Letters

Dear Lesson Planning, You’re so much more enjoyable while sitting on the couch in my PJ’s and comfy slippers, sipping on a Dr. Pepper. Just sayin’ :)

 

Dear Bacon, Brie, and Apricot, Who knew you’d make a delicious combination?

 

Dear Writing, You’re one of the few creative abilities I have. Thanks for giving me a fun, almost therapeutic outlet in life.

Dear Kids Club, You started back this past Wednesday. I love that I get to be a part of your awesomeness. Thanks for giving our youngest students an extra opportunity to learn more about our Savior each week. What a blessing you are to so many (including me)!

   

Dear My Heart Melted, You’re what happened when a sweet first grader, new to our school, grabbed my hand during our game and said, “Excuse me, Miss Teacher, I wanna hold your hand please.”

 

Dear This Girl, Thanks for being a sweet friend and for making this weekend so much fun :)

 

Dear Good Meeting, You’re what I had the other day with someone regarding potential new students at our school. And a bonus of the meeting was finding out this man has ties to Alabama. What a small world!

Dear Discouragement, Unfortunately, you are what I felt not long after that meeting. It’s hard to go from such an extreme high to an almost immediate extreme low. My biggest prayer for this new class is that all the details fall into place. God knows what/who we need when we need them. I pray that I can prove the doubters wrong. Because the discouragement being sent my way is so not cool. Just saying…

 

Dear Reading, I’ve done quite a bit of you lately. In fact, you’ll be discussed here on my blog on Wednesday when I share the books I’ve read this month. It looks like my New Year’s goal (link) of reading more books will definitely be one I’ll meet.

Dear Donald Trump, You are now officially our president. I’m praying that you do a good job for our country. I know a lot of people don’t consider themselves to be big fans of you. But personally… I think they need to all just take a step back and realize you are indeed our president now. And if we call ourselves Christian, then we have a biblical mandate to pray for you and to respect you. It’s as simple as that.

Dear Christians, Quit calling yourself a Christian and then turn right around and consistently spout out how much you hate different groups of people. How does that help the name of Christianity? How does that help Christians? You want to know something? It doesn’t help at all. So please… Please stop.

Dear World Inhabitants, Can’t everybody just get along? Am I daydreaming to wish this were a reality?

What's in my Bag

 

 I know you're all dying to know what was in my bag on Sunday. 

You were. I can tell :)

In all seriousness, when I got home and wondered why my shoulder felt like it was about to separate from my body, I realized it was because of my bag.

Y'all, it was completely full.

 

See. Completely full.

I love this bag. It was a Christmas present I bought for myself at a little artisanal sale we had at my school back in November. I love it!

 

It's green, has elephants on it, and clearly can hold a LOT of stuff. 

What more could I want in a tote bag? :)

Anywho. Back to the contents...

This is the fullest it had ever been. And I promise I didn't do that on purpose for this post. This post was born out of the shock of carrying this heavy thing home Sunday. I just couldn't believe how much it held. I still can't believe it...

 

So let's take a look at what was inside.

First up are the textbooks. These are my teacher's editions of our Bible, math, science, and reading/language arts textbooks. My goal has been to plan a bit ahead each weekend, trying to get a basic lesson plan done through Spring Break. I say "basic" because my plans vary at times due to random schedule changes, issues in class, students not mastering a certain lesson right away, etc. But if I can at least get the basic plans done, then that'll be a huge help. You know...

 

Next up are my books for Kids Club. This semester we are learning about many of the parables Jesus shared. And we start back on Wednesday. I can't wait! :)

 

Next in my bag of stuff was the stack of electronics and accessories. My school computer decided to go nuts and stop working this weekend, so I had to bring my personal laptop to work with me. Then I had my iPad, the portable charger, my USB drives and adapter (since my computer doesn't have a normal USB drive), and a Skype card because I had to make a few phone calls to pastors back home, trying to schedule services for when I'm back in the US again.

 

The next group is the food stuff. I had my favorite UM (go Falcons!) water bottle, a pack of mixed nuts, some Tic Tacs, and a little pack of gum. Nothing terribly exciting here... :)

 

Then came the random accessories and such, like my little owl bag, some tissues, a bottle of ibuprofen (hello head/back aches that won't go away), two different ponytail holders, and my daisy print sunglasses.

