The countdown begins

2 more days........Today our office officially started singing the lyrics "schools out for the summer!" The environment has quickly gone from stress and tension to this fun laid back summer is here joy! I LOVE being a teacher and I LOVE my job but there is something about the anticipation of summer break that never gets old. June, July and August are fantastic months! Summer break here I come....

He loved people

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It has been two years since Bruce ran into the waters to help save a strangers life and there is something about the example of how he lived his life that will forever be on my heart. He loved God, loved people, and lived a life that showed it.

God I thank you for the life of Bruce. I thank you for the ways that you used him to reach so many people. I thank you his example, his friendship, and the seeds he planted in my own life. I pray for his wife Jill as she continues to grieve the loss of her husband. I pray each day you give me the strength and wisdom to live this verse out in the way that I live my life.

Sometimes you just ask why?

In class and 100% healthy one day and the next day the student is fighting for their life. There are days that as a teacher I never want to have to repeat. Today is one of those days. It leaves me shaking my head and just asking why? Great kid, great student and so young. Why? It just doesn't make sense...

God, I pray that I live a life that makes the most of every minute I am blessed with. There is no guarantee on life and although this doesn't make sense and it seems so wrong, I pray that somehow you show how you can bring some sort of good out of a terrible thing. I pray for my students, the family and a miracle.

Happy First Birthday Julia

Julia celebrated her first birthday yesterday. I love being an Aunt!

Dinner with Cip

Yesterday I got a huge surprise. Cip called me and said that his papers went through and he is finally here (and safe) in Naperville! So tonight Beth and I took Cip out to celebrate! It was a blast. We spent time laughing about some of the memories of when we were in Rwanda. We laughed about the Baboon that chased me while on a Safari, the crazy roads that we had to drive on and the bridges that we thought we were going to die on. We then spent time laughing about some of the crazy questions people have asked Cip since he has been here.

I met Cip over a year ago when I was in Rwanda. He lived there with his wife and their four kids. Because of the constant instability of the government and Cip's safety, he came to the United States to be granted asylum. Cip has an incredible story that he went through during the years of the genocide. He is a man of incredible faith. So many times I find myself frustrated with the petty things in life and seeing Cip reminds me how much I have to be thankful for. Although it is a blessing to see Cip, there is part of my heart that breaks for him. I can't imagine coming to another country without my family. Although Cip is incredibly optimistic and just thankful to be safe, I can see how much he longs for his wife and kids. Please pray for Cip and his family. Please pray that Cip is able to find a job and that his wife and kids will be allowed to come and live with him. Also pray for their safety as they are still back in Rwanda.

I go a new book

Last night I was planning on going to watch a softball game but it got rained out. Although I miss seeing the girls play, it was a nice blessing to have a free night. I headed over to the bookstore and picked up a new book. I spent 2 hours curled up in my bed reading. This book has a blog and a webcast that goes along with it. I am pretty jazzed about it.

Oh David

I got to have my niece and nephew for part of this past weekend. We had a ton of fun. We spent some time watching Alvin and Chipmunks, playing at the park, and just hanging out and being goofy. My nephew (3) is in that stage where there are certain letters that just don't come out the way they are supposed to. One of those challenging combinations for him are the letters "s" and "t." When the two of them are put together, he makes them sound like the letter "d."

When we were playing at the park, David was digging in the sand and came across a bubble container. I was ten feet away playing with his sister on the monkey bars and David was getting a little frustrated because he could not find the stick that is in the container to blow bubbles. My nephew never says anything quietly and began yelling, "Aunt Debbie, I can't find the (st)ick, I can't find the (st)ick. AUNT DEBBIE, where's the (st)ick." The parents of course were looking at me to see how I was going to react and trying not to laugh, I explained that he was saying stick and we are working on his "st" In the end, we all kinda chuckled a little bit but if I had a camera to capture their faces when he first started yelling. Never a dull moment....

Swinging from trees

Today I took 24 students out to a high ropes course for a field trip. I had taken a group of students a couple years ago but decided that since there were an even group of students, I would just stay below and encourage the students while they are up there. (reality was I was too chicken to make a fool out of myself) This year, the other teacher was convinced that we were going up and completing every challenge. Each activity looked so much easier from the ground than it did when I was in the air. Between the wind swaying the trees that we were attached to and the crazy feeling I would get when I looked down, I was pretty pathetic. There were certain points throughout the course that my legs were shaking so fast I literaly could not stop them. I hate heights and even through I knew that I was supported by a rope, there was no comfort in that rope keeping me up. There is so many positive analogies and lessons that can come out of a high ropes experience. I think the thing I enjoyed seeing the most was how much the students supported one another. I have never heard such positive encouragement spoken from high school students to one another and even to us as teachers. I am pretty bruised up today from taking a few nasty spills but it was worth it.

