When He Calls...

He will equip.

Then the Lord said to Moses, "See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with all kinds of skills-to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you..."
Exodus 31:1-6

While reading through the instructions that God had for Moses to build the tabernacle, I felt overwhelmed. There were so many DETAILED instructions. Surely there were mistakes! I mean, they were normal people, not artists. Then I came to Exodus 31 and it all made sense. They didn't have to do it on their own. The Lord appointed specific people and gave them specific skills. When the Lord calls us and gives us instructions, he doesn't leave us on our own. He will provide us with the skills needed. Moses did not have the skills to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, but the Lord called him. He equipped him. Our God is good.

Banner Year

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the Lord has helped us." 1 Samuel 7:12

I often change this to, "Thus far the Lord has helped me", when pondering this scripture.

The past several weeks our pastor has led us through a series called Banner Years. At first I thought it sounded weird. What is a banner year? It seemed over my head. However, it was exactly what I needed to hear. I learned that EVERY year can be a banner year. It depends on your perspective. Some of the things Pastor Steven discussed were trusting the Lord with finances, examining what our "scoreboard" is "scoring". Is it scoring how we are pleasing man or how are taking the gospel to the lost. A banner year is a year that you consider successful. I was really challenged by this. I could easily (and I do often) look at this past year as being a barren year. I had two bad flares. Out of 12 months, I was on steroids for 6 of them which caused me to gain around 25 pounds. I endured severe pain for a month. It was hard financially. I loved my first year of teaching but it was very stressful.

Truthfully, however, it was a banner year. The Lord provided a wonderful job with wonderful kids during a terrible economy. We never went hungry (clearly!:)) The Lord provided everything we needed. We traveled to SK. The best, however, was the eternal perspective I gained while laying in bed for weeks. It can't even be described in words. I only see the vision in my head. My pastor and my egroup challenged me to reflect on how the Lord has helped. Wow. It is amazing. Have you had a banner year?:)

The Church

The Church
Elevation Worship

We are the change
the world is waiting for
We've got a love
the world is desperate for
We will lead
and take to your streets
Now's the time for us to rise
and carry hope and let love shine
and show this world that mercy is alive
Now's the time for us to rise
and carry hope to hopeless eyes
and show this world that mercy is alive

We're not afraidwe will abandon all
to hear your name
on lips across the world
we will run
in the wake of your love

Fill our hearts with your compassion
let our love be active here

     This past weekend, I was able to go to Charleston with the women in my family. The women in my family are very diverse in their opinions about pretty much everything in life:) While listening and disscussing many different issues with my family, the Lord continued to open my eyes about many things. There are people hurting around us. I mean REALLY hurting. It could be depression, relationship issues, a health problem, and many things I cant even think of. If you are hanging out around the church, you know there are hurting people inside. But what about those who don't know Jesus? They are hurting and hopeless. If you are a believer, you may be in a difficult situation, but you have the almighty God carrying you through. What if you were walking alone in this world?
     Before I went to work as a teacher, I knew little of the hurt and hopelessness in this world. I was surrounded by believers in college. We worshipped and prayed together. On occasion, we would go out on campus and find people to share the gospel with. Afterwards, you felt like you could check something off of the list.
     Now, I am around quite a few non-believers. People who are clueless to the love of Christ. They want to be rescued but don't even know what they need to be rescued from. Instead of filling our hearts with concern for these people, we spend our time concerned with whether or not someone else in the church is being "godly" enough. We criticize other believers for what they are wearing to church or what type of music they are listening to. I am so guilty of this! I love how this song describes how the church should be. I have been challenged this fall to analyze what in my life is holding me back from reaching the lost. Should I have 3 or 4 kids if I want to be intentional in reaching into other's lives? Should I aspire to be a stay at home mom one day or stay at work? I so do not have the answers to these questions but I have been challenged to think about them. How can we be the church the world is waiting for?

