Family

I'm surprised I have never done a post like this before, for this is a topic I think a lot about. This post is about family. I could go on and on about how I have the best family ever, but no one but my own family wants to hear that. I believe family like so many other things in this world is one of those things that God places you in based on personality, experience, etc. Some days it bothers me when people say they have the best family ever because I feel like I do. That's silly though, because we're all right I think. Your family is a precious God given gift, and that my friends means it is the best. The best situation for you.

    This is why I am so passionate about the subject. I think back on all of I have been through in my life. Friends have come and gone, jobs, school, cars, etc have all done the same. I think of my closest circle of friends and each one of them could probably tell you a little bit about my history in these areas. However, family - well they could probably say something about each. My family and this includes, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins have always been there for me, and I for them. They came to my school plays, graduations, birthday parties, church functions and of course holidays. It's just cool to think about how we have all grown and changed together, but yet we are always as close as we always are.

     I am so grateful for all of my friends, but this stage of life with family is so nice. Not only are they my family, but many of them are some of my closest friends too. It is nice to share your experiences with people who love you and have always been there.

      Writing this also reminds me of my heavenly Father. Not only has He always been there, but He knows my thoughts and heart too. His guidance is precious as one who holds all of this knowledge and knows what is best for me.

     This post is very rambling, but I just love my family so much, and I am grateful for all the time we have spent together. It is nice to be reminded of the people who love and care about you and you the same for them.

Bird Nest Project

Some days I wonder why I have a blog. I am pretty sure few people read it. This may be because I do not broadcast it often. After all, I don't have cute kids and stories to share, well with permission anyway. I do not believe it my place to tell all about my students. However, I recently thought how thankful I am for the resources the internet supplies in my lesson planning. With this in mind my goal is to share some of my projects I do in my classroom.

First up in my bird nest project. The inspiration for this project came from Dr. Seuss Read Across America week. My mom let me borrow her Seuss book from her kindergarten classroom, and I chose to read "My Nest is Best" to my 2 day class. The book goes over how birds collect various objects when building their nest. This made me think how fun it would be for the kids to make nests of their own. This project allows for creativity, but I will go over what we did and what I would change in the future.

First of all I will say that I love small groups. I do have an assistant, so this makes this possible for me. I don't always have the time for group work, but I love it when I do. Though I only had the one craft planned for this day, I did make it into 2 parts.

My assistant led the bird group. For this part I had stencils of birds for the kids to trace. We are trying to focus on pre-writing skills, so  I am hoping to do a lot of tracing activities in the weeks to come. I had a bird cut-out that I believe originally came from Microsoft Word clip art. You can find whatever shape would work best for you. I wish I would have picked a cut out a little more defined. Many of the children thought they were cutting out a fish. I also meant to have them glue feathers onto their cut out, but I forgot to get them out. If you have the time, I think it would be fun to decorate the birds with feather, googly eyes, markers, etc. This may be more appropriate for longer sessions, older children or a deeper study on birds. We gave the children the choice of blue, brown or red for their bird, but the possibilities are endless. The kids finished this part by gluing their bird to a background paper. We used gray, but again, you could change it as needed.

Now that we had the fine motor skills working with the birds, we needed the nest. I gave each child a half of a paper plate. I had them assemble their nest on the part that scoops in so it would be easier to glue the nest to the background page. I made a mud mixture by blending food coloring together until it looked brownish. All I can say for that is experiment! They really seemed to get into the fact that their glue looked like mud. Just be sure they realize it is glue for their objects and not just paint. Some were getting so into painting it, that they were letting the glue dry before they put anything "nesty" on it. I have them q-tips to spread the glue, but I think paint brushes would work better with glue. Normally we find that the little fingers handle the q-tips better, but the fuzzy and glue don't work together well.

I placed the muddy glue around the objects. They could choose cut up paper, ribbon, yarn, straws, felt, pipe cleaners and tissue paper for their nest. I had some left over supplies from previous crafts, so many things were already cut. However, anything new I left for them to cut to get in that fine motor skill practice. They all seemed to gravitate toward the same type of material, but it was a joy to see their creativity  I think I have them too many color options because the supplies looked like a nest, but the colors detracted from the project at hand. It's pk since they did get to express creativity, and sometimes it is good to just recycle and use what you have.

