Friendship

I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with all of the Girl Scout cookies, and I think my lack of confidence in my math skills makes me more nervous than I should be, but the whole being responsible for $1000 worth of cookie money is not my favorite thing. Chloe is going to write a bunch of thank you notes at after care though, so that's a positive part of the whole cookie scam. Sure, they only get 40 cents per $3.50 box, but they build character and courage. John had to work until 8:30 last night, and he we exhausted but glad to have the work. The kids and I had a nice night at church. A high school student gave the devotion about how God is going to keep on calling each of us, and that we can only avoid him like how we use a caller i.d. to avoid telemarketers for so long. I pray that He continues calling my mom and sister and brother. During our study we talked about how we need to be the light that overcomes the darkness like when we open a dark closet door and it is filled with light we need to open doors of light in the community. We talked about the need to embrace Acts 4:32 Nobody claimed that their possessions were their own, and they shared everything they had with each other...God blesses His followers and nobody should go in need of anything. We can make money and give it to those in need. Joseph did this, and they called him Barnabas, one who encourages others. I am a huge supporter of encouraging and giving to others, and I hope that I didn't say anything during the class that made it seem like I don't believe to giving to those in need, because if anyone knows me, they know that the majority of our money and time goes to charitable causes, but I think that we need to have a balance of giving and teaching sustainability. It is better to teach a man to fish then to just give him a fish. When my students and children ask me for something whether it be a nickle or a piece of paper or anything, if they don't use their manners, I say "no, try again later with your manners". I think that a lot of people, children and adults, are not held accountable or held to high expectations anymore, and that it is causing such laziness and disrespect. TJ was grounded from his privileges yesterday because he and a friend went in the bathroom during aftercare and got their hair all wet without permission. Then Mara got her priveleges taken away last night because when I asked her to come sit by me at church she gave me a dirty look and went and sat in the front row. I pray that our kids listen to our teachings about respect and that they give Satan a "spiritual boot". I ate lunch in the cafeteria again yesterday, and the table where Patricia and Tutugirl and others sit is alway too full for everyone that wants to sit together, and I was glad that David, Jacob, and Jimma weren't too cool to sit by me, and that they made great conversation about Boy Scouts, college, Africa...They are very nice boys, and I pray that they are rewarded for their good character. My students have been throwing their spare change into a laundry basket hanging from the celing in my classroom to raise money for Haiti relief. I pray that they think about how they spend their money (many of them eat fast food every day for lunch) and think about the needs of others. We got a nice letter from First Friends in the mail, and one of the last remarks said, We'll save you a seat, and we thought that was so kind. I hope that other churches do small things like that so that they are filled with light by their worship experience and don't leave with even more burdens because nobody went out of their way to make them feel important. Mara asked me last night if we could invite Barbiya :) to dinner sometime. I din't know who she was talking about at first, but then I realized that it was Barbara and Bob Graves from our Meals on Wheels rout. I pray that our kids keep shining their light and bringing smiles to others. Yesterday when I picked Mara up I met Melissa's sister for the second time, and I just said "hi, nice to see ya, how've you been", and Mara grabbed my hand and said, "Come on Mom, shake her hand". At church last night Mara did that again and had me hold Marissa's hand as we sang. I think that is wonderful, and I need to learn from Mara's wisdom about the power of a kind touch of friendship.