Stepping On My Own Toes

Aunt-Mom Monday/Bible Truth Tuesday

The view from my porch one night. My littles playing in the yard as the sun was setting. I think this may have been a small glimpse of what heaven may be like. 😊

Yesterday, I was dealing with some nerve pain in my left hand and arm, so I took the day off from writing and let it rest most of the day. So, today I am going to be combining Aunt-Mom Monday and Bible Truth Tuesday. It's incredible how God just orchestrates things to work out so perfectly. He spoke to me last night on a topic that fits perfectly with this combination.

Last night was the first night of VBS at our church. It was A's second year doing VBS there and K and H's very first VBS experience. I was a bit concerned that H wouldn't stay, because she is very attached to me, but she did stay and had a blast. However, when I picked the kids up, A seemed very upset and in a bad mood. I told him we would talk about it in the car. So, as soon as we got in the car and headed down the road, I asked him what happened and he proceeded to tell me that he was upset because he didn't get called on to say the memory verse so he didn't get a prize.

This gave us the perfect opportunity to talk about how sometimes we cannot choose what happens around us, but we can choose the attitude we are going to have about it. He could not control if he was called on or not, but he could control the attitude he had about not being called on. We talked about the way he was acting and what he was feeling was because of a bad attitude, but that he could choose to let it go and change his attitude into a good one. 

I believe that God finds a lot of humor in giving parents opportunities to discuss topics with their children that they need to learn themselves. I don't know how many times since being an aunt-mom that I have been in the middle of lecturing one of the kids about something only to feel like I'm stepping on my own toes a bit. Thank you Holy Spirit! I will be telling my kids something and in my mind the whole time I'm thinking, but you aren't acting that way. Wow! I have found that in order to parent, you really have to think about things in a very different and thorough way in order to be able to explain them to your littles. 

They have to be taught everything! They don't know why it is important not to lie or why it is important to look at the person they are talking to. They don't know why hitting doesn't solve their problems with their brother or sister. They don't know not to talk with their mouths full. They don't know to look both ways before crossing the parking lot. They don't know that they are supposed to wear their seat belts. They don't know that how you say something is just as important as what you are saying. They don't know that being angry over silly things is being selfish. They don't know that sharing their toys now will help them to learn to share bigger things later. They don't know. We have to teach them.

 I've always been told that the best way to know if you truly understand something is if you can teach it so others can understand it. I remember being given an assignment one time in a high school math class that involved me working with a group to teach a lesson from the textbook to the rest of the class. This was my teacher's way of assessing if we actually understood the material. I think God does that to us when we become parents. He is making sure we understand these important life skills, so that we can pass them on to the next generation. That's why parenting is so important. We have to do our best to pass these skills on to them, so that one day they will understand them well enough to pass them on to their kids. We are going to mess up. I do every day, so it is a great thing that our Father is a forgiving Father who gives us many, many chances to get it right.

So, this is my thought for the day. Maybe I'm the only one. If not and you would like to share, let me know what God may be wanting you to learn through parenting your kids in the comments below. For me it's something new nearly every day, but last night he was telling me that I cannot control what happens only He can, but I can control my attitude. He wants me to have a grateful attitude about His plans for me even when I cannot see the big picture just yet. He wants this for me just as I want this for my kids.

"Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it."                                   

        ~Proverbs 22:6

Rejoice in the truth of Christ, today!

Something's Hatching

Freebie Friday

It is about 1 pm here and it has already been an interesting day. We live on a small hobby farm with chickens, goats, rabbits, dogs, and cats. We are pet people. We bought our chickens as 1 week old chicks a little over a year ago. We have four hens and two roosters. A few weeks ago, one of our hens became broody and started sitting on her eggs. I decided to let her sit and see if any of the eggs would hatch. Unfortunately, I didn't keep good record of when the eggs were laid so I don't know exactly when they should have been hatching. Yesterday three of the chicks hatched, but didn't make it I think because of our not-very-nice roosters.

