Hello Monday

      Happy Monday

Today I'm joining Holly and Sarah, and a few other bloggers, for today's Hello Monday link-up, where we say Hello to Monday with a look at what's going on in our lives at the moment.

 So what's on my mind?

A lot. But 'tis the norm with me, I suppose.

Things like...

Morning Views - I’m still loving them :)

Pete the Cat - I think I’ve mentioned it on here before but if not… My people are obsessed with Pete the Cat. We have story time during lunch and snack (in our classroom) each day, and 9 times out of 10, their first choice is going to be Pete the Cat. Anywho - I got the idea for a new behavior/reward tracker the other day using Pete the Cat and I prepped it over the weekend. Once Pete gets his 4 groovy buttons velcroed onto his shirt, they get a little prize. 

Being the Newbie - It’s hard. What’s even harder is knowing you have 14 1/2 years of teaching experience but since things are done wayyyyy different here, you’re left feeling like a definite newbie most of the time. Either that or stressed and feeling like your brain is swimming due to information overload. Or maybe feeling all of the above…

Stress Reliever - I’ve found a new stress reliever though. The friend I’m staying with has a couple dogs, one of which loves to be petted and typically tends to get as close to me as possible most of the time. So I guess it’s a win win. He gets the attention he wants and I get the stress relief from petting him. Ha! :)

Sunshine - I got this sticker at Walmart a week or so ago and I love it. It’s such a good reminder to look ahead at the good that’s coming… 

Sweetness - I received the sweetness below in an email from one of my former students from the school in Dakar. Bless his sweet heart… Neither his mom nor I knew that he knew how to even share a Bible verse from his audio Bible app, but apparently he figured it out. The part that made me cry was him telling me he would be praying for me :)

Missing the Beach - I’m missing the beach. It’s funny. I could live my live without having to even sit in the sand. But there’s just something relaxing about sitting close enough to see and hear the waves crashing. I love it! In Dakar, I could easily go to a restaurant on the water often and enjoy a meal while being so close to the water. Ironically, I now live close to water again (not quite as close as I was in Dakar, but still). However, I haven’t been yet. Hopefully I’ll be able to remedy that soon though. 

Renewal - Yesterday morning in church, the pastor said something that stuck with me. He was talking about how revival - true revival - starts in us. But before that revival can come, we need to be renewed… When he had this definition of “renewal” pop up on the screen, I felt like he was talking directly to me. It’s no secret that my move from Senegal and my close to 15 years of life/ministry there back to America has been difficult. I was burnout for sure when I left. I was hurt by how things ended with my mission. I was heartbroken at leaving my students, good friends, a place I loved, my home, and the life I’d known for so long. I felt like I’d lost my sense of purpose and identity and I just felt utterly and completely worn out and broken down. While I’d like to say things are 100% better, I can’t. I’m still struggling/dealing with a lot of that. But slowly, I’m getting better… And I know God’s working on/in me. Anywho - It was just such a sweet reminder that God will provide the renewal (and the revival too) that I so desperately need :)

And that’s about it for my scattered brain today. 

What about you?

 What’s on your mind today?  

Hello Monday

      Happy Monday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Holly and Sarah, and a few other bloggers, for today's Hello Monday link-up, where we say Hello to Monday with a look at what's going on in our lives at the moment.

 So what's on my mind?

A lot. But 'tis the norm with me, I suppose.

Things like...

Sunrise - I usually leave too late to see the sunrise. But one morning this past week, I had to leave a bit earlier since I needed to get gas. And thankfully, I was able to catch the tail end of the sunrise as a result. Isn’t it beautiful?

