Wisdom for Wednesday - Faithfulness

Good morning! I'm glad you stopped in for a little mid-week Wisdom. I know that I always need to refocus mid-week, and this week is no exception. At our basketball game last night, it felt like Friday already if that tells you anything about the week I'm having. Ha!

My own kids (and many at school) have been battling what I'm pretty sure is the flu. Both are on the mend now...I think. Not fun. Not fun at all. So far my husband and I have remained healthy...

Anyway...

I stumbled upon this quote by Jim Berg in his book God is More than Enough: 

Take a moment and let that sink in, would you? I know I had to... I read it over quickly at first. However, after thinking about it, I realized just how much truth is in that little quote. 

We must have a clear picture of God's faithfulness if we are to live the life of faith that God wants from us. We must know God is faithful. We must believe that He can and will carry out the promises He has given us in His Word.

He is faithful to forgive us from our sins. He is faithful to provide an eternal home is heaven. He is faithful to be with us through trials and temptations. He is faithful to guide and direct our steps. He is faithful to watch over us. He is faithful to care for us. He is faithful to keep His promises.

God is faithful!

Berg goes on to say, "God's promises will have little impact upon you if you do not believe He is faithful."

We must believe God is faithful to keep His promises. When we believe that, we can't help but live a life of faith. His faithfulness fuels--drives--our faithfulness. It motivates us to keep trusting, to keep pressing on, to keep moving forward in our walk with Him.

God is faithful!

Greater than, Less than and Equal to

This week, we worked on greater than, less than and equal to in math.  We used pretzels to make our greater than, less than and equal signs.  The kids loved this especially because they got to eat pretzels when they were done.

The first grade classes also got together and we did human greater than, less than and equal to.  We placed a number of kids on each side and 2 students had to come up and make the sign that they would use to complete the problem.

The last activity that we did was playing our connect four greater than, less than and equal to game from TPT.

 I hope that wherever you are teaching, you are staying healthy and continue to stay healthy with all of this flu going around.  I saw this the other day and thought how true it was:

Have a great week!

Wisdom for Wednesday-Praying

Welcome again to this week's:

I personally believe that prayer is very important and it is something that I am working on getting better at this year.  Prayer is one thing that can help us grow closer to God and build our confidence in him as well.  Although, I know that I will often pray and then wonder things like:  did God hear my prayer, did I pray the right way or long enough?  I know that doing this shows the lack of trust that I have when I pray.  When I pray I need to pray with faith and realize that I don't need to get fancy in my wording and I can just be me and quit worrying about all that other stuff.  I need to work on having confidence in my praying and know that God will hear it.  Having a childlike prayer coming from a sincere heart is what he wants in the long run.

Have a great week!

Sight Word and Phonics Practice

This week we practiced our sight words with a beach ball and a connect four game.  I taped our sight words onto a beach ball and we passed it around until the music stopped.  When it stopped, whatever words the student's hands were on, they had to read the words.  We also played our sight word connect four game.  I'm excited to report that all the students could read their sight words by the end of the week!  YAY!

To practice our phonics skill, we used one of our connect four games from TPT.  The kids always get excited when we play one of these games.  I love that they have fun with it, it is easy to get ready and they are learning all at the same time!  

Have a great week!

Wisdom for Wednesday - More Christlike (and whining about a snow day)

Snow days! Twice in the last two weeks! What is going on around here? Ha!

Seriously though. I'm home today (Tuesday) because of cold weather. Last week, we were off on Thursday due to icy road conditions. About that...

You all will laugh, but I have gotten to the point where I don't even "hope" for snow days. I had exchanged a few texts with Kristi and some of other teacher friends the night before and kept telling them (and myself) that it wasn't going to happen. So when my phone rang last Thursday morning, my first reaction was to wonder who in the world was calling me so early in the morning!

Today was different. We knew yesterday afternoon, and I was bummed. Normally, I would be extremely happy about this extra day at home (and one where we knew ahead of time!), but this has put a few wrinkles in the schedule of our league basketball tournament (remember I'm the assistant coach) that I'm not crazy about. 

