We are off and running!

well, i've now survived two whole days of school...and i'm not suicidal or anything! woo-hoo! (the weekend before was a little if-y...no comment...but...we lived!) i do have to admit that i'm massively tired...even now, i just tried to put on my workout pants and my brain thought it made complete sense to put the tag in front...yikes!

as always there are glitches in every start...but we've weathered them so far.

and...i just am so amazed at the ways that god sustains us. in a lower economic time, we actually have a higher enrollment than the last two years. that's just unbelievable...and wonderful. we still have big needs...but the faith bank is growing and growing. i believe he will provide.

one of the big things that i'm working on this year is a 'service learning day'. there are so many struggles lately...people with financial burdens, big challenges, such sadness...and i see kids growing up in the midst of this...in a fear-based culture. sadly, i've been noticing in them that it's difficult to have a hopeful outlook. kids without hope??...not something i want to see. so, i want the kids this year to see how they can always give...no matter the circumstances. we all can give of ourselves and make it better for others (and honestly ourselves too). we don't have to always throw money at problems...we can throw ourselves at them...haha! and if we all learned to throw ourselves at each other's challenges???...what a beautiful picture (strangely) of "community". so some of the teachers and i are organizing a whole day of giving...a huge variety of activities...for a variety of people. my prayer...that they'll see that they can make a difference...and that even a little is a LOT! people of hope create real solutions...people of fear make stupid decisions. so, i want my kids to be people of hope!

please pray for a place for my temp-daughter (foreign exchange student), by the way! she's the most wonderful girl in the world, but with my thesis and the craziness of my job (and that it's just me), she needs/deserves better.