Spirit Week...

(Photo borrowed from Meg)

This is the squirrel...

...that lives on the back deck. Isn't he cute?

Confession...

I wore jeans to church today. And so did some of my friends! :D I don't know why I feel more "real" in jeans. I think I'll just call it the Velveteen Rabbit factor and let it go at that.

Victory...

The JV football team upped their record to 5-1 with a victory on Saturday afternoon in a make-up game. Last Thursday the remnants of TS Nicole put a whoopin' on the field, so they postponed the contest to Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

We won. Big. It was a shut-out until the last two minutes of the game, when the coach subbed heavily, drawing from his abundant supply of seventh graders. One little guy is actually shorter than Zack. The opponent scored two quick TD's, each followed by a two-point conversion, and the final score looked a lot better for the losing team than the game did.

Here's the cool thing. Our coach didn't want the opposing team to have a long, humiliated ride home. He could have kept his first string guys in there, and they could have posted more points and boasted a slaughter. But they didn't.

And this picture... it's the best my little Droid could do recording the result... tells the end of the story. Our 45-player team gathered with their 16-player team in the center of the field as one body of believers in prayer.

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit
—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—
one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.

Ephesians 4:3-6

What I'm wonderin' about tonight...

Is it better to be part of something because of who you are or because of what you can do?

Promise...

All your children shall be taught by the LORD,
and great shall be the peace of your children.

Isaiah 54:13

Teacher funk...

Apparently 46 is the ideal age. It has to be true; Bill and Lynda said so on the radio this morning. Supposedly we're settled in our careers, comfortable in our families, secure in our finances, and still young enough to enjoy our settled, comfortable, secure lives. Good to know.

Unfortunately, I feel very unsettled.

Or maybe I'm bored.

I don't know.

I have a friend who is continually asking for feedback on his/her teaching via all sorts of social media, and I feel pretty guilty. And tired. I'm just not up to asking everyone to tell me how I'm doing. To be honest, it's all I can do to focus on pleasing my Audience of One. I feel like a pretty big failure.

I've learned lots of lessons this year, though, so I guess that's good. I've learned that I'd all but stopped learning for a while; I've changed that.

I've learned that being a teacher without any kids at home is completely different from being a teacher with kids. As a parent I'm more aware of the bigger picture than I was when I taught before Kelsey was born. Back then I thought that a student's entire world should be academics with maybe a little sports on the side and an optional sprinkling of youth group. Walking through the student years with my own babies, I realize what a small portion of real life those things are. I suppose school is only the tip of the proverbial iceberg. So much more "becoming" in life happens under the surface.

I've learned that kids are beat down on a regular basis. Parents make demands. Teachers make demands. Coaches make demands. Friends make demands. Employers make demands. Almost everyone demands 100% effort, 100% of the time. Almost everyone is telling them they can/should do better. And instead of spurring them on, very often it's beating them down. We're raising a spectacular generation of kids who are perfectionistic performers or rebellious quitters. There are very few who fall in the middle.

I just want to let the kids know that God made them exactly the way He intended to make them so that in Christ they will bring glory to Him. Some kids are academics. Some kids are mechanics. And it's an awesome thing to be either, if that's the life the Creator has written in His book.

I hate feeling meh when I think of my teaching job.

Maybe I should just go back to selling real estate.