Hello world-wide-web,
Heavenly Father, please bless and guide all eyes reading this blog, as well as all singles, marrieds, the widowed, the lonely, and those who have no one to pray for them. In Your Name, Lord. Amen.
I am only three classes away from completing my master's in school counseling- Exciting! God willing, I will graduate Spring, 2011. Whenever I couldn't afford a class, or books, I'd ask God if this was the career He wanted for me, and *bam* the money invariably shows up right when I need it, and from unexpected places. I take this good fortune to mean God's resounding "Yes!" that I am on the path He has laid out for me. And so it is for all of us: remember that God has a blueprint for you. I was given yet another example of God's purpose, and confirmation of that design, this past Wednesday.
Wednesday was the day my principal, asst. principal and I had a meeting. Thinking this gathering probably had something to do with the five students enrolled in my class this year, I wasn't alarmed. I didn't like the idea of such a small class and I know my principal didn't either, because we exchanged emails during the summer pretty much saying this exact thing. Interestingly enough, in my principal's last email to me she wrote, "I don't have any control over moving you within the district. That will have to come from a power greater than me." He he. I was thinking, "Yes, it will: God."
My principal opened our conference with, "Per our emails, I don't know of any plans the district has of moving you to another school, but I am hiring another second grade teacher. Now, you are probably wondering what this has to do with you, but because we have a new teacher in second grade, we need a classroom for her. The Gifted and Talented teacher's room is on the second grade hallway and she needs a room. Since you only have five students, we thought it would be best to move you and let the GT teacher have your room. Here's our solution for you, you'll stay in fourth grade, and how would you like to team teach with ---?"
My first reaction when I heard 'second grade' was panic, because I feared I was being moved to teach second grade. Whew! Dodged that bullet. (I prefer teaching older students.) But then I jolted to attention when I heard the words, 'team teaching,' smiled broadly at both principals and happily said, "Yes!"
This conversation took place two days before "Meet the Teacher," which was Friday at 4pm. This was also the third time I'd be changing classrooms in two years, and yet I was thrilled at the news. Attitude really IS everything, as I've learned the hard way.
But I was mostly enchanted by the prospect of moving because I realized almost immediately what was going to happen: my room was going to disappear. I'd been wondering what I going to do with 16 years of accumulated 'stuff' when I changed careers. Now I had my answer: give it away, or throw it away. Nice, Lord, thanks.
My roomie has graciously given me a nice corner of her room, complete with a window, a sink and shelves; I got rid of a TON of junk, put books in storage, settled in for "Meet the Teacher," and the first week of school, all told the move took about a day and a half. Amazing. PTL
At the end of this school year, then, I will only have my 'necessities.' Not much packing involved, or needed. And, when you think about Life, all we need is God. He'll take care of the rest.
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Friday, August 13, 2010
The Last Dream of Summer
Hello world-wide-web,
Thank you Lord for the health of all babies; special prayers for those who are married, single, in sickness, have no one to pray for them, and for those who don't believe. In Your Name Lord. Amen.
Last night's dream was wonderful. It featured Jude Law. Pictured here waving, as if he were my neighbor, which in my dream, he was my neighbor.
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
Thank you Lord for the health of all babies; special prayers for those who are married, single, in sickness, have no one to pray for them, and for those who don't believe. In Your Name Lord. Amen.
Last night's dream was wonderful. It featured Jude Law. Pictured here waving, as if he were my neighbor, which in my dream, he was my neighbor.
In my dream, he is married to a wonderful friend of mine who I haven't seen in ages: Marian; she's Asian. Marian, Michelle (a co-worker) and I are teachers and we're discussing when we are going to retire. (I am not going to retire anytime soon, but that's what we were talking about...) Michelle said, "5 years." Marian said, "Six weeks."
"Six weeks!" Michelle and I echoed in unison.
Apparently Marian had a serious illness, though she looked to be in perfect health, and was not given much time left to live. She decided she would stop teaching and stay home with her family.
Michelle, Marian and I are on the second floor of a gorgeous, old, two-story house, (a house not unlike my g-ma's house in EP) sorting clothes, or papers, who knows, I really had no clue what the 'things' were we were sorting. Then the three of us start our bible study (?!), and from where we are sitting, we can see into the house across the street - Marian's house- which has large windows. Jude Law is buffing the floors of his and Marian's house, but it's not a stand-up buffing machine, it's one where you sit down, so we can only see Jude Law's head moving from room to room.
He doesn't look like this,
but more like this, as he's buffing.
Mairan said that cleaning helps Jude deal with any anger issues he has at work. Marian further explains that her and Jude didn't even realize Jude had anger issues until he came home one day and was yelling at Marian over something small and inconsequential. They sought counseling and that's when the therapist realized Jude had a knack for cleaning. Jude Law was calm and happy whenever he had a sponge, or a vacuum, in his hand. Thus, while Marian is at my house for bible study with Michelle and I, Jude cleans.
For some reason the dream shifts to another scene and I'm watching Jude Law walk with a blond on his arm. She has on tight-fitting, work-out clothes. I wonder if Jude Law is having an affair with this blond.
