I took a family of three to feed the fish and turtles in their neighborhood.



There were huge catfish and turtles just waiting for food. It was so hot that we only stayed around for 15 min, enough time to get rid of our bread then back in we went!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7


I have had alot of time to think the past few days.  Whether swimming with 4 little boys or laying in my bed in the middle of the night, I have had a zillion thoughts swirling in my head. In everything I have read and all that I have thought about, this verse sticks in my head.   I have to say that until now, I have never looked at this verse and thought about what it really means in my life.  
 Love is patient:
 It starts off hitting me right between the eyes.  Patience in my personal life is not my strong suit.  I have a fear of the unknown.  i want to know what is going on and what will happen.  Ironically, I can sit with a child for 30 minutes and work on one skill that they need to succeed.  Patience is sitting in a room with a sick child, constantly wetting their head with towel to break the fever.  Patience is taking the time to explain to my grandfather for the 1,000 time how to work the remote.  Patience is praying and waiting for the right child to be chosen for my brother and sister to love as their own. 

Love is kind:
Being kind is something I have always done...to those that I like.  As humans, it is easier to be kind to those that are kind back.  I have to take a moment to think about what this means when I roll my window up at the homeless guy on the street, or to that one child that gets on my nerves the instant he opens his mouth.  Am I showing kindness to them?  Someone once told me: "Love those who hurt you, for they need it the most"  These deserve the same kindness that I give to my friends and family.


Love does not envy, does not boast, and is not proud:
Envy, the big green eyed monster!  Being boastful or proud goes along the same lines.  I have to admit, I have been envious of others.  I dealt with this huge monster when my best friend got engaged.  Although I was ecstatic for her, I couldn't help but be slightly envious of her, getting to go through the excitement of a wedding.  I had a slight case of the "Why not me, God?" and "When is it my turn?".  When we take on these characteristics, I think that it takes the "me" out of our personality and lets us easily slip down the slope to ungratefulness.  I am trying to look at the good things in my life, and take the time to be grateful for the MANY blessings that God has given me. 


It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 
Oh my!  The words keep cutting deeper and deeper.  Rude, self-seeking, anger, holding grudges... I can relate with all of these.  If I am not careful, I can fall prey to the grudge monster.  A little boy that is dear to my heart has a true black and white sense of justice.  This means that when I accidentally hurt his feelings or he feels that he has been wronged, he will retaliate.  As a person that has been wronged before (like all of us) I tend to look at the way to "get back" or retaliate myself.  This weekend, I, admittedly, heavily insinuated that I wanted a certain gift back that I had bought for a birthday after I felt I had been wronged.  I thought that the gift would give me some gratification or retaliation for my hurt feelings.  In truth though, all I felt was sadness.  The gift was to be shared with a certain person.  It was not the gift that held  the meaning, but the time the gift would have allowed us to share.  


Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
No matter what the outcome will be, the truth will always win out.  This part of  the verse reminds me of the way a child will tell a little lie to get out of being in trouble for writing on the walls or dumping all their toys out of the shelf.  This little white lie turns into something huge and the child is now in more trouble due to lying then if they had told the truth.  It is hard sometimes to tell the truth when you know that the other person will be so disappointed.  But the truth will always prevail and is the straighter path to take.  Gossiping is something that I still, to this day, need to work on.  Hearing tidbits of information and then telling someone else this "half-truth" can be detrimental to many lives.  


It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres:
Love is your mother and father, lifting you up through your child, telling you that you can accomplish anything.  Love is the man that can hug you and make you feel safe.  Love is the best friend that sticks around when everyone else has left. Love is the community that rallies around you when you are heartbroken.  Love is the hope for better, but the understanding of what is. Love is your heart forgiving when you have been wronged. 

Bulletin boards are my favorite part of decorating a classroom. For the past 4-5 years, I have done the bulletin board for my mother's classroom. I have done an ocean theme, bees, and other various "scenes". This year, I did a space themed board for her! It was so much fun to make a rocket and add the perfect touches to make it look like space!


The picture below is the final board!


Mir

This weekend has been a very hard one for me.   The guy I had been talking to and dating for the last 8 months broke up with me.  I do not tell you this for sympathy but it is simply a part of a story that I found awesome.

Last night around 11:30, I finally took time to be by myself and laid in bed, letting emotions wash over me until I fell asleep.  It was something that I needed to get out.  Then today, I was on Facebook and started to talk with my friend Tabitha.  She asked how I was and we talked for about 10 minutes.  In the course of the conversation she told me that she prayed for me last night.  She said that she envisioned me around 11:30, laying in my bed crying my little heart out. It made her sad and so she started to pray for me.  I couldn't believe it!  God had placed me in her heart, knowing that I was hurting.  She stood in the gap for me.  I love moments like these!  I love my faith and I love my supportive friends and families.  Oh, and I LOVE GOD!

How do you write about something when you don't understand it yourself?  

Today was the 4th day of VBS.  I have had so much fun while teaching second grade boys.  I cant explain the feelings that I go through.  From anxiety at the beginning of the day to anticipation, frustration, pride, exhaustion, back to pride, joy, and mostly love.  Well, maybe I can explain it!  VBS at Second Baptist is not your old school  VBS.  There is a play for the biblical lesson and a full fledged 30 minute musical-type dealing with superheroes and posers.  There are lights, music, dancing, and lots of corny jokes!  It is a great time and engages the students in the lessons of the day.  This year, we studied to look at what we think, what we say, what we choose, what we do, and where we are going.

I was very nervous to do VBS at Second just because I had not really taught a class like this, I usually do the music.  I took it on, and looked at it as an opportunity to not only teach kids about GOD, but to get just one more week of "practice" in for teaching.  After a rough start with not knowing who my help would be, I got my mom to come up and be my "co-teacher".  It was nice to work with her again.

The week went smoothly with nothing too big happening.  All in all it was a great week!