Hello all,

            Well after a week like the last one, any week is going to seem dull in comparison. This past one has been exceedingly calm and tame. No rushing to the bathrooms, trying to lull a baby to sleep or rushing to finish my food before the toddlers are done J Being that it was calm, I was able to see my blessings very clearly. Here are a few of them:

            - I’ve said this before, but I am very thankful I am not too serious. One night after serving dinner, I took one of the empty 5-gallon water jugs and pretended it was a bongo. A few of the girls and I had way to much fun with that jug, singing gather songs and prancing around the water room J

            - One of the little girls I sit next too at meals, I have been teaching her simple English words. She has finally gotten down a handful of words. She proudly will point to my pockets and say ‘pocket’. Or wiggle her fingers and say ‘fingers’. When not at meals, if she ever sees me, she runs over to me with a giant smile, dives into my arms and exclaims ‘manang ah-see’.

            -Yesterday, when we were playing outside, one of the toddlers ran up to me and planted himself in my lap. Before I spent the four days with them, he would only stare at me. That brought a giant smile to my face. All the toddlers, when they see me, ask if I am coming back to babies. Their bright little smiles bring such a joy to my heart.

            -I struggle off and on about what God expects from me as his child. What a blessing to find it clearly laid out in the Bible. Romans 12:9-21 outlines how I am to behave as a Christian. It’s not the easiest few verses. The first line says I am to let love be without hypocrisy. Thankfully, it is an agape love, one that can only be completely through Him and not of myself. Then Proverbs 31:10-31 explains how I am to live as a Christian woman. All the guesswork is taken out of my actions and reactions. I will never be perfect in any of these, but through Christ I hope to come as close as I can.

            That is all I have for now. Today has been the hottest day thus far. Accounting for humidity, it was 104 today. Sweaty, melting days.

            I would greatly appreciate your prayers. I, along with my momma, am reading a book about choosing and cultivating a grateful heart. I may be thankful a lot of the times, but I rarely feel gratitude. The author says as a Christian all of our actions should be an outpouring of our gratitude to God for saving us from what we deserve. Man, my life does not reflect that very often.

God bless all,

Kelsey