Then the scene shifts back to where the three of us are studying the bible. The doorbell rings. It's Jude, he's come for Marian, and has that blond that I saw him with earlier, standing next to him. Marian becomes hysterical when she sees who Jude is with and slaps his face, running to her home. The blond leaves and Jude Law runs after the blond.
Michelle and I are taking whatever things we were sorting over to Marian's house, but we can't find her anywhere. Jude Law is telling us where to put Marian's things. We are afraid to ask where she is and find out what's happening.
For some reason I 'sense' that Marian dies, though there isn't a funeral, or casket or anything, and since Jude Law is single once again, I wonder if Jude would be interested in having drinks with me...
The photo below is how I imagine Jude Law will look before we leave to grab a beverage together:
Oh, dreaming is fun, isn't it?
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Summer 2010 in review
Hello world-wide-web,
Thank you Lord for blessing all gatherings this summer. I am truly sanctified by the family and friendships I have. I pray for each and every pair of eyes reading this blog - may you find peace and happiness all the days of your lives. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
I am not counting down the days for when I return to work - I am only vaguely aware I need to return to school and 'put up' my classroom sometime during the coming week - but rather I am reflecting on how wonderful this summer has been. I say wonderful even though I am taking an Ethics class! The Ethics class is getting counted down: four days. Please pray for my success on the final. Thanks.
June: When I realized I wasn't going to work for the school district in any sort of capacity, I looked at my summer differently than I have summers past. I began to think of Dallas differently. I thought this summer would be a great time to discover, and in some cases re-discover, the nooks and crannies of the city. I planned to take my camera and peruse downtown, take photos of different places, and just explore the metroplex. Well anyone who is a teacher can tell you that you need at least a week of down time after a school year before you can start to enjoy your time off and get things done. That's what I did too: walking my dog in the park every morning, the occasional nap, watching television with my mom in the afternoon, writing, or puttering around on the world-wide-web. Then a blessing occurred: I unexpectantly received a check in the mail, from the re-financing of my home. Sweet. The summer was beginning with a bang and was wide open with possibilities!
I need to take a quick detour from my summer reminiscing to talk about tithing for a moment. If you belong to a church, I highly recommend tithing. (If you don't belong to a church, what's keepin' ya? ;) Get connected to God! Your life will be so much more than it is right now at this moment. You will be amazed at how good you feel about life, despite it's many problems. I feel more secure with my place in the world knowing a Great and Almighty God has my back.) I have not always been a big supporter of giving my cash away, but recently, when I was short on cash and feeling sick about how my money controlled my mood, I gave some money to church, seeking relief from the strain money was putting on me. It worked. I felt less of a drain and then bam! this check in the mail. I heard a voice inside of me say, "You need to give (insert a lg amt of $$) to the church." Immediately after this thought, I was like, "Okay." Then I started to bargain with God. I gave up this tiny prayer, "God you need to give me a sign if this is indeed the amount you want me to give to the church..." I was climbing into my car to run some errands when my phone rang. It was my principal. I answered with a happy hello. She wanted to know if I could work three weeks of summer school in a second grade bilingual class. Before she finished her sentence I said, "Yes." Simultaneously I thought to myself, "All right, Lord, this is the amount you want me to give, b/c you are already replacing it." Tithe today. You will be consecrated.
And with that phone call, my plans for exploring Dallas were pretty much put aside as I worked 7:30 to 12:15 each day, and then my Ethics class began on Tuesday nights. I was tied up with both too much to do anything else. But I enjoyed every minute of every day. My students were adorable - a nice change from the fourth graders I deal with during the regular year; these students were physically smaller and shorter, and they laughed more readily at silly things I said or did. (Fourth graders sometimes think they are too cool for school.) The material was fun to teach, especially since it was all new to me. My co-workers were fabulous. It was easy money.
The closest I got to taking photos was when Carlton and I took pictures with some of my favorite art in the metroplex, the two giants in Deep Ellum. Those pics have already been posted. Good times.
I didn't get a chance to do any of the other things on my list for summer, but no matter. I did what I was supposed to do: be present in the moment. Once the summer took off I just rode the wave with it. No looking back, only moving forward.
Last week of June: A dear friend of mine had a gorgeous baby girl at the end of this month. I have to boast and say I was the only one who knew the baby was going to be a girl. Everyone else pretty much thought she was a boy. Even when I 'caved' at the very end and said I too thought it was a boy, in my heart I kept thinking, "But really, it's a girl." I am thrilled for my good friend and got to see momma and baby more than most because of my time off. Blessings.
July: when summer school was over, I concentrated on organizing my house. I know, pretty dull way to spend your summer vacay, but actually it was interesting to go through things I haven't paid much attention to since moving into my house six years ago. I found all kinds of cool CDs that I hadn't listened to, as well as some things I'd written about in the past...got rid of books I didn't need. It was all good.
I went on a great date. For the sake of privacy, that's all I'm reporting at the moment.
