Wowsers

...its been a while since my last post! But I have good reasons! Mainly ... Overwork and under-sleep.

BUT its totally okay, because my school kiddos are well worth the overwork (and we only have 1.5 days left ... Eek!). And as for "under-sleep", well, her name is Sophie, and I am soooo in love. Even when she wakes me up in the middle of the night. Seriously, how could you not love with such a sweet puppy face?

Saturday I went to a cardinals game with my favorite ladies and when we got home my sweet hubby surprised me with Sophie. Now, that's a good day!

So, the last several days have consisted of squeezing in every ounce of fun possible with my school kiddos, and then hurrying home to my new baby. :)

I can't believe how fast my first year teaching has gone ... I sure need to do a recap post! AND I'm excited to meet my next years class tomorrow. :)

BASICALLY, I owe you a great post ... Soonly. But tonight, enjoy these sweet pictures instead:

Birthday Blessings

I generally feel pretty special all the time - and I mean that in a totally not conceited way ... ha! - but seriously, there is something about birthdays that makes you feel extra, extra special. It's a good thing mine only comes around once a year, or my head might start gaining sizes fairly quickly ... ;)

But seriously, while I am blessed beyond measure every single day, on days like to today I am reminded just how especially lucky I am!

*I spent my day at my job that I honestly love, love, love. My morning started with one of my sweet kiddos bringing me some Dr. Pepper bottles and chocolate (because he, and his momma, know me so well!) seriously -- best teacher gift yet! Sooo, I opened a Dr. Pepper and it promptly spewed all over my desk, floor, and self ... which my kids got a great laugh out of. And they do have wonderful laughs.

*After finishing our testing, we walked to the park to celebrate and got to enjoy the beautiful weather ... before it turned rainy!

*My sweet kiddos serenaded me, spontaneously, at lunch with the best sounding Happy Birthday song I've heard yet ... 'cause they are awesome.

*My wonderful coworkers, and more importantly my dear friends, provided cheesecake (yum!), a gorgeous flower arrangement, good company, and even a "congrats on finishing MAP testing! gift". They are beyond fantastic.

*My hubby spoiled me with a new phone ... that I am in love with.

*I fielded like 5 billion happy birthday phone calls, texts, and facebook messages ... very humbling to see how many people thought of me for a moment!

*AND was bombarded with hugs at church - where I also got to hear a wonderful sermon and participate in some uplifting singing!

My day was awesome. I can not express how thankful and blessed I am to have such wonderful friends and family that surround me with love and encouragement each and every day, not just on my b-day. :)

One dear friend wished me (via facebook) "so many blessings you can't keep track" ... and I sure got them =)

Battling

This week there is a gospel meeting going on at the St. James Church of Christ ... and I haven't made it to a night of it. Booooooo. Thanks to the sinus? allergies? crud? that I have, I have spent my days blowing my nose and coughing up my lungs (seriously, I think I deserve some serious ab muscles with all the coughing I've been doing!). And, with the fact that we are giving the MAP test week, missing school definitely has NOT been an option. So, with lots of help from cold/sinus medicine I have pushed through the school days (and tried not to cough all over my kiddos who are working so hard on their tests! bless their hearts!) ... and then I've been rushing home and falling onto my couch and not moving. Seriously. 2 nights in a row. I slept and laid on the couch til it was time to get up and go to bed.

Pathetic. Booo.

But, what do ya do. Sometimes you have to give in to be able to keep going I guess.

BUT, feeling awful + stress at school this time of year + missing some of the gospel meeting (which I am excited to go to tonight by the way!) + the sermon Sunday morning got me thinking about this:

This is one of Satan's test. This week, when I am tired, exhausted, crabby, stressed  ....  this is a battle I have to fight with Satan. Not that it is bad for me to be sick (well, I mean, it is bad, but it isn't giving in to Satan bad...), but that when I feel this tired, exhausted, and crabby, the door is wide open for Satan to walk in. It'd be oh so easy to snap at my husband, to be grumpy with my kids, to not be a good example to those I meet each day, to justify not going to church tonight either, to, well, let Satan win. 'Cause I don't feel great.

This is a battle - part of my personal war - with Satan. And I have to come ready to fight.

