Sink Full of Dishes

A sink full of dishes

It's been a full day

    since my 4:30 a.m. VIPKid wake-up

        and there are so many things I'd rather do

            than confront and attack

                the pile of dishes in my sink

So, in a measure of

    half-discipline and half-avoidance,

        I send a whiny video message

            while beginning to unload the dishwasher

                complaining about how tired I am

                    and how the kitchen is a mess

                    and how I don't feel like doing the dishes

The reply?

    "Sorry you have a kitchen to clean..."

I knew what she meant

    She was commiserating

                    empathizing

                    agreeing with me

            but it stopped me in my tracks

                and I realized that I had a choice

Am I sorry I have a kitchen to clean?

For me, having a kitchen to clean means...

    I have a home

    I have 6 people in my home, who each ate 3 meals today with snacks in between

    I have a stocked pantry and overflowing fridge and freezer

    I have the luxury of clean water, not just for drinking but for washing dishes

    I have the means to wash dishes with dish soap 

                                                    and with water I didn't haul myself 

                                                and even a dishwasher that does the work for me

    I have the electricity to work after the sun goes down

    I have the technology to listen to music or an audiobook or sermon

    I have these quiet moments to meet with Jesus while my sons are in bed

    I have an opportunity to deny myself and to serve my family

A sink full of dishes can lead to complaint 

                                            or to gratitude

Thank you, God,

    for this sink full of dishes

    and this kitchen to clean

(poem written 12-3-20)

Thankful Thursday

Christ, our God, to Thee we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise...

42,496. the privilege of having a kitchen to clean up

42,497. hearing to be faithful with what's in front of me

42,498. boys becoming more and more Bible literate

42,499. delicious curry, rice, veggies

42,500. Christmas tree up in VIPKid classroom

42,501. hunger for You

42,502. Colson saying "monkey" and "cracker" and "booger"

42,503. encouraging messages from friends on Facebook

42,504. never knowing the ripples of our influence

42,505. re-reading some of Aidan's blog, where I first learned of 1000 gifts

42,506. the boys loving to play with the nativity set

42,507. impressed with Carter and Calvin's cumulative review so far

42,508. Luke 2 - already an existing song in ESV

42,509. Yoyo such a fun student!

42,510. talking with my Level 6 students like I would to any English speaker

42,511. Mia had a better day than usual

42,512. praying before classes

42,513. Lucas making a library run for me

42,514. Susan Sallee's resolve to look to You in these difficult days

42,515. a book about honor

42,516. finishing the Tree comic novel

42,517. looking up cross-references today in Luke 2

42,518. living room and dining room tidied (for now!)

42,519. Lucas rough-housing with the boys

42,520. time at the piano

Aunts and Uncles and Cousins, Oh My!

Do you have a brother? Do you have a sister?

The questions were simple enough. My three-year-old Chinese student had already answered the questions herself (although she was a little confused and said she had one sister in her family because she is a sister). To practice asking the questions, she asked me, half a world away, as I stared at her lovable face through my computer. And then I had her ask her mom, who was sitting beside her.  "Mom, do you have a brother? Do you have a sister?" Nope -- she's an only child. I interjected and asked if her husband had any siblings. He doesn't, either.

And what that means is that my sweet, smiley student doesn't have any aunts or uncles or cousins.  That's hard for me to imagine. I am blessed to have... 

• 11 aunts and uncles [Grace, Ron, Dan, Loni, Lois, Paul, Lisa, Doug, Jennifer, Dennis, Jenny] 
• 19 first cousins [David, Mark, Nathan, Sarah, Annie, Liliet, Jacquie, Alex, Daniel, Lauren, Rachel, Phil, Alex, Ben, Peter, Michelle, Beth, Steph, Chris (and let's go ahead and count Josh, Emily, Caleb, and Hannah although they are technically "first cousins once removed")]. 

Our connections, during my childhood and in the present day, vary. I spent every Sunday night of my growing-up years with my mom's side of the family at Grandma's house. These memories are filled with jell-o and Little Debbie snacks and a Schwinn exercise bike. On the other hand, I would see my dad's side of the family on the yearly road trips to Chicago or the less-frequent trips to New York. Possibly my favorite memory from these visits was the ever-popular White Elephant gift exchange (What treasures had Grace and Lois collected for us this time?). I'm grateful that both sets of grandparents were able to have more than one child and chose to give ME (years later), the gift of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  It's something I assumed everyone had.

The most I see of any of my relatives these days is via Facebook. The cousins have grown up and are all as busy with their lives as I am with mine.  So, what remains? My four grandparents are all gone, but they've left a spiritual heritage.  They were faithful to each other and faithful to God. They laid a foundation for me to one day live out my own faith in Jesus.  And now I'm doing my part so that my grandchildren have the gift of aunts (well, maybe through marriage!), uncles, and cousins. More than that, though, I pray that they, too, will walk in step with their grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents as they choose to follow Jesus themselves.      

So, aunt, uncle, cousin of mine...whatever connection we've had, whether close or distant, whether we've even had a conversation as adults, each one of you has played a part in shaping my sense of family, and therefore, me. To all of you... THANKS!

Dad and his two sisters and two brothers

Mom and her brothers and their wives

P.S. I also hit it out of the park to add 16 aunts and uncles and 20 first cousins to my family when I married Lucas.  I love you all, too!

Happy 6-month VIPKid-iversary to me!

(poem written today! 10-9-20)

6 months ago today...

5:30 in the morning...

I met my first Chinese student... 

