Summer Goals

Wow, it has been 5 months since I last wrote. To say life has been busy is an understatement. I'm sitting here trying to remember the last free weekend I've had. It's all good things that are keeping me busy, but I have to say I'm looking forward to summer and hopefully relaxing a bit more and running around a bit less.
It is so hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that I only have 2 weeks left of school! And yet at the same time I'm really looking forward to being done. This school year has been a rough one. But amidst the rough I've grown to care a lot for the students I've had this year. It's always bitter/sweet finishing up a school year.
This year I'm ending feeling like I didn't really do as much as I could have done as a teacher. I'm sure it is a normal feeling for most teachers. There always seems to be more that I can do or things I could do better. The hard thing this year was that it took almost 2 quarters to feel like we were in a routine. That's a long time. I'm not sure how next year will pan out, but I do know I will have more students next year. And I think in order for it to be a successful year I need to plan a little bit better. And with that in mind I've got to get a plan going for the summer so that I'm ready to go.
So here's the plan...

• Read 1-2 books to help me grow as an educator. 
• Come up with a strong year-at-a-glance for the 2018-2019 school year. 
• Start planning lessons for the beginning of the school year. 
• Plan author studies and themed units for each month. 
• Read 1-2 books for fun...yeah I know that one wasn't school related, but I have to keep my sanity. ;) 

I don't know...maybe I'm biting off more than I can chew. But in anticipation of the class I will have next year I feel like I need to get planning. 

Was it an idol?

My life is full of idols. 

 

I knew it all along, but I wasn't willing to admit it or make and changes when it came to letting go of them. I'm always telling my students that idols are everywhere. They are things that we put before our relationship with God. I'd say it and then not do anything about it. 

 

Once of my Bible studies that started up this month is all about idols. And as I've been reading "Idol Lies" by Dee Brestin, I've come to realize how much I've let my idols take control of my life. I knew that I struggled with self control when it came to the amount of time I spend in front of the tv or perusing through Facebook. And I'd always say I should watch less tv, but I never did anything about it. I knew that the games on my phone distracted me in the morning from spending time in the Word, but I let them keep on distracting me. Well, today God decided to take a step that I wasn't willing to make on my own. And I asked Him to. As I've been in this study I asked God to reveal the idols in my life. So today a major one was shown to me. My phone. It's dead.  Not just the battery needing to be recharged...dead. My apple techie friend couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. So now I'm shopping for a new phone. 

 

I could just hop online and quickly get a phone that will be here in 2 days, but I think I need to take a day to pray about it. Yes, I'm going to replace my phone. I want to make sure I get the right one and spend my money wisely, but not only that I want to make sure my heart is in the right place before I get a new one. I want to live a few days without that idol sitting on my desk or slipped in my pocket. Unfortunately the cell phone is a necessary evil in our culture. Sure there are things about it that are blessings, but more often than not it is a distraction from other things I should be doing. 

My prayer is that as I wait for my new phone to come I'll get a grip on this struggle. I'll make a plan on how to not let my phone distract me from the Lord and other things I need to do throughout the day. It may be that once I get said phone I'll take some time to fast from playing games or going on facebook. I'm not sure yet, but I know something must change. And now is the time to do it! 

So to answer my question. Was it an idol? Yes, yes it was. And now I'm going to make a change for the better! 

1 Year Churchiversary

I made up a word today!
I was sitting in church this morning and realized that I had officially been attending my church for one year! I told my friend it was my churchiversary and we both had a good laugh.

But in all seriousness, I'm so thankful for the year at Faith Church. God has been so good to me to allow me to attend church with this body of believers. I feel challenged and blessed every Sunday I attend. I'm still getting to know people, but I know the more I get involved the more people I'll get to know. I've always known just about everyone at the churches I've attended so this is a change for me. But I do have a good core group of people that I know and we sit together and encourage one another.

Thank you Lord for providing for me in this way. A year ago I was so desperate for this kind of feeling and right now I'm so thankful that I have it.

