Thankful Thursday

This week I've had a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for...

• the fact that I made enough soup on Sunday to feed me all week. Yay for not having to cook during this busy week! :)
• a fun (and educational) time at Kids Club and that we had 60 kids there! 
• the 2 ladies that helped me run Kids Club this week. I'm truly so grateful for them being there helping to run this awesome program!
• the opportunity to work in a Christian school. I love being able to share about the love of Jesus with my students every single day. I love being able to talk about the real meanings of Christmas (not Santa Claus) and Easter (not the Easter Bunny). I love helping them learn Bible verses and how they apply to their lives. I love teaching kids how to look up verse in a Bible and seeing them choose to read the Bible as their "free reading time" option. It really is a blessing to work where I do.  
• God calling me here to Dakar. I am a missionary. That's a dream come true in itself. And not only that... I get to work with kids every day. I get to teach them. I get to watch them learn and grow. And I get to share Jesus with them. It's such an amazing feeling! It really is!
• being on Spring Break. I do love my job. That's true. But I also love having time off, getting to sleep late, and getting to catch up on things I don't have time to do when school's in session.
• getting to go to a country I've never been to before. I leave Saturday, heading to Ivory Coast for my missions retreat. 
• extra time today to study for my Comps exam. 
• the fact that I take my Comps exam tomorrow. 
• one of my co-workers that's willing to hang out with me for 3 hours while I take my Comps exam (you know...to make sure I don't cheat and all. ha!). Seriously, though, while she can do work and stuff, she's still giving up 3 hours when she could be alone or go somewhere or do anything else... Yet she was willing to let me invade her quiet Friday morning by needing someone to proctor my test. I am so appreciative of her doing this for me tomorrow!
• getting to watch Survivor and go eat delicious Brazilian food with a sweet (and funny) family tonight. I always enjoy hanging out with this family. But it was especially nice tonight to have a break from studying and to be able to eat a nice meal before taking my test tomorrow. ...because as full as I feel now, I'm thinking I may not be able to hold breakfast. 

The 54th Dear ____ Post

Dear Time Change in the U.S.,  A lot of people on Facebook were complaining about you. I, on the other hand, think you're simply fabulous. You make talking to my family a little easier. It's nice that they're now only 5 hours away :)

Dear Big Snow of '93, You happened 20 years ago and people STILL are talking about you. Speaking of which... We were living in Georgetown (just outside of Mobile) and I was in 2nd grade. I'd spent the night at my best friend/neighbor's house who happened to live next door. When we woke up that morning, it was like a winter wonderland. We'd never seen that much snow. We all (my family and hers) went outside and played in the snow for hours and hours. We even missed school because of all the snow. Alabama hasn't had that much snow since... :)

Dear Avocados, I've never been a terribly big fan of you. ...that is until just recently. I had some guacamole a friend made and loved it. Now I've eaten avocados in a few different recipes. Can your taste buds change as you get older?

Dear Mountain Dew, I had you at lunch yesterday after not having one of you in 3 months. Oh my goodness... You were not good to me Mountain Dew. I've decided that the delicious taste was not worth the racing heart and lack of sleep at night that came as a result of drinking you. Wow...

Dear Mom and Dad, I got a package from you in the mail AND an Easter card this week. Thanks for putting a little postage-induced sunshine in my life this week :)

Dear Comps Exam, I take you in exactly 6 days. Eek!

Dear Ivory Coast, I leave for you in exactly 7 days. I'm excited! Of course, I'm pretty sure I won't even start packing 'til I press "submit" on my exam. So if I can just get through my exam, we'll be set :)

Dear God, Thanks for the lesson you taught me this week using Matthew 11:28. I wrote about it here.

Dear Family and Friends, Anyone want to come for a visit to escape the hustle and bustle of America? ...to escape the cold, non flip-flop wearing weather? Any takers? You can't blame a girl for trying... :)

Thankful Thursday...posted on Friday

I have a major exam next week. This exam is a comprehensive final of 3 1/2 years worth of material. I was given 6 pages of questions to study, with the knowledge that they'd give me 5 to answer for the test. Test taking has never been my strong suit. Memorization is extremely difficult for me. So I'm just reading all the information from my study guide, writing and rewriting my notes, and praying that somehow I remember all I need to. 

Now throw in my job. I'm still teaching. And this is a busy time of the year at school. There's projects to finish, assignments to grade, report cards to finish, and Parent Teacher Conferences to have.

