sunday school, week 9.

this week, i taught the kids about adam and eve, per their request.
most kids know the basic story of the fall of man, but i wanted to dive a little deeper.

 as the told the story, i had them make apples out of playdough. 

memory verse:

"no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.
and God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  

but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

[1 corinthians 10:13]

ADAM & EVE: 

genesis 3:1-5. (as i told the story, the boys silently acted it out.)

• in this passage, we read about the temptation of eve. (and by extenstion, adam).
• in the first four verses, there are lies, exaggerations, and misrepresentations by eve and the serpent.
• at the root of every temptation is a lie.

 
genesis 3: 6-7.

• in just seven verses, we've read about the fall of man. 
• from this moment on, sin enters the world. 

genesis 3:8-13.

• sin causes us to take no responsibility for our actions.
• we want to blame others for our faults.

the truth is, sin is a choice by a person who chooses to believe a lie instead of God's truths.  

"we can never say 'the devil made me do it'. yes, he will tempt us, but ultimately the choice is made by us. we need to remember who God created us to be and what He wanted us to do. we can depend and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us fulfill God's desire for our lives. He can keep us strong in times of temptation. we just need to ask Him to help us and He will." [source] 

 
TREE OF LIFE:

while i told the story, i had one of the boys draw a tree on a small posted because he is seriously talented.
i then had to boys write a temptation that they face onto "apples" and pin them to the tree.
as they were pinning them to the tree, i had them list ways that satan tries to manipulate them into acting on those temptations.

THE GOOD NEWS:

though we fall into temptation and sin, there is good news. His name is Jesus Christ.
satan has no victory over us.

through the resurrection of Jesus, the devil has been defeated. 
satan has no control over us.


when the boys asked me to teach them about adam and eve, they made a comment about it all being the woman's fault. 
at the end of class, they had an "ah-ha!" moment and learned that adam was there with eve the whole time. ["she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.] 


this was a fun day.
i'm learning that if i give the kids something to do while i'm teaching, they pay attention better and learn more.

i will praise You in this storm.

i could list all the things that have been going wrong lately.
i could get discouraged and angry and cry.

but i won't.

instead, i choose joy.
i choose hope.
i choose Jesus.

"rejoice in our confident hope. be patient in trouble, and keep on praying."

[romans 12:12]

i serve a God who is bigger than any problem or trial i face.

seven good things from the weekend.

 i took a walk after work on thursday and stumbled upon this. 

in the junk, there is beauty to be found.

God sees the good in me, even with all my flaws and "junk".

 the neighbor's horse walked all the way across the pasture to see me. 

i think he was wanting to see if i had food, 

but i'm choosing to believe he just wanted me to give him a little nose rub.

 the sunsets lately have made me stop at the front door and take a moment to enjoy God's art.

 it is officially fall!

 pretty flowers make me happy.

mama and i went to the track to get some exercise friday night. 

as soon as i stepped out of the car, the familiar smell of the field engulfed my senses.

memories flooded my mind. dance team, football, friends, friday nights.

i couldn't help but smile as i walked around the track. 

i am so thankful for friends who can turn my frown upside down. :)

instafood.

i like instagram + i like food = instafood.

 chicken tortilla soup // turkey tacos

 mcalister's sweet tea with lemon // iced coffee

 birthday lunch at BWW! // birthday lunch dessert

warmed chocolate muffin with chocolate chips & ice cream (aka: bliss) // cherry cheesecake with hershey's

mini pizzas // mac & cheese (yep, with PENGUINS!)

olive garden dressing // tomato & turkey sammich

instagram: joyfulamber

a little bit of this, a little bit of that.

"the heavens proclaim the glory of God. the skies display His craftsmanship." [psalm 19:1]

★ last night's sunset was breathtaking.
    the skies were on fire with God's magnificent craftsmanship. 
    i sat on the porch with boomer and took in the colors and beauty while trying to keep her from eating grass.

    it got me thinking... sometimes in the midst of struggles and hurting and life, we overlook the blessings we didn't ask God for:

• sunsets that stop you right where you are just to take in God's glory.
• the breath in your lungs 
• the freedom to pray at any given moment of any given day
• new mercies every morning

   
    think about something that has happened recently that God did for you without you asking.
    it will give you a whole new appreciation and love for our awesome God.

★ conviction of the week: if i can learn every line of tswift's new song, i can certainly memorize scripture.


