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.