Anyway, I decided to try hatching the rest with a heat lamp because I knew if I left them, the roosters would end up killing all of them. I did leave one egg with the mama hen, so she would have something to sit on. Well, I woke up this morning around 7 am and...

That's right! Hatching...I repeat, we have hatching! I noticed two little eggs had pipped. I heard chirping from one of them and thought I was crazy, but after looking it up apparently once the baby chick has broken through into the air sac inside the egg you can hear it. About 4 hours later, another egg had a pip in it. So, as of right now, we have 3 chicks beginning the process of hatching. We are so excited. Since it is warm where we live right now, we have them just outside the front door with a heat lamp on them. The kids have been sitting just inside the glass door looking out and watching them. I have been telling them it is going to be a while and that God is helping us practice patience with these little babies, but they are bursting with excitement.

I am so excited to share this experience with the kids. I know this will be something they will look back and remember when they are grown. We will talk about that time we hatched chicks on our front porch. It is a thrill making memories with them. This experience was the inspiration for the freebie today! This freebie is for teachers hatching eggs in their classroom, parents hatching eggs with their kids at home, or hobby farmers like myself. It is a chick hatching record sheet that I should have thought of used since the beginning of this journey (maybe next time!). I have also included a sheet for kids to fill out on the life cycle of a chicken. You can get this freebie here.

Also, just FYI, I intend on updating this post with new pictures as the hatching progresses. Keep checking back if you would like to see some pics of adorable fuzzy baby chicks!

Update: A few hours after I posted, this little one hatched. It is happy and healthy. We lost one of the babies that had started hatching, but we are hoping that we will be getting more in the next couple days as these eggs were laid on separate days. It has been an exciting adventure today!😁

7 Ways to Keep God in the Center of Your Marriage

Thoughtful Thursday

Again this morning, I asked God to give me the words to write that someone out there may need to hear. He gave me this thought..."write about keeping Me in the center of marriage." It is amazing how the Holy Spirit works to allow God to speak to us in this way. My best thoughts come from ideas that the Holy Spirit has laid on my heart. Now, I am only a year and a half into this marriage thing, so I know that there are couples out there that could write circles around me on this topic. If you are someone that has experience and wisdom when it comes to keeping God in the center of marriage, please leave a comment letting us know what works for you.

My husband and I have started doing devotions together through the YouVersion Bible app. This has been great because we usually do them at night after the kids have gone to bed. Typically, this is now a time when he is at work. So, when he gets a free minute at work, he does it on his phone and I do it on mine and we are able to make comments and have discussions about the devotional through the app. One of the devotions this week spoke of a powerful illustration that demonstrated the importance of keeping God in the center of marriage and relationships. It said to imagine your relationship as a circle with God in the center of it. You and your spouse are two points on the circle itself. These points could be right next to one another or on opposite sides of the circle. If you draw a line from each point to God in the center of the circle, you will notice that as the points would move closer to God in the center, they would move closer to one another. I have drawn this out below for us more visual learners.

This really got me thinking about how I keep God in the center of my marriage and what more I could do. Through this thinking, I realized that the times when I feel the furthest from my husband, when arguments begin to arise more often, when we just feel at odds with one another are times when we have been slacking a bit in keeping God in the center of our marriage. There are times, as couples, that we do this better than other times. These would be times when we are each stressed out and exhausted from all of life's many demands. However, what if we could actually do a better job at keeping God in the center when these stressful, exhausting times happen? I think that is what God really wants us to do. He is our rock and wants us to rely on Him in all circumstances, especially the tough ones because that is where we see His faithfulness and love the most. 

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken."

Ecclesiastes 4:12

I didn't feel like I could write on this topic without giving some practical ideas of how to accomplish this. I have pulled some of my own ideas together with ideas that I have heard from others to give you this list. However, if you have a great idea not on the list, please leave it in the comments. I would love to add it. My prayer for you today is that you would individually seek God and draw near to Him and by doing so, you would drawn nearer to your spouse as well.

