What's Up January

Happy Wednesday Y'all

Is anyone else as surprised as me that January's almost over? 

Anywho...

Today, I'm joining Shay, and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. 

Every month we answer the same list of questions based on how things are currently going in our lives. 

The questions are...

 

What am I eating?

I cooked pancakes and bacon for some friends over the weekend. Is there anything better than hot pancakes with melted butter and syrup? Maybe the super crispy bacon... ;)

What am I reminiscing about?

2018 and all the fun it involved. A couple weeks ago, I wrote a recap of my year on here. If you missed it, you can check it out HERE. 2018 was full of highs and lows, for sure. But overall, I'd say it was, indeed, a good year. 

 

 

 

  

What am I loving?

I'm loving the Bible Study I'm part of. A few co-workers and I get together one night a week and study the Word. By the time we finish, we'll have gone through the entire New Testament. I love it!

What have I been up to?

This week is Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW) at my school. So every afternoon this week, I've been in the secondary chapel times for that. And it has been great so far. And I've heard really great reports of the elementary chapel times, as well. In fact, I love how my students keep sharing all sorts of fun reports about their favorite parts of these chapel times.

What am I dreading? 

Lately, I've been changing this prompt since there's nothing I'm really dreading. So instead, I'm going to answer...

What am I praying for?

I've got lots of stuff swirling around in my head at the moment. So I'm trying to do better about praying for these things, turning them over to God, and not holding tightly to them. Can you tell I have a control issue in this sense? Ha! ;)

What am I working on?


I'm starting to get more serious with Summer Plans. There are plane tickets to buy, services to set up, emails to write, etc. etc. etc. P.S. - Shameless plug... If you'd like me to come and share my heart for Dakar Academy and Senegal with your church, your Sunday School Class, your Children's Church or Youth Group, your Small Group, or even just you and your family over coffee/dinner one day, let me know. I'll be back for the majority of June and July. So Send me an email at enichols85@gmail.com and we'll set something up.

What am I excited about?

Well, my students got super excited earlier today, listening to a guest sharing about his bug collection. I have never seen them so totally enthralled in what someone was saying. I need to learn his secret. Ha! :)

What am I watching?

Nothing most nights... In fact, when I saw the meme below, I totally laughed because it's so me. Ha :)

What am I reading?

Over the weekend, I read Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate. Oh my word, y'all... This book was so intensely emotional. As in... I was crying literal tears, while reading it, and even after I stopped. Then I tossed and turned for quite a while that night, taking forever to fall asleep, thinking about this book. This particular book is a fictional story. However, it is based on the true story of Georgia Tann and the horror she was responsible for, while running the Tennessee Children's Home, stealing (yes, stealing!) 5000+ infants and children and selling them to wealthy families, under the guise of adoption. And while the majority of those families didn't know the truth behind the arrival of these kids, so many politicians and other prominent figures did. So between the corruptness and Tann's manipulation of the system, there's no telling how many families were truly affected. The number of 5000+ is just a rough estimate. The number of children who died (some who were killed) in Tann's care was never recorded. ** Do you see why this story affected me so much? Oh my word...

Anywho - Next pay day, I'm ordering The Baby Thief by Barbara Bisantz Raymond, which is actually the true story of Georgia Tann. This story... There's just something about it. Maybe it's knowing that my life-long dream has always been to have/run a children's home/orphanage... Maybe it's my love for children, especially those who need it the most... Maybe it's just my common decency as a human being and more importantly, as a child of God... But y'all... This story has gripped and broken my heart more than any story I've ever read.

 

What am I listening to?

Lately, the song, Even Then by Micah Tyler, has been on repeat a lot. It's such a great song! It has such a great message - that even when things might be happening, causing us to face struggles/difficulties in life, even then He never lets go. Even then, He is always with us... If you haven't heard it before, check it out. Seriously, y'all... This song is so good!

What am I wearing? 

Thanks to it being so cool here in Dakar lately, I can wear my hair down most mornings without having a heat stroke. Although, it's usually up by lunch. I, who always preferred my hair to be short, have finally decided that I love it more when it's long. There are more options. I can wear it down. Or I can throw it up, when it's too hot to last any longer down. My dad would be so happy I finally decided to stop cutting my hair (other than a trim here or there). Ha! 

What am I doing this weekend?

We have an AG meeting on Friday. And then I'm planning to work in my classroom all day on Saturday. And then on Sunday, I'll go to church, prep meals for the week, and read and write, and enjoy a bit of relaxation time.

What am I looking forward to next month?

February is a super busy month at school. We have all sorts of fun events going on. My kids are super excited. Me too :)

What else is new?

I bought this Rock, Paper, Scissors card game while in the States over Christmas Break. It was cheap, so I thought I'd give it a try. Who know my students would like it so much? It's a simple game to play. And we even made up new rules for it, so more friends could play at once. But y'all, they love it!

And then each month, there's a special question. January's question is...

What's your favorite Valentine tradition?

I don't have any traditions, myself. In fact, I usually try to ignore the day. While I'd most definitely love to be married, sometimes it does get me. And Valentine's Day is one of those times. So yeah... I usually try to ignore the day.



But, as a teacher, I do enjoy finding ways to make it fun for my students. We'll have a party. We'll do a fun project of some sort. We'll always focus our Bible lessons for the week on the love of our Creator and our Savior. And so on...



And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?