Ignorant Historian

These questions come from Amanda, who got them from a class.  I guess there is some benefit in going to class.

1. What three things would be said about you and your life if you died today?

I think that it would be said that I loved the Lord, made a difference in the lives of children, and loved to learn.

2. Given the likelihood that you will not die today, and have time left to change some things in your life, what three things would you most like to have said about you and your life?

I would like it to be said that I shared my faith, encouraged others, and spoke truth through my writing.

3. If someone were to witness a week of your life, what assumptions would that person make about your values–what matters to you?

I think that they could safely assume I love to learn, as I spend a ton of time reading and writing.  I hope that it would be obvious that I value the Lord, but that’s probably not as clear as I would like.  I think that it’d be clear that I love children, too.

4. What values do you hold that are not evident from the way you life your life?

I value others, I really do, but this is a hard thing for me to do as an introspective introvert.  I’m way more comfortable in my reading chair than I am on the streets, but I need to be on the streets (or in other houses or wherever) interacting with others more.

5. What three goals are important to you as you plan your life?

Seeking to honor God in everything I do is an important goal that influences every decision that I make.  Another goal (if you can call it that) is to get married, but that has yet to change my on-the-ground plans.  Another goal is to be an encourager, which is why I choose to go on trips (though hey, I do like to travel, too).

6. What keeps you from achieving what you want for your life?

The biggest hindrance is my own sin.  Another hindrance to many of these plans is my own self-absorbed tendencies, something that my friends try to push me out of (which I appreciate, though I might not like!).

Photo by Randy Son of Robert

Today’s Mother’s Day, a day of celebrating mothers.  For as long as I can remember, I’ve celebrated this holiday as a daughter and a granddaughter, but today was the first time I imagined what it would be like to celebrate this day as a mother.

You all know I want to be married.  Not that it’s my chief aim in life, but this God-given desire is a big part of who I am.  I’ve always wanted to be a mother as well, but my mind tends to focus more on marriage.  You know, the whole don’t put the cart before the horse thing.

But today, unexpectedly, Mother’s Day got to me.  At one time I was at the point of tears, as adoption was mentioned, something that I really want to do.

I trust that God did not give me these desires to mock me, but that they serve a purpose.  Whether this desire will be fulfilled in physical or adoptive motherhood, I don’t know, but I thank God for each and every little one that He has allowed me to touch or teach.  After four years of serving as a Sunday School teacher and Awana leader, I have had the opportunity to teach/lead/love-on almost every child in our church from kindergarten through 9th grade.  As some of you know, that’s more than a few children.  I’m thankful for those parents who have shared their children with me.

I don’t give up hope of becoming a mother myself, but rather remember where my true hope lies.

This past Sunday, our church focused on prayer and repentance, so we taught our little kindergarteners about prayer.  While this age isn’t my favorite to work with (I prefer the older kids: 5th grade and up), this group is growing on me, just like they do every year.

This year’s Sunday school class is especially mature for their age, and fairly tight-knit as well, though they are a large class (we usually have between 15-20 kids each Sunday, though past groups have been in the 10-15 range).  Oh, and they’re mostly boys (we usually have 4 girls there each week).

We three teachers split them up into 3 groups and lead them in praying, and it was neat to see how well they handled taking turns praying in a small group, and the true sincerity in their prayers for their fellow students’ mommies (we have 4 students who will soon have new siblings…our church definitely takes “go forth and multiply” very seriously), missionaries that they personally know, their family and friends who don’t know Jesus, and themselves (specifically, to help them love and obey God).

After my group was done praying, I started asking about when they find it difficult to treasure God (our lesson was from Matthew 6), and the kids were really honest with me.  One girl mentioned that she has a hard time obeying her parents, while another boy mentioned he struggles with lying.  The fact that they understand following God isn’t easy speaks volume to their maturity, even if most of them haven’t yet reached the point of making the faith their own.

This is just a glimpse of why I love working with these children week in and week out.

Today’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  I’d love to write a post about it, but my brain’s not just up for it.  The kiddies have worn me out. (I’m writing this Sunday night, knowing full-well that I won’t have a spare second tomorrow to write a blog post.)

I generally consider myself up-to-date with pop culture.  That said, I’ve hardly seen any recent movies because they simply haven’t appealled to me.  Ever since the summer of Ocean’s, Pirates, and Bourne, there’s only been 2 movies that have really captured my attention (Enchanted and 27 Dresses).  So, tonight, when my 10- to 12-year-old girls started talking about movies, I just didn’t know what to say.

They talked about Twilight and The Dark Knight, y’all.

