Quotes

Today was the last day of the semester. Hooray for Christmas Break!!!!! (One of the wonderful things about being a teacher is having the vacation time away from students)

As I twirled my thumbs during my students' semester test I was looking through this wonderful daily inspirational calendar and found a few quotes I would like to share:

"The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each other's burden, easing others' loads, and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas." W. C. Jones

"When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become." Louis Pasteur

"Experience teaches us when to wait and when to move forward." Janette Oke

"God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work." 2 Cor 9:8

"Our Lord does not care so much for the importance of our works as for the love with which they are done." Teresa of Avila

"The mind, like a parachute, functions only when open." Unknown

"Goals are like the stars: they are always there. Adversity is like the clouds; it is temporary and will move on. Keep your eyes on the stars."

And lastly;

"If I cannot do great things, I can do small things in a great way!"

Snow, Beautiful Snow

Today it is snowing. The wind is cold and strong. I love it!!!! We are not supposed to get very much snow but it's still a beautiful sight to see. I may be sitting inside enjoying the warmth but I cannot wait to bundle up and go outside. Hooray for the snow.

Ice Storm 2007

That is what they are calling the winter storm that has hit the entire state of Oklahoma. I like many other teachers and students in the state are at home today. Although I cannot complain about being home an extra day having lots of ice over snow is not such a good thing. As showing from my ability to write on my blog we still have electricity. But there are many people around the city and state that are without power and have been. Thank goodness the streets are not that bad and power companies are able to get out and fix the problems. I am pretty confident that we will have school tomorrow, or at least I can only hope so.

Last night like many of my students I'm sure I could not go to sleep so I stayed up a lot later than I normally do in hopes of sleeping in. But did I sleep in this morning, of course not. I woke up bright and early around 5:30 but it's a good thing because my alarm was still on so I turned it off and laid back in bed for awhile. Well I may not be a late night person but I am most certainly am a morning person.

I have almost completely finished sewing the binding on my quilt. I've read at least 2 books and watched more Christmas movies in the last few days than I have in a long time. So I've been at least somewhat productive.

I wish it were snowing instead of icing. I love to play in the snow. I love a real winter wonder land.

There is nothing I can do to prepare for my classes, seeing as I have everything at school. My intentions were to go up this weekend and clean up my class from Friday's activity but did that happen, no.

I've completed most of my Christmas shopping, yay!!!

It is very cold outside, hence the ice.

I plan on staying inside where it is warm and toasty.

I might do some Christmas wrapping.
I really can't think of anything else but I'm a little bored so I keep rambling on.

If it's cold where you are, try and stay warm.

Home for the Holidays

I love being home for the holidays. Thanksgiving was wonderful. It is always lovely to spend time with family and friends. Thanksgiving and Christmas are my two favorite holidays. I love being around family and making so many wonderful memories. It was so wonderful to see some friends that I had not seen since the summer. I hope the time between seeing each other again will not be so long as the last. My mother and sister and I worked on quilts together. My mother and I worked on my Christmas quilt and it truly looks amazing. That's what I love about being home, just being able to hang out with my family and friends, no agendas, no big plans. Just being together sharing our lives with each other.

Today has been a cold rainy day. The type of day you want to spend taking an afternoon nap, oh wait I did. I woke bright and early this morning and completed all my errands before all the craziness began. It was simply splendid. I have a hard time being around lots and lots of people during the weekends. I can handle the crowds during the week, seeing as I'm a teacher but on the weekend I enjoy the relaxation and slow pace I can take. It was a long week for me and my students. I think all of us did not want to come back from Thanksgiving break.

All this week I've done a little Christmas decorating each day. I love decorating for the holidays. I don't' go all out just a few things here and there and of course the Christmas tree and lots of Christmas music. Oh there is so much I love about Christmas. I must also mention how much I love the winter time. To bundle up and drink hot chocolate by a fire, who wouldn't love that.

So I'm going to soak up every minute of the holidays. Here's hoping that your holidays are filled with joy and laughter.