Now throw in the other part of my job. I, and my fellow AGWM co-workers in West Africa are all traveling to another country for our mission's retreat. We leave the day after I take my test. And I still haven't bought fabric for a fun competition/activity we're doing (and I may not be able to go buy any...which will be sad, but will be OKAY. I'll live.) AND I also need to start packing at some point. Of course, we all know I'll be waiting 'til the last minute for the packing, because that's just how I roll. Ha! :)

Anyways - With all that said, I was starting to stress... BIG TIME. And so, if I'm being honest, while I'm definitely thankful for a LOT of things... The first thing I thought of when I sat down to write this post was Matthew 11:28 - "Come to Me all who are weary and I will give you rest." I've been so tired/weary lately. I felt as if more and more things are being added to my To Do List (some of my own doing and some not). I felt as if I couldn't do it all. BUT I was forgetting one key thing. God never said I had (have) to do it on my own. No... He said "come to me..." He said "...I'll give you rest."

So that's what I'm doing. I felt as if He were talking to me. I AM weary. I need to come to Him. He will give me rest. He will help me. I've prioritized things that have to be done. I've made a pact with God to be okay with things that don't necessarily have to be done. I've promised Him that I'll take care of myself and not worry if things aren't exactly perfect or how I'd envisioned them. And I will let Him have total control of my life (and my students, and my test, and my trip, and every other little or big thing on my To Do List).  

The 53rd Dear _______ Post

Dear Jesus You're My Superhero (the song), You've been stuck in my head all week. We sang you in Kids Club this past Wednesday, since we were talking about the greatest superhero of all - Jesus Christ.  Now if I could just get another song stuck in my head...

Dear Peter Pan (the old/animated version), My class earned a whole class reward this week so they choose to watch you as their prize. They seemed to really enjoy watching you. I, however, must admit that I didn't. You were a lot longer and not as entertaining as I remember...

Dear May 11th, You're the date of my grad. school graduation ceremony. It makes me sad to know that I won't be able to be there for it. While I know that I am most definitely where God wants me to be, it's still a little sad...

Dear Ivory Coast, I got my visa for you this week. That means that in 2 weeks, I'll be allowed to visit you for our West Africa A/G Missionary retreat. Thanks for the new stamp in my passport Ivory Coast. I'm looking forward to my visit.

Dear Pillsbury Strawberry Cake Mix and Strawberry Frosting, You are my absolute favorite type of cake and frosting. I love love love you and think it's really sad that you aren't sold here in Dakar :(

Dear Videos of my Niece, My brother has sent 2 of you to me this week. It's such a nice surprise to check my email and find you there waiting on me. It makes me not feel quite so far away when I watch them. And it's while watching them that I remind myself of how blessed I am to have the technology I do...

Dear Psych and Duck Dynasty, You started back last week. Yay for those weekly doses of hilariousness being back :)

Dear Water, We were told to store up and conserve you since you're supposed to go out tomorrow. Boo to that... major boo to that! :(

Dear Comps Exam, I've been studying so hard for you. I have exactly 2 weeks until I have to take you. And I'm so nervous. Test taking is so not my strong suit. Ugh... Why can't I write a major paper? Why's it have to be a test? I vote we outlaw all tests in life. Anyone with me? :)

Dear Minestrone Soup, I made you for the first time Thursday. Oh my goodness... You might be my new favorite soup.

Dear Sleeping Late, You and I need to get on the right page. Come on now...

Dear New Favorite Purple Shirt, I bought you over Christmas vacation and wondered if I should really bring you back to Dakar. You're 3/4 length sleeves and you're a little thick. So I thought you might be a little too warm to wear in this sunny place I now call home. But, I've gotten to wear you twice already and you've been perfect, thanks to unseasonably cool and windy times. Yay for that! :)

Dear Holy Spirit, You were the topic of conversation a parent struck up with me earlier this week. We talked a long time about the awesomeness of you and the cool signs we're seeing of things to come. Thanks for being such an amazing part of our lives!

Dear Fabric Shopping and Lunch, I'm headed out in a couple hours to enjoy you with a friend. Here's to hoping we find what we're looking for...

Thankful Thursday

I saw this quote the other day and it caught my eye. God really has given me an awesome life and I take it for granted far too often. I'm so thankful for all God's given me. I need to show Him that a little more.

Dear God, this week I'm thankful for...

• my life. I'm thankful for all the ups, downs, and loops you've included in this roller coaster of a life you've had me on. I'm thankful that you haven't made me ride it alone though. You've been right there with me every step of the way. 
• my job. God, you've called me to something I've always dreamed of. I'm a missionary. I'm a teacher. I'm a missionary teacher. How cool is that?! :) I get to teach all the usual stuff. But I also get to teach about God. I get to spend 5 days a week with an awesome group of kids that challenge me and make me grow as a teacher. I believe that I often learn as much from them as they learn from me. 
• my homes - both here in Dakar and back in Alabama. I'm thankful that "home is where the heart is" and not just "an address." I'm thankful for the homes I've had, the places I've lived, the true friends I've made, and the people I've met along the way.
• my education. I'm thankful that I've received the training I have since that training has definitely paid off since starting my teaching career. Even when teaching general ed. classes I've been able to use the Special Ed. and ESL training I've received.