My Job - I love my students. They are super cute and funny and just fun to be around. They are also fun to teach. I love seeing their little minds at work and seeing those “lightbulb moments,” when they catch on to something that’s been confusing for them. But y’all… This job is difficult. Emotionally, physically, mentally exhausting and difficult… The extra stuff that comes along with teaching a class like mine is sometimes unreal. That’s probably why I’m going to bed around 8:00 each night. Ha! I am so eternally grateful for this job and I’m also grateful for the opportunity to teach these sweet friends. But still… If you know a Self-Contained Special Ed Teacher in America, give them a hug. Or maybe give them a nap time. They need it :)

Little Celebrations - I saw the image below on Facebook and saved it. We totally do this in our classroom, too. We celebrate all the things :)

Alabama - We had College Colors Day at school the other day, where kids could dress out of uniform if they wore a college shirt/jersey. And of course, I supported Bama :) 

Family - Since it was a three day weekend, I drove up to my mom’s to spend the weekend there. It’s been so nice having the time with her, having down time to rest, and spending time with the rest of my family too, like when we went to church together yesterday and then out to eat afterwards. And yes my brother does like looking like a dork in photos. But it makes me laugh so I’m glad he’s such a goofy guy the majority of the time :)

Beautiful - I got this beautiful shot as we were getting in our cars, leaving the restaurant last night. I love sunrise/sunset. It’s just such a beautiful time!

House Hunting - I’m still looking. Y'all, I had no idea it’d take this long...

Pause - This is my newest water bottle sticker. It’s a good reminder to pause, take a breath (and a sip of water), and then continue. Sometimes we need to pause and give our brain/heart the time to catch up. Sometimes we need to pause and not speak/react right away. Sometimes we need to just pause and breathe for a sec. 

Yep - I saw the post below on Facebook yesterday, shared it, and then screenshotted (screenshot?) it to save to read again later. It was a reminder of how God sees and knows. And considering how I’m at a point in my life where I’m struggling to remember that about my Creator… When I’m struggling with feeling like nothing’s working out, still searching for a house/vehicle, missing the sense of community I had in Dakar and constantly feeling alone, struggling with the difficulties of my job and feeling inadequate and dumb, visiting various churches and not feeling 100% at home or 100% at peace yet with one, and on and on… Well, it truly was such a timely reminder for me that my Creator knows and He sees. 

Friendship - One of the things that’s been hardest about leaving Senegal has been going from being in a small community with lots of friends and always having dinner with people or going places with people or hanging out with people, etc to now having none of that. I go to work. I come home. I go to church. I come home. I miss friendships. I miss going out to eat with people. I miss hanging out at a friend’s house. I miss doing stuff with a friend. I miss living life with people. It’s been extremely lonely and difficult to have gone from having so much of that to having absolutely nothing. This arrived in the mail a little over a week ago and my brother offered to open it for me to take a picture and send to me but I asked him to just wait, knowing I’d be coming up for a visit this weekend. And y’all… Once again, I think God knew I would need it more yesterday. A sweet friend, one I’ve probably been missing the most, since leaving Senegal, had put this in the mail I assume before she left the States this summer going back. I may or may not have cried, reading the card and her note too. And I was so thankful that God saw my heart, and saw that I needed the friendship reminder because even though she’s currently a few thousand miles and an ocean away, she’s such an awesome friend and such a gift in my life!

FYI - I feel like I need to make a little disclaimer. I realize there was a lot of “down” or “negative” in this post. But I feel like we need to be real, you know…It’s okay to feel your feelings. It’s okay to be sad sometimes. Well meaning people are sometimes quick to comment a “don’t worry. You’ll be fine.” Or “don’t be sad. God will work it out.” Or “you’re a Christian. Stop feeling down about this.” We don’t always have to be happy and positive and sunshine and unicorns and rainbows. We’re human. We have feelings and emotions. We need to embrace them. It’s okay to let someone feel the way they feel… Because 9.99999 times out of 10, that person knows God will make a way and God will make things better, but in that moment, they just need to feel the way they feel. And yes, I’m “preaching” to myself here too. We need to do the best we can with what we’ve got and give it some time…

And that’s about it for me.

What about you?

What’s on your mind today?