7 Ways to Keep God in the Center of Your Marriage

1. Put God First

For many, this may seem pretty obvious, but when we really think about it we realize we are coming up short. Do you really put God first in your life? Do you put God's desires above your own? Do you put God before your kids? Before your spouse? At the very beginning of my marriage, I would have to admit that the answer to these questions was "no". I gave up a lot of time that I should have been spending with God to do the wifely things that I thought I was supposed to do. I put my husband first above God. Although, this worked for a while it did not last. Soon, we were at odds with one another and I felt completely unfulfilled and felt like there was a hole in my heart. Because there was. I was at war with myself on the inside. I knew that something had to change. I had to make the decision personally to put God first. I began to get up extra early each morning to spend quiet, alone time with God. I made the decision to go to church even when nobody could go with me. I  resolved that I needed to be more faithful to God because He had always been faithful to me. The thing is I had to make the decision to do all of this for myself. I could not make this decision for my husband. He had to make his own decision on this matter. However, as I began to do these small things to put God first in my own life, I began to see how, slowly, my husband was doing the same thing. Through this, we have grown closer. This is still a work in progress for both of us.

2. Pray Together

This is one of my favorite things to do with my husband. Not only do we pray together with the rest of the family each night at the dinner table, but he and I pray together. There have been times when he or I have woken each other up in the middle of the night, because something was bothering one of us, to pray together over whatever it was. This is so powerful. I think if someone asked me what I loved most about my husband, I would have to say that he prays. I love listening to him pray and connecting with God in that way. Praying together is something that reminds us that we are on the same team and there is no need to be at odds with one another. It just isn't worth it. If for some reason your spouse won't pray with you, try praying for him or her first. I pray for my husband all the time. Each morning, I mention him in my quiet time prayers and whenever I know he is going through something really tough, I pray for him as often as I can. God can do amazing things when we ask Him to. Sometimes, He wants us to realize that we need Him and that we need to come to Him first before He works these miracles.

3. Read the Bible Together

This could be in the form of a devotion or just reading the Bible. My husband and I have done both. As mentioned above, we have started doing a devotion together each day on the Bible app. However, we have at times just started a book of the Bible and read a little bit together each day. This brings up great points of discussion that can really make you feel closer to God and your spouse at the same time. Don't just read, think about what you are reading and what God may be trying to tell you and your spouse. If you think of something that is helpful, bring it up and start the discussion.

4. Go to Church Together

Because of my husband's work schedule, we don't get to do this as regularly as I would like. However, when we do get the opportunity to go to church together, it is incredible the oneness that I feel with him. I think this is important because not only are you a part of your own marriage, but you are also a part of the marriage between the Church and Christ. Many churches offer opportunities to serve God with your spouse and opportunities to learn and grow biblically within your marriage. There are many ways that attending church can benefit your marriage, I could write a whole post about that. However, we need to remember that we are called to be active members of the church not just seeking ways the church can serve us but also how we can serve the church.

5. Talk about God Together

One of my fondest memories with my husband revolved around this idea. One night, we literally stayed up almost all night talking about God. We had a friendly debate about what we believed and what we thought parts of the Bible really meant. This discussion revealed so much about us. It occurred to me that my husband really thinks about God and the Bible a lot even when he doesn't necessarily bring it up. He revealed to me that he admired my relationship with God and he thought it was awesome how close I was to God. This was the greatest compliment that I had ever received. This compliment also came at a time when I didn't feel super close to God. So, to know that my husband saw that and admired it was huge for me. It made me realize that maybe I had been a little hard on myself lately and that if my husband saw me in that way than God saw me and loved me even more. Talking about God can help you and your spouse learn more about one another and in that way you are spending quality time with God and with your spouse.

