With each stone

Tonight we will be celebrating our middle son's graduation. It's hard to believe and even harder to imagine that 18 years have already passed. He's lived an exciting 18 years thus far and it has been no small thing to see him get to this stage of life. However it has been all JOY. He came into the world with a bit of spunkiness and a tender heart. He's always been the button pusher in our family and knows everyone well enough to know just what buttons to push and when to push them. Leave it to Justin to take a tense moment and turn it into a moment of laughter. I have a flood of memories that come to my mind that he took the moment of stress to a moment of laughter.

He's always been full of hugs and kisses and still today loves to give and get hugs. :) Boy is that nice! He never has and I pray never does out grow his need for a MOM HUG!

When I took this picture I was reminded of a road trip we made to Lugu lake, in Yunnan Province, China. It was over 7 years ago and the road was not fully finished. As a matter a fact they were still working to pound in each rock and as we passed the workers it dawned on me that each rock has a story.

Today I am thinking back over the past 18 years of our life with Justin and the last 12 years of school that we have worked through together. I had the awesome privilege of getting to home school Justin and teach him to read. I'll never forget the first time he got it and I remember the laughs we had over spelling and the tears we had over math.....

It's been an amazing journey and I'm sad that my role is changing yet at the same time I'm thrilled for the new role I'll have in our son's life. I look forward to seeing him step out on this new road of Adulthood.....

So, here is to the stones we pound into the ground as we walk the road set before us.

May we not forget each one and the toil and labor that has gone into each one. Nor may we forget t

A growing experience

I love when I have an experience that challenges me to grow and change. This last trip I made to the states proved to do that in some Amazing ways.

Below are some pictures of some new found friends! We had a great time learning about Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills ( SYIS) and how to facilitate this workshop.



Here are my fellow trainees whom endured my many questions, processing out loud with incomplete sentences :) and who laughed with me along the journey of learning what it means to be a Facilitator of Adult Learning rather than a Teacher of Adults. :)



Now this might look strange to some but what it means is that the Teacher in us DIED! :) The need to lecture or have all the answers is dead and buried. Man- it is a freeing thing to realize you don't have to have all the answers to lead people to learning! :) So hurray for the Professor is Dead! :)



Each day we found lots of time to laugh and talk about life. This was just one of those days that we got together and discussed the fashions of today... Low waisted Jeans.. we were all laughing and sharing our personal experiences... and those of our kids! :)



These dear people were our fearless leaders! They managed to rein us in when we were getting out of control with laughter or questions. They managed to help us clearly understand "Core Beliefs" and how the fit into the workshop and helped us to begin to really understand the value of them and how to guide / facilitate others to better understand them. They laughed with us, cried with us, praised with us and even helped guide us to become better facilitators. What an encouraging group of leaders. Truly amazing people gifted in so many ways ~ I do count them as friends!

So, here's to another fantastic month of learning and experience life in new and different ways!

Check out the SYIS web site and invite ITPartners to your church for a workshop.. You will be blessed beyond measure!

Exploring Life

How many of us really just enjoy the journey before us. I know for myself it's not the easiest thing to do , enjoy the journey that is, especially when the road before me isn't in clear view.

This trip to Colorado was just so good on so many levels. I grew in my ability to facilitate learning in others. I grew in my walk with the Lord, and I grew on a personal level from deep with in. I know that all sounds deep... but it isn't really. I just love how sometimes the environment we live in can at times aid us in growing and maturing on so many levels. This trip to Colorado was one of those amazing times where all kinds of things came together for me.

I just enjoyed life in ways I hadn't in a long time. It was a good time of personal reflection, spiritual growth, and maturing in my skills as a facilitator of learning. I don't think I'll ever use the word TEACH again. I just learned so much about what it means to help others grow in their learning that I don't want to ever be a teacher of things but rather facilitate learning....


You know in reflection of life of Jesus - Jesus was a Facilitator of Learning. He asked good open questions- He rarely spoke without causing those He was speaking to, to reflect on what they were saying. He was a great facilitator in learning. When He spoke He caused others to want to draw near to hear what it was He was talking about and as a result caused people to ask themselves questions that made them want to know TRUTH.

It is just so cool to have crossed over from being unsure, sometimes scared, and even unwilling at times to want to continue on a journey where I'm just not sure where it is going to lead. To being okay and willing to say, Yes to whatever it is the Lord wants. I am not sure where our journey will lead us to next but this one thing I am certain of and that is where ever the road ahead leads I can rest assured that my Lord is walking before me......

It's not a path I've never walked before but it is hard to return to uncertainty when you've been blessed to know what the road ahead looks like.

I wonder if any of you are looking ahead and wondering what the road before will look like? I just challenge you to seek the Lord and to draw near to Him and realize that He is walking with you, before you and has your rear guard too. With that in mind it makes looking ahead not so scary...... :)

After all, we do walk in Faith- and for me personally, I'm learning yet again what it means to walk in Faith and trust the Lord in what He calls me to do!

Here's to exploring life!
melissa