Why didn't you come sooner?

"Beneath the Waters"
Hillsong Cornerstone

This is my revelation
Christ Jesus crucified
Salvation through repentance
At the cross on which He died

I will rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

Now hear my absolution
Forgiveness for my sin
And I sink beneath the waters
That Christ was buried in

I will rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live

I stand a new creation
Baptized in blood and fire
No fear of condemnation
By faith I'm justified
I rise as You are risen
Declare Your rule and reign
My life confess Your Lordship
And glorify Your Name
Your Word it stands eternal
Your Kingdom knows no end
Your praise goes on forever
An on and on again

No power can stand against You
No curse assault Your throne
No one can steal Your glory
For it is Yours alone
I stand to sing Your praises
I stand to testify
For I was dead in my sin

I will rise, I will rise
As Christ was raised to life
Now in Him, now in Him
I live
     I've already mentioned the book Undaunted in another post but WHOA is the Lord speaking to me through this book! I just wanted to share a story from the chapter that I read last night. Christine describes a night that her and her friends were lost in one of Australia's rainforests. Her description seemed miserable. She was cold, hungry, and the worst part about it was that no one knew that they were lost. I figured she was using the story as an illustration but when I got to that illustration, I was blown away. One of her friends decided to leave the rest of the group to look for help. It was a huge risk for him to go by himself. The boy came back the next morning with help. The feeling of being saved was incredible. A feeling that she would never forget. But she took it a step further. The Lord wants to save EVERY soul. We need to remember what its like to be unable to get out of the dark on our own. We as believers need to hold in our hearts the feeling of being saved and remember what it was like to be lost.
     Christine and her husband rescue girls who are sex slaves in Europe. One girl asked her why she had not come sooner. Wow! This causes tears for me and I do NOT cry easily. Do I look at every lost person like that. Why am I not coming sooner? Do I not remember what it was like to be lost? The Lord has used Caine to remind me that no rescue can come soon enough!

Here I am, Lord. Send me! Isaiah 6:8

Encouraged

This fall I have been able to read a couple of books that have really encouraged me in my relationship with the Lord. My amazing pastor, Steven Furtick, wrote a book called Greater based on the life of Elisha. He challenges us to pray for the Lord to reveal what is holding us back from complete surrender to Him and to start acting instead of sitting on our behinds. Bradley and I read this together and with our egroup.

 

The other book I read this fall was by another amazing preacher, Christine Caine. She and her husband started a ministry in Europe to rescue girls who are sex slaves and build them up in a life in Christ. They also have another ministry called Project Europe which focuses on training believers in Europe to become leaders. The Lord has given me a love for Europe so when I heard this it quickly caught my attention. The book undaunted teaches about how to face fear. If you are looking for a good read, check these out!!

 

The Mystery Box

This year our Science/Social Studies schedule is a little different. Instead of the traditional A/B schedule we see A day for 4 1/2 weeks and then B day for 4 1/2 weeks. The philosophy is that if students see us everyday they will understand and retain the content better. Friday was the last day for B day before second quarter. We were done with all of the Earth's atmosphere content. I decided to dedicate the day to "spooky science". Next quarter's content is the human body. I cooked up some "body parts" and put them into three different shoe boxes. I had the kids stick their hand in the box through a small hole in the lid. I told them a story of a man who was last seen alive in his office. All that was found were these remains. The government wanted them to identify the body parts. They were not allowed to look at the body parts. Most did not ask why! They had to list the "body parts" they found and place them into the correct body system (I created a chart for this) It was a great pre-assessment to see what they already know about the human body systems. It was hilarious to see their faces as they stuck their hands in the box. There were some shrieks and squeels! I'm pretty sure they enjoyed it and are a little more excited about studying the human body next quarter! Twelve year olds are the best!

Here are the body parts!

