Lesson Plans, Fall and Christmas

After working on creative writing lesson plans/activities I got really excited and wanted to do three of them!

1. (I liked the idea of a church bulletin board I saw) Write the things you love on a colorful paper heart...then hang them from the ceiling to remind kids to practice love.
-Kindergarten or First Grade

2. Write three to five sentences describing what you would be like as a scarecrow and draw a picture.
-Third Grade
*I would love to teach a fall lesson on the history of scarecrows

3. Create an acrostic with the letters of your name.
-Fourth or Fifth Grade

Here's mine (some of it is me dreaming what my life will look like in the future...)

Excited-to teach
Moon-i love to look at the sky and the moon at night
International Traveler
Laughter
Yap-I love my puppy who yaps

Fall break is only two weeks away-I can already imagine the goodies and fall treats
Also here's a very early preview for Christmas....

Lead Me by Sanctus Real is a big song in a lot of girls lives at the moment. So many are longing for a man who will be the leader in the family. I think Sanctus Real has a very good point that for the man to be the leader He has to have Christ lead him....

The Story Behind "Lead Me" - Sanctus Real from BrightBulb Entertainment on Vimeo.

Age 8-10

From an Article by Bill Adler entitled "You don't have to do homework in heaven!" Some little ones shared their views about death and dying.....

"You have to be old before you can die because God seems to love old people best."-Maggie W. age 9

"When I die, I want my dog, Fluff, to come with me. He can go to the dog heaven and I can go to the other place."-Karen M. age 9

"Only the good people go to heaven. The other people go where it's hot all the time like in Florida."-Judy P. age 9

"The hospital is the place where people go on their way to heaven."-Aaron F. age 8

"When you die, you don't have to do homework in heaven unless your teacher is there too."-Marsha W. age 9

"I'm not afraid to die because I'm a Boy Scout."-Kevin G. age 10

"Everyone cries when somebody dies because they don't want to be left behind."-Susan W. age 8

The Journey Home

Went to SMF or student mission fellowship last night and the speaker talked about Heaven. When you begin to think about Heaven you may have a lot of thoughts but the thoughts that struck me were that we should be living for Heaven and that Heaven is our home. Now that could mean a lot of things but I have just been thinking about how our life on Earth is only a pit stop. It's like the verse that says, "Since, then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God."-Colossians 3:1 If we think of 'things above' how would that trickle down to daily living? I think it would motivate us, all the more, to share the love of Christ to others in hopes that they would experience Christ to the fullest. The speaker shared with us how he spoke with an elderly lady in her 80's who is very ill and has been longing to go home (Heaven). I even remember my grandfather being so prepared and just waiting for that glorious day. They miss their home, yet they are thankful for the continued opportunities God gave them to be used and share the Gospel with the breath they have/had left.
How often do I forget that this is temporary. Are we making each day count?
Again, I was just reminded about how life is short and believers are called to live it out for Christ. To combine some of the speakers thoughts....life is a journey following Christ. How simple it seems and yet how complicated we make it. Follow me. It's the same call He gave to the disciples and boy did they have a life!!
If we simply gave it all to Christ and followed him each day what would that look like? Knowing you are not in charge and trusting your leader takes the pressure off of a lot of things. To be a follower of Christ is challenging, exciting, and nothing is sweeter than the love that we can not even begin to fathom, deserve, or repay.
All that to say, life is a journey, this is a pit stop, there is work still to be done, and this is only the beginning....
I will never forget the image/thought I had with my grandfathers passing in March as he fought the good fight and finished the race-He's now having the time of his life!

Mississippi

our friend in Language Arts Class

9th grade small group

Beautiful Sunsets

Psalm 62:5-8
Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge

"I like most people..."

I was reading a church bulletin board about Love. They had John 3:16 in the middle and hearts with things the kids love or like all around. My favorite was: "I like most people." Gotta give them credit for being honest!