6. Be Selfless

This is the hardest of the seven for me to do. I tend to be a very selfish  person. I get frustrated and upset when I have to do something for my husband that he is very capable of doing himself (in my own eyes) or when my plans get cancelled because he wants to do something else. This kind of thinking can be very harmful to a marriage and typically only leads to arguments and feelings of division. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." This was the verse that was read at our wedding and I know why. It wasn't read because we already had this down and it was a description of our love. It was read because this is what we needed to work on. This was the goal. This is what God intended our love to become.  Being angry is a selfish thing. Instead of immediately getting angry at my husband for something, I realize that I need to seek out why he did what he did or why he said what he said. There is always a reason behind what someone does or says. I need to seek his needs and desires above my own. How powerful, how loving could our marriage become if we both do that. Being selfless puts God in the center of your marriage, because He commands us to be selfless. Following His commands brings honor to Him and keeps Him first and in the center.

7. Slow Down

Lastly, we need to slow down to keep God in the center of marriage. If we take the time to slow down and see all that God is doing around us, we not only will feel closer to God, but we will feel closer and more thankful for our spouses. Wherever you are whatever you are doing right now, stop. Look around. If you are there with your spouse, look at him or her. Really look. Think to yourself...What do you love about this person? How thankful are you to God for bringing this person into your life? What can you do to bring a smile to that person's face today? How far have you and this person come in your relationship? Ask yourself these questions and I can guarantee you will begin to feel more connected to the Father and to your spouse. Say a silent prayer in your head, thanking God for that person and asking God to show you how to love your spouse better. You can do all this without every speaking a word.

Rejoice in the truth of Christ in your marriage today!

Forest Angel

Writing Prompt Wednesday

Good morning, friends! I missed the post for yesterday. Yesterday was the last day for teachers at my school, so this is officially the first day of summer break for me. Woo-hoo! My schedule is going to look a bit different over the summer, but I am looking forward to sharing more of my life with you on here.

I went a bit of a different direction today with Writing Prompt Wednesday. This week we are working with a bit of creative, fictional writing. I actually found this prompt last week. I just loved the idea. Most books have amazing one-liner prompts in them and can be the beginning of stories completely different than the one already written by that author. I had a lot of fun writing this and would love to continue it one day.

After you read, please leave me your feedback in the comments below. Tell me what you think happens next, if I should continue writing this story, or if you enjoyed it. I will take any constructive criticism you have for me that could help me become a better writer. Who knows this excerpt could be part of a published book one day. 😊Thank you so much for taking the time to read my posts. You are so appreciated!

Rejoice in the truth of Christ today and everyday!

Prompt: Go over to your bookshelf, close your eyes, and pick up the first book you touch. Open the book to a random page, read the first full sentence on that page, and use it as the inspiration for a story or scene. Please include the original line at the beginning...

He opened his mouth, but before he could speak he collapsed to his knees (p. 283 in The Death Cure by James Dashner). I stared at him not knowing what to do. Do I run for help? Do I stay with him and comfort him? My mind flashed back to a few hours before when we had made the decision to enter the forest. If we hadn't made the decision to enter the forest in the first place, the branch from that tall oak tree would have fallen and hit the ground without hitting him first. Why had we made that life-changing decision?

I began to look around frantically trying to find anything that could possibly be of some help to us. I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Of course, I thought, no signal. I slipped it back into my pocket realizing that it was of no help now. Nobody knew we were out here and it would be at least a couple of hours before I could reach help. Would he still be alive by the time I made it back? I thought about trying to take him with me, but would that do more damage than good to his already broken body?

As helpless as I felt, I knew that the best thing I could do was pray. I dropped down to my knees, put my hands together and bowed my head. As tears began streaming down my face, I closed my eyes. I didn't know what to say. It had been a long time since I had prayed for something as important as this. I tried to remember all of the things my grandmother had taught me as a little girl about God and prayer. And then the words just came, "God, I know you are here. Please help Tyler. I have been told that You always have a good plan even when bad things happen. I don't understand why this had to happen to him, to us. I am trusting You. Tell me what I need to do to help him. In Jesus' name, Amen."

When I opened my eyes, I was shocked at what I saw. Standing before me was a man about six foot tall. He had a long gray beard and piercing blue eyes. He wore a beaten up old baseball cap that had "Angels" written on it in slanted cursive font. It looked like a cap someone might wear as part of a little league uniform. He also wore a button-up plaid shirt, jeans, and dirty, broken-in work boots. He was holding Tyler's limp body in his hands. He didn't say a word to me. He just turned around and started walking. So, I followed.

