R.I.P. Chief Bubbles

A little over a year ago, I had two of my students come in and ask if it would be okay if we got a class fish for a pet. I thought about it, and the kids stated that one of the parents would come in and clean the tank. With that agreement made, I said, "yes". So the parent agreed to come in from time to clean the tank, and I was ready for the journey to begin.

The kids were excited, and told me they had named the fish "Chief Bubbles". I laughed, but thought it was an appropriate name for my group's fish. Afterall, we are a rather unique bunch of people in my classroom. *grin*

So, over the past year, we have taken turns feeding the fish, I brought him home for breaks, and the fish was part of our class family. It was fun how the fish became a part of our routine and how the kids took responsibility for it. I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't a fish that the class loved.

Earlier this week I noticed that the water needed to be changed. While I could have asked the parent that initially said she would help (because she would have come without hesitation) I had a little friend that wanted to help. One of my Kindergarteners said she wanted to be my assistant. So, she came on Wednesday to help me change water. Yes, we did what we were supposed to do. *grin* We swapped out water, with correct temperature, and I promised her that Thursday we would put Chief in the tank. *grin*

Thursday came, I got my Kindergartener, and we went to swap out the water. I walked over to the bowl it was in, and Chief was not moving. At all. I thought my little girl from Kindergarten would cry. I said, "uh oh", and she said, "Is it dead?" I said "yes", and she laughed! I smiled. Okay, so it wasn't going to be a sad day after I thought it might be because she was okay with the death. She said, "Are you going to buy a new one?"

I stopped.

Honestly, I thought hard about it.

I wasn't sure about doing this again.

Then I looked at her face...

I said, "Yeah, but not right away." *grin*

As the day went on, I told kids as they arrived to my class, and they were SO DRAMATIC in their sadness for Chief Bubbles. No one cried for real, and tons of laughter was in the room. It was a day all the kids won't forget, and I won't either.

The music class even wrote a song paying tribute to Chief Bubbles.

The kids made a sign for him.

I tell ya what, I'll get another fish this weekend.

I didn't expect the kids to love the fish like they did, but they did.

Seems to me, we need another fish to keep the trend going. *grin*

LIFE.
IS.
BETTER WITH FRIENDS (AND FISH) IN IT... *grin*

Valentine's Day, Abundant Life Style *wink*

Today is the day of LOVE.

Or that's what our society says, and centers everything around it.

LOVE.

I have smiled a lot today. I may not be in love with a guy, but gosh, I'm surrounded by people who love so well. *grin*

It was my first Valentine's at my new church and it was SO MUCH FUN. *grin* One of my favorite things about my new church is the amount of laughter we have in each service. From Sunday School to regular service, it is priceless how much we laugh. *giggle*

In Sunday School, we laughed during a short, little, quiz about Valentine's Day. I didn't do well, but that made it so much better, as I didn't have to tell everyone how poorly I did. *grin*

In service, we had an unforgettable Kiss Cam for the married couples. I thought it was so cute to see them kiss, just like at the ball games. So cute.

Next up was the collage of wedding pictures on the big screen. So very cute. It made me smile.

The sermon even had laughter, even though it always does. My new pastor is a storyteller, and it is always fun to listen to his sermons. I walk away with pages and pages of notes. *grin*

I'm also thankful for a long weekend, as we don't have school tomorrow. I've done some homework tonight, and have even more to do tomorrow.

For now, I will enjoy my season of singleness, read, and cuddle with my favorite little dog. *grin*

LIFE.
IS.
AWESOME.

