Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Some thoughts

About a week ago we decided to teach Nora how to bowl using the Wii. (You might remember we took her to the ACTUAL bowling alley.) Well, that night Matthew decided to break out the rarely used Wii and teach Nora how to bowl.

It was a disaster.

She confirmed in our minds while we will NEVER homeschool her. She thinks we don't know how to do anything and refuses to listen to our instructions.

It's awesome. Here she is school system...you can take her!

Well, tonight, I was teaching (which, if you read further, I have discussed) and Matthew re-introduced the Wii.

And it was a success! The girl is a bowling machine! (I mean, I can still beat her...for now). She was so excited to show me what she could do the second I walked in the door.
And she is hilarious too. She stood on the top of our coffee table and "bowled"...her arm is going to hurt tomorrow. AND, at the end of one of the rounds, she said, "Look Mommy, I scored 76." Um, I didn't know she recognized "76". She's a genius...ha ha ha ha.
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In our small group we have been reading this book...

And if you are looking for something to COMPLETELY change how you think about, well, pretty much everything...then I suggest you read it.
But you will hate me for it, because it will change the way to think about EVERYTHING.
This book basically says that if you surrender EVERYTHING to God he will give you complete pleasure in this life and, our ultimate goal, heaven. (But honestly, that's simplifying the book...it is SO MUCH MORE than that!)
And by surrendering EVERYTHING...God means EVERYTHING.
We have re-thought just about all aspects of our material life. I am convinced there is so much more we, as a family, can do to help others. We have had some interesting conversations around here lately...that's for sure. But best of all have been the conversations that have happened in our small group. I can see us all transforming and desiring to become ON FIRE for Christ.
Which brings me to teaching.
I have taught for Harding since Nora was born. It was a huge blessing when they asked me to join the faculty as an adjunct teacher. I had quit working full-time to stay at home with her and, although money was going to be extremely tight, Matthew and I both knew this was what we wanted for our family. We knew God would provide for us. And He did, with the part-time job with Harding.
I have taught every semester since then. Sometimes multiple classes.
Then Spring 2010 hit and I did not have enough students signed up for my class for it to make.
I was beyond stressed. We depended on that income.
Guess who wasn't worried? Matthew. He knew God would provide and we would have heat through the winter.
Yesterday, I received a phone call telling me that the class had made and I was scheduled to start teaching today!
I was THRILLED! Beyond thrilled!
The pre-"Crazy Love" Dallas would have heard the news and thought, "Great! We can pay all of our bills AND start saving for our summer vacation."
The post-"Crazy" Love Dallas thought, "Thank you God for this blessing...how can we use a portion of this income to help others."
See, I told you, don't read the book if you don't want to change....I warned you!
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It's supposed to 50 degrees around here this week! YEA!

8 comments:

Tesney said...

Yeah, get ready to do something crazy...that book plus some others plus listening to Francis Chan's podcasts pretty much turned out lives upside down. It was after we read that book and Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne that we decided to adopt John Sergeant. And I'm so happy we did! It opened our eyes to scripture in such a different way. I think God's Spirit is all over both of those books.

Sandi said...

I was JUST ABOUT to recommend Irresistible Revolution, but you beat me to it, Tesney! You have definitely piqued my interest in this book -- I will have to find it!

Michael Ann said...

Our church staff, elders, and many in the congregation just finished reading that book and I heard awesome things about it. I am going to read it! Have you read the book "Treasure Principle" by Randy Alcorn. It's awesome too and something i need to read often. It really made us think about where we spend our time and money and where our heart lies. Also, have you read "Same kind of different as me" - must read too!

Deborah said...

I love Francis Chan. He is so good to hear in person too.

Yea, God! I am so happy about your class.

Sandi said...

Dallas, I kid you not -- I walked into church last night after reading your post and guess what book we're going to be studying/discussing on Wed. nights for the next semester? I couldn't believe it!

Karie said...

It is so awesome to hear all of you reading these books that I love too!!. Crazy Love, Same kind of different as me, and now my recommendation is The Bait of Satan! I'm not finished yet, but I can't put it down. Love it!! God Bless all you ladies as you grow in Him!

Kim said...

She confirmed in our minds while we will NEVER homeschool her. She thinks we don't know how to do anything and refuses to listen to our instructions.

It's awesome. Here she is school system...you can take her!

Written by Dallas Henderson about Nora, thought by Kim Harr about Kennedy. :)

Julie said...

Also thought by Julie Trivitt about Ethan!

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