My Second Grade Lesson Plan Book

It's near the end of the school year, so I thought I would post this year's lesson planner before I retire it.
We have two traditions we look forward to every school year. On the first day of a new grade, Suzy gets what she calls school presents. It's a petty container filled with cutesy school supplies, art supplies, and her favorite candies. She looks forward to it for weeks.
The other tradition she hasn't ever noticed. It's more for me. I buy a Ward Lesson Planner. It is plain green with a spiral binding. I started with the six-subject model but this year I went to the eight-subject model. There is nothing charming about a Ward Lesson Planner. It's the sort of thing you picture a no nonsense teacher with a tight bun, circa 1932, grimly penciling in her week's lesson plans, lips pursed with a general distaste for anything frivolous or joyful.
That's not my personality! Still, I'm drawn to its sturdiness and simplicity. So every year I get one and dress it up in something cheerful. My lesson plan book always ends up my favorite school supply.




Here is this year's planner, Second Grade, with its companions, from left to right, Preschool, Kindergarten, and First Grade.












I really liked red and blue polka dots this year. Mr. Bear approves the color scheme.
The most special part of each lesson planner is the theme verse for the school year I write on the inside cover. I spend a lot of time deciding on the verse. I make a list of potential ones, and go over it several times, and read the surrounding passages. I mull it over a good while before I choose. Then for some inexplicable reason, I slap it all haphazardly in the book and call it a day. This time, however, I took more time. I did decorative stitching in the background, rounded corners, used matching ink, and added a wildflower sketch.




Here are the previous years' poor unfortunates.
Preschool:




Kindergarten:




It's the same verse. I needed to work on that a bit longer.
First grade:




Let's end on a better note. Here's Mr. Bear admiring the cover page:




I don't know if you can see it, but the name of our homeschool is The Penland Academy for Young Ladies. It's been a running joke between me and Suzy. She's an only child.

Vintage Style Easter Dress

I made Suzy's Easter dress this year. First time ever! I used this gorgeous fabric my friend Elisabeth gave me for Suzy's fourth birthday. It only took my two years to finally make it into a dress.
I altered the pattern that I used to make this fall dress.




I wanted to make it more appropriate for spring, more 1950's style, and more fitted at the waist. Here's what I ended up with:




I chopped the bell sleeves in half to make ruffles, I left off the high collar and redrew a boat neck. I added in sash ties to draw in the waist, and I scrapped the original skirt altogether for a very gathered dirndl style.




I thought I would make the puffy slip myself, since they sell for upwards of thirty dollars, and I could get all the material for less than seven dollars. It was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. Gathering all that thin lining and netting, the decorative embroidery that ended in tears...ugh, I still shudder at the memory. Hats off to you, petticoat makers. You earn every penny.




I found the hat and gloves at Target's dollar spot. I removed the shoddy pink ribbon from them and added trim to match the dress. I made little red flowers to get a pop of contrast. The little white bible was sent to Suzy by her great-grandmother, and she just loved it. It was her idea to bring it instead of her children's bible.








It's a short walk to church, about fifteen feet.








It was at this point I realized Suzy left her glasses in her room because she didn't think they matched her outfit! Oh vanity!



I don't want to name names, but there is a certain little girl who is always first through the potluck line. She's not a brunette.



I made a little bow belt to match. It wasn't flattering, but hindsight is 20/20.
Daddy got in the spirit of things and wore a blue tie.
We had a beautiful Easter, and hope you did too!

Forgiveness (The Hardest Thing I've Ever Written)

This Sunday my husband Nate taught the last lesson in a series on the book Peacemakers by Ken Sande. I enjoyed the study because our church took an active interest in the subject. Nate needed more weeks to teach than he planned because people would ask questions and discuss the concepts. He usually only finished half his prepared lesson. All the discussion kept it lively.

Nate covered this material at our old church, but I taught a children's class at the same time, so this was my first time to be in a Peacemakers study. It helped me greatly.

I was most helped by the teachings on forgiveness. We are to keep our hearts free from bitterness and be ready to offer forgiveness at a moment's notice. This is possible only by the action of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. If we have a conflict with someone, we sometimes may need to pray, "Lord, help me to even WANT to forgive them. Forgive me for not wanting to!" The Holy Spirit will work in us to bring us to the place we need to be.

Keeping your heart free of bitterness and ready to forgive is not a one time deal. I have to shovel the bitterness out of my heart every morning, just like you would shovel out a horse stall. It is about as pleasant as shoveling an actual horse stall. And some days the horse eats more than others!

