Faith like a Child

How often have we been told to have the faith of a child...always trusting the Lord and taking Him at His word? And doesn't the Bible tell us "Don't be anxious about anything, but pray about everything. Tell him your needs and thank Him for what he's done"? And still I find myself being tenderly reminded by God on a daily basis what this actually looks and sounds like. That's right...the Lord has placed a special student in my class to ever so gently show me certain areas in myself that need some work. This student is eager to be open about his faith, full of compassion, quick to pray in times of trouble, and never ungrateful or forgetful of the things God has given us. Before each mealtime and snacktime, he never fails to thank God for providing us with our food. When another student gets hurt or becomes upset, this little guy is always first on the scene to extend a prayer of healing and comfort. Just the other day, in one of my not so graceful moments, I backed into a tiny guy, knocking him over and into a wall, before he even had a chance to squeal, the prayerful child immediately petitioned to the Lord to make the fallen child feel better. I am so encouraged by this little guy's fervant faith and I thank God for His creative ways of teaching me lessons.

The power of the spoken word

In Ross's and my family we believe in the power of the spoken word and therefore try as much as possible to always speak positively about ourselves, one another, and our current situation. I try to incorporate this value into my classroom as well by speaking many positive statements over my students. Each student has unique qualities that God has put inside of them and I believe it's my job to help them shine. Often children with learning differences experience so much negativity throughout their lives, even if it's not intentional. Academics, language, social situations, and even sports can be hard for them. In my class, I always like to remind the kids that they are special the way they are and then highlight the things they are good at. Last week we read the book "I Like Me" by Nancy Carlson. It's about a little pig that loves being herself. She loves her curly tail, her round tummy, and her tiny feet. When the world tries to bring her down, she picks herself up and when something is hard for her she tries and tries again. This little piggy is the image of high self-esteem. Last week, we talked all about what makes each of us unique from our looks (eye color, hair color, height)to the things we like to do (drawing, building, playing sports) and we talked about liking ourselves for who we are. I was encouraged yesterday, when I read a quote on facebook from a student of mine from last year. He said to his mom, "I love you Mommy, and I love me because my body is awesome!" Way to go, G, you speak it!

Summer Lovin'

Let's revisit summer 2010...

Ross and I were blessed to be able to celebrate with 4 different couples on their wedding days. I'm going to take some time to honor these sweet couples!


Jeff and Brittani Allen
Ross and I grew up in the same hometown as Jeff. Jeff and I were buds since elementary school and Ross and Jeff were bandmates in multiple bands in highschool. The Allens were married in their St. Louis area church where Jeff is the worship director. The wedding and reception to follow were lovely. One of the unique touches I enjoyed was the "cookie bar" at the reception in which you could load up on a variety of home baked cookies and take them home in little chinese take out boxes. It was fun to spend some time with some of my best friends from way back when.

Ben and Kimberly Schlarman
Ben was Ross's college roommate in Allen Hall at U of I for 2 years. Ross and I were able to spend some time earlier this summer hanging out with Ben and Kim at their pad in the Chicago area. Ben and Kim were married in the City Museum in downtown St. Louis. You can see some of the cool art in the background, but what you don't see are the caves, slides, and other forms of "urban art" that we got to experience that evening. What a cool place to have a wedding!

Randy and Lauren Cochran
Ross met Randy sometime last year here in Dallas and they enjoy playing music together in a band called "Bangarang". Randy and Lauren are absolutely precious! They were married in Longview, TX (her hometown) under an oaktree. It was REALLY hot out that day, but the wedding and reception was just perfect! The Cochrans had their own barista serving made-to-order espresso drinks the entire night!

Jay and Christine Geyer
We met J and C while attending college at U of I. We loved hanging out with them in college and have continued hanging out with them post-college. A couple of years ago we took a trip with them to Washington and did some serious backpacking through Washington National Park and Mt. Rainier. The Geyers were married in a sweet little chapel in the Chicago area and we celebrated afterwards at a golf country club. It was so fun to see a bunch of our friends from college again.

Oh, how I love wedding season! Who will be next???

A is for Alvin.

Two full weeks of school completed already! Holy smokes, time flies when you're having fun. Have I told you yet that I love my job? I liked my job last year, however I had all the stresses that come in your first year of working. Even the small things were stressors for me just for the fact that EVERYTHING was new and unfamiliar to me. Now that I at least have some idea of how things work at my school, I feel more comfortable and I can do my job more efficiently. I was pleasantly surprised the first week when 4:30 pm rolled around and I was actually ready to go home for the day.....when last year I ended up staying at work until 7 or 8 pm several nights the first couple of weeks!