In the end they really turned out cute, and I believe the children had fun putting them together. I enjoyed hanging the final products up for a new spring bulletin board. I am ready to put winter behind us, and what better way than nest building! I glued their nests on after they left for the day. They did glue their birds, but I wanted to test out the durability of their nests. I encouraged them to drag yarn, pipe cleaners and anything like that right through the glue so it would stay. Over all they held together well. Most things that fell off I was able to replace right where the child had originally placed it.

Hopefully I can be more faithful about sharing my teaching ideas. With my 3 day class we did the paper plate "Cat in the Hat" craft you can find here. They turned out adorable, and I was able to split the groups into 2 as well. One group painted while the other assembled the hat and face. My first Dr. Seuss week as a teacher seemed to go well overall. With that being said,  Happy Crafting and Happy Springtime! 

Many Oneths

       I guess I could start out by saying the most recent "oneth" of life is hearing one of my pre-kers substitute the term first for oneth. Never a dull moment with those kiddos. Honestly, this year has been full of may firsts. Obviously I have experienced the joys of my first teaching positions. The Lord also blessed me with various ministry opportunities in my home church. A few road trips and various family outings also bring new experiences to add to that list of oneths. Overall, life has been good, but I've also been learning a lot through first time experience.

      It would be great to say that all these firsts in life have been terrific. From previous blog posts it may seem like my life is near perfect and I'm enjoying every single moment. This could not be far from the truth. I have felt the frustrations that come with teaching such as the feeling of lost classroom control. I also have experienced a couple negative driving experiences, and as always - there are my everyday human failures that affect family and friend relationships. I don't want it to seem as if life is all bleak and I'm miserable, but it would be unrealistic to paint a perfect picture of my life.

       Through all my short comings God is still God, and just as any good Father would, He always seems to have a loving lesson to teach me. It may not be an easy lesson to learn, and I may not get it right away. I would say the greatest lesson I have learned recently is patience. I can be one of those people that needs to go-go-go all day. This causes rushing and impatience on my part. Through these recent failures of mine, I've been learning to breathe a little more. I find that when I act as if I have all the time in the world, things get done timely AND in order. I still find myself rushing through life at times, but it truly is getting better. I know they say you shouldn't pray for patience, but I feel like this is one of the most beneficial lessons of my life so far. Taking time and enjoying these life moments give me the chance to love more deeply and live more purely. I still have many many short comings, and so much in my life needs changing. After all no one ever stops learning or growing in life. My heart is truly thankful for this lesson in patience the Lord has seen fit to teach me. My prayer would be it shapes me into a better teacher, daughter, sister, friend and most importantly a woman after God's own heart.

The Bad Guy

       

                A few months ago I had to smile when a 5 year old described for me the events of Lincoln's assassination. In his words, the reason John Wilkes Boothe killed the President of the United States was simply "cuz he's the bad guy." When I think back on my 5 year old mind, that's what evil came down to - he's the bad guy. Max was right in a way. After all I don't believe Mr. Boothe had much good in his heart when he pulled trigger. However, I no longer believe that reasons for evil are always because "he's the bad guy."

        I mentioned a few posts back that my friends and I enjoy the British drama "Merlin." The show centered around Merlin and 3 other characters. One was the infamous Morgan Le Fey though in this particular adaption of the legend her name was Morgana Pendragon. The show begins with Merlin, Morgana and their friends Arthur and Gwen working together for the good of the kingdom, but over time Morgana becomes the arch nemesis of Camelot. Merlin, Arthur and Gwen spent their time trying to defeat her. In the end was I happy to see the end to "the bad guy?" No, because I saw what drove her to such madness. Though I never condoned her actions and the character did upset me many many times, I sympathized with her plight in life. She was lied to time and time again, and she was left with nowhere to turn. The only person who offered her comfort in trouble was the person who led her to a path of destruction. My heart ached for this bad guy.