Oh well...couldn't be helped, I guess. I'll just be thankful for this day to get this post ready, rest up, and start on my assignment that is due Friday. I'm a little annoyed by that considering my Spring classes don't even officially open up until tomorrow! Last semester, I usually had a week or two to get assignments done. This might be a tough semester for me...(insert worried emoji here).

Okay, enough whining and on to the reason you're here (hopefully :-)).

This week's quote is part of a larger quote from The Crucified Life by A.W. Tozer. Check it out:

“If we understand that everything happening to us is to make us more Christlike, it will solve a great deal of anxiety in our lives.” 

Everything? Really?

Yes, really. I'm reminding myself too. Remember, I was the one just complaining about an inconvenient snow day!

When we stop and consider our eternal purpose, we are able to keep our circumstances in perspective. I know I'm guilty of sometimes focusing on the stuff, the circumstances. And of course, when I focus on those earthly things, it causes anxiety and worry. 

Instead I have to remember to look at everything--the good, the bad, the ugly--with an eternal perspective. It's not easy, and it certainly isn't my natural reaction to my circumstances. 

Here's a couple of my favorite verses to remind me:

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:1-2

Have a happy day! And if you haven't had one yet, may a snow day be in your future. ;-)

Butler Grizzlies Basketball Team

Our word of the month is commitment, so the Butler County Community College Grizzlies Basketball Team came in this week for our assembly.  The coach talked to the kids about the basketball team and how they had to be committed to working hard, being a team player and getting good grades.  Several of the basketball players talked about their goals and what they had to do to achieve those goals.  The kids were very excited to see them and watch them do some of their drills that they run during their basketball practices.  

They showed the students some of the drills that they do during practice and how they had to work hard and be team players during that time.  Each drill they ran, they had a goal to meet as a team (for example:  getting 80 layups in 3 minutes).  They cheered each other on by clapping, giving high fives and words of encouragement.  It was neat to see how they worked together to achieve their goals on the basketball court.  

Have a great week!

Wisdom for Wednesday-Bread or Cake

Welcome to this week's:

I will have to admit that I haven't always used the bible as bread and have used it more as cake.  

I have worked on starting my day in prayer and in the bible.  I need to work on including it more into my evenings and throughout the day.   Our lives become hectic and busy on a daily basis and this sometimes becomes my excuse for using the bible as cake even though it shouldn't.  This year I plan to work on using the bible more as bread and not as cake!

Have a great day!

Random Post Alert - Catching Up!

Hello there! 

I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas break. I know I always enjoy the extra time with my friends and family, time at HOME (I'm such a homebody...one of my good friends arranged a get together at my house just because she knew being at home is my favorite place to be--HA!), and time to reflect on my personal walk with the Lord. 

I know I've been somewhat MIA on this blog, so I thought I'd catch you up on thoughts about my new role as the Title I teacher and life in general. So buckle up for a bit of random thoughts!

Trim Healthy Mama

Ummm...where has this plan been all my life? If you haven't heard of it, it is an eating plan. They don't like the word diet and promise no pounds lost in the first year. If you've followed this blog for any length of time, you know that I have always been on a healthy living journey. My family has a history of obesity, and I have worked very hard to try and maintain a reasonable weight. My sister recommended the THM plan to me in October and I have not looked back! I've lost 13 pounds, dropped a size, (even through the holidays, people!!!) and am really enjoying the food freedom! I have also not been working out--something you could say I've been "bound" to for all of my adult life (more on that later).

If you're interested, I would recommend starting with this plan book. I cheated and signed up for Audible and got to listen for free. I then purchased this cookbook which does have an abbreviated explanation of the plan at the front (affiliate links).

Grad School

So with my new role as the Title I teacher for our district, I decided it was also a great time to get my masters degree as a reading specialist. It is everything I had dreaded...Ha! ;-) 

I know it will be worth it in the end, but right now I struggle to find time to complete my homework. Early in the semester, I realized something had to give. And that was my morning work-out time. As I mentioned earlier, I have always worked out. ALWAYS. 

Of course, I don't recommend not working out, but right now I am having to give myself some grace in that area. Maybe after basketball season, I can do more homework after school and get my morning workouts back on track.