★ i read this blog post and was hallelujah-ing all over the place:

"i have come to the realization that if i could serve God better and bring Him more glory married,
then i would be married right now at this very moment."

★ remember when i posted about my lumineers last month? one fell off again today. same lumineer, third time in a month. i'm currently rolling my eyes and humming francesca battistelli's this is the stuff.


★ in my perfect seasonal world, the year would be 176 days of fall, 175 days of spring, 5 days of summer, and 5 days of winter. the year would start out in springtime with gorgeous bradford pears in bloom, pastel nail polish, and tiny little flowers popping up everywhere. then a week of summertime, complete with fireflies, iced sweet tea, and flip flops. fall would follow, welcoming us with trees of many colors, scarves & boots, and the sole reason that fall gets an extra day: salted caramel frapps. winter would last the final week of the year, with snow falling during Christmas. yep, that is my perfect seasonal year.

★ i've been using the term "bro" a lot. some guys don't like when a girl says bro, but it is so fun to say. it makes me feel all "hoodrat" in a white-girl-christian-gangsta kinda way. come at me, bro. 


★ i've started posting on small town fashionista again. i'm determined to keep it up this time! 


ok, i'm done rambling. 
i will leave you with this joke:

why did the rapper carry an umbrella?

fo' drizzle.

currently.

smelling: a maple pumpkin candle that is filling the air with it's wonderful delight.

hearing: my rainy day playlist on itunes. duffy, jack johnson, the fray, michael, buble and colbie caillat are serenading me.

thinking about: how flower crazy i truly am. the picture above was taken in the staples parking lot. i got a few stares, but when i'm in "flower mode", i'm all like, "who cares? go buy your office supplies and let me take 392 pictures of this tree, okay, bro?" and i stood in lowe's today and pretended to be reading how to plant some flowers, all the while my other hand was actually taking a picture with my phone. the lengths i will go to get a picture know no end.

touching: i'm obviously touching the keyboard. but if i weren't, i'd be snuggling with a cozy blanket and a black furball.

tasting: starbucks' salted caramel hot chocolate. i about had breakdown in the middle of the coffee aisle at walmart when i saw it.

feeling: overwhelming joy. God gives us just what we need when we need it. His timing is something beautiful.

idea from here

sunday school, week 7 & 8.

so i kinda forgot to post last week's recap of sunday school, so i'm combining this week and the previous week.


WEEK 7:

this week's lesson was on wisdom.

memory verse:

"if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him."

-james 1:5.

we read 1 kings 3:7-14.
solomon asked for wisdom above riches, fame, and everything else. God not only granted him wisdom, but he greatly blessed him.

when i think of wisdom, i think of the book of proverbs. i wanted to kids to see that it isn't just an outdated book of the bible like so many people think of the old testement. it's words and truth can be put into action and applied to our lives today just as much as they could when solomon wrote them back in the day.

proverbs 1:1-7 tells us the purpose of the proverbs:

• to teach people wisdom and discipline.
• to help them understand insights of the wise.
• to teach people how to live.
• to help them do what is right.

according to verse 7, gaining wisdom begins with fear of the Lord.
i explained to the boys that fearing the Lord isn't being afraid of Him, it's respecting and honoring the Lord.

the benefits of wisdom are: understanding what is right in God's eyes, protection, and gaining understanding.
the message of proverbs is that real wisdom is based on a relationship with God.
God is the true source of all wisdom, so if we continue to grow in our relationship with Him, we will gain wisdom.

i had little strips of paper with different sayings on them.
the boys had to decide if they were "wisdom from the bible" or "wisdom from men".

biblical wisdom: pride goes before destruction [proverbs 16:18]

wisdom of men: innocent until proven guilty

----------------------------------------------

 

WEEK 8:

this week's lesson was on courage and a guy named benaiah.
God totally intervened with this lesson because i was randomly browsing amazon for a new book and stumbled across this book. i didn't buy the book, but the story intrigued me. i read about benaiah and instantly knew this was who God wanted the kids to learn about. i wasn't even looking for a sunday school lesson, but God had a plan and it amazes me how He puts His plan into action. sometimes the "how" is more breathtaking than the plan itself.

memory verse:

"be strong and courageous. do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

-joshua 1:9.

to learn their memory verse, i had them use different accents and recite the verse to the class. the spoke everything from british accents to a football coach's accent to a mouse squeak accent to a high school girl's accent. (like was used after every other word) they had way too much fun with that activity, and it was awesome!

benaiah's story is mentioned in 2 samuel 23:20-23 & 1 chronicles 11:22-25.

