Wii Will, Wii Will Rock You!

Wii (I mean We) may have a new addiction . . . Last night we went to some friends' house to play Rock Band. This was actually our third time to "rock out" - we did it once with a large group of friends and once with the teenage son of some friends, but both times were short jam sessions. Last night we rocked hard . . . for hours . . . and I think that we may be hooked! The poor kids kept coming in asking if it was their turn to play, and we kept sending them away telling them maybe in a few minutes. (Nothing like the adults hogging the video game.)

If you have never played Rock Band, you must. It is ultimate karaoke with a drummer and a guitar player. It is tons of fun! I wish that I had taken a camera to catch the live action to share with you. Oh well, maybe next time!

A Super Reader

Did I mention yesterday that Gracie is a super reader? (It's kinda ironic since her second grade class are called the "Super Sewards".)

The official results are in . . . 1 chapter book down, and she made a 90 on the test! What a reader!!!

My Little Reader

Alright, I guess since this is MY blogsite where I can share whatever I feel like sharing, that I won't feel guilty for doing a little motherly bragging today. You moms out there will understand. For those of you who aren't, I apologize . . . you may want to skip this one and try back a different day for a different post.

Gracie checked out her first chapter book from the school library yesterday. Not a short picture book, an honest to goodness Junie B. Jones chapter book.

And she hasn't put it down yet! The last time I checked she was already on chapter 7. A chapter book!!!

I know that it may seem silly for me to feel such overwhelming emotions over a library book, but this is such an accomplishment for Gracie. She struggled in Kindergarten, to the point that the teacher talked about holding her back. Her self-confidence was shot. In fact, one time during church she came to sit with me (leaving the pew where she was sitting with her best friend) to tell me that she was sad because her friend could read and she couldn't. She hated school. She cried every day. I cried every day. Homework was a nightmare!

Then God shook things up. I spent a summer in turmoil looking for an assistant principal's position within our district and ended up with three offers. Initially I leaned toward the "easy" choice of staying at the campus where I had taught for nine years. After all, I knew all of the staff members, I had a couple of years of experience serving as an administrative intern there, and staying seemed like the best choice. But God nudged me (gently at first, then a little more firmly through a couple of my mentors) to trust in Him and try something new . . . something that would bless my family and me. I ended up at one of the elementary campuses in town (elementary . . . like small people . . . REALLY small people for a former sixth grade teacher) that has both a daycare room for Lily and a fabulous support system for Gracie. (Not to mention that I LOVE the people that I work with.) And the blessings began to flow . . .

Gracie had a fabulous first grade teacher who worked diligently to reach and teach EVERY child in her room. She also spent the year working with an outside tutor and was pulled daily by the dyslexic therapist at school (another fabulous teacher). By the end of first grade, she went from a struggling Kindergartener unable to recognize all of the letters and sounds, much less try to put them together into words, to a confident first grader who knew and believed that she could read just like everyone else. And now, as she is a month into second grade, she continues to gain confidence and shine. Last week when they tested the kids, she was reading at a second grade level, actually ahead of some of the kids in her class.

So here were are. I have an excited second grader who loves school, and now she has her first chapter book. She read after school yesterday afternoon, last night in bed, on the way to school this morning, in the office before school . . . she's a reader! And to quote The Little Red Caboose, a book that my MawMaw read to me as a child, my "heart nearly burst with pride."

Church at the Lake

We had church at the lake today. Our church family has been doing this for several months now on the first Sunday of each month. We call it "church out of the box", and this is definitely an appropriate name for it. It is completely non-traditional, completely spontaneous, and completely wonderful! It is hard for me to express how God is working through our group. But I am moved today to try and share the wonders and excitement with you.