An army who doesn't train for war, but just jumps into battle hoping to figure it out is doomed to lose. Common sense, right? Somehow, not as common as it should be.

If an army didn't train, but instead decided they would figure things out as they went in battle and "learn as they went", they would not stand a chance. We can all see that - that's why our army has boot camp and training and makes sure our troops are very prepared before they ever think about sending them to battle. If we can see that ... why can't we see that we need to be prepared BEFORE we go into battle with Satan?

The down times, the good times, the peaceful times -- that's when a good army is made. That's when a good army is training, learning, practicing, making sure they are ready when the next battle comes. The down times, the good times, the peaceful times -- that's when a good Christian is made. That's when a good Christian is training, learning, practicing, praying, making sure they are ready when the next battle comes.

Satan has been around a long time. A lot longer than I have. So, it's pretty safe to figure he knows some good tricks. He has been practicing a long time. And each time I defeat him, he goes back to the drawing board and picks out a new trick - one designed to stump me, personally. His efforts go stronger. And, so, the only way for me to continue defeating him is for me to keep growing stronger. Why do you think our army has to keep getting new armor? new weapons? new machinery? Because as we learn, so do our enemies. And to keep defeating our enemies, we have to keep growing stronger as they do. It's the same with Christian's and Satan. If we consider the "peaceful time" our down time and do nothing to grow stronger ... if we decide to wait to train til we are already in battle ... we are doomed. We have a powerful foe. When he shows up to battle, it is to late for us to start training. We need to already be in good shape at that point.

We DO learn from each battle with Satan. And then, we need to take what we learned and start applying it - practicing it - praying about it - so we can be even more ready for our next battle. If we wait to start drawing close to God til we are already in the heat of a battle with Satan ... well, the battle is Satan's before it has even begun. After all "on the job training" only works with some jobs ... and battling with Satan just isn't one of them. =)

Listen to the great sermons from Sunday here: http://www.oakgrovecofc.org/Recordings/

Mulling Thoughts

This week has been crazy. Things at school are a bit overwhelming and with the map test coming up (this week - eek!) and then keeping up a house and trying to make some progress on our yard and ... well, this week has just been crazy.

Meanwhile I have had lots of thoughts running around in my head, but I just haven't been able to fully develop any of them just yet.

It made me think of this post by a dear old friend: http://dirtyhands-beautifullife.blogspot.com/2012/03/watering-soul.html

Check it out! Turns out sometimes we DO just need to mull things over for a while. :)

Mastering Sins

"...and let us have the courage to master our sins." That was said in a prayer the other night. Funny enough, the prayer was said by someone who didn't even hear Uncle Jamie's sermon Sunday on mastering sin...

In Uncle Jamie's sermon he talked about a story we've all heard lots of times; the story of Cain and Able. BUT he pointed out a verse that I had apparently never paid quite enough attention to! In Gen. 4:7 God says to Cain "...sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it."

God said that! "Sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you" but instead of saying "run!" Or "quick! Get help!" Or "stay inside forever!" He said "but you must master it".

Three parts to that: YOU. MUST. MASTER it.

You. Its your sin. Its my sin. When my kiddos at school have a self control issue I tell them "I will help you - I'll give you clues and reminders ...but I can't do it for you. YOU have to control you." ... And that's the same way it is with our sin. People can help us, remind us, be there for us -- but bottom line is I have to conquer my own sin.

Must. Seriously folks, this is not an optional thing. Not when Heaven is at stake.

Master it. "Avoidance" only works so long. Eventually we have to face a temptation - and remember that we CAN control it. And then we need to control it. And that takes courage. Extreme courage. And a whole lot of help from God and out Christian friends. But it can be done. And we must do it. Good news is, God doesn't give directions we are incapable of following - so when He says "master it" we can be assured (and comforted by the fact) that we are fully capable of doing so (so no excuses allowed).

Sin is at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it.

...and you can find Jamie's sermon here: http://www.oakgrovecofc.org/Recordings/2013_04_14_AM_jrinehart_MasteringSin.mp3

So, You're A Teacher ... Now What?

