Somewhere in the Middle

I now drive about 20 minutes to get to work every day. Now, this has been part of my "adjustment process"... especially since I was used to driving a very short 3 or 4 minute distance to work for 7 years! I've told myself that the biggest part of adjusting to the changes that have taken place in my life over the last few weeks is how I choose to view things. So, I have really tried to to find the positive in everything. And, actually, I have found that I enjoy the drive to work. I enjoy the time to settle down and use the time to think about what I need to do, I talk to John Owen (if he's in a talking mood), I take in the things I see, I enjoy listening to some of my favorite CD's,...you get the idea. I noticed not long after making the drive to and from school, that I pass at least 3 small churches along the way, all of whom have a message of some kind posted for passers-by like me to read. I always pay attention to these messages and often try to picture the person who came up with the words.

Certain messages, whether posted on a billboard or sign, or heard on a song from your favorite CD, can speak to you if you let them. There is a certain song on my Casting Crowns CD that I have let myself listen to almost everyday as I have traveled to and from my new job. I love it! I guess I like it so much because it reminds me in its message that I have to let God be in control of things.

Sadly, I confess, I can easily place myself as the subject in this song. In my immaturity as a Christian, I am still somewhere in the middle. This song reminds me everyday to pray that God will help me to seek Him and His plan for my life, and not always focus so much on my plan for my life! It's like my daily confession to Him. I just wanted to share the message of this song with you because it has spoken it's message to me so loud and clear.

Somewhere between the hot and the cold.

Somewhere between the new and the old.

Somewhere between who I am and who I used to be.

Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me.

Somewhere between the wrong and the right.

Somewhere between the darkness and the light.

Somewhere between who I was and who You're making me.

Somewhere in the middle You'll find me.

(chorus) Just how close can I get, Lord, to my surrender?

Without losing all control?

We're fearless warriors in a picket fence

With wreckless abandon wrapped in common sense.

Deep water faith in the shallow end

And we are caught in the middle.

With eyes wide open to the differences

The God we want and the God who is

But will we trade our dreams for His

Or are we caught in the middle?

Somewhere between my heart and my hands.

Somewhere between my faith and my plans.

Somewhere between the safety of the boat and the crashing waves.

Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me.

Somewhere between a whisper and a roar.

Somewhere between the altar and the door.

Somewhere between contented peace and always wanting more.

Somewhere in the middle, You'll find me.

(Repeat chorus)

(This is the part that I let myself focus on the most and the part that brings me comfort...)

Lord, I feel You in this place

And I know You're by my side.

Loving me even all these nights...

When I'm caught in the middle.

The Wheels on the Bus

Jonah started back to preschool today! We have been waiting on the day that the wheels on the bus would pull into our driveway! He was so incredibly excited about riding the bus this year! He was up extra early which resulted in him being asleep when the bus dropped him off after school. Oh well!

The bus he rides is the cutest little bus! He said he really liked it when I asked him what it was like to ride the bus today. I think he had a great first day! I read "The Kissing Hand" (Thanks, "Su-Su" for letting us borrow your copy of the story.) to him last night before he went to bed, and he surprised me tonight with a special project from his first day where his teacher read the class the same story and then had them put their handprints on a piece of paper. The handprint had a special heart-shaped sticker placed in the middle of it. It's such a sweet story to read with your child before they start to school. If you haven't read it, check it out!

The wheels on the bus go round and round!

And...We're Off!

I have heard other parents say, and I think it's probably true that once your child starts to Kindergarten, it's like the years seem to race by! I have mentally tried to prepare myself for the day John Owen would start to school. I knew the day was coming...gosh, I even put it off by sending him to Pre-K for a 3rd year! :-) But this time, I couldn't put it off any longer and this week we set off on our journey to elementary school. John Owen was up early, dressed and proudly walked downstairs Monday morning. He did not ride with me as I had to be there early, but he waited on his Daddy to pick him up so they could meet me at school and we could all walk down the hallway to his class together. My mom said he went out to the mailbox after he ate his breakfast and stood there watching for Jan to drive up. He must have stood there for 20 mins! I wish I'd left her the camera so she could have taken a picture!

Daddy, Mommy & John Owen in his classroom

John Owen has a very pretty & young teacher, and we are very excited that he is in her class. Plus, she has the same first name as his Mommy, so that in itself should make him feel right at home, huh? He did so good on his first day! Even his thermos exploding his fruit punch all over him didn't put a damper on his attitude. I think he'd have worn the "red stuff" for the rest of the day with no problem. We did change his clothes, but I couldn't get all the "red stuff" out of his hair! Good grief!

Note to self: Do not put red fruit punch in his thermos again. Better yet...get a new thermos and don't spend the extra money again on the kind that exploded when opened!

What A Week!

When I look at last week's pictures of my boys taking their turn at the "spider jump" and think about how they must have felt nervous as they stepped out of their comfort zones to accomplish this, I also think about my own nervousness that surrounded this week's events and my new job I began at my new school.

The past week has been invigorating to say the least! I don't think I've really slowed down much since my feet hit the floor Monday morning! I have found that starting a new job came with much of what I expected and some things that I didn't. I expected to get to know new faces and personalities. And I have. I still have many more to meet and get to know. I have accomplished (with the help of a few WONDERFUL people) stamping and shelving the new shipment of 4500+ books our school received for collection. Whew! Can't believe we got it done! You should have seen the mountains of boxes and paper! I got excited about the new books I was putting on the shelves. I think a smile came to my face every time I shelved a book that I remembered reading. I loved books by Beverly Cleary when I was young...Ramona and Ralph S. Mouse! Remember those? Seeing those again made me feel good!

I enjoyed our speaker at our county wide inservice...you know someone is good at what they do when they have made you laugh, cry and feel like you can accomplish just about anything you put your mind to. Great motivational speaker! I wish you all could have been there to hear him speak about overcoming the "Goliaths" in your life!

And as I reflect in my exhaustion on this week's events, I have to say that I learned (or was reminded) of who I am and that the only person I can control is me. I met so many different people, people who are different from me in many ways and some who are very similar. I was reminded that leaving your "comfort zone" and finding your niche is not always easy at first. Not that I ever find this sort of thing to be extremely difficult, but the "uncomfortableness" crept up a time or two this week.

I was reminded that we can never get into the habit of placing the blame on others, but yet, look to ourselves and try to walk away from life's experiences with a deeper knowledge of what we feel comfortable doing, what the right thing to do is and where our focus should be.

Wow! Who knew a week's worth of teacher meetings and shelving library books could teach you all this? :-) Oh, and by the way...next time, I am sooo trying the "spider jump"!