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