Hi! I am very excited to join the Beliefnet Community.  I am 44 years old, married to a wonderful man named Todd, mother of 5 children, grandmother of 5 also!  My youngest child, a girl, is the only one left at home now.  My oldest daughter is 28, son 27, daughter 21, son 18, and youngest daughter is 12.  My grandchildren range in age from 11 (he's actually a step-grandson, but we don't like that step word), 5, 3, 1 and a newborn who was born on November 23rd.

I work at an Alternative High School as a school cook and a home ec teacher.  It's a very interesting program that they only have at our school, but it does wonders for the students, some of who already live on their own and don't know how to cook or run a kitchen!  (Many of them only get the meals provided for them at our school, nothing at home) I love the work and the students, most of them just need someone to care about them and pay attention to their lives.  For whatever reasons, their parents just don't have the time for them.  When we have a parent/teacher conference, for instance, out of 120 students, only 5 of them had a parent show up to talk to their teachers!  Until we added a fun gimmick!  The next PT Conference we made a big chili dinner with cinnamon rolls, plus had a carnival with games in each classroom for the younger siblings, and we fed 165 parents, guardians, and siblings that night!  Whatever works!

I belong to a small Episcopal Church in a small town.  I am the Senior Warden of the church, my husband is also very involved.  I write the monthly newsletter for our church, go to Bible Study classes one night a week, am a Lay Eucharistic Visitor and Lay Eucharistic Minister.  I was baptized as a newborn infant, but my parents didn't take us to church as we grew up.  Growing up I knew I was a baptized Christian, and I knew something was missing from my life.  (A seed had been planted!)  When I met my husband he was also a Christian, but not currently going to church either.  We both talked about our longing for "something", and he is the one who figured out that we needed God in our lives and our children's lives.  Once we started attending church, my life immediately got so much better, my attitude about life was immediately changed by the presence of God and the Holy Spirit.  Like all Christians I struggle sometimes with my spirituality, with my faith and with who I am supposed to be. 

I am excited to talk with any of you out there about life, God, children, prayer, etc.  God Bless you and hope to talk with you soon!

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  St. Sabas (b. 439) - December 4, 2008 at 7:00 PM
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  The Inner Wisdom of the Journey Itself - December 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM

  Women who entered the ministry more than 20 years ago, when I was ordained, endured the mocks and jeers of family, friends and male ministers in order to be ordained and had nothing to look...
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  The Noose of Bitterness - December 3, 2008 at 12:00 AM

  So much of life can be spent spinning our wheels in bitterness. We wrongly think that harboring anger and resentment toward others doesn't affect anyone. Think of one person toward whom you feel...
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• Daily Bible Reading

  Gospel Reading for Friday, December 5, 2008 - December 5, 2008 at 12:00 AM

  Luke 20:41-21:4 41 Then he said to them, "How can they say that the Messiah is David's son? 42 For David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right...

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