Helping those at your doorstep

I think it is fascinating that after 2 years of looking, God lead me to an ESL ministry at the right time and has show me over and over that this is where he wants me.  And it is exciting to see what God is doing and will be doing.

Last Thursday night, I stopped at the library to pick up books. (Shocking, I know.) Waiting in line, I heard the woman ahead of me ask about ESL classes for her mother-in-law.  I, of course, invited her to our classes and they came!  And they were in my class.  She is my first student to not read or write which is a new challenge. But after discussion with the family member who came with her, she is hoping to just build some basic conversation skills so that takes some pressure off.  I love my class and the people who come each week.  They work hard and, though they have different skill levels, they all cheerfully practice and learn.  They are so much better at language learning than me.   

Looking to the future, I am excited.  Three people from my church are helping in the ministry now as well as my parents and more are talking about helping.  This weekend, I am talking to the mission team about plans to join forces with the other church.  I am so excited to think of churches, from different denominations, joining together to meet a real need in our community and share the Gospel. Who knows that these people were placed in our community for such a time as this and we are place here to work alongside them.

I am overwhelmed at all that is ahead.  (Ok, more often than not, I am overwhelmed to teach on a given night.)  But God delights in using the unexpected and weak for His glory.   He wants us to rely on Him and trust Him to use us.  He wants us to be in prayer and dependence on Him.  And this is where I am at- depending completely and utterly on God to use me and build my faith in Him.

In Partnering Churches Together, there is a quote I love.  "Ministries should have goals that can be accomplished, but still, if it can be done with God, let a local club do it."  Civic organizations are good and do good work.   However our ministry can't be accomplished by civic organizations, only God can bring the churches together, fulfill the visions, and use us to reach people with His Word.  

I don't know what the future holds.  But I know He is in control and will use me for His glory if I let Him.

My Girl

Last year's birthday dinner.  This year's birthday dinner tbd.

If you don't know Nora, you would think she is a shy, sweet, beautiful girl.  And she is.  She really is.

But take the time to get to know her and work past the shyness, there is so much personality and character.  She is:

Talkative - she can tell a story and a half once she gets going.

Loving - she loves her family intensely.

Creative - have you seen the kids' rendition of Beauty and the Beast or Seven Dwarfs? Enough said.

Silly - she can make me laugh easily.

Considerate - she is thoughtful and I have had more than one picture or note from her on my fridge.

I am glad that I am one of the people that Nora feels free to be around.  (Her mom wants to call me to call her by full name, Honora.  She will always be Nora to me- sorry Sarah.....)

I love you, Nora.  Happy 8th birthday!

A girl and her quilt

A month or so ago, Juliet asked if she could make a quilt with me for a friend.  We found a day and made a quilt.  I actually didn't think we would do it in a day. But we did. 7 1/2 hours and a quick lunch break and we were done. Thankfully, her parents let me come and eat dinner with them after as I was soooo tired.

Juliet did 80% of the quilt. I ironed while she sewed, did some pinning and quilting and did the binding. But Juliet cut the fabric, pieced everything, and did most the the quilting. 

I love time with this teen girl. She is hard working, funny, creative, and willing to give up her time to make a friend a gift.

Here are pictures of our quilting.

blue squares - love the music prints -
one is Baby Emory's fabric

piecing the squares together

laying out the squares.  most of the blues were scraps

pinning

first real time to sew- she did amazing

quilting 

"really ginger, i didn't know you were taking this picture
or i would have smiled with my mouth closed"

"oh i remembered to close my mouth for the picture this time"

     

up close

finished quilt!

            
I talk a lot of my Aunt Ann and her influence on me.  Over 20 years ago, she took her time and taught me to quilt and built a relationship with me modeling godly behavior in everyday life and loving me.  This. This is what I want Juliet (and the other girls in my life) to say about me 20+ years from now.  

Celebrating a baby and his mama

Today was a special day as we celebrated one of my favorite people, Monique, and the upcoming birth of her little boy.

I am so glad that I got to celebrate this day with her.  Several good friends and I threw her a shower. And I am grateful for these women.  Know your strengths, right?  I can organize and cook, but I can't decorate.  Two friends did the decorations. And the decorations were perfect for Mo.   My sister, another friend, and I did the food.  Mo's sister and her friend helped me bake. Another friend made the cake.  Rachel helped decorate. Juliet tracked the gifts.  "It takes a village."

Thanks to Lori, here is a snapshot of our afternoon.

Food- see that gorgeous cake?

Those pickle, cream cheese, ham roll-ups are my new favorite

Love the wood platters Mike made

Table decorations

I love how they used pictures for decorations

Gift opening

Music quilt I made- with Matt in mind of course

Love this sign Matt's mom had made

Guests milling about

Signing a book

Thank you for coming, Sheila!

Love these girls

The girl in pink is our friend Tina who took the time to come from DC!

B is for ball
Everyone decorated a page for a letter book I will bind.
Also love her!

So thankful Linda could join us to celebrate Monique.

Emmy and Lily are excited for Emory!  They will be great "cousins."

