Perfect Love

"Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things."- I Corinthians 13: 4-7
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This is the scripture that our pastor focused on during Wednesday night prayer meeting, and I must say that it really hit home with me. You see, the day before, I came home from a long, hard day where everything seemed to go wrong, and I took it out on my husband. I said some very rude and mean things to him, even though he had done nothing wrong. He just looked at me, and he spoke not a word, but I could tell that I hurt him. Here I was, the woman he made a covenant with to love unconditionally, and I was beating him down for something that he had no part of, and especially no control over. Afterward, I felt so ashamed, and I had to go to him and ask him to forgive me. I had to take responsibility for the hurtful things I said. I was not being a loving wife when I acted this way. Thankfully, he forgave me and moved on.

This is exactly how we often treat our Savior, Jesus Christ. We treat him as if he is the one to blame for all our troubles instead of taking responsibility for our own actions. We often become angry with him when things don't go our way, or when we don't agree with his timing. However, instead, we should be running to him with open arms. After all, he is the one who created us, and he loves us more than anything in this world.

Thankful Thursday

"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 118:1
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* I am thankful for my husband. When I have a bad day, he's the one who has to hear about it when I get home.

* I am thankful for the 23 little people who are in my first grade class this year. Yes, there are a lot of them, but I really do enjoy being a part of their lives.

* I am thankful for parents- parents of my students,and my own parents. Parents are a child's first teacher.

* I am thankful that God saw fit to make me a parent. It is a wonderful blessing that cannot be described in words.

Thankful Thursday

This past weekend marked the 10th anniversary of the horrific acts of 9/11, and it made me do a lot of thinking. There are so many things to be thankful for in relation to these events. Here are a few of them...

* The trip to NYC with my sister in August of 2001, just weeks before the Twin Towers were hit and fell. It's what she wanted to do for her Senior trip. Many of our photos have the towers in the skyline. We never would have dreamed they would be gone soon after our visit.

* The heroes who risked and gave their lives so that others could go home and be with their families.

* The survivors who gave God the glory.

* God's protection of our nation. He is holding us in His hands, and I know it breaks His heart that so many still won't turn to Him.

Thankful Thursday-Classroom Edition

I am blessed to have a good little group of students this year, and I look forward to learning new things together with them. Here are some awesome things I am so thankful to have in my classroom.
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Toobaloos:
These little things are awesome! The kids absolutely love using them to read, and I am hoping they will help improve fluency, too!

Clorox Wipes:
Twenty-two first graders- need I say more?

Expo Markers:
These are one of the most amazing classroom tools ever! My students use them several times daily for math, spelling, phonics, and writing practice, and it allows me to do some quick assessing of their knowledge. Sometimes we use the individual white boards, and sometimes we even use them directly on the tables!

Big Boy

Oh, how quickly the time seems to be passing lately! Every time I turn around Chandler is doing or saying something new. At 18 months, this little guy has stolen my heart yet again. Here's a sneak into the recent photo shoot with Brooke.

Women of Faith

This past Friday and Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to the Women of Faith conference in Atlanta with two of my coworkers who also happen to be two of my good friends. We all went to a similar conference about 2.5 years ago in Greenville, and I attended WOF with some ladies from church two years ago. Both of the conferences were wonderful and gave me some much needed encouragement, so when I had the opportunity to go again, especially since it was the weekend before school and I wouldn't have to take off work to go, I jumped for it.

The three of us had a blast together! We laughed, cried, and laughed some more. It's good to get out with girlfriends from time to time. As women, we wear so many hats and often don't take enough time just for ourselves.

This weekend was fun and encouraging to me, and I can't wait for other opportunities like this in the future.

Top 10 Things I'll Miss About Summer Break

1. Spending my days with sweet, sweet Chandler

2. Lunch dates with my two favorite guys

3. Staying up as late as I want to finish reading a book on my new Kindle

4. Sleeping until 8:30 or 9:00 a.m. if I want

5. Mid-afternoon naps

6. Impromptu trips to Wal-Mart (or any other place for that matter) in the middle of the day

7. Playing at the park in the early morning

8. Wearing t-shirts and shorts as daily attire

9. Going without makeup

10. Actually having time to keep my house super clean without having to do all the work late at night