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the times are changin'
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Saturday, October 20, 2012

kill me with cuteness

my niece is the cutest child alive.

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Sunday, October 14, 2012

clarity

"When the brilliant ethicist John Kavanaugh went to work for three months at 'the house of the dying' in Calcutta, he was seeking a clear answer as to how best to spend the rest of his life. On the first morning there he met Mother Theresa. She asked, 'And what can I do for you?' Kavanaugh asked her to pray for him. 'What do you want me to pray for?' she asked. He voiced the request that he had borne thousands of miles from the United States: 'Pray that I have clarity.' She said firmly, 'No, I will not do that.' When he asked her why, she said, 'Clarity is the last thing you are clinging to and must let go of.' When Kavanaugh commented that she always seemed to have the clarity he longed for, she laughed and said, 'I have never had clarity; what I have always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust God.'

"'We have ourselves known and put our trust in God's love toward ourselves' (1 John 4:16). Craving clarity, we attempt to eliminate the risk of trusting God. Fear of the unknown path stretching ahead of us destroys childlike trust in the Father's active goodness and unrestricted love.

"The way of trust is a movement into obscurity, into the undefined, into ambiguity, not into some predetermined, clearly delineated (at least to us) plan for the future.

"'To live without risk is to risk not living,' my paternal grandma used to say. The way of trust is risky buisness, no doubt about it."

--from Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning
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Monday, October 8, 2012

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

exhaustion

Truth is, the problem with the American student is the American adult. Deadbeat dads, pushover moms, vulgar celebrities, self-interested politicians, depraved ministers, tax-sheltering CEOs, steroid-injecting athletes, benefit-collecting retirees who vote down school taxes, and yes, incompetent teachers—all take their turns conspiring to neglect the needs of the young in favor of the wants of the old. The line of malefactors stretches out before our children; they take turns dealing them drugs, unhealthy foods, skewed values messages, consumerist pap, emotional and physical and sexual traumas, racist messages of aspersion for their cultures, and countless other strains of vicious disregard. Nevertheless, many pundits and politicians are happy to train their rhetorical fire uniquely on the teachers, and the damnable hive-feast on the souls of our young continues unabated. We’re told not to worry because good teachers will simply overcome this American psychic cannibalism and drag our hurting children across the finish line ahead of the Finnish lions.
--from http://theeducatorsroom.com/2012/09/the-exhaustion-of-the-american-teacher/

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Saturday, September 29, 2012

wedding

two of my dear friends said "i do" tonight
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Thursday, September 27, 2012

TGIF

Thank God it's Friday tomorrow. And I mean that with all of my heart. I don't think I'd make it more than one more day. Honestly I'm not so sure about tomorrow. Oh and if you need a laugh like I have this week...google The Hunger Games Bad Lip Reading. The correct video should be the first one that pops up.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

bird by bird

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"
--Anne Lamott
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Saturday, September 22, 2012

saturday




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Tuesday, September 18, 2012

my life in memes

this is not the end.

like every student in my third block. don't even know why i bother with a seating chart.

every. single. morning.

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Sunday, September 16, 2012

little blue's big day

little blue is tired. not only did he get to go to the dog park this afternoon, he got to eat lunch with a whooooooole lot of other greyhounds and new people. little blue is tuckered out.
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Saturday, September 15, 2012

oh life

you know what would be helplful when researching grad schools and internships? knowing what region of the country we might actually be living in in 3 or 4 years. it's so exciting that the hubs is in seminary. this transition has opened the door to so many new questions...what happens next? the thing about grad school is that pretty much any directing mfa program that is worth paying for is going to be very competitive and only lets in maybe 5 (usually more like 2 or 3) people every other year. the same with some of the internships that i'm interested in. ideally i could know how to prepare. grad programs and internships are looking for different things, and being a full-time teacher doesn't leave you much time for preparing for the future. so, what does this mean? this means that pay attention and spend energy first and foremost on today. then a little bit on tomorrow. then whatever time and energy i have left, i have to trust that the Lord who knows full well where He wants me to be will make sure i am getting the experiences i need to get there.the next 3 or 4 years of my life is not meant to be a guessing game. and odds are...they will be filled with a lot of things i never would have guessed or been able to prepare for myself anyways. He who issues the call is faithful to provide the means.
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Thursday, September 13, 2012

truth

truth is sometimes hard to believe.
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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

good and bad

my first attempt at making gluten free and reduced sugar brownies were a fail. they gave me a chocolate fix that i desperately needed but, they were pretty meh. it had sparked my curiosity, though, as to how to make them better, so hopefully this weekend i will have time to do some more experimenting. i should probably look for a real recipe rather than kind of sort of modifying my normal recipe. these days are a roller coaster of good and bad, and such roller coasters require lots of rest in between, so this is all i have to say today. but i will leave you with this
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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