OKLAHOMA

Today Oklahoma is celebrating 100 years of statehood. To honor our grand old state (which technically is not as old as other states), we watched the musical "Oklahoma." I love this movie. It's hardly historically accurate but it's fun. What made my day is hearing my students sing along with the movie. The movie facts may not be accurate but there are aspects that represent our grand old state.

On another amazing note, I must applaud my students. They have genuine hearts. This week they collected money for Invisible Children. I highly recommend reading more about it. Check out http://www.invisiblechildren.com/. But to put it simply part of what the organization does is raise money for schools in northern Uganda. In the 7th grade class alone they brought in over $500. I know this may not seem like a great amount. But when you consider that the majority of the kids don't have money and the money was mainly in change (i.e. pennies galore), you know it has impacted them in a great way. Even now tears come to my eyes as I think about how many of them asked what more they could do. They want to bring more money in and have more fundraisers. They would also really like to write letters to the students in Uganda. I am going to do my best to help make it possible for them. You never know what fire is burning in the hearts of young people. Most of the time they just need the opportunity to see beyond themselves.

In the end I must simply say Happy Birthday Oklahoma!!!!

Home

I am so blessed. Most people no matter who they are have a place they call home. For me home is more than one place. Home is where I am right now. I love having a place of serenity, safe, full of warmth and fellowship, where I serve the Lord. Home is also where my family is. My folks live only a few hours away where I spent most of my growing up years. Most of my extended family live in a few states away. In all those places they are home to me. Not because of where they are but because of who is there and the memories that go along with the people. There is a family here that I lived with for 9 months. I find myself hanging out with them because they are like family to me. I love my family and friends. I love the fellowship that I have with them. Even when I visit friends far away there is a since of home. So I truly believe that "home is where the heart is". What fills your heart should fill your home.

This weekend I was reading in Lamentations 3:22-26
"The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.
'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul,
Therefore I have hope in Him.
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the person who seeks Him.
It is good that he waits silently
For the salvation of the Lord."

Oh how my heart cries out and I shout these words to the Lord. GREAT IS HIS FAITHFULNESS. He is my portion!!! If you look up the meaning of the word portion you will find that in some translations it says inheritance. But the definition means so much more. In short, God is enough. Oh that I would truly know that my God is enough for me, that He is my all in all. So this is simply my prayer that wherever I am, my home would know the fullness of God. As I wait for Him may I know that He is enough for me, my portion. That my home will be wherever my heart is. AMEN!

"Ah ha" moment

Today has been one of those rare yet wonderful days were I've seen an "ah ha" moment form for my students. I simply love these days. We've been learning about Africa and all the many problems that the people deal with on a daily basis. Yesterday they learned about AIDS, which just so happens to be a wonderful lesson as well, but I'm writing about today. So in talking about AIDS I guide them to the conclusion that to be able to talk about ideas for helping the problem we must have more understanding about each country and to do so we must be able to learn about human development and being able to measure that development. Oh I am excited all over again. Yes I'm a geography nerd. So in any case we discussed what a "good life" might include and how what we value, someone else in a different culture might value differently depending on where they live and who they are. I must stop here and say that this discussion included a great deal of participation, which is always great. If you were looking in my class today you would see productive chaos. Yes this truly happens. They may all have something to say in the discussion but when it came time to write their responses all were quite and actively writing. Oh what delight. We went on to discuss how to measure development. For example the literacy rate can be used to help measure knowledge in a society. I love when students have to think out side their knowledge box for new information. We concluded with realizing how many countries in Africa are developing and comparing population pyramids. So to follow up we will look at current development in Africa and the issues that many countries face with improving the lives of Africans. This will hopefully lead them to be able to come up with their own improvement plan for the growth of human development. It will be exciting to see how this goes. I can only hope they will have another "ah ha" moment.

I truly hope that I did not bore you with my exciting lesson plan about human development. I was just so excited about the productive chaos going on in the classroom today I just had to share.

My new home

The clouds have rolled in, the wind is blowing and the temperature is dropping. I love the fall. The leaves turning all brilliant colors. The mums blooming. Pumpkin carving. Wearing sweaters. I could go on and on.

