Back To The Future

This is a little long but here are some things I took away from this month’s Lifeline and Oasis series.

WEEK 1: DC & DR. BOB (I Kings 3:5-13)
- We all have our own kingdom of people we influence.
- Pick one thing and be good at it. (This I seem to be unable to do.)
- Don’t be afraid to fail. (Still working on that.)
- The eraser comes out. I’ll just erase that. I won’t walk through that valley. (Done that SEVERAL times)
- I am who my mistakes make me.
- Ask for the wise thing to do than look to God to show you.
- What have I stopped because I failed?
*Personal Reflection: I don’t feel like I have ONE thing that I’m really good at but several things I’m kind of good at. I feel like I have lots of clubs. I know what they do but I don’t know how to use them.

WEEK 2: DC (I Kings 3:16-28)
- Ask. Receive. Use.
- Don’t focus on the ground afraid to fail. Pick your eyes up, focus on Jesus and pursue him.
- What am I going to do with what I asked for?
- Am I asleep to the influence God has given me?
- Prepare yourself now for what to do when God gives you what you ask for.
- My heart encourages others. Am I allowing that to happen?
*Personal Reflection: What do I need to do to get my eyes off the ground? Am I prepared for a ministry position?

WEEK 3: Corey & MARK (Excerpts from Proverbs 2-3)
- You won’t have your family like you do now. (True statement)
- Speech affects mood and relationships
- Figure out what is going on before you try to make changes.
- Think before you act. Is that who you want to be known as?
- Sin doesn’t hurt just the sinner
- In the long run how is this going to change how I live my life. (From Brandon, a student at my table)
- The future is yours. Go with Jesus and make a good movie.
*Personal Reflection: Circumstances and relationships in life change so quickly. Take advantage of the time you have with friends and family NOW. I’m scheduling some coffee and Wendy’s dates this week and going home this weekend!

Confession

I have a confession to make. Every time a church does a parenting series, I get a bad attitude about it. So when GCC announced "The Thing From Another Planet!" series I groaned and complained about how it seems like we just did one of these. I don’t really like the way the series is packaged and I am content being single. I put off going to this weekend until the very last service. While I was the God decided it would snap that bad attitude out of me.

Today Rob talked about “The Creature that Played 10,000 Sports,” also known as “Time Management 101.” Well that title in and over itself is convicting. Take that subject and thrown in a simple music concept and God’s got my full attention. Check out some highlights from Rob’s message or listen to it for yourself.

- Am I becoming relationally poor to become experience rich?
- We run, run, run, run, run but never look towards each other.
- “Velocity and intimacy are enemies” Mark Beeson
- There are sacred patterns we need to put into our lives.
1. Weekly Rhythm (Genesis 1:31 – 2:3)
-- We don’t find anything wrong with breaking the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-11)
-- If we don’t find the space to “be” we start to violate relationships.
-- Withdrawal Weekly
2. Daily Rhythm (Genesis 1)
--Sleep Sarah!
--Divert Daily
3. Annual Rhythm (Leviticus 23)
-- vs 30 – He won’t have to destroy us because we will destroy ourselves.
-- Abandon Annually

Rob didn’t talk about this (if he did I missed it) but there is another level of this rhythm in the Hebrew calendar. It is called the year of Jubilee, a year of not planting any crops and traveling to be with family Read about it in Leviticus 25:8-23. Imagine what our society would be like if we put this into practice!!!!

Yea, I live here

Many of you know that I work at a pretty tought school, but I bet you didn't know my apartment complex is as well. There has been a little bit of excitment around here today. I'm not really sure how comfortable I am knowing this happened just down the road.

Visit from the Parents

My parents just left my apartment a few weeks ago. We had a productive day of Christmas and birthday shopping. I even convinced Dad to by some new dress shirts! (Anna and Lois that was for you!) My dad spent more time in Barnes and Noble than he wanted. Mom and I loved it. I also took them to the teacher store. Mom loved it and the toys amused Dad more than anything else. I spent more than I was planning but purchased some great gives for my nieces and nephew.

We also worked on some plans for our trip to Anna’s in December for her college graduation. That means more fun pictures with my little sisters. My desk is in my room and already covered with things. Dad was nice enough to hang the amazing jazz quintet above my desk. I have such amazing parents.

It looks like I’ll be heading home next weekend because my Grandpa will be visiting my parents. Then may be mom and I can finish that baby quilt for Cael, who was born a month ago! My not-so-prompt gift giving was inherited from her. I love my family!

Looong week

I am completely exhausted. I spent way to much time at school and didn’t get enough sleep. Praise God for coffee.

My parents are coming tomorrow to bring a few things I still have at their house, most importantly my desk!!! Mom and I are going to go shopping for a few Christmas gifts they can’t get back home. I’m not sure Dad will come. He hates shopping even more than I do, and this will be the first big trip he has taken since his surgery.


Here are some completely random quotes from the last few weeks.

One of our teachers talking to a group of students who have severe behavior issues…
Ms. B: I wish I could say something to you in Polish right now that you wouldn’t understand.

Conversation in choir this week.
Student 1: I can’t read music.
Me: I know. This is why we are taking the time to learn it.
Student 1: I’m not going to be able to read it. I can’t.
Me: Well, with an attitude like that you will never learn.
Student 2: Man, what does reading music have to do with choir anyway?

