delish

i made coconut mango chicken salad for dinner tonight, and it was DIVINE! whoever created that recipe was a genius.

yikes

this is what i'll be teaching in 6 weeks....what the heck did i get myself into?!

breakthrough

Sitting on the table with my feet on a chair, I tossed the ball up with one hand and caught it several times. The door opened, and two students walked in, backpacks slung over their shoulders. They were obviously tired after a windy day of school, and most likely not in the mood for doing more math. Javier briefly looked up from watching his feet take one step in front of the other, but as soon as he saw what I was doing, his head jerked back up.

"I'm so good at basketball, Miss Olewiler! I'm pretty much the best one of all my friends...plus, I can throw it 3 meters and make it in the hoop with my eyes closed!"

"Oh really?" I said, being purposefully skeptical. "Then you'll have to prove it to me."

"Are we gonna play basketball, Miss Olewiler? Please? I mean, if we finish early and stuff can we play a little?" he pleaded.

"Pull out your homework, Javier. And as you're doing that, I wanna tell you something."

To be honest, I'd never seen him come alive with anything, but putting together some clues and intuition, I'd decided I was going to make him my "project" and he wasn't getting off the hook--though he had no idea.

"Javier," I said, looking him dead in the eyes, "this basketball is yours."

I let the words hang for a few seconds...."It's for you, but you can't have it right now. If you can prove to me that you will try your best, put forth effort in class, and start picking up the pace for learning, then you'll take this basketball home with you in 3 weeks. I'm not saying your work has to be perfect. I'm saying you're going to try your best and be willing to learn. You don't have to enjoy it, but I know you can do better than what you're showing your teachers right now."

His eyes didn't move, even after I stopped talking.

"And as soon as you finish your homework page, we're going outside."

I wasn't sure what was going through his ten-year-old brain at that moment, but whatever it was, it was enough to cause him to sit up straighter, pull out his math homework, and begin working without me having to give directions or review how to add. True, it took a few good solid minutes to finish the page, but only one out of about 30 questions was incorrect.

We played "Math-Ball" for about fifteen minutes. "Three times two plus four," I said as I bounced it to him.

"Uh....wait...wait....hold on.....ten!"

"Ten times nine."

"Uh-ninety!"

"Four times three plus one."

"Thirteen!"

.....

"Now Javier, I'm going to put your basketball right here under my desk until tomorrow, ok? We'll pull it out again and use it for subtraction and division."

"Okay! Bye Miss Olewiler! See you tomorrow!"

.....

Now I know I'm not the greatest teacher in the world...but sometimes, you have those moments when you've been fighting and fighting, and you finally crack the glass. And it's in those moments when everything's worth the fight. We're definitely not done--we have three weeks of intense cramming before testing--but I am determined that Javier will earn that basketball, and I'm going to remind him of it as often as I need to.

Hey....eight bucks is worth a kid passing fourth grade.

projects of today.

no.

sometimes
the answer is no.

and you want a yes
or even a hopeful no,

but sometimes, the answer is simply no.

and it can be a hard kind of no
but you bank on the fact that
later down the road
there will be a better yes.

H

overload

i'll be honest....
i'm mentally freaking out right now. my brain is on overload, and everything is so jumbled together that i can't think straight. i have the jitters and haven't really eaten or slept well the last 30 hours (nor do i really want to, i'm so antsy). but don't worry! it's because of good things that are going on...they're just very big good things.

met with my pastor yesterday, and a friend and i have been given the privilege and responsibility of Children's Ministry Directors for our church's summer kids program! he's done it before, but we're both starting fresh for this year and are super excited. normally, planning for this summer program begins in january and i guess they typically have a lot of the details already in place by now. but for us, it's late april and nothing's been started yet, so it's up to us. like i said, exciting but a huge responsibility. last night we hashed out some of the bigger points, designed an outline for the curriculum, and were even able to write some general summaries that each week will focus on. i'm in the middle of creating a manual (for organizational purposes, accountability, and for future directors to use if they choose), and as soon as Easter's over, we're going public, so it's gotta happen this week!