First, let me try to describe church at the lake. Flip-flops, lawn chairs, dogs, and children everywhere. We typically set up right next to the lake under the shade of some beautiful (huge) trees. The worship service is very casual, yet somehow (for me at least) very meaningful. There are no pews or bulletins, no formal worship service order. In fact, today we had our "house band" ready to lead the praise and worship time when two other guys showed up with harmonica and guitar in hand . . . so they joined the band for the day. It was awesome! God was there mixed in with the beauty of it all. And as we sang I couldn't help but become overwhelmed by the way that He had brought us all together. There are so many stories of how God has worked in different families lives to weave together this group of believers.

One family, in particular, are fairly new to our group. They were originally introduced to us through a weekly Bible study that some of the stay at home moms began. Eventually, the family came to one of our small group pool parties, and they were hooked. They have recently began attending Sunday morning worship services and God is already using them to make a huge impact on our group. This precious family decided to share their recent experience with the power of prayer to our group this morning. (I did mention that we are fairly spontaneous, didn't I?) So, halfway through the worship service, they took the microphone and shared that their four year old son had been extremely sick the previous week. In fact, he had spiked an extremely high fever and they had to take him to the emergency room where a battery of tests were given to try and figure out what was wrong with him. This went on for several days, leaving the family feeling desperate and defeated. Finally, out of desperation, the father called his grandmother (who he knew had a strong prayer life) and asked her to pray. A little while later one of the stay at home moms from the Bible study called and asked if she and another mom could come over and pray over their son. The two moms went to the family's house and said a short and simple prayer over the sick child. With tears in his eyes and a choked-up voice, the dad explained that before they even finished their prayer his son was sleeping peacefully and that within five minutes his fever had broke for the first time in days. This experience confirmed to his family the power and love of God and his people. Isn't God great!

Today, I am inspired by church at the lake. It was such a simple worship service, yet extremely powerful at the same time. There in His presence, we had a time of sharing, a time of powerful testimony, a time to be real and worship. It doesn't get much better than that!

Aubrey's Visit

Nothing is Impossible

As I open my heart and eyes more and more to see God working in my life, I am amazed at the unique way that He puts all of the pieces together. From the crazy twisting of events that led my mom to her early detection of lung cancer to the amazing life changes that Brad and I have been through over the past two years on our spiritual walk, God is definitely at work. And last week He gave me the best gift - it was exactly what I needed. In fact, He used a negative situation for someone else to encourage me in a way that I thought was impossible.

Out of the blue, I got a text message from Aubrey that she and Jarrod were on their way into town. How does He do it? I had been quietly sulking for a couple of weeks, wishing that I could somehow spend some time with Aubrey. It is hard to explain through words the kind of friendship that we have. Throughout college we spent practically every waking moment together. But more than that, we seem to have an unspoken understanding. She can finish my sentences for me, we thrive on each other's sarcasm, and we always seem to reconnect like no time is lost even when months go by without seeing each other. She and Jarrod live in Illinois, though, and it seems like we are lucky if we get to see each other once a year. So I sulked, wishing that I could see her, but knowing that it was impossible because of the distance between us.

What I didn't consider was that NOTHING is impossible with God. You see, Aubrey and Jarrod are also being challenged now with some very difficult decisions. In fact, they are struggling with a very similar situation to where Brad and I were a year and a half ago. And so God once again took a negative situation and used it for good. While seeking God's plan for their future, He brought Aubrey and Jarrod to Texas for a couple of days. We were able to spend a few hours together talking, laughing, and catching up. And most importantly we were able to spend time sharing our struggles and praying together. It was a time of healing and of comfort. What an awesome God we serve!

My Mom . . . the Blogger?

I spent a few hours at my mom's house tonight helping her journey farther into the world of technology. Now that she has texting down, it was time to move on to the final frontier . . . blogging.

She has decided to create a blog page where she can share her journey with friends and family. For those of you who are interested, you can check it out at www.mimijoyce.blogspot.com. She hopes to share her thoughts and feelings up to this point along with updates as she undergoes treatment. So, take a look and (if you have time) leave her a post. I know that your support and prayers will be an encouragement to her.