Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, Y'all

It’s been a while since I shared a Friday Favorites post. So I thought I’d do that again.

Also - Can we just note how I’ve blogged very little this summer? However, this is my third post in this week, alone. I guess I’m back.

Anywho, time to get on with the favorites from this week :)

~ one ~

God, speaking to my heart will always be a favorite. I love how He uses His Word, old sermon notes, yearly Bible reading plans, sweet messages from friends, songs, and more, to reach me. I love how He knows exactly what I need to hear exactly when I need to hear it. 

~ two ~ 

Video chats with my nieces are always a favorite. I had a nice long chat with them and my mom yesterday. And that definitely filled my cup :)

~ three ~ 

My birthday has always been a favorite even if turning 35 wasn’t necessarily high on my list of favorites. I had a nice day with friends, m laughing and talking, eating good food, and just having an all around nice time. 

~ four ~

Reading is one of my most favorite past times. And I’ve enjoyed getting my fill of it this summer. I just started Book #25 of the year. I’ve read all sorts of books, mostly serious ones that required a lot of deep thinking. So I decided to give my brain a bit of a break :)

~ five ~

A friend shared this on Facebook this morning and I loved it. This is one of my most favorite aspects of God and of being a believer in Him. I love that I have the hope (confidence) that He will keep His promises to us. 

~ six ~ 

I can’t say I love wearing masks, in general. But these “hospital masks” have quickly become my favorite mask option. They’re more lightweight and I feel like I can breathe a little easier. Plus they don’t muffle voices as badly as the cloth ones. So I think they’ll be easier to deal with in the classroom.

~ seven ~

Sitting around, waiting for meetings is not my most favorite part of my job. But alas, meeting, are indeed a necessity. But meetings planning for the scheduling for my people is a favorite because the planner in me is super excited to finally be able to start prepping for the new year!

~ eight ~

I love that God has gifted me with friendships, over the years, people who take the time to invest in your life, help you celebrate the good times, and people who commiserate with you in the bad times. I’m thankful for people in the same stage of life as me, who understand the feelings I have. I’m thankful for those who speak life into me, who share funny videos, and book recommendations, and journal articles. I’m thankful for friends who have cooked meals and ran errands for me this summer when I was hurt and couldn’t do much for myself. I’m thankful for meals out and random excursions to various parts of Senegal. I’m thankful for those with whom I’ve had long talks about current “hot topics” in our world or theological matters or plans and daydreams about the future and all sorts of topics in between. I’m thankful for all of the people who have made me smile this summer. And while I don’t have a picture with them all, I am thankful for each of them. And yes, they do each make the list of favorites :)

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 Today, I'm joining Erika and Andrea, for their weekly Friday Favorites linkup and sharing about....

Thirty-five

Once upon a time, on a hot Tuesday afternoon, in the small town of Greensboro, Alabama, a baby girl with a full head of curly black hair and super chubby cheeks was born to a pastor and his wife.

That chubby cheeked baby grew into a shy little girl who would hide behind her mom anytime she was in a group, scared to death that she'd have to speak to someone.

That shy girl grew into a (still shy) teenager who had sweet friendships and big goals in life - mainly to graduate high school, go to college, become a teacher, and have a husband, a house full of kids, and a house with a white picket fence. 

After high school, that shy teenager went on a couple missions trips, where she realized that God wanted her to do more with her life than just teach in the comfort of her sweet home Alabama. She fully accepted that calling, but, at the time, she couldn't fathom just how far God would truly take her.

Eventually, she graduated from college...

And she started teaching in her sweet home Alabama, falling in love with teaching, in general, but especially with teaching Special Education. She realized her love for advocating for those who needed her, combined with teaching children was her thing. 

A week before her 24th birthday, she moved a few thousand miles and an ocean away, to accept a teaching position at a small K-12, international Christian school in West Africa. 

She came, thinking she'd be there for a year, perhaps two years, max. But God had different plans. So she kept extending her assignment. Again and again...

Fast forward to today.

That formerly shy little girl is now a semi-shy (but only 'til she gets to know you) 35 year old woman, who has spent most of this past week, struggling to believe how it's possible that she's 35 ;)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And you know...