Shaken up...

At 4:30 in the morning, I started to feel my bed shaking. My first through was that someone was opening our garage door which is below my bedroom but when I began to hear my bookshelf rattle against the wall and the walls begin to creek, I knew it was an earthquake. I ran out into the hall and noticed that my roommates light was on. Sure enough, the rumble woke both of us up. When I went through the day, it was amazing to me how many people claimed they slept right through it. I usually sleep through anything but there was no way I would have slept through that.

Endless winter and burnt armpits

So I finally was sick and tired of this crazy winter weather and decided that I needed a little splash of summer. I decided a couple weeks ago to purchase a small package of tanning minutes to give me a little sunshine until the summer months arrive. I realize it is hypocritical to tan as a health teacher but I had a weak moment and decided a little glow on my skin would make this crazy long winter a little easier to deal with. Yesterday after school I stopped by the tanning salon on my way home from work for my third session of tanning. This particular time, I would have had to wait ten minutes to get a lay down booth but I could tan right away in a stand up booth. I am a big fan of the relaxation that the lay down bed offers but I decided that I didn't have time to wait so I would try something new. Awful idea. Although the time under the lights is less, you stand in a small time capsule looking thing and hold onto this bar above your head. If being claustrophobic wasn't bad enough, I have the worst case of burnt armpits ever. Today it was all I could do to have my arms to the side. I felt like I needed to keep them suspended out in the air to keep from rubbing against my t-shirt. I have had a sunburn before but NEVER has it been as bad as burning my armpits!

CUTE

I know that I am a little biased but I really believe that being these kids Aunt is one of life's greatest blessings. As cute as they are, they are just as fun to be around.

I WIN

Louisville 73- North Carolina 83!

Advance

In our student ministry, we took our student interns through a book called Chasing Daylight, by Erwin McManus. In this book, he challenges us to seize the divine moments (whether small or large). In all of our lives, there are opportunities that are placed in front of us that need to be seized. I think that I have been fairly good at seizing the little moments. The ones that are less risky, and that don't require me to get outside my safety box. I also know that I am horrible when it comes to the larger moments. the ones that result in big change or risk. I am a play it safe type of person. I pray through, analyze, analyze again, create pro and con charts, and talk through things until I am blue in the face. I wonder if all that has caused me to miss "Divine moments." What would it look like to just lived a life where I say yes to opportunities and run at them full force until God says stop. Is that really realistic? Is is smart?

There is a quote from this book that is weighing heavy on my heart lately. Erwin states, "More often than not the signs pointing us to advance will be ominous. They will cause us to assess who we are and who we believe God to be. They will make clear our priorities. Are we in it for what we can get or for what we can give? The signs will expose our hearts, reveal our fears, and unleash our faith. There is a word for the mind-set of those who seize divine moments-advance"

Could I get a "3" and a "3"

It is playoff time and I decided to join in the fun for this time of year. Every year my co-workers have created brackets and score grids that have become the talk of the office. Every year I pass up the opportunity to join. This year something was a little different. For the first time I bought a square on the scoring pool. It just so happens that my numbers are 3 and 3. That means the losers and winners final score needs to end in three. For the past couple of days I have been glued to the glued to constantly checking on the scores. The funny thing is that I don't really look at who is playing or even who won. I just want a 3 and 3!

High School Musical

I spent the afternoon at the United Center seeing High School Musical on ice. Mikayla is a big fan of the movies and it was fun to see her get so excited to see the characters in person. The United Center was packed with kids who were wearing their t-shirts, hats, microphones and every other gadget you can think of. It was a fun day! Did I ever mention that being an Aunt is one of the best blessings ever?

