I Will Praise You in the Storm.

I feel like I'm in the midst of the storm right now. These days entail a lot of uncertainty. While I feel a deep sense of peace, I am also well aware of the storm raging in so many different ways around us.

The end of the semester brings so much grading, and student stress, which translates into professor stress.

Moving to a new place is exciting, but the process of moving is overwhelming to me right now.

I think that I am experiencing some delayed sadness over the events that are leading us to move from this place. We had believed that this was the place that we would settle, find community, raise our kids, serve God.....and sad that it is not turning out to be that for us.

Our community seems to be in a really dark place right now, with a lot of backbiting and gossip and blame. People's lives are being affected in lasting ways. With my husband being a school administrator, we are all too aware of very damaging choices that are being made and the consequences of those choices for so many. Satan is actively working in this place right now. Priorities are out of place. Pain is evident all around.

Some of our family members are in the midst of painful circumstances right now.....losing jobs, surgeries, illnesses, ongoing battles with infertility, financial uncertainty. The weight is big.

And yet, through it all, I sense His presence and peace, as He calls me to just rest in the midst of it all. It is so different than what this world says to do, and yet if I obey, I know He is faithful to do a work in all of these situations and to weave these things together for our good and His glory.
Thank you, Lord, for creating and controlling the storm. Thank you that the victory is already Yours and, thus, ours. And thank you for calming your child.

Friday at the Gardens.

With the sun shining brightly and the whole day on the horizon, the kids and I decided to head over to the Meijer Gardens. We have been studying butterflies and the metamorphosis process all week, so we wanted to see the butterflies before the leave at the end of the month. We thought that if we went in the afternoon it would be less busy, but we were WRONG! I think half of Grand Rapids had the same idea we did, included 4 buses chock-full of kids. But, we managed to find some less-populated areas of the gardens to enjoy and explore.
This photo that my daughter snapped cracks me up! This sculpture is entitled "Mad Mom." Enough said.

Due to the hoards of people there, the butterflies were not plentiful....I think they were hiding! But we did manage to see a few.

They have an amazing traveling exhibit of sculture right now....truly amazing and thought-provoking work filled with letters, icons and words. This letter sculpture is so fun....the kids enjoyed finding letters to spell words.

I have so many other cool photos to share today; however, Blogger is informing me that I have used up my alotted free memory space on this blog. So, decision time is here......I have been keeping this blog for over 620 posts, so I hate to move it to another site.....however, I don't like the idea of paying for additional space here, either, when there are so many other free venues. So, stay tuned for more information about the future of "Table Scraps" in the coming days. Until then, enjoy your weekend.....we are heading downtown GR to participate in the Rob Bliss Urban Experiment.....covering the city's sidewalks with chalk art....should be fun and interesting to observe and be a part of!! That, and pack more boxes.

What We've Been Up To........

Making colorful messes.........

Rocking out to music (our own American Idols)........

Doing math..............

And just enjoying all of the beautiful sunshine.

My Goal.

You can teach a student a lesson for a day.

But if you can teach him to learn

by creating curiosity,

he will continue the learning process

as long as he lives.

--Clay P. Bedford

Easter Blessings.

Our Easter celebration was blessed, just as every year, as we gathered with family to focus on Jesus, his amazing sacrifice, and his miraculous resurrection. We attended my parents' church in McBain, where we sang the old Easter hymns, which we love and miss now that we attend a more non-traditional church where not a lot of hymns are sung. I think it is so important to keep kids connected to those pillars of the Christian faith, and we really enjoyed that piece of tradition this Easter. Above, the kids opened their Easter baskets before church on Easter morning, along with special bunnies and candy bags from Grandma and Grandpa.

We enjoyed a delicious ham dinner with all the trimmings, followed by carrot cake. It is always so special when both Grandmas are able to join us for dinner, as they are in the 80s and 90s and are such special people to us.

Here is our family on Easter......I feel so blessed.

After church, we did an Easter egg hunt. We did a little bit of candy this year, but really wanted to stay away from the candy overload. Instead, some of the eggs held cash, while others were coupons for things like a movie rental of their choice, a family mini golfing and bowling outing, a trip to the store for a new pair of rollerblades, a lunch out at their restaurant of choice.....they had fun seeing what each egg held.

