Reading Corner: The Mitten

The Mitten is a delightful Ukranian folktale adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett. After a little boy named Nikki accidentally drops his white mitten in the snow, all the animals in the forest want to snuggle inside it.

This book is a classic. I remember being captivated by the exquisite illustrations, as a kid. As an adult, I recently re-read the story and loved it, for another reason. Nikki's mitten demonstrates a much needed lesson about priorities. It's all too easy to try to squeeze one more animal into my mitten, so to speak. It's remarkable how many critters can pack in. But that's not what the mitten was designed for. Rather than asking myself, "How can I fit another thing in my mitten?" I ought to ask, "Does it even belong in my mitten?" Otherwise, I may end up like Nikki, finding a stretched-out mitten that's no longer meeting its intended purpose. Seen as a parable about priorities, the light-hearted tale becomes thought-provoking, relevant, and personally challenging—a good read for a snowy day in the new year!

Style Secret: 25 Ways to Wear a Scarf

I love scarves. Versatile and dramatic, they are my favorite fashion accessories. I love how they so easily transform an outfit that otherwise would be basic and boring. I love how they bring colors together, giving me more latitude in combining my separates.  I was excited last night to come across this video via Pinterest, showing tutorials for 25 different ways to wear scarves!  It's too helpful not to share. Here's to enjoying a more creative and versatile wardrobe. =)

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thankful Thursday #10! This week I am thankful...

(1) to be on Christmas break. Phew, I've really needed this time away from studies to rest and recharge.

(2) for a nice Christmas celebration with my family this past weekend.

(3) for the many thoughtful Christmas gifts I received from my third graders. I was overwhelmed by their kindness and generosity to me. How special they made me feel.

(4) for parents who help me make wise decisions.

(5) for my brother's willingness to share his scrumptious Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies any time I ask. ;-)

Steps

Evergreen

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise You forever, because You have done it; and in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good (Psalm 52:8-9).

Here in mid-Michigan, we don't have olive trees like the Psalmist mentions, but we do have a variety of trees and shrubs that stay green all year long--even through the long, cold days of winter. These evergreens covered in snow remind me to keep trusting in God's faithfulness.

Merry Christmas!

Calligraphy by Timothy Botts. Image from http://www.inkwellgreetings.com, via Google images.

This Christmas I’ve been meditating on Isaiah 9:6. It’s a beautiful and famous passage of Scripture. I don’t know about you, but I need a God who can shoulder the world’s problems—and my own. I need a Wonderful Counselor who can untangle my confusion. I need a Mighty God who can fulfill His purposes in my life. I need an Everlasting Father who cares for me. I need a Prince of Peace who can calm my turmoil. 

That’s Who He is, and that’s why He came. 

Merry Christmas!

Reading Corner: Family Favorite Christmas Stories

After coming home from the Christmas Eve service at church and eating our Christmas Eve dinner, Mom, Dad, Peter, and I settled in our family room to read aloud to each other several of our all-time favorite Christmas picture books. Year after year we read these special stories together.

Style Secret: Christmas Necklace

When my family and I were unpacking our boxes of Christmas ornaments and setting up our tree, I noticed this snowflake ornament. Instead of hanging it on the tree this year, I decided to enjoy it as a pennant necklace.

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thankful Thursday #9! This week I am thankful...

(1) to be on Christmas break! Cheers for the chance to catch up on some much-needed rest!

(2) for gift bags from the Dollar Store. They make all my gift-wrapping a lot easier and faster.

(3) for family movie nights.

(4) for gift cards—convenient to give and fun to receive.

(5) for laughter.

Quote Garden: Contentment

My favorite quotations about contentment . . .

