Back to School

It's that time of year again! We teachers are headed back to school with mixed emotions. I am looking forward to the new beginning that a new school year brings. I am looking forward to getting to know the children that God has placed in my classroom this year. I'm looking forward to the new boxes of crayons they'll bring to school; new backpacks they'll carry; and new uniforms they'll wear for the new year.

However, it is also a time of year that brings me down a little. It's not the sleeping late or the staying up late that I'm mourning, but rather the time with my family that I'll miss. I enjoy being with Emma Leigh and Bryan every day! Yes, we occasionally need a break from one another, but we like doing things together. I enjoy listening to Emma Leigh tell stories that she makes up, and I enjoy watching her and Bryan play together.

When school starts, it seems that we are in such a rush to just do the necessary things that we don't have time for the "togetherness." I'm praying that I won't get bogged down with the things that consume my time and take away from my family. I'm praying that I will take the time to enjoy Emma Leigh's laugh at bedtime instead of rush, rush, rushing to get her in bed.

This school year is new, and I want to be new too!

The Unknown

We spent a few days last week at the beach in Galveston. It was really good to get away--just the three of us. I love the ocean--the way the wind blows so steadily; the way the waves come in and out, in and out; and the way the sand is always changing. There's just something about the constant change that takes place there.

Emma Leigh also loves the beach--the sea shells, sand, and birds that is. She is not, however, too keen on the water. I found myself getting a little frustrated with her for not trusting Bryan or me to hold her and walk out into the waves. She was obviously afraid!

And then I took a walk out into the surf myself. The waves were huge! Occasionally one would catch me off guard, splashing me in the face, and making my eyes burn. That day there was also a strong undercurrent. I found myself fearing what was underneath the surface, hidden below the murky water. Once a fish jumped up right in front of me, and I flinched with fear.

As I walked further from the shore, I realized that, like Emma Leigh, we all fear what we don't know. Why is it that we are afraid of what we don't know? Is it because the unknown is not within our control? And then I began to realize that's what faith is all about! It's trusting in God for the unknown.

Our homestudy is complete for a second adoption, and we're just waiting for a baby now. I worry about the timing because I don't get paid maternity leave. I worry about providing for another child. I worry about how another child will effect Emma Leigh. But I don't need to. I need to trust God's wisdom and all-knowing power. Nothing is unknown to him.

I am praying that I will trust Him more; that I'll not worry, and that I'll allow Him to do amazing things in my life.

Storms

As we await the arrival of Edouard here on the Texas Gulf Coast, we've made a few preparations at the Rasco home.

We had to first do some clean-up from the storm yesterday that caught us by surprise. Our front and back yards looked like the squirrels had been involved in major pine cone warfare! Limbs were tossed in our flower beds and all over the lawns. The most significant thing though was the upside-down swing set! A gust of wind lifted the tent covering Emma Leigh's sandbox and tossed it into the swing set, knocking in down! It was quite a scary sight as I watched it!

So we started the day today cleaning up, and then we moved to a "batten down the hatches" mode. I guess seeing the great power of the wind yesterday, made us a little more concerned about the looming storm. We put away the bird feeders and wind chimes so they don't become flying missiles. I put all my potted plants in a corner on the back porch, and we've taken apart the tent that now has many bent poles and tears from yesterday's storms.

Tonight though I've been thinking about the storms in our lives. They turn our lives upside-down. They bend us and tear us. And most of all, they catch us off-guard! Why is it that we prepare for storms like Edouard but not the storms in our lives? Why don't we see them coming?

The Bible is full of promises we love to cling to, but have we forgotten the promise in John 16:33? "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." Jesus said we will have trouble. But we should take heart because He has overcome! He is bigger than our problems; bigger than tree limbs in my yard; bigger than an upside-down swing set; and certainly bigger than those worries that are flooding my mind right now!

Why not begin preparing for life's storms? How? Delighting! Lord, once again, help me to delight myself in You.

My Sweet Emma Leigh

This is the precious angel that God has entrusted to me! We've had a great summer together! We went to the Frio River with my parents, sisters, and their families. Then we had V.B.S. at church, and Emma Leigh took swimming lessons at the Rec Center.

Learning To Delight

"Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Some years ago, God used this scripture to do some amazing things in my life. My husband Bryan and I greatly desired to have a baby, but after two surgeries, months of Clomid, and two failed IUIs, we were once again faced with the question, "What next?"

My greatest desire was not just to be a mom, but also to experience pregnancy and childbirth. In the midst of sorrow, heartache, and a deep, dark depression, God gave me this scripture and I began meditating on it daily. I began praying, "God, show me what it means to delight myself in You." Over the course of many months, He showed me that to delight myself in Him meant to give Him my all; to love Him with all my heart, my soul, my mind, and my strength; to seek Him daily; to desire nothing more than His plan for my life. When I began doing this, God's plan and my desires were aligned perfectly. God plainly showed us that adoption was the way He wanted us to become parents. After only a few months of waiting, God blessed us with a beautiful baby girl! What an answer to our prayers!

I find myself, at this point in my life though, needing a reminder from God about delighting myself. I'm busy being a wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, and teacher. My time is consumed with things far from the things God showed me meant "delighting." So my prayer is that this blog not only allows me to share my life experiences with others, but that it will help me to remember to give Him my all!