Blast 2008

Over the past several weeks, we have been preparing for one of the most incredible weekends ever. Exactly one week from tomorrow, we will be leaving to take over 650 junior high and senior high students up to the Kalahari resort in the Wisconsin Dells. We will fill the weekend with some amazing messages, great small groups, time enjoying the water part, and most importantly some time where students can encounter a relationship with Christ. The theme for this years conference is "Pulse." What does our heartbeat for? What do we care about? We understand that the world in which we live really only cares about itself. But the heart of God beats for the needs of others. God has always had a heart for the poor, forgotten, and even marginalized people of this world. The question is, will our heart look more like the world's or will we learn to align our hearts with the PULSE of God. Please be praying for the students that we take on this incredible weekend, the amazing leaders that are coming with us, and the details that need to take place to make this weekend happen. If you are interested in seeing pictures from last years retreat go to www.student-community.org

It will be great in 2008

I have heard that phrase said over and over again about the upcoming year. Isn't it funny how there are so many rhymes that people come up with for what they anticipate the new year will hold. Although, 2007 was pretty challenging at times, I feel like there were a lot of things that I have to sit back and be really thankful for. I will give it David Letterman style but I can't do the reverse so you will have to read #1 first.

1. Taking one step closer to chasing after a dream. This year, I hung up the the softball coaches hat and began a new journey in working in ministry. For so many years, it was just a dream that I was afraid to chase, and this year, I got to begin running after it. Where it will take me, I am not sure.
   
2. Family reunion! Pretty pathetic that my #2 on my top ten is the fact the my immediate family actually spent time together. It had been over three years since my oldest brother had been home. It was the first time that my sister-in-laws met one another and for the first time my nieces and nephews were introduced to one another without the computer web cam in between them.
3. Living with a sister. I sold my first place and decided to move into another one. In the process, was able to begin living with an incredible friend and sister. We have had quite the adventure and have loved being able to host a plethora of events at the new pad.
4. Community! There have been some pretty amazing friendships that have developed and grown over the past year. People moving in town, and me being able to move down the street from others, I feel like I have been blessed with so many laughs and great times
   
5. A trip to Haiti- although being sick made it miserable at times, there is something about experiences like that that change you.
   
6. The birth of Julia Ann Benjamin
   
7. My first broken bone- 28 years of sports and never a broken bone until a game of co-rec softball.
8. A crazy thing called a green koosh ball that I carried for 7 days straight
9. My first real Christmas tree, and drinking the first glass of wine I actually enjoyed
10. Seeing friends become parents

Although 2007 went by in a blur, I am excited to see what 2008 will have in store. We all make New Year goals and resolutions and I think for me, I am hoping to live a little more on the edge. I have sat back and admired as others have taken big risks in life, even leaps of faith. I tend to be the more practical type of person. I like to play it safe, over analyze almost everything, and make sure in my head things make sense before I do something too crazy. I won't get too out of control, but maybe 2008 is a year to begin risking a little more. What does that mean.........I really haven't got a clue and it kinda scares me to find out.......

Christmas joy?

Have you ever thought that Christmas is such a weird time of year? On one hand, there is this joy about how amazing and incredible the birth of Jesus is. What Christ sacrificed is nothing small or insignificant. It is an incredibly humbling and life changing event that I could go on and on in expressing my thankfulness. The part that kills me about this season is the hurt that others feel. Over the past month, I have noticed this deep pain that grips at the heart of others as this season unfolds. December is one of the biggest times for heart attacks, suicides, anxiety and depression. Why is that the case? How can a month filled with gatherings, community, expressions of love, and reminders of Christ's gift and sacrifice cause more of those things than any other time of the year. How can the "most wonderful time of the year" be so painful? Is there a solution to fix it?

The conversion

Over the past 6 months I have been sitting on the fence between the world of PC's verses Mac's. For sometime now, I have been in need of a new computer that will give me some more speed and better capability for mobility and working with pictures. I knew that at some point, I needed to trade my desktop in for a laptop. It has been a grueling month of going back and forth between being able to take the step and make the purchase. After the events of this week, I honestly thought tonight was the night. I drove all the way out to Oakbrook shopping center. As I got out of my car, my heart was so excited about the opportunity that was in front of me. It was happening, I was converting to Mac. As I walked to the store it was almost like a victory lap (music and all). Then it happened.... I walked to the front of the store and here is what it said...

"This store is temporarily closed for renovations until November 16th. Sorry for any inconvenience."

Closed for renovations? Who closes their store for renovations but doesn't allow people to shop? Do they not realize the agony I have gone through in making this decision? I stood at the door and knocked... yet they were closed.

Is this closed door a sign? Do I give Mac another chance?

Proud Aunt!