You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can  rejoice because thorns have roses. (Ziggy)

Being happy doesn't mean everything is perfect. It means you have decided to look beyond the imperfections. (Unknown)

God’s will is often not so much doing glamorous things for Him but rather doing the ordinary things of everyday life in Him. He is honored when, empowered by His Spirit, we are faithful to do with excellence and joy that which He calls us to do—however mundane or insignificant it may seem. (Unknown)

Know, accept, be, who you are...everyone else is taken. (Dewey Novotny)

The very essence of the Christian faith is to say Jesus is good enough and I am in Him. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

Whatever a soul desires can be found in Christ. (Unknown)

Lord God, I so often try to persuade You that my plans and hopes are in my best interests and then ask You to bless them. But when I really think about it, how can I know what is really best for me? I can only judge by appearances, but You look ahead to the outcomes. Only You see and hold the future, and I want to confess that only You know what is truly best for me. Grant that I would become increasingly willing to let loose of my fond aspirations and embrace what You know is really in my best interests. I know I will have to wrestle with this all my life, because I often struggle with what You bring into my life and tell me to do. It is only when I embrace Your goodness and wisdom that I can stop wrestling with Your good plans and purposes. (Ken Boa)

They say a successful man is someone who will never let his wife find her wallet empty. But I say a true successful man is someone who marries a lady who will save, be frugal, and be smart with the money she finds in her wallet. (Sarah Tyau)

Disappointment is really a meter by which we may measure our hearts, and as with any measurement of the heart, we find we are sorely lacking. But when we bring our empty hearts to God and ask him . . . fill us wholly and completely with Him, we find our hearts so full . . . that we cannot possibly contain the joy. Disappointment has truly fled and trust has filled so that peace and gladness overflow. (Unknown)

Getting more done doesn’t ensure that you will be happier; it just means that you get more done. (Lee Silber)

“Happiness is not a destination. It is the attitude with which you choose to travel.” Arit Desal

Do not let trifles disturb your tranquility of mind . . . Life is too precious to be sacrificed for the nonessential and transient. (Grenville Kleiser)

My God lives, and He has my heart. (Mrs. Jonathan Edwards)

To dream of the person you would like to be is to waste the person you are. (Unknown)

Human desire is to be brought under the Lordship of Christ for fulfillment to His wisdom and choosing. (Elisabeth Elliot)

God wants to build faith—not stress—through situations. (M.Bearden)

Overcome the enemy by refusing to complain. (Unknown)

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss going too fast—you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. (Eddie Cantor)

The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything. (Unknown)

I really do believe that every experience, if offered to Jesus, is our gateway to joy. (Elisabeth Elliot)

We ought to thank God for whatever stage of life we find ourselves in. (Elisabeth Elliot)

If I am not satisfied with what I have, I will never be satisfied with what I want. (Ralph Guthrie)

Next to faith, this is the highest art: to be content in the calling in which God has placed you. (Martin Luther)

Discontentment makes rich men poor, while contentment makes poor men rich. (Benjamin Franklin)

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* The above quotations were collected from various sources. I have done my best to quote and credit them correctly. Please inform me if you notice an error.

Quote Garden: Victory

My favorite quotations about victory . . .
 

He got the better of himself, and that’s the best kind of victory one can wish for.

(Cervantes)

Daily victory requires daily surrender. (Unknown)

If you would live in victory over the circumstances great and small that come to you each day . . . and if you want God’s life and power to well up from inside the depths of your being . . . then you must refuse to be dominated by the seen and the felt.  (Amy Carmichael)

Be patient. . . above all with thyself. Do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage. (Francis de Sales)

God always succeeds. God never fails. God never makes a mistake. God never leaves. God never forsakes. God is faithful. God is Alpha and Omega. (Aprill Brunson)

Take the Enemy seriously but not fearfully. We’re fighting a victorious battle. (Unknown)

In reading the lives of great men, I found that the first victory they won was over themselves... self-discipline with all of them came first. (Harry S. Truman)

 

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* The above quotations were collected from various sources. I have done my best to quote and credit them correctly. Please inform me if you notice an error.

Quote Garden: Planning

My favorite quotations about planning . . .

Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world! (Joel Arthur Barker)

Make a plan and then plan on that plan not working out at all how you wanted it to. (Alexa Mas)

See God’s faithfulness and goodness in your life everyday. Pray hard, work hard, and watch God make it all happen. (Janet Kroon)

God is greater than my bumblings. (Kristina Kroon)

Success in life is loving God and doing His will. (Unknown)

Live so that your memories will be part of your happiness. (Unknown)

Anything that leads you closer to Christ is worth spending your time on. (Unknown)

Fortune favors the bold. (Julius Caesar)

God has given me enough information to obey today. (Kristina Kroon)

Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. (Vincent van Gogh)

Planning is bringing the future into the present so that you can do something about it now. (Alan Lakein)

Over and over, God proves His success rate to be perfect and complete. There is nothing too big, nothing too small, nothing too impossible for Him. God will fulfill His plan for lives at the ‘appointed time.’ (Aprill Brunson)

Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans. (John Lennon)

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. (Corrie ten Boom)

God’s heavenly plan doesn’t always make earthly sense. (Charles Swindoll)

O my God, grant that I may so wait upon Thee, that when quick decision and action are needed I may mount up with wings as an eagle; and when under direction of Thy will and the needs of the people I have to keep going under pressure, I may run and not be weary; and in times of routine and humble duty, I may walk and not faint. For all my fresh springs are in Thee, O God of my strength. (George Appleton)

If plan A fails, remember you have 25 letters left. (Unknown)

God never issued instructions that He is not prepared to equip us to follow. (Elisabeth Elliot)

 

Lord God, I so often try to persuade You that my plans and hopes are in my best interests and then ask You to bless them. But when I really think about it, how can I know what is really best for me? I can only judge by appearances, but You look ahead to the outcomes. Only You see and hold the future, and I want to confess that only You know what is truly best for me. Grant that I would become increasingly willing to let loose of my fond aspirations and embrace what You know is really in my best interests. I know I will have to wrestle with this all my life, because I often struggle with what You bring into my life and tell me to do. It is only when I embrace Your goodness and wisdom that I can stop wrestling with Your good plans and purposes. (Ken Boa)

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* The above quotations were collected from various sources. I have done my best to quote and credit them correctly. Please inform me if you notice an error.

Quote Garden: Humility

My favorite quotations about humility . . .

Lord, where we are wrong, make us willing to change;

where we are right, make us easy to live with. (Peter Marshall)

Be humble, for you are made of the earth,

Be noble, for you are made of the stars.

(Serbian proverb)

Many a humble soul will be amazed to find that the seed it sowed in weakness, in the dust of daily life, has blossomed into immortal flowers under the eye of the Lord. (Harriet Beecher Stowe)

Humility is to make a right estimate of one’s self.  (Charles Haddon Spurgeon)

It is always the secure who are humble.  (Gilbert Keith Chesterton)

The greatest of all faults is to be conscious of none. (Thomas Carlyle)

Humility is realizing that we ourselves are nothing, but we are everything in Christ. (Bill Gothard)

Those who think too much of themselves don’t think enough. (Amy Carmichael)

If we refuse to humble ourselves, there are many others who are eager to help us do it. (Bill Gothard)

 

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* The above quotations were collected from various sources. I have done my best to quote and credit them correctly. Please inform me if you notice an error. 

Creative Classroom: Alternative Assessment Alphabet Books

Alternative assessment is one of the buzzwords in education today. Because students have different learning styles, abilities, and disabilities, typical paper tests are not always the best means of assessing students' knowledge. Alternative assessments provide more creative, authentic, and meaningful opportunities for students to demonstrate their mastery of subject content. I love the idea of Alphabet Books that third grade teacher Ms. Battista recommended on her blog. She points out that an Alphabet Book project could be adapted for any grade or subject. Students could work independently, in small groups, or as a class by assigning each student a letter. There are lots of possibilities!
 
Sleeping Bear Press has a wonderful series of Alphabet Books on a variety of social studies and science topics, for inspiration.

The Sweetest Gift

Tomorrow afternoon is our 3rd grade class Christmas party. Since we're in a Christian school, we're privileged to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. I wanted to put a little something together that would be fun and meaningful for the kids. Here's what I've been up to this evening . . .

May these sweets help you celebrate Jesus, the very sweetest gift of all...

• A candy-cane, shaped like a shepherd’s staff, to remind you that Jesus came to be your Good Shepherd (John 10:11). 
• A gold-wrapped Rolo, shaped like a crown, to remind you that Jesus is the King of Kings (Revelation 19:16).
• Smarties, to remind you that Jesus is the Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6).
• A Dove, a symbol for peace, to remind you that Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).
• A Starlight mint, to remind you that Jesus is the Light of the World (John 8:12).
• A Milky Way, to remind you that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6).
• A Life Saver, to remind you that Jesus came to be your Savior (Luke 2:11).
• A Hershey Hug, to remind you that Jesus loves you (John 3:16).
• An Almond Joy, to remind you that Jesus is the source of joy (John 15:11).

