Find rest in God alone (and then enjoy some good food!)

Psalm 62:5-6 "Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken." I love the gentleness of the beginning of this verse, with the visual image of our souls dwelling and resting in God, followed by the strength and confidence of these words, especially that last proclamation "I will NOT be shaken"! I don't know about you, but I almost seem to sit up straighter and feel more empowered to start the day. He alone is our hope. He alone is our rock. He alone is our salvation. That is who He is in us and for us and we can go throughout this day knowing that no matter what may come, we have a safe refuge in the Lord. He has already made the sacrifice and saved us and will continue saving us (from ourselves!) throughout each and every day of our lives. Rest in that thought. He knows what you have done, He knows what you will do, and He loves you enough to send His own son to die specifically for you. Now that truly is good news :)

Well, I successfully completed week 2 of Couch to 5K this morning before work! I actually, and surprisingly, feel like I might have built up a little bit of stamina and was not dragging my feet along the pavement by the end of the last run. This run was pretty uneventful despite running through a spider web and looking insane as I attempted to grasp, pull, and swat away invisible threads as I ran by many, many cars stopped at a stoplight. I had to give them something to start their mornings off right! I also got chased  by an scary-looking dog as I took Clarisse and myself on a jaunt through a neighborhood. Now, when I say "got chased" I mean the dog took a couple steps in the same direction as I was headed as I ran by his home but it appeared to me like he could take after me at any moment. In all seriousness, I did actually get chased by a dog on two of my runs last week. However, this dog was a weiner dog so it posed no serious threat (I had thoughts of drop-kicking this tiny, incessantly-barking thing...is that wrong? If only my hand-eye coordination was better....).  After nearly escaping with my life, I seriously contemplated running through (aka standing in the water with my arms out and forgetting all about this supposed "run" I was on) a sprinkler that was blissfully watering a suspiciously green lawn. Sir, how is it that your yard is that vibrant shade of green in this mega-uber-drought we are having? I know a much better use for that water....me!

My first week of work has also been a success! Although it can be physically (and emotionally) exhausting, I am having alot of fun with my three-year-olds! We played with shaving cream the other afternoon, which is awesome because not only do the kids get to draw and write with it, it actually cleans the tables too! I prepped them on this activity we were about to do and one of my little boys proclaimed to the whole class, "We are going to shave our heads!!!" Lord knows what they tell their parents at home haha! After I squirted a pile in front of each child, they seriously stared at it and me as if I lost my mind. They had no idea what to do with it until I showed them how to spread it out and use their fingers to draw! Once they got the idea they could not get enough. I wish I had my camera to document their surprised and delighted faces coupled with the shaving cream covering their arms all the way up to their elbows. Definitely going to make this a regular thing!

Yesterday, I was in the block area building a house/castle with some of my little friends when one of the sweetest of my little guys asked if some of the animals could live in the house. Of course! Well, this started him off on a mission to place every small item in the classroom in our house, asking "And this too?" each and every time he handed me a new object. We soon had a pile of plastic animals, people, binoculars, small books, random legos, and literally every other small object within his reach in our house. Moral of the story that day: inlcusion is a good thing. And this too?

After working all day, we decided that breakfast night was in order. I am a huge fan of breakfast night, not only because there is not a breakfast food I don't like (ok...maybe oatmeal) but also because eggs cook in a total of what, four minutes? Slap those eggs with bacon and cheese in a tortilla and you are done! This got me thinking on another delicious breakfast recipe that I made for one of my classes last semester and I just had to share it with y'all:

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

This was just the right amount of salty and sweet. But the real reason any of us like coffee cake is it is an excuse to eat dessert for breakfast. At least that is my reasoning :)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup oil

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. flour

2 Tbsp. oil

2 tsp. cinnamon

1. In bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. 

2. In separate bowl, combine 1/4 cup oil, egg, and milk; blend into dry mixture for batter.

3. In another bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, 2 tablespoons oil, and cinnamon. 

4. Pour half of the batter in greased 8x8 pan. Top with half of the cinnamon-sugar mix.

5. Add remaining batter and top with remaining cinnamon-sugar mix.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy for breakfast or breakfast night! Or both :)