In case you were wondering, we went to the Farmer's Market today. I've never been to the Farmer's Market before, but today I went and was witness to the purchase of 50 pumpkins and 75 mums. Now I can say I've been to the Farmer's Market.
I had several of the ladies from the single's group over tonight. We just ate dinner, drank some margaritas, and hung out. I love cooking for people. Why don't I do it more often?
A couple of us watched "Knocked Up" later tonight. It was way too crude for my liking. I don't recommend it at all.
It was a really good day!
Friday, September 28, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Days Like Today
If I'm being honest, I love my job. It's never the same thing two days in a row. Some days I'm in classes all day. Some days I'm in meetings or seeing students or helping write a report or...the list goes on and on. Today, however, was a first for me. Without boring you with the details, my boss is on a stress relief/heart health plan and has decided that we all need to be on it with him. Yesterday, he made us close the office and walk the track for 15 minutes. Today, we painted! Our 5th graders are at Camp Cosby and our K, 1st, and 2nd graders went to Children's Theatre. Needless to say, it was very quiet around school today. Our Assistant Principal brought a canvas, paint and brushes and our art teacher came down and instructed us on painting a picture we found on the internet. We had our own version of Sips N Strokes, but without the sips part. It was a very stress-free day today.
Here is the picture we painted. Did I mention it was a group effort?
Here is the picture we painted. Did I mention it was a group effort?
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Apocalypse Now?
Our pastor has been preaching through Daniel lately. The past two weeks (and next week as well) have been about the end times and properly interpreting scripture as related to end time prophesy. It has been really interesting and thought provoking. I don't know about you, but growing up, I never wanted to discuss or hear about the rapture, the tribulation, the mark of the beast or anything else my church believed would happen at the end of our time here on Earth; it was all too hard to understand and too scary. Maybe it's because I'm older, or maybe it's because my relationship with the Lord is growing and I'm learning more about scripture, but these things don't really scare me any more. I'm actually beginning to see the hope in all of it.
Let's see if I can nutshell this.... I've learned lately that one of the things you have to consider when interpreting scripture is the genre in which it was written. Part of Daniel is apocalyptic. Until today, that word has had dreadful connotations. However, I learned today that, for the Christian, it actually gives hope. It reveals the ultimate defeat of evil and the final victory of Christ. It's purpose is to minister to those who are suffering. It is a reminder that God is not unaware of the pain we are suffering or the evil we are facing; He is still in control.
Then why, some ask, does He allow people to suffer? I don't know the answer to that. What I do know is this: My relationship with the Lord has grown most during those times when I felt like I was suffering. The following song came to mind as Bob was preaching, and then a friend was singing it later this afternoon. I'm not sure I'm to the point of asking the Lord to send pain but I definitely understand where the author is coming from.
Bring The Rain
MercyMe
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Let's see if I can nutshell this.... I've learned lately that one of the things you have to consider when interpreting scripture is the genre in which it was written. Part of Daniel is apocalyptic. Until today, that word has had dreadful connotations. However, I learned today that, for the Christian, it actually gives hope. It reveals the ultimate defeat of evil and the final victory of Christ. It's purpose is to minister to those who are suffering. It is a reminder that God is not unaware of the pain we are suffering or the evil we are facing; He is still in control.
Then why, some ask, does He allow people to suffer? I don't know the answer to that. What I do know is this: My relationship with the Lord has grown most during those times when I felt like I was suffering. The following song came to mind as Bob was preaching, and then a friend was singing it later this afternoon. I'm not sure I'm to the point of asking the Lord to send pain but I definitely understand where the author is coming from.
Bring The Rain
MercyMe
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain
I am Yours regardless of
The dark clouds that may loom above
Because You are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
By suffering Your destiny
So tell me what's a little rain
So I pray
Holy, holy, holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
WWJD
Did you ever wear one of those WWJD bracelets? I didn't. I also didn't read the Prayer of Jabez or The Purpose Driven Life. It seemed, to me, that wearing the bracelet was more of a fad than an actual reminder to think about how Jesus would act in certain situations. Over the past several days, and even more so last night and today, I've found myself asking this question.
