they're related to me.

and they are pretty funny.

to keep my sanity...

lately, in the midst of a really b u s y season as a first-year teacher, i have been really needing some kind of rest and rejuvenation. and, i like to find it in creativity. i have been teaching my 3rd graders about how God created the world and the days of creation. we have also been discussing how God made us in his image. so, we concluded, that since he is creative, we can be creative too.

here's some of my latest ideas...

PROJECT #1:

1. cut a t-shirt horizontally into strips

2. use the strips to make a scarf or a headband

PROJECT #2:

1. go to hobby lobby and buy: cupcake doilies, mod podge, balloons.

2. mod podge the doilies onto the balloon

3. pop the balloon (its best to wait until its dry - trust me. i did it the wrong way.)

4. and voila! you have a cool paper lantern thing (not my best one, but a good first trial...)

PROJECT #3:

and this is my favorite...

two cheap bandanas from hobby lobby (99 cents each)

sew them together (i used my grandma's sewing machine and had fun talking to her while we worked on the project...)

put in cheap pillow stuffing ($2.99 from hobby lobby)

and you have a cool throw pillow.

I was an orphan.

I am a poor and desolate orphan lying in the street, totally helpless and hopeless to do anything on my own. The only hope I have is if a loving Father steps in to rescue me from my helplessness and desolation and pity and filth and if that Father comes down from his home, walks the dirty streets, stoops down to me and says, "You're the one I want. Come, be my daughter. I will do anything it takes to have you in my family. I will give up my comfort and security and stoop down into the filth and messiness because I LOVE YOU."

From this...

To this...

--I found this in my journal from about a year ago and this truth hit me once again. God has adopted us - not because he needs us, but because he LOVES us.

Last week at a teachers' convention, the speaker reminded us: "God doesn't need you to be dependable. He wants you to be dependent."

what.a.week.

guess what!

my little sister got married. i still kinda feel like its pretend, like we're playing "house." but she is on her honeymoon right now. legit. isn't she lovely?

here's some of my random creative ideas for abby's wedding - the guestbook (this was abby's idea. isn't it great?) and a cupcake stand for the newlywed couple...

and the rest of the week was great too. my birthday. backpacking with the guys in my life. a fun bachelorette party/downtown photo scavenger hunt. rehearsal dinner. the whole wedding party jumping in the river in our nice clothes. the beach. a date to grand haven for my birthday. seeing so many of my favorite people. laughing a lot.

oh, and now that all that excitement is done, i am moving on to other things like a hillsong/jesus culture conference next week, a roadtrip to arkansas with jimmy for emily's wedding, oh and getting ready for my first full-time job as a 3rd grade teacher!

when i am tempted to believe that everything in life is hard and the problems of the world have power to steal my joy, i need to remember weeks like this. life is good - most of the time. but, God is good - all the time. He is real and living and compassionate. in a summer like i've had (the joys of weddings and laughter and family combined with the harsh realities of african poverty, the orphan crisis, and spending time in an ethiopian mud hut) this is what i must remember.

Summer is here.

It is finally summer again. After months of wondering if it will be winter forever and gray skies and snowy roads, winter has finally given way to warm weather, fresh blackberries, flip flops, sun, renewed hope and renewed energy. It is SUMMER.

Today was one of those really sweet summer days.
Celebrating graduations with beautiful friends.

Saturday morning Farmers Market with my family. Two Ethiopians who were very excited to buy radishes and blackberries.

Sitting on the curb, drinking coffee and walking to the donut shop.

Festival in downtown GR. Painting, eating popsicles, laughing at Tem's pet caterpillar, Goo-goo.

random things that make me happy :)

planners. and especially this one that i want to get sometime...kelly rae roberts is a one of my favorite artists. [click on it to see more...]

the vintage pearl. especially this necklace. [click on it]

over the rhine. and sleeping at last. mmm, good music.

that's all :)

One of my random ideas...

I get in these artsy/creative moods. And, I want to obey God's command in James 1:27. So, check this out: http://artfororphans.blogspot.com

Things I Do and Things I Don't Do

If my body did not require sleep, I could fill up 24 hours everyday and still have MORE things that I want to be involved with. However, I do require sleep. And, I am not a superhero. So, what things should I give my time to? And how can I be most effective in those things? I've been thinking about this a lot lately...

One of my very favorite chapters from one of my very favorite books (Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist) is called "Thing I Don't Do."

She writes: "It's not hard to decide what you want your life to be about. What's hard is figuring out what you're willing to give up in order to do the things you really care about." So, Shauna made two lists: THINGS I DO and THINGS I DON'T DO.

So, I made my own lists.

THINGS I DO: [it was tempting to put 500 things on this list]
1. LOVE JESUS [and do whatever it takes to know him more and pursue him wholeheartedly]
2. LOVE/CARE FOR KIDS and MORE SPECIFICALLY FOR ORPHANS [this includes things like traveling to Ethiopia, teaching, advocating for adoption, nannying for a big family with lots of adopted kids, and loving my very own family]
3. PROMOTE/LIVE OUT/PRAY FOR LIFE [this includes praying at the abortion clinic downtown, praying for life in our world, encouraging adoption, and fully enjoying the life that God has given me]
4. LIVE AND GROW IN COMMUNITY [this includes good conversations with the people in my life, spurring each other on towards following Jesus, road trips, going running with friends, laughing until I fall over, and having fun parties at our house.]
5. EMBRACE BEAUTY AND CREATIVITY [I just love having a few hours to let my creativity flow. Its a way of worship. Its a way of resting. And sometimes its just dorky, but I love it.]

THINGS I DON'T DO:
1. waste time [this is so easy to do in so many different ways]
2. live in anxiety and "what if" [its not possible to live in anxiety/worry and trust God's heart at the same time]
3. spend time with people who routinely make me feel like less than what I am, or who spend most of their time talking about what's wrong with everyone else and what's wrong with the world [I stole this one from Shauna]
4. care about money [I can't take it with me to heaven anyway...]
5. and I need to continue thinking of more things to add to this list...

I have learned that trying to do everything is totally based in PRIDE. I don't have to be everything to everyone. I don't have to do everything for everyone. The world is not dependent on me doing everything.

I totally resonate with Shauna on this one: "It's brutal, making the list of Things I Don't Do, especially for someone like me, who refuses most of the time to acknowledge that there is, in fact, a limit to her personal ability to get things done. But, I've discovered that the list sets me free."

hey! check this out...

To keep y'all updated on our upcoming adventure to Ethiopia this summer, check this out:
http://ethiopiajames127.blogspot.com/

eternity.

A few weeks ago it was Martin Luther King Jr. day.

At school, the children were asked to make up their own "I Have a Dream" speech.

The artistic depictions included: "I Have a Dream to go to Chuckie Cheese" and "I Have a Dream to be a princess."

Tessa's paper hung alongside all of the others. Above her drawing was written:
"I Have a Dream that one day I will see Jesus."

I want that anticipation. I want that excitement. I want that single-mindedness that thinks of Jesus when others are thinking about Chuckie Cheese and princesses. And grocery lists. And college loans. And work. And impressing people. And self-centered thoughts.

I want to just think about Jesus. And how excited I am about seeing him face to face someday.

"so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal...meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling..." [2 corinthians 4:18 and 5:2]