I learned that often we hold things against people because, when we examine our hearts, we think of someone's sin against us as more grievous than our sin against God. We are like the parable of the unforgiving debtor. We have been released from a debt of millions, yet we can't get over the couple dollars someone owes us.

Nate also taught on some verses that have meant so much to me in the past year:

"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Matthew 6:14-15

"My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:35

And these two have become precious favorites of mine:

"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesian 4:32

"So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you." Colossians 3: 12-13

The first two verses are direct quotes from Jesus, giving us the command to forgive. The second two are teachings of the apostle Paul, showing us how to forgive. We are to forgive "just as God in Christ also has forgiven" us.

I once heard a teacher use the example of the apostle Paul's break with Mark over his desertion on a missionary journey to teach a wrong doctrine of forgiveness. The teacher said, "See, even Paul, though he forgave Mark, didn't accept him back right away. It takes time to earn back the trust and closeness of a relationship." At the time I pointed out that Scripture, while it never condemns Paul for his brushing off of Mark, also doesn't condone it. Likewise, it says nothing negative or positive about Barnabas' quicker reconciliation with Mark.

Nate teaches that we must never take the implicit in Scripture over the explicit. Our pastor here at Elm Avenue phrases it, "Don't use the descriptive over the proscriptive." This means we are never to take a story or example in the Bible, and use it to defend what we want to do, and ignore the clear commands that contradict our teaching.

To this false doctrine of forgiveness, I would now go to Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:12-13 and ask, "Is that how Christ forgives us?" We don't even know the hundreds of ways we sin against Him daily, but when we are aware of one, and pray for forgiveness, what happens? Does the Lord say to us, "I forgive you, but I don't know when I will ever be close to you again?" Does He hold us at arm's length until we prove ourselves worthy? Sisters, that is the doctrine of works. We are saved by the grace of God, not our own worthiness, and we are to forgive as He does.

In the summer of 2011, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. He had surgery a month before to remove half his thyroid, and needed a second surgery to remove the other half. We had planned the logistics, who would watch Suzy, when his family would meet me at the hospital, arranged someone to preach in his place, and of course, choosing which of his books to pack, because if he had a lucid moment he would want to study.

It wasn't until the night before the surgery that we sat down and really talked about the big What If hanging over us. We didn't know if the surgeon would find more cancer in his remaining thyroid, or if it would spread to his other organs. We had a painful, tear-filled talk about what I was to do if he died. He advised me on where I should move (back near my parents), financial considerations, and some points on raising Suzy.

I cried, and Nate held me, through the whole discussion. I didn't want to lose my husband. My heart ached to think about it. On top of this pain and compounding it was my concern for Suzy. I had lost my father as a child, and I never wanted my baby to experience a loss that deep.

At the end of this conversation, Nate told me he had a friend in the church that he felt had pulled away from him lately. Even though it was late, Nate felt compelled to go to this man and try to work things out before his surgery. When he finally came home, he told me he had hurt the man's feelings. He asked for forgiveness, the man told him that though he did forgive him, he needed more time before he could
be close to him again. He was essentially keeping Nate at a distance.

I felt like I was shot through the chest, I was so shocked. Here I was, in tears and pleading with God to spare my husband, and this man was demanding more time. That is not Christlikeness. If your brother comes to you for reconciliation and you refuse him, you are in sin. If he is about to undergo cancer surgery, you are mean.

This spirit of hardheartedness and false forgiveness had already taken root. Nate is a good pastor. He is called of God to serve His people. I have witnessed this call of God in his life in the twelve years I have been his helpmate in ministry. As a pastor, he loves the flock. If someone has surgery, even at five a.m., he is at the hospital. If someone has housebound parents, he will visit them weekly. If someone needs help moving, mowing, mucking out, he will be there. If someone needs counseling, he will rearrange his whole schedule to do it. He will pour himself into his sermon so the people will hear God's word preached, because he knows that is most necessary to the growth of a Christian. He loves with his whole heart.

Two weeks before Christmas 2011, he was fired from our church. I remember the Wednesday night Nate was forced to resign. He had friends come to stay with me at the house, but I told him I wanted to go. If they were going to do this to him, I wanted them to have to look me in the face.

We were there early. I sat in the front row. I was trembling all over, not knowing what was going to become of us. We heard people arrive. To my shock, I heard people in the foyer laughing loudly and joking. I whispered to Nate, "This is like a party to them! They're happy!" I started crying harder. Nate took me outside to calm down.

As we went back inside, Nate stopped to say hello to someone, and I approached the doors to the sanctuary. The thought occurred to me that this was not a sanctuary for me any longer. I broke down in uncontrollable sobs. Heartbroken, I ran into the ladies room and into a stall, where I collapsed onto the floor.

