grading...grading...grading...

This is me grading. Doesn't it look fun??? Today is the deadline to post grades. Thank goodness I'm not a procrastinator! ;) Don't I look thrilled? I hate grading!!! Do you notice anything interesting in the picture?

This...this is where any semblance of sanity comes from. Thank you to all those have provided candy for the journey. ;) Let's hope it can get me through 'til midnight... And let's hope I can actually finish by midnight! Don't want my name on the "bad" list!

procrastination...

It's not all it's cracked up to be. So why don't I just get to work!? What is it that makes me search for anything else to do other than what must be done? I hope one day I move past this irritating struggle. Anyways, enough stalling...I need to work.

because it pleases YOU, I come

OK, so I'm grading papers. I HATE grading papers! Although occasionally it's quite humorous and entertaining, more often, it's just tedious. So I'm totally not feeling like grading, but I'm SO behind. Usually, that's a result of me being a slacker and procrastinator, but that's actually not true this time. Life's just been busy...good, but busy.

Today, however, I find myself with several hours of "down time." As one might imagine, grading is not what my heart is longing for, yet it calls to me. I feel like I have cabin fever, but I just started working! I keep pausing to consider all the other things I could be doing, but the guilt ties me down. The temptation was beginning to win... And then God spoke...

I come tonight to yield my right. I give YOU my life, as a gift of offering...

Now, that wasn't Moi's intended message, but God spoke pretty clearly to me...right when I needed to hear it. That sucks! He's spoken to me so much about learning discipline and learning to focus, yet I sit here like a victim of severe ADD.

I'm not here to serve my comfort or my desires. I'm here to give it all to YOU, to pour myself out until there is nothing left, to give and not hold back, to serve others selflessly, to do my best...even in the seemingly mundane. God, help me to give everything I've got to the tasks to which YOU've called me. Remind me that it's not about me.


For those of you who are interested, Moi's song is rad. It's called Te Agrada a Ti or It Pleases You. Here's the rest:

I come tonight to yield my right. I give You my life as a gift of offering like the one that You gave me. It may not make a difference. It may not change a single life. It may not move a single stone. But it pleases You... Because it pleases You, I come...

It's so not about me.

a typical day

Hmm...long day, but good. I had my morning class, as usual. The first great thing was all the great reactions I got to my hair when I walked in. I love those students! They're fun. The second great thing - I walked out after class feeling like I'd accomplished something. Those are always good days. I feel a connection with the students, I feel like they're getting it, and we even laugh and have fun. Those are the moments I understand why God made me a teacher.

Tuesdays are my long days. I have my extra class - Prepositions. I would be perfectly content to never, ever teach this class again. My hope is that I will not have to. Every Monday night I realize how deeply I despise the class (not the students, just the content...and the fact that I only see the students once a week so I hardly know them). Nonetheless, today was fun. After brainstorming with my roommates for awhile last night, we determined that the most fun and educational thing I could do in class today was to have the students do skits. So we did the normal routine - a quiz, then homework review - then they worked together on their skits. It was fun actually being able to interact with the individuals in each group, which is a rarity because this class is so brief. So that was a blessing.

To make my typical Tuesday longer, I stayed to observe my mentor teacher (she is teaching one of the classes I'll be teaching in the Spring...and today I met some of the students I'll have in that class...shh...don't tell them they're not going to pass her class!). It was a blessing though to be there. I was encouraged to be reminded that she and I have very similar teaching styles, but also recognized many ways in which I could improve my teaching. It was also refreshing to talk with her after the class for awhile.

Hmm...from there, I've basically been procrastinating. It is now 1:12am and I still need to prepare for tomorrow's class. So, with that said, I will going. I was just going to leave a quick message, but I guess this gives you a picture of a day in my life, which is the title of this blog, right!? Ok, so what I originally wanted to say was... Go check out Carlos Whittaker's blog if you haven't already. Yesterday, they brought home Losiah, a baby they've been trying to adopt from Korea for two years. It made me cry, but it's precious and exciting. If you want to see the journey, click on "Adoption" to the right and you'll find a collection of videos. Ok, I think it's finally homework time or I won't get any sleep tonight! God bless.

And I'm back in the game!

Ok, now that it's been nearly a year since I started this thing, I think I'm actually going to try using it regularly! I was tempted to wait until September 6, just so it would be a full year, but hey, why keep the world waiting any longer!? Plus, there are a few crazy stories and pictures I know the world wants to see, so wait no more!