My sweet girl was looking extra-beautiful in her new pink Easter dress. Aunt Kendra painstakingly curled every tendril of her hair, and Kennedy just looked so beautiful on Easter morning. There are just so many things about this girl that make my heart melt.

Here is Hayden finding an egg in the windowwill of my parents' basement.....which is a very dark, spooky basement given that their house is over 100 years old. By the end of the egg hunt, these brand new Gap khaki pants were covered in mud and grass stains. Boys.

And then on to the next Grandma's, where we enjoyed another egg hunt with some of our cousins on the McDonald side. It felt so good to be outside, even though the wind was cold and the ground pretty muddy. We also flew kites and sat in the old rocking swing outside.

Thank you, Lord, for the blessings of Easter and of every day. You are so, so good to us. Praise the Lord, He is Risen!

Would I?

Would I have defended him?

Would I, like the disciples, have fallen asleep while He begged for the cup to pass from Him?

Would I have said "Not my will, but thine be done?"

Would I, like Judas, have betrayed Him for money?

Would I, like Peter, have denied him three times?

Would I have yelled "Crucify him"?

Would I have helped carry his cross up the hill?

Would I have cried at His feet as he hung on the cross?

Would I have wept at the tomb where his body laid?

Would I have helped annoint his body with herbs and perfume?

Would I have believed?

Thank the Lord......the story doesn't end with death and the tomb..............

Eggs + Nests.

Every year, we spend a night during Easter week coloring Easter eggs. I love to see the kids create their masterpieces....OK, so I love to color eggs myself, too! This year, we also made some nests to put our masterpieces into. We spent part of the week studying different kids of nests (eagles' nests, owls' nests, etc.), and learning how birds collect materials to build their nests. As for our nests, we used self-drying clay as the base and poked various-sized sticks into the base. They made a lovely, rustic little home for our Easter eggs.

I've been preparing my heart today for tomorrow, as we commemorate what Jesus Christ did in sacrificing His perfect life for us on the cross. It always seems that I intend to spend many days preparing my heart, but it always seems so inadequate when we come right down to the vast depth of the sacrifice made. We will spend tomorrow reading the story of Calvary, talking about the pain and scorn Jesus endured, and wondering what it would have been like to witness His death. I'm fairly certain that if I had been in that crowd at Calvary that day, I would not have been able to look. I often wonder if I would have had the bravery to stand up for him......or if I would have defended him and tried to talk the soldiers out of what they were doing.....or if I would have given in to the social pressure and joined in the chant of "crucify Him."

Thankfully, on that cross, I died with Jesus (and you did, too). What I mean is.....the old sinful self died, and we were given the chance for newness of life, eternal life. So tomorrow, I will be thinking about what He did and reflecting on the idea that when He hung there and died, I hung with Him. All of my sins, past present and future, and my selfishness and all the ways I fell so far short.....He died so that that would all be conquered forever.....and so that I could be free to live how I was created to live. To worship and glorify Him for eternity.

Yes, when He died, you did, too. Your old self died, and He made the way for you to be born again into newness of life, richer and more abundant that we can ever imagine.

What does Good Friday mean to you?

Lucy.

I want to introduce you to Lucy. Lucy is 9 years old and lives in the village of Masi, in South Africa. We became acquainted with Lucy and her situation in late 2008 and immediately decided to partner with an organization called the Vulnerable Children Project to make sure that Lucy has regular meals, school uniforms, a mentor, and opportunity to learn about Jesus and His love for her.
This is Lucy in her new school uniform that we were able to purchase for her. This is Lucy's mom, Tumaka, who is in the final stages of dying from AIDS. Lucy does not have other relatives, so her future is unsure. Aren't these people truly beautiful? I love that so much of their soul is reflected in photos like this one, which our family has come to treasure.

This is the type of home that Lucy and her mother live in. Lucy and her mom have one bed in their shack.

Lucy is described to us as intelligent, a good reader, and having a good sense of humor. She speaks English and Cosa, her native language. She loves to read and wants to be a social worker when she grows up. She especially likes eating rice and chicken, meals that are possible for her because of the work of the Vulnerable Children Project and All Nations family.

I love this photo of Lucy dancing in the ocean. I close my eyes and think of this little child--so much stacked against her--but still able to soak in the beauty of God's creation and dive into the simple joys like the ocean waves.

