Yes, I'm still alive!

I haven't fallen off the face of the planet, although sometimes I'd like to! I've been exhausted lately!

This teacher job is taking much more time and energy than I thought. Every night I bring home tests to grade and PAKs to look over to make sure the student is ready for the test. Every night I fall asleep over my grading. At the same time, my hubby has been working lots of overtime hours. We hardly see each other lately! I'm hoping my teacher work will come easier as I get the hang of it. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like my hubby's work is due for a slowdown for quite some time! At least we'll have the blessing of overtime pay!

I made a point of doing as little as possible this weekend, just to make sure I caught up on my rest. It seems to be helping so far. Aside from a trip to Home Depot for my hubby, I've stayed in and relaxed. I played with a troublesome batch of soap (with no better results). I'm going to grate it up and use it for laundry soap, so I'm n0t too worried about it. I really need to make a fresh batch to boost my confidence! Maybe next weekend.

Tomorrow, I'll be back at it. I'm helping in the kitchen for our Mission Meal and Mark is running the sound board. Mission Meal is a meal we cook from scratch and serve after the second morning service and offer for take-out. The proceeds go to help our sister church in Chambellan, Haiti. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it! My hubby & I really enjoy helping with the meal. The Mission Meals have been able to provide a lot of support for our sister church -- everything from a new parsonage to beds to put in it to donkeys and motorcycles.

Please pray for Haiti. They are really suffering after the devastation of hurricanes Gustav & Hanna. Their gardens have been destroyed and they have lost many animals. Lives have been lost as well, although not in our sister church or the satellite churches in the district.

Speaking of hurricanes, I finally contacted my brother and sister-in-law. They had minimal damage -- just a few shingles blown off. However, they are still without power in their neighborhood. They are using her mother's generator to power a few things. Fortunately, they never lost water and their stove is gas. We have not called my other brother, my aunt, or Mark's brother, all of whom are in the Houston area.

I guess I'd better head for bed. Tomorrow is an early morning! Plus, I'm falling asleep at the computer.

Whew!

I tried to think up some catchy phrase to sum up the last couple of weeks. I don't think I have enough brain cells!

School is started and going pretty well. After two weeks, I think we're getting a routine down. I'm getting to know the students and their individual personalities. There's something I like in every one of them -- even those with "attitudes".

The main challenge of my day is what we call Goal Check. I make my way around the room, stopping at each student's desk to check that they met yesterday's goals and to help them in setting today's goals. And all the record keeping that goes with that! The secondary challenge is to keep the ADD kids/talkers to stay focused on their work rather than chatting and getting attention.

My prayer daily is that I would be shown how best to meet the individual needs of each student, especially those with struggles -- academic, emotional or physical. I still have a few I haven't figured out yet or don't always like as much, but I care for them all. Some of the ones I feared working with the most are the ones I find myself enjoying working with. That's what I get for prejudging!

Last Sunday, on one of my regular opportunities to serve on a worship team, I was asked to lead on a song. Being a "backup singer" doing the harmony part, it seemed really strange to carry the melody and having others harmonizing with me! I never considered myself as having a solo voice, but I have sung solos from time to time. It was fun, scary and challenging to have the opportunity to do so again.

What meant even more to me than the fact that I was spotlighted was the fact that all three vocalists took a turn leading songs. I love it when we mix it up and let people step into new roles for them. As much as I love the very talented people who usual take solos, it is good to see others step into that role from time to time -- even if they aren't as talented as the "regulars". Our pastor summed it up for me when he said in his sermon that we (those leading the service) aren't here to perform but to serve and hopefully have an impact on others.