Thoughts from Sunday's sermon

 "There is no shame in the struggle." 

To say there is no struggle is to set yourself up for a fall.
Just because you want to sin doesn't mean you have to.
Calvary is at your disposal every time sin tempts.

When we're tempted to say or do something sinful and pause, struggle, and then by the power of Christ *don't*, that's what it means to live in freedom from sin's dominion.

(Romans 6)

*waves*

Oh, hello blog & readers :)

Life craziness has made it so really don't even think about posting here.
I'm an Elementary Education major and taking 19 credits this semester. This = BUSY.
All of my classes are really great, but the homework and projects are a constant. I used to think my goal was to get ahead. Instead, I've revised to "stay afloat."

As part of my Teaching Language Arts class, I am reading kids' books - LOTS of them!
Here is what I've read lately:

• Ralph S. Mouse (Beverly Cleary) - love!
• The Tiger Rising (Kate DiCamillo) - sad, but hopeful & well-written
• Seen Art? (Jon Scieszka) - ha! fun concept!
• Perre (Maurice Sendak) - LOL! In the style of old-time moralistic stories.. and in rhyme!!
• Pickles to Pittsburg (Judi Barrett) - um... meh?
• Louise: Adventures of a Chicken (Kate DiCamillo) - LOVE! This is the same author who wrote Despereaux :)
• The Rumplestiltskin Problem (Vivian Vande Velde) - Super fun - 6 short stories that approach the story more logically. Love the different styles & approaches to motivation.
• The Best School Year Ever (Barbara Robinson) - If you loved "Best Christmas Pageant Ever," you will most likely love this book too.
• Ella the Elegant Elephant (Carmela & Steven D'amico) - Adorable! Fab pics.
• If You're So Smart How Come You Can't Spell Mississippi? (Barbara Esham) - A great approach to dealing with dyslexia & other students' view of those who struggle with it.
• In Grandma's Attic (Arleta Richardson) - These books are the best evar! Love the nostalgia & fun stories and lessons learned.
• Trading Places (Claudia Mills) - A really good book that deals with parental unemployment, stupid girl relationships (ie: exclusion for no reason) and has good resolution.
• The Sign on Rosie's Door (Maurice Sendak) - HILARIOUS! You just have to read it. I love her imagination.
• Zoom (Istvan Banyai) - Ok so you don't exactly read it - it's a book about visual perception by a Hungarian graphic designer
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble (William Steig) - Lol I remember reading this when I was little. It's fun and imaginative.
• The Story of Babar (Jean de Brunhoff) - Uh.. I really thought the storyline was stupid?
• The Story About Ping (Marjorie Flack & Kurt Wiese) - I like this book for nostalgic reasons, plus it teaches little kids about the importance of staying with your parents 'cause getting lost is scary and dangerous!
• Lyle, Lyle Crocodile (Bernard Waber) - Such a cute, fun, happy book :) Read it.
• The Kitten Who Thought He Was a Mouse (Miriam Norton) - Sweet, but not remarkable.
• The King Without a Shadow (R. C. Sproul) - Interesting theologically, but it didn't seem super kid-friendly.
• I'll Love You Anyway & Always (Bryan Chapell) - LOVE this book! Really great lesson to it - A little girl disobeys and is afraid that her dad won't love her anymore. He responds by telling her he'll love her "anyway & always" and then goes on to talk about how that's how God loves us + gives a ton of examples of different incidents in the Bible. The next day, her little brother wrongs her and she makes the choice between being rightfully offended OR loving him and forgiving the offense.
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Virginia Lee Burton) -I love Mike and this book and the nostalgia of it :) Super cute.
• Two Minute Mysteries (Donald J. Sobol) - eh, doesn't seem super kid-appropriate. Instead of kid-friendly mysteries like his Encyclopedia Brown books, this book is full of 2-page mysteries about all sorts of murders, suicides, drownings, etc. There's some theft and ransom stories, but most of them are a lot more graphic than I'd want to hand over to a kid who could handle the reading level.
• Mr. Toad (based on Wind in the Willows) - (adapted by Jane Carruth) - Hated it. I think it's maybe because it's an adaption of just a portion of the book??? Basically he is naughty through the entire bok and only somewhat punished and wholly unrepentant. Ugh!!
• Amelia Bedelia's Family Album (Peggy Parish) - Ha! I sometimes like these and often think they're dumb. This one was more fun.
• The Hundred Dresses (Eleanor Estes)- I think this might be one of my favorite books ever. Clearly shows the potential consequences of unkind actions and underscores how even if you're sorry that doesn't always make everything better. Just... read it. <3
• Flat Stanley (Jeff Brown) - LOL! I'd never read this book before, just seen the little paper guys that got mailed around with class projects. The story-telling is SO '60s and it makes me smile :) A fun book; definitely piques the imagination.

 And even better? I have a whole bookshelf of, like, 40+ more books I'm still going to read :)
I LIKE this kind of class assignment!