Somewhere in my life, our family acquired an old pair of something I've labeled 'bouncing shoes.' Unfortunately, I must have disposed of them during one of our gazillion moves. Otherwise, I would take a picture of them so you could see them. They were a metal platform fitted with leather straps that buckled around the shoe of the wearer. Fastened to the metal platform were two large coil springs which rested on a bottom platform. The wearer would wear these 'shoes' and bounce as long as his strength endured. I tried them once, but I am not as lithe as I would like to be, and the fun lasted just a short time. However, I was wearing some 'bouncing shoes' yesterday; and I have worn them a few other times in my life. A letter that I received in the mail made my shoes 'bounce. ' It came from a friend that I have known and admired for several years, and who lives in the western part of the state. It was carefully hand lettered with a message for me. In part, it said, "I just wanted you to know how much I appreciate you, and your Christian walk with God...I have been hearing so much nice things that you have been doing!" What a spring it put in my heel! It made me remember a student who wrote to me last semester and said, "Mrs. Meador, thank you for understanding us." Winning the lottery wouldn't feel that good! When I graduated with my MA, a girl that I formerly worked with gave me a card that said, "Thank you for always being there for me and listening to me. You never judged me but encouraged me to follow God which I finally understand now since I follow Him." Guess you already know that is my fav card. :) I bounced for a month after that. Life calls for a lot of 'give and take~' usually more give than take. I tend to lose my perspective, and then I feel pretty down. Think I'll make an 'encouragement scrapbook' to look at when I feel worthless and stupid. Maybe I could wear those 'bouncing shoes' more often. I am sure that you have encouragements in your life that you could add to this blog post--you are welcome to comment and share them. Life is tough~we can use our own encouragements along with everyone else's. I am trying to learn to cherish everything positive in my life and let go of the negative:
Bounce, Bounce, Bounce. We drove through blowing and drifting snow today to get to the mission, and found the church yard piled high with light snow. A few minutes of shoveling gave us a decent path, and we were ready when people started arriving. Ray wasn't overly impressed with my idea of taking pictures while he shoveled, but you can see that I did it and he did it. :)
We appreciate the men who ventured out in the weather and attended this morning. After church was over, Ray and I were busy in the basement and thought we heard a noise upstairs. Upon investigation, we found a gentleman who comes to church sometimes, but didn't make it this morning. He had written a message in the snow for us with his cane. He was still there when we opened the door, and we had a nice time visiting with him. He has a good sense of humor, and he lightened our day.
We hope that you have a lovely (
bouncy) week, and may God bless you for your interest in Lower Brule.
There is mud on the floor of the church! This makes me happy-and WHY? I am not a workaholic who joys in getting some work to do. The mud tells me that there were feet that came in to the church and worshiped with us. There is dust on some of the seats. This makes me unhappy because it says that not all the seats have had anyone sit in them for awhile. Mud: Good; Dust: Bad. It seems a little backwards, because I will have to heat the water and fill a bucket downstairs, haul the bucket and the mop upstairs to clean up the mud; where I will just grab a dust rag and spray to clean the seats. 
I was analyzing my feelings and thoughts this afternoon while Ray was taking the children home and I was surveying the mess that the children left behind them. I had a happy and satisfied feeling when I looked at the mess on the tables, the benches, the floors, and the seats, and I wondered what was going wrong with me. My memory was already reliving the little ones who cuddled up for a hug and a little time of closeness, the bigger boy who made two crafts and offered them to me with such a sweet smile, the excitement of the children when they sang, the older girl who wanted to stay close and help with the pictures during the story, and even the liveliness of the little ones who cannot sit still. I remembered the four children who walked to church in the extreme cold today and came early to work on a project that I had for them and to talk. Sunday School leaves an aura of happiness around me. I got out the broom and dustpan and the trash can, and my hands and mind got to work. Oops! A little girls left her little socks, another little one her scarf, and someone left a toy. Reminds me of them again. 
I am aware of a happy feeling whenever I remember that I will be going in to the college again tomorrow morning and meeting the friends that I met and worked with last semester. Some of my EN 101 class will return for EN 102. It will be good to see them again. So many happy things in life!
Thank you for your interest in Lower Brule. This time of the year can become challenging, as the drive to and from Lower Brule can be treacherous, it is exceedingly cold to go out and pick up children, and it is necessary to keep a path shoveled to the church and to keep the church warm. Since I will be teaching classes on Mondays, we will mostly be staying out here on Sundays and Mondays, also. This presents its own challenges, but they are small compared to the returns. Please pray for the work here. 
Due to the wind and snow, we have not gone to pick up the children for Sunday School for two weeks. Today was finally conducive to bringing them in. Enough time had elapsed, though, that many of the children were out of the habit of coming to Sunday School, and they were gone with their families. A few children came, and they were so happy to be out of the house and coming again. We had a quiet time and spent some time in personal conversation. After the singing and the Bible story in which they helped me tell by putting up the pictures, they worked on crafts. 
We start the college classes again next week on Monday, and I am looking forward to the classes. LBCC thoughtfully arranged my two classes so I can teach them earlier in the day and go home before dark. It was very kind of them. I will be teaching one English class from 9 AM to 12 Noon, and the next class from 12:15 until 3:15 PM. It will be a little intense, but it will be so much easier than last semester's schedule. 
Thank you for your interest in Lower Brule Wesley Chapel. May God bless you!
