Give Thanks, With a Greatful Heart

This year I give thanks for

Life, love, and a warm house
one husband, three kids, and two cars
big families, church families, and foster kids
warm snuggles, sweet apples and dirty toes

purple beans, red tomatoes and fresh strawberries
muddy jeans, backyard swings and bathtub rings
old farms, license plates, and grandpa's arms
lawn mowers, snow throwers, and gas that's lower

a letter from an old teacher
a call from a new school
non-stop flights from Vancouver
Facebook, blogger, flickr and Yahoo!

black dog, new shoes, warm coats
new babies, wet clay, lakes
grey cats, typewriter keys, camera screens
life, love, and good food

Amen

Teaching!

It's what I do in my spare time! Pretend to be a tree for Kindergarten classes! OK, it's not my spare time, it's my day job at the moment, and I love it! Sometimes I do the Resource Teacher thing, and sometimes I am a "regular" sub. This photo was taken in Jonah's class, but he's not in the picture. (sorry grandma!) Click on the post title to see the story in the paper or here.

Ah, this is the day we longed for!

At last it has come! Lines are forming in front of churches all over and people can't wait to get in! Prayers are rising up from all corners of our nation, and around the world.

Oh, yea, did I forget to mention that they are lining up to vote. It's a strange twist in the separation of church and state to think that so many people will enter into their local church for the first time ever... New voters are turning out in droves. I'm sure the prayers are rich too. Prayers for this candidate and that one, and prayers of desperation for making the right choice among so many sordid choices. In this mud smeared campaign year, it's hard to see anyone for all the accusations.

This morning's Bible reading; Lamentations 2:13-17 is all about the kind of deceptive visions that have filled our airwaves in the last few months.

Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen oracles for you
that are false and misleading.

Lamentations is full of this depressing stuff. But the end note is that no matter how desperate the situation seems, God is still there, loving us. We can listen to false prophets and watch our world be destroyed by war, flood, and neglect, but God does not desert us. So as you enter your local polling place, go confident that your prayers will be heard!

your vote is your voice!