Our Night Out

Last night, we went out. Not so much on a date night, but it was a date. Last night was the Junior/Senior Banquet for OCSI (the school where I teach). The night was perfect! Everyone was dressed beautifully. The Senior advisors spoke love and words of Truth to their students. As tradition dictated, the parents gave the video well wishes to their seniors. There were heart felt memories of childhood antics, pictures of the seniors as babies with dates on them that made us feel old and precious stories of families. Then, the parents did something that was perhaps the most meaningful thing I've ever seen. They all got up on the stage and sang "Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone" to their children. They changed the words on the last stanza to say "Your chains are gone, You've been set free. Your God your Savior has ransomed thee". I can't even put into words how incredible that was. Lots of the seniors are leaving the Island to go to college back in the States. These children are being sent out into the world with the knowledge and many of them with the experiences already, saying that God will be their guide and will be faithful to complete the good work He has started in them.

This group of students is special for many different reasons. They are to me because they are the first class that I subbed for when I came to OCSI in the spring just after we arrived on Island. They are gracious and kind, fun loving and hilarious and some of the most genuine people. I am looking forward to seeing the amazing things that God does in their lives.

Here are several pictures of me with a couple of students and then some of my friends that I teach with at OCSI.

Me with Amy

Me and Yuria

Me with Teacher Friends

Me with a teacher friend, Hitomi Yabe

Easter Sunday Morning

HE IS RISEN!!

See, that makes all the difference. The fact that Christ rose from the grave; this is cornerstone of my life. "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know, I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives." I can hear it now. Being in church this Sunday morning with my family. Putting on our best, new clothes. The ones we sought after for weeks, just to get the right one. And not because we needed a new dress, not because there was something magical in getting a new dress for Easter. No, we got new dress to signify of the newness, to signify of how special THIS day is.

Easter being the cornerstone of my life has shaped who I am. I am so thankful to Him for enduring the unspeakable agony so that I may live forever and one day join Him in Heaven. I made that choice when I was four and a half years old. Yes, I know that seems a bit early, but I knew (and still know) the truth. I was raised in a Christian home. Grew up hearing theology when I didn't even know that was what it was called. When we were over at my Grandmother and Granddaddy's for dinner, we would finish cleaning the dishes and he would already be in his big black chair reading the Bible. We would all come in and then the talking would begin. They would try to remember words to old hymns, stories from seminary and antics when they were growing up.

Before I was in the second grade, we lived in West Columbia. In order to get to our church just up from Five Points, we had to cross the river and this meant driving by the old state prison, CCI. Being the kinda girl I am, I asked about the prison; who was there, why, etc. One of these times, I asked my mom if this is where the people go who break Jesus' heart. She was a bit taken, but told me the truth. She always told me the truth. I didn't realize it then, in my little four year old world, but the Holy Spirit was working in me. I continued to listen in Sunday School, sermons (although moving constantly and one couldn't really tell) and to the wonderful words spoken around me. As I was getting out of the tub one night and my mom was helping to dry off, I felt as if something inside was turned on- for the first time turned on. It came as natural as breathing and it felt like it was happening all at once- the feeling and the words coming out of my mouth happened at the same time. I said "Lord Jesus, come into my heart." My mom wasn't quite sure what had just happened and what I had just said. She asked me to repeat myself. I said it again. She told me to go and get my pajamas on and then go and sit in the big flower chair in the den. She went to get my dad and when I was sitting in the chair, they came in to talk to me about what had just happened. I told them I knew that I needed Jesus. I knew that He had to die because of the bad things that I had done. By the end of the conversation, they knew that I KNEW.

Time went by and I turned 5. I went to Forest Lake Elementary and LOVED kindergarten. Mrs. Husband and Mrs. Redding are figures in my memory that will last for as long as I do. We were having "Clown Day" at school because the Fair was in town. We were going to get to have our faces painted!!! This was also the day that I was going to meet my pastor, Dr. Lincoln. My mom tried to DIE, for when she came to school to pick me up, my face was painted like a clown. I even had a beauty mark for good measure. So we went to see Dr. Lincoln, my mom dressed in her wonderful outfit (all planned out I am sure) and me probably in the outfit she chose and now my clown face. So, we get to the church and get to his office. He was very straight forward. He asked me why I thought I needed to be saved. I looked him straight in the eye and quoted from Hebrews 9:22, "Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." Well, you can imagine his surprise. He looked at my mom, who was looking at me stunned. They exchanged looks and she said, "I didn't teach her that." We talked for a little more. I walked down the aisle at church the next Sunday. Some time later I was baptized to show outwardly the decision that I had made on the inside.

I have NEVER doubted that everything I just wrote happened. I know that I know that I know that Christ died and rose again for me!

Thank you, Jesus! Thank you God for raising Him from the dead.

How wonderful the empty tomb!