Let Go and Let God

Aunt-Mom Monday

This morning I was searching for what I wanted to say about being an aunt-mom. There are so many wonderful, sad, stressful, rewarding things I could say. As I was spending my quiet time with God, I asked Him what it was that He wanted me to say. I asked what it was that those reading would need to hear. I asked Him to let my words be His words. So, this is what has been laid on my heart to share with you this morning. This is probably a lesson meant more for me than for you, but I hope it resonates with you as much as it did for me. We are in this together.

This past year has been a rollercoaster. From watching my two sweet nieces go through all that they have gone through in their short lives to getting the call that we needed to pick them up to finally get them out of the situation they were in, so many emotions have been present. Some I had never even felt before, because I had never been in a parenting role quite like this before. Yes, we have had A for almost 2 years, but parenting him by himself has been very different than parenting all three.

These kids depend on me for everything. They look to me for their food, water, clothes, baths...all of their basic physical needs. They look to me for comforting hugs and kisses for their boo-boos, bedtime stories and constant whisperings of "I love you." Because of this it has become easy for me to think that I am the center of their universe, that I am in control of their lives, that I am all they need. This is simply not true.

When I'm sitting beside my husband waiting to go before the judge to hear what changes will be made to our situation, I am reminded that I'm not in control. When I hear for the umpteenth time from A's teacher that he has said or done something unkind or inappropriate at school, I am reminded that I'm not in control. When H says that her mommy is "out there somewhere," I am reminded that I am not in control. When K asks for the hundredth time that day if Bubby has school tomorrow because she can't stand to be alone in the morning when she wakes up, I am reminded that I am not in control. When I have worked all day and come home to take care of the kids, try to clean the house, and try to get at least a few minutes to myself before I lose my sanity, but then forget to do that one thing that my  husband had asked me to do, I am reminded that I am not in control. But God is.

At first, realizing that I wasn't in control was kind of a scary thing to me. I liked thinking that being in control meant that if I did all the things I was supposed to do, then only good things would happen. However, when stressful and unpleasant things started happening in spite of how hard I worked to do what I was supposed to do, I began to feel like a failure. I started to feel down on myself. I started to feel like I wasn't good enough. How thankful I am that I am not in control! How thankful I am that God, the creator of the universe, is in control of my life and the lives of each person in my family! I am so thankful that I am not responsible for being in control of my own life or the lives of these three precious children, because I would fail every time.

These children belong to Him and I know without a doubt that He is good. He has a good plan for them. He loves them even more than I could ever possibly love them. I am just a servant. I am a servant to Him and I am a servant to them. I will do the best that I can in raising and caring for them for as long as His will dictates, but He is in control. They are His children. The future for them is still pretty unsure, but I know as long as I give up control to Him, all things will work together for His good. Teaching them to follow Him, to love Him, to obey Him, that is what is most important right now. That is my focus. I don't know how long I have with them, but no matter the future as long as they have Him, I know they will be okay. So it is with freeing pleasure that I give up that control. I am letting go and letting God do what He knows is best whether I can see that or not. I trust Him.

Remember the First and Last Day of School with this Freebie!

Freebie Friday!!!

Handwritten signs I had made before I made the digital one.

Yesterday was a pretty emotional day for me. It was my boy's first last day at my school. He has had such an awesome year and was blessed with an incredible 2nd grade teacher. During the course of the school year, A was diagnosed with ADHD and was confirmed to be on the Autism Spectrum. Through this journey, I have learned a lot about how to be an aunt-mom to him in ways that work best for him. It has mostly been trial and error (mostly error), but we have come out of this school year both knowing more about how uniquely God created him and knowing more of how he learns best.

