I believe

Belief. What does this really mean? According to Webster belief means, "a state or habit of mind in which trust or confidence is placed in some person or thing."

As you probably know... I teach Middle School in a low income community where all 130 of my students are English Language Learners and hormonal teenagers. Most of my students have a harsh home life and many cultural obstacles to overcome. So with all of that said, you can imagine the challange I face daily as a teacher. (I know there are other jobs out there that are tough and I have no idea what difficult is, but in my little world it's pretty hard.)

I was reading my entrance essay that I wrote to transfer to HBU the other day. I was 21 years old seeking education at HBU and wrote, "I want to be a teacher that gives to the children the love and acceptance that they need and deserve. Teaching is a career that I would like to pursue because it is a rewarding experience that enables me to influence the children’s lives."

I'm so thankful for that reminder. I need this reminder daily. I want to remember the reason I chose this profession. I know it can become blurred when you have a student that decides to ruin his life by bringing drugs to school, or takes part in an arson, or kicks a hole in the bathroom wall, or has a makeout session in my classroom. I can go on and on listing several reasons as to why I should not keep this job, but one thing still remains-I have a purpose. The Lord has called me to this place in time for such a time as this. I must remain faithful. In the midst of adversity, with my God, I will prevail...for the sake of these children's lives I must.

This YouTube clip really opened my eyes and also reminded me why I'm teaching.

I BELIEVE! I believe in the potential of my students, but do they believe in themselves? How can I help them believe? How can I empower and inspire these young minds to make a difference? How can I show them the love of Christ? Please pray that the Lord will grant me wisdom and direction.

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."

You Snooze You Lose

This school year has been really hard for me. I received a Bachelor's Degree in Bilingual Education PK-4th grade in 2005 and I'm teaching 6th, 7th, and 8th grade, Social Studies-World, Texas, American History and Vocabulary. Crazy, uh?!?! I have about 130 students with 4 subjects to prep for each day. So, if you are wondering where I have been or what hole I crawled into...you now know. Please understand me when I say that I love what I do. It has just been a real difficult adjustment. This season of my life has taught me that I have to sacrifice some things and to prioritize.

I have been talking to my best friend Becky about how I'm so exhausted and the covers seem to weigh a 1,ooo pounds in the morning. My eyelids feel like they have been glued shut and I'm in a coma. I can't get up for the life of me. I pray every night for the Lord to wake me so that I can spend time in His word and yet nothing has changed. I have tried just about everything...prayer, 2 alarms, setting my Bible on my alarm clock, setting my alarm clock away from my night stand, and including a faithful roommate. I just couldn't seem to escape the SNOOZE button. In the past 2 years I have acquired about 1 full hour of snooze time each morning. I use to snooze about 5 minutes or less. What's the deal?

I have prayed about this for a while and it finally dawned on me. I can pray about it until I'm blue in the face, but it's not until I put some action into it that I will see results. I mean, if you pray for a job and you don't write a resume or fill out job applications, the likelihood of you finding a job is really slim. If you pray for friends, but don't get involved in new activities at Church, the gym, dance classes, cooking classes...will you find them? Bottom line, you must pray and put forth action.

Bec and I talked about different ways to get me to snap out of it. I think the best thing we came up with is to give my future husband the "So Long Snooze Button" Christmas gift. I'm sure it's a terrible habit to have when you are married. I can't imagine trying to sleep while my husband's alarm is going off for an entire hour and a half and he won't get up. Why should I make him suffer? I also believe it will help me and my future marriage if I have an established routine that allows me to grow in an intimate relationship with our Lord. So for Christmas, I will be giving up my snooze...from here on out I will no longer be a snoozer.

I mean, if you snooze you lose, right?