Monday's Mantra(s)

Here are some of my favorite "wordy" images found on the big ol' World Wide Web this week.

And my favorite...

** FYI - All images were found on Google Images. 

It's an Honor

It's an honor.

...a privilege.

...a joy.

...a right I don't take for granted.

...a way to return the favor.

...a chance to serve.

...a commandment from God.

...a calling in life.

...a gift.

...a blessing.

God commands, "honor your father and your mother..." (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 15:4, 19:19;  Mark 7:10, 10:19; Luke 18:20; Ephesians 6:2)

When God called me to "take a break" from missions and spend some time at home, helping my parents, I readily accepted the call. 

I knew what that would require. I would give up a career that I loved. I would give up living on my own. I would give up a portion of my finances. And I would spend more time helping them. 

No one (but God, of course) asked me to. I chose to.

And you know what?

I would do it all over again if I had to. 

God chose for me to be born into this family. God chose for these two to be my parents.

For so many years, they took care of me. So when the time came, and God placed this new call on my heart, I jumped at the chance to turn the tables so to speak. And I realize what a blessing this time with my parents has been in my life.

My dad was having a rough morning, so I chose to go to church with my parents today, as to drive for them and to help my mom in taking care of my dad. 

My parents pastor a home church with a small group of sweet believers. It's more like a family than a church. I always feel like I'm at home when I visit there.

And as I sat in church, watching my sweet Daddy preach his heart out this morning, I felt such immense pride. He shared the Word of God as part of an awesome sermon. He led us in worshipping our Savior. And he prayed such a sweet prayer to help usher us into the presence of the Holy Spirit. 

At once during his sermon, he felt a little light headed, and we all jumped up because he was about to pass out. It's something that happens sometimes with him these days. When he recovered, I watched my dad, with tears in his eyes, rebuke the devil's attack on his body. 

I see a man who has always put God first in his life. I see a man who, for as long I've been alive, has preached the Word of God. I see a man who has lived a life of sacrifice for his Savior, his family, and his ministry. 

And now I see a man who, at times, is struggling to move around, to breathe, to live his life. I see a man who is nearing the end of his life. Now whether that's a couple months or twenty years, we don't know know...

But what I do know is this...

No matter how weak he is... No matter how tired he is... No matter how rough of a day he's having... 

He continues preaching the Word of God. And I must say... He does a mighty fine job at doing so!

And me?

I continue to be proud of this man that God chose to be my Daddy.

I continue to be grateful to God for calling me to help my dad.

I continue to look at this time with my dad as a blessing and honor from above.

They have a dream...

In honor of Monday being the day we celebrate him, I dedicated my reading assignments this week to MLK.

And it was Dr. King's famous speech that inspired this assignment, where my students wrote (and read to their peers) their own speech, using the prompt, I have a dream that one day...

I have 13 students and while they each wrote more or less depending on their grade level, the content on each and every one's was AMAZING. 

For kids who typically hate writing, their finished products made me so very proud! They made me so proud that I wanted to share a few here...

I have a dream that one day all men will work together to make the USA a better place. 

Or what about this one? This kid clearly has seen and heard a little too much in his young life.

I have a dream that one day all men and women and boys and girls will be nice. No more shooting or robbing or stealing or fighting. All people will obey the police and not get arrested.

This next one is sweet. 

I have a dream that one day all black and white people will be sweet to each other. We all God's children and we need to love each other.

This little guy's response was good too...

I have a dream that one day all of my friends will be safe. And I have a dream that bad guys will stop doing bad guy stuff. The bad guys will become good guys and only do good stuff.

And my favorite one of all...

I have a dream that one day all mens and womens will be equal peoples. Nobody will be mean to anybody. And everybody will love Jesus.

So what's your dream? Think abouthow  you'd complete the sentence...

I have a dream that one day...

4 on Friday

1. We had an assembly yesterday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Selma Teachers' March for Civil Rights.

Did you know that in January 1965, a group of teachers in Selma, AL marched from Clark Elementary to the Dallas Co. Courthouse? They deserved the right to vote and they chose to march to peacefully fight for that right. And what'd they get in return? ...pokes with a cattle prod, beatings, trips to jail, and pure hatred.