Breaking Bad Habits and Pursuing Better Ones

This year more so than other years I've been feeling challenged in making a change in my life. It all started with my word for the year. I knowI've thought doing this before, and I may actually have chosen a word in previous years, but this year feel different to me.

My word for this year is Intentional.

Intentional in:

• how I eat
• friendships
• taking care of my house
• my job
• doing fun projects
• reading
• time digging in to the Bible 

The word can cover so many areas on my life. 

I feel like over the last few months (which were very busy, I'll give myself that) I would think to myself "I need to do (fill in the blank)." And then just sit on the couch and not do anything, but watch tv and scroll thru facebook or pinterest. I imagined people driving by my house and saying "Oh, look. There's Jamie on her couch as usual." I don't want that to be me. I want to be someone who follows thru with what she says she'll do. And that has to start with what I tell myself I'm going to do. 

So here I am, January 3rd, I haven't turned on my tv (also part of a fasting and praying season I'm going through) since I got home from Christmas break. I'm cooking good quality, whole30 meals. I've spent time in the Word the last two morning and worked on reading my Bible study book in the evenings. I've been reading. Yes, reading books for fun. I really LOVE reading. I'm attempting to text friends I haven't kept in good contact with lately. I'm working to do things in my classroom to be a better teacher for my students. It all feels so good! 

My prayer is that it doesn't fizzle out after a few days. I have a tendency to do that. 

I just feel like this is going to be a great year! I don't know what the Lord has in store for me this year, but I want it to be focused first on Him. 

Hello 2018! Let's do this! 

Feeling Refreshed and Ready to Go!

Can I just tell you that I am so extremely thankful that we have Thanksgiving break every year?! This year especially I needed the 3 extra days off of school. There was the temptation to complain because so many other schools had the entire week off, but I chose to be thankful for the 3 days off. And oh boy am I thankful!

Before the break there was one word to describe how I was feeling all the time.

T-I-R-E-D

I was constantly feeling tired. And feeling that way all the time was making me feel short tempered, anxious, sad, discouraged...you get the idea.

One of the discouraging things lately has been teaching. My class this year is much harder than the class I had last year. I really shouldn't compare them to previous groups, but they really are night and day. I've come to realize that because of the easier class last year I have become lazy in my teaching. I'm embarrassed to say that many of my lessons were me in front of my class flying by the seat of my pants. My college professors would be mortified. Who am I kidding! I'm mortified typing it!
Over the break I came to the understanding (with myself) that I need to plan better for this class. I know that they have been learning new things this year, but I also know that I have not been giving them my best. So Sunday afternoon I spent about an hour at school planning. I planned out this week and got some of the planning done for the upcoming weeks before Christmas. It felt so good to get that done/started! It gave me an excitement for the lessons coming up. And I feel like as a class we are going to be much more productive.

I'm so thankful for the short break that really helped me feel refreshed and ready to tackle the last few weeks before Christmas break. These next few weeks are going to FLY! And I'm gearing up for the craziness that is coming very quickly. It will all be good things, but you know how it goes. December is busy busy busy.

Blessing

This was a rough week for me. I was super emotional, down, and just generally in a funk all week long. To say I'm happy the weekend is here is an understatement. But I also had this sweet little blessing today. A few of my boys kept "sneaking" behind me to leave little notes on my desk. It melted my heart and definitely brought a smile to my face. I'm thankful that even though I may not have been in a great mood all week or been the most patient teacher my little students love me and like that I'm their teacher.

A New {School} Year -- Time to get my act together!

Just starting the 4th week of school. Still don't think I've found my groove. Last year the groove came easily. This year not so much. It's not that I'm not familiar with the material. It's more that the group of kiddos this year is a little tougher. And I'm just plain old tired. As I write that last sentence I'm immediately reminded that I need to start eating better and exercising. I know that combination will make a huge difference on my energy level while at work.

Now that I've come to this realization I'm ready to make a change. I need to plan out meals and I need to plan weekly workouts.
*It's time to get my act together.
*It's time to feel better about myself again.
*It's time to have more energy.
*It's time to be the best teacher I can be.

Feeling sluggish does not help me to be a good teacher. And that's just not going to cut it.