund on his quarter! “What? Why?” He replied that he had picked out a snack and it was “terrible”. I asked him what was wrong with his snack, and he replied that his cookies tasted like “Church cookies”! He said that sometimes “church cookies” taste pretty bad, and the cookies from the snack box tasted like those. I about spit out my water as I listened to him describe his impression and his need for a refund on his quarter! 

Roger and Garett both stayed home from church on Sunday, as they were still congested. This is a year that we need to be very careful with colds and germs, so as much as they were disappointed to miss church, it was necessary. As we sang “God Bless America”, I caught the eye of one of the oldest gentlemen in our congregation. This man is a WWII veteran, and one of my friends. His eye closed but not before I noticed the tears forming, and that was my undoing too. This man had fought for our countries freedoms, his wife died about two years ago, and I know he is very concerned for our country. These are the heroes of our country, in my opinion. Our school is creating small “thank-you” bags for veterans, and I hope we can be a small blessing to those who have given so much to our country. 

I was also blessed to discover two loaves of homemade bread and a jar of jam with my name on it at school last week. A dear friend, Robin, has made bread for the staff at our school, and it was my turn for fresh bread. It was perfect timing too as we’ve been studying the food pyramid in our class. It was a delightful treat, and such a sweet reminder of how much God loves me. 

Last week, Chandler had our new staff member, Mr. Waugh, as his teacher for a few days. Chandler’s teacher was not feeling well, so Mr. Waugh subbed in the seventh grade class. Garett was happy because his teacher let him be in the seventh grade class on Thursday. Mr. Waugh has been such a great addition to our school, and I am so thankful for his positive mentorship on our sons. While we recognize that we, as parents, have the most influence on our children,  it’s always so wonderful when they can have Christ-like mentorship in their lives. Mr. Waugh has also taken on teaching the seventh and eighth grade boys Sunday school class, and our boys have certainly been enjoying that. It’s a wonderful thing when our boys want to go to church and Sunday school, and I know that they are being challenged through God’s Word. As parents, we are very thankful for these positive changes in our boys lives. It’s been a rough start to the school year for several of our children, so it’s a balm to a weary soul to see God still at work. 

Election....tomorrow! Our students will be singing, “God Bless America” tomorrow, and it’s fitting that this will take place on voting day. You’ve read all the articles, you’re probably fed up with politics, you’ve probably already decided who you are going to vote for, and maybe you’re over the whole thing! I’ve been praying fervently for the election tomorrow. I’m praying for a landslide victory, and I’m praying for President Trump to win! I’ll always vote for the candidate who is pro-life, protects our second amendment, wants to protect our borders, and is for the American people. Perfect? Far from it! I hope that you can separate the man from the politics. The lives of literally millions of unborn babies are dependent upon someone defending them! Whatever you do tomorrow, please exercise your right to vote! It’s a right that we may not have for very long if we don’t protect it and preserve it. Here in Maine we are up against ranked choice voting, which is wrong and unconstitutional! 

Also, in other news in Maine...our governor has declared another state of emergency! What?! Oh, yes! This is number seven or is it eight? I cant remember anymore! It’s a money grabbing scheme, and while I believe that Covid is real and active, I believe that the governor should have checks and balances for her actions. While we don’t get to vote on a governor tomorrow, I am praying for several small local elections that perhaps can influence some of our governors decisions. 

Regardless of what happens tomorrow, God is already there! I am so thankful that He sees the storm from the other side. He knows what tomorrow looks like, and He goes before us. Let us be diligent to storm the gates of heaven with our prayers. And please....vote! 

Blessings!

School, Soccer, Fish, and Blessings!

Chandler caught a bunch of minnows in his homemade minnow trap! 

Our school soccer field is right on the ocean bay- its a beautiful spot!

Saw these deer in our driveway! 

Our own children also enjoy the kindergarten room! 

The fish tank! 

Rough moments but sometimes we have to do things we don’t really want to do! Life! 

