Thursday, October 27, 2016

November Goals

In June, I wrote about my goals for writing in general. I committed to you that I would write 3 blog posts a week.  To my astonishment, I have kept up with that goal. I also set a private goal to improve my writing.  I joined a writing training group called Compel, word that matter.

image from www.intersectionconsulting.com
My session yesterday was about goal setting and using SMART goals.  SMART goals are goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.    During the training, we were asked to set SMART goals for our writing projects.  I have two writing projects that I set goals for and I am sharing those goals with you today as a way of holding myself accountable.

Blog Goals
When I first started my commitment to write three posts a week, I also wanted to work a week ahead.  I wanted to have 3 posts ready to post at any given time.  This has not happened.  There were times this summer when I was going on vacation or to camp when I wrote three posts and had those ready to automatically post while I was gone but I have not regularly been three posts ahead.  

As a matter of fact, I was laying down with Brennan last night trying to figure out what to write about this morning.

My November SMART goal for my blog writing is to brainstorm a list of 27 possible blog topics by next Wednesday.  

27 posts will take me through the end of the year.  I know that I probably wouldn't use all 27 ideas before the end of the year.  Things come up that I want to tell you about and I'll interrupt that schedule.  But having 27 things to choose from will be so freeing.  Hopefully this will keep me from laying in bed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights wracking my brain.

Bible Study Goals
I want to write a Bible Study for moms of special need kids.  I have put it off because I don't know what it would be about. I still don't.  But I really want to write a Bible Study and I have to start some where.

I am going to start with research.  Duh, I need some more back ground information!  I order 4 books about disability in the church.  They should be here next week.  My prayer is that, through my study, God will reveal to me what my Bible study should focus on.

My November SMART goal for my Bible Study is to have 2 of those books read by the end of Thanksgiving break, November 27th. 

There you have it friends, my 2 goals for my writing for November.  I'll definitely check back with you next Wednesday to let you know if I met my goal of brainstorming 27 ideas.

What goals do you have? I'd love to hear about them in the comments so we can encourage each other and hold each other accountable.




Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Too Old?

"Hi! I'm Aimee!"

"You were my computer teacher.  And my dance teacher."

I just laid my head down on the counter.  It had been at least 10 years since I was anybody's dance teacher.  So, I knew I was in for it.

This was the wife of a colleague at church.  I had heard lots of great things about her and I was looking forward to meeting her.  I never, in my life would have suspected that she was a former student of mine.

We talked and I remembered her as a middle school girl.  No one should have to be remembered as only a middle school girl.  Being a middle school girl is hard work, y'all! We should all have the opportunity to at least be remembered as a high school girl.  But I hadn't seen her after she left middle school so she stayed a middle school girl in my mind.  And now she stood before me as a beautiful young lady.

Good gracious, I felt old.  As I lay my head on the counter, I prayed.  "LORD, what are you doing?  I'm too old for this.  I'm too old to start over."

I looked up at one of our children's ministers who had witnessed the whole exchange.  "I am so old.  What is GOD doing having me start over at 42?" Kyle just smiled.

But it did get me thinking...am I too old to begin in ministry?  The answer is, of course, no. You're never too old to do what GOD has called you to do.  Remember last week and Moses' next 40 years?  Everything I've done has led to this moment. GOD has needed me to learn some lessons, gain so experience to prepare me for what He has in store.

Yesterday afternoon I was making dinner and listening to podcasts.  One of my favorite podcasts is the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast.  Carey is a pastor in Canada and I always learn a lot from his podcast.  (You can read about an embarrassing encounter with Carey at Orange here.)Yesterday's was an interview with Todd Wilson about calling.

The LORD is go good! This was just what I needed to hear! Wilson talked about finding your 'sweet spot'.  To find your sweet spot you need to think about: Be, Do and Go

Be - who has GOD made me to be?  If you look back you'll see a theme throughout your life of who GOD has made you to be.  For me, GOD has made me to be a teacher.  Every job I've ever had included some element of teaching.  Even now as I step into ministry, I am still teaching. Teaching through my writing, teaching special needs kids about Jesus, teaching volunteers...

Do - what does GOD want me to do with who I am?  For the past 15 years, GOD has wanted me in public schools.  First I taught kids and now I mostly teach adults.  GOD is changing my 'do', who I teach, but I'm still a teacher at heart.

