Everyday Blessed

There are a lot of incredible things going on in my life right now.  The most beautiful thing though is seeing people come to God.  Two and a half years ago when I met my now husband, he didn't have his faith in God. He knew who God was, he had grown up in the church, but he didn't have a relationship. He was seeking that. It has been such an amazing thing to go on this journey with him, so watch him grow that relationship!  While I have watched him grow over the last two years, when he came back from Kenya, he was the most changed. He is a little more on fire now than he was before he left. When I saw fire, I mean like the fire that come upon the apostles head when the Holy Spirit came down on them (Acts 2:1)K, maybe not that extreme, but you get the point.  It has just been so awesome to see and more importantly, to be able to walk along side him. That we can seek God together.  But, what really ins...

This week was a long week. I came home Friday completely exhausted. At one school, it was the last week before our 3 week spring break! There was so much excitement and just so much other stuff going on.  But come Friday, I got the encouragement that I needed.  At the end of my math class, I asked the students what the best thing has been about their year so far. They all had some great things to share! I was so excited to hear them reflect on their great year. But what was really touching to me, was that for some of the students, their highlight (that they were thinking about at that moment) was getting to be in my class, or for one student, getting to see me at church (she gets double doses of me!) and it allowed me to see that these kids know that I care about them. They want to be in my class because they feel loved when they come in the room. That is my goal as I know I've written...

I have a student, almost every teacher can say at some point that they have had that student. Not a bad students, but the student that takes more attention and needs more love. I do absolutely love this students, but he can also exhaust me. Everyday is unknown. Someday are great and some days are not. Somedays, he is super focused, on task, and lots of fun. Other days he cannot complete a single task without one-on-one attention.  One day, we had a bad day. WE, not just him, but me as well. I don't remember why, but for some reason, I was short that day. We both knew it. We both knew that two people having a bad day do not lead to a good day. I think because we both knew, it didn't turn into anything worse. Really just frustration.  The whole point of me sharing this is what happened the next day. I hadn't told anyone about this bad day that we had both had. I knew that because I was not in a great mood, I couldn't really fully complai...

So tomorrow is the last day of school!! I’m sure I have a lot of things to be doing right now, but I do not know what… We’ve been building up to this moment for the last few months! Tomorrow, I will say good-bye to twenty amazing kids who have touched my heart, and who I will most likely never see again. I want this day to be special, I want this year to have been memorable, I want to leave a great last impression. But how am I going to do that? I have been trying hard in this last week to lower my expectations, and to up my energy. I have been letting them give me as many hugs as they may need and trying not to push them away even if I’m crazy busy! I’ve been trying to read fun stories and spend some extra time dancing and playing games. Have I been successful? I don’t know. I may never know.  But what does it mean for a teacher to be successful? Does it mean that my students have to grow the most on their test scores? Does it mean that my students need to come out kn...

It has been a whirl-wind!! It is almost April, there are 111 days till the wedding and only 2 months left of school! So with all of that, there is a lot of stress lately!  In February, I was told that my position was being cut at school, because the district only wants 3 sections of K in the school, and I was section 4. This was actually kind of an answer to prayers. As much as I would love to have one more year in the same spot with the same curriculum and same staff, Brandon wants to go to school in Winona, so we would have to move the following year anyway. So, with this, I won't have to make the decision to quit a job. But now I am on the hunt for a job! Job applications are no fun, and the waiting is tough!  So, now that we decided to move to Rochester, we are trying to figure out what to do with a living situation. It seems to make a lot more sense to buy a house. We are thinking we will be there for five years or so, at le...

So much has happened in the last year! It is absolutely amazing how God works.  The sermon today was about how God orchestrates things to help prepare us for what He wants us to do. I believe that we do have free will, but that God puts things in our path, so that He can prepare us and use us. I still do not fully understand what all God has in mind or why everything has happened the way it has.  Last summer, I met a guy, totally by God's perfect orchestrating. I had stayed back from bible study and chose to go downtown with my dad to get dinner after I had already been there and eaten. One of Brandon's friend dragged him (not literally) downtown and they decided to mix things up and go to some different places than they usually do. All of this led us to cross paths. My dad and Brandon's friend started talking and so, after listening to them for fifteen twenty minutes, Brandon finally started up a side co...

1 Samuel 12:24   But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. I have absolutely enjoyed every moment of my experience with the 2nd grade students that I am currently working with! One of the greatest things about this age group is that they are still so loving. I love getting hugs from my students at the beginning and end of the day, I love when they hang on and don't want me to leave. I love being affirmed by my students that I am a good teacher and that they love having me. I truly hope that my students know how much I love them in return! I hope that what I am doing in the classroom will reach beyond the classroom, that they will be able to see the love of Christ shining through me, that they will know what love is, that they will be blessed. I have been very blessed and in return, it is my job to be a blessing to others. I believe that this our purpose on this earth, to be a blessing to others. T...