Carrots=fingers
Tortillas=skin
Blanched tomato=heart
Spaghetti=veins
Grapes=eyes
Small beans=teeth
Marshmallows=pieces of intestines

I put most of the food in oil before hand so it was extra slimy!

In Training

 

My husband officially started training today. The cool thing about CMPD is that you are hired first and then you go through the academy. We are both a little nervous and excited about this new season of life. I don't do change very well and this is a big change for our little lives. I'm nervous about what his schedule will be like because it's not the same everyday. At the same time, I'm excited because we have seen God provide this job. Applying to CMPD is a long and difficult process and Bradley made it though the process smoothly. It is truly a blessing. Please pray for us as we enter this new season!
Things to pray for:
That we will adjust to the new schedule
Bradley has the strength he needs for the physical training
That he retains the information he learns in class
That will will glorify our Lord in all that he does

A Chance...

My second year of teaching has been very different from last year. First of all, I was pretty sick the week school started and didn't feel prepared at all. Second of all, I feel like my kids are different in many ways from my students last year. Their behaviors are different as well as their performance in the classroom. I feel like I am a drill sergeant most days. As teachers, we take on many roles. We are teachers, counselors, nurses, even mom to some of the kids. Last year and this year, I have had students placed in my classroom in order to keep them out of trouble. At first I had the attitude of "Why me?". I am just a second year teacher and do NOT have the skills that many veteran teachers have. However, these students bless me each day. When I see them behave and give 110% on their work, I feel like jumping for joy. When they do well on a quiz and defeat the odds, it gives me warm fuzzies! A teacher gave me an article today from the Charlotte Observer called "The keys to a child's success". One point the author, Kay Mspadden, made was that children who are nurtured and comforted by adults are more resourceful and show self control. Some children are exposed to constant stress at home and they feel the need to continue the stress at school in order to feel normal. Their growing bodies are in a constant fight or flight mode. These children have no idea what it feels like to be nurtured of comforted. Children need to feel attachment to an adult.  This is truly a sad reality. The Lord really spoke to me through these words. Some scripture came to mind:

"Those who give to the poor lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses." Psalm 28:27

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." James 2:26

"In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." James 2:17

"Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."  Deuteronomy 15:11

"We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:3

As a teacher in a VERY large school district, I see children who are hungry. Yes, some are hungry for food but many are hungry for love. We as teachers have the opportunity to love as Christ loved. We can nurture and comfort our students. I am not writing this to say that teachers are the greatest thing in the world. It's to encourage the teachers who read this. SO many teachers feel discouraged each day at work and are ready to call it quits. I know because I hear it everyday. You can read the facebook statuses! We as teachers have the last chance to make a difference. We have a chance to love. To glorify God. Stand firm in your calling and love in a mighty way.

Greater

So tonight I feel like writing about teaching. Yesterday was a hard day for me. I had more than one student get "attitudes". This is pretty normal in the middle school setting but I guess I just wasn't in the mood for it. There are several things that I don't tolerate from my students but one of the biggest things is talking back to me. I always say, "I don't argue with children", and leave it at that. Yesterday, one young man didn't want to tuck his shirt in and gave a big oooooookkkkkkkkaaaayyyyy when I asked him to do it. Of course I said, "You mean yes Ma'am." Anyways, some days attitudes just get to me more than others. Right now, Pastor Steven at Elevation is leading us in a series called Greater. Greater in worldly standards means a bigger house or a nicer car but for our church greater means God doing great things through us for his kingdom. The Lord has called me to teach middle school. As we've started going through the series I've been pondering on how God can do great things through a simple teacher. For the past several years, both Bradley and I wanted to go into the ministry. Either being missionaries or possibly going on staff with Cru. The Lord has been slamming some of those doors shut recently. It has definitely been made clear that I am to teach. The Lord has been opening my eyes to how I can glorify him in my teaching. One awesome thing about being a science teacher is that I can show my students how amazingly our world has been put together. From Earth being able to sustain life to how gravity keeps them on the ground. All of these things show God's sovereignty. Even though I can't tell them this, I can pray for the holy spirit to reveal it and I do. You can also pray specifically for this. Another way the Lord is revealing how to glorify him in teaching is to love. Which of course he calls all of us to do. It can be challenging to show love to the student who smacks their lips at you or rolls their eyes. But then there are those students who have no love at home, Who don't eat except when there at school. We get the opportunity to show the grace of God to those kids. From words of affirmation to quality time, we teachers have great opportunities. I just wanted to share a little of what the Lord has been teaching me though his word and my church. I also wanted to encourage the other teachers out there who may wonder how they can glorify God is a place where it seems restricted. Thank you Lord for your provision!

