routines

Hello, Saturday morning. I am really starting to enjoy this little routine I have going for my Saturdays - sleep in a little bit, have an extended quiet time with a very large cup of coffee, write in my journal, and write on my blog. Since I've started my job, drinking a cup of coffee in the morning is now considered a luxury. Let me explain. I get to work around 7:30, and my students arrive at 8:00. Then I teach non-stop until 12:20. I am lucky if I can squeeze in a bathroom break, but that is just not always possible. Therefore, I have to be very careful about how much liquid I consume in the morning.. if you know what I mean. I have also started cleaning my house every Saturday morning. I NEVER would have thought that house cleaning would become a routine for me. It has always been something I put off until I can't stand it any longer, or when I know that people are coming over. But now I am actually enjoying this new routine. I listen to my ipod and clean to my heart's content. The hard labor is well worth the satisfaction of getting to enjoy a clean house for the rest of the weekend.

I think God created the world with routines in mind. He made 24 hour cycles- day and night- so that we could rest everyday and wake up ready to start a new day. We get to experience morning (my favorite) every single day! He didn't have to do it this way- he could have made us so that we only need 5 minutes of rest, or maybe that we wiggle our ears in order to be rested. He also made 7 day cycles, and gave us the perfect example of working 6 days and resting on the 7th day. And now, thousands of years after the world came into existence, the world still slows down (if maybe just a little bit) on Sundays. I am learning to take my Sabbath very seriously- He knows what I need so much more than I do!

small moments

I had a physically and emotionally exhausting week. But here are some small moments of my week that made me smile...

* I received emails from two different friends this week, simply encouraging me and telling me that they were praying for me. What a blessing to know that people are sharing my burdens with me!

* One of my students wrote me a note on the top of his word study quiz that said, "You rock!"

* On Wednesday during 5th period, my eighth graders didn't want to stop reading. They begged me to give them a few more minutes to read. So I did, gladly! That just doesn't happen in the world of self-contained special education.

* One of my students experienced a writing breakthrough when he came up with a fantastic lead all by himself. He was beaming and couldn't wait to share his story with the rest of the class.

And this is the best of all..

*I came home last night to a spotless house. Adam had spent his day off cleaning the house for me, so that I wouldn't have to this morning. :) He's the best!

weekend

I haven't forgotten to write- I just haven't had the energy during the week to write. I'm afraid this may have to be a weekend blog instead of a daily blog. But I'm ok with that.

Yesterday, one of my students - a short, spikey-haired blond with a squeaky little voice- actually thanked me for doing a good job helping him with his reading. In the world of middle school teaching, that almost never happens! But when it does, it reminds me I why I am doing this job. It is not only my profession, but also my ministry and calling.

On another note entirely:
When we decided to move to South Carolina, I wrote down a list of ideas for how to live intentionally and purposefully- things I was already doing in New York and wanted to continue, but also new ideas. This list sits on my desk so that I see it everyday, but it will now go public:

In South Carolina: (dated 4/25/09)
- establish daily rhythms
- find places of beauty
- explore- notice the small things- appreciate and wonder
- love: listen and care about people
- look for ways to restore and renew creation
- be intentional and deliberate in my actions and words
- celebrate God's blessings
- cultivate my passions: teaching, writing, learning (and discover new passions?)
- seek God's kingdom- join him in what he is already doing
- embrace interruptions, changes, confusion- listen for God's voice in these moments

I can't count how many times God has brought me back to an item on this list in the past 2 months of living here. Today I plan to find a new place of beauty in (or near) Anderson.

new name

I have changed the name and look of my blog as an outward sign of my renewed motivation to begin writing down my thoughts for an unknown audience to read. Writing makes me happy, so I will write- even if my only reader is my dear mother.

Current status:
We have moved from the most exciting city in the world to a small town in South Carolina. Needless to say, I am still adjusting.

I get to spend much of my waking hours teaching reading and writing to 11-15 year-olds. I told them on the first day of school that my goal for them was simple: to help them love reading and writing. So far, they still don't like it much. But- I have 166 more days to accomplish this goal..