TRUST

I was getting ready for work the other day, and I was listening to my usual morning show. You might be surprised to hear that I still listen to the radio, as so many of my posts have to do with the music I listen to and how it's mostly Praise and Worship. Truthfully, the local Christian Station plays a lot of Praise and Worship, so I still hear that. At the same time, I have been listening to the same morning crew since I moved here. I have been blessed by them repeatedly, and they don't even know who I am. I think that's amazing, they're just doing their job but this gal who is preparing to go teach little people with various challenges with learning, definitely speak into my life and give me perspective as I do what He's called me to do this side of Heaven. One morning this week, they had Tim Tebow on their show. I knew he's a famous football player who is vocal about his love for Jesus, but that's about all I knew about him. He said some things that made me stop in my tracks and listen. Totally.

Now I want to share that with you. First a little background...

Every year, Valentine's Day is a mix of emotions for me. I've had a boyfriend (one long-term) and have dated, but none were who He had for me. Some people have asked if I'm homosexual, and no I'm not, trust me I like men. *grin* I don't hate those who are homosexual, that's just not the lifestyle for me. *grin*

So, every year this love holiday comes around, and I do this whole, "Really? What about me?" thing. HOWEVER, I never stay there. I am a happy gal, who goes through phases of wondering when my turn will arrive, but am also honestly happy with this furry kid who is constantly touching me. Right now, for example, he is asleep at my feet. We don't fight, argue, and I can spend money without checking with someone. Sometimes I even think that if I had someone the adjustment might be too hard. *grin* I can't win, can I? *giggle*

Then God gave me a perspective through Tim Tebow that has challenged me, and given me freedom on a level I haven't had before. *grin*

When Tim was asked if he was single, he admitted that he was and when he was asked about football, he said he was okay with not playing right now too. Both questions were something I had wondered when they said he was coming on the morning show. What followed has had me pondering all week. I'm going to paraphrase what he said.

Basically he said that we're to TRUST God. If we're truly living out the life we're called to live in Him, we can't say we trust Him, and then question Him. His plan for my life is better than anything I could ever dream or imagine. Honestly, I didn't plan on living out these years with a dog, I had planned a husband and kids. HOWEVER, if that had happened, I know things wouldn't have fallen as He wanted them to, and I wouldn't have had the experiences He had for me. I think about camp, church, Jay (the furry kid), and how different my life would have been. I am so glad I was saved and have walked out the life I have lived this side of Heaven. Tim went on to say that His life for me is far better than what I have for me. In Tim's world, that means he has a new foundation and last night was "Night To Shine", and that means more to him than football. I get what he was saying there, as people in my little corner of the world mean so very much to me. Truly. It isn't a huge foundation, but it's camp kids, adults, and my own little village. I am blessed.

I still want a companion, don't get me wrong. But, the more I've thought about it, the more Tim is right. I can't trust God and question Him all at the same time.

I have lived my life solely for Him the past 19 years, and He hasn't let me down.

I trust Him.

If He has someone for me, it will happen.

TOTALLY.

*grin*
LIFE.
IS.
AWESOME.

PRECIOUS STONES

Today I shadowed in the Special Needs ministry at my new church, called Precious Stones. I am getting to know everyone, and am honestly blown away by the level of ministry that takes place weekly in the Journey Kids section of my church. I was a shadow today, which means I helped and observed. *grin* You know me, I can't sit and watch!

I started out with the young kids, and loved it. I felt sort of at-home, as I'm used to little people. I met people and jumped right in. Of course, I can't share names, but I will say, I loved every moment with the younger kids. During that service, they also have a teen/adult class so I went over there too.

At first I felt sort of out of my element because I'm not used to that age, but immediately recognized one of them from Camp. Sure enough, the young man and his parents were there. His Dad even had on a Camp Barnabas shirt! *grin* God did that! *grin*

I won't mention names from this class either, as there are confidentiality rules, but, I will say that I found a couple new friends in the upper grade class too. One has a love for little matchbox type cars. We had fun playing with them. Of course, I went nuts because there were several from the Cars movie. He was non-verbal, but he smiled at me several times. I liked him, and look forward to being with him again. *grin*

We had about 15 minutes left, and I realized that one of the guys was signing. (I was too busy with the cars with my other friend to notice) I wound up signing with him, and his face kind of lit up when he realized I knew sign. To me, that was priceless, as I love those types of moments.