 We will be starting week #8 of school tomorrow! God has protected us in a mighty way, and He has put a hedge of protection around our church/school property. We pray daily for His continued protection, and I know that many of you pray with us- thank you! 

We thought that last week was going to be the last week of soccer.  But since a team forgot to show up last Tuesday, we have one more game this week! The boys certainly don’t mind that they get to have a few extra soccer practices and another game. And while I am very, very happy that the boys had the opportunity to play, I’m looking forward to being able to come right home after school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday! 

Last Monday we had a home game. The team did not have one of their better playing experiences, and it showed in how they played together. They lost the game, but it was another opportunity to learn something. No soccer game has every been won by one player- work together! On Tuesday we were supposed to have another home game, but the team forgot to show up! Apparently they had forgotten to put the game on their schedule, so they did not show up to play. It was disappointing, for sure, but we got to go home a little early- yay! 

Wednesday was an early release day for the students. We have an early release day once a month where the students are released around lunchtime, and the teachers get an afternoon to have a staff meeting and work on classroom stuff. We always can use more time in our classrooms! Our administrator has three young kids, whom our children adore! All of our children were happy to spend an hour in the kindergarten room eating pizza, playing with the toys, and visiting with each other. I’m so glad that our children enjoy spending time with our administrators children, as that is just an added blessing! Roger was able to pick up our children around 1:30, so that meant that I had the opportunity to do some additional preparing and planning for the school week. I even managed to update one of my bulletin boards- hooray!

Thursday marked the day for an away soccer game. The game was going to be played about an hour from the school, and nearer to a larger city. Since this city has a Sam’s Club, Target and other shopping places, I had planned to leave after my morning kindergarten class to run a few errands before the game. When I mentioned my plans, I was surprised to hear that all five of our children wanted to come with me! Garett told me that he really didn’t want to go shopping too much, but since I was leaving at 11:45am, and the rest of the team was leaving around 2;15pm, he wanted to come with me. That’s a Garett statement right there! The boys asked me if they could invite Austin to come with us on Thursday, so I ended up taking five boys and one little girl with me on errands. The boys were happy to have a friend along, and I am so very thankful that Chandler has Austin in his class. Austin is a good friend to our boys, and it was fun to hear them laugh and visit together as we wandered through Sam’s Club, Walmart, Five Below, and Dick’s Sporting Goods. It was a fun afternoon, and I’m glad I brought them with me. We arrived at the playing field just as the soccer team from school pulled into the parking lot! Perfect timing! The team ended up winning the soccer game on Thursday, so that was exciting for the team. I am very thankful that I’ve been able to be a part of being involved with the team. Due to Covid, we can’t take the team to McDonalds or some fast food place after the game, so my friend, Ashley, and I have made up sack suppers for each away game. Honestly, it’s worked out so well that I think I’d want to continue doing it this way even after Covid. It saves so much time (and money) to just hand a sack supper to each player after the game. The suppers include a sandwich, piece of fruit, bag of chips, dessert and a Gatorade. I’m sure that some players could do with a more substantial supper, but it’ll hold them until they get home! 

Roger has had a few more days off this past week due to weather and scheduling. I asked him if he was working at all this week, and he replied that he was working his “normal” work load of four days a week. It’s been since June 29th that Roger has had a four-day week, so no wonder we wondered if he was working! Last Sunday Roger was able to come to church with us which was the first time since mid-June. I think it was one of the first times that he wasn’t wearing a work uniform or going out to the airport since the end of June! It’s been a long summer (actually a long year!) but now that the float plane is done for the season, we may be able to get a sense of some type of “normalcy” again. We were/are happy to make sacrifices for the good of the company, and we will continue to do so. It was also nice to have Roger around a bit more. Because of the work schedule this week, Roger was able to go on a hike with the junior high boys on Friday afternoon. I never thought we’d be the kid with a child that didn’t want to go on a hike, but we had one this past week. Chandler did not want to go on the hike. I know it was largely due to personality differences, but guess what? Difficult people are everywhere and at every stage of our lives. Roger and I had several discussions with him about the hike, but at the end of the day we had to force him to go, tell him that he was to have a good attitude, and he was to do his best to work with the people that were challenging to him. I was in tears as much as Chandler, but Roger and I both knew that we needed to make him go. And since God worked out the details that Roger could go on the hike, that was even better! I think both Chandler and Garett ended up having a good time, and it was a good experience for the junior high boys to climb a mountain on Friday afternoon! 

