PAPA

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds."

Psalm 147:3

Death. What a terrible, terrible word. There is no positive meaning behind that word. It is a word filled with pain, heartache, loss, change, brokenness, love, bitterness, uncertainty, and confusion. Being the daughter of a preacher, I have been around death my entire life. I have been to more family nights and funerals than probably most people double my age. Unfortunately, my experience around death is still not one that could ever prepare you for losing a loved one. Whether known or unexpected, one is never ready to deal with the death of someone they love greatly. Yesterday, one of the most important and influential people in my life went home to be with his Savior. My grandfather was ready to meet his Maker, but I was not ready to let him go. I am still not ready to let go. More than that, I don’t want to let go. I do not want to say good-bye to the man who took me “minding” (mining) in Tennessee. I do not want to let go of the man who has comforted every one of my broken hearts and the whole time was crying with me. I do not know who I am going to sit with every Sunday morning at church and borrow pens from. He won’t be there to see me graduate again. He will not be there when I fall in love and get married. My children will never get to meet this amazing man. I do not know how I am going to say good-bye to him. It seems such an impossible task to do. I am overcome with grief and sadness. It seems my heart is broken beyond repair. We will cry. We will miss. We will hurt. We will also get through this because it is what that Godly, influential, funny, amazing man would want us to do. Papa is so happy. He is with my Nana again. What an amazing thing to think about. I have peace and comfort in knowing that I will see him again. I am so thankful I had 26 years to get to know him. He always told me he was proud of me but I hope he knew how proud I was to be his granddaughter. There will not be a day that goes by that my heart will not miss him.

Papa,

Welcome Home! I know you are so happy and so excited to see Nana and all of the other loved ones who have gone home before you. I miss you so badly and do not know what I am going to do here without you. I know you would not come back even if you could but my heart still aches. It hurts so much and the pain will just not ease. I cannot wait to see you again so when it is my time to go please be waiting with open arms for me. I love you.

Love your proud granddaughter,

Kara

Proud... What an understatement

"We make a living by what we get; We make a life by what we give."

-Winston Churchill

They did it. Yes, my amazing, beautiful, quirky, sometimes frustrating, loving and giving students did it. They raised the money for Franky the weiner dog and his wheelchair. Franky will now get another shot at life. He will be able to get around as fast as his wheels and two front paws will take him!

To say that I am proud would be an understatement. I do not even know what would go beyond the word proud, but whatever word that is, it describes me when it comes to my students. I'm not going to lie, I did not think that they would stick through with this whole project (see my other post about Franky the Weiner Dog if you don't know what I am talking about). It is extremely rare to see a class bond together for one common cause. They did it and I am proud. How blessed am I that I get to teach these wonderful kids every day? How blessed am I that I got to be part of this experience with them? How blessed am I that I got to witness a group of teenagers thinking about someone else other then themselves? Extremely blessed.

The story actually made the front page of our local newspaper. Check it out. It's pretty awesome.

http://www2.newsvirginian.com/news/2010/sep/21/franky-gets-his-wheels-ar-516153/

free jewelry anyone?!

Ok, so one of my best friends, Priscilla, is doing a give-a-way on her blog! The best part is... IT'S JEWELRY! She will be giving away this beautiful necklace below by Anne Vaughan Designs:

Of course I immediately went to Anne Vaughan's website and I am now officially OBSESSED! It is truly some of the most beautiful art I have ever seen! There are already some items on my Christmas list! You must check it out!

So first, if you would like a chance to win this BEAUTIFUL necklace, you need to check out Priscilla's blog. Just go to www.makeitbeautifultoo.com Even if you don't want the necklace, you should still go there because she is an amazing writer that shares so many inspirational things.

Then, you need to check out the rest of the beautiful pieces from Anne Vaughan Designs by going to her website: www.annevaughandesigns.com

Trust me, both websites are well worth your time!

Thanks for doing this Cilla!

Thankful

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge him, and HE shall direct thy paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Yesterday when I walked out of the doors of the school I work at and headed to my car, this is what was waiting for me ...

For some reason when I saw this, I knew I was exactly where I was meant to be. This touched my heart so deeply and I just knew that I was supposed to be here, at Stuarts Draft High School, loving these kids. God led me to this school. He wanted me here. He placed me here for a purpose. A purpose that I still do not know. I fought with the outcome of being here for so long. But I think this was just another one of His ways of showing me that He loves me and truly does direct our paths, even when we can't see the good in the situation. I actually felt a stab of guilt for wanting to ever be anywhere else other than here. As simple as this may seem, this was a completely overwhelming moment for me. This was just another one of God's ways of showing His amazing, unconditional love. I am where I need to be.

FRANKY THE WEINER DOG

"Success has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others."

Danny Thomas

Ok, so I must say that I have an absolutely amazing 3rd block class this year. They are so sweet and caring and their newest venture is so cute and heart-warming. They have decided as a class that they want to save Franky. Franky is a cute little Dachshund whose back two legs are paralyzed. He came to visit our class today and we all just fell in love with him. Franky needs a doggy wheelchair to get around. His owners cannot afford one on their own and need some help. If Franky does not get this wheelchair, he is due to be put down sometime soon. I am so impressed that high school kids would take the initiative to help another family and precious little dog out. This was 100% their idea!

"My little dog - a heartbeat at my feet" ~Edith Wharton

If any of you would like to contribute to help save Franky or if you have a place we could set a jar, let me know! I know that I couldn't imagine having to put my little Vinny down. I would love to see them raise this money, not only for Franky, but as encouragement for my students to continue to pursue helping others.

Simple things...

“It is always the simple things that change our lives. And these things never happen when you are looking for them to happen. Life will reveal answers at the pace life wishes to do so. You feel like running, but life is on a stroll. This is how God does things.”

-Donald Miller

This was an unexpected surprise today at school. So simple, yet it totally made my day :)

Lets see if I'll do it this time....

So, over a year ago I started this blog. I got one post in and stopped. Actually, until today I had no idea that my other blog was even published on here. Through the suggestion of one of my best friends, I started journaling. She was right, it is EXTREMELY therapeutic! Then I was reminded of this whole online journaling thing and thought I'd give it another shot.

I was reading through my journal the other day and the pages of my journal are filled with signs of love. Pure, unconditional, beautiful love. Some of that in the form of my love for others, some of that in the form of others love for me. But the most evident was that of Christ's love for me. As I read over what I wrote on March 16, 2009, I am amazed at how much life has changed in just this short amount of time. That short time has been filled with fun times, new friends, new babies, life-changing decisions, broken hearts and broken dreams. The one thing that has not changed though is God's constant love for me. Just a few months ago I was in one of the lowest spots of my life I have ever been. I was confused, conflicted, and honestly, I was not the best version of myself. Through the feelings of self-doubt and shattered expectations, God kept constantly reminding me that He was in control and that even though I doubted myself, that I definitely should not be doubting Him. Did I always listen? No. But He never gave up and continued to remind me and show me of His love and direction for my life. Does that always make things easier? Honestly, no. Does that mean I've given up all expectations? No, I still have complete hope and faith and I still continue to pray that God will give me the desires of my heart. But it does feel pretty darn good to know that He is in control. I am FAR from perfect. I screw up big time and make big mistakes and bad decisions from time to time. I am so glad to know though that I am loved through all that.

Ok, so reading that I realized that was a little deep :) Just what was on my heart and I wanted to share. I hope my blogs won't end up boring you! I'm not the best writer in the world and there will probably end up being a ton of random stuff on here but I still hope that you enjoy! :)

XOXO,

Kara