I like Sundays.

Last night we started planning our honeymoon at Cosi's. That didn't come out right. We're not honeymooning at Cosi's, but we planned it over dinner. On the way home Tim asked me about Sunday school which triggered my memory that I was teaching today. Crap! I looked over the lesson only once this morning and gathered the supplies: straws and index cards. The kidlets get to lick and stick stars to the cards taped to straws to symbolize the star that the wise men followed to find Jesus. Sadly, I hardly prepare for my lessons. Truth be told, my class consists of 2-4 year olds who have the attention span of a flock of goldfish.

Two of them, no matter what I ask them, always answer "pretzels" (that's our snack every week because everyone is allergic to everything else).

Another little boy answers all questions by either telling you about a toy he has at home or yelling "Jesus is the Son of God!"

When we review catechism his brother always answers "mommy and daddy" when I ask "Who made you?"

Then there's the little girl who always listens and I can count on to answer my questions and say hilarious things.

But it's really a fun class and these kids are so precious. They're kinda bad most of the time but the spontanaiety of what they say and how they respond to things is great. And Lawanna is my new teaching assistant who has some ideas to restructure the class and is a mom so she knows how to take care of business. Even if I don't prepare any better, I certainly should pray more for their little depraved hearts. Tim says he heard a pastor say once that all children are bowling balls falling towards hell. And while they Holy Spirit does the work, it's still our job to do everything in our power to keep them from getting there. I think that's why he's terrified of them. Maybe I should be too.

The sermon this morning was on Jeremiah 17:5-10. It was convicting and reminded me not to blame my sin and poor responses to things on circmstances and people around me. In the passage, even when the heat rose and the drought came, the tree planted by the stream (representing the man who trusts in God) continued to bear fruit. Unlike the shrub in the parched land who never sees good. The shrub is the man who trusts in himself and turns away from God.

I want to be a tree. I want to stop making excuses and stop trying to conquer my shortcomings alone. Jesus has already achieved victory and given me the Spirit. I need to stop striving and start trusting.

After church I went with Tim to check out his sister's orchestra concert. Her ensemble was quite good but they started with the little squeaky ones scraping away on their fiddles and cellos and worked up to her advanced group. The squeaky ones really made me appreciate her group.

I had a sandwich and hot tea with future mother in law and we chatted about school, nursing, and houses. Quite enjoyable.

And we rounded out the day with the evening service at Immanuel. It was good to see Immanuel folks again and we got to talk to Pastor and the Mulbahers for a while afterwards.

Yeah, I like Sundays. I like worshipping in song. I like hearing the Word exhorted. I like seeing my church family. I like seeing the families come in for ESL classes and the kids come in from the city. I like my Sunday School kids. I like catching up with my fiance in the afternoon. I like that God has given us a taste of what our eternal sabbath rest will be like with him. I still don't have Sundays quite right, but they truly are a gift.

Oh ER reruns, why do you make me cry every single episode!?!!?!? And Abby you totally need to lock it down with Kovach. I know you slept with him but none of this lets be friends crap. You're hot, he's hot. You're a doctor, he's a doctor. What's the problem?

I think I'll make a to-do list. Then maybe I'll actually do something today.

Holy Crap! Christmas is next week! I guess I'll go Christmas shopping and then work out so I can fit into that wedding dress...

I used up my entire daily allowance of cleverness in the title of this post. It took hours and now I'm not sure if there's anything left for the actual body of work.

So I'm kinda technically failing MedicalSurgical nursing right now. The clinical portion (the bit where I'm in the hospital with patients) is going great but the actual testing academic part is not so great. However, it's not too far gone. I just need to get a 79% or higher on the next test and I'll be OK. Barely.

Honestly, I should've flunked out long ago. With the minimal amount of studying and the extreme volume of procrastination, I'm quite certain that the only reason I've made it to third semester is that God really wants me to be a nurse. Which is awesome! Because it makes me think that this is really what I should be doing. But I think it's high time that I start pulling some of my own weight.

What else is new...

My turtle woke up from hibernation and is eating again. That's good.

I need to consult a gastroenterologist about my GI woes. I think it's either diverticulosis or irritable bowel syndrome. I won't go into the details. You're welcome.

Our support for this year's Russia trip is around 70% : ) I'm really looking forward to seeing the kids and staff again.

I'm endeavoring to lose 10 lbs between now and when I head to Wildwood. Ha.

I'm learning how to rely on God and trust him through decision making and peering into the unknown.

The weather is beautiful! Everyone take off your shoes and go outside!