The 5th Annual Grade 6 Dinner Party is in the books! Although the menu changed up this year, we still had a ball hosting this lovely group of folks for three nights this week. Nachos, cookies, games, and lots of laughter filled up our home… it was a joy to serve my students in this way. My heart is full… but my belly is looking forward to a different dinner entree tonight! 😉
The Henry Family Easter weekend in photos… such a fun season for little ones! My babies absolutely loved egg hunting. The eggs are still out and a part of our every day play. So much pretending. This is Evie’s jaaaaam. She asks all year long to get out the Easter eggs. Literally. All year. We keep them thar eggs out for a good solid month. We ain’t even close to being done with eggs.
P.S. I think we got more candy at Easter than we did on Halloween. Jesus conquered the grave AND we get oodles of candy? Beat that, Satan.
Come on over and eat Sour Patch and chocolate bunnies. Please.
To close, let’s reflect on this season with some good old fashioned lyrics celebrating Jesus:
“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling over death by death,
Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave.
Christ is risen from the dead, we are one with Him again,
Come awake, come awake, come and rise up from the grave!
Oh death, where is your sting? Oh hell, where is your victory?
Oh church, come stand in the light: our God is not dead, He’s alive!”
The point from January to April has been a bit of a blur. Starting new things, finishing old things, and keeping a steady pace of insanity all describe the last few months of my life.
I will say: God is good. In my chaotic mind, he is still good. And I am still having fun watching him show up in my mess.
April 21 marks the end of my Master’s program, folks. And oh, how I have truly enjoyed it. Cinching up our budget belt and spending a crap-load of money every 7 weeks on graduate level courses? Okay, fine. That’s not been my favorite thing ever. But seriously! I have felt so encouraged and challenged by the knowledge I have gained from these classes and for that, I am grateful. I have seen God stretch my time like he did during the battles of Gibeon thousands of years ago. I have witnessed my own understanding about poverty shift into a more compassionate one. God has given me a new perspective of people who are different than me, reminding me that he loves us all no matter what walk of life we have chosen. And that budget belt? I can only give God the glory for his provisions financially, as we move out of this program debt-free.
Onto a new chapter.
As much as I am relieved to close that chapter in my life, I have felt the pull to push toward a new one. I am super stoked to take another step in my education over the course of the next year! I have been accepted and I’m now enrolled in class, working toward being a Library Media Specialist!
For many years, I have asked myself, “What would I do if I didn’t teach?” To that I have answered in one of two ways. First, if I was dreaming and so much more talented, my job would totally be a musician. I just love playing the piano. And I love singing. But you probably didn’t know either of those things about me because, hey, let’s face it, God didn’t give me the gift of amazingness in these areas. Instead, he gave me the gift of averageness (in many more ways than just making music, actually). My gift of averageness in this life is something I have [mostly] embraced and learned to appreciate! The Lord has given me what I need, and not an ounce more. My averageness forces me to lean into Jesus, and that, my friends, is a blessing, even though sometimes it doesn’t feel that way.
Anyway, the good news for me: when I’m in heaven, singing will be my full-time job. The ultimate promotion.
So, in the here and now reality, my answer to the question of what I’d do if I didn’t teach has always been to be a librarian. I love reading. I love kids (and people). I love talking to kids (and people) about reading. Librarian is a no-brainer. So that’s what I’d do with my life if I didn’t teach.
It turns out that librarians are ridiculously educated humans. On top of my Master’s degree, eighteen more hours of class and a licensure exam are required. So, here I go! I figured since the ball was already rolling on being in class, I might as well just snag those credits now. I have witnessed from the Lord a confirmation in so many ways through this process.
Again, I am grateful.
Still, I will seek Him.
For now, I’m pumped and so ready to enjoy the journey!