Sometimes it's the little things in life that I'm thankful for, like...

• a long conversation I had with a parent after school yesterday about the awesomeness of the Holy Spirit and the signs we see of things to come. 
• a video my brother sent me showing my niece trying her hardest to crawl, but ending up scooting on her belly across the floor. 
• a chat with my mom on an afternoon when I was feeling down and needing a pick-me-up.
• balloons and a word puzzle making learning this week's Bible verse so much more fun for my first graders. ...not to mention, the sweet giggles that came from doing this activity.
• the picture below that someone posted to Facebook earlier this week...

How can you not smile looking at this picture? :)

Randomness on a Wednesday Morning

Corn starch, water, and a little food coloring can make for a fun science experiment. Throw in Dr. Seuss's fun story, "Bartholomew and the Oobleck," and make it even more fun. Add 8 excited kids and the excitement becomes almost contagious. I've made this almost every year with my kids at the end of our Science unit on Matter (solids, liquids, and gases) and it never disappoints. It's always a fun one!

Pinterest is an addictive informative website :) This week I've found a couple new recipes I want to try, a few Dr. Seuss themed activities to do with my class this week, a few outfit ideas using clothes I already own, and more. And it's even made me think of a new blog post series where I highlight successes (or failures) I've had/made from things I've pinned on Pinterest...

I love the academic progression that takes place throughout the year in 1st grade. It always amazes me at how much my students grow academically throughout the year. This is especially so in reading. I love to see the light above their heads grow from little dim lightbulbs to flashing neon lights. It's such a fun grade to teach. I've taught 5th grade (Special Ed.) and 3rd grade too. But after teaching 1st grade for 3 years now and must say, it is my favorite to teach and while I'm happy about the future, it makes me a little sad to think about leaving 1st grade to teach something different... :(

My grad. school graduation ceremony is May 11th. I'm going to miss it since I'll still be here in Dakar. And while I know that I am definitely where God's called me to me, and am happy to be here, it still makes me sad that I'm going to miss my graduation :(

And now since I've just ended two items with sad faces, here's a few happy faces...

I found out yesterday that our plane tickets for our mission's retreat for next month cost less than we were expecting, so I get money back. Yay for extra money I wasn't planning on :)

I'm going to be speaking about Jesus being our superhero this afternoon in Kids Club. I mentioned it to my students yesterday and they were very excited about it! I love seeing kids excited, learning about Jesus! And a few of my kiddos have said from the beginning that Jesus IS their superhero, so this is a perfect lesson. I first got the idea when I found out the theme of our school's Junior Carnival this weekend is Superheroes. I thought that'd be a perfect topic for Kids Club too. I can't wait! :)

The 52nd Dear _____ Post

Dear Dr. Seuss, Had you lived, you would have been 109 years old yesterday. Thank you so much for the books you wrote. Thank you for loving learning enough to make it fun for children. My class is loving our class's Dr. Seuss Week (and a half) so far and are excited to see what's in store for next week.

Dear Little Voice in my Head, The next time I'm going to do a painting activity with my class and you tell me to bring plastic garbage bags to use as smocks to protect their clothes, I promise I will listen to you. I'm so glad we were using washable paint.

Dear 4 Day Weekend, You what I had this weekend and you were awesome! Thanks for the mini escape from reality :)

Dear Sunflower, I saw you on my walk to school one morning this week. It's like you just grew out of nowhere. One day there was nothing and then the next day... Boom! You were there. You definitely have made my walks to and from school much brighter this week. God knows that sunflowers are my favorite flowers, so I'm telling myself that he grew this one just for me. :) Now if I could just remember to actually take a picture of it...

Dear Reading for Fun, I don't get to enjoy you very often. Usually if I'm reading a book, it's either for my job or it's for my grad school or Berean classes. I just don't have the time to devote to reading a book just for the fun of it. But that wasn't the case this weekend. Thanks to a 4 day weekend and being away from technology, I did quite a bit of (fun) reading and I enjoyed every minute of it. I also now realize that I sound like such a nerd.

Dear Video, I've been making you to show to churches this summer. You're full of pictures of this place I love, this place that God has called me to, this place where I dream of being forever. And it makes my heart happy to look through these pictures. Thanks for being such a fun project for me to work on. I can't wait to share you with people back in the States. You'll be just a small glimpse of some of the people (and the place) that have stolen my heart.