Chicago Mini

Today I went to downtown Chicago with Liz to watch a few of our friends finish the Chicago half marathon....13 miles. As I stood there looking for the girls to cross the finish line, I had this strong desire to be one of the ones running it. I SOOO wanna do it!! I would love to run it with my brother Josh. It would be so cool to train with him and then to run and accomplish something like that together. It was so cool to see people of all ages running it. I was so impressed with some elderly people out there running and finishing right along with the 20-something-year olds. There were couples running together, crossing the finish line holding hands and even a father/daughter duo. It was awesome! I'm running the whole stinkin' thing next year!

In the Name of Jesus

I've finally found a church I feel I want to attend regularly and the first actual service I went to was incredible. The associate pastor was speaking from Acts 3 &4 on the Name of Jesus. He first discussed the Old Testament teaching of God's Name and then the New Testament teachings of Jesus' Name. He pulled out three (pastors always have 3 points) lessons: In the name of Jesus Expectation is great, Giving is greater, and Reaction is greater. So often we pray that God will do something great but do we really expect it? When we pray for rain, why don't we carry around an umbrella? Do we not really believe it will happen? Expect that God will do things! Our giving should be greater as well and not just money. Time, listening, service, encouragment, prayer and Truth should all be greater in His Name. And when we expect and give more, reaction is greater.

This sermon couldn't have come at a more perfect time in my life. At the time I was frustrated with a few students and my inability to maintain discipline in the classroom. I was already discouraged which wasn't good. As I listened to this message, I lined it up with my students and realized that if I expect God to work in my students and I give more of my time, prayers, love and encouragement, then the reaction will be greater. If I'm going to pray that God will make changes in student's lives, I better believe it will happen and I better be willing to give more of myself.

oh be quiet

Raise your hand if you don't like Jesse Jackson.....ya mine's raised. He needs to be quiet.

The Power of Prayer

Today was amazing....my eighth period is not exactly the most focused nor attentive class and it's become quite frustrating and discouraging already. There are a few students, actually one in particular, that pull the rest of the class down. This student hasn't had the best home life growing up. He lives with his grandparents now and mom is in and out of the picture. Dad is in jail. This student doesn't want to be at school and is trying to get in trouble enough to get kicked out. I know there's a lot of pain in his life. He feels like he's a failure and isn't smart enough. I know better. So I've begun to pray...a lot... for him, for the class, for wisdom in knowing how to deal, respond and discipline him, and for opportunities to show him I care. Before class yesterday I sat in his seat and prayed directly for him. That's such an awesome thing to be able to do....to know that that student is going to sit in that very spot that you've prayed God's presence over. If you think about it, pray for this boy, for the situation, the class and me. I'd appreciate it. Today, though, was great. There were few distractions and abruptions in class and this student was actively engaged in the discussion. It was awesome and I have no one to thank but God.

haha

I just typed in Jonathan's name and the J stood for Juicy. LOL....oh funny stuff

and there's more

Hold up...I just did it again, typing in Jenniferlynn this time and I got a new one:

Joyous
Excellent
Neat
Neglected
Influential
Flirty
Edgy
Radiant
Lovable
Young
Normal
Nerdy


again...I laugh

Of all the ridiculous things....

Out of sheer boredom and procrastination, I did some of those incredibly stupid blog quizzes. One was "What does your name mean?" so I typed in my first name and up pops an acrostic of my name. Here it is:

J-Jealous
E-Enjoyable
N-Neglected
N-Nice
I-Ideal
F-Furry
E-Emotional
R-Revolutionary



wow.....I just laughted. Furry?!?!?! Well, I guess I do have a lot of hair on my head and my arms do side on the more hairy side of things. Jealous? hmm...and ideal? Hahaha! Neglected? Not at all! I get such a kick out of these things cause they're so incredibly dumb. Try them out for a good laugh. www.blogthings.com

Hazzing Week

It's Thursday....tomorrow marks the end of my first full week of teaching as a real teacher. The first week, also known as hazzing week, has been rough. It's unbelievable how exhausting teaching can be. I rise at 5am-ish, get to school by 6:30am, 1st period starts at 7:55 and I don't leave the school til 5-5:30pm. Long day. I've worked up the energy to workout once this week. I've consumed mass quanitites of caffeine (drinks are free for teachers and that includes coffee and fountain Diet Pepsi :) ) and way too many sweets. After devos this morning I noticed a box from Panera on a table and opened it to find half of a chocolate cake. I quickly grabbed a piece....and then more later on in the day......and just now I devoured 3 cookies...might go back for another. And this, my friends, is how one deals with hazzing week for new teachers.