received an email today from my contact in china--i'm officially going for 2-3 weeks for the summer to teach English over there, and now that i have some more specifics i can start moving ahead. not just that i can, but i need to....and fast. in 2 short months i'll be boarding a plane for hong kong, and there's a lot to do to make it happen. plane tickets, medical shots, visa, housing, transportation, schedule of events, curriculum planning (waiting to receive the textbooks)...everything!! holy cow! i can't believe this is actually happening....

on top of that, i have to work on lesson plans for work, job applications, furlough plans for a church family, about 10 podcast sessions to finish for counseling, regular Sunday School to plan for the next month, and meeting with lots of people, to name the big ones. :) now don't get the idea that i'm complaining, but i'm really not--i'm actually extremely thankful and blessed, but i also just realize how critical it is to use every moment of each day. and thankfully, i'm not doing all this alone (haha...otherwise i'd fail!)...no, the Lord is right beside me, and i just keep looking up at him and laughing at the ways he works.

okay, that's it for tonight. i could go on about what's racing through my thoughts, but i've spent enough time already. i know that it'll be a busy few months coming up, but i'm so ready to see what lessons and joys the Lord has planned!

H

here we go

so many thoughts and emotions running through my head tonight....i'm challenged to think big picture, to be faithful, to look at responsibilities i've been given, to encourage a sweet new friend, to train little ones, to plan and prepare, to laugh more, and to be thankful.

i am incredibly blessed.

H

things i call beauty

do you ever think about stepping gently into a musicbox
letting it play ever so softly while you turn and dance with grace?
do you ever laugh yourself silly like a ten-year-old with her girlfriends
talking for hours in your over-sized high heels and pink lipstick?
do you sit and drink in the night stars and city lights
wishing that you'd never have to say goodbye to them?
do you ever imagine the life of a yellow rose, wild and free
singing as she's fascinated by a luring spring rain?
do you breathe in the loveliness of enchanting strings
and piano glissandos as they tease each other?

mmm...

the house really did smell like india today, as i cooked up some pilau biryani. only one bad thing though...i overestimated the rice. needless to say, i'll be eating this for probably a week straight. :)

oh well.
won't stop me from cooking again.

restless.

i'm craving a bowl full of adventure tonight.
dramatic white clouds, brimming with the coming weekend rain,
are pasted against the black sky
and the stars beckon wistfully...
how daring it'd be to race the night
with wild eyes, large and teasing
and laugh til you can laugh no more.

so while my chin rests on the windowsill
and i watch what i cannot join
the thrills must remain conflicted inside
for the day will soon come
and when it knocks at my door,
i just might leave without so much as a warning.


H

excerpt from novel

"They call me a master carpenter," Li Wen said. "Compared to you, I am but a novice."

They worked together, master and apprentice, building and fashioning, using a simple wood chisel and a plane, doing with their hands what no machinery could.

"You hands are so skilled and powerful," Li Wen said. "Yet so delicate."

"I have much experience building. And these hands are familiar with wood."

"Anything I ever built in the Shadowlands was nothing compared to this."

.......

As Li Wen rubbed the wood grain with his hands, the King stood back and said, "There--it is finished." He smoothed His hand over the chair's arms and stood back, smiling. "This chair is made for Li Wen. Sit."

"No. I cannot. It is much too beautiful. I am not worthy."

"I decide who receives My gifts. Sit down....you can take it with you to My new earth. It will sit in the great house of Li."

"Thank you my Master. Li Wen is most unworthy."

"Don't you think I know who's unworthy and who isn't?" the King asked, laughing. "Li Wen once built a chair for Me. I do not forget such things. I am pleased now to have built one for him. And, remember, you assisted Me in building it."

"But this chair is far beyond anything Li Wen could ever build."

"What you do for Me has never equaled what I do for you, has it?"

"No. Never."

"So let us not imagine it should be different now."



Safely Home by Randy Alcorn