Some parents may be afraid to hear either of those diagnoses, but I will be honest. I was a bit relieved and a little excited. I know that sounds strange. As long as I have known A, I have known that he struggles a bit more than other children his age with social skills and attention. School has been difficult for him, not academically, but in other areas like conduct and work ethic. I was afraid that the older he got, those areas would eventually affect his academics if they weren't discovered and treated in some way. Once A was diagnosed, we were able to put treatments and accommodations into place that have really helped him become the successful student he always wanted to be.

I am incredibly proud of him and the work he has put in this year. I am excited for his future and next year as he becomes a 3rd grader, the grade I teach. Each day he inspires me and encourages me to be my best self. He has great things to say and loves to life. He is full of life. I will never regret the day I brought him home with me or any of the legal dealings we have had to gain guardianship of him. He has filled a hole in our home and our hearts that we didn't even know was there. He has a heart for God like nothing I have ever seen before in a child and I know that God will do absolutely incredible things with him one day.

In honor of this sweet boy, I have created a first day and a last day sign for documenting and remembering the first and last days of school. You can get it for free by clicking the link below. I have him hold it in front of him and take a picture, so at the end of the year we can see how much he has grown and changed. Hope you enjoy!

Get the first and last days of school signs free here.

Remember to rejoice in the truth of Christ today! 

A Letter to My Students On the Last Day of School

It is Thoughtful Thursday and the only thing going through my mind is that it is the last day of school. I am so excited for summer break and having some extra time to do things that I enjoy doing. However, it is quite bittersweet for me. Each year, the last day of school becomes emotional. After being with my students for 36 weeks, we have grown together in many ways and shared many special memories. Thinking of them going off into 4th grade is hard for me. So... as a way to cope with these emotions this morning, I have decided to write a letter to my students on their last day of 3rd grade.

My sweet third graders,

I have so enjoyed having you in my class this year. I am so thankful that I was given the chance to be your teacher and get to know you the way that I have. You are a blessing to me. As you go off to 4th grade, I pray that you don't forget the joy we shared in our classroom and the things that you have learned.

When you came into my classroom almost 36 weeks ago, my first impression was "Wow! These kids really love each other." It has been a joy to watch your friendships expand and mature and the way you love one other is absolutely amazing to witness. I have often told you that we were a "classroom family". With that being said, we had times where we shared frustrations and joyous occasions, but like a family we stuck together through it all.

My favorite thing about our class this year is how you allowed your brain to think about God. You challenged me to think about Him in ways that I never thought about Him before. We were able to engage in some great, meaningful discussions about our Heavenly Father. I was always in awe of the insightful things you had to say during these discussions. I hope that you carry some of these discussions with you as you grow and mature in your relationship with the Lord.

As you become 4th graders, my hope is that you leave my class feeling one thing...loved. Because each of you are. Not only by me, but by our Creator. You are loved more than you will ever know. You were created to be exactly who you are and you are loved because of who you are. Don't let this world try to change you. Be you. You are beautiful, smart, compassionate, and hard-working. Work hard in all that you do and do everything for God's honor and glory.

And lastly, I want to thank you. You all are always thanking me for what I do, but I should be thanking you. You challenge me each day to be a better teacher and a better person. Thank you for that. Thank you for your sweet hugs and kind words, especially on days that are a bit harder than others. Thank you for laughing with me and putting up with my random thoughts and stories that I just have to share when they pop in my head. Thank you for teaching me what life looks like through your eyes. Many adults grow up and forget what it is like to be a kid, but I got to experience it each day because you shared it with me. Thank you for sharing the last 36 weeks of your life with me. Thank you for giving me the gift of your laughter and for sharing your excitement with me. Thank you for praying with me when I needed prayer and allowing me to pray with you when you needed it.

Are you crying yet? I know I am. I expect each of you to come back to see me at some point next year and share with me what is new in your life. I can't think of a better way for the legacy of our class this year to continue than to have you share at least a small part of your future with me. You may not all be in the same class next year or in my class, but a part of my heart is reserved for Mrs. Johnston's third grade class of 2017-2018...that's YOU!

With lots of love,

Mrs. Johnston