A Beautiful Mosaic

It has been incredibly humbling, this task of constantly loving unconditonally.  It seems that what I continually discover is that I am not very good at loving.  Afterall, love begins when you set yourself aside and that, my friends, is a difficult task that does not come naturally to this human shell.  Thankfully, God is the definition of love, and He offers me His presence, power, and strength daily. I am deeply challenged and inspired by His Words of love.* Real love would have jumped into the task of removing the immense amount of lice from one of our girl's poor, unfortunate heads this week.  Instead, I went through the process with about 6 changes of latex gloves, a lot of oozey noises, and doing my best to keep as much distance as I treated the hair as possible.  Real love would have done its best to make the youth whose head is literally crawling with bugs comfortable and at as much peace as possible through the horrendeous process.  Instead, I was doing the best I could

I put my finger on the fact this week that we have jumped into a lifestyle of constant change.  When we first moved here and started working, everything was new and different, so I did not realize it.  But once I had settled, re-settled, and settled again (with each addition or subtraction to the household), I realized the new pace of life we are now living.  I am not used to so much change, even though it is still such a small percentage of what most of our girls have gone through.  Don't get me wrong.  I am the person who attended 10 schools in 12 years of primary and secondary education; I have lived in several different states.  I changed my major in college about 4 times.  Many things in my life are in a constant state of change; however, I have never had the most intimate part of my life - my home, my "family" - be shifted so constantly.  It can take a toll on your heart if you are not careful.  But it can also serve as a reminder to me of the kind of transition eac

A ll of our on-campus school girls (3) will be at home with us this week as they have a scheduled week off of school.  B oredom is what we will try to avoid as it will be like Summer or Spring Break minus all the fun activities and programming . C hurch is at the forefront of our prayers as we have still not come to peace with a decision about a church family nor have we made significant connections at a church. D arling is the simplest word for our latest young one (6-years-old) who was only with us for 2 weeks but was a simple blessing of innocence, faith, and joy. E very day this last week I helped our senior with her HOMECOMING WEEK outfit: Day 1-Minnie Mouse, Day 2-Duct Tape Dress, Boots, & Tiara, Day 3-50's Style, Day 4-Blue&White! hair...pants...face..., Day 5-Dressy, Dressy & Dance! F aith is what I needed every minute of every single day. G irl drama is what we dealt with in huge proportions this week with one of our short-term girls, leading to huge acti

" Oh Christ, be the center of our lives Be the place we fix our eyes Be the center of our lives ." The word CENTER has echoed in my heart and in my head this week through many different situations and circumstances.  It has been my cry.  Oh God, please, be the CENTER.  Because when God is the center, my fear and anxiety...my failures...my insufficiencies...my insecurities...my uncertainties are superlative details that no longer hold weight.  When I gaze at the CENTER, the reason, the rhyme, everything that seems to be broken finds its place.  When I remove myself and place the Lord where He belongs - in the CENTER of it all, I regain my hope.  I find my purpose.  Thank goodness I was not created to be the star of this show, because this show would have been cancelled long ago.  The Vine is the center.  The Heart is the center.  The Son is the center.  My God is the CENTER.  Thank God in Heaven that He is the CENTER of everything and can touch anything with His remarkable