Tuesday morning chapel, among other things

Chapel was great this morning.
Mrs. Parish began by having the kids talk about who God is. As the kids began to describe Him, ("Living water", "Holy", "Awsome", "Savior", "Lord") Mrs. Jamison wrote the responses down on a white-board, and Mrs. Parish talked about how these are things we can say to God as we worship and praise Him.
Then, we worshiped and praised Him.

It was incredible to see Isaac worshiping God, giving it all he had.
Mrs. Harrison asked the kids what God is doing in their lives, and had Josiah get up and tell that he gave his heart to Jesus. He did a great job!!
Other students got up and told about how God was helping them with how they treat people and with their attitudes. One student shared about a particularly hard struggle he is facing, which led to a time of prayer and prophecy.

Mrs. Vinardi shared from Eph. 4:1 "I therefore the prisoner of the Lord entreat you to live a life worth of the calling with which you have been called."
She brought out that they do not have to wait until they grow up to know what their calling is, that we are all called to bear the fruit of the Spirit.
She asked what that fruit is, and called on kids to name them. Josiah raised his hand and named self-control. Just a minute before that, I thought, "I need to make sure my kids know these." I was blown away by him. I still need to follow up on that, though. I'm pretty sure Isaac knows them all, but I want to know that they know them all.

Later, Patty and I went to the Deli to pick up some lunch (It was turkey Tuesday!), and while we were at the mall I bought a household journal from Hallmark.

I was inspired by a blog I read on a regular basis (you can see the post here), and though I keep many journals about many different things, I wanted to try this kind of journaling. I do keep a small notebook for lists and ideas and recipes and things I want to remember, etc. But what I liked about the journal displayed in the other blog was the pictures, and the size of it. And actually, I have a fetish -- a blank book fetish. I don't really need a reason to buy one. I'm addicted to them. I could have seven blank books that were . . . well, blank, and if I saw another one I liked, I would have eight blank books. Sick, I tell you.
Look for more on this subject (journaling) in blogs to come.
On the way home from school, Isaac and I had a great talk about politics. He so amazes me with what he knows and how he articulates things. Even in class, when he is called on, he knows things -- they are right on the tip of his brain, and he is able to get them out.
After school, there was homework and dinner. Chicken nuggets and peas and chips for the boys, a small pizza for me. Joe was on his way home from training with the dog.
Josiah ended up sick to his stomach. He came in to my room after dinner and said, through teary eyes, "I think I'm allergic to chicken." Now, this kid lives on chicken, mostly.
"What makes you say that?" I asked, concerned that he was so upset and holding his stomach.
"I ate it and now my stomach hurts." he said.
Right after that, he went to lay down, and is still sleeping.
When Joe got in, I was off to a woman's meeting at the church.
It was the maiden voyage for these meetings. We will meet every other Tuesday to have time to connect with each other and discuss issues that are important to us.
I had a really good time, and I think it will be a good thing. I look forward to the next one.
Concerning yesterday's blog: I tried this (the gratitude/stress study) today, both as a teacher and as a mom.
Sometimes, it worked.
A few times though, I actually mumbled "to heck with what I'm grateful for!"
Not a good attitude at all. I will work on that.
The times I really tried to focus on my gratitude though, it did help to bring things into perspective.
I thought I would share my list of 10 things I am grateful for (this is a limited list that I hope to expand):

#1. God's unending love
#2. God's mercy, new every morning
#3. God's grace, sufficient for me
#4. Joe's smile
#5. Isaac's smile
#6. Josiah's smile
#7. Daniel's smile
#8. My gramp, my mom and my Patty (otherwise known as my family)
#9. friends and church family
#10. the scent and taste of sun ripened, sun warmed strawberries


Please respond with your own lists. I would love to see them.