An Excerpt

...from a book I'm reading.

"It is worth considering, as we look at repentance and restoration, that although Jesus knew Judas would betray him, Peter would deny him, and the others would desert him, he still washed their feet (John 13:3-5), then shared the bread and wine with them - bread that represented his body and wine that represented his blood. Despite knowing what they would do, he said to them, "I do not call you servants any longer...but I have called you friends" (John 15:15). He did that for all of them, including Judas. Jesus looked past their betrayal, their sins, and their failures and called them his friends. We take comfort in the knowledge that he will do that for us as well."

-Adam Hamilton, 24 Hours That Changed the World, 1. The Last Supper, p. 23

The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

He did this for you. He did it for me. And to think...that He...gave His life knowing full well we'd be unfaithful friends - WHOA! He loves us SO much that He gave His life so that our sins would be forgiven.

It goes against the grain. I'll only be your friend if you're nice to me. And if you laugh at my jokes. If you let me know how cool I am and what kinds of things you like about me. I'll only be your friend if you look like me and if you wear similar clothes as me. I'll only be your friend if your aren't embarrassing and if you never offend me. And if you do all of this for me, I'll do the same for you. Because, really, it's all about me...and in your case you! Right? We aren't in the habit of befriending people who are going to betray us.

Not Jesus. He knew....He knew betrayal was coming from ME! But He still called me His friend.

It is truly astounding!

And just so you know - He really is the greatest friend you could ever have. Not only did He give His life, but Jesus considered you the joy that got him through it (Hebrews 12) - because He did it specifically for YOU.

I've been on a journey with Him since a young age and it's been a good one. I could go on forever about Jesus, but really you should get to know Him.

School Funnies

It is true that kids say the darnedest things!

I've been coming home every night writing down all the hilarious things the kids say and do.

1. One of my kids hears me say something to a Spanish speaking student in Spanish. He says, "Ms. Marquez if you can speak English and Spanish, How do you say my name in Chinese?"

2. I call my students to come sit on the floor to go over the safety rules for Science. I say, "We are going to talk about Science..." A student interrupts and says, "Ms. Marquez, can we talk about God instead. You know He made EVERYTHING!"

3. For the weekly spelling test one of our words was "fat." I read off: "Fat. My aunt has a fat cat." During the time I'm giving them to write the word a student says: "Ms. Marquez does it make you sad that you have a big belly and everyone thinks you're fat?" (HOLY WHAT!?!?! hahahaha!)

4. Our school has breakfast in the classroom. I set a timer so they are busy eating and not busy playing with their food, but sometimes it's inevitable. They had bananas as part of their breakfast one morning and when I turn around one of the girls is using this banana as a phone. She asked her friend on the "phone" to please run some errands for her because she's busy at school and won't get out until it's too late. Girls will be girls!

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Running front:

Running has not happened since last Wednesday. That means it's been a week and three days. :O( It's not like last Wednesday's run was great either....it honestly sucked. But saying hello to first graders, loads of "unexpected" stress, and some really late nights, also means saying hello to germs and a weaker immune system.

I'm using this Labor Day weekend to get myself better.

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Autumn is around the corner and it makes me so.....DREAMY!! I love this season - it's seriously my favorite of all time! It's perfect season to re-read Pride and Prejudice for the umpteenth time and of course to watch YOU'VE GOT MAIL while doing chores or working on stuff for school. Oh - and of course having that Louis Armstrong Pandora station is a MUST!!

I found this song several years ago, when I used to surf MySpace specifically to find music that made my heart skip a beat. This one is perfect for the season.

AUTUMN DAYS Elizabeth Seasons by Empty Songs

Enjoy the summer heat - what's left of it! I hope to be wearing layered apparel soon!! :O)