I have finally come to a moment where I can take a breather and take it slow for the rest of the night. I am sitting in my new home. I've put everything in it's place, planted mums outside, and even cooked dinner. It feels simply wonderful. I am so blessed by God. He has given me this home and roommates to be able to afford it. He has given me a family so unique and willing to help. I could not have accomplished all that I have in such a short time (I completely moved everything out of my apartment on Friday) without them.

Fall is here and as my heavenly Father says there is a season for everything under the sun. I look forward to this season.

Life as I know it

My life has been crazy the last month. I'm certainly not delusional to realize that it will continue to be so.

One of the many things that has kept me busy has been looking for a house to rent. God opened an amazing door with another teacher I work with to be a room mate. It would be great if we could find another person to rent with us. As for the house it has truly been a whirlwind. We found two houses and one we were a day too late and the other only five minutes too late. But this week that all changed. After a whole day of looking at more than a dozen houses (mind you most of them looked the same, cookie cutter type) we found one. It is truly exciting to be able to live in a home instead of an apartment. It's also amazing that I've been doing a bible study about faith. You know when ever you begin to be stretched you will certainly be tested. And so I have been for the last few weeks and I know it's far from being over. But through our times of testing and perseverance we grow and change. Praise God. I know pray that I will come out of the testing and stretching more refined and more like Him.

School continues to be busy without exception. But I love teaching and I love my students. The day is always new and I can never predict how the day is going to go. I always hope for the best, it is most definitely not perfect and I find myself frustrated at times. But this week has been nice. I haven't taken work home once. That's very rare. I keep thinking that someone should do a show titled "My life as a teacher". It would be rather entertaining and surprising.

This past weekend I went over to Branson with my family to have a weekend with my cousin who will be going to Iraq soon. It was a blast. Short and full of lots of exciting memories. It was great to go to Silver Dollar City. My family had not been since we were little. My mother just wanted us to go on all the rides so she could see us laugh and smile afterward. I love moments in our life like that. Certainly it was exhausting making a quick trip there but so worth it.

I think I have exhausted my thoughts for the moment. I will try not to wait almost a month before I write again. But you never know what the month is going to bring. Speaking of October I love the fall!!!!

What thoughts I have....

If you wanted to know what kind of week I've had all you would need to do is have seen my home. I did not make my bed all week, clothes were everywhere (in my opinion), and many dishes remained in the sink dirty, mind you. And if you know me you would know that I like things around me in order. I wouldn't consider myself annal or obsessive about being neat, but for me as long as my world has some order to it I can handle the stress or overwhelming feeling of not being adequate. But this week it was a long week. By the time I got home everyday after work, and usually after running numerous errands I had no energy to work on keeping my place clean. Today was a long day. I did not want to come home and get my house in order, but I'm going out of town this weekend so I was not about to leave it this way before I left. I like coming home to a clean place. So I took the time to clean and straighten up, and yes unload and reload the dishwasher. How long did this take me, you might ask. Less than an hour, and I even watered my plants, while talking with a friend. So, the point of complaining makes no since. Although I must complain that not sharing the load is at times frustrating but nothing I can do about that at the moment, except for continuing to trust and obey.

There are times that I feel completely scatter brained. And by my ramblings on I'm sure you can tell. I really do love what I do. In many ways I'm learning the art of being a teacher. From watching my coworkers, friends, and my own sister I now realize that I will always be learning that art. Never will one day be the same, nor will I ever truly be able to predict what might occur during that day. And on top of that every hour will be different, every student will be different. The blessings and joys of being a teacher cannot be replaced. The exhaustion is at times surprising. The learning on going. What will it take to master a thing that is always changing? I have no answer, but to keep going, sharing, and never ever stop learning or trying to be or do more than the day before.

Life hardly ever goes the way we plan it to. But I know a God who knows the plans He has for me and I believe Him. "He who promised is faithful." So even though it was a long, hard, and even lonely week. I'm not alone in any of it. Just as I will always be learning about being a teacher, I think I will always be learning about my Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and my heavenly Father. I honestly do not know how people keep moving forward without faith. I wonder at the work God is doing in my life and hope in His promises. He carries my burden when I give it to Him. He is faithful.

My thoughts continue on but I will stop here for tonight. May you not forget how great the small things can be.