My 6 little boys are precious as can be and I can tell there are going to be some good preschool quotes coming your way soon. Here are just a few so far:

One student has informed me that sometimes he gets swatted with the "correction paddle" but that I don't need to worry about that. Another one has told me "I am feeling cross". I am loving the vocabulary these kids are using! I also love that when I introduced our "letter of the day" and asked if anyone could think of any words that start with the sound /a/ the only word we could come up with was "Alvin". One little guy entered the room on the first day of school crying and repeatedly saying at the top of his lungs, "I don't like school!!!" and 6 hours later when I announced that our day was finished and it was time for our backpacks, his eyes opened up as wide as could be and he form tackled me with a hug and yelled "I LOVE school!!!" It's going to be a fun year. :)

Welcome to my Pre-Primary classroom!

Hello blogging world! How I've missed you! I took a little summer hiatus, but now I'm back! It's been a very fun and busy summer and I have lots to blog about but what's on my mind tonight is my classroom. I want to give you a little tour! I've finished setting up my room just in time for Parent Orientation tomorrow evening.

Here's a photo of my circle area. This is where all the action happens. As you can see, we have our extremely LONG schedule (made exclusively with my best friend Boardmaker) to provide the kiddos with predictibility. They function so much better just knowing what's coming next. They certainly don't like surprises, so anything special or "different" will always be designated on the visual schedule.

Here is my reading nook. I just LOVE this little white picket fence that sections off this area and makes it more secluded. My kiddos will also use this area to take "breaks" if they become dysregulated or overwhelmed. I have a little basket of sensory items to help calm them including stuffed animal, fidgets, skin brushes, lap pads, etc. I hope to eventually round out this area with a bean bag, body pillow, and a listening center.

Here is my tree, the highlight of my summer! My sweet husband Ross freehand painted this fabulous mural for me. Even more recently he has added little wood boards to look like a ladder climbing to the top. It's so precious! It really makes my wall easier to look at all day long and ties the room together so nicely.

Here you can see all my cabinets and the cute little cubbies. Also, note the country cottage inspired valances. Another new addition for this year. I have Ross's grandma to thank for these creations. They seriously make the room look like a whole new place! I love them!

So far I have 6 kids enrolled for this year...once again ALL boys. I'm very excited to be able to work with them and see them grow from little acorns into Oak trees! Tomorrow is our Parent Orientation and I'll get to meet all of the parents for the first time. I'm a little nervous as I know they'll be looking me up and down and wondering if I'm capable of teaching their little ones and if they can entrust them to my care. I am just praying that they will see my heart and know that it's my passion to work with them and I'll do all I can to help them succeed.

Kids say the Darndest Things

With the school year winding down, I'm beginning to think how much I'm going to miss my little class. Sure I've had my moments where I've wished it all away and felt totally ready to be done with this year, but really in the grand scheme of things I've learned so much from my little guys this year. This was my first class ever and I'll always remember them. It's actually going to be really hard for me to see them move on to Core K since I feel so connected to them. Now, I know you've all seen or heard of the Bill Cosby show, "Kid's say the darndest things" and it's totally true. I wish that I had kept a daily journal of the funny things my boys have uttered this year because I just can't remember them all. So, in an attempt to remember some of them I'll start sharing more of them on here so I'll always have them in my archives. Here are a couple from last week that were particularly hilarious:

1. I gotta get someone to fix my cough! I gotta get an archaeologist!

2. Me: ___ was a hard worker today! Child: Yeah, and ____ was a soft worker!

And lastly, a conversation I'm not too proud of, but nonetheless it's pretty funny coming from a 5 year old....

3. Multiple kids: Mrs. Barry! Mrs. Barry! Me: Wait a second, There's only one of me! Child: Why did you say there's only one of you? Me: Well, there's only one Mrs. Barry. I wish there were two, but there is only one. Do you think we should have two Mrs. Barry's? Child: Yeah, I wish there was a good Mrs. Barry.