My life may not have 100% turned out like I planned. But that's okay. 

Some of my dreams and goals have changed over the years. Of course, I've kept those plans/goals fairly hidden, except to a few select individuals. But as I sat down the other day and wrote out my list of future goals/plans/hopes/dreams/whatever you want to call them, I realized something...

My life is good. 

And I'm so excited to see what God has in store for me in this new year of life. 

And honestly... 

I have a feeling, deep in my gut, that this new year of life is going to be a great one. 

So, bring it on 35. 

I’m ready for you.

Currently

Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 

August's prompts are...

  * choosing *  consuming * enjoying * ordering * remembering *

I'm currently choosing to work a little each day, slowly weaning my way back into a semi-routine. I'm definitely not doing a lot. But I figured if I do a little bit each day, it won't be too bad when the real "work days" start. And at the moment, I’m doing just computer work. Planning my SPED presentation for professional development days, starting IEP prep, figuring out scheduling (which tends to be an interesting "puzzle" every year), and more. Then I’m planning to start on classroom unpacking and rearranging next week.

I'm currently consuming far more water than I used to. I got in the habit of it at the beginning of the summer and I've actually noticed an improvement already. Here's hoping I can keep it up when school starts back and the cravings for more caffeine kick in... :)

I'm currently enjoying peaceful evenings, sitting outside on my balcony, every now and then.  And since the only time that it is actually semi-cool during this time of year is in the late evenings, that is when I typically choose to enjoy it. 

I'm currently ordering nothing else. Although, I did just order these masks to use while working with a few of my kiddos next year, who need to be able to read my lips while I speak. It was a last minute decision. But I'm glad I did. Here's hoping they arrive before students do :)

I'm currently remembering all sorts of fun things from the past decade or so. This past week, I celebrated the anniversary of my arrival in Senegal for the first time, 11 years ago. How is it possible that it's been that long? Some times it feels like it was just yesterday...

 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a couple more :)

I'm currently planning to go out with a few friends for my birthday tomorrow. Good people, good food, good times... All good in my book ;)

I'm currently looking forward to getting back into a routine. I love Summer Break. I may still wake up ridiculously early. But I 100% love not having to hear an alarm go off every single morning. Plus, I love that I still have all this free time and time to work at my own pace/schedule. But y'all... I'm really looking forward to seeing my students again. I really am looking forward to school getting back in session (with COVID related precautions in place, of course). 

I'm currently listening to this song by Cory Asbury ("Sparrows"). A friend shared it with us at our AG get-together the other day and I loved the lyrics. It's such a good song. Well, really, the entire album is good. I love it!

I’m currently trusting in God, thankful that He is the Master Author of my life. I’m thankful for the hope I can (and do) have in Him. 

  So what about you?

What are your currently up to?

What's Up July

Happy Wednesday Y'all!

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?

Last night for dinner, I made some pasta with roasted garlic alfredo sauce and cooked some steak to go with it. It was a very simple dish to make, thanks to finding a jar of alfredo sauce at the American Store here. But it was so flavorful. I enjoyed it. And it made enough to feed a friend and me last night and still give me leftovers for a couple days. And not having to cook every day in this heat is most definitely a good thing :)

   
What am I reminiscing about?

I moved to Senegal for the first time 11 years ago (tomorrow). So this past week, I've been spending lots of time thinking back over the last 11 years, reminiscing over all sorts of memories God has graced me with. 

 What am I loving?

I'm loving that my ankles/feet are finally improving. I'm still not back at 100%. I'm still walking/limping quite slowly. And going downstairs is still extremely painful. But I'm slowly getting better each and every day. And for that, I am grateful :)

What have I been up to?

Some friends and I were able to snag a deal and take a little getaway last week. I was so so happy to finally feel well enough to actually go. This past school year was so incredibly challenging. So I was just totally exhausted by the time school finally got out. Then I've been, almost completely stuck at home ever since we got out of school due to my injury. So, to have a nice trip like this, full of relaxation and nice time with friends, too... 