Don't bother the snake

There is a snake outside my door and for the time being I am completely content with it just staying where it is. I am sure after the tropical storm that just went through here it was trying to find a dry place to rest. I suppose if there was a man in my life I would ask him to take care it for me but being that there is no man currently the snake can stay where it is in hopes that it moves on soon. Aside from the snake we had a spectacular sunset tonight. Tropical storm Erin came through this morning with lots of rain, wind, and humidity. The area is facing flooding all around here but even after such a fierce storm the sun shines through. How much in our lives do we experience storms that cause much damage and after they are gone we are blessed beyond measure in ways we never expected.

This week was our first week of school. At the end of it like most teachers and students I was completely exhausted. I did not go anywhere as soon as I got home Friday night. I did not want to talk with anyone or do anything really. I love what I do, I love the people I work with, but at the end of the day it does take a lot out of me. I need to be refreshed before I can go at it again. I can truly say at this moment I am so looking forward to the year ahead of me. The challenges will be interesting. I have this feeling that although it will be hard at times the joys will be without measure. So my storms may come but I know that there will be breathtaking sunsets waiting.

How great is our God!!!

Wow, I've had one long, crazy week. When I first walked into my classroom I was completely overwhelmed, but once I got to work it's really turned out good. There were a few times that I kept wondering around trying to figure out what to do next and a little bit scatter brained, but I think I'm almost ready for the 1st day of school. It's very exciting and scary all at the same time. I keep having the dreams where I've got everything together but nothing works. I don't think things will not work but I'm trying to be prepared for whatever comes my way.

On an absolutely positive note I went to a new church today. The church I have attended for the last year is good, I like it but I've never quite felt that stirring to want to get involved, I've always held back. So I've been thinking about visiting other churches. I come from many different background but most of my growing up years were attending a Methodist church so I thought why not try that first. There is a church in the area that I've passed a few times and always thought I should visit. So today was the day. I decided to go not knowing anyone or anything about it. And what a surprise. First of all the worship was wonderful. Today they began singing sacred hymns. And then I was so blessed to hear a young group of women sing "His eye is on the sparrow" and "How Great is the Father's love for us" with no music. It was beautiful. And to top it all off I knew the pastor from Chrysalis (a young adult ministry I was involved in for many years during high school and college). I have no idea if this is where the Lord will want me but I'm praying about it and will visit a few more times. And I must say that I actually wanted to find somewhere to get more involved and I hope to have the freedom in doing so at this church or where ever God would have me. How great is our God!!!!!

What a great way for me to start the school year, with so many blessings.

I'm not ready

I just went to my school today and I'm in a different classroom, which I knew was coming. But here I am knowing I'm going start teaching in 1 week and I feel completely unprepared. Overwhelmed doesn't quite describe how I'm feeling. I know that all will come together and it will be just fine, but even knowing that I still have to get ready. My sister (who is an art teacher) and I were working on some lesson plans together when she began to write out a "to do" list. My response was there is so much I have to do at the moment that I don't even know what I need to do first. For me I have to get the big stuff in order first so I can make a list and prioritize all that I need to get done. So today I've accomplished one big task; I moved all the boxes from my old classroom to my new classroom. Tomorrow will be moving furniture and cleaning. It's times like these that I do wish I lived in the same town as my family or had a few friends that had some spare time to help out. Really only because it's so much more fun doing work together than doing it alone. But I have music. And I love listening to music.

So for now I'm on my way to Hobby Lobby!!! Fabric always helps brighten a room :)!

Today I watched part of The Lion King with the children I work with. I absolutely love Disney movies. For the most part I can't name very many movies I don't like from Disney. But the real reason I'm writing today is that during the movie I was reminded of the song Akunamatata (my spelling could be absolutely wrong) but it means no worries for the rest of our days. It's our problem free philosophy. There are so many times in my life that I truly forget to not worry. At the end of the school year I had posted the scripture Matt 11:28 all over my home. "Come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest." God is so faithful to remind us not to worry about tomorrow because it will take care of itself. As a planner and someone who likes "my ducks in order" I am constantly learning but not worrying and trusting God with not only the outcome but the process it takes to get where He wants me. And of course where would be without patience to help accomplish that. Isn't God good.

