When Life Interrupted

Photo Credit: OSL

One year ago, life interrupted our plans.

One week before saying "I Do," the Lord said "I do not think you trust Me enough."

One month after being married, we were renters of a precious apartment but wondered how on Earth we would get rent paid.

And yet, in the midst of it all, He was crafting a beautiful lesson. We asked, and He provided... sometimes in the strangest (and, therefore, most obvious) ways.

Jobs.

Just enough grocery money.

Conditioner (right when I needed it).

Interviews.

Acceptance Letters.

And finally, as we surprisingly make our way back to our my college town/his hometown, we see Him provide yet again through a rental home. We didn't ask to be pampered; we didn't expect the Lord to show us a home that exceeded our (but mostly my) expectations. And yet He choose to bless us.

One year ago, before life interrupted our plans, I trusted in myself and my skills to provide for myself. He brought us through the fire and hammered out our hearts until now, one year later, we are praising Him for every blessing and acknowledging Him as our wonderful Provider.

"One of the most amazing revelations of God comes to us when we learn that it is in the everyday things of life that we realize the magnificent deity of Jesus Christ." -Oswald Chambers

Spoken in the Classroom

I have been working full-time as an elementary teacher for 4 full weeks now, and it has been the best experience ever! I'm getting paid to do something that thrills me, even when the days stretch long.

Who are my students? I spend my days teaching over 30 different students, ranging from K-5th grade. A few speak English as their native language, but most are still learning the basics of the language... which is most of the reason why I am there. But no matter where the kids come from, they truly do say the darndest things to me!

I can't keep this stuff to myself. They just make me so happy. So here is the first installment of "Spoken in the Classroom"... or multiple classrooms, which is really more the case for me.

On adult social lives:
Me: (when teaching on weather) "My friends took pictures of hail this weekend; I'll show you a picture tomorrow."
Them: "Wait, but you're a big person. You don't have friends!"

On co-worker relationships:
"Are you my teacher's granddaughter?"

On side effects:
(whispered) "The dentist said I can't talk because I have a cavity. So I can't read to you for, like, a really long time."

On parents and dating:
"Wait, I think I know you. My dad brought a girl like you home with him before."

On my ravishing good looks:
"Is your name Mrs. Dahl because you look like a Barbie doll?" (um, no.)

On those mean ol' teachers:
"Do teachers like Spring Break? Because I think they just want us to go to school all the time."

On sucking up for prizes:
"I just love learning, Mrs. Dahl; if I could learn all day long I probably would!" (yeah right)

Good morning, rainy Easter

On Friday, we mourned the death of our Messiah. But Sunday-- yes, even this rainy Sunday-- we celebrate the return of our King. He conquered sin and death so that every single thing I've done to disappoint, reject, or anger Him has been taken away. My debt is gone; I'm set free not because of anything I have done, but because of His work on the cross and coming back to life on that glorious day.

Today, even amidst the up-and-coming Spring weather and family time and really good Starburst jellybeans, I'm most excited to remember that He conquered my sin through death and resurrection. It's the whole reason I'm a Christ follower. Have a happy Easter Sunday!


"So three days in darkness slept the Morning Son of righteousness;
But rose to shame the throes of death and overturn His rule.

Now daughters and the sons of men would pay not their dues again;
The debt of blood they owed was rent when the day rolled anew.

On Friday, a thief; on Sunday, a King. 
Laid down in grief, but awoke holding keys. 
To Hell on that day, firstborn of the slain; the man Jesus Christ laid death in His grave."

-John Mark MacMillan, "Death in His Grave"

Finding It.

Writing does something to stir my heart. I read something once, and for the life of me I cannot remember where, that explained writing as a place where words can get my mind to understand what my heart has been longing to say. And that is exactly what it has been for me. As I de-cluttered our house in an effort to live more simply in 2013, I stumbled upon the treasure trove of journals and diaries written by an awkward frizzball named Emily, dating all the way back to 1998. And wow... did I have some interesting things to say!

One of the most tragically common topics in my handwritten anthology was the curious "who am I, really?" I knew who my friends were, and I knew I belonged to Jesus, but nothing stumped me more than knowing who I was as an individual. What were my gifts? What was I good at? What was my style? Who did God create me to be?

This year, as I begin simplifying my life in order to create and appreciate more beauty, I have come to know this:

You are created by an artistic Creator.

The Creator has placed beautiful capabilities in YOU to create beautiful things in your own unique way...

...for HIS glory.

Don't try to squash them because they aren't grand enough.

Don't try to avoid them because they are scary enough.

Embrace them because they are enough.

He created you with a purpose-- to glorify Him-- and you will thrive when you live according to that glorious purpose.

Once I embraced my purpose, I began to see true beauty as designed by the Lord. I cannot create beauty on a painted canvas, but the creativity and beauty flows through me every day when I teach my students. And when I make food for my husband. And when I write out the spillings of my heart on a fresh, clean page. I have learned to cherish the beauty of a heartfelt poem, well-crafted cupcake, and a fresh, airy bedroom. I've learned that it's okay to wear a polka-dot shirt to work and spend my Friday evenings watching Wheel of Fortune. He created me to be contemplative with a twinge of bubbly, and I thrive the most when I let myself serve and create with that personality. It allows my soul to finally breathe because it is so much easier to live a purposeful life when I truly embrace who He created me to be.

So what's the next step? Learn to craft that beauty into a way that gives God the most glory. But I'll talk about that soon. Until then, work to draw out the creative purposes in other people, as David Helms so thoughtfully puts it:

"A higher calling is to see the art in someone else. To look someone in the eye and say there is art in your soul, I dare you to release it. To call the gold out of someone. To help them 'wash from their soul the dust of everyday life.'" (source)

So, the question is... are you embracing your unique creativity?

 @mrsdahlface

My Valentine

"It was so very good of God to let me dreams come true,
to note a young girl's cherished hopes, then lead her right to you;
So good of Him to take such care in little, detailed parts
(He knows how much details mean to young and wishful hearts)..."

-Ruth Bell Graham

We spent our 4th Valentine's Day together this past week, and this one celebrated as a married couple taught me more about marriage, selflessness, and true unconditional love than any of the previous "love"-filled days put together. I'm thankful for a husband who loves me in a sanctifying way; for the opportunity to learn more about how selfish I truly am in order to learn how to truly love him and other people without also serving myself. Without me even knowing it, God paired us together to take care of the itty bitty details that I didn't even know my heart needed in a husband.

Marriage is refining like that.