I've been trying to figure out how to handle a situation. It's one of those things where someone hurt my feelings and instead of dealing with it, I reacted with sarcasm and meanness. I've done this my entire life but now I'm 37 so perhaps I should grow up a little. I truly was, and still am, repentant of my attitude. Only now, I've found out that comments were made about me to others and my flesh is angry. My initial thought is "screw this, I'm done," but the Holy Spirit continues to work in my heart, prompting me to think about the love of Christ (WWJD). I'm so thankful that Jesus doesn't have that attitude toward me. Who am I to hold a grudge against someone for something so insignificant when I have been forgiven of so much?
I guess I am growing up a little. In the past, I would have written off this person and been angry, bitter, and hurt for quite a while. Now, through the work of the Holy Spirit, I don't want to be angry or bitter or hurt. I want to love this person as Christ loves me. My prayer is that the Lord would enable me to put aside the hurt feelings and point this person to Christ. I also pray that they would be able to do the same with me.
I've been trying to figure out how to handle a situation. It's one of those things where someone hurt my feelings and instead of dealing with it, I reacted with sarcasm and meanness. I've done this my entire life but now I'm 37 so perhaps I should grow up a little. I truly was, and still am, repentant of my attitude. Only now, I've found out that comments were made about me to others and my flesh is angry. My initial thought is "screw this, I'm done," but the Holy Spirit continues to work in my heart, prompting me to think about the love of Christ (WWJD). I'm so thankful that Jesus doesn't have that attitude toward me. Who am I to hold a grudge against someone for something so insignificant when I have been forgiven of so much?
I guess I am growing up a little. In the past, I would have written off this person and been angry, bitter, and hurt for quite a while. Now, through the work of the Holy Spirit, I don't want to be angry or bitter or hurt. I want to love this person as Christ loves me. My prayer is that the Lord would enable me to put aside the hurt feelings and point this person to Christ. I also pray that they would be able to do the same with me.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
I Should Be Ashamed
I spent the first two days of this week having an intimate little pity party. I won't bore you with the reasons, and looking back, I'm really ashamed that I got upset over such trivial things. Wednesday, the Lord decided to show me just what a brat I was being. One of my students (we'll call her Kara) came to my office that morning because she was upset about her mom. She is in the 4th grade which means she is probably around 10 years old. I've known this girl for 4 years and had no idea her life was in such turmoil. Her mom has been in a nursing home for 8 years with MS. They had to put her there because the father has to work and can't take care of her during the day. Kara was upset this week because her mom was not alert when she went to visit her this past weekend. Kara talked about her mom's illness and knowing that her mom would probably die soon. After a little more time of me just listening to her and offering what few words I could find, she wanted to go back to class. As she walked out of my office, my eyes filled with tears. I have no reason to feel sorry for myself. I was informed today that her mom passed away either last night or this morning.
Last year, one of our 4th graders was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He underwent treatment and responded beautifully; the tumor disappeared. Jonathan resumed a fairly normal 11 year old life and was able to start the 5th grade only a week or so after his classmates. He went Wednesday for a routine CAT scan and they found out that the tumor is back. This was completely unexpected and has hit his family pretty hard. They are Christians but I know they have to be battling with wondering why.
I know that we all have our own emotional and physical battles. While most are not as traumatic as a 10 year old girl losing her mom or an 11 year old finding out his brain tumor is back, they are still "big" in our own eyes. But things like this tend to put life into perspective. I'm sure it won't be long before I'm feeling sorry for myself again about something insignificant, but my prayer is that I would spend more time being thankful for what I do have and less time pitying myself for what I think is missing in my life.
Please pray for Kara, Jonathan, and their families.
Last year, one of our 4th graders was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He underwent treatment and responded beautifully; the tumor disappeared. Jonathan resumed a fairly normal 11 year old life and was able to start the 5th grade only a week or so after his classmates. He went Wednesday for a routine CAT scan and they found out that the tumor is back. This was completely unexpected and has hit his family pretty hard. They are Christians but I know they have to be battling with wondering why.