my needs are my riches

day 62 of project 365 (should i actually keep pretending it's everyday?)
i've been trying to be more positive this year (struggling, but still trying) and one of today's positive things was a conversation during planning with one of my dear, dear friends. seriously, i don't think i could survive without this girl. today what we talked about was how we are so weak and so in need every single day. we so desperately want to be in control but we know that we aren't and that is a good thing. it is a good thing that we have needs, and it is good that we are not in control because we are loved by the one who is in control and who desires to provide for those needs--not only desires to provide but does provide. my needs are my riches because without them i would not know christ.
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Sunday, September 9, 2012

laughter

day 61 of project 365
laughter is precious these days

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Friday, September 7, 2012

it's almost too true to be funny

the thing about these responses is that i have some students who i think sincerely think this way.

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back in business

day 60 of project 365 (for real this time)

we finally got internet in our apartment today, so project 365 is officially back in business. woo!
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Thursday, August 30, 2012

cheating

day 59 of project 365
i know i'm not a mother yet, but there is so much in this blog that completely applies to me just being a teacher and a wife, too, that i found it encouraging. so i'm cheating a little bit, but today's post is someone else's blog.

from finding joy, "dear sweet mom who feels like she's failing."
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

this is not the end

day 58 of project 365

i know this job is not the same calibre of "suffering" as many experience everyday. but this job teaches me my weaknesses every. single. day. it's very overwhelming. i am not fit in and of myself for my profession. it is proven to me over and over again, which i'm thinking now is part of why i am here for now. there is desperate longing in my heart for what is to come after this season. i want so much to have a job where i feel as though i flourish not just survive, to feel like i have freedom to move out of the state of south carolina, to have a baby. my theme song this week has been gungor's "this is not the end." this weakness, these longings, they are not the end. and as i endure the trials and i endure the longing, i am joining in with creation groaning for the day that everything will be restored, everything will be put back into place, everything will be the way it's supposed to be. the lie i must not believe is that once my four year debt is paid to the state of south carolina that everything will be set right. if that's what i begin to believe i will truly always be miserable and unsatisfied. i must live today, hoping for that restoration that will come when the King returns. maybe you think i am reacting too intensely. maybe it's too much. but this is the way in which God has chosen to break me of self-reliance and to trust Him alone for power and strength. sometimes i feel like a big whiney baby, but i know that there is more at work here than me being a weakling who can't handle it. this season of pruning and refinement is not about the job. it all comes back to the gospel. it always does. also, can i be honest? anyone who thinks teaching is an easy job needs to try to teach 30 teenagers in one classroom that they should be respectful audience members or that theatre is worthwhile and relevant to their lives or that it's really not your fault that they have to take your class even though they didn't sign up for it.

you have to read this passage and listen to the song at the same time.


from romans 8
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
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Saturday, August 25, 2012

still on a "sabbatical"

day 57 (sort of) of project 365
these two weeks have been rough, i'm not going to lie to you. it's probably good i have not had internet at home because i might have vented on here too much. we still do not have internet at home, so project 365 will have to wait another week or so. until then, have a lovely day/week.
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Friday, August 17, 2012

overwhelmed

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Saturday, August 11, 2012

day 55

we now have electricity, but we still don't have internet in our apartment. i will hopefully be able to get some new photos of our new place soon.
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Thursday, August 9, 2012

day 54

we don't have electricity in our new apartment right now. we also won't have internet for a week or two. blogging may be sparse.
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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

transition

day 53 of project 365
today:

  1. i woke up at 6am
  2. i went to work-related event from 8 to 4
  3. we got keys for our new apartment
  4. we moved all our stuff stored at my dad's into the apartment
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Monday, August 6, 2012

my new favorite tv show

day 52 of project 365

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Sunday, August 5, 2012

day 51 of project 365

i don't have anything to say. except that, i.e. the fact that i have nothing to say.
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Saturday, August 4, 2012

in honor of the olympics

day 50 of project 365
in honor of the olympics we are watching this movie. a childhood favorite.

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Friday, August 3, 2012

first day of class powerpoint

day 49 or project 365
my 1st day of drama 1 powerpoint; has class rules, policies, procedures, etc. basically the syllabus in grueling detail. in case anyone wants to steal some of it, i've put a link at the bottom to the actual powerpoint that you can edit. i'm also adding a link to my course syllabus, too!










i'm going to play a funny cat video or something and let them stand/stretch for a moment




can you tell what some of my overwhelming pet peeves are? haha.




here is the fully editable copy of my first day powerpoint
here is the fully editable copy of my drama 1 course syllabus


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Thursday, August 2, 2012

drama 1 course syllabus

day 48 of project 365
this is a taste of what i've been working on


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Wednesday, August 1, 2012

sky

day 47 of project 365

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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

columbia riverwalk

day 46 of project 365
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