A Beautiful Mosaic

My 25 THANKS-givings in 2011 : 1.  I am thankful for the opportunity to serve the Lord in a way that challenges me in an area of my passion. 2.  I am thankful that life was not supposed to turn out the way I had planned it. 3.  I am thankful for a husband who knows me AND...loves me unconditionally, challenges me graciously, leads me humbly, and holds my hand through everything. 4.  I am thankful for parents who love and support me no matter what. 5.  I am thankful for siblings are truly are 3 of my closest friends in the whole world. 6.  I am thankful to have a job, to have shelter, to have food and a surplus of clothing when many struggle with at least one of these basic needs. 7.  I am thankful for the freedom to worship and believe as I do. 8.  I am thankful for the blessings God pours into my life without my even asking. 9.  I am thankful for friendship that transcends time and space...those kindred spirits ...

My faith has been grounded since childhood in the knowledge that when it feels my world is crumbling around me, God will pick me up.  This simple truth was, perhaps, the first pillar of faith constructed in my faith journey.  As my family moved away from our relatives and then our friends, there were moments even a 10-year-old felt like the world was crumbling around her.  Yet, God's faithfulness always prevailed, and not in a "I know God is still good" kind of way.  God always showed Himself clearly and inexplicably to me when I was ready to look and see Him on the other side of the crumbling mess.  As a hurting and depressed middle schooler, there were moments I was sure the world had already caved in.  Yet, God never left my side, and He proved His presence in remarkable ways.  I am so thankful. Today, as I find myself in a lifestyle and structure that lives amidst the rubble of the crumbling and caving in of many lives, I am daily in need of His ...

Life has been full, exciting, and a little exhausting lately, and we have much to be thankful for. What our last few weeks have looked like: Our house has been almost full (6-7 girls) and brimming with energy among other things.  Because our monthly weekend shift fell right before Halloween, we had a fun-filled weekend of festivities with the girls!  Pounds of sugar, chocolate, and hot apple cider were consumed, one scary throwback movie was watched, and 9 plump, round pumpkins were carved or painted to their owner's liking in the Barton Home!  We also attended our church's "Judgment House" the night before which the girls really enjoyed.  The night of Halloween, we let the girls paint masks and go to the other houses on campus for some trick or treating.  That morning, as a staff, we shared a fall potluck breakfast in costume, and Michael went as the Jim Halpert 3-Hole Punch (The Office) and Betsy went as facebook (plain and simple: paint ...

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 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 remi...

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...

" 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 CENT...