I have planted a garden. After almost 2 months of minuscule change and growth, I can now proudly say that I have 9 cucumbers, 4 bell peppers, and 2 tomatoes that will be ready pick very shortly.

Stay tuned.

new year

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language
And next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.

- T.S. Eliot,
from his poem, “Little Gidding.”

farm food

I had the privilege, thanks to the wonderfully generous mother that I babysat for this summer, to pick up her share of her "farm food" this week (since they are on vacation.)   This is a marvelous concept: individuals and families paying an annual fee to a local farm, and then receiving a share of the crops each week (during harvest season.)  This week the share was: 6 ears of corn, 1 cucumber, 6 peppers, 2 eggplants, 2 onions, 1 head of garlic, lots of tomatoes, 4 peaches, salad mix, basil, cilantro, and parsley.  What a feast!  I just had to take a picture- colorful, fresh (picked today!) delicious produce.  True beauty.  Maybe I should have been a farmer.  Did I miss my calling?!

                

Roxbury farm prints out a weekly newsletter, so I grabbed one after picking up my share.  I love their philosophy on how they take care of their farm!  Here is an exerpt:  "When we bought the farm it was all planted in corn or potatoes.  We found that almost every inch of the land had been tilled and planted to maximize its production.. The farm was treated like an object and the crops were seen as commodities.  Today the farm is treated as something that is unique; there is only one Roxbury farm and we will never be able to replicate it anywhere else in the world.  By setting goals not only to protect the soil against erosion but also increase its fertility, we have to constantly review its use.  By allowing the farm to become a living individuality we care for it like a living organism."  

I feel very ignorant in the area of farming, buying locally, communities sharing a farm and distributing the crops among themselves...  but I am so intrigued by it all!  I can't help but think that this is such a beautiful picture of enjoying and protecting creation.  Wendell Berry also has some good thoughts on this subject.. I read a collection of his essays called Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community this summer.  I highly recommend it-  while some of it was completely over my head, it made me want to learn more.  

Ultimately, this all comes down to living in the way of Jesus- and yes, the way we buy and consume our food is a spiritual matter!  It's about creatively redeeming our culture and  bringing glimpses of God's kingdom here on earth.  I'm just starting to understand all of this.. God, forgive my ignorance and reveal your Truth to me. 

Maine

Summer is coming to an end..  this is my last week of freedom before I go back to work and start grad school (!!) As always, I'm feeling a bit nervous about the new school year, but I think it's just because of the extended time off for the summer- not that I'm complaining!  But, it does make it a bit harder to transition back to a crazy schedule, when for 2 glorious months life is a little more leisurely (word?)  I also have been given a lot more responsibility in my teaching job this year-  which is great, but at the same time somewhat nerve-wracking.  

Adam and I just got back from our trip to Maine.  It was an ideal vacation- a perfect balance of "seeing the sights" along with total unabashed laziness (we prefer the term resfulness, however :) We spent 2 days in a tiny town called Belfast- right on the coast, and just an hour from Acadia National Park.  We stayed at a quaint bed and breakfast called The Jeweled Turret Inn and were served delicious gourmet breakfasts each morning by our fabulous hosts, Kathy and Carl.  Then on to Portland for 2 days, the metropolis of Maine, where Adam got his fill of bookstores (I think we went to 4) and I got my fill of ice cream..

Here are just a few highlights of our trip:

- eating a whole lobster at a lobster pound (and trying to figure out how in the world to get all the meat out) 

- seeing Bar Harbor and the clouds hovering over little islands from the top of Cadillac Mountain (at Acadia National Park) 

- watching the sunset over the harbor in Belfast

- stopping to get wild Maine blueberries at a roadside stand

- hearing the New England accent ("that will be fauty-two cents, ma'am")

-bike riding around Peak's Island 

- Adam's sea bass that was served as the whole fish (including the head) 

-room service!

- eating a popover in New Hampshire

- walking around the Back Bay area in Boston