child like faith

i love teaching. i love interacting with kids. most of all, i love hearing kiddos talk about Jesus.

this week i was subbing in a kindergarten class. [oh, and i love kindergarten!] as the students were working on a worksheet, it was my job to walk around and monitor their work. as i was making my rounds, i walked by a table of girls who were talking more than working. as i made my way to the table, i heard "Jesus" excitedly come from one of the girls mouths and became very curious. here is the conversation that took place [with much enthusiasm]

girl 1: "DID YOU KNOW JESUS DIED FOR US?!"
girl 2: "YEAH! JESUS DIED! ... FOR US! ISN'T THAT SOO COOL?"
girl 3: "Yeah, did you know that?!"
me: "I did know that"
girl 1: [goes to one of her friends at another table] "DID YOU KNOW JESUS DIED FOR US?!"
girl 4: "Jesus died for us! Isn't that so sad?"
me: It's not sad.
girl 2: "YEAH! It's not sad. HE died so that we may live."
girl 5: "He died so that we could live?"
girl 1: "Yeah, he died so that we could live with him one day in Heaven. JESUS DIED FOR US!"

..and this was the conversation that has brought me much joy. while the rest of the day was slightly challenging, God brought me back to this conversation to show me his simple truth; He died for us.

here is a sermon from john piper about children that i plan to listen to this afternoon. 

here is a short article by piper that you should read.

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3-4)

snow days

saturday, we received around a foot of snow.
so, we made a snowman.
meet sunny.

provision

this whole substitute teaching thing is going a lot slower than i anticipated. and i mean a LOT slower. this friday will be my fourth job in four weeks. besides subbing with the public schools, i have been subbing at the children's center through the university.  how am i holding up? some day are better than others. but through this i am finally starting to see a glimpse of what the Lord is trying to teach me.

for the past month i have been reading Luke. four days ago i stumbled across Luke 12: 1-34  - and have been camped out ever since.

anxiety...a sin that hits close to home. for me, it usually sounds like: shouldn't i have a full-time job now that i'm done with college? will i get a sub job this week? whats my purpose this semester? what are we going to do after this semester? will we make enough money? am i respecting my husband enough? blah blah blah...

but then, Jesus said:

wow, there is a lot in these 3 verses. but ultimately, seek his kingdom and you will receive what you need. it's that easy? 

i am starting to see this is going to be a process for my heart. a process that probably won't happen over night. God has already shown me that when i seek his kingdom, he will provide jobs. and when jobs are canceled, he wants me to seek his kingdom that much more and trust in his provision. 

what does the next 3 months, year, 5 years look like for us? i don't have the slightest clue. [seriously] what i do know is that i am starting a journey of learning how to seek His kingdom and in return we will be given exactly what we need.