        Several other movies and shows I've seen lately draw the same emotion for me. Many movie goers enjoyed Avengers over the past summer. I must agree that Loki was a bit full of himself, but he did have to live in the shadow of his older brother all of his life. Guy of Gisborne from BBC Robin Hood was never one of my favorites, but you could see the battle in his mind. He wanted to do right by Marian, but he also wanted to make a name for himself after suffering the great loss of his parents as a child. Regina from Once Upon a Time also sunk beneath the weight of her family issues.

      Am I saying there is an excuse for evil? No way! Sin is sin, and sin must be punished. There is a line in a song called "Angel" by Within Temptation that gets me every time. It says, "This world may have failed you, it doesn't give you the reason why. You could have chosen a different path in life." How true this is. Life can really be tough sometimes, and some people seem to have it tougher than others. Really it can be a wonder that more people don't wonder around tearing apart people's lives or coming up with evil plans to take over the world.

      This is why I believe I have come to appreciate good villains in stories. I love when a writer can create a scenario when you sympathize with the bad guy. You may not want to see their plan succeed, but you crave redemption or a second chance for them. I don't want to see them plummeting to their deaths at the end as they did in my favorite childhood Disney movies. These complex characters remind me of the depravity of man. Each one of us is a step a way from self destruction. One common theme you see in villains is they always seem to end worse off then when they began their quest to harm another. By God's grace He has given me a second birth in Him to live a life pleasing to Him. I no longer have to wallow in my sin and self destruction. I can find redemption in Him as is the hope of all who believe in Him. Every human being on the planet is a step away from these dark paths if not for the grace of God. Even when we do fail, He is a God of redemption and second chances.

       Why do I love "the bad guy?" Because they remind me that I would be just as bad without my Savior.

His Coffers are Full

  Some days I find myself struggling with life. For the most part I'd like to think I am a grateful person content with my state of life. After all, I do have a wonderful family, a job that brings me great joy, another job that stretches me, good neighbors and a Bible believing church to attend. I also praise the Lord for many wonderful friends that constantly challenge me. Yet despite these good fortunes, there are times when the devil gets a hold of my heart and I complain.

   Just like the children of Israel in the wilderness, I find myself wanting more of what I do not have. God granted the Israelites their safety and freedom to enter the Promised Land just as He has blessed me with all the things I mentioned before, yet in our human nature it never seems enough.

    A few times this week I found myself in the midst of a pity party. Why did God allow a car accident to happen, why can't I find a car, why can't I get full time work, why can't I be a better teacher, why is everything always a struggle? Why, why why??? It seemed the only thing I could think about. At the same time I was frustrated because I knew there are bigger problems than my own.

    This weekend I was able to talk to a friend going through similar trials of her own. Together we discussed our need to rely on God through these difficult times in life, but I finally had my "aha" moment in church yesterday morning. There we sang the old hymn "Child of the King." The first verse says," His coffers are full, He has riches untold." The chorus follows up by stating, "with Jesus my Savior, I'm a child of the King."

   BAM! Here I am worrying about where the money for my next bill will come from when I need look no further than my own Heavenly Father. I've always said that every time things get hard, the money, the transportation or whatever is always supplied. Philippians 4:19 confirms this from God's Word. Yes, life does get hard, and I do need to do what I can to live life pleasing to God. However, He knows my needs and He has always provided. To worry and pity myself is foolish. Instead I should be thankful for the protection God gave me in my car accident. After all, it was an accident and something important I learned from. The car search may not have been fruitful yet, but that may mean God wants me to wait for a car that will meet my needs without the frustrations of a shot gun purchase. The same can be said of looking for full time work, and I certainly am learning much about becoming a better teacher in my current positions. As I trust Him and look to my King's guidance, everything else will begin to fall into place. I am already thinking of many things I can do in the absence of my pity parties.

   There may not be a Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men in my life to help me out in my time of crisis, but that's ok because I have Someone far better. My Heavenly Father and King, my God who loves me so much He sent his only Son to die for me, so I can become His child. I am a daughter of the King, a princess, and I know He will provide for my every need. This serves as a more blessed place of thought than my own self reliance.

