Birthday for a Princess

Princess turned 11 today and I'm so grateful to have been invited to spend her birthday with her. She even told me she wished I had been around for her birthday last year, aww! She is so sweet and tender-hearted. we were able to finally go for a bike ride together, I tagged along to paint pottery (Juli's gift to her) and then we all went to dinner. I pray that this young lady continues to grow in Christ's love and learns to see His glory that He may be glorified through her life! What a fun day :)

no, I didn't drown

I've been wearing my swim cap the wrong way, all this time! Embarrassing.  haha

I started a Tri Swim class this morning at the Y.  I am somewhat confident with biking and running but my stomach sure was churning this morning!  The Lord was my comforter and gave me an instructor who isn't afraid to give me pointers (which I need A LOT of) and a couple older men in the class who were also unsure of all the swim drills lingo... if I am confused, I prefer others to be confused as well, it comforts me.  Gee Marissa, aren't you selfish?!  So anyways, we did drills for an hour.  Swam laps normal stroke, laps with just one arm and then switch (wow, I am super uncoordinated), and laps with just our arms, no legs.  It was challenging, but incredibly rewarding, even just knowing I CAN actually swim for an hour.

terrible-two's (serving)

I've recently taken over the role of "Two's Coordinator" at our church.  Basically that just means that I am in charge of organizing lesson plans and preparing lessons and crafts for other teachers on weeks when I am not teaching.  I am also expected to keep parents updated and informed of what is going on in our classroom as well as playing the role of 'team leader' by encouraging my team of teachers and helpers.  For someone who is much more comfortable as a follower...this leadership role has shown some signs of being overwhelming but after a few deep breaths and a swift kick in the be-hind every once in a while, I'm pretty sure I can do this.  I really do love serving in the church.  I mean, isn't that what the church is?  A group of people given a new purpose and identity as parts of a larger body to serve one another in love and to be served by one another?  So when I regain that perspective, I really am thankful for my role.  I certainly do love the two-year-old stage.  Sure, they have their struggles with potty training, sharing, dealing with frustration, mischievous looks of knowing disobedience... but they also are learning SO much about the world around them.  I love how they want to just sit and read story after story, how they love telling you their shapes, colors, and animal noises and want to show off their cool, new Pumas.  They are so special and I'm praying that the Lord really guides me and the other teachers in how to communicate with them this year.  I'm trying to re-work the lesson plans a little bit also and add in some form of memorization because I think they can totally do it.  I really just want to make this year (and following years) as advantageous as possible and to know that I am doing whatever I can to bring these children to a love for the One who chose to give up His life to save their little terrible-two's precious two-year-old selves :)  Praise the Lord for what He'll do in their lives.

wow - I really need a lot of work, haha!

Last night at Life Group (Bible study/small group) someone was telling a story that had happened to their father in his childhood, and it really resonated with me as an interesting way of thinking/reacting.  The story goes that this young man's father was approximately middle school age and while hanging out with some of his friends, his teacher (an older woman who was a really close friend of his family's) overheard him saying the f-word.  Rather than punishing him or telling him what an awful person he was for using that language, she pulled him aside and lovingly and respectfully reminded him of how special he was and inconsistent it seemed for him to be using such a vulgar word.  

I really appreciated that story because I know for me, I often times will view a situation and react through a lens of judgement and condemnation.  How will I react to my children demeaning one another or somebody else?  Will I immediately just say, "no" and send them to their rooms OR will I take the time to be sure they understand how important and special they are and teach why we value others?  I realize that this is sort of a heart issue on my part and I pray that getting to know my Lord better and seeing others the way that He sees and values them, this will be more of a consistent practice and mindset for me. 

4S

So I have had the highly revered iPhone 4S in my ownership for just over two days now and I have to admit it... I am not a fan. At first I was thinking it was just because I needed to get used to a new OS but to me, the bad is still out weighing the good.  I just found another issue that might push me over the edge and back to a Droid.  I am trying to take a simple photo of my old cell phone in order to put it up for sale and the camera will not focus.  I've tried holding the 4S camera far away and then zooming and it still won't focus.  I have taken awesome portrait type photos and am very impressed with those but it seems that anything within a foot distance is not going to turn out clear.  I am usually really cheap, but I am actually considering returning it and paying that  restocking fee.


UPDATE: Yup, it's been exchanged for a Droid.  Sorry for disappointing you, Jen!  I tried.  I did like the look on the faces of the people at Verizon though when I told them what I wanted to do.

His Mercy is New

Last year has changed (hopefully forever) my thinking on the whole "New Year's Resolution" deal.

So with all this talk about resolutions and me deciding not to make one because I know I won't stick with it... I was inspired just to give something a try.  I'm writing here, a couple things that I want to do by the end of the year.  I plan to update my progress on them each month because that seems way more attainable and practical. 




Do a Triathlon
Where I'm at now:  Going to the gym 2-3 days a week, mostly biking.


Become involved in volunteering with children in the community somehow
Where I'm at now:  Trying to determine which organizations to contact first.

                                              -Post from January 4, 2011

In the past, I've found that I always go into resolution-making with a mindset of failure.  It's so easy to do.  Last year was different.  I am still amazed at how God highlighted those two specific things on my list of possible resolutions.  I probably could have listed a hundred different things that I wanted to change about myself and life but I think that's where I was going wrong before.  He knows how much I can handle and once I decided on these two 'resolutions', He gave me the grace to complete it.  I wish I could write a book and have everyone follow it and be as happy as I am about the resolutions I made and was able to keep, but I don't think I will be able to do that.  I don't know how I did it, it was perfect because I believe He prepared these for me and me for them.  I learned so much through this about seeking desires that align with His will, searching my heart for what He's really laying there for me.

I can now say that because of His grace, not only has He fulfilled these two desires, I also trust Him more than I ever have.  I am sometimes even in awe of how much I trust Him.  The biggest area for me is in relationships.  God knows that one of my deepest desires is to be married and have a family to take care of.  Why has He not given it to me yet?  I am really not sure.  I'm almost 28 and sometimes wonder if that will ever happen but I think that the only reason I worry about it is because it's so different from my own plan.  When I quit comparing my plan with His, His is good!  I think I am finally learning the valuable lesson of looking at my plans through the scope of HIS plan rather than the other way around.  I'm so glad He gave me those two resolutions because now I can only boast in His grace and His faithfulness over this past year. Things that could have really upset me, didn't... because of His grace and faithfulness.  It was an awesome year and I'm so grateful for it.  I'm still praying through my resolutions for this next year but hopefully I'll be able to post them soon!

http://candacemercyisnew.blogspot.com/ - a blog I've stumbled across and am going to need to keep around because so far is looks amazing.