"let's pretend we're paleontologists!"

i love kids. babysitting always confirms just how much. sometimes the kids at work or the kids i keep can be a handful, but they say the funniest things. (like aj last week after a "bad behavior" day..."well miss b, thanks for putting up with us today!") and i just love having the chance to teach them something. be it as simple as - isn't the world beautiful? do you know that God made the whole world, even you and me!?

i love that.

so God gave me this plan for the kindergarteners at work. we will learn, on average, one new verse a week. last week we spent every day talking about Psalm 19:14 and what it means : "may the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to You, oh God." and i was amazed when, on the second day of saying it together, rashard started spouting it off for memory during homework time. it's so beautiful to see these kids learning Scripture, and just getting to talk to them about what it means. about letting the things we say and the things we think make God happy :) i really want those things to grow for them, to just take root in their hearts and to blossom as they realize what following Jesus is all about. these kids are the future, you know?

having said all this, i'm worried about teaching in public school. it's going to be hard for me to NOT slip this kind of thing into my lessons. my desire to teach these kids about the Lord is overridden by laws that say i'm infringing on their rights if i do so. yeah. that's gonna be hard. i really feel like God is calling me to teach in inner city Jackson for a season, and eventually to go overseas to teach. public school is where i'm feeling led. public school is gonna be hard for me. but i wouldn't want to be anywhere else.

i can't wait to adopt some beautiful children into my family as my own. i used to think it was dumb when people said things like - "i just know i was meant to be a mom." but now i could say the same thing. i AM a mom inside. truth. my own mother confirmed this the other day when she said at sunday lunch - "betsey, i think you'll be a really good mom." i couldn't have been happier.

anyways...time to stop before i get too excited.

i love kids. so much. i learn so much from them. what a precious gift. thank you, Jesus.