Did you know
-that ears grow your whole life?
-when writing the letter 'K', it is a stick with a broken stick
-the big teeth and eyes that kids have are due to the fact that they are all full grown when their head is still trying to catch up...eyes are fully developed at age 7
-to check your hearing-listen for the highest note of a violin and the lowest note on an organ
-26 year old drummers have 80 year old ears because part of their ear drum hardens
-there are 12 sounds with the same lip movements,like 'b' and 'p' or 's' and 'z'

We had our first hall party-Bake and Take (Potlock Style) Breakfast for Dinner!
Complete with delicious food (my first attempt at making our traditional Christmas egg casserole wasn't too bad! Thanks mom), apples to apples, pictures, and of course wonderful ladies!

Love this!

This is not my god daughter but I do believe we may be sisters in Christ!



I also love the sunshine that comes in my room on my bed in rays through the pine trees....I do live in the South! I think it was one of the best feelings and sights! The moon and sky were amazing this past week as well. Praise the Lord! From yellow full moons, to puffy theater background skies, is has been a joy and delight to witness! Also makes for some good breaks...just take a step outside and see what's out there

Something called Training Week

RA training was full of surprises....the training was a blessing and the competition well let's just say....bring it on! Our green team was victorious! even if I didn't understand the rules for the water game and may have given ourselves a slight advantage (sorry about that!) The scavenger hunt was another story-a whataburger napkin off the side of the road? yes we grabbed it only to realize it was not from whataburger but mcdonald's and thus would not suffice for this competitive race! I think we would've had a chance if we had a few less wrong turns but the memories were priceless! Full of pizza, crazy games, and wonderful instruction, we had a big week prior to move-in day!

Flip Flops and Language

It has been quite the start to the school year. I should be doing some homework but tonight...I did some and am now done for the night. Elementary Ed majors seem to have a lot of projects...the Braves might become my good friends in the next few days (they just tied it up against the Rookies by the way). Well I am taking math, even though I thought I was done-you can never get away from it, although it is kind of encouraging that I can do most of the problems we are assigned (to ensure mastery of the skill...I did pay attention in 5th grade so that's good...kids stay in school!). Anyway I have another Ms. Quinn class and I am very excited. She just cracks me up; she has a wealth of knowledge and stories after forty some years teaching I believe. This interesting class is Language Arts and Skills. A favorite quote from the first day: "Teachers are the guardians of language." (Quite the responsibility).
Some thoughts:
-language is culturally based so whatever is important to a culture has a lot of words. For example: there are 100 plus words for the sweet potato in one language/in Alaska, Eskimos have 12 words for snow/Arabic has 5,000 words related to the camel (for which Ms. Quinn proceeded to say that she thinks a majority of those are curse words because camels are just a pain)/Greeks have four words for love
As for America, we have a lot of names for cars.
It is interesting to note that though language changes overtime because certain words are simply not used...the two words that remained the same over the translation of Beowulf are 'father' and 'forgive'...as the Brits say, "Stick that one in your pipe and smoke it!" Translation: think about that one for a bit!
One's speech also says a lot about a person. Depending on whether or not someone says, 'icebox', 'refrigerator', or 'fridge' can place them in a decade but if you are good, like Ms. Quinn and you speak to college kids for years...you can fool people over the phone by relating like a college student.

Went to the soccer game and got burnt but made up for it when I discovered I had obtained a flip-flop tan. Balance was quite off in dance class which makes dancing quite hard but we are still getting back into the swing of things. I will have to make a math gameboard and write a short story/children's story this semester. Oh and tutor. And of course there are the wonderful 3rd floor street side girls!! Learning to trust God as He cares for His children in only ways that He can.

Life as an Education Major.

Discovering the joys of Sharpie pen...they don't really bleed through to the other side of the page!
Oh and the story of Robin Hood never gets old. Watched some of Robin Hood Men in Tights which...I'm a bit biased and my favorite are the BBC versions, but it had the basic story line and some funny sections.