Slovakia and Stuff

I never got to process our trip to Slovakia when I got home. My flare started the last day we were there and then knocked me off my feet for the next 3 weeks! Bradley's mom actually unpacked my suitcase for me. We LOVED our time in SK. We was great to see our dear friends and spend quality time with them. It was Bradley's first time to Europe and it's safe to say I have a husband who loves it just as much as me! We have a new Kofola lover on our hands! We love the people of Slovakia and can't wait to return. Here are a few pictures:

E and Auntie Cait
We reviewed human body vocab by building monsters!

I had the best translator ever!

We loved spending time with Zuzu and her family!

and of course, hanging out with this girl was a huge highlight! I miss you!

UC UPDATE:

The last time I blogged I was hanging out in the hospital. They sent me home on Wednesday but on Thursday my symptoms were back and just as bad. They decided to keep me at home as long as I could stay hydrated and I would be on 60mg of Prednisone (pretty high!) The next Monday things were still the same so my doctor decided it was time for the next step which is a medication called Remicade. I had to have some tests done and get it approved by my insurance. It cost about $5000 an infusion! Praise the Lord for insurance! I was approved quickly for it. I had my first infusion this past Monday ( 1 week after the doctor made the decision). I started feeling better the next day. Each day I feel a little bit better and I praise the Lord for it! There are risks with Remicade which is why they wait as long as they can but the Lord has clearly led me here and I trust that he will guide me through it and protect me. I have had many conversations with the Lord these past few weeks while laying in bed and sitting on the throne:) I can't wait to share what he has shown me. It's truly incredible. Remicade is only given by IV infusion and as often as every few weeks or so. Hopefully I will get to a point where it will be every 2 months. However, this is probably something I will be doing for the rest of my life. That was hard to swallow at first but the Lord led me here. So I am just sitting back and waiting on him. Thanks for your prayers!

Hospital Days

So I made it to the hospital.... I was really hoping NOT to end up here but I just don't seem to be getting what I want these days! However, it is a blessing to live in a place where we can go the ER and be treated with some of the best care in the world! As I said in my last post, I ended up with a severe flare when I got home from Slovakia. I don't think SK had much to do with it since I had some changes before I left. It just didn't get out of wack until I got over the ocean. I got severely dehydrated Sunday night and went to the ER. They asked me to pee and I couldn't. I quickly got 2 bags of fluid, potassium, morphine, and much more! I had no idea dehydration could hurt so bad! I am on IV steroids and I am hoping to switch back to oral steroids tomorrow and go home. The fat face should be making an appearance soon! There is still hope to get my UC under control. The next meds are a little different but are effective for most people. They are actually the same meds my dad takes to keep his body from rejecting his new (now ten years old!) liver. Keep praying that God will be glorified and for the doctors to have wisdom! I have had some awesome docs here in Charlotte! Thanks!

