Contagious Joy.

Okay, so this my friends is what I call an impulse post! I just thought I should share how much I adore being in the presence children. The silly, random things that they say crack me up. When I have a bad or off week, I go straight to the children's director at church and tell her, "I'm having little kids withdrawal. Can go help with them today pretty please?!" And with in ten minutes my day is made. Kids have such joy it's contagious!! Yes, they can be rather saucy and give attitudes, but I still adore them. 

Some of my favorite little kid quotes I've witnessed:

*I see a picture of bugs and turn to the sweet girl walking next to me*

Me: Guess what, I killed a cockroach today.

*She gives me a high five*

Little Girl: Oh ya? I have a pet worm.

Me: That sounds unsanitary.

*I walk into a dear families house that I nanny for on a regular basis*

Little Boy: Hi Ms. Emmy! Bye Mom! Bye Dad!

The Mom: I see he's gonna miss us. 

Little Girl: Ms. Emmy, I'm all grown up like you. I've lost my childhood.

Me: Umm, okay? 

Little Girl: Oh no! This toilet is clogged!
Emmy: Oh man, they must have had beans for lunch.
Little Girl: Let me use another one... this one is clogged too.
*Emmy checks because the likelihood of both being clogged is rather small... They both had a piece of toilet paper in them.*
Little Girl: Sweetheart, they're not clogged, you just needed to flush them.
Lilly: Ohhh, I guess they didn't have beans for lunch after all.

*2 sweet follow behind me into gym*
Emmy: are y'all little girls following me?!
Little Girl: we are your little ducklings
Emmy: let's play follow the leader!!
*I run in a circle*
*they run behind me copying me*

I brought children into this dark world because it needed the light that only a child can bring. 

Liz Armbruster

Earthly Things.

               Well hello there! Long time no see. I've be hiatus due to some delightful medical issues, but I'm slowly getting back to myself. Apparently, going nonstop for a year and a half, can affect a person. Who would have guessed? 

                 So, it's now story time with Emmalyn. Last Friday, after work I wanted to treat myself. So I grabbed a scrumptious $5 foot long, a grande iced-white chocolate mocha, and found a lovely table outside of the local Starbucks and pulled out my quiet time. In my book, it was the perfect way to end my week. When I have my quiet times, I have all my stuff sprawled all over the table with my pens, highlighters, bible, notebook, and books. It looks like a hurricane. 

                A few minutes into my quiet time, two older men came and sat next to the table next to me. They were rather loud talkers, so everyone easily could hear their conversation. They were catching up. And the first part of their conversation went as followed, with substituted words, of course:

Man #1: So you still into that whole church stuff?

Man #2: Heck no! I went through that phase and I'm done. Nothing was working out for me, so it's better if I just do everything on my own.

Man #1: Ya, I was wondering how long you were going to be into that kinda stuff.

            The rest of the conversation went along the lines of their accomplishments in work and where they lived, what they drove, and the newest gadgets they've collected. And in the mist of getting into God's Word and listening to their conversation, I was heart broken. It was hard for me to fathom of my life being primarily focused on my earthly belongings, and above all not having my Savior, my dad, not here helping me through everything that the devil throws at me. A life not founded on God is empty. 

             I was sharing some of the story with some sweet friends, and I mentioned how looking back, I've questioned myself, "should I have talked to those gentlemen about how being a Christian, isn't a 'phase,' it's an on-going, developing relationship with Christ." and while asking them that, I realized I would have felt at peace with it and Christ would have opened that door, for me to talk with them. I think the purpose of God putting me at that table, at that time was to, in a way, was to awaken me to realizing how empty my life would be without Him and to dive into His Word to gain wisdom on how to reach out and minister to others who have that emptiness, in a godly, loving way that isn't aggressive and turn them on to hearing what I have to say.

             I suppose the purpose of this entry is solely to share something that God revealed to me and wanted to put out there. Sharing what you encounter with God, not only helps Christians grow with Christ, but can also plant seeds. I saw this picture below on tumblr, and thought it was appropriate to share, showing how we need God, and he's not just a phase in ones life.

Following God's Road.

                  So, one of the things that I've realized in the last few months, is how insanely important it is to dig into God's Word. In life there are so many ups and downs and turns and flips. But we can't control where God's road takes us. It's already planned out. And every stop sign, every U-Turn, every dead end (well we think it may be a dead end), is there for a reason. We may not be able to control where we go, because our path with God has already been planned by him, but we can control our attitude towards it. If every time, we have to make a U-Turn, and then another and another, we can get worn out and eventually run out of gas to keep on going. But along that road, God puts "gas stations." And our versions in these "gas stations" in this analogy, is (1) getting into God's Word and (2) surrounding yourself with people that are going to encourage you in guidance and prayer. How can we continue to follow God, if we don't have anything to keep us going?