And then I got a hug. I think (and hope) he was joking. :)

Last week, we took our 3rd field trip of the year and I brought them to the Frontiers of Flight Museum over by Love Field. It was totally awesome and I will be sure to bring my class back every year. We took a 15-20 minute guided tour of some helicopters, airplanes, satellites, and even got to get inside a real Southwest Airplane and get in the cockpit (well, 1/2 of an airplane anyway). Then we played in the coolest little play area that had a bunch of kid airplanes to climb in and a big bounce house. It was great! We have one field trip left to take this year. Any suggestions for something easy, not too big, not too expensive, and not too over-stimulating?

Giveaway!!

Hi friends,
As April is nearing, I'd like to ask you to revisit my recent post about "3ELove" and consider pledging your vote for the Pepsi grant. Actual daily voting will begin April 1st. I would LOVE to have as many people as possible pledge their vote prior to April and to motivate you I'd like to have a GIVEAWAY!!

If you leave a comment on my 3E Love post (or this post) you will earn 1 (one) entry into the giveaway drawing.

If you follow the provided link and pledge your daily vote and tell me that you pledged your vote, you will earn 1 (one) entry.

If you share this link http://www.vote3elove.com on either your facebook, twitter, or blog and tell me about it you will earn 1 (one) entry for each place you share the link.

All in all you could have up to 5 entries in the giveaway drawing. So please pledge your vote now and comment on my post by Wednesday at the latest!!

By pledging to vote, you are doing your part in starting the conversation about the social acceptance of people with disabilities! So, thank you for your involvement!

Run for a Purpose

Today Ross and I ran in the "Run for a Purpose" 5K in Mckinney. Our friend, Lindsey, was the race director and volunteers with the "Rexanna Foundation".

I ran the race in 32:36, which means a 10:33 mile pace. It's an improvement and I'm shooting to cut off another 30 seconds to a minute in my next 5K.

More baby shower!

For some reason I couldn't get these pics to post in the other post. So, 2 blogs in one day, lucky you! :)

The diaper cake-who would have thought, edible diapers, mmm!

Lindsey and Melissa sampling some of the strawberry cupcake goodness. Aren't they precious?

All the preggos at the shower. My friend, Jane @lifeontherowlandranch (black v-neck shirt) is on her 7th! Keep this super-mommy in your prayers as she is due any day. I look up to this woman and her husband so much. Isn't she gorgeous?

And finally, a pic of all the hostesses with Chelsea.

Baby Baby!

On Sunday I celebrated and honored my dear friend Chelsea (@paisleyleather) and her baby on-the-way, Laila. I met Chelsea about 2 years ago when Ross and I joined a young marrieds small group at our church. I knew from the start that I would love Chelsea as she is so relational, cheerful, and heartfelt. Time spent with Chelsea is always delightful and I'm blessed to have her in my life. Chelsea and her husband Trevor will be first time parents very soon (but hopefully not TOO soon) and I know that Laila is so blessed to be their child. Please pray for Chelsea as she is about 33 weeks along and little Laila is quite excited to make her way into the world. Chelsea is currently biding her time on bedrest. Here are some pictures from the shower!

Hanging from the mantle is a homemade banner that Crystal made. It made for perfect shower decor and will go well in Laila's pink and green paisley nursery.

The shower's theme was pink and green cowgirl as Chelsea is a cowgirl at heart and coaches the equestrian team at SMU. Each cupcake has a cowboy hat label stamped with an L. Cupcakes/labels/cupcake tower-all prepared by Alison Sykes-AMAZING! The same woman who made Melissa's cake one year ago. (See my post "Rock-a-bye-Baby Shower")

Me with the precious Mommy 2 B.

Me with another hostess, Lindsey V. @lifeintexas

3E Love

Embrace Diversity.
Educate your Community.
Empower Each Other.
Love Life.

This was Annie's slogan and the way she lived out each day. Annie was a friend I met in college at University of Illinois. She was an entrepreneur seeking to change the perspective that society has on people with disabilities. Annie was innovative. She came up with the idea to replace the traditional "handicapped" symbol that you see in parking lots and on license plates with the "wheelchair heart symbol" in which the wheel is in the shape of a heart. This symbol was first tattooed to Annie's shoulder and now is worn by people all over who want to show that a disability is not something to be ashamed of or to hide. Annie's "Symbol of Acceptance" replaces what society deems negative with a positive emblem to be worn with pride. Although the symbol hasn't officially replaced the international disability symbol, it can be found on t-shirts, bags, buttons, stickers, and tattoos.