Hard to Swallow

When the Lord's will is different from what your heart desires it is sometimes hard to swallow. I've been praying for months not to have another UC flare. BTW If you get tired of reading about my UC you might as well quit reading now:) While in Slovakia I started having another flare. It was pretty mild at first but has now developed into my worst flare yet! I went to the doctor today to get checked out. I am back on prednisone (joy!) as well as a couple of other medications to try and get everything calmed down. He also thinks I might have C. Diff. which is a bacterial infection. So I am being treated for that as well. This is very hard for me. I'm struggling to worship the Lord. I feel abandoned. I feel like he wants me to suffer. Why couldn't he just heal me? Why me? I know this may be dramatic but these are my real feelings today. I almost feel too tired to pray. If I pray, will it make a difference? I know that these are lies from this world. It is so hard to overcome the patterns of this world sometimes. I am writing this so that you will pray for me. For healing. For mercy. For joy. For truth to fill my heart. Thanks:)

I must be dying!

I know you have all seen these ecards on Facebook and Pinterest. I found one that is perfect for me! However, for me it's not always a laughing matter. I will joke and discuss my health anxieties with anyone, but it doesn't mean that its not serious. I've been wanting to blog about this for a while. Honestly, it's the Christians that scare me. Unfortunately, some pastors and fellow believers don't believe that depression or anxiety is a real condition. We must not be trusting the Lord. We need to work on our relationship with God. If someone has an illness impacting their kidney, do we question their faith? Nope. The truth is, IT IS REAL. Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time. It's totally normal. But for some of us, it's life altering. A couple of years ago, I got a really strange and painful ear infection. I went to a minute clinic. The nurse looked in my ear and freaked out. She told me that she thought the infection had spread to other soft tissues. After telling me this, she takes my blood pressure which was high. I eventually went to an ENT in Charlotte who told me that I had an ear infection caused by cleaning my ears out. It was easily treated and I was on my way happy happy happy. That night I woke up in the middle of the night with my heart racing. My chest was hurting and I felt like I couldn't breath. I just knew I was dying! It was a panic attack. But I was fine! I knew I was fine but my brain just couldn't make that connection. I was in a fight or flight mode constantly and for no real reason. This continued for a while. I refused to take medication. I prayed. My first 6 months of marriage was filled with anxiety. Over what? I don't really know. The Lord brought me to a point where I knew I had to take medicine. Taking the medicine actually helps my UC out as well. The reason I am sharing this is because I know there are so many people (especially women) in the church who suffer from depression or anxiety that are afraid to talk about it. They are afraid they will be judged. I just want to say it's OK! The Lord has given doctors the wisdom to recognize and treat these kinds of illnesses. Your body is a temple of the holy spirit. You are commanded to take care of it. If you break your arm, you get it fixed. If the levels of serotonin in your brain are out of wack. Get it fixed! You are a messenger of the gospel of Christ. You should be in the best shape to do that.

We need your seat.

When Bradley and I went to an orientation class at Elevation, we went through something called the code. One of the things listed in the code was that they need our seat. Meaning, it is more important that people who are far from God have a seat at church than me. I thought sure. That's good. I never thought I would actually go to church and not have a seat. Since moving, Bradley and I attend a new Elevation campus that is closer to our new apartment. We went at 11:00am last week and there were no seats! The overflow rooms were full. People were sitting in the lobby and even outside! When it was HOT!!! At first I was irritated but then I realized how amazing that people were coming from all over Charlotte to be fed spiritually. They are thirsty for the gospel and they are being filled with the news of Jesus Christ. How amazing is that!

Year One=Complete!

Frank and Clara's
What I call the "Pred Face"

Pumpkin Ellie

Honeymoon fun!

Lingerie Shower!

So allllll of these pictures are in kind of a random order. Monday, July 9th, we celebrated our one year anniversary! We went to dinner at Frank and Clara's. I LOVE Frank and Clara's. It's a small restaurant in Salter Path, NC. After dinner, we let my parents play some putt-putt with us;) It was a great day! This year has been amazing, life-changing, challenging, stressful, fun, and full of love! Bradley finished his senior year of college while I started my first year of teaching. We got our precious little Ellie in October. I got a nasty UC flare in December. We got involved at Elevation Church. We learned how selfish we are has humans but how abundant God's grace is. Marriage will mold you. The Lord can grow you so much in this season of life.

