Love It!

We are called to be the light of the world so that God can reveal the radiance of His glory through our lives!!!

What's New

Hello! I am a little behind on the blogging, but here is a small assortment of pictures from the last few weeks! Hope this helps to catch you up on how things have been with us! Enjoy

Chirstmas with the Fitzgibbons/Shappi Family

Sweet Melissa at Target

Nick, Dan, and AJ at the Mission Inn

Lindsay, Katie, and Jenelle at the Mission Inn

AJ and Katie in Pittsburgh

The Kelly's and The Shappi's

Almost all the cousin couples in the family

Nick, Aunt Jori, Dan, and AJ (her 3 boys)

Aunt Jori, Katie, and Lindsay at Dan and Jen's wedding

Nick and AJ

Christmas

Christmas time is here again! What an amazing time of year to spend with family and friends. In our family Christmas Eve is a big deal. We all go to church together, we eat as a family, and then the gift opening begins. It is a precious time for AJ and I to reflect on what Chirstmas is all about. . . as I was driving last week I saw a sign posted in front of a church. The sign read, "Christmas is God's most precious gift ever given." I believe that the words written on that sign sum up the true meaning of Chirstmas!

Luke 2:6-14

"And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

Encouragement

Today was our first day of parent-teacher conferences and I got the sweetest note of encouragement from one of my parents. It said: "Dear Mrs. Shappi, Just a note to let you know you are in our prayers today and tomorrow as you have parent-teacher conferences. May God guide your words, encourage you as you meet with parents and reveal to you how much you are loved and appreciated by your students and parents. Love, Laura." I can not even begin to explain how amazing it is to work at a place where people love the Lord. As my first year of teaching at RCDS continues I feel completely supported and cared for by my students and parents! Below is a picture of the sweet family who gave me the note!

Thanksgiving

Colossians 3:15

"And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful."

Here are some things that I am truly thankful for:

Please Pray!

I come to you tonight with a very heavy heart. I was just informed that a family from our school got into a horrible car accident. They are a family of five. A mom, dad, a 15 year old son who goes to the high school, another son who is in 5th grade at my school and a 4th grade daughter who also attends our school. The accident was early this morning as the family was on a Thanksgiving trip to Oregon, where their extended family lives. Their SUV hit a lettuce truck and the dad, mom, and 15 year old son were killed. The younger two Blaine and Kylie were pulled out of the car before it exploded.

As you can only imagine this is a tragedy beyond words. Please be praying for this family!

Our Worth

Where do we find our worth? So often our world tells us that our job, our status, our income, and our material possessions determine our worth and for most people that is where their value lies. That is how they measure and compare themselves to others. Where should our real worth lie and what determines that worth? The bible says that God is the only one that we have to be accountable to and that He will judge who is worthy. So what is God looking for? Who does He consider worthy? His children. Those people who have given their life to Christ and who fully surrender to Him. That is what makes us worthy. Does worthy look a specific way? God created us in His image and that image is what He feels gives us value. For years I have heard the statement "made in the image of God," but I recently dove more into what that really means. This passage of scripture is found in Psalm 8 and Psalm 139 and my commentary discusses it in this way: God's character goes into the creation of every person. He uses part of Himself in the making of every human being. God's spirit is willing and ready to do a mighty work is us. I sat awestruck as I began to think about bearing the image of God. The following is one of the most powerful word pictures I have ever read about being made in the image of God. I hope you are encouraged!

"Van Gogh's Irises sells for $53.9 million. To an untrained eye, even such an extremely expensive work of art may seem to be only a few lines splashed across a canvas, holding no meaning or appeal. What makes this type of art work worth so much? The answer is found tucked away, almost unnoticeable, in the lower right hand corner-the artists signature. Even if the image on the canvas seems rather ordinary, the name Van Gogh scrawled somewhere on it, makes it priceless. The reason that the artwork is worth so much is simple: It came from the hands of the master. The same is true of humanity. Some people think that human beings are valuable because we have somehow acquired worth in a meaningless universe. Psalm 8 teaches that what makes us worthwhile is the fact that we are made in the image of God. In spite of our sinfulness, in spite of the fact that we have broken God's laws and warped His creation, we still bear the image of the One who made us. We are not God's image bearers because we are good but because He created us. Our worth is based on His work, not on our goodness- which is a good thing because we are full of sinfulness. We are like a masterpiece that has had mud and filth splattered on it. Underneath the dirt, we still have the master's signature on us. That fact makes each of us the most priceless object in the universe.

My encouragement to you today is to find your worth in the thing that really matters, your relationship with the One who created you, rather than in the stuff that the world may tell you is worthwhile.

Psalm 139:13-18

"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!"