One of the main reasons why I enjoy working with this age of girl is because we have a lot in common.  In many ways, I still feel like a 12-year-old girl.  Those were awkward, formative years in between childhood and adulthood, and since I still don’t feel quite grown-up, I totally relate.  I also like pink, pens, and talking, things that are big hits with the preteen crowd.  In general, I probably even like many of the same movies as they do.

But there is not one thing about Twilight or The Dark Knight that appeals to me in the slightest, but here are some of my favorite girls going on and on about what they loved about the movies.  Now I don’t want to alienate you Twilighters as I know there are a ton of you, but I JUST. DON’T. GET. IT.   And comic book movies?  The only ones I’ve seen are the Spiderman ones, and even those I have to take with a grain of salt.  (And, really, Toby Maguire may have had a lot to do with the reason for seeing those movies)

So, I guess if these girls are getting into them, it couldn’t hurt for me to give them a try.  I guess.  At least I should look into it…

When I have teenaged children, I’m going to teach them how to use proper spelling and grammar in online communication, and if they don’t, they’re going to have to do work to prove to me they know it (e.g. write the usages of your and you’re 20x each). I don’t care if they use texting shorthand or whatever, but if they’re writing a real word IT WILL BE SPELLED CORRECTLY.

That is all.

ETA: Oh, wow.  Yes, I did have a weird typing error in this post that is now fixed, the kind where I think faster than I type.  I wrote it in a hurry; that’s what I get.  Oh, the irony…

The Funniest Things Kids Have Told Me in the Last Week

1. “It’s not spring; it’s March!” – 4yo

2. In a rebus of Psalm 139:14, for “marvelous,” a 10yo put “marve + louse.” Louse, as is in one lice. I’m pretty sure it was a spellilng error, but it made me laugh.

3. “I thought that she was in Chicken.” – 6yo being totally serious. We had been talking about Turkey, but then switched gears later to talk about someone working in another country. He was confused and thought we still were talking about Turkey…but called it Chicken.

4. “But I have my Bible cover.” – 11yo, trying to justify getting another Awana buck (which they can spend) for bringing his Bible when all he had was its cover. I asked him if it was inspired, and he said, “No, but…” He’s really quite the negotiator, but not in a disrespectful way.

I don’t do loose teeth. I’m not a mom, so I feel I have the right to pick and choose which gross bodily things I have to deal with.

If a kid starts wiggling his tooth in front of me, I tell him to stop and do that at home. I don’t need to see that, and I have no plans on helping him out once it falls out.

Today, 10-year-0ld Joe stopped practicing piano and headed over to the mirror to take a look at his tooth that was bothering him. Jokingly, I said, “It’s not going to fall out, is it?”

Yep, that’s exactly what it did. And it turns out, Joe doesn’t like blood. Or saliva. He started to freak out about the amount of blood that was coming from his mouth, and kept spitting it all over the sinks.

Finally, I convinced him to rinse out his mouth in order to get the “nasty” blood taste out of his mouth. (Personally, the taste doesn’t bother me…but I also liked the taste of pennies and nickels when I was a kid)

I jokingly said, “I don’t know how you’re going to get your wisdom teeth out.” Oops. Why did I say anything? I told him that maybe he won’t have to, maybe he has a big mouth. I had just revealed that I did!

This is exactly why I don’t let the kids at church wiggle their teeth!

I know this a title of a recent Fergie song, but that’s not what I’m talking about. I can’t comment on it since I really don’t know what the song’s about. (I just ended both of those sentences with prepositions…yes!)

Last night I was babysitting for some dear friends. Shortly after putting her to bed, their 7-year-old daughter, “Abby,” came out and clearly had been crying.

After I made her younger brother go back to bed (who had to check out why his sister was not in her bed when he had to be), I asked her what was the matter. After I asked her twice, she said, “Oh, all right,” and settled in on my lap.

Abby went on to tell me that she was crying for her mom and dad, but was embarrassed because she’s 7 and shouldn’t cry. After all, big girls don’t cry.

I assured her that even adults cry, and that I cry all the time. (Okay, maybe not ALL the time, but that’s not the point.) I assured her that it’s okay to cry, as long as you aren’t doing it for the wrong reasons, like to get what you want or out of selfishness.

This is a lesson I’ve had to teach myself in the last 6 or 7 years. I didn’t use to want to cry because it showed weakness. Guess what, I am weak. That’s why I need a strong Savior.

Actually, I cry because I’m an emotional creature. That’s how God created me. As a woman, I’m particularly sensitive to the suffering of others. Most often, I cry because someone else is crying, or they are sharing with me their hurt.

Do big girls cry? Yes, this one does. And I’m okay with that.