Some things we are looking forward to in our second year of marriage:

Bradley will begin a police academy

I start grad school and 2nd year of teaching

We go to Slovakia!

No UC flares! (PLEASE PRAY!)

Livin' on love:)

Master it!

A few months ago, it was heavy on my heart to begin my Master's degree. I was pretty much set on UNCC. After looking at prices and how the classes were set up I was pretty discouraged. I kept hearing about Gardner-Webb from other teachers at school. They said they had awesome payment options as well as a campus just a few minutes down the road from the school. I called GWU up and talked with a few people. I decided to apply for their Master's program in Middle Grades Education. I found out this week that I was accepted and will begin in August. I'm super excited! The Lord specifically called me to teach middle school. When the Lord calls you to something, he will provide and if you trust in him, he will make you great. I am excited to further my education in the field and grow in my expertise.

Faith

Today we started leading our small group at church! It was fun to discuss Abraham and what it means to walk by faith and not by sight with children. We discussed many everyday scenarios to help them understand the concept. It's a humbling experience to listen to children. I'm so blessed to have an awesome husband to do all of this with!

Here we are in our lovely ekids shirts!

and here is a pic of our precious child Ellie:) she loves to kiss on the face and in the ears!

Elevation Church: Why We Don't Care Anymore!

For a long time Bradley and I were almost afraid to say that we were attending Elevation. We have a couple of friends who don't agree with the way the church does ministry. We went in almost looking for things that were wrong. Honestly, we found nothing but the Lord working miracles through people who were willing. A couple of weeks ago we attended an orientation at the church that taught us the history of the church and the core beliefs. This is some of what we learned:

Elevation Church exists so that people far from God will be raised to life in Christ.

It is Baptist-affiliated

They beleive

• We should act in audacious faith
• We are a generation of honor
• We lead the way in generosity
• We are united under one vision
• We are all about the numbers: tracking metrics measures effectiveness (sorry if that offends!)
• We will not cater to personal preference (more concerned with people we are trying to reach not the people we are trying to keep)

Reaching people who are far from God is the number one goal of this church. However, growing believers even further is equally important. The church offers e-groups for its attenders. There are groups for new believers, married couples, youth, and much more. There you have it. We are excited to attend Elevation. We are not ashamed to be part of a church who is devoted to reaching the lost. Thank you Jesus!

This Sunday Bradley and I will start leading a childen's small group. The campus we attend has many children from single parent homes. They are way more excited about Bradley than me!

"Give Me Faith" - ELEVATION WORSHIP

One of the many reasons I love Elevation Church!

The Battle

My last three months have been a raging battle. A fight for not only my physical health but also my spiritual health. I'm going to start with the physical battle first.

In 2008 I was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. I was a freshman in college. I was told that it was fairly common among people my age and it seemed that the inflammation was mild. I had very few problems with my UC. UC is rarely a fatal condition. The disease causes the large intestine to become inflamed and actually bleed. It causes cramping which means going to the bathroom several times a day. It is more annoying than anything else. I had a flare in Slovakia in 2008 but that was my only flare until this year. In September, I started having symptoms. I had a flare that lasted until mid-October. I was put on Prednisone and that seemed to do the job quickly.

December 26, 2011. That was the day it started. I started having symptoms again. I was pretty calm. I knew that Prednisone had worked in the past and I would just start taking it again. Several days went by and I saw no change. In fact, it was getting worse. My doctor kept increasing my dosage of Prednisone.If your wondering why I look like I've gained 20 lbs in all of my pictures, this is why. Prednisone causes water retention. Most of it went to my cheeks:) Weeks went by with no improvement. I started to become anxious. What if nothing works? What if I die? I have a lot of issues with anxiety but I will get to that later.

