Praise the Lord for Our Brianna!!!

I'm not sure what the Lord is doing with our Brianna but it is amazing as a parent of this little spit fire of a teenager to watch Him do work in her and with her.
The Lord has laid upon my heart these past few months to sit back and let Brianna make choices in her life without my opinion all of the time. I am trying soo very hard to be supportive when the choices appear to come from a good place in her and bite my lip a little when it isn't and give guidance and direction with parables if you will, sharing life lessons learned to give influence to her instead of my old more direct approach. I have seen a huge difference in her heart for me. Praise the Lord, her heart has softened greatly for me and in some ways I feel I have my little girl back. Hugs and kisses and all. The teen years are so hard, they can be rude and edgey which truth be told brings out a little rude and edgey in me. They can be inconsiderate and seem to be mostly interested in self. That being said I have also had some of the most heart warming and special conversations with this person who is not even close to a little girl anymore. She is a young woman. A young woman who I am so proud to say has value in herself before the Lord. I'd like to share a piece of a conversation we had today.
A close friend of hers who is also a freshman has been dating a senior boy. This relationship has been very hard for Bri to watch. She sees her friend acting in a way that really bothers her, she feels this boy is too old for her friend and says her friend is too wrapped up in one person at this age. Today things came to a head between Bri and her friend. She said at the lunch today the boy was not being very nice to her or her friend. Then she witnessed them in Bri's words "kissing on the mouth and it was soooo gross". Bri told me about it when she got home from school and said they left school mad at each other. Soon the phone rang and it was her friend.
It was sort of amusing to listen to her tell me how she shared the word of God from a teen stand point. Bri said to her friend "Hey I know you don't want to hear this but I'm going to get all Biblical on you. You shouldn't be acting the way you did today with a boy. God intended for your first kiss to be with the man you are going to marry but today you ruined that. You can't ever get that back. I wonder how you husband will feel about it. It is wrong to be acting this way with any boy let alone one who is way to old for you and wants you to do older things with you, it goes against God. Then she told her she would always be her friend but that she should not be ok with a boy treating herself or any of her friends in the manner he chose to treat everyone today." Her friend told her that she was right and she was going to talk to her boyfriend about it.
I ask you could any mother imagine to hear those words come from their teenage daughter? I am so proud of her for not sitting quiet, not allowing behavior she knows is wrong to go without saying something. I'm proud of her for being a good friend. I am proud of her for walking with Jesus and allowing him to use her. I am in awe of her strength I am excited watching God use her and wonder how he will next. He is using her in ways I could have never imagined to minister to girls in her class. We have had a few similar conversations lately about two other girls who have asked her questions about heaven and why God put us here. It is fantastic listening to her share these conversations with me.
She recently decided that she wanted to give up 4-H and soccer. She had mentioned 4-H a few months ago then soccer almost as soon as it was over. I told her these where her decisions but I felt she should be very prayerful with any decision made as to make sure it is God's direction and ask Him to bring clarity and peace in the decision. Chris really likes her doing both so the day she announced that she was ready to quit both he was a little irritated and asked her why, and he wanted some good reasons. She said this "I really feel like I have fallen away from being a part of Youth Group at church. I learn a lot there about God and don't feel like I have any time for it anymore because I'm always busy doing other stuff. I think the things I learn about there will be with me forever and it's way more important. She also went on to explain that the friends there like her for who she is and she likes being around them and feels more comfortable. " Umm, I thought those were some pretty good reasons and I guess he thought so too because he didn't challenge it anymore and looked a little awestruck of her answer.
Praise God for showing me how to trust in Him with all things. Praise God for being faithful with my children and praise Him for giving me the eyes to see it and the heart to love Him for it. Praise Him for allowing me the honor of being Brianna's mom.

Hope you are all enjoying this Holiday season!!!
Merry Christmas!!!
Chelle

A KCMA Student!!!

As of today I am a student of Kettering College of Medical Arts. I will be taking pre-requisite classes for a year beginning Jan. 11th, then I will apply to the Ultra-sound program. Upon completion, I will have a Bachelor's degree and will be certified in all four areas of ultra-sound; heart, ob, vascular and abdomin. KCMA is one of only two schools in Ohio that offer all four areas and ranked 10th in the nation for this program. It is also a Christian college. Healthcare is being taught from a biblical perspective and I will get to have religion classes along side my medical courses. God blessed me with a schedule that will allow me to be in school when the kids are on MWF and be home when they are. They will not notice much change this semester. That is my goal for every semester, to keep their lives the same with me there for them as normal as possible. I will get to have a job that helps people but also allows me the flexibility to continue to be the Mom I love being. The kids think it is cool that Mommy will go to school too but mostly they think it is funny that I will have homework.
Below is the Student Personal Statement essay that I wrote and attached with my application.
The question was. How do you measure success? What have you specifically done to try to reach your own measure of success?
My answer:
I measure success by what God's best would be from me and for me. It comes from whether or not I feel He would be pleased with the goal, endeavor or task. Winning or being the most sought after is not as important as how the goal is achieved. Working hard while keeping the importance of honesty, integrity and treating others with the honor God has asked me to is the scale.
In order to succeed, first I pray. God's guidance brings direction and peace over paths chosen. Bible study is also key. Professionally its wisdom has molded me into a person who is dependable, responsible and puts others first. Personally it has taught me to be a wife my husband needs as a helper to him and has trained me to build character, love and direction in my children. God in the center is the key to all success.

Next question was: In what ways, if any, does your relationship with God influence how you think about the following statement; "Kettering College of Medical Arts desires that its graduates understand their profession as a call to serve others, not just a livelihood".
My answer:
I consider an education at KCMA and my future profession to be an answer to prayer. I have spent a large amount of time asking God if it would so delight him to delight me in filling my days with work that would be helpful to others while challenging my mind on a daily basis. I found confirmation to the call of becoming a sonographer when I found KCMA. I could have never imagined to find a school that would teach health care from a biblical perspective but God has led me to it. I am excited and anticipate looking for the opportunities God will put before me each day to do his work serving patients and my co-workers in a manner which would bring glory to Him.

My Christopher, I love you and am grateful to be called yours. Thank you for working your tail feathers to the bone for us always. Thank you for not only giving me permission to do this but also being my biggest cheering section and for trusting God and believing in the abilities God has placed in me more than I do myself. Mostly thank you for your strength as my husband and father to our children, the cornerstone that never breaks and continues to give even though you are so exhausted. You never complain and just envelope all of us in your love and protection. You are my hero.

Hope everyone has a great week!!! Chelle