She was a huge help!

These women! I am so grateful for them and their creativity and love.

Everyone signed the "E" book Mike made - so cool.

More Than Expected

This fall, I wrote about how I had been looking for an ESL ministry and God opened the door to a ministry at a local church.

As with everything, I had certain expectations.

• I would have to learn to teach and lesson plan- something I have never done before.
• I would meet new people from all races and cultures.
• I would have to be flexible.
• I would share the Word in class.
• I would build relationships.

Half a year later,  I have realized all those expectations.  And more.

• I lost my co-teacher for my class.  There was a little panic I will admit.  But I have a new co-teacher- my mom.   I honestly could have said last summer that I would never envisioned teaching with my mom. Neither of us are teachers by trade, so we are doing a lot of sinking or swimming and a lot of reliance of God- well I am at least.
• I have seen my family come alongside and get involved in the ESL ministry and that makes my heart happy.
• I see people in my church and others beyond that excited about ESL and reaching people in our community with the Gospel and fulfilling a practical need.
• I have grown in confidence and defied my expectations on lesson planning and teaching.  I have alot of room to grow/. But I am growing more and more confident about teaching.  (And if I can do it, so can you. :)  )  
• My Japanese friend came all fall and we got to spend time together going to and from class building a deeper relationship.  

God is good.  All the time.   He took my expectations and exceeded them.  I am excited to see how He continues to do that.

Delight Yourself in the Lord

My 10 year old "niece" is emailing me on her vacation to Florida. 

          And I think I wish I was on vacation with my daughter.

My 7 year old niece sings her heart out at church and is as sweet as can be.

          And I think what if I had a little girl singing her heart out.

My friend's little boys make eggs on the stoves.

          And I wish I was teaching my little boys to make eggs.

My 13 year old "niece" made her first quilt with my help.

          And I wish I was teaching my daughter to quilt.

My teenage "nieces" and I went to the movies to see Hidden Figures.

          And I wish I was watching movies with my teenage children and talking about civil rights issues with them.

2 things strike me.

God doesn't give us what we want all the time.  He will give us the desires of our heart. But when you are following Jesus wholeheartedly, our desire becomes to see Him glorified no matter what our life circumstances are.  He doesn't promise marriage. He doesn't promise children.  He promises a life complete in Him.

If I look at my desires and flip them around, how fortunate am I?  

My friend's daughter chooses to email her "Aunt" Ginger on her vacation.  (She also chooses to be fascinated by moss and squirrels on her vacation.....) 

My niece loves to sit with Monique and I and sing alongside us.  She loves to be with us.

I am just getting to know my friend's boys and yet they were already talking to me and playing with me.  We will be best friends before you know it.

I got to see the joy and excitement and hard work and generosity of my 13 year old "niece" making a quilt.  And let's be honest, if I was her mom, we may have spent a portion of our day fighting.  Instead it was just a lovely day.

The 16 year old and I have planned to see Hidden Figures since we saw the previews.  She chose to see it with me not her friends.

So maybe my life isn't what I would naturally choose.  But it is good. And God is good.

Sushi and "Sisters"

Saturday morning reflections- 

At the last minute, my 2 friends and I got sushi last night.   There was lots of really good food, laughter, sharing of concerns, story telling, and brainstorming of visions.  The sushi was good of course.  But the friendship of these sisters who are friends was even better.   Relationships take work and, more important, time.   But they are always worth it.  

Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family.  

-Proverbs 18:24 (The Message just for you, Lori)

Loving This Girl

How is it that 7 years has gone by?  How is she growing so fast?  Today, Maggie is 7!

From the beginning, Maggie has had my heart.  She is crafty; she is smart; she is social; she loves her siblings (most of the time); she is opinionated (never a bad thing); she is full of sass and personality.

I spend a lot of time with her- most weekends several times.

Whether it is going out for a birthday lunch, playing a game, or doing a craft, I always am happy to spend time with her.

Happy Birthday, Maggie!!!

What is family?

My friend messaged me a while back and said that I wasn't so much a fake aunt as a real aunt to her girls.   And I am.  I love those girls and spend more time with them and pray for them as though I was a real aunt.  

Then I read an article by Wesley Hill which talked about how we can pursue holiness through sacrifice whether married or single.  He talks of hospitality and made this observation.

"when married couples have welcomed me, a single man, to the table—literally, to the dinner table—alongside their children. I've had many married friends over the years who have been happy to book sitters for their kids so they can meet me, childless, at the cinema or concert venue or so that we can carpool to the same adults-only dinner party. Those times have been pleasant enough and occasionally even memorable. But they fade in significance when compared with the times I've been invited into the chaotic rhythm, happy or otherwise, of a family's regular routine. ....... I wasn't so much a guest as I was an uncle, an expected face in their normal, unprettified lives."

