And what a joy it is to have found it!
The past two months I have had little motivation to do anything related to preparing for this coming school year. And in many ways, rightly so. I completely understand the need teachers have for summer break and feeding their person. We don't get a lot of it during the school year.
However, this summer has been a struggle for me in ways of fighting my lack of motivation or rather beating myself up for it, but still not finding a way to overcome it. So what is it? I believe I have once again found my source of motivation. My students.
Rummaging through my enrollment list, I recollect the relationships I started to build this past school year; the quite ones, the rowdy ones, the mischievous folk, the do-gooders, and the ones that are good at heart. Some give you hell, and on occasions, you have to give it right back to them. Ultimately, each one has found a space in my heart and I seek to expose them to ideas and opportunities beyond the little piece of land they call home. God-willing, I can do just that. My boredom, questions of if I really am following God's will, a fair amount of loneliness, distractions, and the redecorating (floors and walls) of my classroom have kept me from spending time at school or hashing out lesson plans.
A few blessed opportunities of time spent around students - SCCL, POA planning, and county fairs, give me bits and pieces of motivation. However, these have been short lived. Two of those blessings were just with the officers, and frankly four students haven't sent me into a spring of productivity for more than a day or so. Second to these blessings have been some time spent with my colleagues in curving our technological capabilities to stay ahead of the students. Our school district has hopped aboard the iPad craze and is providing one to each of our high school students. I hope I'm ready to go fairly paperless this school year. I might have to be reminded that time spent putting my quizzes and tests on blackboard or other similar software will limit the amount of time I spend grading or accumulating grades.
As thunder and lighting roll around outside, teasing us of a chance of rain, I briefly walked the short block to school and grabbed a few items. With many items and resources still out of place, it simply feels more comfortable to sit here by the window at home, feeling the gradual cooling of the wind. I'm hopeful for rain. But I'm more hopeful for a blessed school year, and a very productive three weeks before the students walk through the doors.
If you are willing to offer prayers for me, please pray for perseverance, prudence, trust, and productivity. Only by God's grace, can I be Christ to these students and this community.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Unknown
"We all have a fear of the unknown. Don't let fear drive you. You must have faith and trust. God has promised us a hundredfold and is true to His word." ~ Sister Mary Jane Wallace
Friday, July 1, 2011
Come Holy Spirit
Come Holy Spirit, come by the most powerful intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, your well beloved spouse.
I apologize for my absence on the blogging scene. Apparently, I don't have much to say. Unless, indeed I am ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit and not really doing what God is asking me to. We might all have a tendency to do that. How about a brief synopsis of the last month?
A) I survived my first semester as an agricultural educator!!! There were great times. There were not so great times. I mostly looked forward to the weekends (which is not the kind of teacher I want to be) to have more time to plan. Actually, God blessed me with numerous, almost bi-weekly, opportunities to see my brothers and sisters in Christ, or my immediate family. As a teacher, I learned a lot, mostly what not to do, and look forward to a year when I'm some-what prepared. That is, after I take a long enough break away from the classroom to be motivated to make some things happen. Come Holy Spirit.
B) My second brother got married! Welcome to the family Katie! It's been almost a month, but the simple, smaller wedding was met with rejoicing, prayers, dancing, and great food. As we gradually get older, and find our place in life, I look forward to growing my relationship with my siblings. Prayers as Katie continues her job search as a DVM (veterinarian). Come Holy Spirit.
C) Prayer and Action is a wonderful "movement". "Program" doesn't quite describe it. I was blessed to spend one week in Junction City with almost 70 other college students performing Works of Mercy for many of the towns' residents. Seeing my old teammates bond together with a new team was an exciting experience, in that I can foresee some of the awesomeness they are all in for this summer. It was almost an affirmation that I was not supposed to be back on staff this summer. Team Denver and Team Kansas City went on to continue the experiences for other Dioceses - how sweet is that!? However, God didn't really let me get much sleep that week... Come Holy Spirit.
D) Teens Encounter Christ! One of my favorites about this spiritual movement is that you can keep coming back to serve. The college retreats are incredible, but your involvement is limited beyond graduation. Don't get me wrong, prayers go a long way. There is something to be said and continuous involvement in a community that continues to grow in love with God. I was blessed to serve along side some incredible people. To say the Holy Spirit was present throughout Pentecost weekend is a big understatement. Praise God for the way we were all able to more deeply encounter Christ in our lives. May we continue to do so. Come Holy Spirit.
E) As humbling as it is to admit, for about the next week after TEC, all I really wanted to do was sleep. Several days in a row, I spent only a couple hours at school, taking the plaques off the walls in my classroom to prep it for painting in the coming weeks. The beautiful thing about summer is that I can make it to a few more daily masses. Thank you, Lord, for that blessing, which is about the only thing that get me up for a few days. I have yet to build up my faith community at the parish I have finally registered at. Come Holy Spirit.
F) Sincere gratitude for the wonderful people who know me, yet continue to allow me to be a part of their lives. Nerts, blockus, good company and conversations have been a blessed part of my summer. Come Holy Spirit.
G) WHEAT HARVEST! I was more involved with wheat harvest this summer than I can recall having ever been. Well, kind of. One summer, I worked at the elevator probing the trucks and running test weights. I spent almost a full week, less a trip back to Inman in the middle of those days, at home on the farm. My farm visits of late have been less than 24 hours long and I hadn't really contributed much. I was reminded of responsibility and work ethic as I gathered eggs, sorted and vaccinated pigs, fed the bottle calf, made supper, and drove wheat truck (about seven hours a day for three days!). Yup, dad actually let me drive this year. Come Holy Spirit.
H) Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Home of Briggs and Stratton education training facility. Taking a lengthy road trip with a colleague of mine, we made the almost 800 mile trek north for a week of learning about small gas engines. Twenty-four teaches from all over -Alaska, Bermuda, Canada, Maryland, South Dakota, Arkansas, Texas and more - converged upon the training team for four long days that filled my brain to the brim. The week ended with packing our pallets of generously donated engines and training resources to be shipped back to our schools. THANK YOU! doesn't say enough. The week was filled with camaraderie - great conversations, Milwaukee Summerfest, food and more. Come Holy Spirit.
F) Here I sit on a Friday evening after the long trek back from Brookfield, WI, rambling on about the happenings of the past month. God has a hand in it all. I'm not sure how "Come Holy Spirit" ties into each of these brief anecdotes about my summer happenings, but I trust He did or will continue to make the most of the relationships built and the people met or influenced. Mostly, I've been reminded that I had not posted in awhile and should really make that happen. Thank you for reading through my ramblings. Something deeper and more thought provoking to come in the future... Come Holy Spirit.
I apologize for my absence on the blogging scene. Apparently, I don't have much to say. Unless, indeed I am ignoring the promptings of the Holy Spirit and not really doing what God is asking me to. We might all have a tendency to do that. How about a brief synopsis of the last month?
A) I survived my first semester as an agricultural educator!!! There were great times. There were not so great times. I mostly looked forward to the weekends (which is not the kind of teacher I want to be) to have more time to plan. Actually, God blessed me with numerous, almost bi-weekly, opportunities to see my brothers and sisters in Christ, or my immediate family. As a teacher, I learned a lot, mostly what not to do, and look forward to a year when I'm some-what prepared. That is, after I take a long enough break away from the classroom to be motivated to make some things happen. Come Holy Spirit.
B) My second brother got married! Welcome to the family Katie! It's been almost a month, but the simple, smaller wedding was met with rejoicing, prayers, dancing, and great food. As we gradually get older, and find our place in life, I look forward to growing my relationship with my siblings. Prayers as Katie continues her job search as a DVM (veterinarian). Come Holy Spirit.
C) Prayer and Action is a wonderful "movement". "Program" doesn't quite describe it. I was blessed to spend one week in Junction City with almost 70 other college students performing Works of Mercy for many of the towns' residents. Seeing my old teammates bond together with a new team was an exciting experience, in that I can foresee some of the awesomeness they are all in for this summer. It was almost an affirmation that I was not supposed to be back on staff this summer. Team Denver and Team Kansas City went on to continue the experiences for other Dioceses - how sweet is that!? However, God didn't really let me get much sleep that week... Come Holy Spirit.D) Teens Encounter Christ! One of my favorites about this spiritual movement is that you can keep coming back to serve. The college retreats are incredible, but your involvement is limited beyond graduation. Don't get me wrong, prayers go a long way. There is something to be said and continuous involvement in a community that continues to grow in love with God. I was blessed to serve along side some incredible people. To say the Holy Spirit was present throughout Pentecost weekend is a big understatement. Praise God for the way we were all able to more deeply encounter Christ in our lives. May we continue to do so. Come Holy Spirit.
E) As humbling as it is to admit, for about the next week after TEC, all I really wanted to do was sleep. Several days in a row, I spent only a couple hours at school, taking the plaques off the walls in my classroom to prep it for painting in the coming weeks. The beautiful thing about summer is that I can make it to a few more daily masses. Thank you, Lord, for that blessing, which is about the only thing that get me up for a few days. I have yet to build up my faith community at the parish I have finally registered at. Come Holy Spirit.
F) Sincere gratitude for the wonderful people who know me, yet continue to allow me to be a part of their lives. Nerts, blockus, good company and conversations have been a blessed part of my summer. Come Holy Spirit.
G) WHEAT HARVEST! I was more involved with wheat harvest this summer than I can recall having ever been. Well, kind of. One summer, I worked at the elevator probing the trucks and running test weights. I spent almost a full week, less a trip back to Inman in the middle of those days, at home on the farm. My farm visits of late have been less than 24 hours long and I hadn't really contributed much. I was reminded of responsibility and work ethic as I gathered eggs, sorted and vaccinated pigs, fed the bottle calf, made supper, and drove wheat truck (about seven hours a day for three days!). Yup, dad actually let me drive this year. Come Holy Spirit.
H) Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Home of Briggs and Stratton education training facility. Taking a lengthy road trip with a colleague of mine, we made the almost 800 mile trek north for a week of learning about small gas engines. Twenty-four teaches from all over -Alaska, Bermuda, Canada, Maryland, South Dakota, Arkansas, Texas and more - converged upon the training team for four long days that filled my brain to the brim. The week ended with packing our pallets of generously donated engines and training resources to be shipped back to our schools. THANK YOU! doesn't say enough. The week was filled with camaraderie - great conversations, Milwaukee Summerfest, food and more. Come Holy Spirit.F) Here I sit on a Friday evening after the long trek back from Brookfield, WI, rambling on about the happenings of the past month. God has a hand in it all. I'm not sure how "Come Holy Spirit" ties into each of these brief anecdotes about my summer happenings, but I trust He did or will continue to make the most of the relationships built and the people met or influenced. Mostly, I've been reminded that I had not posted in awhile and should really make that happen. Thank you for reading through my ramblings. Something deeper and more thought provoking to come in the future... Come Holy Spirit.
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