Fall Semester begins

Good day!
Three of my favorite things in one day, last summer! Well school is in full swing after quite the week of training. Belhaven University has a very big new crop this year and as I start the courses in my major (first time I can take only my major and minor which is super exciting!) I'm realizing it is going to be a little busier than I expected...

Oh the questions of Inception

I just saw the movie Inception and I agree that it is probably one of the most talked about summer movies. There were SO many issues, topics, worldviews, and life questions that come from this movie.

First I must comment on how dreams are an incredible creation. That humans can have an experience in the day and twist it around to something in their head while they aren't conscious is incredible. It was neat to see (and a little scary) Fischer being fed all these lies and situations in the simulations/dreams that were from his real life/reality that he could relate to i.e. the hospital that housed his dying dad, kidnapping an important friend, a family photo etc. One of their famous quotes about knowing whether or not a dream is really a dream is "try to remember how you got where you are"....if you can't then its a dream. Along the lines of how you always remember the end of the dream most vividly. Also the writers commented on how we use only a portion of the capability of our brain and I think the complexity of actually having a dream is proof. We are a fallen people, whose bodies were affected by the consequences of sin.

I thought it was interesting, too, how certain events seemed unbelievable in the movie which reminded me it was a dream...much like dreamers often find themselves, in the middle of a dream, saying this can't be happening because it's only a dream.

The question of faith and what is reality was huge. Also do people choose reality of truth or do they choose to live happily in fantasy? Characters are constantly asking what if I'm right, what if this is reality, etc. and they are left to make an active choice based on what they believe is the outcome (Hebrews 11). Some are correct and others are not. This so parallels scripture and life as some believe and are saved while others don't. John 20:29 praises those who believe and yet don't see. The movie definitely makes characters make a choice....they can't be lukewarm.

Suicide is also a heavy issue presented. I appreciated how Cob pleads with his wife to believe in the worth of the present true reality. However, she thought that an alternate reality was better than this life. I think of how God offers abundant life...John 10:10. God desires for his children to have life and not just any life but a good life (Jeremiah 29:11).

Cob also has to deal with guilt, grief, and death. He couldn't let go of the death of his wife and blamed himself. Again I look to scripture and know that guilt is something that can be forgiven and forgotten (Psalm 103:12, 2 Cor. 5:17, Romans 3:23,26) I think back to a sermon I heard recently based on the disciples who were in the boat when Jesus calmed the storm. The pastor mentioned how often times, we can't control the circumstances or storms in life, that there was nothing we did to cause it (much like Job) but Jesus is in the boat to help us through the storm (Mark 4:35-41)

I also had the thought about how one person's actions affect so many. Yes the main character seems to have gotten what he wanted but at what cost....a change of leadership, whether or not its good or bad viewers don't know but a whole people will be affected. Interesting to think about well yes the guy got what he wanted, a happy ending but others may not have gotten a happy ending.

The biggest question is did he choose reality or the dream? Was it all just a dream? I think that he finally ended it and was back in reality reunited with family. This is mostly because the top spinner looked like it was about to fall, the grandpa was never in any of the projections, and he was finally able to see the face of his kids.

This was a very well done combination movie-you have Lost (they all exit the plane to their separate lives), the Matrix (all the floating), some Kongfu (fight scene in the floating) a bit of the Bourne syndrom and probably a James Bond feel, The Day After tomorrow (with the crashing of the third dream demension) and Ground Hog's Day (the repetitive scenes) and Oceans movies (the different character roles to complete the mission). If you notice any other repeats let me know :).