We have and will continue to use our work with Lucy to teach the kids so much.....about poverty, about the geography of Africa, about the problem of the AIDS disease in Africa, how to support others who are working directly with these families to share the love and hope of Jesus. We have been having fun putting together a little care package of things we take for granted but that Lucy will hopefully love--new flip flops, bubble gum, licorice, lip gloss, a colorful head band, colorful writing pens--and we are putting together a little scrapbook to tell her about our family.

Lucy, all the way from her little village in South Africa, teaches us what it is to be grateful for what you have. She teaches us that happiness in life is not about material possessions, and that joy is possible when the source is Jesus, even in the midst of some very difficult life circumstances. It is amazing that though it may look like we are teaching and supporting her, she is actually giving us so much more. So much more.

Lazy April Sunday.

We are having a really low-key day around here to kick off spring break. Matt is working on a paper for one of his two classes to renew his teaching certificate....which means that I will have some proof-reading to do later on. It's a good thing that my husband is handsome, strong, loving, and gifted with geography/science/sports and all that........because writing is NOT his forte. I guess we make a good team that way.

We have really limited the kids' television watching in the last 3 months BIG TIME, so they are enjoying a day of watching movies. Right now, they're watching Spy Kids and pretending that they are secret spies. Love the creativity.

I am busy making white chicken chili and strawberry rhubarb crisp to enjoy later this afternoon. I am one of those crazy people who LOVES rhubarb and could eat it straight from the ground. Growing up, we had some wild rhubarb, and even when nothing else in the garden grew, there was a long row of rhubarb. I would pick that rhubarb and chew on it....love that tart burst of flavor! The kids helped me to slice the rhubarb and strawberries......I have been giving them more and more kitchen tasks to do, and recently started introducing some very basic knife skills CLOSELY SUPERVISED, and they have been doing a really nice job with it. Next comes beginning to teach them very basic laundry skills.....

It's supposed to snow here today. Welcome,spring, huh? It's very cold outside, and the sky has that dark steel gray color that says something is a brewing. Most of the town seems to be gone South for spring break, so it is pretty quiet around here.....except, that is, for the neighbors' dog who has been barking and howling at the moon nonstop for the past 4 days. This week will bring lots of box packing and starting the little fix-it projects that come along with getting a house ready for sale.....replacing a couple of screens, touching up paint, taking extra stuff to a storage unit, getting ready to stage the rooms......I should be an old pro at this by now, but the whole idea just seems much more overwhelming this time around.

The kids and I are now into the second Chronicles of Narnia book, the "Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe" which the most well-known. We loved "The Magician's Nephew" and are amazed how the book gave context to the second one. SO, the afternoon will bring some read-aloud time, along with a nap (at least for me).

And if you need something to do this afternoon, head on over to the final showing of "Seussical the Musical" at Cornerstone University. We went on Thursday night, and it is truly a delightful blend of imagination, creativity, color, whimsy, dancing, singing.......fun, entertaining, and inspiring for all ages. The show starts at 2:00 or 2:30 today.....and for not much more money than a movie ticket, you can see talented live musical theatre.

Enjoy this {spring? winter?} Sunday.

Happy Birthday, Sonja.

It is amazing to me how many friends I have gained through this crazy thing called scrapbooking. The photo above shows the Michigan group at one of our very first crops a couple of years ago. I love that this group is very diverse--lots of different ages, some professionals, some students, some moms, some singles--all united in the name of art. I love the unique personalities of all of these ladies--some funny, some funky, some extroverted, some quieter, some conservative, some sarcastic, all with beautiful hearts and souls.

Today, one of these ladies, Sonja, is celebrating her birthday (Sonja is the furthest on the right, kneeling). Sonja has a gorgeous family of four sweet boys, a husband whom she adores, and has 2 sisters who are sweet, sassy, and look so amazingly similar to her that it is almost uncanny. Sonja has an amazing sense of humor but, even more, a heart as pure and loving as they get. I remember last July, when my birthday rolled around, Sonja was VERY pregnant with her little guy, Levi, yet was thoughtful enough to send me an amazing pair of pink spa slippers that are so heavenly, I wear them every change I get!! That's just how thoughtful and selfless she is!

Sonja, today is a day to celebrate you! I didn't get a card out (forgive me)......but I know that you've been working hard on getting you and Roy's room decorated into a haven of love (!), so be watching your mailbox for a little something to help that happen! :) Know that you are loved, appreciated and that you inspire, today and every day!

Boys, you be sure to love your Mommy up big today, OK?