Well, it was all really nice :)

What am I dreading? 

I've definitely enjoyed the lack of alarm clocks in my life this summer. So I can't say I'm looking forward to that starting back soon-ish. Although, thanks to a delayed start date, I do still have a bit of time left before I have to start setting those daily alarms...

What am I working on?

Reading more

 What am I excited about?

My birthday is next week. It seems crazy to think that I'll be turning 35. It honestly feels a bit weird. I love birthdays, whether it's my birthday or that of my family or friends. So, I'm definitely excited that mine is (almost) here. And I'm looking forward to celebrating with a few friends next week.

What am I watching?

I actually haven't watched anything in the last couple weeks...

What am I reading?

Y'all, one blessing that has come from a summer of "forced rest" has been all the time I've had to read. I didn't read a lot (for fun) during the school year last year because I had to (or rather, because I chose to) read so much for work and grad school. Plus, I had a LOT going on after school each day last year and if I tried to read in the afternoons/evenings, I'd be too tired to make it very far. So yeah, this summer has been amazing in that regards. I'm currently on my 24th book of 2020.

What am I wearing?

I've retired my flip flops and cute dressy shoes for a while. I'm wearing shoes that provide comfort and stability while my ankles are still healing. I do definitely miss my flip flops. But alas, 'tis not a great idea to wear them for the time being...

 What am I doing this weekend?

I’ll be getting together with my AG co-workers on Sunday. But past that, I have nothing planned. So I suppose I'll read a bit, do some studying, and take it easy while it's still Summer and I still can :)

What am I looking forward to next month?

Starting to prep for the upcoming school year... Our students' start date was bumped back to the beginning of September. So I've planned all along to use August as my work time. So I'm looking forward to setting up our classroom, starting to map out scheduling (which is going to be super crazy this year), and even doing a bit of lesson prep too. I love my Summer Breaks. Don't get me wrong. But this time just before school starts back is always so enjoyable for me. And even though there are still some unknowns, still some concerns/extra precautions due to COVID, I still am so excited. I really do love the excitement and anticipation that goes along with prepping for a new school year. And yes, I am stocking up on hand sanitizer and masks.

What else is new?

I typically don’t journal every single day. But I have been doing so a lot more recently. And using a new pack of pretty colored pens my mom sent me long before COVID makes writing even more enjoyable :)

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?

Currently

Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 

July's prompts are...

  * cooking *  photographing * sharing * trying * wondering *

So what am I currently up to?

I'm currently cooking very little, as I still can't stand (on my "good" foot) very long without being in pain. And let's face it... Trying to cook while using crutches is almost impossible. But thankfully, I've had sweet friends sharing meals with me, having food delivered, etc. I've been blessed for sure.

I'm currently photographing very little since I've been stuck inside my apartment for almost one full month. That fact totally boggles my mind, y'all. 

I'm currently sharing very little on the blog. I've got lots of ideas. I've even drafted a couple posts. But, I just haven't shared them. Writing has always been kind of therapeutic for me. But lately... Lately, my heart just hasn't been in it.

I'm currently trying to take care of all the things online since I wasn't able to go back to the States this summer. How is it that everything expired during the one summer I was NOT in the US? What are the odds of that? ;) 

I'm currently wondering a lot of What ifs as I prepare to go back for more x-rays and a follow-up with the doctor on Friday.  What if it's worse? What if he says I need surgery? What would that mean for the upcoming school year? Where would I go for it? What about COVID-19? How would that affect surgery and travel and such? How would I arrange a wheelchair at an airport? What about the financial implications of a more serious injury? And what about recovery time? I'm a teacher that teaches 8 out of 8 periods a day. I don't have a lot of downtime during the day. So how would that work? The fear of the unknown is a big thing for me.

 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a couple more...

I'm currently taking a class on assessing students with special needs. I can't say that assessments are my most favorite thing in the world. But it is a necessary part of the education world. So why not learn more about it and help out the people God has placed in my care? :)

I'm currently liking this quote a friend shared on Facebook the other day. It pricked my heart, for sure. What a great reminder of the importance of His Word!

  So what about you?

What are your currently up to?