AHHH... Spring Break

This week off has been just about amazing. I have truly enjoyed getting to spend some wonderful time with Patrick. He had through Wednesday off so we had lots of time to just be. I love that... just be-ing the two of us. We were on no real schedule, no time line of sorts... just together. We have talked about this, that and everything in between. We have laughed at stupid stuff, things that are funny to just us and things that if you were walking by us would think that we had lost our minds. I think that our times are sweeter simply because we know what it is like to be apart and we appreciate any time that we are able to just be.

Not only have I gotten to enjoy being with Patrick this week, but I have been pretty productive. I have all of my lesson plans planned out for the rest of the school year and they are nearly all typed and formatted for submission. I am extremely pleased with this as it will free my time for other things. When I return to school on Monday (is it really almost over?!) I will only have 8 more Mondays until the end of the school year. For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a planner and when it comes to dates and counting them down, a CHAMP! I've had LOTS of practice at it.

Another area where I have been productive is self-evaluation and reflection. I can get so busy (there is that word again) with life that I don't stop to do this. I do value it and yet struggle with actually taking the time to honestly doing it. Oh, I might take 5 minutes here or there to sit and ponder, but the real reflecting, evaluating where you are honest with yourself about what God has been saying takes real time. I have had that time and took that time this week. What did I discover? Well, I discovered a heap. It became really evident as I talked with God and listened to what he had to say, not what I wanted to hear, but truly listened to what He wanted me to hear. Again, going back to the whole planning thing- I am a CHAMP. I do come by it honestly, however. The women in my family are planners, it is what we do. We like having a plan and we go by the plan. We have a back up plan for the plan and more often than not, have a back up plan for the back up plan- see what I mean. So, after all of that... here is what I heard this week.

I have had "faith" and that is good. I have been trying my best to "let go and let God" (really tired of that saying!). I have been relying on Him, truly I can honestly say that I have been relying on Him. I now realize that I have been doing all of that, but for my time line- not His. For the first time, though, I am ready to be on His time line and not mine. Will I struggle from time to time with not taking back planning, sure. I am not naive enough to think that now that I have come to this revelation that all will somehow be sunshine and roses. I do know that the stress and (as Patrick calls it) my A+ personality can just chill in this department and busy myself with planning and controlling other areas :). I am sure that God will put an opportunity in my lap for me to try and control right in the place of something that I have laid down. (Please note the sarcasm.)

I am looking forward to the coming weeks and months. I want to see where God is going to take me with this new found understanding.

Back into Blogging

WOW! So, I knew that I hadn't written in a while, but I didn't realize that it had been that long! Oh well, it is never too late to start again, right?!

So Livin' Lightsey has been busy. Writing that, I notice how much I don't like that saying. "Busy" is a one word answer that is so vague it is about ridiculous. I have been teaching 6th grade at OCSI, volunteering in many aspects there and loving it, being a member of The Harbor (our church here on island) and involved in a community group of other young couples as well as a Tuesday night Bible Study,going to Singapore, KL Malaysia and China and a wife to a wonderful on again/off again deployed AF spouse. Whew! When I write it all down, it makes a little bit more sense why I haven't written since December right after arriving on Island.

Speaking of my AF spouse... He is currently here for the next little while and then will be heading back to the States for a class. He won't do it himself (doesn't like to toot his own horn, so I do it for him), but he received another award this past Friday. I was a little bummed because it was all done on the sly as to not let them know about it, but they didn't contact me so that I could be there (oh well- there will be others). Patrick received his second Joint Service Commendation Medal. The citation write up about his time in the Philippines makes my heart burst with pride that I am married to such an incredible man. He would rather die than have all of this out there in the open for everyone to read simply because he doesn't do what he does for the recognition. He is who he is, no more no less. And that he would tell you himself.

We enjoyed getting to be with each other this past Friday. We went to Cape Hedo . It is the northern most point on Okinawa. It is simply beautiful. It was such a lovely day, really one of the first of the spring season that was warm enough to be outside with short sleeves. We took our time driving up, using Hwy. 58 rather than taking the expressway. It is the "long way", but the view is worth the drive; especially when you aren't on a time schedule and have nothing else to do but look at the beauty that God has created. It is almost the same as driving up the PCH in California. You come around a bend and think that it is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen until you come around the next corner and that scene takes your breath away again, as if you are seeing it all for the first time. After looking around the Cape for a while, we decided we'd go and investigate a sign that we'd seen on the road before taking the turn off for the Cape.

It was evident as we pulled up that they don't get many english speaking patrons. We communicated in limited english and japanese (I'm still learning) and we were on our way. The place is called Dai Sekirinzan. It is a quasi-national park. It is an expansive limestone karst. It has four trails for walking, all linking up at points along the way. At one part of the trail, it brings you out to a panoramic view of the Cape. It was simply gorgeous! We walked around for about two hours and then headed for home.

The drive home (or at least getting back to the entrance point of the expressway) was perhaps prettier than the drive up to the Cape. It was about sunset and the colors bouncing off of the water were just exquisite. We were again "those people" who pulled off the side of the road to take pictures. We have a Y plate, so it is understood that "we" will do that. The expressway drive home was relaxing. Just the kind of day needed when heading out the next morning for a Rose Garden breakfast.