I know that we all have our own emotional and physical battles. While most are not as traumatic as a 10 year old girl losing her mom or an 11 year old finding out his brain tumor is back, they are still "big" in our own eyes. But things like this tend to put life into perspective. I'm sure it won't be long before I'm feeling sorry for myself again about something insignificant, but my prayer is that I would spend more time being thankful for what I do have and less time pitying myself for what I think is missing in my life.
Please pray for Kara, Jonathan, and their families.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Brunette's Are Something
A friend of mine emailed me this video today and it made my day! I didn't get to watch it until after school was over but I delayed leaving for the day so that others I work with could enjoy it with me. My friend Whitney added this to her blog as well and said that now she wants to memorize it. I couldn't agree more! I can't believe this guy had to resort to video dating. If anyone knows who he is and whether or not he is still single, please let me know. Better yet, give him my number.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Comin' Out of the Woods
(It's been over a week since I've blogged and I'm feeling the pressure. It has become part of my daily routine to check my email, peruse Facebook, and then check my list of blogs to see who has posted an update. I got home from the beach last night about 8:30 and went straight to my computer (how sad). The first update I found was from my roommate, begging for someone to post something new. When I got home from work today, I promised her that I would give her something new to read while she was at work. I just got an email from her asking why I haven't made good on my promise yet.)
I went to Destin, FL this weekend. What started out as two girls wanting to go to the beach for the weekend turned into so much more. We ended up renting 2 houses so that all 20 of us could have a place to put our stuff and lay our heads at night. It was a really fun weekend!
It all started Friday morning about 5:00 am. For some reason, 4 of us were determined to get to the beach as soon as possible. One benefit to leaving so early is that we didn't run into any traffic. On the way, I was introduced to a new singer, Zac Brown. I must have heard his song Chicken Fried (as well as Sic 'em on a Chicken) at least 50 times through out the whole weekend and I'm still not tired of it. I was actually inspired to download one of his albums. Love it! Here is a video of him singing Chicken Fried. Visit his website to hear more of his music.
Probably the funniest part of the weekend was learning a new dance. Sunday night, after dinner, most of us met at Cafe 331 to do a little dancing. I don't remember the song that we were all dancing to, but it was one of those Cha-Cha Slide-type songs that has a dance to go with it (if you remember the song, please let me know). A couple of girls in our group started the dance and pretty soon, everyone in the place was trying to follow along. It occurred to me that someone could just start doing the same steps over and over, and people would probably join in eventually. It only took 3-4 minutes for our two ADHD members to come up with their own dance moves. They were all too enthusiastic to unveil them during the next song. Of course we all went along with it and it worked; before the song was over, several others were trying to join in. Did anyone catch the name of that dance?
I went to Destin, FL this weekend. What started out as two girls wanting to go to the beach for the weekend turned into so much more. We ended up renting 2 houses so that all 20 of us could have a place to put our stuff and lay our heads at night. It was a really fun weekend!
It all started Friday morning about 5:00 am. For some reason, 4 of us were determined to get to the beach as soon as possible. One benefit to leaving so early is that we didn't run into any traffic. On the way, I was introduced to a new singer, Zac Brown. I must have heard his song Chicken Fried (as well as Sic 'em on a Chicken) at least 50 times through out the whole weekend and I'm still not tired of it. I was actually inspired to download one of his albums. Love it! Here is a video of him singing Chicken Fried. Visit his website to hear more of his music.
Probably the funniest part of the weekend was learning a new dance. Sunday night, after dinner, most of us met at Cafe 331 to do a little dancing. I don't remember the song that we were all dancing to, but it was one of those Cha-Cha Slide-type songs that has a dance to go with it (if you remember the song, please let me know). A couple of girls in our group started the dance and pretty soon, everyone in the place was trying to follow along. It occurred to me that someone could just start doing the same steps over and over, and people would probably join in eventually. It only took 3-4 minutes for our two ADHD members to come up with their own dance moves. They were all too enthusiastic to unveil them during the next song. Of course we all went along with it and it worked; before the song was over, several others were trying to join in. Did anyone catch the name of that dance?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
