Kiss the Moose!

After Bible Study this evening, Pete and I will be heading to our favorite place in the whole world (at least, it's my favorite place): Camp Lutherhaven. Pete was invited to preach at the Sunday worship service. After checking to make sure that he could actually miss this Sunday in church, he jumped at the chance. He also gets the privilege of leading the staff worship on Friday and presiding over communion. We are thrilled and excited to return to Camp and catch up with a couple of friends that we haven't been able to see in a while.
Why do we love Camp so much? Well, it is the place where we met and where Pete proposed to me. But, for me at least, the reason I love Camp is much deeper than that. It is a place filled with the glory of God. It is a place where my faith has (and continues to) grow and mature. It is so easy to see God's wonder in the midst of His wonderful creation. The people there form a loving community based around the saving work of Jesus. When I am at Camp, I am at home.
Words alone cannot describe Camp Lutherhaven. It is a place that has to be experienced. However, this might help you get a taste:


(2011 Camp Lutherhaven Promotional Video)

School's Out!

Wednesday was a very big day for me. Why? Wednesday was the unofficial start of summer. One of the nice (and necessary) parts of being a teacher is a summer off. Now, my summer isn't really "off." I need to go in to clean out and organize my classroom. I have a box of books in my car that I need to find Lexile Levels (a little like reading levels) on this summer. I have curriculm to revamp and some new curriculm to plan. I have science center file folder games to put together. No, the summer isn't really a vacation - it's just time to get some of the things that I don't have time for during the school year because of students and parents that expect me to actually teach their children somethings during school. ;)
However, the summer does have benefits. My schedule is much more flexible. Today I went to a baby shower for a friend in St. Louis, about a 1 1/2 hour drive away. Now, while I would have gone on a Sunday regardless, the fact that I don't have to worry about school tomorrow meant that I got some shopping done while I was actually in civilization. I have read four books so far and am starting another. I still have four weeks left of graduate work, but I have time to get that done. If it would ever stop raining for an extended peiod of time, I could actually get some work in the yard done. Oh, and if I feel like sleeping in, I can actually do it. (I am finally starting to get something near enough sleep. Sleep depravity during the school year is one reason that teachers really need their summer.) Now, if we were still in St. Louis or near NYC, I would visit museums or do other local sightseeing activities. However, being far away from a city means that is not possible. Right now I am enjoying being at home, but that feeling will disappear pretty soon. Following my husband for his calling has put me in new, unfamiliar, and, frankly, sometimes scary territory. This summer will not only be relaxing, but also one that will likely include some personal growth. (If any of you have a teleporter hidden away in your attic, may I borrow it? It would make getting to civilzation a whole lot easier.)

The Mighty Mississippi

There has been a great deal of terrible weather around the country lately. I follow the blog of another pastor's wife, and her family and community have been devestated by the Alabama tornados. We have been very fortunate, and I thank God that we have not had any real flooding in our own home. Some of my students, however, have had terrible flooding and had difficulty even getting out of their homes. I have had to drive the long way around to get to school, but doubles my commute time. Today we drove down to where the state highway was closed and took some pictures. Here are a few of them.


This is the state highway I usually drive to work.


Another picture of the state highway, with less zoom. You can see where the road is under the water a little bit from this picture.


I just thought this one was fun. I don't think any parking at all, even for emergencies, will be happening soon.

"The Lord said to Noah..."

Back when I was in college, we sometimes sang a song in chapel called "Let It Rain." Now, I never particularly liked the song (as it really didn't talk about anything at all, and I personally like songs/hymns that actually talk about Jesus or the other two persons of the Trinity). Today I really don't like the song. Why? Because it has been raining practically nonstop since Friday. Our yard (that we worked so hard on last week) is completely saturated. We now have a small river and pond in our backyard. The school I teach at is in the middle of a floodplain. There is only 1 road still open to get to school, and it involves going way out of the way. In fact, if the state highway is closed tomorrow (which it may very well be), my 30-35 minute commute will easily turn into an hour and a half commute. Since we have a PTL meeting after school, I am seriously thinking about taking a change of clothes, some toiletries, and a sleeping bag to school tomorrow so that I don't have to go home before Wednesday.
I just want the rain to stop and life to be semi-normal again. However, it doesn't appear that that will happen anytime soon.

Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

"Ride on, ride on in majesty.
In lowly pomp, ride on to die.
O Christ, Thy triumphs now begin
O'er captive death and conquered sin."
- "Ride On, Ride On in Majesty" by Henry H. Milman

Today we celebrate Palm Sunday, also called Sunday of the Passion. Palm Sunday seems like such a joyous day, doesn't it? After all, the crowds cheered on Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem. Even though the Pharisees tried to rain on the parade, Jesus still had an answer to their criticism.
Even though the day seemed joyous, as Henry Milman points out, Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem to have a big party. He rode into Jerusalem to suffer terrible punishment for crimes He did not commit and a cursed death on a cross. He came to bear the sins of the whole world. This is in stark contrast to the joyous celebration on Palm Sunday.
Fortunately for us, the story does not end there. Christ's death conquered sin and his glorious ressurrection on Easter morning triumphed over death. So, maybe Palm Sunday can be a joyous day after all as a day pointing to both the ultimate sacrifice and the ultimate victory.

I am always trying to find ways to help out my students. Unfortunately, money is very hard to come by. So, I apply for grants anytime I can. I currently have two grants that I've applied for where money is divided up through a voting process. Since we are a small school (38 students) and don't have a lot of people to help us vote, I'm reaching out to get everyone to help that I can. I would love it if you would vote and help out my students! You can vote one time per email address. Here are the links:
Reader's Theater Grant
Classroom Store Grant

"We didn't start the fire"

A little over a week ago we attended a fire safety dinner. We went because it was a free meal at Ponderosa and it promised to be short. It ended up being mostly a sales pitch for expensive alarm systems using scare tactics. While we want to take precautions, we were not sucked into the presentation and left feeling as if it was mostly a waste of time.
Then today happened. While I still think the presentation was relatively worthless, today I was glad for the precautions we had already taken around the house. Today was a beautiful spring day. We had to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things, and, while we were there, we decided to pick up some steaks to grill for dinner. Now, grilling is one of Peter's favortie things to do. He was very excited about this. I was inside making some potatoes for a side dish when I heard a knock on the window. I didn't rush over. I figured his hands were full and he just wanted some help opening the door. When I got to the door, however, I did not see Peter. What I did see was our lawn on fire. After being stunned for a moment, Peter shouted, "Get the extinguisher!" I got it, and let him spray it while I got bucket fulls of water. We did put the fire out, but not before a decent portion of the lawn had been scorched. The reason for the fire? Not thinking very clearly, Peter put the grill on the grass. He also forgot to put the catch pan for the ashes back on the grill. He released ashes, and released them right into the grass. The ground is wet, but the grass is still dead and dry AND it was a breezy day. Let's just say that this was not the way we planned to start the grilling season.

Wordle

For those of you unfamiliar with Wordle, it is a website that takes words that you input (or an RSS feed from a blog) and makes a word graphic. The words it finds most are the largest. I thought it would be fun to make one, partially to see what I talk about most here. Hmm, I'm not sure it is clear enough... (said with lots and lots of sarcasm):

Wordle: A New Beginning

Snow and Ice, Go Away

I don't mind winter weather. In general, it doesn't bother me. No, I am not a huge fan of driving in the ice or snow, but I grew up in the Chicago suburbs and went to college in Michigan. I can handle it. However, no matter how often it snows down here, people claim that it doesn't snow and they don't know how to drive in it. (This is our first winter in this immediate area, but, as we are not terribly far from the seminary, this is our fourth winter in the general area. It has snowed every year we've been around.)
Because no one knows how to handle the snow and the district my school is in is rural, we close school at even the hint of snow. Last week, we finally had a full week of school. That was our first full week of school since the first week of January. While school has not been cancelled for tomorrow yet (and I am REALLY hoping that it won't be), I would not be at all surprised if school were cancelled both Tuesday and Wednesday.
I really feel for my students. It is hard to develop any sense of consistancy when school is constantly being closed. I also know thar for some of my students, school is the best part of their day. My students have told me that they are sick of snow days, and I can't blame them. I am hoping that maybe the current weather system will hold off a bit, or, at least, be not as dramatic as they are predicting. (It's not a good sign when the National Weather Service is already telling people to not travel on Tuesday morning, though.)

Adopt My Classroom

I have added my classroom to the Adopt-a Classroom website. For those of you who don't know, I teach a a small, rural Christian school. Our goal is to:
SHARE Christ with the families of our congregation and community
CARE about each other as Christ cares about us
PREPARE children not only for productive living, but also for eternity

However, being a small school does have challenges. We don't receive the same kind of funding from the state that public schools do. Tuition alone does not cover all of our expenses. This means that buying "extras" is often difficult and would not be possible without various fundraising opportunities. So, while I don't plan to make a habit of posting this sort of thing on here, I just wanted to increase awareness. I encourage you to help out your own local Christian school as well, if it is by donations of items, money, or time. I am a product of a Lutheran preschool and grade school education, and I highly value it as being formative in who I am today.

(If you are interested in helping out my specific classroom or know someone who is, there is a link on the side of my blog.)

Oh, and why am I typing this in the middle of the day? It's a snow day, of course! (Number 5 this year.)