One night I came home from work and had a large amount of blood. I began to sob. Bradley held me as I called the doctor who was on call. He basically told me that it could be worse and I needed to just wait until Monday when I would see my doctor and have a procedure done to see what was going on.

The doctor saw during the procedure that the inflammation had spread higher up. It was more moderate than mild. It was mid-February by this point. Slowly my UC got better. Eventually everything was back to normal by the end of February. Seems like everything worked out right? Right now I am still battling medications and my UC. There doesn't seem to be a medication that works for me. My body violently rejects the medications used to treat UC at this point. The real battle here, however, is not my health. It was my relationship with God.

When my flare started, I was calm. Not because I trusted the Lord. I had faith in man. I thought it was nothing too big for my doctor or me to handle. As things got worse, I realized things had gotten too big for my doctor and too big for me. I began to panic. I would cry and shut down completely. One of the most awesome things about my God is that he never leaves. Even when we doubt him and leave him, he doesn't go anywhere. He began to reveal his faithfulness to me. He led Bradley and I back to Elevation Church. We had left for a little bit but it was clear he wanted us back there. I was fed spiritually. The Lord spoke clearly to me through Pastor Steven each week. He encouraged me to be proud and honored for the role the Lord had given me in this life. I was made to glorify to the Lord. My weakness only allowed for God to show others what he can do. He certainly doesn't need me to do this but how cool is it that he would choose me to glorify himself. I can't say that I prayed without ceasing and he healed me of that flare. I didn't do anything worthy of his healing. I often thought I could. Maybe if I prayed and trusted enough he would. These were lies from the evil one. I believe that's why it lasted so long. The Lord had to show me that it had nothing to do with what I was doing. We have an awesome God! I learned new things through my pain. Was it a lot? Not compared to how big our Lord is. One big thing I did learn was that I am a lot like those Israelites who wondered in the wilderness. The Lord has shown his sovereignty to me over and over again in my life and yet I doubt he is capable. I still have more to share about anxiety but I will save that for my next post. The Lord urged me to share this story. I hope you enjoyed:)

Making Poop

I posted on Facebook that I was going to be making poo with my kids on Monday and Tuesday. A few people asked how I would be doing that. I thought I would document the lab with pictures and share. I know there are some home-schoolers out there or maybe future homeschoolers. If you teacher Science you may like it! I tell the other teachers who think that I invented this that I am NOT creative enough. It's called GOOGLE and Teacher Planet. I just modify it to fit my students. It was a high school lesson that I made effective for my 12/13 year-olds.I always put lab materials in kits (trays in this case) for my kids. They would go CRAZY if I didn't. Those crazy kids need organization:) Here are the materials:
Food(Crackers, cookies, lettuce, etc.)
Water
Dropper
Food Coloring
Cup
Utensil (fork or spoon)
Funnel ( I cut the tops off of bottles)
Paper rolled up and taped
Baggy that zips
Knee Higs
Paper towels

Step 1: Students mash food (crackers or chips) in a cup with a utensil. Ask what do you think this represents in the digestive system?

Step 2: Students add water with a dropper. What does this represent? Spit of course! BUT...what is the scientific name for spit? What is the enzyme released in saliva that breaks down carbohydrates? Amylase.

Students funnel the food mixute down the paper tube and into the baggy. What does the funnel represent? (Back of the throat) What about the tube? (Esophagus) The baggy?(Stomach) Have the students knead the bag. This represents the churning of the stomach.

Students add food coloring to represent enzymes, mucus, and stomach acid.

Tell students that the mixture in the stomach is called Chyme.

One student holds the panty hose while another cuts a hole in the bad and drains the chyme.

They will lay the hose on the paper towel. What does the pany hose represent? ( Small Intestine) What about the paper towel? (Large Intestine)

The final result is POO. You can have them cut it open to look at it. My kids are a little young to handle playing with the final results. We threw ours away quickly:)