Go - where should I use my 'be' and 'do' to GOD's glory?  GOD and I are still working this one out.

On the podcast, Wilson says that college graduates usually worry most about the 'go' without thinking about the 'be' and the 'do'.  Then when that 'go' isn't the right fit, they think they must find a new job but they still haven't addressed the 'be' or the 'do'.  It was fascinating stuff, I highly recommend you listen to the podcast.

I feel very confident in who GOD has made me to be and what He wants me to be doing.  I pray about the go part often.  My prayer for you is that you discover who GOD wants you to be and that you do what He has called you to do. I have a feeling the go will take care of itself.  For you and me.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

SG Qualities

I am a Kappa Delta.  That's right, I'm a sorority girl.

In January of 1993, I transferred to East Texas State University from Ranger Jr. College.  My cousin had played football at ET and my daddy did a lot of construction work there.  I had been on campus a few times and felt confident about transferring. I moved into Smith Hall, across the highway from the main campus and tried to figure out how to get involved.

I don't remember what exactly led me to sorority rush but I do remember that rush was one night of visiting each house with a group of other girls who wanted to join a sorority. Panhellenic organized that one night of visits but then the sororities were free to contact you and invite you to additional events.  After that night of rush, I had invitations to join all 4 sororities.  Within a few days of joining, I moved into the house on campus.  It was a serious upgrade from Smith but not the opulence you'd think. It was still University housing.

While at ET, I developed my SG (sorority girl) qualities.  I learned about serving my community.  I learned how to greet and include others in a conversation.  I served at Vice President of Recruitment and developed further as a leader. I was not only in charge of 5 nights of formal recruitment, I oversaw open recruitment (a process of continually bringing girls into the sorority). I learned to organize and motivate.  I learned how to manage my time.

Years later, I had a boss that coined that term (at least to me), SG qualities.  I was working as a training coordinator and was responsible for new employee orientation each week. I was responsible for making sure a member of senior management was lined up to speak to the new employees.  When the new employees arrived, I mingled with them and introduced them to the member of management.  I was adamant that we change some things up to make new employees feel more comfortable and welcome to the company.  It wasn't much different from recruitment.  Later as I prepared to hire my replacement, my boss said "Look for someone with SG qualities."  What in the world?  "Sorority girl qualities," he said "I need some one who can host an event and make everyone feel comfortable.  That's part of your SG qualities." I was a little stunned but the term stuck in my mind.

My decision to join Kappa Delta has always ranked in my top 5 good decisions (following Christ, marrying Ryan, becoming a mom, starting Valuable are the others).  I learned many valuable skills.  But the most important part of KD, as in anything, are the people.  Through Kappa Delta I've had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful women.  Some have stayed in my life for a season. Others have stayed for the long haul.

Sunday was Kappa Delta's 119th birthday.  My Facebook timeline was flooded with well wishes from women all over the country.  Some I've never met.  Others I speak to regularly.  But we all have Kappa Delta in common.  I love Founder's Day because it reminds me to think about our 4 founders - Lenora, Sara, Mary, and Julia.  I'm in awe of their SG qualities. They were so young when they founded Kappa Delta. But their creation has endured for 119 years.  I can't imagine that anything I will create will endure that long.  I am proud of have benefitted from their vision.  I hope that I've contributed to Kappa Delta in a meaningful way, given back some of what Kappa Delta has given me. I am proud of the direction Kappa Delta is moving in today.  Building Confidence.  Inspiring Action.  
So, yeah, I'm a sorority girl.  A proud Kappa Delta sorority girl!


Thursday, October 20, 2016

Preparation

Have you ever hosted a party with no preparation?  Or maybe you've taken a test without studying?  Tried a new recipe without reading it all the way through first?

I've done all these things, with disastrous results. As a matter of fact, I've done this to B two times this school year alone.  Two weeks we've not studied his spelling words before a spelling test. This is the first year he's had spelling tests so I wasn't in the groove yet.  One week it was so bad his sweet teacher didn't give him any grade at all.  #mommafail

I have been in a season of waiting and preparation for a while now.  God has given me a dream and a calling and I want to get this party started.  But he is holding me in place.  I know what I want to do but my circumstances don't allow it.  I'll be honest, it's frustrating.  It's disheartening at times.

It's so hard not to question God in these seasons of preparation.  I question my calling, "Are you sure this is what I'm supposed to do, LORD? If it is, why can't I do it yet?  Why isn't everything falling into place."

