Content

It was amazing!!! What, you ask, dear reader? Last night I went on a wonderful date! It all began with a decision to venture to St. Louis, MO. After stopping briefly in Greenville, IL for a brief venture down memory lane, the journey continued with the first destination being that of the St. Clair Square mall. The establishment dripped with the icing of Christmas decorations. Window-shopping and people watching, ahhh… two of my favorite activities. The warm cozy fire and a perfectly seasoned cup of broccoli, cheese soup waited patiently at St. Louis Bread Company. Upon warming both body and soul, the journey home began. A brief pause brought a delightful Pumpkin Spice Latte. The sounds of Michael Buble filled the car as the warm drink slid down my throat. Yes, friends it was truly wonderful. No, I do not have a boyfriend, but there is nothing like treating yourself to a little date now and then!

Resting Contented,
Jo

Sharing Him!

I have been turning the idea of evangelism over carefully in my mind. How can I help share Jesus with a lost and dying world?

Christians, equipped with the given guideline or manual, embark upon the large task of sharing the Gospel with others. Recently, during a visit with a relative, I observed the interactions between a fellow believer and non-Christians. Rather than kind words or deeds, a haphazard, “God loves you!” was tossed to the hungry souls. Although I am certain that this dear believer was sincere, I struggled with this approach. I remember my college days at my alma mater, Greenville College. We did not have an evangelism specific class, but during resident assistant training, we were encouraged to share Jesus with others. After loading ourselves into a school van, we drove to St. Louis, MO. There, at Union Station, we burst from the vehicle, plan in our pockets, eager to share with others. Our task included locating some dear soul in the mall and having a conversation with him/her. It was a rather scripted conversation leading to the person’s goals in life and potential prayer. Please understand I am not trying to say that this type of method never works; however, in a recent viewing of a helpful video series produced by Dr. Dobson I found an interesting analogy.

Imagine that one of my girlfriends and I were at a gathering of some sort. We were close friends and I had met a young man at this gathering. Immediately I thought that the two would be a great match. I asked my friend to walk over and meet the young man. The conversation might go like this, “Sally, I’d like for you to meet Bob. Bob, this is Sally. Do you guys want to get married?” Wait a minute! This would never work!

When we ask people to simply pray and make the profession of faith, in essence we may be doing the same thing. There are definitely times of harvest when souls are ready to repent and receive, but there are also many stages in the process.

In my younger days I wanted to win souls for Christ, but frankly it scared me to death. Privately, with those that I knew closely, it was easy, but going up to a perfect stranger. Unthinkable! However, overcoming some of those obstacles, I went on two missions trips to both China and the Philippines. Both trips were wonderful and I came home a changed woman. Upon self reflection, I realized that rather than me helping the people of these countries, Joana’s heart was changed.

So, that leads me to the present. I must say, the daily grind is not nearly as exciting as a mission’s trip or full time ministry. No, sometimes it is difficult to treat my colleagues with love and patience, but I think that this is where my true mission field is. When day in and day out relationships are built and they see reactions to every circumstance, their hearts can slowly be plowed, molded, planted (repeatedly), and someday harvest will come.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this. I have more to say, but the time has come to ‘hit the hay.’
Jo

Another Day on the Path

Yes, the time in my classroom is currently 9:35p.m. You heard correctly, I'm still here. I ran home for a quick supper tonight and came back to prepare for another day in First grade. The smell of little bodies that have been playing outside in the final, hot days of summer lingers here. I like being here at night. Bulletin boards look brighter in contrast with the dark night sky peeking in the window.

Sometimes the end of the day comes to a sudden and abrubt stop. Today was one of those days. We're trying something new with discipline. My plan had been in place for some time, but changes were necessary to comply with a new plan for a school-wide discipline program. This resulted in several changes in the way I handle the class. So, by the end of the day our freight train of new learning coupled with the challenges of a new program came to an abrupt end as the 3:05p.m. bell rang.

At the end of the day my feet were requesting a brief hiatus, my head was aching a bit and a faculty meeting was calling for my prescence.