 

And the last group of items included all of my writing supplies. I had my blue notebook that goes everywhere with me, my thumbs up sticky notes I use when grading papers, and all of my pens and lead pencils and even a random sharpie.

 

Oh and is this poop emoji pen not super fun or what? I bought a pack of these for a friend as a joke and stole one. ;)

 

And that was it. Again, I still can't believe that bag held so much stuff. It's crazy.

So what's in your bag?

Big Words

In honor of Monday being Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the US, we've been taking a look at the life of this amazing man all week in my 5th grade class. 

Earlier this week, I showed this youtube video to my kids.

In this video, someone reads aloud the book, Martin's Big Words: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Doreen Rappaport. Having read this book a few times before, I knew for sure I wanted to include it in my MLK unit this week.

Rappaport helps readers see how the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired millions across generational and racial barriers. At the beginning of the book, we see how a young MLK, Jr. was influenced by the "big words" of his parents (quoting psalms from the Bible) and the racist Southern whites (whites only, segregation, etc.). These "big words" inspired him to do big things and use his own "big words" to bring about change in a world.

So I asked my 5th graders the following question...



What BIG words will YOU share?

I explained to my 5th graders that, just like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., they, too, have the chance to inspire others and to help change our world for the better. 

Their answers were sweet.





They were full of truth.

They were full of childhood innocence.







They reminded us that our world is a big place.

And that we should always help others, especially those less fortunate than us.

They spoke volumes with just a simple word or two.

They recognized the importance of God's Word in our lives.

And they wanted people to know that ANYONE can make a difference.

I was impressed with the BIG WORDS they came up with. The days may often be rather long and tiring and challenging. But y'all it's really worth it. It truly is. These kids (all of them) INSPIRE me daily. And the results of this activity were no different. What a BLESSING each and every single one of my fifth graders is in my life!



So... What BIG words will YOU share with the world?

My 2017 Word List

Today I'm joining Shay and Erika for their monthly Workin' it Wednesday post and talking about my New Year's goals...

So who else is like me? You make New Year's Resolutions every year and then they slowly fizzle out not long after the year starts? Yep, you know it's true. There's no use in denying it. 

Oh and P.S. I feel like I'm speaking into a mirror right now and am totally talking to myself here. I'm so bad about this.

Anywho, on to my goals...

I had my all of my goals already picked out, and I had even started this post ahead of time, leaving it in draft mode 'til time for the link-up today. But then, I read this Family Share article and thought... Hey, picking one word for the year's a good idea. I'll do that. 

But then the thought of picking only one word didn't necessarily work out. So instead...

I've a list of 5 words to focus on this year.  

So what are my words?

1. JOY 

My goal is to share a bit more of the things that bring me joy each week. Sometimes they're big things. And other times, they're seemingly small things. No matter the size, I want to focus more on these and less on the opposite. I'm going to start focusing on these each Friday as part of the Friday Favorites link-up hosted by Andrea, Erika, and Narci. I figure by doing that, it'll give me a bit of accountability in mastering this goal word.

2. MOVE

2017 is the year that Elisabeth gets her tail in gear. I'm finally using the Fitbit I treated myself to this past summer. I'm exercising. I'm eating better. I'mdrinking more water and I'm drinking less cokes. I'm not saying I'm perfect at those things... But overall, I'm definitely doing better. And I've given myself a long term (one year long) goal and then broken that longer goal into a few short term goals too. Because, after all, it's all about boosting my ego. Right? :) Kidding... 

I'm totally kidding with this meme, but it's still funny ;)

3. WRITE

I love to write! I love updating my blog, sending handwritten cards/notes/letters, journaling, etc. A little over a month I started back journaling on a regular (almost every day) basis and am really enjoying it. And I have a few writing projects I'm working on too...one for work, one for my own classes (as a student), and  even one for fun. So yes... I see this being the year when I do quite a bit of writing. 



