Sweet Prayers.

"Pray without ceasing." ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:17
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." ~ Romans 12:12

This is what my kids have taught me. While I've always known that the Lord ALWAYS hears our prayers, and is ALWAYS listening, my 4th graders have taken this to a new level for me.

Before we start our day we share prayer requests and pray for one another. My absolute favorite part of the day. They have such sweet prayer request and the sweetest prayers. It's funny to hear how they pray because I know they have heard their parents say the prayers that they inherit and pray in my classroom each morning.

So, I feel blessed.

Don't worry. I still love it here. I get asked on a regular basis if I am still loving it, and truthfully I am. I love everything about it. Sometimes I am exhausted and sometimes my days are long, but the Lord remains the same. The Lord has brought me near to Him, I feel like I have come alive, and that I am doing exactly what I was created to do. I am building relationships with 9 year olds. I am guiding them through their 4th grade year. I am showing them that God IS the center of all that we do and He should be glorified in our every breath. My prayer is that I am successful. That they see the Lord in my every move, and notice how important it really is. They are little, but they are wise. We celebrate our freedom in Christ every day. It is good. 4th grade is fun.

If my classroom isn't a model of Matthew 19:13-15 then I am doing all of this for the wrong reason. May the little children in my classroom see Christ alive in my life, and may they not see me at all, but may Christ be glorified in it all.



So, we're still doing well. We're still loving 4th grade and having a great time. On Friday we are celebrating good behavior. Yeah! We made it :) I will post pictures. It is involving sleeping bags and a fun time of reading! Yeah!!

Last Thursday night I played flag football. It was faculty vs. students. Our team was so eloquently named "Staff Infection." Gross, but we won. :) We might be older but we are stealthy. It was a great evening. Good to see students outside of school. I love my job. :)

Here's to another week. May we draw near to Christ. He's already drawn near to us.

.OVER.WHELMED.

I love the Psalms. Honestly, they make me feel better about my own life at times. That sounds somewhat negative, so let me retract for a brief moment. I LOVE my life. I LOVE Arkansas, and finding my purpose here. I know part of that purpose is to teach 4th grade, but I'm not satisfied saying that is all. Those 15 kids bring me SO much joy- but I need interaction with someone who wears velcro-less shoes.

So now, back to why I really love the Psalms right now. When I read the Psalms, I am OVERWHELMED in such a beautiful way, of heart-saturated, deeply personal expressions of the inner life of the psalmist, whom is most often David. David has taken the time to recognize his own broken soul, and THEN he musters up the courage to share it with the Lord, and ask for the healing that only the Lord can give, so that David can share his life and love people. He takes part in the spiritual discipline of Lament. I am encouraged by his obedience.

Lament is an act of love. It is saying, to me, that in order to love, we have to understand that we are broken, and if we are interested in TRULY loving one another and loving GOD like he loves us we have to be honest. David's words are sometimes angry, sometimes sad, accusing, confusing, but ALWAYS relate-able for me.

Lament is a way of honoring God, of taking Him seriously. AND it teaches me how important it is to love, share life, and encourage one another, in Christ.

Life is sweet. Enjoy it!

I'm much older than I look...

Today while walking to my classroom after school I hear a Kindergartner run up to his mom as I passed and point and ask "How did that little girl get to be a teacher?"

One day I will find this flattering...

Sometimes you just need a crafty day...

After a wonderful week with my 4th graders. Haley and I needed a mental break. We had a hankering for something crafty and decided headbands would be our theme. After perusing the ribbon aisle at Hobby Lobby this afternoon (50% off..hello!) we went to work.

These headbands are SO easy to make. AND so much fun. We decided after both being mistaken for high schoolers and younger since school has started we will embrace our age. I think as elementary teachers we can.

Anyway...here is what came of this glorious day.



Success!

where you invest your love...you invest your life.

I haven't blogged since I started school! BUT it has been SO wonderful! Seriously. I can't even think of adequate words to tell you how much I love being here. My class is full of 15 fantastic kids. I truly love each of them for their uniqueness, quick wit, and shining personalities. They all make my laugh at least 4 times a day- the Lord fills my heart full of JOY through them! Let me introduce you to my sweet class...:)






Here we are...I couldn't ask for a better class, a better start to the year, better co workers, or a more positive working environment. Seriously. so good. I also got the sweetest note from one of my little ones Friday. It read:

Dear Miss Madden,
Here is a pack of silly bandz for the treasure box. You are a fantastic teacher. Please never forget we're all in this together.

How precious is that? It made me smile..:)

In other news, NW Arkansas is gorgeous. I have found myself perusing the Bentonville Farmer's Market (and wal-mart ohhh toooo many times), relaxing at the "beach" and spending countless hours (quite seriously) at the Boyd's lovely home. I am so thankful for them. Seriously. They are a God-send to me. Simply wonderful.

The Lord has been making his presence known to me so evidently. Sometimes I become apathetic (due to sheer exhaustion I do believe) and find myself hoping that the Lord will make His presence known to me. Yet I really should be expectant that through His divine power He will show himself to me, stretch me (and has been stretching me...) to go and be His light everywhere I go. I just have to remind myself to seek the Lord with wide eyes every day!

Grace and Peace.

I made it!

I live in Arkansas. AND I love living in Arkansas. So far it's been SUCH a peaceful transition. AND Matt and Haley KEEP blessing me with their company and helping hands (and yummy dinners)...

The move went really well! I left KC on Sunday furniture-less due to a mishap with the U-Haul. My biggest crisis with the entire move has been the hidden outlet in my bathroom. I was convinced for 3 days that an outlet didn't even exist. I was appalled! But the Lord provides flawlessly and so I am now sitting quite cozily in my furnished apartment (with adequate outlets) listening to the sweet sound of Mumford and Sons and that motorcyclist neighbor of mine...I'll put pictures up as soon as everything really is looking nice :)


I am really thankful for my parents. Yesterday they drove from KC with a truck full of my furniture. They also drove back to KC last night after unloading it all and making a quick trip to our neighborhood Wal-Mart (of which I think there are 5-6). I live in Wal-Mart country and have already cheated and ventured to Target. I can't help it- their dollar aisle calls my name!

I start teaching my first class in 1 week. I've met a few of the kids already because their parents are teachers. I have a lot to do between now and then, and a lot of training to undertake--but I think I can handle it. :) My principal keeps asking Haley if I'm okay... I guess she's not used to how relaxed I am. I'm just soaking it all in, and thanking Jesus that such a sweet opportunity presented itself to me. I have been humbled by the people I work with. SUCH sweet spirits and SO much love for the Lord.

Pastor Stuart challenged us with Psalm 34 for this school year. He's such a great man of God! I'm quite thrilled to have such great leadership here.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Psalm 34:4-7