what did i sign up for?

nathan and i were sitting in the third pew back.

i looked at him and said, "i'm not going to be a teacher!"

he smiled and said, "what if that's what God wants you to do?"

*enter snotty glare*

when i raised my hand to volunteer to be a helper in the preschool and kindergarten class for Neighborhood Bible Time, i had no idea what i was in for.

i teach that age every week for sunday school, and it's where i feel most comfortable, 

but Bible school was in a whole different category in my mind.

kids...some familiar, some unchurched, wild and crazy, drizzling their sweaty bodies all over you.

constant bathroom requests, random outbursts, ants in the pants, constant repetition.

"i want more juuuuuuuuice!"

i never knew how wonderful it could be.

these precious kiddos look to me and smile, beaming from ear to ear,

"teacher, teacher!!!  i want to hold your hand!  can i sit on your lap?  your necklace is awesome!  you are so sweet, teacher."

i was almost knocked to the ground last night by a little hispanic boy.

he ran to me with all fierceness and hugged my leg...hardly letting go.

these kiddos trust me, and it is my privilege to be able to share the gospel with them.

to kiss their sweaty brow and comfort them out of their tantrum.

to hug them and tell that i love them.

better yet, to tell them that

Jesus loves them.

hearing them quote their scripture verses, 

belt out their little lungs to Jesus, 

and listen intently as i fumble through my story...

...just think of the joy i would have missed out on had i not been willing.

it's been a great week...90 degrees and all.

i'm super excited for tonight!

can't wait to sweat it out with 18 plus little ones and sing our hearts out to the One Who 

gives us everything!

i pray that God can use me in their lives, even if i only see them for this one fleeting week.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT'SSSS  

BIBLETIME!!!!

xo,

mary

praise ye the Lord

Praise ye the LORD for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.

The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.

Great is our LORD, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.

The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.

Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:

Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.

He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.

He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.

 

The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.

Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.

For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.

He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.

He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.

He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.

He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?

He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.

He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.

He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

Psalm 147

i've been pondering this wonderful scripture since prayer meeting on Wednesday night.

i don't know about you, 

but i know several people that i love very much that are facing some serious heartache.

verse number three spoke to me.

He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds

i thought maybe it would bless you all, too. 

PRAISE YE THE LORD.

xo,

mary

embracing the camera

ok, friends.

i have been challenged.

i am going to embrace the camera.

just for today.

for now.  :)

the picture below, i would have to say, is where i feel most comfortable with pics of myself.

i don't like being the main focus, or subject, and i never have.
i am sort of {ok, honestly, majorly} self conscious, and having my children around me all the time takes the focus off of me.
isn't hank cute?

the very good news...

i know that i am God's child, created in His image.
He loves me the way that i am.
He knows the number of hairs that are on my head.
He knew me before i was even born.
He loves me with a love i cannot understand.
He died for me.
all of this is enough.

my hope, joy, confidence, should not be in things of this world, or even my family{especially not my looks}!
i have all that i need in Him. and that is where my confidence lies.
man, things are so much easier that way!
so, all this to say that i am going to be confident in who i am in Him.
because that's all that matters.
i may have acne or weird lines that i don't like.
my hair may look crazy and i may have gained 10 lbs.
but He doesn't care about any of that.


"...for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7

oh, yes.

an even bigger challenge.

God doesn't look at my outward appearance.

He looks at me and sees...

my heart.

now that's a whole other story.

and a whole other {several} posts.

so, here i go.
my head is even in it. woo!
i guess i got a little yappy about my insecurities today.
who knew i could have so much to say about learning to embrace photos of myself?
maybe you didn't really want to know and maybe you did.
i think hope that i'm not the only one who thinks and feels this way.

how do you feel about the camera?

you are created in His image, too.
you are unique.
you are beautiful.
God loves you.

xo,

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me."

Psalm 51:10

My FUN weekend!

Hey, friends!  

It's Tuesday already!!!  I'm feeling totally unoriginal today, so I thought I'd share my weekend with you!  I spent ALL day yesterday cleaning, and organizing EVERY kitchen cupboard, my linen closet, and my 'junk' cupboard.  It literally took ALL day!

How was your weekend?  I had the opportunity to spend ALL day Saturday with my mom and sister.  We don't all get together very much because of our crazy lives, so it was SO MUCH FUN to spend the day together shopping, antiquing, EATING, and giggling.  

Here we are! Of course I forgot to bring my camera on Saturday(GAHHHH!), so this older photo will have to do!

