wouldn't it be nice...

...to have 2 Thanksgivings? One to share with the husband's side of the family and another to share with the wife's?

We do all sorts of crazy things for our spouses (i.e. this picture of Ben)...I guess the holiday trade-off is yet another adjustment. I wonder if it will always feel a bit foreign to miss out on seeing my family for Thanksgiving.

P.S. Don't get me wrong, I love Ben's family. However, it's just not the same (I'm sure he would say the same about my family).

thank you...

...for the prayers! It went fairly well and I'll tell you more tomorrow. I would have updated earlier, but I came home and crashed for a few hours. It's been a long week...but PRAISE THE LORD, it's over! :)

Who knew that the land of blogging could provide so much encouragement! Thanks to all of you!

say a little prayer for me...

I'm less than 20 minutes away from an assembly. As a leadership teacher, those are nothing new to me. However, the students decided to switch things up and we're doing something that's never been done before here at MMS. I'm excited, but incredibly nervous. I have some upset staff members - they felt that our traditional assemblies should continue. Apparently, they aren't fans of change. Needless to say, I just need a little boost from the Lord! So, if you've got some time on your hands, feel free to toss up a prayer for me and the kids.

I'll let you know how it goes.

i am blessed...

The Lord has opened my eyes over the last few months and now I'm sharing it with you.


I just wanted to let you all know that it's important to be part of a local church. Sure, it sounds simple. However, I have come to see just how much the Lord uses the church community...accountability, growth, wisdom, insight, challenges, prayer, opportunities, service, outreach, and healing. I feel so blessed to be a part of Lake Sawyer Christian Church. It's not a perfect group of people and yet the Lord is still using us to do His work. I'm thankful to be a part of it all!

If you're not connected with a church, what are you waiting for? Maybe you are attending a church already. If that's the case, are you involved? If not, take the next step and get yourself plugged into something outside of the Sunday morning service. God can and will use you!

i wasn't informed...

According to one of my students, John was the father of Jesus. Did you know that? :) He wrote in not other specifics - just that the stable was a place where John, Mary and Jesus gathered to wait for the 3 wise men. So sweet.

We have been working on different forms of prewriting/brainstorming. This young boy was choosing to write about Christmas. He might need to do some editing to his "historical" take on the birth of Christ.

Sometimes I am truly entertained by my students! I hope you all are enjoying your day at work (those of you at home are the hardest working of all) and laughing like I am!

my heart breaks...

Before school this morning I had an IEP (Individualized Education Program) meeting for a young lady who is struggling in all of her classes. D is a sweet child with a difficult past. It was awesome to see the teachers come out to support her. However, it was beyond discouraging to sit back and watch D's grandparents (her guardians) rip her apart. As a team, we tried to be positive. Each time something encouraging was suggested or stated by a staff member, D's grandparents would tear it apart. They are convinced that D does nothing in class - I had to tell them that I actually see her with my own eyes - and she works. I repeatedly asked D's grandparents to allow me to finish my sentences...they interrupted me on several occasions. The negative words that came flying from their lips was unlike anything else I've ever experienced. They were harsh towards her, her failed mother, her failed teachers, and her overall failures in life.

Never before have I had to leave a meeting out of fear - fear that I was either going to reach across the table and slap these people, or fear that I might say something inappropriate. My cue to leave this meeting came as soon as D's grandmother made a statement about the future..."If D doesn't get her act together, she's going to fail in life and have to work alongside those retard people."

Are you kidding me?

To these people I say, "Ha. You might be having a difficult time loving your child, but I am here to help fill that void. When you tell her that she's not good enough, I will tell her that I am proud of what she has accomplished. When you insist that she is never going to amount to much in life, I will remind her that she is beautiful and life is full of endless possibles. Each night as my head hits the pillow, I will pray for this young lady and her rough home life. I will even seek out the prayers of those around me. D has the ability to go places in life - to be someone who others admire, respect and look up to. I will do whatever it takes to help her realize this...and remind her that not everyone in this life is against her. Ha."

P.S. Did I mention that D was present at this meeting? Yeah, how sad! Oh, and every teacher who walked out of that room today cried on behalf of this child.

i'm a wildcat at heart...

Why didn't my high school days consist of singing and dancing in the cafeteria? Why wasn't there some cute athlete who fell in love with a smart and beautiful young nerd (or me)? Why didn't they star in our school's musical productions? Ah, I should have gone to East High!

Well, I must explain (or confess) that last night I went with my friend, Hillary, to see High School Musical 3. That's right, I actually paid to see this film. It was the sweetest little treat! I smiled throughout the entire thing...and at times I laughed a bit at the cheese factor. The dancing was so much fun to watch and the songs were enjoyable.

It was all I had hoped for and more! Go Wildcats!

(You can hate all you want...I was skeptical too.)

thank you for passing this along...

I hope Cindy doesn't mind that I am sharing what she sent out in a email today. It is far too applicable today and I wouldn't want to miss this opportunity to share it with everyone. Thank you for sharing Cindy! :)
_________________________________

May this be our prayer TODAY AS WE TRUST God with our Nation and our future… God always does the right thing at the right time!

'Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and Set us free. Amen!'Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God.'

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, 'The Rest of the Story,' and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'One nation under God.'