Silly Conversations

"I am happier than a teacher on summer break!" -someone who has never taught. This is my 6th summer break as a full time teacher. And I should be thrilled to be on summer break, right?! I'm just not though. Here's my issue: I want to do so much. SO MUCH. I want to write. I want to read. I want to plan. I want to study. I want to chill. I want to sleep. I want to work out. I want to hang with friends. I want to teach my toddler things. I want to date my husband. I want to clean. I want to eat healthy. I want to meal prep. I want to start a project. I want to FINISH a project. I want to practice self care. I want doing creative stuff. I want to do some work stuff. And I want to start AND FINISH it all right now! But it's such a huge list, that I get overwhelmed and don't do any of it. I always feel like "I have all summer!" And then- I feel like you don't have to be super observant to know what's coming- SUMMER ENDS,...

How does tragedy shape us? How do bad things grow us? Physical pain, sucks. As I approach the big 3-0, my body is doing weird things. I used to get injured being active and dancing. Now I sneeze too hard, or sleep slightly wrong and I’m in pain for 5 whole days. However, emotional pain has nothing on physical pain. And this is coming from someone who was in labor for like 3 days. Emotional pain is something we have tried to describe. Writers everywhere have tried to come up with metaphors for emotional pain since Biblical times. Although some come close, no one can truly describe how it feels to have tragedy strike and feel the emotional pain. It’s a lesson we as believers have always heard and want to reconcile. We try to encourage those going through hard times with lessons of perseverance, lessons of endurance, of “running the good race” and “fighting the good fight.” We teach on Job, and how he lost everything and still praised God. None of this is new, but it helps. ...

Remember when I kept up with my blog? More importantly: remember when I thought I was going to simplify this year? I told you all I was going to keep things focused on 1 word: simple. My life, my goals, my home, my job, my thoughts- KEEP IT SIMPLE. Have I done that at all? If you think that I have, you must be new here. It's literally one month away from being 2019, and I have been anything but simple this year. I changed schools. We continued to gather clutter. We have yet to get a grip on our finances. I still overthink every little thing I do. My house is a constant disaster area. My new school has been a challenge at every step. Personal challenges and relationships have been a struggle. I have done everything except keep it "simple" this year. In every sense of my "simple" goal, I failed. Sure, I have a month left. So I could get back on track. I could try my best to simplify what I can. But sometimes, I feel like I try so hard to NOT try so...