Levity in the Classroom... Remembering I'm a Teacher

However much I love teaching, I have a decent capacity to forget that I'm a teacher when away from work. Lately I've remembered a bit because I've helped set the budget for the learning center and consulted about ordering supplies. Those aren't my favorite aspects of teaching, so maybe it's a rude awakening.

However, I know why I'm excited to go back to teaching in Musoma! It's the kids. Lovely for many reasons, one of my favorite parts about teaching is the free entertainment they supply. I have a little book that I started at my first job, when I taught first grade in the States. Inside are some of my favorite things that kids have said to me over the years. Here are some samples of the past, as I look forward to the future:

• I shared that my car door hit me that morning. C said he knew why. He leaned in and whispered ominously, "It might be a Transformer, but I think it's a... Decepticon!"

• Z ran up to me breathless during recess. "Ms Deal, can you hold my sticker? I need to chase the boys." Another day she panted, "Ms Deal, I need some water so I can chase boys. I caught three. Four more to go." She also told me that her mother would prefer it if I called her JuJubee.

• An older student, K, coming out of one of my riveting modern world history classes: "Let's play revolution! Who wants to be the government?"

• L showed me the warts on his finger, explaining, "I have bumps on my finger, so I use them as a remote control. Beep, beep, beep [demonstration]." What he is controlling with those bumps, we may never know...

Resting... Also in Progress

 Here's another piece in progress! This one's been a long time in the making, because it has to do with what God's been teaching me during the last year...

The scene is inspired by a glorious hike in Bird Creek Meadows on Mt Adams, WA, many years ago. That day He gifted me with a nap on moss along the path, the beauty of mountain streams and flowers, and the fun of not knowing exactly where or how far I was going.

This year He's spoken to me about the removal of all shame, about the beauty He gives in its place, about His enduring love and presence with me, about acceptance, about rest, about trusting Him with my path. He's spoken in many ways, through friends, through His Word, through situations, through nature, through art, through His Spirit in me.

The ground in the painting is textured by verses from the books of Isaiah, Psalms, Jeremiah, Hebrews, etc... I'm resting in the beautiful garments with which He's covered me. Of course, you can't quite see that yet... because it's in progress! And so are the things He's teaching me.

Art in Progress

One of my favorite activities of late, maybe right after swinging in the hammock, is working on art. I have about 4 projects going. Some are in the planning mode. I'm testing out techniques on others. Paint is layering up on some. It's really fun.

This one is a memory. The green and yellow will be the background. I made it in an art workshop, where the teacher is sharing organic ways, like pouring paint:), to build up beautiful backgrounds.

It's a memory of my last birthday, when my roommate and I rowed out into the middle of Lake Victoria. You can see us in the pencil drawing, which I'll transfer to the background when it's ready. She's floating and I'm exploding out of the water. Kites (kind of like hawks) fly overhead.

Joyful memory. Joyful process.

Check!

So I had lots of lists in preparation for this time in the States. I've checked off many items, discarded whole lists, and have some yet to go, trusting in the Father to direct my path.

This is by far my favorite item on the lists, put there on recommendation by my mom a year ago: 

Walk thru woods & be amazed and happy seeing wild irises, big ferns, & little vine maples & spring green colors. 

Check! ...Well, pictured is a LaCamas Lily, but I've seen all the above:).

Getting Edgy

You just never know what your life will hold from one day to the next. One day you think you're just going out for pie with friends, then you end up throwing road laws to the wind, even though you're with an 11 year old, and ride back home in the back of a red pickup truck. Another day you think you're just going down the stairs from brushing your teeth, and you end up leaving graffiti in your brother's stairwell. (Not pictured, and slightly more edgy: what might happen when you're wandering past your favorite bench in the park and notice poorly done graffiti)

A moral for the blog post? Something about living in the moment I think, something about seeing the fun and capitalizing on God-given creativity... It has something to do with not worrying about tomorrow, because tomorrow has worries of its own. Something in there.

A Lot

I've been meditating on Psalm 16, especially verses 5 & 6: Jehovah is my chosen portion and my cup; You hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

I looked up the noun "lot" in the dictionary because it's not frequently in my vocabulary. You can see my brainstorming in the photo here...

A lot is a small piece of land that could be used for building something. I thought of how Jesus counseled us to build our house, our life, on a rock, on Him. And I thought of how the apostle Paul called believers in Christ temples of the Holy Spirit. So we're built on Christ and filled with His Spirit, held in the Father's hand. That feels safe.

Also, a lot is a number of units of an article... or a parcel of articles offered as one item. I thought of how each life is made up of a "parcel" of events, people, personality traits, talents, places, messages heard, etc. Right now I'm tied to two countries/communities and I'm considering the talents and messages that the Father has placed in my life as I look to the future. There's so much richness! Then I thought of how Jesus said that we will save our lives if we lose them for His sake. I don't know how exactly, but I let go of my claim to all these gifts and seek His will.

Finally, the use of lots is a means of deciding something. The lot just falls; in a way it's free because you don't earn the outcome. I thought of how James wrote that we're freely given every good and perfect gift from the Father of Lights. That's every mountain, every joy, every meal, everything good. And Jehovah freely gave us His Son to save us from our sins. His Son freely gave His life. We're saved by grace, not works.

So these are my musings on a lot... the lot held by Jehovah who gives us abundant safety in His Son and riches that we can use for His good will. These are good truths to dwell on as I rest.

Carley Cat

I really like it when I come into my room and find a Carley lump under the covers. At first they surprised me and I thought I'd forgot to make my bed, but then I noticed the squishiness and purring.

I've heard it's always good to put a cat on your blog at least once a year, so people keep reading... Cute Appeal I think was the technical term. Or, maybe it's the old axiom, "When in doubt and you haven't posted recently, consider a cat."

Also, I'm learning a lot from this cat. There are no better experts on relaxation than cats, and my focus right now is rest, as I shared on a previous post. Resting isn't natural to the culture around me, so I look to Carley culture... Lay around, eat, lay [your head] on a person, take a bath, eat, lay on a pillow, look out the window, meditate, lay on a bed, watch a squirrel. In short, "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46:10)