My brain knows I need to prepare for success but my heart wants to charge forward.

Two verses help me wait patiently during this season of preparation.

"Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. The Lord has made everything for its purpose" Proverbs 16:3-4

"For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?" Luke 14:28

So, today I will commit my work to the LORD.  I will do what he needs me to do to prepare for the next adventure He has waiting for me.  I will try to listen for his promptings so that I am not charging forward without Him.  Some days it's so hard to wait, boring to prepare, I want to get going.  But I know that His plan is always better than mine.  

.



Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Your Words Matter

OVER. IT. This is how I was feeling about high school and my high schooler last week.  I love him to death but seriously, I was over it.  And I was sure that I was the only bad momma feeling this way. Until Friday night.

Actually, let me back up to Thursday night.  We are at the boys' football games, away games.  The JV cheerleaders arrive and are getting ready for the game.  Two of the cheerleaders walk through the stands.  B stops them and starts taking pictures of one of the girls.  I know this young lady is a friend of Sam's but B has never met her.  She graciously smiles and poses for his photos.  He uses her photo in his app obsession o' the day - Disney Side.  Thankfully he made her into Snow White and not Jafar or Captain Jack Sparrow (which he did to other adults through out the night).  She smiles and giggles some nervous laughter and goes on about her way.

I was so touched by her kindness to B.  It's not that the kindness was out of character for her, she's a wonderful young lady.  It's just, who wants to be stopped by 8 year old paparazzi when you're trying to get ready to cheer?

Back to Friday night, it was Homecoming and I was having a blast handing out pom poms for our church.  The young lady's parents come by.  I stop them and tell them about the photos and how sweet their daughter was to B. The mom breaks out into a huge smile "Thank you! This is such a God thing because we were just talking about how awful she is!"  Her dad said, "We wondered if she was as mean to everyone else as she is to us!"  We laughed about the struggles of freshmen.  I told them how over Sambo I am.  They were shocked, "He's so sweet, just a big teddy bear!"

After our conversation ended and they went into the stadium I was left with this realization: Everybody is struggling.

We are all so busy staring in our own dramatic movie of our life that we forget that other people are staring in theirs as well.

Your words matter to someone who is struggling.  Your words can offer hope.  But we don't always know who needs our words.  You can't always tell when someone is desperately clinging to the last little bit of their rope.

You never know the hope your encouraging comment will give to someone else.  It was a little out of my comfort zone to talk to this mom.  We aren't super close. But I wanted her to know how much I appreciated her daughter's kindness.  And it turns out that she needed to hear my words as much as I needed to say them.

The flip side of speaking encouraging words is receiving them.  For me, this is much harder. I have been known to reply "I'm glad someone does" to people who tell me they love my boys.  I tend to blow off a nice comment, "oh they were just saying that."  Of course they were saying that, they meant to say that! Try to receive comments with the same spirit you offer them.

Today, step out of your comfort zone.  Give an encouraging word to someone, maybe even someone you don't normally talk to you.  Allow God to use you and your words today.


Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Ryan

On Monday Ryan and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary.  It seems hard to believe that we've been married that long.  Then I think about everything that has happened in those 18 years and I think it should be longer.

When we married I was the Director of Greek Life at the University of Texas at Dallas.  Ryan was a teacher and coach at Utley Middle School in Rockwall.  We both worked crazy hours but I loved it when we were home in a our small little apartment in Garland.  Gracious, that place was tiny!  I felt so grown up.  I was married, I had a good job. I shopped for groceries and fed my man. I was living the life.

Fast forward 18 years.  We have 3 awesome boys.  We have a beautiful home in a small town that we love.  Now I'm the teacher and Ryan is a salesman.  I still shop for groceries and feed my men.  I still love doing that. I always feel like I better momma and wife after a trip to Sam's Club.  My freezer and cabinets are full and ready to go.  But some how, I don't feel so grown up any more.

When we married I couldn't fathom doing something for 18 years in a row.  I thought by the time I've been married 18 years, I'll know everything about Ryan and life will be on autopilot.  The longer I live, the more I realize how little I know.  There are so many days that I feel like I'm 12 years old wondering what crazy person left me in charge of all this. I'm Elizabeth Shue in Adventures in Babysitting, in over my head.  Who decided that I knew how to raise a teenager, let alone 2? Who decided we could parent an autistic kid who already knows more than we do?