2. My oldest niece is a ham for the camera. Lately she's began to love taking "pish-ers." Proof? See below :)

3. I saw a post about a Christian Comedy Cruise the other day. I checked it out. It seems pretty cool. Who wants to go on a cruise in June? :)

4. A friend posted some Senegal pictures on FB the other day and it made me a bit homesick. I so miss living in Senegal :(

The 129th Dear _____ Post

Dear Alabama Weather, You are so bizarre. It'll be freezing cold one week and then burning up hot the next week. It's no wonder people are sick so much.

Dear New Bible Study, I started you this past weekend. I'm reading, praying, and journaling through the entire Bible. I can't wait to see how God works through this time of more deeply studying the Bible.

Dear Coupon, I got one of you last week from Shutterfly for two free 8x10 prints. I so love that company!

Dear Day Off From Work, I had you yesterday and I must say... You were quite nice. I love my job. I love my students. But having a day off, being able to sleep late, and just hang out in my pjs all day is pretty great too :)

Dear Reba (the tv show), I laughed my head off, watching you yesterday. You're such a funny show. And you're actually clean, which is a rare characteristic in t.v. shows today.

Dear Measles, Apparently, there's been a outbreak recently. The problem? So many parents continue to decide to not vaccinate their children, so it will most likely continue to spread. Scary knowing I work with kids...

Dear Pain in My Side, You've gotten some better. But boy do you still hurt, especially when I bend over or I pick up something heavier than I should. Ouch!

Dear Quotes, The ones of you that I used in yesterday's post on MLK were all good, but one definitely stood above the rest in my opinion...

Dear Prayer, I've received so many emails containing requests for you this week. My heart breaks for so many of my friends and colleagues (both current and former) dealing with sickness, death, civil unrest, emotional trauma, and so on and so forth. I write down each and every one and spend time talking to my Savior about each of them. 

Dear Soup, You are such a nice meal this time of year. It's still cold outside, so eating a bowl of nice, hot soup totally hits the spot.

Dear New Bible, I started using you yesterday. I'm so glad I bought you. What a great purchase you're proving to be!

Dear Senegal, I was doing good. I hadn't had any intense homesickness lately. Then you hit me pretty hard at one point last week. I wonder if that feeling will always be there...

Dear Lunch for This Week, Each day I'll be having veggie wraps with roasted garlic hummus, celery, radishes, and carrots all wrapped in whole wheat tortillas. Yum!

Dear Cute Grin, You're what my youngest niece has in the picture below. It's hard to believe this little girl is already 8 months old. It seems like just yesterday my brother was calling me to tell me she'd been born :)

Dear Whatever You're Doing by Sanctus Real, You're a good song. You know, I've heard you many times, but I finally stopped and took the time to truly listen to your lyrics the other day. Thanks for the lesson you taught me then. Sorry it took me so long to truly listen to you.

Dear American Sniper, I so want to go see you. Anyone up for a trip to the movies next weekend? :)

Dear Mom, I think you're Superwoman. Just so you know :)

Dear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., I wrote a blog post on you yesterday. You were such an influential man. I just wish more people (of all races) followed your philosophy of people getting along and working together. The U.S. (and beyond) would be a much better place.

Dear God, Send peace to this land. We so desperately need it.

Happy Birthday Dr. King

His birthday was actually this past Thursday. But today is the day we celebrate him. Kids are out of school. Civil offices are closed. Mail doesn't run. It's a big deal. And it's all because of who he was and what he did...

I grew up in the South. ...more specifically, in Alabama. So I grew up hearing about the fight for Civil Rights and how African Americans were treated at one time here.

I've heard stories about how white people hated black people so much that they would choose to not sit in the same restaurant, or drink from the same water fountain, or use the same restroom, or let their kids go to the same school. 

I've heard stories of how some white people would beat a black person just as soon as they'd look at them. Or how they'd turn on the high powered hoses and spray the water on them so violently, that it'd push them off the street. 

