five on friday: thanksgiving edition

Since it's Thanksgiving next week (can anyone believe that?) I thought I would spend this Friday talking about what I'm thankful for.

[1] my fiance

He has been with me through the ups and downs. After being together for almost 6 years we have a pretty good read on each other and I love how sweet he is and his big heart. He is passionate about

[2] my job

Even though teaching can be so incredibly exhausting, frustrating, and thankless, I still love going to work every day. I love the conversations that I have with my students and seeing them grow up throughout the year. They never fail to put a smile on my face and there is definitely never a boring moment.

[3] Jesus

I am so thankful for the grace and mercy that we have because of him and his life. I'm also thankful for the freedom in our country to be able to proclaim our religion and worship freely. This song is so perfect and has been played a lot on youtube by me this week.

[4] my health

I am guilty of taking this for granted and this week has been many wake up calls for me and I am so thankful to be blessed with good health. One of my friends who is younger than me (22) was diagnosed with breast cancer. One of my high school teachers passed away from cancer on monday. My fiance's mom was admitted to the hospital with blood clots that could have been deadly. Whoa. That's a lot to handle and I just thank God for my health and realize that I need to take care of myself.

[5] my family

I spent a lot of time with my mom this weekend and it is always a lot of fun. Our relationship has gotten so much better as I've grown up and I'm so thankful for that. I also have been in touch with some of my cousins on the east coast as I've been planning wedding stuff and I am so glad that i have them. Even though we are separated by 3000 miles I know we will always have a bond and I hope to cherish that even as I grow up and have my own family.



Happy Friday! I'm Linking up with this group of ladies!

Believing God.

I was thrilled when I saw that Beth Moore was offering several of her e-books for free to download after the new year. I have been wanting to read some of her books and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I started with Believing God and I feel like the beginning has been a little slow but I'm starting to get into it.

She tells readers to set a goal for themselves to try and achieve and I was inspired by some other bloggers and set my goal to be that I would make my quiet time in the morning instead of in the evening. I always get up with enough time so that I can have a half hour to myself in the morning while I'm eating breakfast to go on my computer and read blogs, look at facebook, and do a couple other things. I decided to devote this time to Christ for a week and see how it feels. I'm only one day in and I'm not going to lie, it's hard! I'm in such a habit of checking everything in the morning and it's hard to go 24 hours without going to some of these websites but thats okay! I love the challenge and I think that it's really building my spirit and making me realize what I need to crave, which is the Lord, not social media and people I don't even know. I've been missing out on using this time to connect with the greatest person of all, my Heavenly Father.

I'm thinking that I will probably make this last more than just a week but right now that is my challenge that I need to meet. I've also been thinking maybe I will have to get up 45 minutes earlier so I can have my devotional time and then still have computer time. We shall see, but for now, God first. As it should be. Always.

one year ago.

one year ago was my last day of student teaching. look at me now, with my own classroom, surviving, and working with the most amazing kids.

i am blessed.

the fact that i have survived the past 4 months amazes me. i have learned so much about myself and what i am capable of. i love being a teacher. i love greeting my students at the door at the beginning of each class period. i love when their faces light up because they are excited to tell me a story. i love when they finally understand something and it clicks.

it hasn't always been easy, i have the kids who are disrespectful, rude, and disengaged but i don't let them get me down. i kill them with kindness, greet them with a smile every day, and hope that this wil be the day they change their attitude. it's tough, but so worth it.

i am so excited to see what the next 6 months have in store for me.

for now, 2 weeks of relaxation, family time, boyfriend time, and enjoying the season. i am looking forward to this break so much.

Nationals Update!

I am home from Nationals and I must say, it was an amazing trip! It was everything that I hoped for and more. The kids had a blast, I had a blast, and we all left with smiles on our faces. I am going to update you based on the 'hopes' that I posted before the trip.

-We had no issues in the airport and the fact that we flew Southwest was kinda cool because the kids could sit by whoever they want and change on each flight. Our last flight coming home we had some crazy turbulence and one of my students threw up when we got off the flight but thankfully we made it home safe and sound.

-We made it to the hotel easy-peasy! The airport shuttle driver was hilarious and told us stories the whole way there.

-We didn't lose any kids! The first day my partner teacher lose his briefcase (thankfully nothing super important was in it) so the rest of the week we joked that it was my job to not lose the kids. I succeeded and we didn't even have any near disasters. Thank goodness for kids to meet you where they are supposed to, when they are supposed to.