Then I pour this all out to Ryan and he says, "We got this." WE.  He and I.  We can do this.  We can't actually do it ourselves.  We rely on God for direction.  We rely on our families for support and advice.  But at the end of the day, God has trusted us with each other and these three young men.

He has always believed in me more than I believe in myself.  I'm writing this because of him, "Babe, I don't think you should give up on writing just yet." He leads me when I don't know where to go.  He supports just about every crazy idea I've ever had.  He rarely says "I told you so".  He's not perfect and neither am I. The difference is that we don't hold our weaknesses against each other.  We grow together.

I am so thankful for Ryan Bartis.  I'm glad we were both took Problems in Society in the summer of 1995.  I'm so glad Ana kept asking him questions to find out which KD Aimee what in his class.  I'm glad he said "I don't think we have to break up" when I announced I was going to graduate school at A&M and I'd see him later.  But most of all, I praise God every time he looks at me and says "We got this."




Thursday, October 13, 2016

My Next 40 Years

I turned 42 this summer.  I have a great family, awesome jobs and amazing friends.  But I still end up wondering, "is this really what God wants me to be doing right now? " Some days I feel like I'm on the cusp of something, being prepared for a grand adventure into what God really wants me to do with my life.  Then I'll remember that I'm 42.  I'll think "Shouldn't I be grown up by now?  Shouldn't I be doing whatever it is God wants me to do with my life by now?  Have I failed?"

I love the Old Testament.  It is filled with stories of people screwing up God's promises and God redeeming them anyway.  Of course there is a lot of God punishing people for their screw ups but still, there's redemption.  Don't get me wrong, I love, Love, LOVE Jesus.  I'm so thankful he came to replace the law that the Old Testament folks couldn't keep.  I am so thankful that my salvation is based on Jesus' sacrifice and grace and not on my ability to keep the law.  I would fail so miserably at keeping the law.  Oh, I'd work super hard at it but then someone would make me mad and I'd be in trouble all over again.

Yesterday I started reading Exodus.  Exodus 1 details Pharaoh's plan to kill all the male babies born to the Israelites.  But God used the midwives to save the babies.  Then in Exodus 2 we read about  how Moses' sister and mother saved him.   And not only did they save him, he ended up as Pharaoh's grandson.  I love God's ways, he has such an awesome sense of humor.

What caught my eye and attention this morning were the headings in Exodus 2.  The first heading says Moses' first forty years.  Under that heading is the story of how Moses' was saved as a baby.  The next heading is Moses' second forty years.  Under that heading is the story of Moses killing an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, hiding the body and then running away from Pharaoh who wanted to kill him.  Not a very mature leader.

Wow! When Moses was in his 40s God was still preparing him for what was to come.  Is it possible that God is still preparing me for what He has in store for me?  LORD, I hope so! I understand that people in the Old Testament lived much longer than we do today.  I'm not a Bible scholar so I don't know if they really lived so much longer or if they had shorter years or what.  I'm not really concerned with that.

My point is that God provides hope in the strangest of places.  This morning it was through 2 headings in the Bibles.  Headings that were probably added by men many years after Exodus was written.  But still God used those headings to give me hope.  To speak to me and reassure that the best is yet to come.  To let me know that He is always in control.  He is preparing a way for me.  He is preparing me for the way.  God has big things planned for my next 40 years.  I can't wait.


Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Out of My Depth

What do you do when you're out of your depth?  I mean seriously in over your head?

Being a technology teacher, I'm frequently out of my depth with new technologies.  For example, I took on video announcements this year.  Our school had never done them.  I was comfy with Google Hang Outs on Air.  Then Google discontinued them and the new solution was very complicated.  No problem, I took to YouTube and figured most of it out.  I do have one lingering problem but I'm working on it.

With the older boys, I have plenty of friends who have boys their ages and older.  I have my mom and sister to get advice from as well.  I can send a text or make a phone call and get good solid advice in a matter of minutes.

But, as usual, B man is a different story.  I have a few friends who have autistic kids but every autistic kid is so different so that's hard.  The past few weeks I've become convinced that I will VERY quickly be out of my depth with B man.