Wishing you a Christmas filled with His sweetness!

Wildwood Metro-Park, Toledo, Ohio, Winter 2005

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thankful Thursday #8! This week I am thankful...

(1) that I've completed another semester of graduate studies! Now I can start getting ready for Christmas...

(2) for my brother's computer savvy. He came to my rescue again this week with my final project for my graduate course.

(3) for a cozy family room at home. Just this week Peter bought himself a flat-screen TV and rearranged our family room. It's a much nicer set-up now. He likes it primarily for watching football and playing his PS3, but the rest of us get to benefit too. =) The other night as a family we enjoyed watching The Nutcracker broadcast live from Lincoln Center, New York City.

(4) for precious family memories. This week we decorated our Christmas tree. Hanging all of our special ornaments reminded me of many happy times and memories we've made as a family.

(5) for friends who have helped me network and make contacts as I seek to arrange my upcoming student-teaching placement. I had a fantastic interview this week, and have several other promising leads. PTL!

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thankful Thursday #7! This week I am especially thankful for . . .

(1) sibling companionship. Peter, you're the best. I have every confidence that you'll make a special young lady very happy someday. In the meantime, I'm glad that I'm the girl who gets to hang out with you all the time. ;-)

(2) comfy boots that keep my legs warm in the winter.

(3) sunshine. We've had sunny days almost all week—a treat for us here in Michigan, where more often than not it's overcast in the winter. 

(4) eyesight.

(5) festive Christmas music.

Winter Sky-Scape

The rising sun and dissipating cloud cover captivated me this morning as I drove to school. Most of the time it's overcast here in Michigan during the winter. (Did you know that Lansing, MI averages only two more sunny days per year than Seattle, WA?!) This time of year it gets to be a treat to see blue sky and sunshine. I always love a winter sky-scape, especially with silhouettes of bare tree branches. I took this picture in the school parking lot.

He Guides and Guards

All this week I've been reflecting on these two slogans (below). These thoughts come from several Scriptures, namely Proverbs 21:1, Psalm 32:8, and Proverbs 2:8. Proverbs 21:1 declares that the LORD holds our hearts: "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes." Psalm 32:8 and Proverbs 2:8, respectively, tell of His promise to guide us and to guard our paths. When things in life don't make sense, it's nice to know that He is still steering decision-making and arranging circumstances. How grateful I am to have the confidence that God is in control of our steps.

Second Snow

When I looked out the window first thing this morning, I noticed it had snowed again last night. The just-rising sun illuminating the lace-y limbs took my breath away. I ate breakfast extra speedily, in order to snap a few pictures in our driveway before work. . . .

I also took my camera outside to morning recess. My third graders love sledding on the little hill that borders the playground. I took a number of fun close-ups of the children, for our classroom photo album. (For privacy, I don't post identifiable images of my students, without expressed parental consent) . . .

This afternoon my drive home from school was so beautiful, that I decided a spontaneous photo-walk around the neighborhood was in order. . . .

Thankful Thursday

Today is Thankful Thursday #6! This week I am especially thankful for . . .

(1) the long weekend last week. I had a huge assignment due for my graduate course, and I really do not know how I would have gotten it done if I hadn't had the extra days off work, combined with low-key family Thanksgiving celebration plans. I spent most of the weekend studying intensely.

(2) the unusually mild fall weather we enjoyed this year. I was surprised and delighted to get two more family bike rides last weekend, while the weather was in the 50s!

(3) the beauty of freshly-fallen snow on trees. On Tuesday we had our first snow storm of the season. Yesterday I had a lot of fun taking pictures around the neighborhood.

(4) phone dates with dear friends. How life-giving it is to hear the voice of an old friend, across the miles, and to share with each other our laughter, heartaches, questions, milestones and memories.

(5) USB flash drives and ports--what would our lives be without them?!