The school board recently hired another person to help out at the school. This person does maintenance, tutors students, helps with lunch and recess duty, and so much more. This man is a member of our church, and he has been such a blessing to our boys. Mr. Waugh has worked in a Christian School in the past and also with junior high boys. Mr. Waugh helps with students that may need additional learning help, and Garett is one of those students that will benefit from that. Wyatt asked me this week what he needed to do to get to have a conversation with Mr. Waugh! I was like what?! Wyatt replied that he liked Mr. Waugh, and he would like to have some one-on-one time with Mr. Waugh too. (Wyatt’s grades indicated that he is doing just fine in school!) It was a blessing to hear though that our other boys like and appreciate Mr. Waugh, and they treasure their time with him. I am so thankful that God brought Mr. Waugh to the school. We’ve been needing some more positive male presence in the school, and we are rejoicing in what God continues to do. 

Chandler caught me some minnows for the fish tank, and the kindergarten class is thrilled with their fish! So far, we’ve kept them all alive, and that free fish tank has been such a blessing! I love how God provides little things along the paths of our lives to encourage us, strengthen us, and bless us. What an amazing God we serve! 

Yes, we’ve been busy with school, church and family activities. We’ve also been in fervent prayer for our nation, as I trust you have been also! Much of our nation is living in fear, confusion and chaos. I am so thankful that as believers we can leave all of that at the foot of the cross! God promises that He will raise us up on wings as eagles. He promises that he will hold us in the cleft of the Rock. He promises that He holds tomorrow! Let us pray, fast and ask God to work in a mighty way! 

Unexpected Blessings, Discouragements, and our Faithful God!

                                   Soccer Fun! (Photo credit: Emma Philbrook) 

Fun with the 3D pen! 

                                                   Another beautiful spot in Maine! Our away soccer field on Saturday. 

                     Garett is the soccer goalie. (Photo credit: Emma Philbrook) 

 One more week of soccer season! The three older boys have really enjoyed playing, and Travis is happy to come to practices and play whenever he gets the opportunity. The boys have really improved in the past few weeks, and I am so thankful for this opportunity for them. They tied a game last Monday, they won a game on Thursday; the lost a game on Saturday, and also lost a game on Columbus Day. However, what I do see in the team is a marked improvement in sportsmanship, consideration of others, and a lot less whining and complaining....praise the Lord! The team has learned a lot about the game of soccer and working together. I am so thankful for the coach and all his work with the team. 

We had a long weekend last weekend, as we had Friday as a teachers inservice day and then Monday was Columbus Day. However, it was a crazy busy weekend with an away soccer game on Saturday, church on Sunday and another soccer game on Monday. Roger was working on Saturday, so I ended up taking all the kids with me to the soccer game. I drove the church van, and my friend Ashley drove her van with a bunch of my kids and hers also. I hadn’t planned on going to the game, but then someone was needed to drive the church van, and there I was! We left at 9:00am, and we were back in the church parking lot by 3:30pm. Whew!! We had enough players for Saturday’s game, but we were missing a few kids. We only had two subs for the bench, and then one of our players wasn’t feeling well. Our coach asked the other team if they would mind if Travis played on our team even though he’s only in fourth grade. They said he could play, and that made Travis’s day! He was thrilled!! He did really well, and played the whole second half of the game. The team hung in there though, and we lost 4-2. But it was a game well played! 