Our first stop was at the antique show up in LaCrosse at Logan High School.  I LOVE ANTIQUES.  I love the history behind such simple objects and the stories that come with them.  I love the utilitarian pieces that were necessary for everyday life that I can treasure and still use again today.  I love the hunt, the friends I've made, and I love, love, love a bargain!  This show wasn't huge(which was a good thing), but I managed to come out with a treasure...

Isn't it fun?  I can think of LOTS of things to do with this beauty!  It's just what I needed(hahaha) for my spring decorating to take FULL swing!  :-) 

Our next stop was at a Spring gift and craft show(which is totally not my thing), but we had some good laughs there.  My sweet sister also bought me a new purse.  I love it!  

Then we headed to Holmen to check out some local shops there where I scored a SUPER COOL find!  A vintage stool for $10!!!!!  These babies sell at antique shows and shops for LOTS OF MONEY! SO, in typical Mary fashion, I snagged it quickly and loaded it into the back of my mom's smallish SUV.  I cannot WAIT to clean it up and poly it so I can bring it in.  It is still in the back of my car, so I'll post a pic of what it looks like until I can show you the before and afters.

This actually looks exactly like mine...I LOVE IT!  I love to mix industrial antiques with country pieces and of course modern, too.  I can't wait to glue, clean and finish it all up!

After an amazing lunch at Panera Bread(YUMMMMY!), we headed off to MY FAVORITE STORE OF ALL TIME(retail, that is).

TJ MAXX!!!

Whoever came up with this store is BRILLIANT!

We spent HOURS meandering through all of the aisles and thousands of items that suit hundreds of individual tastes and personalities.  This is THE perfect store for us.  My mom, sister and I have pretty different taste when it comes to decorating and clothing.  This store fits us all!  My sister scored a pair of sweet ORANGEY/CORAL shoes(her LOVE), haha! She got several other things too, but I think the shoes took the cake!  NEVER attempt to open her shoe closet...we may never find you!  :-) 

My mom found a super cool garden planter...I wish I had a pic because it is SO cool!   She also found a VERY COOL cast iron tray with birds on it, and a BEAUTIFUL floral picture for her bathroom that my hubby just remodeled for them.  I am going to post pictures about that project later!  If you need a fantastic remodel, he's your man!  

I had some birthday money to burn from my sweet husband, so I dove into the day and spent every last penny of my birthday inheritance!  I have been totally inspired lately by so many creative people and ideas.  My mind just goes crazy with never ending visions and possibilities.  Having vision is not always a good thing.  lol  Seeing potential in things can be good, but when you see potential in almost everything, your garage can start looking like a storage unit(hence my HUGE garage sale this summer).  I have gotten pretty good(ok, that's a stretch) at buying things that have potential that I only absolutely LOVE and will use in my house.  I just don't have much time to 'redo' things right now and sell them like I used to.

Here are a few pics of my treasures from the day...

This European inspired metal basket with super cute fabric by my back entrance!  My mom bought me the 

dragonfly wind chime!  You can't see the dragonfly though...OOPS!  lol

Cute picture board that I haven't decided where to put yet!  I found the same one online for $15 MORE than TJ MAXX!  Love it!  Oh, yes, and my ALL TIME fave...ticking stripe towels on CLEARANCE for $2!!!

A cuuuute pillow for my bed made out of a gauzy/burlappy material!  I LOVE burlap!

Clearance fabric tablecloths that are going to make SUPER cute curtains for my bathroom(potential!)...

Ginger Brew for the road...EW!  is all I can say!!!  I love a lot of this company's soda, but this one won't make the cut, so it's fair game for any of you.  :-) 

Our favorite preserves...can't leave there without it!

And on Sunday, a dear friend brought me this HUGE ball jar full of pussy willows!  She sure knows me!

I am so blessed to have such great friends!

Notice the daffodils have opened!  

This was a totally unusual weekend for me, because I hardly ever go retail shopping!  My husband was so sweet to keep all of the kids while I went out and played for my birthday.  It was a truly special weekend!  All of the things that I was fortunate to get are just MAJOR added bonuses to how God provides for us everyday.  Not essentials, just extras. 

On Sunday, I taught my Kindergarten Sunday School Class on God's provision and how He cares for us(I hope they got something out of it, because I had some pretty peppy little fellas in there!).  lol  It was such a simple story, yet SO relevant to our lives everyday.  His promises are SURE. They are TRUE.  We can count on them!  It really encouraged me that no matter where we are in life, or how tricky things seem to get, God cares, and He has PROMISED to take care of us. 

Here are the verses we talked about...

"Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?"

Matthew 6:26

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."

Luke 12:27

God WILL take care of you!

I hope that you had a great weekend, too!