An old farmer listed his property for sale with a real estate agent, who wrote up an advertisement. When he read it to the farmer for his approval, the farmer was thoughtful for a long moment, then said, "I don't believe I want to sell it after all. That's the kind of place I've been looking for all my life, and I didn't realize I already had it until you just described it to me."
Isn't this like most of us? Not satisfied with what we possess because we simply have taken it for granted! Look around you, dear friend. Look at your family, your house, your congregation...your blessings!
Wayne brought this clipping home, and I thought it was perfect for describing why I named this blog "Count Your Blessings." My daddy always said those three words to me and my sister and brother whenever we started complaining about what we didn't have or what we thought we "really needed."
Sometimes when I get bogged down with all the things I'm so busy with - being a wife, taking care of the kids, teaching school and Bible class, etc., I forget to count my many, many blessings. I hope keeping a better record of what's happening in my life will help me to do this better.
Last year when these children were in kindergarten, we received new standards to go by. One of the standards stated that the children should be able to research a topic and give a report on it. I'll post those report pictures later, but the standards continue with all grade levels, so this year, we've already done one research report. The children chose a job that they would like to have or a job that one of their parents does. They were able to invite someone to come and help them with their reports or use "visual aids" to help them. We heard about coaches, vets, activities organizers, scientists, principals, state troopers, teachers, doctors, carpenters, policemen, and soldiers. During our study of community helpers, we also talked about fire safety, so we enjoyed a visit from the fire department. I really appreciated all the parents who came and helped us learn about jobs (Mr. Charles, Mr. John, Mr. Troy, Mr. Kevin, Mrs. Becky, Dr. Brian, and Mr. Tim.) Other parents helped their children make powerpoint presentations, video shows, and posters. We also got to see lots of neat visuals - Eli showed us how vets give pets shots; Tyler showed us the different tools that carpenters use and what they use them for, John Nic helped do a scientific experiment for us to see and he also showed us the safety equipment that scientists use. Everyone did an outstanding job, and I was very proud of my students once again.
