Last Saturday, the men of our church hosted a "Daughter's Dinner"- honoring all women of the church. They invited a special speaker- who shared the following song with us.

I'm in His Hands

I shall not fear though darkened clouds may gather 'round me
The God I serve is one who cares and understands
Although the storms I face would threaten to confound me,
of this I am assured, I'm in His hands.

I'm in His hands
What'eer the future holds
I'm in His hands
The days I cannot see have all been planned for me
His way is best, you see
I'm in His hands.

What though I cannot know the way that lies before me?
I still can trust and freely follow his commands
My faith is firm since it is He that watches o'er me
Of this I'm confident, I'm in His hands

In days gone by my Lord has always proved sufficient
When I have yielded to the law of love's demands
Why should I doubt that He would ever more be present
to make His will my own! I'm in His hands

I love the line- "my Lord has always proved sufficient" and "to make His will my own".
That is my prayer- that my desires would be replaced by those that are HIS. That His plans would be the plans of my heart instead of attempting to settle for the plans I have for myself.

It has been a busy few days- but I'm excited to see God actively at work. In the simple things (driving home today- I was in awe of the sunshine!) In His perfect timing (the van situation especially). In His confirmation (areas where I've had doubt- and to see that those decisions were right all along). In the peace He provides.

One of my students lost his father yesterday. The mother and I spoke soon after and I knew most of the day yesterday (before the student). It was hard to know and not be able to offer him comfort, when I knew in a few short hours (once he heard the news), his life was never going to be the same. He came to school today. He sought me out a number of times and we just sat together. He shared memories of his dad and what the last few days have been like. In those moments, I felt so utterly helpless. Nothing I can offer will ease his pain, change his circumstances or bring his daddy back. I pray that I am able to offer him comfort and a safe place where he can vent and express what is on his heart- and most importantly, I pray that I can offer him the love of the one who longs to be his Heavenly Daddy- the only one who can fill the void in his heart.

Always-
Elisabeth

When it rains, it pours.

Exhaustion.

I don't think I've ever felt it before- truly.... until now.

Coming home from NOLA and jumping head first back into work/ministry was challenging.

Then, last weekend happened. Two Stafford students were injured in an early morning accident. For one, the injuries were fatal. For the other, one of our high school students, the injuries will be forever life-altering. This past week at work has been hard as we wrestle with the questions and uncertainties. It has, however, thrown open the doors to share the love of Jesus with our students. We've had many opportunities to listen to them, comfort them, encourage and challenge them. Even in our times of sorrow and despair, God is working mightly. Tensions are high at school as we head into a series of evaluations over the next few days. There are six weeks left to school- and I think there will be a collective sigh of relief when we head for summer break.

But then, you have last night. Katie and I went to see the spring musical. A number of students that I work with were involved. It was so fun to see them stepping out of their comfort zones. Afterwards, one of my boys and his mom came over to see me. It's those little moments that you realize you are making a difference- one life at a time. I was so proud of him- he stole the show!

Today has been a good day as I try to catch up- on rest and work. I am thankful for days like this when the phone doesn't ring, it's quiet and I can move at my own pace. I finished my support letter for Germany today- and it gets me excited! Meeting my teammates last week was great- in the 10 days of camp, they truly get to know the young people and build strong relationships. I can't wait to see what God is going to there!

My heart has been heavy lately- I know being tired and overwhelmed play into it. But, in many ways, it goes deeper than that. There is dissapointment by the lack of urgency I see around me for things of God and for accomplishing His work. My heart desires to do so much more- but the constraints of life prevent it. I continue to bring these things before the Lord- pray for HIS perspective on them and that my desires would be the ones He has for me and not my own.

Psalm 91:1
"Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty."
I love this verse. We need to dwell- to live 100% of the time in the Most High. We will find rest/comfort in His shadow. How big is He? That the cool covering of His mere shadow is sufficent to bring rest, to bring peace.

May you find rest today in the Almighty.
Always~
Elisabeth

I've been running full tilt since before NOLA and now after coming home, there hasn't been a free minute. I MUST finish unpacking today and making some sort of order to my clothes! Thankfully, the delay of being locked out of my house when I got home last Saturday (the fam assumed I had a house key...silly silly), so the laundry was unpacked directly into the Laundromat. What a blessing!