I was incredibly nervous and spent way too much time 

    looking over the slides and 

    writing out my notes and 

    gathering props the night before.

I woke up extra early to prepare even more

    and collect myself

    and make sure everything was in working order

        Internet? Check

        Teacher Portal? Check

        Webcam? Check

        Speakers? Check

        Microphone? Check

I logged into the classroom, and the countdown began...

With ten seconds to go,

    I clicked

START CLASS

(insert happy ukulele and singing voice and nervous smile)

Hello, hello

My name is Teacher Mary

What is your name?

James (his English name, of course)

Nice and easy to pronounce

Happy, eager-to-learn kiddo

A wonderful one-on-one introduction to the beauty of China

Level 2, Unit 5, Learning Cycle 1, Lesson 1

I taught the word [friend]

    and the verb [to run]

        with the conjugations [She runs. It runs. He runs. I run.]

I taught the high frequency word [we]

    and we blended words from the /-ig/ family

        dig, mig, big, wig

I taught how to use capital letters for names

25ish minutes later...

I waved goodbye

    and said "See you next time!"

        and clicked 

FINISH CLASS

My heart was racing

but my lingering smile told the story

I. love. this!

1,175 classes

29,375 minutes

412 students

12,406 dollars 

and 188 days later...

I'm still at it

and still smiling :-)

-----

Thank You, Jesus, for ...

• the technology to teach kids on the other side of the world from my home, 
• the opportunity to contribute to our family's finances, 
• the early morning work hours so I can homeschool and be present with our boys during the day, 
• the ability to utilize my skills, background, education, and gifts,
• the cultural connection of learning about China through the eyes of its children, 
• the safety of breathing only my own air and teaching without a mask or face shield
• the fulfillment of a long-dormant desire to teach in China

Thankful Thursday - Follow Me

I'm still feeling scattered, but I'm trying to let any anxiety be a trigger to pray. I just keep going back to Jesus -- talking to Him, declaring my trust in Him, begging Him for peace of mind and heart. This morning, He spoke to me in an unexpected way. I was teaching a Level 1 VIP class, which always starts with a song. For this unit, the greeting song was "Follow me. We talk together. Follow me. We sing together. How are you today? Great!"  The "Follow Me" reminded me of when Jesus called His disciples. This thought led to a wonderful picture in my head of Jesus inviting me to come follow Him as we talk and sing together. It simplifies all the swirling thoughts in my head. 

JESUS, thank you for inviting me to come sing and talk with You. You've given me blessing upon blessing, and I'm grateful. Thank you for...

41,681. teaching Shiny, Teresa, and Tracy

41,682. listening to V audiobook together while doing a puzzle

41,683. a good, long conversation with Katie C

41,684. friends who point me back to Scripture

41,685. I have the mind of Christ

41,682. Your Spirit seals me

41,683. I can take every thought captive

41,684. Lucas was able to get a tetanus shot

41,685. handling all four boys' bedtimes

41,686. reading a Sophie Mouse book together

41,687. dishes done (the streak continues!)

41,688. I don't have any health problems

41,689. one-on-one time with Calvin

41,670. praying for others

41,671. opportunities to recycle

41,672. the smell from the crockpot

41,673. Calvin narrating on Marco Polo

41,674. little boys taking a long nap

41,675. first Thursday with morning time

41,676. teaching Cooper how to play Go Fish

41,677. offloading lots of library books (and returning them on time!)

41,678. Lucas able to get some rest

41,679. Carter doing his schoolwork without complaint

41,680. Bible time at the table together

41,681. songs, stories, game, Bible time - a good mix

41,682. wonderful to meet Sophia this morning

41,683. she played the hulusi; I played the recorder

41,684. having food on hand to make for others

41,685. old e-mails that speak to me today

41,686. big boys helping with little boys

41,687. wisdom from my uncle Paul

This tunnel on the Legacy Trail goes under Interstate 75. There's a light at the end! :-)

 

Thankful Thursday

JESUS, You are good, and You give good gifts. Thank you for these gifts in my life...

40,851. family walk in the back neighborhood

40,852. different combinations of boys playing together

40,853. early morning time alone

40,854. able to listen to Bible on phone

40,855. so many translations at my fingertips

40,856. finally picked our homeschool curriculum

40,857. math, LA - independent

40,858. Bible, history, science - family-style

40,859. frees me up to enrich and be creative

40,860. Carter doing Bible and piano without being told

40,861. Carter finished reading Action Bible

40,862. marking in his Young Readers Bible verses for his kids to memorize

40,863. making up his own Scripture song at the piano

40,864. "So I get to keep this Bible until I go to college?" :-)

40,865. brownies with peanut butter, M&M's, chocolate chips, whip cream

40,866. new trails behind the school

40,867. Marco Polo for short snippets of our day

40,868. fly swatters

40,869. later class today

40,870. less prep now for classes

40,871. less time to write feedback

40,872. confidence has grown

40,873. it has arrived

40,874. Lucas did all the dishes last night

40,875. more things cleared from freezer

40,876. headache went away

(poem written on 5-22-20)

I love You

I love this family You've given me

I love this life You're given me

My heart overflows...

    so, so many blessings!

Sitting on the back deck with my husband

Listening to the squeals and splashes of my boys playing well together

Reminiscing on a great finale and a great school year

Looking forward to a summer and homeschooling adventure

    full of possibilities

Seeing Your lead of love as I look back

Seeing Your lead of love as  I look ahead

Feeling the sunshine and the breeze

Sensing Your pleasure over me...

Thank you

Thank you

Thank you

May my life be a thank offering to You