Destinies are Troublesome Things Indeed

This morning during my quiet time with the Lord, I read this quote that has been sticking with me:

"Sow an act, and you reap a habit. Sow a habit, and you reap a character. Sow a character, and you reap a destiny." ~Anonymous

What a thought! This quote basically is saying that one choice you make today can determine the course of your life. This may sound harsh or perhaps dramatic, but I truly believe there is some great truth in this statement. For example, if I choose to trust myself today, then next time I might do the same. Before I know it, I am trusting myself and God falls to the wayside. This is no way to live my life, but I know far too often I can fall into the snare of these temptations.

    On the way to school I was listening to the radio. The particular discussion centered around how exciting it can be to look at yourself 10 years ago. The radio host said that even on your crappiest day if you look back on where you were 10 years ago, you will feel happier when you see how far you have come. "Give yourself a pat on the back," he said.

     I disagree. Sure, my life has changed a lot over the past 10 years. I would even say my life has indeed changed for the better, and furthermore, it is encouraging on a crappy day. The problem I heard in the conversation was no mention of God. Nothing in my life that is worth having is here because of my own merit. Everything "I" have accomplished, all of "my" relationships, and every blessing "I" own in life has nothing to do with me. These are all the rich blessings from my ever merciful and gracious God.

      This past week I have been going through one of life's tougher type of experiences. Truly it isn't anything too tragic, but it is a trial none-the-less. It has been a week when I am reminded how much I am in need of a Savior. As a human, I am so fallible, but God in His mercy still continues to meet my needs no matter what mistakes I make. My prayer would be to act in a way that trusts the Lord which would lead to a habit of prayer which would lead to a godly character and finally a destiny of one who constantly lives out the Lord's will.

    These trials prove that life is never easy, but He is still so good.

The Call

  So my amazing and talented friend affectionately known as Sarai made this video about our favorite tv show Merlin.

A few weeks ago, Sarai, our friend Emily and I watched the epic (and oh so very sad) end to this series. That is actually not the point of this post though, well not completely anyway. It's really the song that has inspired the ramblings about to take place here.
   So roughly a year ago I found myself in a great panic  with a great mixture of emotions. It was the day I head back for my final semester of college which meant student teaching. I remember freaking out in the car as my little brother dropped me off for the last leg of my trip. I had those ridiculous feelings of how the last 3.5 years had been a mistake and maybe I should just leave it all behind. By God's grace I pulled myself together and headed off for an incredible journey.
    I remember feeling quite anxious as I returned to the familiar college campus that had become a second home to me, walking to my first orientation classes for student teaching and savoring every "this is the last time I am going to....for a while" moments. Looking back, I don't remember why I was so worked up, but new experiences and great change seem to do that.
    Then the Lord showed me Romans 8:28 - "And we know that all things work together for good, to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose."
       This verse really changed my perspective on everything. That day I received reassurance from my professor about things I was going to face, the Lord really took care of my finances  and living and transportation issues were soon worked out. Another struggle was parting ways with the people I came to know and love in my college community (and church). Then I remembered the experience of these same feelings when I left for college in the first place. What a reminder that anything I was about to face would work out.
      This is where my little epic Merlin video comes into play. The Lord had given me a call and what a journey it was. Student teaching changed my life in many ways, and I am so thankful for the great adventure it was. Of course there were no griffins to defeat, unicorns to save or poisoned chalices - I didn't end up in jail, on a deathbed, lost in a forest or anything like that. However, I would argue I figuratively did just that. I experienced the joys of seeing a student's face light up when they got an answer, while on the other hand I tried to maintain a good face teaching while the reality of my grandfather's death set in. Many different things happened in student teaching, and I met so many amazing people. Lately I have been going through different journals and such I kept of this adventure. So thankful to have these recorded memories and remember how sweet this time of life was.
      Now I am experiencing life as a teacher. I love my jobs, and what a joy to work with children each and every day. It never ceases to amaze me how many things happen in a day that remind me of my time spent with those 25 students last winter. They may not have been my every own class, but they will forever hold a special place in my heart as my first school students. I feel truly blessed to have this calling in life, and even more grateful that God's grace gave me the strength to overcome my anxiety and face this experience head on. It was a once in a life time experience expressed my so many emotions.
    Emily, if you are reading this, you are in for a real treat this semester. I cannot wait to hear about your experiences as you answer your call and face your destiny. ;-)