Things never seem to settle on the work front. Every spring, I have to meet with each student's parents to devise their educational program for the coming school year. I've waded through most of my meetings with only 2 left to go! It will be good to get the paperwork settled so that I can put attention to planning for next year and getting organized. I have never felt like I've had this year under my belt. There are some new things I'd like to try as far as organization and data collecting for the fall- so I'm excited to get that set before the summer. There will be NO time to think about school over the summer!

Summer plans-

We have a number of events scheduled for the teens over the summer. I'm excited about our new format for ministry that we'll start hopefully in May. Once a week, the teens will be in their various "ministry teams" and begin to build a repertoire of presentations that can be used in a variety of settings. We want to focus them on service and not competition (TI). We've been asked to do a few different outreaches with other churches- which is really awesome! So the timing is perfect. Right now, we have a youth choir, puppet teams, drama teams and hopefully a quiz team. It is exciting to see them getting involved and learning. Pray that more teens will step forward and that many will look for individual ways to serve (story telling, solos, instrumental etc..). We are also looking to plan a week long work week for the teens in August. We will work on the youth building- hopefully painting/decorating as well as projects at the church. I have to work on this and get it organized but it is all to "prep" them for a possible missions trip next summer- perhaps overseas or back to NOLA!

My personal summer plans-

I hope to be in Haiti for a week- depending on the safety issues there. We need $25,000 to pour the ceiling. This is a job that has to be done in one shot- so we really can't move forward until that money comes in.

Another plan is to head to VA for a bit to see Alicia and Matt. Not sure if I'll drive or fly- but I have to go!

Then, July 26-Aug 11th, I will be going to Germany to teach at a youth camp. I'll teach English to christian teens. Tomorrow is our first team meeting and I'm looking forward to meeting everyone. The curriculum is intense and requires ALOT of planning on my part- pray I can do this. At first I thought, "no problem" but then things started to get emailed to me with more details and I got overwhelmed. I know God works through our weakness- and this will be good for me! I can't wait to see all that I learn in the process and what I am able to transfer to our youth and ministry here in general.

Otherwise- I plan to relax, get caught up, read, take some drives, walk, visit the ocean more, spend some time with my family, finish a few projects....

And I think I will listen to

Discovered her in NOLA, while working, and I really liked her style. This may be my Summer album.

In my quiet time two weeks ago, I came across these verses-

Proverbs 23:17-19

"Do not long for what sinners have. But always show great respect for the Lord. There really is hope for you tomorrow. So your hope will not be cut off. My child, listen and be wise. Keep your heart on the right path."

A friend reminded me a few months ago about the amazing opportunities I have. It is truly a blessing when I consider the travel I've been able to do- and the opportunities coming in the near future. And then, I consider the ministry situations I find myself in and I am overcome. And yet, there are still the quiet moments where I feel hopeless. The public life is amazing, but my heart longs for fulfillment in other areas- and these verses reminded me that there is HOPE- my responsibility is to honor the Lord and listen, be wise and keep my heart on HIS path.

I needed this reminder today.

SAVE NOLA

Looking back- I'm not sure where the last month has gone- but it has been very busy!

The week before April Vacation was a blur and exhausting as there was so much to accomplish. I headed out Sunday the 13th for New Orleans with a small team of students from my high school to work for a week on homes destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. We worked with St. Bernard Project (check them out!). They were amazing and are doing great things! St. Bernard Parish, where we worked, is a wonderful community. All homes and businesses were destroyed in the storm and many people have not yet returned. Homes and businesses are abandoned, jobs are scarce but the hope and tenacity of these people remain. They are actively seeking to start over- return to normalacy and are helping one another get on their feet. We were amazed by their appreciation and positive attitudes and sweet spirits. Each person we met shared their story- and it was exciting to get so many different perspectives.

The destruction was horrible and there is still so much to do. Thousands of homes are being prepared to be demolished- many more houses are in various stages of repair and thousands of people need the resources to make that happen. It was a joy to work with St. Bernard Project who is tangibly helping one family at a time get back into their homes. So many feel like they have been abandandoned and forgotten by the greater community. And in many ways, they have. We don't hear the news reports, life has gone on for us- but these people mark time as to if something happened before/after Katrina. They've not only lost loved ones, their homes and possessions- but their culture has changed, their communities have been disrupted and the effects this will have in years to come is still unknown. Environmentally, the challenges are great as well. They asked that we not forget them.

Look to see what you can do to make a difference! We can all and must do something!