I know, I know, I need to get better at this whole blogging thing.

This week, I am nannying for two wonderful pre-teens.  My first day with them was full of things like playing at a park, playing board games, and watching a movie.  One of the games we played is something I saw on Pinterest.  Basically, I found a Jenga set (set? game?) at a garage sale and wrote get-to-know-you questions on the pieces.  They range all over the place, but one of the more serious questions was "What is one good thing happening in your life right now?"
Here are a few.

1.  I get to hang out with stellar kids all the time.
2.  I'm getting ever closer to being in France.  Only 34% more to raise of my monthly support!
3.  My friends and family are incredibly encouraging every day.
4.  A friend of mine gave me two free Cubs tickets that he got from work, which means I FINALLY get to go to a game at Wrigley!
5.  (the most important) God is always good.

Have a wonderful day, my friends.

Also, if anyone has a copy of One Thousand Gifts that I could borrow, I'd appreciate it!

Some people I love dearly (you know, my sister and brother-in-law) are in the adoption process.  My sister has always felt called to adopt internationally, and they are trying to adopt from the country of Ghana- from which I even have an elephant hair bracelet!  They are two of the best people I have ever known and will make some of the greatest parents ever to be seen.  For those who don't know, adoption is a very long and rather expensive process, but it is an incredible blessing as well.  Our country has what it called an Adoption Tax Credit, which has helped people adopt since 1997.  However, should Congress not act, it will expire this December, making it even more difficult to bring children into loving and caring homes through adoption.  There are kids all over the world who are in desperate need and deserve to have loving families.  We may not all be called to adoption, but we can help those who are.  This is from an e-mail my sister received last week.  Please act on it, and care for these kids who may be without families and may not know our great Father in Heaven.

Dear Supporter of Adoption,
If Congress does not act, the Adoption Tax Credit, as we now know it, will expire on December 31, 2012.
If the adoption tax credit helped you or someone you know to adopt a child or if it could help you in the future to adopt a child, PLEASE CALL YOUR U.S. CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVE TODAY and urge that he or she cosponsor the bipartisan bill H.R. 4373, the Making Adoption Affordable Act.
Action:
You can reach your Representative by calling the U.S. Capitol Operator at 202.225.3121 and asking for your Representative’s office. If you don’t know your Representative’s name, go to www.house.gov/representatives/find and enter your zip code in the box provided.
Message:

• I am a constituent in your district and the Adoption Tax Credit is important to me. (It matters to me because…)

• I urge the Representative to become a co-sponsor of H.R. 4373, The Making Adoption Affordable Act.

• If Congress does not act, the credit as we now know it, will expire in December 2012.

• H.R. 4373 is bipartisan and it supports all types of adoptions (domestic private, foster care, and international).

• This tax credit has made adoption a more viable option for many parents who might not otherwise have been able to afford adoption, allowing them to provide children with loving, permanent families.

• Thank you for your support of H.R. 4373.

To learn more about the adoption tax credit go to adoptiontaxcredit.org.
You can also, “like” the Save the Adoption Tax Credit mission on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/AdoptionTaxCredit.

Every week, there is a French Market in my town.  I've always loved going down in the mornings, even if it's just to look around.  It is full of fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, handmade jewelery and clothes, cooking oils, juices, flowers, and all kinds of other lovely things.  This morning, I stopped at one of my favorite stands to pick up a loaf of banana bread.  This stand is always full of beautiful bread and French pastries made by nuns.  Some that I have met are French, which offers the lovely opportunity of using my French.  When I was in France last, it was always nice to hear my native language, and the nuns have said something similar to me in the past.  I can't wait to speak French all the time again!

Last week was spent up at Covenant Point Bible Camp, volunteering for the first week of camp.  The week was full of everything I love: Jesus, trees, kids, crafts, cooking, studying the Bible, playing, laughing, and friends.  Seriously, how could you not be happy when you get to see this in the morning?

I got to hang out with the Wilderness Week, which was planned by my dear friends who are serving as Trips Directors this summer.  This program is similar to the Mainland, except activities are much more nature-based.  Some kids got to look for aquatic life- they LOVED catching salamanders!- while others did a Nature craft or learned Orienteering.  We took a canoe trip to another beach, played in the nearby bog, and even chased a few ducks.  Look how happy this kid was when he found a cocoon!

Such a wonderful week.  If your kids need something wonderful to do this summer, send them to camp!

Cards for sale!  Cards are $10.

Birthday card

For You

Laugh

Blue squiggle

Thinking of you...(written inside)

Baby feet

Spirals

Springtime

The littlest birds

Teal raindrops

Time for cake

It's a girl

Hello

Yellow flowers

Peach with lines

Orange and plaid

Camp hi

Camp hey

Brown birds

Hot air balloon

Silver lining

Blue flower

Geometric flower

Geometric pinwheel

Joy

I've been thinking a lot lately about walking.  Walking has been a basic component of life since the beginning of time.  In Genesis 3:8, Adam and Eve heard God walking in the Garden of Eden, and at the end of a person's life, if they had lived a life pleasing to God, they are said to have "walked with the LORD."

There is so much excitement when a baby takes its first steps, and when there that kid gets to walk alone for the first time.  My friend Johanna and I always love going on walks when we get together.  It just offers the time to talk, observe God's creation, but still keep moving just as we were meant to do. You can always tell the intensity of our conversations by how fast we walk.  When we're contemplative and just working through our thoughts, we walk slowly; but when we are frustrated or worked up, we're moving more like the Flash.  Walking is a great thing.

I've been reading some of the Pauline letters in the past few weeks, and throughout Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians, people are told to "walk with one another".  My favorite instance is in Ephesians 5: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  This passage means a lot to me because of a class I took last year.  We read this passage while in Ephesus, and one of my professors said "This is what we have been doing throughout this journey."  We were nearing the end of a trip to study John and Paul on-site in Greece and Turkey, and each day was full of walking, climbing, talking, and listening.  We were walking in brotherly love with one another, just as Paul had instructed other believers to do hundreds of years ago.

Walking is important, both literally and metaphorically.  Walk with others, physically taking steps with each other and with your hearts.

Last night was an amazing blessing.  My dear friends, Gary and Kathy, hosted a Vision Night where I had the opportunity to share more in detail about what I'll be doing in France.  It was so good to see the people that came and hear what God has been doing in their lives as well as share how God has led me to France.

I had been making cards, recipe books, and headbands like crazy to sell at the Vision Night, and there are plenty more if anyone is in need of a gift!

I really can't believe how much God has been blessing me in this time of waiting.  There has been time to spend with family, deepen relationships with friends, and transition into the daily tasks of a college graduate.  It has been incredible.