First (Unofficial) Day Back

I spent 6 hours at school today working on my classroom. It was good to get back in there and start unpacking some of my desk stuff. We always have to pack everything up at the end of the year so that they can pull everything out and clean (which I love!). So, I started working on getting things back to normal today. I got a lot accomplished, but also enjoyed the time chatting with some of my coworkers that were up there today as well. I have had a fabulous summer, but it's always fun and refreshing to start a new school year with brand new students, so I'm really looking forward to the upcoming weeks. Here's a pic of my classroom from the first day of school last year. Most of it will stay the same, with a few updates here and there. And I'm hoping for tables instead of desks.

Last week, I had the privilege of attending a Wednesday night service at Saturn Road Church of Christ to hear Rick and Beverly Ross speak. They were fabulous. They shared details of the past 5 months since Jenny died, and they are truly an inspiring couple. I admire their honesty in sharing their trials. One thing that Beverly said really stuck with me. She said, "You have to realize that you may not have another thing go your way while you're feet are on this dirt, so you have to intensionally decide to have a 'no matter what' faith." Isn't that awesome? I've never heard it worded that way, but Beverly said that Jenny always talked about having a no matter what faith. I love the implications that come with that. It reminded me that I'm not in control of anything in this world except my attitude and actions. So, I've got to make the choice to be a true, 100% follower, no matter what, of Jesus Christ. It's not an easy task. But it's definitely one worth striving for. And that's the attitude that I'm taking into this school year. Allowing God to use me the way that He wants to and just trusting that He's in control of it all.

On a lighter note, my sister comes home in a week, and I'm more than excited about that. So here's a pic in honor of the time we're going to spend together next week!