Wow

Can I just say God is amazing? I have been thinking a lot lately about His plan. In the past I have thought about it but never really kept my thoughts there. And now that I have been, let me just say I am falling even more in love with our Creator! I always knew He had a plan for me and for others, but the more I think of it, the more it amazes me. He weaves all of our lives and His plans for each and every one of us into a perfect picture. There are no glitches. He doesn't give me a great plan and then have no way to have a great plan for someone else. And our lives, our plans interweave perfectly. Sometimes it's easy to look at someone else's life and God's plan for them and be jealous or angry and think that God forgot about you, but He totally never did. Your plan still is perfect. His plan for me, despite my imperfections and my weaknesses, is perfect. I am so excited to see how His plan unfolds in my life. Sometimes the road is hard and steeped with sorrow, but God is still there and He is still good. And His timing is never wrong. Sometimes I am tempted to think "Why didn't this happen earlier?" or "Can't it just wait a little while?" But no. That's not His plan for me. That's not what He has in store. Wow. I am swept off my feet by our amazing and faithful God. May I fall more in love with Him each and every day! May I rejoice in His plan for me even when the road is steep and my eyes are filled with tears. He is amazing!

Pictures, please!

It's been forever and a day since I posted pictures. Sorry! And I just realized that my mom was here for a week and we NEVER took a picture together! Uggh! I guess she is going to have to come back :).

At one of their birthday parties. Cute girls!

LOVE her! And she is not even the model, but looks like one here!

This big smile is on her face most of the time--love it!

Spelling bee! My little one is on the left--first place out of first and second grades! I wish I had a video. She was so cute!

Okay, this one needs an explanation. We were on a horse ride at Family Day at school and were acting scared. Yes, Amanda and I are ridiculous. We know :)

This is at one of my girl's birthday parties. You can't really tell, but she lives overlooking the city. It might be one of the most beautiful parts of Santiago!
February 27th was Dominican Independence Day. The kids worked with the Spanish teachers to put on an awesome program! Here are most of my little Native Dominicans :)
My roommate's mom and dad came. She is a kinder teacher, so she came and read to us.
Love this! How many dodgeball balls can YOU carry at once?
Lately when they need to work on an answer as a team, some of the teams do this. So cute :)

Well, there's a little glimpse into my life in the past couple months. I will post some from the beach after I upload them. May you all experience His peace today!

Pleasing men

So a verse has been stuck in my head lately, and I need to get it stuck in my heart too. Man, do I ever need to! Those who know me know I really deal a lot with people pleasing. A lot a lot. A verse that has come up often in the past two years is Galatians 1:10.

Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Unfortunately, many times I still live in the "win the approval of men" thing. More often that I can count actually. But this verse hits me on the head. I need to win the approval of God if I call myself a servant of Christ! It's hard and the road is long, but we serve a good God who walks with me on every step of the journey. God, focus my heart on you!