Disclaimer: Remember the Flannery O'Connor quote "I write because I don't know what I think until I read what I say"?? Well, that definitely applys to this post. While I'd love your feedback on this post, it is mostly for me to get my thoughts out ... so that I can read them, and think about them more. =)

I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. Now, somewhere along the way I decided maybe I hadn't given other career options enough of a chance and went through a random "lets think of everything else I might possibly want to do with my life" phase. Then I remembered (realized?) that I really did want to be a teacher.

Best. Decision. Ever.

Aaannnddd I thought I was done making career decisions. Well, jokes on me.

I definitely think someone should write a book: "So, You're a Teacher. Now What?"

I really am a very opinionated person (shocking, I know - you probably never would have guessed that). BUT, when it comes to what to get my masters in, I am so ready for someone just to tell me what to do! There are so many options! So many reasons to go with each choice! ... and I don't know what to do!

Educational Technology - Technology is huge and getting huger. I do love to use it in my classroom. Really, I just love it in general -- I place full blame on my husband and his techy ways! So, I really lean towards this one! Also, it has been delcared "high needs" in our district, so I could get some $$ towards tuition (huge plus). AND I think classes will be offered on our STJ campus which would be nice (the other option is to do all online). BUT (and it's a big one) ... I am actually very reserved when it comes to technology in the classroom (at least compared to other people). I fully support technology in college, high school, moving more towards it in Middle School ... AND I love some of it in Elementary. My fourth graders eat it up. There really are some really cool things you can do with technology. BUT the key word is "some".  Using technology SOME is outstanding - but so is not using technology all the time. Kids need books in their hands. They need hands on activities (clicking and dragging doesn't count). They need ME teaching them, not the computer. And so, while I LOVE technology in the classroom, I also have this fear (irrational though it may be) that I will somehow be brainwashed to believe I should use only technology all the time! Odd....

Reading - I genuinely LOVE to read. I love books -the smell, the feel, the words, the ideas, the imagination ... I LOVE them. AND working with a group of kiddos with low reading levels this year has really shown me I have a lot to learn about helping kids learn to read (turns out being able to read yourself and being able to teach someone else to read are two very, VERY different skills). And, well, I think it is really super important for us to have teachers who know how to teach kids to read! So, this is a huge draw to me. It would be something I'm passionate about for sure. It's also high needs = $$.

Curriculum and Instruction - It's always good to learn more about designing and implementing curriculum. I could even focus in reading! So 2 in 1 in a way ... and it could turn in (way down the road) to some sort of leadership position... It's also high needs - $$.

Educational Administration - I used to really, really think I wanted to be a principal someday. I still like the idea ... kind of. But sometimes when I think about how overwhelming the job must feel sometimes it seems ...slightly less appealing. But I do love the idea of being in a position to effect change in such a way...

Bottom line is, while I LOVE my classroom and can't picture myself anywhere but in the classroom for years to come - I want to be well equipped to change the world from inside my classroom's walls. And someday maybe even outside of my classroom walls.

So, that is my current delimma ... and we'll see what happens!

Defense

As you may (or may not) know, I am generally a fan of guns. I like to hunt, I like to target practice, and I like the security my gun brings me when I get spooked at night. I like the idea of being able to defend myself and others.

I also like the fact that I feel safe in my school. I love that I don't walk around feeling like I need to actively defend myself.

I hate the fact there is no guarantee I will always feel safe in my school. I hate that there could come a time when I would need to actively defend myself.

I love that my school has a lot of security in place. I love that there are plans in place. I love that I know what I would need to do in the worst hypothetical situation.

I hate that "security in place" is not an actual guarantee. I hate that plans can fail. I hate that I even have to know what I would need to do in the worst hypothetical situation.

I love the idea of being able to defend myself and, more importantly, my kiddos.

I hate the idea of having to defend myself and my kiddos.

But I hate the idea of being helpless to defend my kiddos even more.

...

And so, I am very curious to see how this plays out: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/15/us/missouri-school-trains-teachers-to-carry-guns.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&

I am curious to see if more districts will "go there". I am curious to see how people react. I am curious to see if this idea comes "closer to home" (granted, West Plains is fairly close to home).

It's a topic worth watching, for sure. And also, a subject very much worth praying about a whole lot.