Afternoons at Mirror Lake Elementary School

My son-in-law is the best 4th grade teacher I know! Because I'm recently retired and generally have too much time on my hands, I volunteer in Dusty's fourth grade classroom at Mirror Lake Elementary School.

The kids of Room 122 have been doing science experiments the last couple of times I've been in class. Can you imagine 23 students exploring the scientific properties of water? The kids are hilarious, but I think they are really learning about surface tension, absorption rates and other valuable pieces of earth science knowledge.

Dusty is a very skilled communicator who has the obvious respect of his students. The kids are quite the communicators also. (That's my way of saying that they sure talk a lot!) Although many of the students speak English as their second language, they all have MANY things to tell me when I show up in their class. Unfortunately, none of what they want to say has anything to do with what they have learned in class. Many of these students are behind grade level in reading and math, and seem to be falling farther behind each week. I wish there was more that I could do for these boys and girls....

Ladies who love the Psalms

For those of you who don't already know, I lead a Women's Bible Study group at my church on Wednesday evenings. This year we are studying the Books of Psalms. Yup... all 150 of them... From Psalm 1 all of the way to Psalm 150. What a challenge!

What a treasure of wisdom God has instilled in these women. They come in all shapes, sizes and ages. We have women born in the 1920s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Though all different, the one thing they have in common is their love for God and His Word.

Last night these precious ladies discussed what they had learned from studying Psalms 64-68. As we ended the evening, we prayed together agreeing "O God, You are awesome from Your sanctuary. You, the God of Israel Himself, give strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!" (Psalm 68:35) I praise God for these wonderful women!