Please don't misunderstand, I love what I do. Teaching, I'm afraid, is closely connected to parenting and there are some days that require more of me than others. I have the wonderful joy of having 19 boys and girls for approx. 6 hours each day. It is truly a blessing!

Well, there you have it, a glimpse into my life for today. Thank you for posting about your lives. It is good to look over at you, fellow traveler, on this pathway and give a little wave. It's closer.....I can almost see it.....One day we'll be home....Rest for our bones....Fellowship beyond compare!!!

Trust

I know that it has been a long time since I have sat down to blog. There are reasons, but I won't go into them here. Instead, today, I will choose to focus on the blessings of life...

1. I have a God who loves me with an undying love, giving me the only true hope that exists!

2. I have been blessed with a wonderful first grade class! What great boys and girls!

3. I have a wonderful group of friends and a great family.

4. I have my health.

The list could go on and on. What a blessed woman I am! Tonight I want to give praise and honor to Jesus for all that He has done! My heart is bubbling over with gratitude. I have entitled this blog "Trust." Each day I'm learning to get my sticky fingers off of my life and simply trust God. He is definately worthy of my trust!

Thank you for sticking with me throughout the long absence. I'll hopefully have some pictures from my visits to Cincinnati, Florida, and Holiday world soon. Until then.... Jo

Keenly Aware of Speed

Please don't fire me from blogging, I simply have been too busy to take time. As the end of our ten day camp in Mode, IL came, I became aware of the speed of time. When I was younger, I remember camp lasting for a long time. I am beginning to understand those who are older and wiser. Yes, time does seem to fly and I need to stop a savour the sweetness of the precious time we have with those that we love.
Why the dog, flightlight, and man? I had the joy of teaching the children at our church camp this year. Our theme was "Quest for Truth." Some of the songs were very precious. Sitting on the front row, watching/listening to the children sing "I want to trust Christ" brought tears to my eyes. Oh, how I hope that they give their lives to Jesus.
Faith Finders came to an end one week ago. It was sad to say good-bye to the precious children. Our last Sunday we had 25 children! We gave each child a Bible. They were all so sweet.
This next week we (Rachel, Lucas, and I ) will be heading to Florida. We're going to help Rachel move into her new apartment and we'll spend some time just "hangin." I'll also get to visit my wonderful friend, Kelli and her sweet family. I'm very excited!
It will probably be awhile before I report again. Try to stay cool! ;)

Pictures of Faith Finders and Trip to the Zoo

Lucas singing with the boys and girls at the trailer court.


Rachel telling the story!



Aren't they sweet?!!

Hee Hee Hee!

Faith Finders at the Municipal Building

The whole gang (front) Kelley, Ana, Caelan... (Back) Kelsey and Christian.

Ana taking care of the little goat. She made sure he had something to eat.

Watching the animals!

Ana, Kelsey and Christian on the swing! :)

After a time of slumber, the blogger wakes...

Oops! It's been some time since I last posted. It is amazing how busy life can be. Last week was a rather eventful week. On Thursday, my aunt called to ask if we could babysit her 3 girls. After confirming that we could, we made plans to go to a nearby zoo. To make a rather long story short, we ended up adding my uncle's two boys to the mix. The three Ryder children took all 5 little ones to the zoo, and what a trip it was! We had tons of fun and laughter! They all did a really great job. (I'll post a picture later.)

Faith Finders is continuing to grow! Some of the boys and girls have such sweet tender hearts. One little boy hugged Lucas and said, "I'm so glad I came today. My Mom will be so proud." (He was the winner of the quiet seat!)

My days are pretty full of a variety of tasks, but I've managed to pick up a couple new books.
1. Set Apart by Bruce Wilkinson
2. The Five Love Languages for Singles by Gary Chapman
Both have been very interesting.

Lucas is gone this week to a band camp. We miss him, but it is great to still have Rachel home for a couple more weeks! I have such wonderful siblings.

Hopefully it won't be so long before I can write again! Have a great week!