A few numbers

6...the number of hours I got last night
7...number of hours I spend in my office for conferences
13...the number of classes I teach
225...total number of students enrolled in my classes
8...number of parents who came to my office
2...the number of parents I stopped in the hall just because I wanted someone to talk to
1...the number of guesses I'll give you to figure out how happy I am right now

Not today...

I should post on my blog...not today.

I've had lots of thoughts that might have made entertaining posts. I've had lots of stories to share. I just haven't posted anything. Sure I've been pretty busy with end of the marking period responsibilities but not so busy I couldn't post. I just haven't felt like it. Sorry to disappoint the handful that read. I'll get to it. Right now I'm going to get myself pumped up to spend over 12 hours in a row at school. The excitement is overwhelming!

More friends...

I had dinner with two of my favorite people tonight, Becky and Jeffrey. (This is a really old picture but it is the only one I have of just the three of us!) I haven't had the chance to actually sit down and hang out with either one of them for several weeks. These two are some of the greatest friends anyone could ask for.

At one point tonight Jeff jokingly made a comment about true friends lying to each other to protect their feelings. I immediately thought about how the two people sitting across from me are two of people I would go to if I wanted honest input. Over and over again they have told me exactly how it is and always out of love.

I could go on and on about how awesome these two are and all of the funny stories and memories we have together. But I won’t do that…for your sake. I love these guys!

Special Friends

The special friends ministry had a party this afternoon at Crooked Creek Ranch in Wakarusa. It was a fantastic time only it seemed really short. I can't wait until our next party.

Second Saturday Fun

There is more to come about this last week but here is a look at what I did today.

Time to refocus...

Many things have happened in the last three months. Several of those things have been overwhelming and a bit stressful. After a lot of thought I’ve decided it is time to take a step back and refocus. DC’s 301 recap tonight was some solid confirmation.

301 RECAP
Week 1: Everyone is invited
- What is my story?
- Where do I want to be?
- Ephesians 1:11

Week 2: What are you bringing to the party?
- What is the unique things God placed in me? What is my pencil?
- Jeremiah 1:5
- Find your pencil and sharpen it.
- 1 Corinthians 12:7-8

Week 3: What is the wise thing to do?
- God has given me all I need to play my role in HIS story.
- Ephesians 5

DC asked some of these questions and again I realized I have no idea how to answer some of them. After ignoring some serious prodding from the Holy Spirit over the last several weeks, I’ve decided this week is all about refocusing…about stepping back, shutting up and listening. See you at the end of the week!

Today I am...

Today I am…
Tired. I feel like I could sleep for days.

Stressed. I’ve done a ton of paper work today and I still have so much more to do.

Inadequate. My lesson plans for this next unit aren’t coming together very well at all and evaluations start this week.

Unsatisfied. I love my student but I hate how much time my job requires. I can’t spend this whole year working from 7:30 am to midnight everyday.

But I am also…
Blessed. My friend Erik called me this afternoon to tell me he was in town with his fiancé and see if I wanted to join him and some other friends for dinner at Hacienda. I didn’t have to stop and think about that one at all. I had a great time hanging out with the old gang.

Thankful. At this time last year I didn’t have money to buy groceries and would frequently just not eat. Now I have food in my cupboards and a little extra money to buy bread. Bread is a delicacy for those of us who pay over $6 a loaf!


God is good!

Sports Thoughts

The Not So Good News
- It was another rough season for the Reds. Better luck next year.
- Unfortunately, my sister’s volleyball team at Hannibal-LaGrange College isn’t having a very good season. Anna is tired of losing and probably ready for the season to be over.


The Good News
- The Red Wings kick off the season with a 3-2 win over the Ducks! Oh yeah!
- Michigan pulled of a huge win this last weekend and will dominate Eastern on Saturday.
- The Colts are going strong. I have a feeling this is going to be another great year.

Yes. Yes. It will be an exciting season of football and hockey. I love it!

STOMP Unit

This last week we finished up a STOMP unit at school. Each class learned about rhythm and timbre by writing their own 8 measure compositions using quarter, eighth and half notes. To wrap up the unit each class choreographed their own piece using body percussion, buckets or rhythm sticks. I think they enjoyed it. I learned how incredibly out of shape I am and how much I need to start working out. Try jumping, stomping and clapping everyday for a week.

Bad Teacher Day

Days like today I like to call “Bad Teacher Days.” And after you have several Bad Teacher Days in a row, it is good to pop in the classic inspirational teacher movie. Today’s movie was The Freedom Writers. I love the movie. It makes me livid but I love it. These types of movies always raise so many questions for me. They are never easy questions. But since I love a challenge, they tend to give me the jump-start I need to head back to school the next day.

Tonight I don’t really feel recharged though. My heart just aches for my students. No ten-year-old kid should have to go through what some of these students have. Helping them understand that they matter and they are worth more than what the world says about them doesn’t happen overnight. If my students learn nothing else in my class this year, I want them to understand that they matter.

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from the movie.

Scott: It doesn’t matter if I want it. It doesn’t mean it is going to happen.
Erin: Why not?

Miep Gies: No no, no, young man, no. I am not a hero. I did what I had to do because it was the right thing to do. That is all. You know, we are all ordinary people. But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room…You are the heroes. You are heroes everyday.

Erin: I finally realized what I’m supposed to do and I love it.


Update--
So I just had this thought. Everyday I watch students buy into the lies they are fed everyday and play down what amazing individuals they are. I know how frustrated I get and how much it breaks my heart. Imagine how God feels when I do the same thing. I am only the students' teacher; He is my creator!!!