Adventures in Babysitting :)

I was babysitting a few nights ago for a 6 year-old girl and her 4 1/2 year-old brother. I asked the little girl what she wanted to be when she grew up, and she replied, "A makeup artist." Hmm...that's cool, I thought. She then pulled out this giant case of makeup and said, "Want me to do your makeup?" "No," I thought, but instead replied, "Sure! That'd be great!" So, she proceeded to put about 5 different colors of blush on my cheeks, bright pink lipstick followed by some gooey lip gloss (which, by the way, she sneezed directly in before applying to my lips) on my lips, 10 shades of eyeshadow on my eyes, purple goo on my eyebrows to "keep them in place", and she topped it all off with sparkly pink fingernail polish on my nails. Boy, did I look good! And what was the 4 1/2 year old boy doing duirng all of this, you might ask? He was giving himself a makeover...and he might've just given me a run for my $ :)

It's Not Always a "Happy" Holiday

I was at my small group last night. One of the people in my group shared that for her, the holidays are an incredibly painful time. She doesn't look forward to them; she wishes she could essentially just "skip over" them. She shared some of the reasons why she feels this way, and I couldn't help but think of how many other people must feel this same way. So if you love and look forward to the holidays, then know that you (and I) are blessed. Thank God every single day for the incredible goodness He's given you. Yet in the midst of your gratitude, remember to pray for those you know who may, instead of joy at this time, feel pain.

Never Without a Challenge (or a Laugh)

So here's a snippet of my life as a Bible study leader for 7th & 8th grade girls:

Girl #1: "Andrea, I have a question."
Me: "Okay...shoot."
Girl #1: "How do I know that what I believe is really the truth and that I'm not believing the wrong thing?"
Me: "Wow...great question." (And then we proceed to discuss this.)

Girl #2: "I have a question, too."
Me: "Okay...go ahead."
Girl #2: "If God created everything, then where did God come from?"
Me: "Wow...you guys are killing me." (And, once again, we proceeded to discuss this.)

Girl #3: "Ooohhh, pick me!"
Me: "Yes, what's your question?"
Girl #3: "Someone once told me that rain comes from when God pees, and snow comes from when He 'dookys'. Is that true?"
Me: "No. That's called the water cycle."

Never a dull moment :)

Two Powerful Words

I got very frustrated today with one of my students in the after-school program. He had a bad attitude, rushed through his homework (on which he had several mistakes), and refused to learn how to do his work correctly. I tried reasoning, I tried listening, I tried teaching; yet all of these failed. So in frustration, I got up, told him I wasn't going to help him anymore, and walked away. The thing that made me the most upset was his apathetic attitude. He didn't care if his homework was wrong, or he didn't understand how to do it; he just wanted to get it done. About 1/2 hr. later, I was upstairs in the building and this young man came up to me and said, "I'm sorry." (He went into a little more detail :) It was kind of funny how instantly my whole outlook on the day changed. Those 2 words, spoken with genuineness, moved something deep inside of me. It's kind of ironic, because he's a kid and can say those words after thinking about something for a mere 30 minutes, while I'm an adult and still find it very difficult to say them at all.

Happy Halloween!

Wrestling With God

I caught a glimpse of the depth of darkness in my soul the other night, and I was ashamed. I had come home after a conversation with a friend, lying in bed wanting to just fall asleep; yet that was unattainable. It wasn't just too much caffeine in my system, or the fact that I wasn't really tired...the Holy Spirit had some work He wanted to do, and I guess He figured He pretty much had my attention then.
Earlier my friend and I had this conversation regarding some inevitable events that were about to take place. I've been trying to avoid thinking about the whole situation, but as we all know, avoiding something doesn't make it go away.
As I laid there, I felt the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray about the situation, which I really haven't done much of. I didn't feel like it, yet I conceded and began to pray. (Pray, of course, for what I wanted to have happen.) It wasn't long before, once again, the Holy Spirit went to work. He was challenging me to actually pray that this person would experience the love of God, resulting in desiring to return that love. And I didn't want to pray that.
So I started "wrestling" with God. I ranted, I raved, I pleaded my case, I cried, and yet, in the end, I was the one who came out limping, yet better (I hope) for it.
I realized that I didn't want to pray for this person to actually experience the life-changing love of God because I didn't think he deserves to be forgiven. He's done too much, for too long, that is too damaging; he doesn't deserve for the slate to be wiped clean.
As the truth of my motives smacked me in the face, I was ashamed to realize that not only do I look at myself as "better" than some people, but I look at myself as more deserving of the love of God.
Inadvertently, I had placed a limit on how far God's love could reach.
I wish I could say my wrestling is over, but it's not. I still wince at the thought of praying for this person...even if it's a 1 sentence choked out prayer: "God, change him...and change me."

A Walk on the "Other Side"

I love my job. (Okay, I'll admit, my sentiment at the end of every day is not always this, but deep down inside it's true.) I love the energy that enters the building as the kids trickle in from school and want to tell us about their day. I love seeing them run around the playground with abandon and huge smiles on their faces. I love the questions they ask, the stories they tell, and the hugs they give. But even more than that, I love the look that a kid gets on their face when they really "get" something, and you make a huge deal of it, telling them they're the smartest thing in the whole wide world. And, even if it's for just a moment, they believe you. I love the dreams that are born and cultivated here, the futures that are opened up to possibility, and the character that is being built. Some days are really hard, and I find myself unable to see through the difficulty of it all to the beauty waiting on the other side. Yet today I experienced one of those "other side" days, and I walked away feeling blessed to be a part of it all.