stop and smell the roses

Tomorrow eve is our Thanksgiving program!

The students have practiced vigoroursly...

I look forward to hearing their songs.

I hear them hummed after music practice,

and occasionally I take a moment to listen.

4th-6th Program

“The Best Things in Life Are Free”
“Stop and Smell the Roses”
“How Great Thou Art”
“Praise Ye the Lord”
Two poems

The video clip image quality is poor, but I hope you can still enjoy their music. =)

through the doors of room c

Welcome to Room C! Walk on in, find a seat, and stay awhile! These are some of the things you might observe...

You might SEE...

*fraction problems on the chalkboard

*students working at the whiteboard with their spelling words

*yeast cells through the microscope

*word wheels on the wall (a thesaurus activity)

*35 animal tracks missing, which means 35 days down

*stacks of books on Miss Vinar's desk

You might FEEL...

*exhausted after a soccer game

*excited about a marvelous, new wall map

*tired of working through long math problems

You might HEAR...

*spelling word practice with clapping

*The Little Princess or The Tales of Jemima Puddle-Duck on tape

*Thanksgiving program practice

*requests to play soccer or volleyball

*storytime...and requests to continue

You might SMELL...

*moldy bread or strange mushrooms for Science class

*bananas and cinnamon for a Latin American treat

*wafts of good dinner smells on hot lunch day

*new books and pencil lead

You might TOUCH...

*the velvety underside of a chingapin leaf

*a soft piece of moss

*chalkdust

Would love to have any of you stop in and stay awhile, and you might even be pressed to check a stack of papers or wipe down the board before you leave! =)

service multiplied

So, my days are again full of timers and chalk dust,
of lesson plans and soccer games,
of multiple bells and racing class periods.

It is a busy life, and if I am not careful
I find my days measured by the piles of checking accomplished (or not);
by the success of a new concept taught,
by the attitude of my students.

There is more to my days, however;
and as Jesus told the bustling Martha
(and still speaks to every careful heart),
"One thing is needful...to know me."

Service becomes drudgery or mere discipline
without this relationship.
He is the One who brings meaning to each moment,
who sustains my heart as I give to others.

He takes the smallest fragments I can offer,
multiplying them until enough for a multitude of demands.
Is this a miracle? Yes.
And the baskets of grace remaining will meet my needs besides.

a note goodbye

deep blue evening above the clouds
and in the graveyard
one more quiet grave beneath the elm tree.


i could only feel glad, today,
that your eyes were closed.
you, who could barely say goodbye
after a weekend visit,
would have found this parting unbearable.


tears coming now, grandpa,
but i wanted to thank you.

thank you for the memories...
they are worthy of keeping.

Faithbuilders

Well, on my way back to the East Coast I made several wonderful stops...

thank you for the royal treatment, Reba and Juanita!

I attended Faithbuilders on my way,

spending 3 1/2 days with 250 other teachers,

soaking up sessions, workshops, discussions, and encouragement.

What a lift for the week of preparation ahead!

Sovina and I (above) took the chance to renew an old friendship,

and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay with a young family in the area.

Their boys took me spotting! =)

During which escapade we 'spotted' one kill deer, one skunk,

one turkey buzzard (was it large enough to be a buzzard?),

and one deer on our last lap around the field.

A blessing to see such a passion for teaching in others

with similar challenges and situations...

and to see that passion worked out with enthusiasm.

meeting lois

what a privilege to meet an author whose heart for spiritual encouragement is even more beautiful than the books she writes.

i was deeply encouraged by lois walfrid johnson on monday morning. my grandmother, through a mutual friend, connected us. it was a pleasure to have grandma show her belief in my writing, and a real blessing to meet this godly author.

i encourage you to check out lois's books, the adventures in the northwoods, the riverboat adventures, or the viking series, all middle grade mysteries with real characters and real struggles who experience real growth, and with the added benefit of authentic historical details.

you can find lois online at lwjbooks.com. but most of all, join me in prayer for her as she continues her ministry with her pen.

near the cross

"The nearer I come to the cross, the nearer I come to God;

and the farther I am from the cross, the farther I remain from God."

-Andrew the Apostle

i doubt any of us, if given a choice, would choose the death of the apostle andrew. tied to a cross in the region of achaia, andrew lived on for three days. was he overcome in his suffering, barely enduring the elements, the pain, the indignation? no. the martyrs mirror records that as long as he could move his tongue he instructed those who stood near the cross in the way of truth. the words above this illustration were spoken by andrew himself, as he went to the place of his crucifixion, "with a peaceful conscience and cheerfulness."

i have been thinking lately on the need to seek God. psalm 27 tells us to seek his face. i've been trying to spend more time alone with him. to read his word more. to meditate. good things, yes.

but andrew's testimony shames me.

seems to me that andrew did not focus on the actual seeking of God. instead he sought the cross, knowing that as he took up his cross of self-denial, of death, he would find the Crucified One.

"O Lord Jesus Christ! suffer not that Thy servant,

who hangs here on the tree for Thy name's sake, be released,

to dwell again among men; but receive me.

O my Lord, my God!

whom I have known, whom I have loved, to whom I cling,

whom I desire to see,

and in whom I am what I am."

-the Apostle Andrew's last words