benaiah was made captain of king david's bodyguard. he was chosen for that position of honor close to the king because of three great events that happened in his life:

• he killed 2 of moab's best men
• he killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day.
• he met an egyptian man of great size and defeated him.

basically, homeboy was a stud.

and even more than that, he loved God. and he wasn't afraid to let people know.
king david appointed his son, solomon, to the throne and beniah proclaimed in 1 kings 1:36-37: "amen! may the Lord, the God of my lord the king, so declare it. as the Lord was with my lord the king, so may he be with solomon to make his throne even greater than the throne of my lord King David!" benaiah stood up for what was right and boldly proclaimed his faith for everyone to hear. standing up for what's right isn't always popular and takes courage to do so.

to help the boys see a bigger picture of the story, i expanded on the part of benaiah's story where he kills a lion in a pit on a snowy day. i told the boys that the lion could represent an obstacle or challenge in our daily life that can threaten or scare us, like a big test. i told them to approach those scary situations with courage from the Lord like benaiah did. well, that was maybe not the best example because one of the boys told me he had a test the next week, and he was going to rip it up into shreds, like benaiah killed the lion. oh, boy. he was totally joking. i hope. 

BOOMER SOONER!

on saturday, daddy and i made our way down to norman to watch the sooners play.

we had the same seats as last year. 

thanks to one of daddy's customers for the tickets!

[sam bradford]

we had a great time! 

BOOMER SOONER!

over the weekend.

what a great weekend of relaxation, family time, and football!

5 tidbits of wisdom:
- if you think you've offended someone or were rude, apologize. even if you're not sure, apologize.
- if you are sick, stay home. no one wants to be sick with you.
- when you ask God for forgiveness, He forgives you. there's no need to keep repenting for the same sin.
- pluto is still a planet, no matter what anyone says.
- i seriously cannot think of a fifth tidbit of wisdom. pretend i did.

4 things i learned about myself:
- my timid little self turns into a maniac when i am celebrating with 85,000 sooner fans.
- i have missed salted caramel mocha frapps like something serious.
- autumn candles are popping up on store shelves, and this is not a good thing for my checkbook.
- i am becoming a morning person and it's kinda awesome.

3 things i'm looking forward to this week:
- friday. i realize it's only monday, but friday can show up unexpectedly if it wants.
- continuing this book.
- teaching on adam and eve in sunday school class. they requested this lesson and that excited me because now i don't have to spend forever searching for something to teach them!

2 blog posts i'm currently diggin':
- this post by oh, sweet joy.
- this post by the full time girl.

1 thing i read:

"anything that makes me more desperate for Christ is a blessing."

-kelly needham.

31.

my parents, circa early 1980's

today my parents celebrate 31 years of marriage.

they are a great example of what a marriage centered around the Lord should look like.

thank you, God Almighty, for blessing me with two people who love You and raised me in the church.

and to my parents: thank you for loving me no matter what, even when i rebelled for those few years.

i love you both so much.

circa 2009

over the [five day] weekend.

5 tidbits of wisdom:
- some flowers bloom in the mornings, but close up later in the day. this is good to know before you go back later in the day to take a picture and it's gone.
- sometimes a talking session with a friend over chicken wings and sweet tea is just what you need.
- God can teach you some tough lessons on any day of the year. this includes your birthday.
- "you deserve someone who would jump fences to be with you, not someone who is on the fence about being with you."
- "wisdom is what you've learned; knowledge is what you know, like math and science." -sunday school class. they're smart kiddos.


4 things i learned about myself:
- i will find any reason to add feta cheese to a meal.
- i've developed this thing called "word vomit". instead of filtering through my brain, it all just comes out. not good. #controlyourtongue
- i spend so much time trying to decide what to do on my days off that by the time i do decide, half the day is gone already.
- i have a flower detector in my brain. i see flowers that most people overlook. it's a gift. (and a curse for those who are with me at the time.)


3 things i'm looking forward to this week:
- going to the OU game on saturday!
- celebrating my parents' 31st wedding anniversary.
- cooler temperatures. 


2 blog posts i'm currently diggin':
- this post by hannah at honey & jam. i love fall.
- this post by brandon andersen. ladies, if a guy isn't treating you this way, it's time to say buh-bye.


1 thing i read:

"dating with no intent to marry is like going to the grocery store with no money. 

you either leave unhappy or take something that isn't yours."

 -jefferson bethke.