Oh and as for the "men" that were trained to protect Fischer's subconscious....I was reminded of how important it is to guard your mind. It is so easy to put stuff in there that just shouldn't be there, also easy access for spiritual battles and thus the Bible calls man to ready himself for battle (Acts 17:11). I remember my dad telling me how important it is to be careful what you are exposed to as once it gets in your mind, it is there forever, whether or not it has a prominent spot it will always be there. And for those who may have been quite affected by the movie and think there is a need to watch a cheery movie to kinda clear your head, I think you should know that, "the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."-Phil. 4:7

I am sure this will be discussed much more with many but if you have any thoughts feel free to share! And if you have a differing view on the ending, let me know!

rain.

rain. a lot of rain. and a lot of smiles and actually it was quite the day: ya know-two vw's, a few speed traps, four truckers who wanted to say hi, thunderstorm warnings, being pretty sure that a.) people in Alabama only listen to country as that is about the only station you can pick up and b.) that Jackson loves to have fresh rain on a move-in day, and lots of friends!....what else would you expect? :)
Oh and a lot of boxes and cars and rain and soreness-but hey that's college...

Boats, Life, and Jesus

I finished Spanish! It has been quite the summer and as I wrap things up at home and look forward to a new semester, there are always thoughts. Mostly about how God is always there-in the mountains and the valleys. What we think is wrong, unfair, or uncomfortable may instead be just what we need. Also, from Mark and the story of the storm...you know, the one where the disciples are freaking out because there's a storm and Jesus is sleeping. One point that really hit me is that they forgot that Jesus was in the boat and what that meant-they had the solution, the source, the help but they couldn't see through the storm enough to access it, if you will. Sounds kinda like how when Peter walked on water and started to sink when he took his eyes off the Lord. Quite the challenge: Don't forget Jesus is in the boat with you!

So I messed up my blog background and I am running out of meter time on my car so I have to fix it another time, check back later!

Think About the Possibilities

I love this music video, the song and the dancing. Look close, there is some really well done partnering. That would've been a fun video to be an extra in!

Thoughts

Better Than a Hallelujah-Amy Grant’s new song. This song really makes you think. Maybe our struggles, how we handle them, can bring praise to the Lord, just as much as if we spoke praises (Hallelujah’s). It gives Him praise when we cry for help or submit to Him, a testimony is a form of praise…the depth of His love is incredible and the fullness of it, I would venture to say, unfathomable here on this earth. If anyone deserves anything-God deserves the praise in both word and deed!
“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.”-Psalm 57:1

Recently

New plant for my residence hall room otherwise known as dorm room

The fireplace surround ie tile and hearth in the process of being built-yes my role was being the handy dandy green tape girl

Quite the little guy we found at The River Walk....yes it is a real bug with bug eyes!

Story Time and Bugs

Bugs are a part of life and I suppose killing them is also a part of life. Here in SC, we have a lot of bugs and as we’ve been fixing up the house, there have been flies galore. As for fly-swatting, I do believe it is an art. If I’m good, I can get them but sometimes I whack them and they kind of play dead. This one was down and then got up and flew away! I mean, it is kinda gross and I don’t intend to be so mean to them but when you hear buzzing because a fly is trapped between your window and the blinds, I think they tend to bring the worst out of you.
Roaches are also interesting. I’m pretty good at disposing of them at college but here in SC, well sometimes I let them go, except that lately it has been rediscovered that they are big AND they fly. My parents tore down a shed and apparently it was good that I didn’t help because there were so many of them! Prior to this, however, there is an even more hilarious story! I was with my family on the sofa watching a movie, when suddenly we saw this big bug fly across the room. We just kind of sat there and though-hmm, that’s interesting. So one of us decided to go kill it with the fly swatter. The important thing to note is that it was on a high door ledge, so the brave one decided to get it off the ledge and then kill it. Great idea, if it didn’t fly onto his back and bright yellow shirt! The other two innocents who were watching this happen on the couch were shocked and merely pointed with their mouths open-“its on your back!” they yelled. (I’m telling you this could’ve won America’s Funniest Home Videos) I suppose they were too stunned to try and help, so the brave one started dancing in an effort to get it off….and yes, I’m afraid the roach was a gonner, probably scared to death. A good thirty minutes of laughter and a story the three will never forget!