Brainy Quote

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Scratchy throats delighting in the Lord learn Shqip

Not feeling my funny self right now.
Here I sit, weezing and coughing with a scratchy throat. Already I don't want to go to school tomorrow. Don't get me wrong, i love art, I like teaching, but i need a change. Seasons change, babies change, you get change and people change. I just want part of that.
Those who know my Albania wish already know it, I guess. But I am learning to "delight" in the Lord. My verse right now is Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you your hearts desire." You see I know He already has a plan for how, when and where but I just want Him to let me in on it!. The next verse I found was Psalm 37:7 "Be still in the presence of the Lord and patiently wait for Him to act."


Ok, patience. I am trying to learn to be patient and delight.... ...... I'll let you know how that turns out.

So I decided to look up passages about how to delight in the Lord, then how the Lord delights in us. The gist is when I
delight in the Lord I am rejoicing in my salvation, finding joy in praising Him, obey his word/commands. The Lords delight in me is most when I delight in my salvation, obey his commands! How odd that is it so symmetrical! Almost like the word of God is planned, or perhaps that God knows what he is doing! duh

So we are back to
being patient and delighting in Him.... .....like I said, I'll let you know how that turns out.
Pray for me. That I can be
patient and delight I so do want the desires of my heart, and I believe these desires to be from God as they pertian to being where God wants me to be - Albania or somewhere for more than a summer. Specifically I need my house, freezer and ring to sell. Once those three things happen, I can mover forward towards my hearts desire.

For those interested in my study of Shqip, (Albanian)
Psalm 37:4 is
Gjej kënaqësinë tënde në Zotin dhe ai do të plotësojë dëshirat e zemrës sate.
Psalm 37:7 is Rri në heshtje para Zotit dhe prite atë; mos u hidhëro për atë që i shkojnë mbarë punët e veta, për njeriun që ndjek planet e këqija të tij.

Yeah! So pray that!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Kindergarten, School Supplies and Rules

School started Monday, Kids arrive Wednesday. I am not ready. I need more naps. I never got that summer job. I am in debt. I have the blues. So on the way home today I bought an orange creme slush from Sonic. mmmm. That helped. I have 3 requests: 1.buy my house, its a good deal, 2. buy my freezer, its is a great deal, and 3. teach Kindergarten for me this year. If I could have those three things taken care of in my life, life would be perfect. But we don't live in Walgreens "a perfect world" (If you aren't from the south you might not know that commercial) we do however, live here in America...sigh.
I spent the weekend at home and my neice JJ was so excited that she got to buy real school supplies for Cole - he is in 4 year old preschool - so big. She got the list bought everything on it and even labelled her "weekly reader" envelope and field trip envelope. The teacher said she is going to lobve having JJ as a parent in her room. you see we Skinner-Smiths are "rule followers" we want people to be happy with us and our performance. It is a dominant gene in our family. Although I will say, out of all of us, I am most likely to lose the list or forget the supplies at home.
Cole and Carson are learning new rules now they have had birthdays and are 3 and 4. Don't write on the wall. Don't put stickers on the hardwood floor. If you eat a lot of sugar you throw up. Life is tough around Wayside Road these days. And so I am back to Kindergarten. These first few months are so tough. Don't touch people. Don't write on your desk. Don't pick up the woodchips on the playground (that one is for Jason). All this, then this crazy woman who is a cross between your grandma and your 15 year old sister says your mom taught you to glue the wrong way, or your name is not spelled correctly, or promises you that your name is not precious or sweetpea. So, I have some rules of my own for those of you preparing your little ones for those first days at Kindergarten.
1. Teach them their name, ie: Xavier Clarke Hammersmith, not booboo.
2. Tell them they can go to the potty alone, you (mommy) doesn't have to be there for a successful launch.
3. Contrary to what your older cousin says, glue is not a food group. (Neither are boogers.)
4. You can say "I need to use the potty/restroom/bathroom", but do not say "I need to use it", I might hand you the paintbrush in my hand.
5. You WILL get to go home at the end of the day.
6. The bus always comes.
But seriously, what ever happened to parents teaching their child how to write their name, tie their shoes, use scissors, learn the alphabet, count 1-10...these are fundamental parenting skills one MUST teach their child - or you are not parenting! Enough High horse...
I must go now and come up with my 3-5 simple rules for my classroom (of course most of you know this is an oxymoron because I have no classroom). So, ok, the rules for my cart. As Cole says, "Rules keep us safe". Carson just says, "Rules make you stop".