Shilah Writes

Our vacation has been truly magical.  I could not have picked a better one.  It started with going to Spokane and watching a performance of The Handel's Messiah. It was the first time the kids saw one.  That it took place in an old, beautiful church while sitting in the balcony, with an old choir book, following the words and music, made it even more memorable. The event set the tone for finishing up school and preparing for vacation and company. The final week of school went smoothly and the kids did very well indeed with their Christmas program.  I was given so many beautiful gifts, that I felt guilty and a little bit fat.  Chocolate will do that you know. On Saturday, we did a final cleaning at the school and then headed to our closest ski lodge as a family.      We took the mail jeep because of various reasons.  When all the boards, skis, and helmets were packed into the back, I turned around to see this.  I felt like a to...

     It came to me as I was preparing for school yesterday; these questions my teenagers and students pose to me are like flashcards.  Here's an example: Flashcard # 1 Situation:  Three inches of fresh snow on the ground...cold...winter... Teenage daughter in shortish dress, bare legs, and feet in slip-on pink Sketchers... "Do, I really have to wear my boots to the car?  I mean, I'm just gonna be in the car and school...I won't actually be in the snow, barely at all."      Five minutes later, older brother asks... Flashcard # 2 Remember the situation from above? All this beautiful snow makes for bad roads.  Older brother has a driving permit...although he is going to take his driving test today...Lord, help me, for I think he will pass...Anyhow, he asks...  "Can I please drive this morning, Mom?  I haven't got to practice on snow yet...?" And then, at school after the pink slippered feet had donned boots, and ...

  Everlasting Father...   Please be with my friend tonight   As she travels in the dark.   I pray for her safety on the road   And in the sky.   I ask that the transfer of exchange/ foster child goes smoothly.   I ask boldly...   That accommodations are made   So they can get rest and...   Return safely to their family.   I pray my friend's heart   Will be comforted   If things do not go smoothly;   That she will still know   You are in this miracle and...   You ARE her Everlasting Father...   Wonderful Counselor,   Give wisdom to the parents of the wayward daughter...   Help them to rely on YOUR council   More heavily than anyone else's.   I thank You that You give directions just in time.   Help us to all rely more heavily on YOU...   Than on anything or anybody.  Prince of Peace...for the family who has...

It's late but I just popped a huckleberry, coffee cake into the oven along with a fresh pan of chocolate chip cookies.  I am doing this for my hubby and kiddoes.  They have been craving their favorite cookies for over a week.  What with all the busy of teaching, I don't get time to do baking... poor dear ones... I apologize. SO... what got me going was the aroma of the oven when I opened the door to check on things...  Suddenly, I was transported back to a time I can barely remember... A time of magic and of Christmas and surprises... My mom made Christmas magic at our house.  She was the one to encourage the gathering of pine and the arranging of the top of the old, upright piano.  A few tapered candles somehow found room to finish off the arrangement, and it seems like we may have strung popcorn over it some years.   We weren't supposed to have a real Christmas tree, but this was a close second and I think it was just as magical and beautiful, es...

When every spare minute counts, you have to sort out what is truly important enough to talk or write about... Every week has miracles in it.  They are personal and boring to you, yet to me they are from God.  That's why there is no glory or shame for me in sharing them... Miracles last week:  The quiet fifteen minutes every morning on the couch with my Bible and cup of coffee.  It was God who woke me up and convicted me to try harder. { I am enjoying the book of Acts.  Getting to know Peter at the beginning of his ministry helps link his epistle to my mind.} More miracles:  That school is becoming more ritualistic and easier in the everyday parts at least.  That I ask God for help and He gives it. Abundantly. That God keeps working on me to become more gentle, loving, and kind when my natural self would like to be blunt and brutal, sometimes careless.  That He can change me even at one month shy of 40 years old.  That He loves me enou...

     Maybe this is a new concept for some of you.  Maybe you have the talent of reading new information that automatically burrows into your brain waves and sticks, till the end of time.   However, I do not.  Sometimes, this feels more like a curse than the blessing I am sure it should be, largely due to the fact that I do not learn easily and certainly not fast.      Honestly, there are some great guide books out there that really help.  The two greatest that I cannot live without are the Bible and the Webster's Dictionary.       I was getting a little frustrated with my 5th and 6th graders the other day for their lack of zeal in using the dictionary.  It is so much easier to ask Mrs. Hartman what a word means.  Mrs. Hartman very bluntly reminds them of this method of learning and thankfully, they have the wherewithal to properly look sheepish.       And then Mrs. Hartman was smitten with shame...

    Isn't it nice when things go humming along at an even pace?  We like to be able to at least sorta predict our day.  Right?  I have scoffed at "planner planners", and then realize how discombobulated I feel when my plans go awry. So, while I don't like to be so detailed in my planning; I realize the comfort and stability I feel having a 'somewhat' schedule. We awoke to a skiff of snow.  No problem, we live in Idaho... These things happen in winter.  It does slow us down a bit though and we arrive at school with five minutes to spare before the teachers meet for prayer.  I thought, great! still time to make copies of this new Christmas song.  That accomplished, I arrived in the teachers room almost on time.  We sat down to pray.  Then, the lights went out.  They flickered back on and then died.  Three times. And then of course, no more back on. The timing of it was not so fun to the moms that had dropped their kids a...