And it Begins!

Tonight I met all my children and their parents and may I just say- I am excited!

After a short spiel by our administrator and the pastor of the church where my school is, the families were released to our classrooms. I was running on adrenaline so I barely felt nervous.

 It took all of the last three days to finish my classroom. And that was with the hours spent in the afternoons and evenings of this week. I have a new respect for all of the teacher I have had!

I have eaten lunch at the church the past three days and the pastor even asked if I felt like I lived there! You know you have been at a church too much if the pastor asks that!

But, as the final minutes quickly ticked by, I had a huge peace (one that was oddly accompanied by a large amount of adrenaline and a long mental list of tasks to complete). Hank was a marvelous help. He had to work today but finished right after church. He came with lunch and we ate and then buckled down. The final details came together and I must say, it looked like a real classroom and I felt like a real teacher. A great feeling! :)

When the parents were dismissed and began to come into the classroom, I put on my best smile and began to greet the children and their parents. I feel so fortunate in that 11 out of 12 parents came. This tells me that I have a group of involved parents and that is so important.

Hank took all the supplies and organized them in the back of the room while I gave the parents information about myself, what we would be learning this year and our classroom rules. When I finished, I was able to meet some of my students. They are PRECIOUS and SO ADORABLE!!!!

And their parents were amazing. I am so thankful and so very blessed. We pulled out of the parking lot and got pizza because we were both too brain-dead and tired to cook. But I couldn't shake this glorious peace. Before we climbed into our cars and left the church, I turned to Hank and said "This is where we are supposed to be." And he feels it too. In the staff and the family feel of our team, the sweet students and their parents, and the administration that wholeheartedly  supports us... I am so thankful and so excited for our first day tomorrow!

Whew... Overwhelmed in this place

Today was the second day of teacher in-service. I am still learning what in-service is, but I think its basically a lot of information geared to get the teacher ready for school in a short amount of time.

While it is all good information and I am so extremely thankful for this job and the students I teach this year, I.am.overwhelmed!

My brain feels a little exhausted and I can't quite wrap my mind around tasks that need to be done- like lesson planning and completing eight hours on pre-service classes and professional development classes online... Oh and I am still working towards getting certified with the state- more online classes.

This month may actually break me of my internet addiction. I am actually cutting down my excessive facebook time because I cannot stare at the computer any longer.

There is a silver lining to each cloud afterall!

Today I was so extremely blessed by my mentor teacher- who patiently and lovingly answered my many questions and walked me through the schedule and curriculum. I learned more about the incredible vision this school has and was shaken again by what an incredible privilege it is to work at a school that teaches students to be excellent in life.

And I got a bulletin board done! Happy Dance!

Now Hank is cutting out game pieces and various paper that needs to be laminated and I am just so thankful for the sleep that I will get tonight.

With that- fairwell and sweet dreams all!

He brings me honor

There is a verse in the Bible about how a woman can save her husband by her faithfulness. I like that idea. It is so full of hope. But I think sometimes here in this house it is flipped.

Sometimes my husband is the one saving me.

This past weekend, Hank attended a men's retreat. He had really been praying about getting some 'guy time' and had been searching out men from our church over the past few months. So when a fellowship in town, a gospel church, hosted a men's conference, hubby was jazzed!

It has been a while since I have seen him this excited! Every night, he came home and shared his pages of notes with me. He would share how fired up the pastors got and how the whole group of men went crazy in worship or shouted their amens and mmhmms and how they made him feel like one of the brothers. Just a very pale one...

I went to my parents house this weekend for a wonderful party that friends threw for my sisters' impending jobs. Emily is going all the way to Rhode Island for the next year to work as a field teacher at a working ranch. Julia is going all the way out to West Texas to work as an assistant camp director. I am proud beyond words for both of them!

When I got home, Hank told me all about his Saturday- the last day of the conference. He told me about how the pastor spoke of the need for a real life change. The theme was 'recover all' and they had talked about how God wants to recover the men's family, finances, spiritual lives and so on. They talked about praying daily for their wives and families and allowing Jesus to infiltrate every area of their lives. They talked about putting actual life change into effect.

When Hank left the church, he saw a lady walking along the side of the road. She asked if he was going into the city and said she had gotten stranded after a night with friends. He offered her a ride and drove her all the way home. On the way, Holy Spirit was prodding him to talk to her about Jesus and His love. Now, you have to understand how scary that is. For some reason, in this free country with a GPS view of the Roman Road and years growing up in church, it is still scary. Most of the time, we are pretty content to go to church, serve where we can, get to know our neighbors a bit and keep our marriage in shape. Most of the time we are thinking about 'evangelizing.'

But Hank just started talking about Jesus and telling this lady how much Jesus truly loves her. And she listened. She had read her bible before and had gone to church, but it was all a bit confusing. So he gave her a place to start an reminding her that yes, Jesus loves her so much.

On Sunday, hubby said he was going to offer to mow our neighbors grass for free. It is grass we have complained about because it can get pretty tall... So he walked over there and bargained with her, trying to get her to accept his offer. She wouldn't pay him less that twenty bucks, but he still mowed her lawn and came home smiling.

And I am a bit in awe. A bit mystified and a lot humbled. Because I don't quite know what to say. I feel so proud of him, so humbled to see him moving and living out these truths and so challenged to find the opportunities that Jesus has given me to love and to serve. And he is bringing honor into this home and he is leading in a deeper and more sensitive way with more wisdom. And I am so thankful. It feels like a grace baptism again and again and the waters are refreshing. I don't ever want to climb out.

Rested and Ready

        It was perfect timing really. I couldn't have seen it coming and was still complaining just before it came. But in the midst of a job I struggled in and as the doors swung wide for me to be certified as a teacher, it came. An interview I thought would happen five months ago and I longed for job offer.
     And I can see it now, mostly, that His timing was perfect through and through. That if this had come sooner, I wouldn't have learned those hard lessons- about putting forth hard effort when I am mostly frustrated, about trusting the Lord when I am doing filing rather than saving the world. And teaching, well I would have taken it for granted. Just as I did when I taught in Asia.

Taken in Seattle last Summer. So thankful for new seasons, fresh starts and the waves of His Mercy.

      And now it is a great gift. The pleasure of teaching, laughing with those students, seeing the joy of learning creep across faces and feeling his pleasure as I teach. It is so good.
       Next year I will be teaching four year olds at a small school. It isn't glorious but it is good. I am a little terrified but so thankful. He has provided me with just what I asked for- a job working with kids, not far from home. And more than I asked for- a teacher to work with and learn from who will help me along in this new path. And more- a chance to get certified! I look back in amazement at all the doors he opened while I continued to complain. I can be pretty ungrateful and blind at times.

    But now I am oh so thankful and oh so excited. It is small really, but I see the bigness in it. The great task of teaching young ones and building up a strong foundation of His Love, His mercy, His Word. And I checking out stacks of books on parenting youngsters and the young mind. It feels like a crash course in four year olds. And I never knew I would draw so much from babysitting experience but when it is all you got...

    So here we are, once again, thankful. Perhaps one day I will learn to be thankful even when I can't see what he is doing.


Please feel free to post some advice for working with four year olds. Thanks!