On Monday we had another soccer game, but this one was on our home field. We played this team last week, and we tied the game with three overtime periods. However, we didn’t manage to pull that off on Monday, but the team still gave it their best effort. One of our players had forgotten her soccer cleats, but Travis had brought along mine (just in case he got to play again), so that worked out for one of our players to borrow my cleats. Last Monday when we played this team, one of the boys had on shorts that were about to fall off. I had borrowed a chair from my friend, Hannah, and I ended up taking the draw string out of the camp chair bag to use for a way to tighten the shorts. Oh yes, improvisation is sometimes the name of the game! 

One of our children is still very much struggling with school. A lot of it has to do with classroom dynamics, personalities, and life situations. This child comes to school because he has really enjoyed playing soccer, so I am praying that God brings along something else that he would really, really enjoy. This particular child has often been discouraged lately, and it’s hard to know sometimes what to do as a parent. I’m telling you that parenting is the hardest job, I’ll ever do! I had planned to coordinate  a Teacher/parent conference, but God just plopped an opportunity to talk to his teacher in my lap this morning. God knew that I needed to talk to this child’s teacher, and it was a good conversation. I cried....nothing new there, but I could see tears in the eyes of the teacher. I was reminded again of how much this child’s teacher also cares for the students in her classroom. We are so very blessed to have this experience to enroll our children in a private Christian school. It’s not without its struggles, but God is so faithful! 

Our governor came out with her “stage four” guidelines for our state during the Coronavirus. While our numbers clearly do not dictate a need for mandatory masks, she has now decided that private schools also need to mask their students. I about became unglued as I read through the article. Fourth Amendment anyone?! Hippa Privacy Act?! Oh, it’s been a week, that’s for sure! I again fall back into the protection of my Father’s arms and rest in the confidence that He is unchanging!  

God also provided a few unexpected blessings this week. Last week, when we went over to a friends house, Chandler was given a turtle. He’s been keeping it in an animal cracker container, but he really needed a tank for his turtle. We didn’t want to spend too much money, so we’ve kinda just be waiting to see what pops up. Well, Roger happened to spot two free fish tanks beside the road a few days ago!! The aquarium has lights, rocks, fake plants...everything! Chandler has a tank for his turtle, and it looks like the kindergarten classroom will be getting a pet fish!! God is so good! 

Several months ago (before Covid), the boys were at a birthday party. The child received a 3D pen for a gift, and my kids were in awe of all that this cool pen could do. We looked it up online, but the pen costs like $50.00! No way! Not even for a birthday gift! The boys put it out of their minds, but this week I popped into Goodwill to look for some books for my classroom. I found a 3D pen in the box, with a lot of extras included. And it cost $5.00! The boys have been having so much fun with that pen, and it was such a fun surprise! We looked up the retail value of the pen and the extras, and it costs $85.00 on Amazon! Now God totally did not have to provide the fish tank or the 3D pen, but He did! He’s such a good, good Father to His children! We are so blessed! 

Fall!

 These weeks have been passing by so quickly! I feel like we blink, and the week is over. We are so very thankful that we have been able to have in person school this year. For the most part, our children are all happy to be in school. One of our children is struggling, but God has been faithful through it all. 

The older boys are really enjoying playing on the soccer team, and Chandler told me that he wished that we had soccer practice or a game every day. Um....I don’t! Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled with the soccer team, but it sure does wreck havoc on meal planning, packing lunches, and other after school things! But I’m not complaining as it’s only for a few weeks, and it has been great for the boys to have this opportunity. 

We had a ministry meeting at our house last Thursday night, and I made chili supper for about 19 people. It’s good to gather as a group of ministry helpers and coordinators every once in a while just to make sure we are all moving in the same direction. Youth group has been hard for Roger to commit to this past summer just with all the changes within his job. But through it all, the teens have been faithful, and we are excited about the fall. Rogers job should be slowing down some as they’ll be wrapping up the float plane season. Roger is one of the most faithful and dependable people that I know. He definitely doesn’t do it all like I would do it (thank goodness!) but he leads by quiet example. I know the summer has been long and hard for him, but he’s rarely complained, and he continues to do the next right thing. 