Sunday morning he asked Sam, "Sam do you know the 3 types of irony?" Then proceeded to teach us the three types of irony.   Of course, I learned something.  B loves to watch TED-Ed.  That's where he learned about irony and figurative language.  He apparently also learned about Ghandi.  On the way to Michael's (to get resin because every 8 year old needs resin) Saturday I was listening to a podcast in the car, I think it was Science vs. Zika (yes, I'm that nerdy).  When it was over, he said "Can we listen to one about Ghandi?"  I asked him what he knew about Ghandi.  "He was brown and he was a peacemaker. He lived in India."

Blown. A. Way.

I searched iTunes for a podcast about Ghandi.  As we listened to it, I wondered...how long before he asks me about something I know nothing about? Perhaps tomorrow.  But definitely by the end of next week.

What does he know? What's inside that brain? How smart is he?  We have no idea.  He has not been able to handle any testing situation he's ever been in.  His original testing at Children's.  His 3 year re-evaluation.  I think he actually hit one of the ladies testing him then.  Occupational Therapy evaluation last week - he ran out of the office, out of the building and into the parking lot.

It's hard to know when he'll out run us.  I have no idea what we'll do when we get there.  But I know the One who knows.  All I can do is keep praying.  Keep asking the LORD to steer me in the right direction.  Keep praying for wisdom to be the best momma for all three of my boys.  Keep listening to the people he brings me.


Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Freedom

I used to think rules were freeing.  Tell me what you want me to do, stand back and let me exceed your expectations. I operated this way for a majority of my life and things were just fine, thank you very much!

I realized the constraints of rules when I had to start making the rules.  It was a gradual realization, with the older boys, I was still pretty happy with the role of rules in my life.  Rules in my classroom were totally necessary.  Things began to change when I took some leadership roles.

Good gravy, people want to nitpick rules.  You have to get more and more specific.  I would drive myself crazy trying to think of all possible scenarios and make a rule for each scenario. And still people would nitpick.

An excellent example of this middle school girls and dress code.  Shorts have to be fingertip length long.  Fingertip length is determined by putting your hands down by your side.  I've seen girls shrug their shoulders up to their ears to make fingertip length shorter.  I've seen girls pull shorts way down on their hips to meet the length.

B-man also changed my view of rules.  He's so literal.  Last week at occupational therapy the secretary had a flower pot on her desk to hold pens.  The flower pot had smooth stones in the bottom.  B asked if he could have a stone. She said "Yes, if it's ok with your mom."  I told him the rock had to stay in his hand.  He looked up at me with big eyes "Forever?" "No not forever, just while you're inside this office.  You can't throw it."  "Can I throw it when I get outside?"  "No, not in the parking lot."  We proceeded to list all the places you can not throw a rock and where he could throw it.

Monday morning I read Galatians 5.  The chapter starts with a familiar verse "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."  The yoke of slavery Paul is referring to here is the Old Testament law.  Some Jewish people who had come to believe in Jesus wanted to cling to the Old Testament law and they wanted to hold the non-Jewish believers, Gentiles, to those same standards.  They wanted both Jesus and the law.  But Jesus had come to complete the law and give us freedom from it.  We are saved by grace, we don't have to keep a strict set of rules.

As I read on in Galatians 5, verses  13-15 really stood out.  Paul tells us here how to use our freedom.  Think back to the first time you took the car out without your parents.  What a sense of freedom that was!  All I was thinking about what myself.  I was NOT thinking about using my freedom to serve others.  In verse 14 Paul reiterates the point of Jesus' live, death and resurrection: the law is now fulfilled and we should love our neighbor as ourselves.

But it was verse 15 that really stood out to me and drove home the consequences of finding freedom in rules.  Rules cause us to nitpick and argue.  Paul is warning us here that we will be consumed by this behavior.  I'm not down for that! I don't want to be consumed by ugliness. I want to walk in freedom and love.  LORD, today, show me how.

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Bulletproof

I woke up at midnight last night (when you go to bed at 9:30 that is the middle of the night) hungry for apples and peanut butter and singing a song.  "Give thanks with a grateful heart. Give thanks to the Holy One. Give thanks because He's given Jesus Christ, his Son."  As I ate my snack, I reflected on all the things I have to be thankful for.


  • A God who loves me 
  • A God who is accessible to me
  • A husband who loves me and our boys 
  • A husband who works hard
  • My boys
  • Their, sometimes, gentle spirit and tender hearts
  • Their silly ways
  • The rest of our family
  • The ability to create and share my creations with others


I could go on and on.  I have so much to be thankful for! I was so grateful that God had woken me up to remind me of all my blessings.

