a few pictures that make me smile :)

Here are a few pictures I was recently sent of one of my favorite little people!! Don't be jealous. ;) Enjoy!







Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

Oh, to be interrupted!

I was catching up on some blogs that I haven't read in a while, and found a great nugget of wisdom... Just thought I'd share before going to bed!

(from Douglas Wilson's Her Hand in Marriage)

But boys must be trained to take risks, which means being confident in the midst of the unknown. As they do this on an immature level, fathers should work with them, and teach them, without destroying this masculine impetus.

Courtship reveals how necessary this masculinity is. Many modern young men approach a girl, and they are quite serious as far as their intentions go, but they are afraid of interfering with her life. "You know, she is going to graduate soon, but she wants to go to school at Notre Dame, and I don't really want to go to Notre Dame, and showing interest in her would really disrupt all her plans." But the whole point of courtship is to disrupt a young lady's plans. A godly young woman is not going to stand around waiting for marriage. Rather, she will be preparing herself for marriage. This means she will be heading in some particular direction, and not just marking time. A young man should not be afraid of disrupting, because marriage is by its very nature a disruption of her previous way of life.

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81

All the little connections...

Wow - Isn't it cool when things just seem to "come together." I know I haven't updated in a while, and I know I should have! Sorry! But God has been awesome to me lately. He's truly transforming my heart. As sad as it is to say, He is changing my love for South Africa and my desire to do ministry there. Don't get me wrong, I love South Africa, and should He place me back there I will shout for joy!! But, my heart is aching to get back to Durham. My church is there... my friends are there (well, a lot of them anyway!), and I feel such a pull to be there. There is so much need for ministry in Durham. I am hoping to get a Pre-K teaching position in Durham Public Schools next year. Being a teacher anywhere is a ministry in and of itself! There aren't as many Pre-K jobs in the public schools as there are other grades, but I am trusting God that just one of them will leave so I can have her job! hehe I hope that's not mean. Actually though, just last night I was talking to our worship pastor's fiance. She just happens to be working with the Durham Pre-Ks, doing testing with the incoming kids (or something of the sorts). And she informed me that she was just working with one of the teachers who is planning on transfering to a higher grade next year!! This school is in a neighborhood that I'd love to be in. As a friend of mine put it at church today, it's a "Joburg" neighborhood! ha! (Don't take offense if you're from Joburg.) So I was telling two lady friends of mine about this job opening, and one of the ladies says that I should talk to Sheryle Metcalf. Now, I've heard her name planty of times and have seen it on the Durham Public Schools' website. She's the one who is in charge of the Pre-Ks in Durham. The next thing out of my friend's mouth was, "you should've come and sat with us today. She was sitting right by us!" What the heck?! She goes to the same church as me, and I didn't even know it. Crazy crazy crazy... I don't know if having all these little connections will help me get a job. I mean, I do still have to be a good teacher!! But I tell you what... all these little things all work together in the hands of a BIG God, and He is confirming more and more everyday that Durham is where He wants me to be in service to Him. I finally feel like a missionary again. I know I am called to a certain place. It may not be overseas, but in a sense, it's a very different culture. I'm excited, and I'm ready to go.

"Here am I, Lord. Send me!"

Link to pictures:
http://community.webshots.com/user/bonnieb81