For His Glory

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to teach. My siblings used to call me 'bossy boots' when we were growing up because I was always telling them where, when, how, and why they should do things! Now i'm learning how it is just important to step back and be taught! My sweet little Kindergartners teach me something new ALL the time. God has blessed me with the opportunity to teach overseas in China. I have 10 students with such different stories! They are from India, Taiwan, Brazil, America, Hong Kong, and Singapore. One of my favorite things about getting to know people is to be able to find common ground that you can relate on. Well, considering my little American girl has never even touched American soil, it is quite a challenge to find common ground with any of these students. It has made for some of the funniest class discussions. For example, I was teaching them about what a front porch is just the other day because all of them live in high rise apartments! Throughout this experience as a whole, I couldn't be more thankful for this job. I look forward to it everyday!

"So, whether you eat of drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

"Deep within us we all know that it is our duty to glorify our Maker by thanking Him for all we have, trusting Him for all we need, and obeying all His revealed will. " -John Piper

For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

BEIJING

20 hours on the train....

to Tienanmen Square...
to the Great Wall of China!!

Jingle Bells

We've been holding this surprise in for about 2 months. It killed me, but it was so WORTH IT!!!! Grant and Candice haven't been to China since Christmas of 2006, so this was a big deal for them. We had such a blast!

WE ARE FAMILY!

I sure do miss the faces in this picture. Although it's hard to be a world away, i'm so proud of what they're doing! Grant is in optometry school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Candice Rae is a nurse at a local hospital in the same city. They are both serving at their local church and loving it! Blake just joined the United States Army and is currently at boot camp. I know he is learning a discipline he will forever be grateful for! Hannah is holding down the fort with their dog, Jack. She is such a trooper! and last but definitely not least....my sweet sister, Kelsey Brooke. She has worked SO hard to get to where she is. She is getting her prerequisites for dental hygiene at a community college in Tennessee. The only bad thing about that is she'll never get her patients teeth to look half as good as hers:) Just wanted to give a shout out to my favorite stateside folk.

Happy Anniversary!!

Grant and Candice sittin in a tree... I can't believe it's been FIVE years since these two crazies got hitched!! Grant always knew he didn't want to waste time on people that weren't his forever bride. Candice was the same way about guys! To know both of them was to love them according to everyone at Dickson County High School. The only problem was that they didn't really know each other! I played soccer with Candice and looked up to her so much, and of course Grant was the coolest guy I knew right up there next to Blake Allen! Grant and I shared a locker and I looked forward to seeing him in between every class. I know most people don't even want to make eye contact with their siblings in school, that was not the case for the Allen kids. I started noticing that Grant wasn't showing up to the locker. Around the same time he had asked me what I thought about Candice Green. I told him I was for it!!! Then, I started putting two and two together! Fast forward 3 years and they were married! Grant and Candice have both played a big part in my life. They are honestly two of my favorite people on the planet and God has used them more than they even know. They are funny to boot:)

You might be in China if...

You see over 4 people on a bike
You find yourself in a traffic jam... not even during rush hour
There are no forks, only chop sticks
Someone discretely takes a picture of you because you're a foreigner
After asking, "how are you?" the response is, "I'm fine, thank you, and you?"
You hear English names like, Bamboo and Echo
You see people EVERYWHERE, no matter what hour
You can get a massage for $4
You never wear your shoes in the house
The ultimate holiday is Chinese New Year
There is rice at every meal
A whole lot of smiling and nodding is going on!
There are no front yards
The elderly are going strong!
The babies have a split right down the middle of their pants, no need for diapers
There are extravagant seat covers in every vehicle
Grand openings are HUGE!
Hugs are not popular, just arm locking as you stroll
You don't actually see anything that's exported
You meet someone new almost everyday!
There is always a chance to share the gospel with someone who's never heard