The Seminarian's First Day

You know the joy a mother feels on the first day of school when she gets to send her children off to school? Every year, as an elementary school teacher, I am privileged enough to somehow participate in this marvel. The intricate intersection between parent and child letting go of each other to face something new. The point in which a parent chooses to hand his/her child over to another adult for the sake of their child, knowing that something good will come of it.

To some degree, I was able to experience that same emotion today as I saw the most important person in my life set off on his first day as a seminary student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville. The sole purpose of our move from Miami in which we left everything we knew and loved behind to pursue God's call is finally coming to fruition.

Lucas,

The joy I feel in my heart seeing you begin your journey as a seminarian in SBTS is indescribeable. Sheer blissfulness is what I sense as I see the infectious smile on your face, the spark in your eyes and that ambition you possess. I am completely and utterly humbled with God's goodness. I am so incredibly grateful for this opportunity, the opportunity to see you chasing after God's will no matter the cost. I am thrilled to be a part of this adventure. May the Lord continue to speak to your heart and use you for His mighty purposes. I will gladly follow you wherever He leads, 'til the ends of the Earth. Te amo tanto meu Brasileiro.

Your linda,
Indi

Just outside our door and the Seminarian is ready to meet his destiny at SBTS.

The place where his two loves meet: God and music.

Heading off to one of his classes; he can hardly contain the excitement.


I hope your first day was simply amazing my love. I am so proud of you.

Marrying a Giver

In the very core of who Indira is you will find a greedy and self-centered woman. Someone who likes to give on her terms but would much rather be on the receiving end. But just what happens when a frugal person meets and marries a generous man?

My husband has no attachment to money whatsoever. It makes him happy to be able to give it away. His money, his time, his clothes. You name it. It's yours. I cannot recall the last time he told me not to spend money on myself (of course, I'm very frugal even with myself) or on others. However, when it's his turn to spend and I'm the one that has to extend a bit of grace, I am more like the spending police, keeping track of every last penny that was spent. I want to pull the brakes immediately. I am the one placing the limitations on how we spend our money and how much we can give away.

It's funny though because from the very beginning of our marriage I have seen my husband give to others. I remember pulling up to a gas station and someone just so happened to ask Lucas for money. I was inside the car but the next thing I knew, he was walking into the gasoline station to buy him something to eat. I also remember the day we were driving back home after lunch at The Cheesecake Factory and him giving away our leftovers. The only thing I kept thinking was, "Please don't give away our tiramisu cheesecake." He didn't. ;) And yet another time, I distinctly remember him giving a young married couple at church free reign to our credit card so that we could help them fill up their fridge and stock up their pantry.

It has never really stopped. Just recently it happened yet again. My husband decided to give. I didn't necessarily agree or disagree. However, I admit that I wasn't thrilled about the idea but I went with it. I allowed him to do what God had called him to do. On the following day, we received news that we would be saving some money. God touched someone else's heart to bless us.

I believe that the reason why we've been so blessed is because the man I married has never allowed me to focus on myself. He has taught me how to give with a cheerful heart. We have been blessed to bless others. I have seen God's promises come alive in our life, "A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25).

Today as I am tempted to be cheap with others, God reminds me, "Share your cup of water and I will fill it up." I'm thankful that God has used my husband to teach me a thing or two about giving and I'm assured that we will never out give God.

An Invaluable Lesson

Ever had one of those days where you just for no reason seem to be in an awful mood? Well, yesterday was my "I woke up on the wrong side of the bed" day. However, when I got to school I chose that I wasn't going to allow my mood to ruin my day. So I sent my sister an email to pray for me and I quickly turned to what I like to call the "Proverb of the Day" in Proverbs 11. And it was amazing how almost immediately God transformed my emotions and lifted up my spirits.

I had an amazing day! First, I was able to get some construction paper when the previous day the art teacher told me she really was not able to give any because she had been allowed to order due to the budget cuts in the school system. She did tell me there was some upstairs in the old art room and sure enough...there was a wide assortment of colors and I got just enough for my class. Then our computer lab teacher installed a brand new, out of the box printer. Okay, you may say, "What is the big deal? Aren't you supposed to have these things already?" But quite honestly nothing is certain these days with like I mentioned earlier all of the budget cuts. I literally felt like a kid at Christmas. I even told her, "You see how good God is and how he takes care of me?" And she just smiled...

I mean the list goes on and on and I tell you it was all because of a decision a made earlier in the day. I believe the enemy wants to steal our joy and a lot of times he gets us to focus on that one thing that may not be going our way. When we do that we take our eyes off of the Almighty and miss out on all of his blessings.

I can't say that I've mastered this but it is a start. And like I told my husband last night I've learned a valuable lesson. Now I just have to continue putting it into practice.

Ephesians 1:17-19
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.