4. READ

I love to read. I do. But I rarely read "for fun" anymore. I read for ministry and teaching purposes. I read for my licensing classes. But to just curl up with a book and read for fun... That just doesn't happen much unless there's a school holiday or a huge chunk of time available (hello weekends!). But I want to change that. I have time each night to browse Facebook, catch up on blog reading, and even play Angry Birds. So then, why not read? That's why I've already started making myself read a little bit each night before bed. And I've even gotten to the point where it's become almost second nature to pick up a book when I first get home - mostly to help with #6 (see below) in resting/relaxing - but hey... At least it's helping me get in the habit of reading more "for fun." I'll try to do better about recapping what I read on here this time around too. ...if for no other reason than to help my often forgetful mind to remember what books I read this year :)



5. REST

This one is kind of two-fold. On the one hand, I have a tendency to go, go, go all the time. I love my days off. But when they get here, I can almost always be found with my computer out, doing work. I rarely am 100% "off." I also have a tendency to struggle saying "no," feeling immense guilt if I do. And in reality, I add far more onto my already full plate adding to the stress in my life. So my goal this year is to take part of my off days (Sat. and Sun.) and REST. Take the time to relax and recharge, hang out with friends, have fun. I'll also work harder at not saying "yes" to so much that I add undue stress on myself :)



And then the other side of this is... RESTING in God. I have already gotten off to a good start with this, starting a new devotional. And I have also changed up my morning and my evening "quiet time" routines (the times that I spend with just me and God and His Word) a bit. And y'all... I love it. In fact, I will probably be writing a blog post on it pretty soon. But to wrap this up, I wil say this... Resting in the Lord is so incredibly important. I know that. But I truly do want 2017 to be the year that I improve in this area.



So those are my 5 words for 2017. I'm planning to write a post each month, sharing the good and the bad, as 1) an update on how I'm doing in following this list and 2) as a form of accountability. If I know others (again... Hi Mom) are reading it, then I'm so much more likely to continue. Crazy? Perhaps. But hey... How boring would life be if we didn't have at least a little crazy? :)

Coffee and a Chat

Today I'm joining Erin and some others for her bi-monthly Coffee Date link-up, where we pull up a pretend chair and act like we're having a chat with a friend, catching them up on life in your corner of the world. 

So what's on my mind?

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you all about my Christmas Break and tell you that I had the time of my life in Alabama with my family. I am a blessed girl! That is for sure!

My favorites :)

If we were on a coffee date, I'd probably be that lame friend that's sitting there drinking water. I'm trying to eliminate caffeine from my diet. I hate coffee. And it's a little too hot outside to enjoy hot tea (hello Senegal and your warmth). So I'll just stick with my water.

Operation Drink More Water is going well thanks to my new UM bottle. Go Falcons!

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you that jet lag kicked my tail this time around. Last night was the first night since I returned to Dakar that I was able to actually get a good night's sleep. I'd been sleeping maybe 2 or 3 hours tops the other nights, which wouldn't be such a big deal, but I had to go to work. And principals typically frown upon teachers falling asleep during Professional Development meetings. But it's not all bad... One of those times I was wide awake around 2:30 a.m. and made a pecan pie. And even though I had to make it square shaped due to my lack of a pie tin/plate, it tasted delicious!

Making lemonade out of lemons. Making pecan pie out of pecans :)

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you all about this poster I bought for my classroom. The majority of the boys in my class absolutely love Star Wars. So when I saw it, I knew I had to have it. Anywho - I decided to let it be a part of our New Year's Goals/Resolutions activity. Then as I was preparing for my Bible lessons for the week, I realized that the quote on the poster went so amazingly well with what we were talking about today. Our lesson focused on the beginning of Proverbs 2, talking about wisdom and knowledge, understanding/learning and how God uses those to prepare us for the future. So I took a teachable moment and combined Proverbs 2 and a little Star Wars poster and formed a lesson/activity that held the interest of ALL of my students the ENTIRE time. They were engaged/interested and learning something the ENTIRE time. Seriously, all of my teacher friends out there know just how rare of an instance that is...to get everyone at once :)

 

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you that 2017 is off to a good start for me. I started the year off with church and family and now I'm back in Senegal, doing what God's called me to do. I know it sounds a bit cliche, but I sometimes feel like I'm living a dream. I feel like I'm going to wake up one day and realize it's all been this amazing dream :)

Hi Ho Hi Ho It's back to work I go :)

If we were on a coffee date, I'd tell you that speaking of the new year, I just updated my bulletin board in my classroom. Every couple weeks or so, I will choose a word or phrase and then I will translate it into all of the languages spoken/communicated by each of my students and their families. This bulletin board is most definitely one of my favorite parts of our classroom. Anywho - This one is How do you say Happy New Year? I love it! :) And since we're talking about the new year, I'd tell you to check out my blog tomorrow because I'll be linking up with Shay, Erika, and a few other bloggers, sharing about my goals for the new year. You don't want to miss it. I'm just saying. It'll be awesome.