Nate burst in and picked me up off the floor. He said, "I am taking you home right now." I told him I didn't wouldn't leave him to go through this alone. We went into the sanctuary together. I sat next to him, crying, as we looked out at these people we had served for five years. They looked back at us with hard faces. It was like getting divorced from twenty people all at once.

After Nate spoke, he asked if anyone had anything to say. Two men urged the church not to do this. When Nate asked if anyone else had something to say, no one spoke. Most didn't even make eye contact. Nate got up and led me out. After we left, they stayed for two hours talking about Nate, though he was not there to repute what they said.

And just like that, for ridiculous, unbiblical reasons, they excommunicated their pastor, the man God had sent to serve them.

We found work and a church here in Colorado, and moved far from friends and family. We lost friends. We lost our house. We lost our adoption. For many months, our life seemed like a spiral of loss and heartache.

We had other hurts. Our daughter's tears at not being in the Christmas program she had looked forward to. A text reminding us not to steal from the church as we cleaned out Nate' office. Our daughter's tears at not seeing her friends anymore. Threats to cut off our severance pay. Our daughter's tears that we couldn't go back to what had been her only church home. A letter written to the pastor of the church we started attending. Our daughter's tears at leaving our home. Family of church members storming out because we visited their church. (I think there's a theme here about my daughter.)

Though these type of hurts have abated since we've moved, I still deal with my daughter crying almost daily from homesickness. I still deal with grief. I still deal with not having adopted a child by now. I still deal with thinking of friends that didn't really love and didn't really care.

Maybe some of you reading this were a party to these events, either as an intentional planner and participant, or as a friend who was like a staff of reed to us, when we leaned on you you pierced our hand. Actually, thanks to google analytics, I know that some of you check this blog more than my mom does. I don't know why you read this blog, but I'm glad you do. That's why I'm writing this, to reach out to you. I blocked you from facebook and removed links to your blogs, because they tempted me to sin. I deleted your numbers from my phone. I don't have a holy reason for doing that one. I was just mad.

I realize that any sin you have committed against me, my husband, or my child is a minuscule fraction of the sin I have committed against God. I have been forgiven a debt of millions, I will not hold my two dollars against you. Should you ever want my forgiveness, it is here. If you want to leave a comment or email me, I am here. I know that God can do wonderful, beautiful things to work reconciliation in His church. I pray we see that happen.

The First Day of 2013

We started 2013 off with sledding. We've had snow on the ground for weeks now. When we first moved here, people told us that winters here are fairly mild. Yes, compared to North Dakota. Compared to the South, no!




I love how close the clouds come to the mountains.



The view from our sledding hill:



Can you see the road?



My little snow bunny:



The sledding hill:



Suzy following Nate up the hill:



This is some personal drama that occurred when we first arrived. Suzy is leading the charge up the hill, followed by little Nathaniel. Nathaniel's sister Lyliannah is laying face-first in a snow bank crying. The snow is up to her knees and she can't keep up with the big kids.



Nate and Suzy heading back up after their first go:



I helped Lyliannah to the top of the hill, where she stopped crying long enough to tell me her problem was that she couldn't see anything because her headband was over her eyes. I tried to cheer her up by taking her on a sled with me. She learned the hard way that I cannot steer.



This was not a run I would do, though the dads did it several times. You look both ways to make sure there are no cars coming, then you go down hill, across the road, hopefully, and up the bank and off the other side.


If you look carefully at the top of this hill (the trucks parked at the bottom give you some perspective) you will see two black dots. That is my husband and his friend Chris, and Chris's six year old son, in an inflatable boat. They went down the slope, veered off to the right about halfway down, and went into a gully. Great fun was had by all, especially by the wives waiting in a nice warm van making fun of the men.



Later we went to our friends' house for dinner. Nate brought the ice:

Symbolic Christmas Ornaments

Three years ago I wrote a post about our Christmas tree and some of what we refer to as our "special ornaments". Our special ornaments symbolize something of Christ. We have plenty of simple decorative ornaments, but pride of place goes to our special ones.
Our family tradition the night we decorate our tree is to eat cranberry oat bars and drink hot chocolate from the Polish tea set Nate's mother gave me. We read each scripture scroll as we put it on the tree, and we explain each symbolic ornament. It is such a joyful time to teach Suzy aspects of our faith.
We try to add at least one to our collection every year. If we find more than that, then yay!
We added these in 2010 and 2011. I don't remember which ornament is from which year, but it is possible that they are all from 2010. The year 2011 was a bit rough.



This is a dove with an olive branch in its beak. This reminds us of the story of Noah and God's providence of salvation and peace.