I am preparing to start a new school year. I'm looking forward to the year for more reasons than one, but in my preparation it has been a good reminder to not get so caught up in the details that I lose sight of the goal.

Kindred Spirits

One of my all time favorite movies is "Anne of Green Gables." From this movie I took the phrase "kindred spirit." I have been blessed to know some amazing people who are truly kindred spirits. They are those people who as soon as you meet them you know them. You connect with them in a special way, not always in the same way. Most often then not it is in completely different ways. They are those rare people in your life who you don't see everyday or maybe not even once a week, but as soon as you around each other it is as though you were never apart.

Life is an incredible journey and we all walk a different path. But I simply must say what a treasure it is to have kindred spirits cross my path and at times walk with me a little ways.

Tonight I visited with two of those kindred spirits in my life. It's amazing how refreshed we are after visiting with one another. There is still that part of me that longs to have that everyday. And in His sweet amazing grace Jesus simply reminds me that He is a true kindred spirit and he never leaves my side. Oh what an awesome God that we serve. That He would come down from heaven to serve us and minister to us and give His life that we might know Him intimately as our Savior and so much more.

Home

I have loved the time I have spent with my family and friends, but I am truly glad to be at my own place. It took me a few hours to unpack and get reorganized but I'm so glad to be home again. I still have cleaning to do but I am one of those weird people who get excited about cleaning and after I'm done I may be tired but very refreshed. So my plan is to come home to clean after church, I'm already planning what I need to get done. Yeah for cleaning!!

Mothers

I love my mom. It's so amazing to me how my mom can make a friend wherever she goes. I know for a fact my mother is not the only one who befriends almost anyone she meets. It makes me think about myself and whether or not I actually take the time to ask how someones day is or if I'm in too much of a hurry and I impatiently wait for my receipt so I can get home as soon as possible to avoid people in general. I think we all have something to learn from our mothers.

I went to a quilt show today with my mother. It is truly amazing the work of art that was on display. My mother and I now have more projects to work on. I am very excited about making a small wall hanging in the shape of a flag with the pledge of allegiance to hang in my classroom. Last year my flag kept falling off the wall and all I heard from my students is that I had to burn it because it was on the ground. I of course did not burn the flag but now I will have something much better in its place.

We finally have sun outside!!! So I'm going to find something to do outside in the warm summer sun. Enjoy your day and give your mom a call, she misses you.

My blog

I must simply say that I never thought I would have a blog. For my own reasons I don't want to have a myspace or facebook, but here I am now with a blog. Of course this was a result of some coersion by my friends Becky and Zippy, oh and Aduma too. So for now I shall see how much I like expressing my thoughts on a computer for others to read.

On another note, I think it would simply be wonderful if all the amazing people I have so much fun hanging out with were in the same area code. Even though they are not I cherish the precious time I do spend with each and everyone. The late night Cribbage games, creating my new blog, oh and who could forget watching UHF. :) Isn't it amazing what you learn about someone and are willing to share because you've laughed together over the silliest things.

Tomorrow I leave the beautiful Rocky Mountains in Denver. The site of such splender only just barely touches the greatness of God. The beauty He displays all around us always makes me pause and enjoy. So I will say goodbye to these mountains but I will come again and be in awe once more of God's creation.

One last note to my friend Zippy and my new friend Aduma we finished taking the tape off the wall and it truly was not the same without you. Be blessed dear friends. Don't worry about tomorrow for it will take care of itself.

My new and old friends

So here I am in Colorado helping a dear friend paint her home. I am having a blast!!!! I may be covered in paint but the reward of fellowship makes up for all the clean up. Many hands make light work but if you are in one small room with a few Engineers, an I.T. Manager and my friend's mother the work is done with impeccable accuracy; which makes the end result perfect. But more than the work I have been overjoyed to spend time with old friends and get to know new friends. Without people what a lonely state we would all be in. Work is made fun when you're with friends. It's a pleasure to learn about people I've never known and continue to develop the relationships I already have.

So the next time you decide to paint remember to invite friends along to help because the work ahead of you will turn into a memorable experience.