Annie passed away in January 2009, but her passion and zeal in advocating for people with disabilities did not. Her brother, Stevie, continued to pursue Annie's dream of spreading 3ELove and its symbol. Currently, one of 3ELove's goals is "Project Everywhere". This project's first aim is to spread the wheelchair heart logo ("Symbol of Acceptance") to every zipcode in the USA and then beyond! The idea of spreading the symbol is to facilitate conversations with people. What kind of conversations, you ask? Examples: Talk about what the symbol means to you. Talk about the civil rights of people with disabilities. Talk about breaking down the barriers in society (both physical barriers and social barriers) Talk about what it means to see past the outward appearance of a disability and get to know the actual person! And so much more...

Maybe after reading this blog you feel like getting involved in the social project. Glad you asked, because I have a simple way that you can help advance the vision. Visit this website and sign up to vote for a grant from Pepsi. This grant money will give 3ELove some financial support to spread the symbol of acceptance throughout the world. Please consider pledging your vote for this cause and let's see how society's perspective on disability might change! It would mean so much to me and to the entire 3ELove community.

To learn some more about my friend Stevie and 3ELove follow this link to one of my blogs "A trip to say goodbye" from last May and then follow the links provided there.

Sooo sore from Squats!

This week I decided to start gearing up for the Beach to Bay Relay in Corpus Christi on May 15th. Ross and I will be joining a few our our Southwest friends to form a marathon relay team.. The 6 of us will each run about 4.5 miles to complete the relay. I haven't formulated my goal time yet, but I just know I want to improve my speed. I'm thinking about an 11 minute mile pace goal, but I'm not dead set yet. I'm sure after talking it over with Ross he will encourage me to shoot for just over 10 minutes...so we'll see.

This week I'm trying to run 4 days and complete a cardio/bodysculpt DVD 2 days. Yesterday I completed level one of the DVD "Biggest Loser-Cardio Max" and OMG I am feeling it today. I actually woke up in the night and said "Oh, my buns!" and Ross thought I said "Oh my, God!" and was like "What's wrong??!!" It's a good burn I suppose, but I'm a wimp when it comes to pain tolerance. I probably did 500 or more squats throughout the 25 minute workout. I'm not sure I'll be able to handle it again tomorrow...but I will try. Today I'm hopefully going to go for a run and work out some of the soreness.

Spring has Sprung!!

I'm so happy. Today begins my official Spring Break Week! So far, I slept in, checked email (nothing there), went on a run, read some blogs, and ate a piece of cheese... I'm taking things slow...don't want to get worn out on my first day of break or anything..haha.

Anyway, what a beautiful weekend we had here in Dallas! Ross and I have spent a lot of time indoors watching movies (Up in the Air and Food, Inc.), so it felt really nice to be outdoors a lot of Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we moseyed on over to the Greenville St. Patty's Day parade. We just caught the tail-end but really that was sufficient. We met up with Southwest friends and walked all the way down Greenville to Dyer St. Bar for one drink and then over to Desperados Mexican Restaurant for lunch. At that point, we were all pretty zonked from walking in the sun and wind all morning and I took a nap the rest of the afternoon. That evening Ross and I watched an hour and a half of Barbie and the 3 musketeers with our niece. Trust me it's SOOOO hard to say "No" to someone this precious.

On Sunday, we got up early and got a Pearl Latte at the Pearl Cup...my fave!! Then we watched runners just past mile 10 at the Rock n Roll 1/2 marathon. Every race that I run I am so motivated by the crowd's cheers. It really means so much to a runner and it helps keeps us going. So even though I didn't get in gear enough to run in the race, I wanted to go cheer. I knew a handful of people that would be running and tried to figure out what time they would be running by mile 10. Even with thousands and thousands of runners passing by me, I found all three people I was looking for! It was pretty exciting. Ross and I cheered for hundreds of runners we didn't even know and I loved it. Runners would run out of their way to give us high fives and say thank you. We got told so many times how awesome we were and how thankful they were to have us cheering. People who run are so positive and I love it. It's a great crowd to be in. I'm planning to run the race next year...already registered, yikes!

After cheering for an hour or so, we drove over to church and walked around uptown for awhile before church began at 11:15. It was a fun little morning. We spent the afternoon watching Casino Royale and all the special features (one of Ross's favorite things about movies..).

All in all it was a fun weekend spent with my sweet sweet husband. I am so blessed to have him by my side and to do life together. He is the best.

Awesome and Not

I'm trying something new that I saw in someone's blog recently...