"Singles..... accepting the invitation of married couples with children to enter their chaotic spaces, not as guests but as family. Choosing not to eat or live alone, we single people can make our routines interruptible, our preferences and schedules violable. By committing to a particular parish and tethering ourselves to its members, regardless of how unlike us they may be, we can practice the kind of singleness that looks more like John Stott's or Pope Francis's and less like that on display in HBO's Girls. We can choose to practice hospitality—babysitting the godchildren for whom we've taken vows, preparing meals and shouldering the more thankless task of cleaning up after them—instead of simply assuming it's our married friends' job to provide it."

All of this left me thinking about what is family.  This blurb from the article is so true in my life.  As I do life with the married people in my life, I become family with them. Granted, in Christ, we are all family.  But that is more of a general overarching statement and the reality is often we are family like the aunt and uncle or cousin you see once a year.  Love them but aren't close to them.  You don't know when they are crying or hurting or rejoicing or laughing.  And we can't have an intimate relationship with everyone.

But within the context of the local community and/or like-minded Jesus followers, I can build these intimate relationships.  However it takes work and time and effort and sometimes hurt feelings and dealing with difficult issues.

Yet with all the effort, family is formed and it is worth it.   Family knows the joys and sorrows. Family is there for the messy parts of life and the glorious moments.   Family drops everything when needed.  Family sacrifices time and resources to encourage each other.  Family asks the hard questions in love. Family prays for each other.  Family supports each other's dreams.  Family knows the ugliness of you and still loves unconditionally.

A few weeks ago, I was at my friends' house (who are like family) trying to make a decision about something.  I drove them all batty with my indecisiveness and need to keep rehashing my thoughts. But family lets you be indecisive and lets you drive them batty as you talk through your issue. Family also mocks you as you drive them batty....

I am thankful for my "real" biological family that I am close to and who exemplifies family in so many ways.  And I am thankful for my "real" fake family that lets me be an aunt/sister, an expected face in their normal, unprettified lives.

Mentor and Friend

As I left my job at PKS 1 1/2 years ago, I had so many mixed emotions. But as I reflected on what my time there meant, I realized it was defined by people such as, of course, friends. But more so, my time at PKS, who I am as an accountant and how I related to coworkers and clients is defined by substantially two people- Boyd and Nancy.  I think anyone who knows me and my time at PKS knows this.

On December 30th, Nancy passed away and left a hole in so many people's hearts, mine included.  There is so much about Nancy that I could write about- her love of antiques, her commitment to the St Francis choir, her love of her family, or her ability to destroy me in a game of Word With Friends.  But I want to write about what Nancy did for me.

As an intern, I worked in the office across from her and worked on jobs for her." Later in our tenure at PKS,  I was her "mentor." But that was semantics. I represented her at management meetings; that is all. In truth, she always was my mentor.

From Nancy, early in my career, I learned accounting skills. But really what I learned from Nancy was how to relate to coworkers and clients especially clients.  Nancy excelled at helping her clients. I think she was so successful because she truly cared about her clients.  She knew them; she knew about their families; she built relationships with them.  To know Nancy was to like her.  Nobody I know disliked her because she was so gracious and kind even if they weren'y her favorite people - attributes I would do well to learn from her.
Nancy was one of the few people at PKS who knew I almost went back to missions several years ago and was one of my references.  We spent so much of our work life in the summers together that poor Nancy heard all my stories. (There was the summer more than a few years ago when I cried all the way to Seaford and at the client's all morning.  She said she didn't remember that.  I think she repressed the memory.)  Yet despite the constant working together and hearing of stories and dealing with me not always at my best, she still loved me anyways.

I had the chance when I left PKS to tell her how I felt about her and again a few weeks ago.  But I think anyone who cares to read this blog post should also know how wonderful and influential Nancy was on who I am as an accountant and, more importantly, as a person.

Looking to a New Year

As I look to a new year, I don't want to make resolutions- resolutions are broken.

I want so much-
............deeper relationships with friends
............greater impact on my nieces and nephews
............the love of Christ to live through me
............boldness to share the Gospel
............a deeper prayer life

Most of all, I want less-
...........less of me and more of Christ

2016- It's a Wrap

The older I get, the more I love traditions.  Tradition for New Years Eve has come to mean celebrating with my brother and family or my friends' family.  This year proved to be no exception except we added 9 more people to the mix.  My brother in law joined us later that night so the only person missing was my sister who had to work.

I don't have a picture but we had an 8 person game of Dutch Blitz going.  Rachel, of course, won but it was so much fun with 8 though crazy intense.

We played Life Jr (Ms Mary relied heavily on Amelia's help ;) ). And the kids played endless games of Hide and Seek.

There was Dixit with my brother even playing.

Juliet and I taught Rachel, Zach, and Jeremiah Ticket to Ride amongst lots of laughter and angst. Zach just beat out Rachel and me for the win.

While we were playing Ticket to Ride, Tori and some of the adults were playing Bananagrams.  Even sick, Jerry was the big winner per my Book of Champions.

I caught Lexy actually playing a game; Matthew must have worked his wiles on her.

Even Daric was coerced into playing games.

And to round out the night, we all played a round of Code Names.

2016 ended with laughter, family and friendship.  As 2017 dawns, I pray for a year of growing in the Lord and deepening relationships with family and friends.