Soccer season is in full swing. Mark and I have attended 3 soccer games in 3 nights. Erin, Sam and then Jacob. We have a track meet tonight as well. We enjoy every minute of it, though that many nights in a row tends to be wearing. Erin is enjoying playing on the U19 team. Her coach is the MNVU womens soccer coach. He coaches a spring team for area kids. Sam has really stepped up and is becoming quite the player. Last night, he made a beautiful assist and then headed the ball in for a goal. It was very cool. Jacob has also become quite the defender. We watched him in his game the other night and he amazed us all!

We finally went back to preshool last week. Elizabeth actually went onthe playground without me. Yeah. We are making progress.

Well, for those of you who have seen/heard/read about John Freshwater and his stand not to remove the bible from his desk..... the tides have turned. This is such a difficult post for me. I shared how the story that was public information. Yesterday, the school board met in an executive meeting. They released their accusations towards him stating that the bible is not the issue. In face, it was not brought up again. Evidently, they are not addressing that anymore. The shift is now on John's character and his following rules.

For me, I know much of the story that has lead up to all of this. I have watched it unravel. I praise God that John made a stand and that in his stand, he did not criticize the school board nor did he cut down any of the members of the board or superintendent. He said this was not about them. He said it was about his right to have a bible on his desk. That was all. He didn't interview, answer questions, or go in detail to the events that lead up to this. He mentioned that they were honorable men and women. But his stand did reflect on the School Board despite anything he said about them. The heat was on and it was intense.

I ask that you would pray for John as his character and his reputation as a teacher is being destroyed. I ask that you cover him in prayer. The accusations all center around his faith. For those who have read/heard that he burns crosses on children's arms... he does not. I asked Sam of the hands on experiment he does with the kids. It is purely voluntary and the kids LOVE it. It does happen that the mark that is left on the child's arm can look like a cross simply because he runs the instrument down their arm one way and then when they want it done again, he goes the other way.

For me, this reminds me of Daniel. Yesterday, John was thrown in the Lions Den. Please pray for Mount Vernon as well.