Awesome: My class made it through our dress rehearsal/video taping for Spring Program! We've been practicing for over a month and tomorrow is our big day! No more practicing!!!!
Not: Today was the first day with the stage lights turned on and the majority of the class was either turned around staring at his shadows or holding his hands over his eyes and yelling "Ms. Barry!!!! When are the lights going to get turned off!!!" throughout the entire 6 minute performance (which we had to do 2 times through)

Awesome: Warmer weather and wearing short sleeves!!!
Not: Inside recess today due to wet grass and mud means cranky-wild boys!

Awesome: A late birthday present from a friend! Wine, chocolate, bubble bath, and scented candle!
Not: Flights are sold out for this weekend from Dallas to St. Louis so we can't make it home to visit my family

Awesome: Just got Food, Inc. in the mail!
Not: I'll probably be really grossed out and scared to eat food unless I know where it came from.

Thoughts from a slow girl... :(

I just got an email from the Cowtown 10K with all my stats from the race last weekend. It was kind of cool, but it just got me thinking how SLOW I've become in the past couple of years! I didn't help that sometimes they refer to the "gun time" instead of the "chip time" when I started the race 15 minutes late! (Couldn't find the starting line...oops)

How has this happened!!?? Well, I'm pretty sure it can be narrowed down to weight gain and lack of consistent training...yep, I'd say that's the culprit. Anyway, now I'm just embarrassed that my stats are up on the world wide web for anyone to see. I've actually added over 2 minutes to my mile time in about 2 years. I didn't know that was possible, but apparently I did it.

Now my mission is to find another 10K in the next couple of months and make it a goal to beat my time from the Cowtown. Anyone know of a good 10K in the area? I'm desperate to beat this time so I don't have it lingering over my head any longer.

Fun February

I've realized that I post about once or twice a month. Is that a big no-no as a blogger? I don't really know what the appropriate amount of blogging is. Is it just supposed to be consistent? Well, if that's the case I guess I should meet my February quota...wait February is over, you say??? Argh. Well, I will dedicate this post to the second half of February, since it was a wonderful whirlwind.

Ross and I were able to host 3 sets of visitors in February. Ross's roommate from college and his fiance from Chicago visited us for a weekend. We were able to hangout in downtown Dallas and visit the Nasher Sculpture Garden, Dallas Museum of Art, and the Crow museum of Asian Art. We hit up all of our favorite restaurants and coffee shop, The Pearl Cup. Can you say yummmm? :) If you frequent the Pearl Cup, don't you just love the vibe there? So chill, funky, and artsy all wrapped into one! The Pearl Latte is to die for! It's apparently a special/secret recipe and if you haven't tried it yet, you absolutely must!

One of the sculptures in the Nasher garden: "Walking to the Sky"

Mid-month we were graced with a visit from our friend Guillaume from Paris. This is Ross's buddy he met while studying abroad. We ate 3 full meals of Mexican while Guillaume was here and had a "Crepe Party" in honor of his French-ness. We had a blast showing him Texas. He was only upset that we didn't make it to a shooting range so he could fire a gun. He felt that would be the ultimate Texas experience.

Guillaume and Ross making crepes for the party.

This past weekend, my lovely sister flew in for a short weekend to visit us and run in the Cowtown 10K with us. We also had a blast even though we were sore and exhausted for most of the visit. Besides the experience of running 6.2 miles with my sis, the other highlight was having her come to school with me on Friday. It was so fun having her there to meet my students and get to know them. She LOVED them and thought they were so sweet and adorable. Obviously, they had her fooled. Only kidding!!! I think they are precious too.

Our other exciting news from February is that we started a small group/bible study at our house for young married couples at our church. We've been a part of a small group/bible study for the past couple of years and our group recently decided to split up into 3 groups in order to accommodate the growing number of young married couples in our church. So, Ross and I decided that we could take a group. We were sad at first to disband our group that we had grown to love so much, but we are excited for this new venture. Both Ross and I felt led to do this in order to reach out and connect with other couples at our church who may not feel as connected to the body. We were blessed so much with rich and genuine friendships by being able to be in a couple's small group and hope that we can provide that opportunity for other couples who are looking to connect with others in the church and work on their marriages at the same time.

And, there it is...the month of February all rolled into one blog. How'd ya like that?

Prayer in School

Since Ross and I were in Illinois for Christmas we missed the white Christmas in Dallas, but little did I know we would have a White Valentine's Weekend!! And yes...I am starting the weekend early because I was just informed that our school is cancelled for tomorrow, yippee!! No school Friday and no school Monday for Presidents Day!