Last night on Speechless (the best show I've seen in a looooonnnngggg time), the dad told the middle son that he was bulletproof.  He explained that after being told his first son was disabled and would not be able to do certain things, nothing else could phase him.  I loved that thought.

I am bulletproof because of Jesus Christ.  Because he sacrificed himself, willingly gave himself up for my sins, I am bulletproof.  I will have trials in this world, the Bible makes this clear, but nothing can touch me.  I am a child of God.

But the real question is...do I live like I'm bulletproof?  Do I live like I am thankful for everything God has give me?  The answer is sometimes.  Sometimes life gets me down and I flounder around not knowing what to do.  Other times when my heart breaks, I run straight to God and pour it out to Him and accept his grace and healing.

Today I will remember that I am bulletproof. Today I will be thankful to the One who made me bulletproof.


Wednesday, October 5, 2016

Let It Be

Before I get started let me just say that I hope you each have a friend as great as my sister in law.  She's so freaking awesome!  We've put in the work to get to where we are but it's been so worth it.  We are pretty different.  She's blonde, I'm brunette.  Just kidding...but we are pretty different.  I'm a total geek and she's totally cool.  She's very beautiful and fashionable.  I'm cute and like to wear jeans and funny t-shirts.  Our kids are stair stepped. The oldest boys are 6 weeks apart, the middle boys are 3 weeks apart and the youngest are a year apart.  I was 'done' having babies until I held my sweet niece.  A year later, I'm the mother of three boys.

We work through most of life's junk together.  We are honest with each other.  We can say, "No don't do that." and "Yes, you are right on"  If you don't have a friend like this, I totally recommend putting in the work to develop one.  It takes work.  We've hurt each other's feelings.  We've apologized.  We love each other.  We get each other.

Yesterday we were working through some junk.  Basically, I was making sure I wasn't crazy.  This is an everyday occurrence as I am sure I'm two steps away from crazy at any given minute.

I came to this realization...people need to live and let live.  Seriously, can you image what would happen if we stayed out of other people's business?  The drama in this life would go down to almost nil. I think you'd still have some because you're always going to have miscommunications.  But even those would be between the two people involved.  Everyone else would stay out of it.

Could you imagine?  People only worrying about themselves?  What could we accomplish with all the time we've freed up?  Cure cancer? In all seriousness, life would be so much easier.  For my part, I'd be less stressed.  I probably feel less crazy.

During my conversation with my sister in law, I also came up with this handy definition of friendship: Listen to my stories, laugh where appropriate, don't judge me and only offer advice when asked.  

And I promise I'll try to do the same.  And I promise I'll tell you when I'm hurt and forgive you when you hurt me.  And then we're good.

Why is this so hard for people?  I have no idea.  What I do know is this: I have a great friend in my sister in law.  I am so thankful for her.


Tuesday, October 4, 2016

He Works All Things Together...

The last few weeks have not been awesome. I haven't felt well.  My allergies are out of control.  Things at work have been hectic but I generally like it that way.  Something shifted over the past few weeks and hectic was making me grumpy instead of satisfied that I was helping people.

All this came to a head Thursday.  After a crazy busy day, I left work crying.  An unfounded comment had flattened me.  Ryan picked me up and we drove an hour to Zac's football game.  I have a told you how much I love that man?As we drove down highways and through the countryside, I poured out my heart to him.  He's a good listener.  He's also a good fixer but he didn't fix right away.  He listened first.  What a gift he is!

After he let me cry myself out and take a few minutes to rest, he offered me a break.  B had been invited to a birthday party Friday night. Ryan would take him to the party and I could stay home, rest and get somethings done.

It turned out to be a great night.  Since our high school football team had an off week, both big boys were home. We ordered pizza.  Sam drove me to the store to get some drinks.  We ate pizza and watched a movie.

During the movie, I worked on my curriculum boxes for Valuable.  I even ran to the store in the middle of the movie to get supplies for the upcoming month.  But I got back in time for the last powerful scene.

I loved the chance to stay home, get things done and spend time with the big boys.  Ryan loved taking B to the party.  It was a win - win.  But I don't think we would have gotten there if I hadn't been upset.  Isn't it cool how God uses everything for our benefit?  My rough patch at work led to Ryan giving me a chance to take care of myself.

I am constantly amazed at God's power to work all things together for my good.  This is truly amazing grace!