This is a short week of school as we have Friday and next Monday off due to Columbus Day. Our children are happy to have a few days off of school, but they do have a soccer game on Saturday and on Monday. I’ll be having a teacher inservice day, which will include a few meetings and then some time in our classrooms...very thankful for that! Somehow I envisioned a lot more time than I have these days, so I’ll be happy for any extra time I can spend preparing and planning for teaching kindergarten. These littles are so special to me, and I really want to help them develop a love for learning and to know that God loves them. Some mornings are exhausting, but the time sure is short! 

The team had a soccer game yesterday, and my friend, Hannah, graciously took Emma and Travis after school. Roger was able to get away for the game, and it was a good game. The kids played really hard, and they managed to hold the tie game at 2-2. After three overtime periods of (5 minutes each) the game was declared a tie. While the boys would’ve enjoyed a win, they were very happy to have a tie game. It’s amazing to me how much the boys have learned and developed in the last few weeks. I am very thankful for the opportunities to watch them play, and it’s fun seeing three of the four boys on the field together. Garett played much better in the goalie position, and while every shot on the goal made me nervous, he did a good job. 

We would appreciate your continued prayers for our family, our school, and our church. 2020 has been a challenging year, but I hope and pray that you have seen the faithfulness of God in your life as we have in ours. 

Dates, Flights, and Soccer Games!

 “God created, God created,  night and day. Night and day, that was the on the first day, that was on the first day. It was good. It was good” to the tune of Frere Jacques song. We’ve been learning about Creation in kindergarten, and it’s interesting to me because that has currently carried over into my music classes. I’m teaching 5-8th grade music this year, and my main focus to start off the school year is studying what the Bible says about music. Hmm....if God created ALL of creation to proclaim His glory, how great our responsibility to glorify Him must be! I’ve started a hymn study with my  music classes. Did you know that Charles Wesley is credited with writing the most hymns? He wrote over 8,800 hymns in his lifetime. That’s a lot of hymns!! Anyways, it’s been a good study for me too....hopefully, my students will learn to enjoy it also. 

Soccer, soccer, soccer! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the team is out on the field after school practicing. Our older boys are really enjoying the opportunity to be a part of the team, and they’ve learned a lot! Garett has been playing in the goalie position. He has his size going for him, but he just needs to increase his aggression towards the ball. If you know anything about Garett, aggression is not part of his personality! Chandler plays mid-center, and Wyatt is playing right wing. They work hard in practice every time, and I’ve enjoyed helping out with the practices as well. It’s exercise, and that is good for me too! 

We had our second game of the season yesterday, and we lost. Sadness! We played very well the first half, but kinda became tired and fatigued in the second half. The final score was 1-6. While it was disappointing to lose, a lot of lessons can be learned. It’s interesting to note that the same players that were blaming each other in practice for bad passes, mess ups, etc, were the same ones in the game -still blame shifting! Edification! That is a big word that we are trying to teach the team. I will say that I am very, very thankful for the boys soccer coach. A dad from our school stepped up into the coaching role, when he realized that we wouldn’t be able to have a team unless someone coached. His own children are too young to play, but yet he is willing to coach the team. I was not impressed with the coach of the other team we played yesterday. All of my boys made the comment on the way home, that they were very thankful that their coach didn’t act like that. You know what? I’d 1000 times rather have a coach for my boys that might not be the worlds best coach but is willing to invest in their lives and point them to Jesus than to have a coach that knows all the rules of the game but is not a good example! The truth of the matter is that actions and words do matter! So, all that to say that Roger and I are very thankful for the man that has stepped into the role of being the head coach for the team this year. 

Last week, Roger and I got away for a quick date! Whew! I didn’t even know we knew that word! It’s been at least since March that we’ve been able to get away for a lunch together. Roger had a long time friend that was visiting in the Down East area of Maine. Roger and I were able to sneak up to see Kyle and his girlfriend. Roger flew the plane, we landed in Bar Harbor, met our friends, had a quick late lunch, and then Roger had to be back with the airplane. It was a fast and quick afternoon, but we were thrilled to get away. I’m thankful for my friend, Hannah, who took my tribe after school to her house for the afternoon. Roger and I had originally hoped to leave around noon, but it was closer to two pm before we were headed to Bar Harbor. It was a beautiful day for a flight, and we had a great time together. Roger and I were able to get coffee and take a walk together before we needed to pick up the kids, and it was just a much needed afternoon together. 