I just want to share a cute little story about something that happened at school today that just made my week. :)

Today at school we showed our parents how much we love them by having a "We Love our Parents Party". Strange name for a party, I know, but I didn't come up with it...it was school-wide. The kids and I had been preparing crafts and snacks for this party all week. We had the picture frames painted, the Valentine Hearts made, , our special song was perfected, and the sugar cookies were all ready to be iced. All we had to do now was pass the time until 2:00 when the parents were supposed to show up. I decided about an hour after lunch that we needed to take a little quiet/rest time so we wouldn't be too restless for the party. As we all cuddled up together (my 5 little boys and I) for a rest, one student asked if he could say a prayer for all of us. Of course, I said "that would be a great idea". And he proceeded: "Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for my mommy and daddy and for letting them come to my school for the party, Amen.". And as simple as that was, it was the most precious and unexpected thing! All of the students got quiet (very unusual) and listened. Then another student said can I pray now? Then he bowed his head, and said some prayers under his breath and ended with a resounding AMEN! (As you are reading this...remember that I don't teach at a Christian school.) Then each of the students asked for their turn...however the rest of the "prayers" started with "Once upon a time..." and ended up being about Scooby Doo and Mario and Sonic. Nonetheless, they all just made my day! How precious are my little preschoolers??

Have a wonderful WHITE weekend!

The big things in life.

Hello bloggers. Once again it's been awhile to say the least, but I'm trying and that counts for something.

This has been a pretty crazy 2 weeks for me and my family. We started off our 2nd week of the new year with a bang at church with our Annual Corporate Fast. Since Ross and I have moved to Dallas this has always been a cherished time as we attempt to start the new year off on the right foot, evaluate our lives, and get things in order. The word for the week at Trinity Church was EMPOWERED. How awesome is that. We don't want to live mundane lives and call ourselves "Christians" just because we go to church. In the days of the early church, people didn't even call themselves Christians but they were called that by the people who saw them live their lives. It was apparent that those in the early church were followers of Christ...not because they attended church...but because their lives were empowered as they lived out the gospel. Throughout this week we started thinking about what it means to "tear down the walls" of the church and actually BE the church. Anyway, God is showing us some things about himself that are changing us...but that's for another blog another day.

Moving on to Saturday, the last full day of our fast. I woke up around 7 am because I planned to go serve at a place that helps women who have been victims of human-trafficking. I was going to be giving facials, pedicures, and manicures to these women who have been rescued, however God had a different plan in store for me that day. I woke up and was totally sick with a bad head cold among other issues. Shortly after waking I got a call from my mom explaining that my dad had just had a heart attack but was currently stabilized and waiting to be taken by an ambulance to another hospital. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This type of thing happens to other people...not to my dad. The word "stabilized" just kept ringing in my ears. I decided to forgo the mani/pedi giving and stay at home where I could be on the phone with family members and hear each update as they received word from the doctors. I was able to find a flight home that evening which left me in Dallas and away from my family for the remainder of the morning and afternon which turned out to be the best situation. I was able to start interceding for my dad's physical health, emotional state, and spiritual state. I was able to get healing over the head cold and pray for God to use me once I got home. It was an amazing time of prayer and God gave me such peace that my dad was going to be ok and that he was going to use this incident for his glory. As I departed Dallas, I felt totally empowered to whatever it was God had in store for me in Illinois.

There is so much more to this story, but to keep things short...when I got to the hospital I was able to talk with my dad about God's plan and speak faith over all the fear he was dealing with. For the first time in my life, I prayed outloud with my dad and laid hands on him. I am so thrilled at the way God is moving in my family's life. I can see that God is softening my dad's heart to Him and that he truly does have a plan for my dad's life. I am just clinging to the verse that says that 'your entire household will be saved' (paraphrase).

Thank you Lord for moving mountains and for upholding all your promises. "Ask and it will be given to you, Seek and you will find"

This experience (with the help of my Aunt Jan) helped to remind me that there are Big things in life and there are small things in life. This was obviously a "big thing" and after you experience the "big things" you can start to see how the "small things" aren't really all that 'big' afterall. I just love finding pieces of wisdom when you least expect it. :)

Keep praying for my dad! For God to continue softening his heart both physically and spiritually and for my dad to be free of any fears and anxiety from this experience.