-We had two teams place FIRST in the nation, which means I have four students who are National Champions. We blew the goal of one student in the top 3 out of the water. Each student was in a different division (they take the top 1 per state) so they weren't competing against each other, only students from other states.  I am so thrilled for those students and that accomplishment. Our other students finished 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th in their respective divisions. Not too shabby!

-I'm not sure if it was the time of their life but I think that they all had a wonderful time and based on the conversations we had on the last day, the are all inspired and ready to start working on their projects for next year. It's pretty exciting. :]

I am so thankful to have been able to go on this trip and have this experience with the kids. I can't believe how blessed I am.

Back to school tomorrow, I'm excited to see the rest of my kids!

Jesus' Miracles

If I miss church on Sundays I love to listen to the sermons in my car when I am making long drives. Yesterday since I drove for almost 4 hours I decided it was the perfect time to catch up on the messages I missed from the past two weeks when I was on vacation.

Right now we are reading through the Gospels about the life of Jesus. Whenever I read these stories I am amazed by the love that Jesus has and all that he did for the people around him. He performed multiple miracles to make people believe in who he was and what he came here to do. One of my favorites is the story of feeding the 5,000. My dad used to reference this story when I was a kid and when I saw it in my reading I instantly knew what he was talking about. Jesus will always provide. He provided those thousands of people with their fill, it was a miracle. When he was in a boat in Sea of Galilee with his disciples they came across a storm. They were all worried that they would sink and drown but Jesus told them not to worry, to have faith, and he calmed the storm. This showed how powerful he was. Yes he could heal the sick, make the blind see, rid people of demons, but he also could control nature which was even more impressive to the people around him.

These miracles are impressive to read about, but I know that some people have a hard time making them relatable in real life. If I stop and think about my life, I know that I can see many miracles right in my own life. I have a brother who was born weighing less than two pounds. It was a miracle that he survived and now he is healthier than ever, just ran a marathon last weekend, and is taller than me! I decided to become a teacher and in student teaching I found that I was at the perfect school. There wasn't an opening there and I was discouraged and sad that I'd have to leave. One day I found out that the teacher in my subject area resigned and I applied, interviewed, and was hired. It was a miracle. Miracles are all around us if we open our eyes to see them.

In the sermon my pastor was talking about how Jesus is not a genie, you can't just call on him when you want and ask him to grant your wishes. It doesn't work like that, Jesus wants to be part of you life all of the time, not just when you need something. It made me evaluate my life, am I only calling on Jesus when I need him? Lately I have been striving to make sure to be more thankful than ever. I know that there are so many things in this life that I have been blessed with and it is important to take the time to thank Jesus for each of those gifts. Without him, I would have nothing.

What miracles have happened in your life? Thank God for them. What are you feeling blessed with right now? Thank God for the blessings.

Happy Saturday!

-J

I am blessed.

I am not lucky, I am blessed.

Last night when I was skimming through my Pintrest to find graphics to make a new background on my computer I came across this one, and it really spoke to me. I hear so many people who make comments like, man, you are so lucky! I used to think, sure, i am lucky, but a while ago I started actually thinking about it. When I was thinking about it I realized that no, I'm blessed. God has chosen some great things for me and he is following out His plan for my life. While I am lucky, I also think that I work hard to deserve the things that I earn. I also thank God daily for all of the gifts that he has given me. It is hard for some people to understand this concept but I think that having a strong faith means sometimes that you don't believe in luck, because luck isn't what makes things happen, God is. In the past I haven't been one to completely fall and follow the Lord but that is the person who I am becoming I am loving every minute of the journey.

Reasons I am blessed:

• I have a wonderful family who loves me and supports me. Especially my mom who allowed me to move back home after college and lets me live here for free. She feeds me and we do fun things together and she never complains about me being back at home. 
• I have the best friends. I know who I can call whenever I need someone and even though I am 100-300 miles away from almost all of my close friends, we keep in touch and feel closer than ever. 
• I live in a beautiful house, in a safe neighborhood, in a great town.
• I have a steady income with the ability to not have to worry if I want to go out to dinner with friends or shopping one afternoon. I have freedom to do what I please (within reason) and do not have to worry about my finances. 
• I have traveled to many places all around the world that some people only dream of. I have seen things in real life that some people have only seen in movies. I have a strong desire to travel more but I am blessed to have been to many of the places I have been.
• I have a passion for education which will provide me with a career for the rest of my life. 
• I am healthy and happy. 

There are so many reasons to be blessed, take a couple minutes today and think about your blessings. 

-J