This translucent cross is to symbolize James 1:17: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change."


Here is another nativity, definitely with more gold and glitter than Joseph and Mary actually experienced on the night of Christ's birth.


Here is a porcelain heart with a dove in the center to represent the Holy Spirit in believers' hearts.


This is a little song bird made from paper printed with the lyrics of "O Come All Ye Faithful" to remind us to sing praises to God.

This year has brought a bumper crop of special ornaments.



This is to tell us of the joy in Christ. And it has birds. I have a lot of birds on my tree, sort of an unintended side theme to my decor.


This ornament is extra special to me. This autumn I was in a women's bible study, and we read the verses Heb. 6:19-20 "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
I loved it so much that I searched for an anchor ornament. I found a rather cheesy glass one wrapped in mini Christmas lights. That was a no. Then in the home decor section of Hobby Lobby, I found this anchor. It was a robe hook, but the hook was easily removed. I was going to spray paint it gold to match my other ornaments, but Nate made a good case for leaving it like it is. It does have a good, ancient, well-used look to it, doesn't it?


This ornament was an serendipitous addition. I received it at our church's ladies' ornament exchange party. It was a trifecta: gold, the word hope, and a bird. Perfect.


This is a fitting one to end this post on. It was made by my pastor's wife. It is a sycamore leaf from the tree in front of the church. This is to symbolize our new home and to remind us to be thankful of all the ways and places the Lord has led us.
I hope you have a joyful celebration of Christ this Christmas! Merry Christmas!

Preparing for Christmas

Leading up to Christmas I go into a crafting frenzy. I bunker down. I post signs like this on my craft room door:



It's made all the more frantic because I don't finish the projects in order. I start one. I start another. And another. And another. Then I go back and work a bit on this one and that one, with the pace and desperation increasing as the days get closer to Christmas.
My list of projects and their level of completeness:
1. Crocheted doll afghan with matching pillows - 95%
2. Wooden doll bed with sheets and mattress- 5%. All I have accomplished with that is buying the fabric and arranging to have the bed made, which I will then paint.
3. Two dresses for Suzy - One halfway done, one not started.
4. Regency style doll dress - not started.
5. Doll food made of salt dough (tea party foods and breakfast foods) 80%. Maybe 70. Most pieces painted, only one sealed.
6. 12 Scripture scroll ornaments - 20%
7. 8 floral felt hair bows for Suzy's friends at church- finished.
8. 5 dress-up mustaches for their brothers - not started.
9. Hat and glove set - finished.
10. Decorative box to hold play food- not started.
11. Three dozen treat bags of peppermint fudge for the Christmas cookie boxes for the church shut-ins - not started.
12. Advent calendar - finished, but only for twelve days. Maybe I will add more next year.
11. Four cups of pretend soda for dolls - 75%.
13. Make an anchor ornament with Hebrews 6:19-20 on it - 50%. I bought an anchor shaped towel hook and removed the hook. Just have to put the scripture on it.

If you noticed, there are only three things finished. They are relatively small projects, but still. It's a start. Here they are, sixteen days before Christmas, all I have accomplished.

The hat and glove set, worthy of Fancy Nancy:



My Twelve Days of Christmas Advent Calendar, made entirely of odds and ends from the closet:



And the felt floral hair bows, thanks to my mother who supplied me with die-cut felt flowers:


So there it is.
This past week Suzy had a pretty terrible case of tonsillitis. She was a poor sickly baby and I didn't have much time for projects, so I'm a little behind schedule. So the next week is crazy - catching up on school, candy making, sewing, painting, and lots of coffee.
Every year at this time I regret not beginning to plan in June. And every year Nate has to calm me down and remind me of the reason we celebrate. He does a good job. Though he should probably start that in June too.
That's the reason I want to add an ornament with Hebrews 6:19-20 to my tree.
Heb. 6:19-20 "We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
Before I disappear back into my pit of procrastination craft room, I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a joyful celebration of Christ our hope.

The Truth About Me...

When Nate and I joined Elm Avenue Baptist Church in August, we each gave our testimonies. Public speaking is not my thing, but at the same time, I wanted to let this new group of people know who I really am. I'm glad I did, because it turned out to be a very sweet time with my church family. Since then I've had several great spiritual conversations with ladies in the church. We've gotten to know each other as sisters in Christ - and three of them were baptized in the following months! I was hesitant to post this on my blog, though, because, well...I have this accent. And I cry a couple of times. But then I thought I might as well put it up for all ten people who read my blog. You've all heard me cry before anyway. This mp3 is the whole service. If you fast-forward to 10:30 you will avoid the announcements and most of my awkward mic checks.