Intervention Teacher

I'm finding the role of an intervention teacher to be...different. Don't misunderstand me, the positives are far outweighing the challenges I'm facing AND I couldn't be happier with my decision to take on this role.

Earlier in the semester, I found I was really frustrated with the lack of time that I have with my students. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so this really bothered me. I didn't (still don't) feel like I have enough time to make the difference I would like to make. Maybe it is because I am the only Title I teacher for all of our K-6 students and I have to split my days between two buildings 20 minutes apart. Or maybe this is just part of the job. Either way, I had to come to the realization that I would do what I could with that precious time.

The other challenge has been communication--or maybe I should say lack of it. Now that I am not a classroom teacher (and probably also because I'm between two buildings), I don't always know what is going on at either place! It can be a little frustrating.

Mom of a Senior

My son is a senior this year. My daughter will be right behind him next year. I'm often asked what I think about him graduating. At this point, I can honestly say I am just excited for him. This is what we've been working for, after all! We have always attempted to raise our children with the mindset that we were preparing them for adulthood, to leave home, and hopefully serve the Lord wherever He places them. As of right now, this guy will be headed off to Bible college in the fall with plans to go into the music ministry.

Photo Courtesy of Crossroads Photography

I think that sums up what has been keeping me busy lately. Here's wishing all of us energy and strength as we settle back in for another semester! We can do it! :-)

Wisdom for Wednesday - Be Humble

Happy New Year! I'm headed back to work today. It seems like the break went fast, but doesn't it always? I had a lot of things on my to-do list that just didn't happen, but that is okay. I'm relaxed, rested, and ready to get back to it!

This week for our wisdom post, I thought I'd share my "one little word" for 2018 although mine always seems to be "one little phrase."

***The part below was originally posted on my author page yesterday.***

I stopped doing New Year's Resolutions a few years ago and instead chose a word or phrase that I wanted to focus on for the year. For the past several years, it has been "Embrace the Day." If you want to read my thoughts on that, you can go here.

This year, I knew it was time for something different. The Lord has been working on my heart in an area that deserved more than a passing thought.

Humility.

More specifically humility within relationships.

Anybody ever have trouble getting along with someone else?

Let me raise my hand first.

We all have relationships that take more work than others. Maybe there is an underlying tension between you and the other person that makes it a strained relationship. Maybe you and the other person just disagree on some things and you simply cannot find that middle ground. Maybe you are constantly praying about your relationship with that person and trying to find ways to communicate your difference of opinion in a kind way.

That was me in the last month or so.

I knew I was in a strained relationship and didn't really know how to "fix" it. I began praying about it, knowing that I didn't want my attitude toward the other person to become sin in my life. As I was praying and seeking God's will in the relationship, I stumbled upon this verse.

Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom. Proverbs 13:10

Um...ouch!

Before I go any further, take a look at the definition of contention (taken from Websters 1828).

Strife; struggle; a violent effort to obtain something, or to resist a person, claim or injury; contest; quarrel.

Yep! That pretty much summed up what I had been feeling toward the other person (so...thankfully not the violent part...). The Lord opened my eyes to see that the differences in opinions, the contention, was all the result of pride. Many times when I would get annoyed or angry with the other person, it was due to what their comments did to my pride. It was my pride that insisted I was right and they were wrong.

In truth, I'd argue that pride is at the root of all sin in our life, but we'll save that for another time.

I began to think, "Be humble. Be kind."

Over and over again.

Each time I interacted with this person, those words would play over and over in my heart and mind.

Did it make everything better? Well, no, not really.

In fact, I remember a day I confided in my husband that being humble would be a lot easier if the other person were also trying to be humble!

And yes, that is true.

But the Lord convicted me to focus only on my pride. Focus on my efforts to be humble in the relationship.

I can't tell you the relationship has gotten any easier, but I can tell you that my attitude has changed. I'm not as sensitive as I was because the comments--the digs, as I call them--don't have to bruise my pride if I'm trying to be humble.

I'll keep my focus on humility. Putting others before myself. Seeking opportunities to show kindness.

That feels so much better than contention anyway.

Do you have a word or phrase for this year? I'd love to hear it! Leave it in the comments. :-)