Laryngitis Woes

Can you imagine being a teacher and conducting class for the whole day.....

Without a voice??

My cooperating teacher has done this.

Oh yes, folks. She is THAT amazing.

(At this rate, I'll have to do the same thing tomorrow. I can barely speak tonight. We'll see how it goes. :-)

Mom and Dad

This picture is the background on my computer right now. I am sooo grateful for these two people - and glad I get to live under their roof for a whole seven weeks in a row! The days are flying by too fast :-)

Pondering

You become like your heros.

Think about it. Who do you look up to? Whether in history, in media, or in real life.... Chances are, they have had a significant part in shaping who you are.

Means to the End

"Jesus, my passion in life

Is to know you

May all other goals

Bow down to

This journey of loving you more."

Teaching shouldn't be my foremost passion in life (although it gets me pretty pumped up!)

Anything I consider as a passion,

Is not an end,

but a MEANS to an end.

And that end is glorifying my Jesus.

How does the passion of teaching contribute to my life goal of knowing God better?

* This is a question for everyone, because I know everyone has a passion for something. And that passion is no accident. Don't let it get in the way of knowing Christ.... Instead, ask Him if there is a way for that passion to bring you closer to Him? That may be the very reason He has given it to you :-)

Teaching Lessons of the Day:

# 1. Love the kids. Not for what they do or what they don't do, but for who they are. In other words, love them because God made them, loves them, and entrusted them into your classroom.

# 2. Lesson planning does not - I repeat, NOT - have to be extravagant. It needs to be purposeful and planned ahead. (I think my teacher will tell me that every day til I leave her classroom! lol But God knew that I needed to be with someone who will remind me to "Keep It Simple, Smart-one" :-)

# 3. Be organized. Make a file that's chock full of ideas. Know where to find them, and use them all the time! You're life will be so much easier.

I promise, not everything I post will be on teaching all the time.... But you can't really blame me that it's foremost on my mind, especially THESE days :-)

Divin' In

I know this is possibly the weirdest time to want to keep up with blogging....

With just heading into my semester of student teaching, I have no idea what lies in store for me in the area of time-managing and crazy-busy-ness. You might say, "Of all times, this is crazy to purpose keeping up with your blog, Janell!"

But that's just it. BECAUSE it will be crazy, and new, and different, is the precise reason why I want to stick to blogging. This will do 3 things:

* It will keep you up to speed on the little happenings of the day, or at least the innerworkings of my mind as thoughts spark and arise.

* It will be a fun record for me to look back on and realize all that was going on, or at least what I was thinking about and realizing through the student teaching process

* It will be incentive for me to keep my mind going. :-) While I know student teaching will consume my life these next few weeks in the literal sense, I want to stay sharp and focused on the bigger picture of all of this. What are the blessings? What are the lessons learned? What are the fun things that run randomly through my head late at night when I should probably be sleeping or planning a lesson?.... Well, I'll try to keep that last one in check :-)

But yes, I want to be blogging, because over the years, I've realized it's good for me. It keeps me in tune to the "glory details" of my life. What God is doing, and how much I am enjoying this life He has given me!

P.S. If you think of it, pray for me in all of this. As rosy as I tend to make it sound, I'll admit there are things about teaching that I am very unsure of, and hard things that will stretch me and make me better (IF I respond to them right).

As my cooperating teacher told me today, "I can't expect anything less from you than your best."

And I say to that, "Lord, please use this experience to make 'my best' better." He knows I need it!

John 15:1

Jesus says, "I am the true vine...."

Why did He include the word "true"? Could He not have accomplished the same thing by saying "I am the vine"?

This implies that some vines are false. The branch draws it's strength from the vine.

Which vine in my life am I drawing my strength from?

Jesus is the TRUE vine.

Such a simple statement.

So important to my life today.