But I also grew up hearing about a man who gave a famous speech, entitled, "I Have A Dream." ...a man who believed in peace, not hate. ...a man who believed that the way to win the war of racism was through peaceful protests and not violent fights with guns and weapons. ...a man who believed all men should be equal.

That man was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and he had a dream that one day his children would live in a nation where they would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

Dr. King wasn't trying to make black people better than white people. Rather, he wanted all people to finally be equal. He wanted all people to live together in harmony. ...to live together in peace. ...to live together as brothers.

He wanted Americans to open their eyes to the injustice going on around them. ...to stop hating each other. ...to stop separating themselves from people who were different from them. 

...to take that critical first step towards a life of peace with their fellow man.

It's now been 50 years since that famous march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Things are definitely not as bad as they were then. But unfortunately, racism does still exist today. And unfortunately, some people do still treat others badly simply because of the color of their skin. 

But you know... I look at the sweet babies entrusted in my care as a teacher. Not one of them are the same race as me. And I don't care. 

I pray daily that these boys and girls I call mine will grow up to be model citizens. And you know what else... I pray the world they grow up in gets better.

I pray men and women and boys and girls, stand up and unite against hate, prejudice, and plain ol' ignorance and finally put a stop to the racism that still exists today. 

I pray we, as Americans, take the example of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 

I pray we see there is something wrong with the world and we decide right then to do something about it. 

...not with guns and weapons and violence.

...not with dirty language and inappropriate music and movies.

...but with our minds and our hearts.

...with our knowledge of peace and justice and our love for our fellow man.

I pray we stop hating someone because their skin is a different color or because they serve a different god or because they come from a different part of the world. 

I pray we love good and hate evil. 

I pray we treat others the way we would want to be treated.

And I pray that by his birthday next year, Dr. King can look down from Heaven and say,

Hey God, Look at how well your children are getting along. They finally listened to you.

Home

Home? 

Home? Where is it? 

Is it the house you grew up in? Is it the house you spent your school years in? 

If that's the case, then I have 11 homes.

No, it's more than that. Is it where your family is? 

If so, then I'm home now. During this season of life, I'm living with my parents so I can help them out. That means I  definitely living with my family. 

So I'm home right? 

Right?

Umm... Here's the thing...

My heart is constantly being pulled in other directions. We moved around a lot when I was growing up, so I have strong ties all over the state of Alabama and Louisiana. Plus, I have family and friends spread out in all directions - all over the state of Alabama, in other states, and in different countries around the world. 

Then factor in the 5 years I spent living in Dakar, Senegal. That little tiny part of West Africa quickly became home for me. I had my own apartment. I had my ministry work (my job). I had friends - many of whom became more like family. I had my neighbors. I had my ... Well, just everything...

So then fast forward to June 7, 2014. That's the day I landed back in the States. 

I was leaving one home to come back to my other home. 

I was super sad to leave one home and at the same time, I was super happy to arrive in my other home.

I was missing things from one home and reuniting with things from the other home.

My emotions were all screwed up...

And it was at the airport, on one of my layovers, that the song, "Home" by Phillip Phillips, started playing over airport's radio/speakers. I

And I thought about it...

Home

The word, home, cannot be easily defined. 

The word, home, means something different for every person.

The word, home, has a different meaning for me than it does for you.

So where's home for me?

It's the little 2 bedroom, one bath, house where my parents and I live, in Heiberger, Alabama, a town not even on a map.

It's the city of Dakar, Senegal, a city of billions, located in a West Africa.

It's the 11 cities, located throughout Alabama and Louisiana, where I lived growing up. 

It's Alabama, a state known for its southern hospitality and good ol' country folks.

It's the South, a region of the U.S., known for its accents, sweet iced tea, and rednecks.

It's a church where a pastor isn't afraid to preach the truth of God who loves all people but hates all sins.

It's a school, where I'm only 1 of 4 of my own race, yet where I still feel like a member of the family.

It's a crowded market in Dakar, Senegal, where vendors shout out "Good price for you my sister. Come buy nice things."

It's a place I've never even lived, but I know I will one day, since I know God has told me about the family of my own I will one day have.

And most of all...

It's a home I look forward to, a home with streets of gold and most importantly, where my Heavenly Father lives.