School....it’s another thing we do these days! Every single day I pray for Gods protection on our school, our church, the property, the families, and the students. We’ve needed prayer all of our lives, but this year it is especially important to keep praying for Gods protection. It’s a miracle that we are actually able to go to school, and several schools in our states are doing various stages of remote learning, scattered days in school, some have opened and then shut, and the level of fear and panic is high! Please pray with us for God’s protection, Divine wisdom, and direction and discernment. He is worthy of our praise, honor and glory! He is so faithful! 

We are wrapping up week number four of school, and I am really enjoying teaching kindergarten. I’ll be the first to admit that rainy days are not my favorite, but we haven’t had too many of those! I love seeing the faces of my students in the mornings, and they've been very fun to work with this year. I want to teach them to read, but also to love learning. They have a lot of years of school ahead of them, and I want to help them enjoy learning. I’d also appreciate your prayers for me as I teach them to read and write, but also teach them about God and His Word. 

Life is not all roses. Ha! If you’ve read my blog for very long, you’ll pick up the fact that I share ups and downs in our lives. We’ve been battling with difficult life experiences with one of our children. School has been hard for him this year, not academically per se, but just school experiences. This particular child told me last Saturday that he hated school (we don’t use the word hate in our family, so that In and of itself speaks volumes). He told me that he didn’t think it mattered if he obeyed and why would he want to because generally it’s not the well behaved kids that get the attention! Well, after I picked up my jaw from off the floor, we had a discussion. At first we were both upset and it was a go-no where conversation. But once I started listening to what he was saying, reading his facial expressions, and filling in the spots between the lines, we were able to move forward. We had a long discussion about character, integrity, and matters of the heart. He told me that he knew that he wanted some recognition for doing the right thing, but deep down he knew that he needed to do right no matter what other choices others were making. YES! Character is doing the right thing regardless of who’s watching or if you’ll get a “pat on the back”. Integrity is being honest even when no one is looking or even expecting you to show integrity. It was a long, messy, teary, emotional conversation, but we both came away loving each other and  desiring to communicate better with each other. I’m sure there will be other conversations along the way, but I’ll never regret the moments spent with my children praying over difficult situations with them. This particular child seems to always find himself in a classroom where there are other children that rub him the wrong way. I wanted him to have an easy year...I wanted an  easy year. But the truth of the matter is that God is going to do great and mighty things through this child when he is submitted to God’s will. Gods refining fire is not just something that happens to experienced Christians. God is working in the hearts and lives of our children also. I don’t always like the ways that God chooses, but I do know that God love our children even more than we do. 

Our governor extended us into another state of emergency. Honestly, it’s so ludicrous, but what do I know?! It’s only our seventh one! Yes, the 7th one! At some point in time, regardless of whether you’re a democratic or a republican you have to ask yourself...is this about money- perhaps federal funds?  And maybe not about the needs of the American people? Many, many Maine businesses have gone under in the last few months, and the sad part is that they won’t be replaced by other small businesses. The economic hardship that is on our state is evident all around us. For the first time in 19 years, our school won’t be holding its annual fundraising auction. We just simply can’t go asking businesses for donations for our auction when so many of them are barely getting by! So, if you know anyone who wants to donate a sum of money to a wonderful Christian school, just let me know!  

God has been so faithful to us, our family and the school. We can’t see the big picture, but I know that to be in the center of Gods will today, we will just do the next right thing. We will continue to be faithful, endeavor to have real and deep conversations with those around us, love people, and stay focused on our Heavenly Father. 

Travis spent hours trying to fix his shoe sole. He ended up taking off the sole and making slippers. 😬🤦🏼‍♀️