Our Valentine

It's been the song of my heart today, and for many days.

Take it all! Just give me Jesus.

St. Valentine was most likely a Christian martyr.

This adds some depth to what I thought was a silly holiday!

What did you learn in school today?

A lot to learn

It's a tough spot to be in, total inexperience.

I was there when I was hired on at Pier 1 this last Christmas. I knew NOTHING about retail, & my sister & mom can attest that I came home in tears once or twice out of just frustration! Frustration, and feelings of inadequacy, and even a little stupidity.

Well, I'm there again.

My 3rd grade mentor teacher had me lead a reading group with three tangled (struggling) readers yesterday, and I must have allowed them too much slack, because afterward, my mentor teacher assured me that I am the leader, not the students.

Today also, I led another after-school math class for middle school students and ended the hour exhausted! I only had four students, but two of them were squabbling siblings, and the other two also wanted to demonstrate their rights to freedom of speech, even immediately after I set the ground rules, one being "NO TALKING without permission during instruction."

It's funny, but frustrating. :)

"I have a lot to learn," I told my sister today.

"Well, yeah!" was her reply.

:)

On another note...

This is slightly off-topic, but I finally found some shoes I'll order for the special wedding I'm in this weekend! (Yes, THIS weekend, and I'm barely about to order the shoes!)

It's simple, flat, classy &, most importantly, OFF-WHITE! It is unbelievably hard to find shoes in this color this time of year!

Combine the shoes with a teal dress from a local bridal shop, a cream lace shrug from Forever21, pearls from my mom, and pearl-looking earrings and flowered hair clip (not visible in the photo)...

...and the look is finally complete!

And so my sister, the niece of the bride, a younger friend from church, and I will accompany our worship leader this Saturday at her wedding. And she will finally get the husband we've all been praying for the past ten years :)

God is faithful!

Future Teachers For Christ continues

Our future teachers for Christ meetings are under way, averaging 3-4 students per meeting.

It's been helpful to talk through constructivism (the teaching philosophy we're being trained under -- it's a child-centered, kind of humanistic philosophy) and identify both the good and bad parts of it. In class, it's almost taken for granted that we all believe in constructivism.

More than anything, I love how this group is connecting me more with those who are Christians in my class! We are sharing conversations, prayer requests, and resources with each other. SO cool.

One thing I'd like to see improve is my preparation for our "meetings." I'd like to enter the meetings with questions I'm stuck on, revelation I've received, or a burden that's on my heart to share with the others. That's what this blog post is helping me with. It's getting me thinking in the right direction. :)