Last week of July: had a wonderful bday dinner with good friends. My brother bought me tickets to a Led Zep tribute band, so after dinner we all went to the concert. I googled some Led Zep questions for everyone to answer at dinner. In addition to the questions, I printed out some sentences with information about the band. Everyone had to read a sentence in their best British accent. :) The band was awesome and we ended the night at my favorite local diner, "Buzz Brews."
When I registered for my Fall class, I was informed I only have three classes before I will have completed my masters! YEAH. Blessings.
August: (yet to be done...)
Be happy where God plants you - you are here for a reason. :)
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
Thank you Lord for blessing all gatherings this summer. I am truly sanctified by the family and friendships I have. I pray for each and every pair of eyes reading this blog - may you find peace and happiness all the days of your lives. In Jesus' Name. Amen.
I am not counting down the days for when I return to work - I am only vaguely aware I need to return to school and 'put up' my classroom sometime during the coming week - but rather I am reflecting on how wonderful this summer has been. I say wonderful even though I am taking an Ethics class! The Ethics class is getting counted down: four days. Please pray for my success on the final. Thanks.
June: When I realized I wasn't going to work for the school district in any sort of capacity, I looked at my summer differently than I have summers past. I began to think of Dallas differently. I thought this summer would be a great time to discover, and in some cases re-discover, the nooks and crannies of the city. I planned to take my camera and peruse downtown, take photos of different places, and just explore the metroplex. Well anyone who is a teacher can tell you that you need at least a week of down time after a school year before you can start to enjoy your time off and get things done. That's what I did too: walking my dog in the park every morning, the occasional nap, watching television with my mom in the afternoon, writing, or puttering around on the world-wide-web. Then a blessing occurred: I unexpectantly received a check in the mail, from the re-financing of my home. Sweet. The summer was beginning with a bang and was wide open with possibilities!
I need to take a quick detour from my summer reminiscing to talk about tithing for a moment. If you belong to a church, I highly recommend tithing. (If you don't belong to a church, what's keepin' ya? ;) Get connected to God! Your life will be so much more than it is right now at this moment. You will be amazed at how good you feel about life, despite it's many problems. I feel more secure with my place in the world knowing a Great and Almighty God has my back.) I have not always been a big supporter of giving my cash away, but recently, when I was short on cash and feeling sick about how my money controlled my mood, I gave some money to church, seeking relief from the strain money was putting on me. It worked. I felt less of a drain and then bam! this check in the mail. I heard a voice inside of me say, "You need to give (insert a lg amt of $$) to the church." Immediately after this thought, I was like, "Okay." Then I started to bargain with God. I gave up this tiny prayer, "God you need to give me a sign if this is indeed the amount you want me to give to the church..." I was climbing into my car to run some errands when my phone rang. It was my principal. I answered with a happy hello. She wanted to know if I could work three weeks of summer school in a second grade bilingual class. Before she finished her sentence I said, "Yes." Simultaneously I thought to myself, "All right, Lord, this is the amount you want me to give, b/c you are already replacing it." Tithe today. You will be consecrated.
And with that phone call, my plans for exploring Dallas were pretty much put aside as I worked 7:30 to 12:15 each day, and then my Ethics class began on Tuesday nights. I was tied up with both too much to do anything else. But I enjoyed every minute of every day. My students were adorable - a nice change from the fourth graders I deal with during the regular year; these students were physically smaller and shorter, and they laughed more readily at silly things I said or did. (Fourth graders sometimes think they are too cool for school.) The material was fun to teach, especially since it was all new to me. My co-workers were fabulous. It was easy money.
The closest I got to taking photos was when Carlton and I took pictures with some of my favorite art in the metroplex, the two giants in Deep Ellum. Those pics have already been posted. Good times.
I didn't get a chance to do any of the other things on my list for summer, but no matter. I did what I was supposed to do: be present in the moment. Once the summer took off I just rode the wave with it. No looking back, only moving forward.
Last week of June: A dear friend of mine had a gorgeous baby girl at the end of this month. I have to boast and say I was the only one who knew the baby was going to be a girl. Everyone else pretty much thought she was a boy. Even when I 'caved' at the very end and said I too thought it was a boy, in my heart I kept thinking, "But really, it's a girl." I am thrilled for my good friend and got to see momma and baby more than most because of my time off. Blessings.
July: when summer school was over, I concentrated on organizing my house. I know, pretty dull way to spend your summer vacay, but actually it was interesting to go through things I haven't paid much attention to since moving into my house six years ago. I found all kinds of cool CDs that I hadn't listened to, as well as some things I'd written about in the past...got rid of books I didn't need. It was all good.
I went on a great date. For the sake of privacy, that's all I'm reporting at the moment.
Last week of July: had a wonderful bday dinner with good friends. My brother bought me tickets to a Led Zep tribute band, so after dinner we all went to the concert. I googled some Led Zep questions for everyone to answer at dinner. In addition to the questions, I printed out some sentences with information about the band. Everyone had to read a sentence in their best British accent. :) The band was awesome and we ended the night at my favorite local diner, "Buzz Brews."
When I registered for my Fall class, I was informed I only have three classes before I will have completed my masters! YEAH. Blessings.
August: (yet to be done...)
Be happy where God plants you - you are here for a reason. :)
"I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world." Mother Theresa
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