Of course, when it was all over, two of the younger ones came in and hugged me. *grin* One came in, in all honesty, because her parents were in there, but she walked over to me and hugged me. It was so cute! The other boy came in just to hug me, and I smiled.

After it was all over I talked with the amazing gal who is in charge of the program, and I honestly couldn't pick one or the other, so I told her to put me where she needs me. I told her I was willing to serve wherever she needed me. She appreciated that. *grin* I can only imagine trying to manage all those volunteers. *grin*

Karen stated last week that she thought this chapter I would really bloom. I agree with her on that. *grin*

In case you're wondering, yes, I went to church service first and LOVED it too. I am going to have to start making some decisions though, as my Sunday School meets during first service. *grin* I'll be honest, I like having to make this sort of decision though. Being in a church this size gives me so many opportunities! I'm at home!!! *grin*

*grin*
Life.
Is.
Awesome!

YOU SPLIT THE SEA SO I COULD WALK RIGHT THROUGH IT

Yesterday was a day I won't forget.

Ever.

I had been looking forward to it since Bethel Worship Nights announced they were coming to Kansas City. Only in the past 15 months have I started listening to Bethel Music. If you know me at all, you know music is a big part of my life. Particularly, worship music. I collect it, listen to it, and soak in it. That may be foreign to you, but I believe that God has reached me through various chapters in my life at just the right time through music. So, needless to say, I had been looking forward to last night since November of 2015.

The forecast one week ago was for a snow storm with massive snow. I prayed, and asked others to pray, because last night meant that much to me. Truthfully, as I sat waiting for the evening session to begin, I realized I hadn't looked forward to something like I did last night, in years. I used to look forward to Onething like that, but that has become my "normal", so it's still good, but I don't countdown to it like I used to though. *grin*

So, I had afternoon tickets and evening tickets. Truthfully, when I purchased tickets, I didn't realize that I had purchased afternoon tickets. I just thought I was buying tickets. However, when I put it all together, I was pumped. I also took both yesterday and today off as a PDO. Therefore, I could go to the afternoon and evening sessions. *grin*

The afternoon session was awesome. You won't be shocked to hear that the worship portion was my favorite. It was spirit-led, and beyond words. To be in a room with people truly hungry for worship, it was intense and fun. We didn't need words on a screen, it was so spirit-led. *grin* The sermon was on fear, which is clearly something He's teaching me a lot about in this chapter of my life, and I took pages and pages of notes. It was AMAZING. TOTALLY. *grin*

The evening portion started out well, as I saw people from my current chapter, and some from previous chapters in my life. It was so much fun to see both. Words can't describe how cool it was to get to visit with friends before the evening session. I was reminded how some people run with you for parts of your life, and then God leads them elsewhere, and then you can see them down the road later. That was sweet to me. Truly.

I enjoyed every moment of the worship night. My favorite moment was toward the very end, when we did Slave To Fear, and we were singing parts of it, without the band leading us. While that did happen throughout the evening, the strongest (for me) was during that song. When we built up to my favorite part "You split the sea so I could walk right through it, You drown my fear in perfect love. You rescued me so I can stand and sing, I am a child of God", I was in a place I haven't been in a LONG time.

I LOVED IT.

God doesn't reach people the exact same way, I know that.

But gosh, that moment, I can still hear it and see it.

It was a moment that will be with me for life.

And, of course, it's beyond anything I can explain to you. If you have had that kind of God moment, you know what I mean. Some moments aren't describable in words. That was my moment with Him last night.

I AM A CHILD OF GOD.

Yes, we know that. For me, that was my moment with Him.

Priceless.

Not all the money in the world can give me that.

Days like that may not be everyday, but gosh, it was a day I will remember the rest of my life.

*grin*
LIFE.
IS.
AMAZING!!!