End of the First Quater

      Wow!  I cannot believe that the end of the first quarter is here.  Nine weeks of school are done...soon Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here.  I have enjoyed so much teaching, and time has just seemed to fly by...well, for the most part.  There are some days that I wonder if the day will ever end.  I have to say that I have already learned so much this school year.  I do not think a teacher ever stops learning.  I have learned that it takes a lot of reliance on the Lord to be an effective teacher.  I only have eight students, but in my classroom there is such a vast range of personalities, and each one needs a completely different approach.  I have the pouty ones, the stubborn ones, the soft-hearted, the fun-loving, the " I am almost a teenager" ones, etc.  I have learned to love each child for a different quality that I see in him/her.  Someone recently told me that the mark of a good teacher is one who can find the potential in every child and develop it in that child.  I know that I have not yet made that "good mark".  Just when I think I got one of them figured out, something happens to make me realize that there is much more in that little brain of theirs that I have not yet figured out.
       One student that I have really enjoyed this year is the one kindergartner in my class...his name is Zachary.  We of course all call him Zach.  I was a little worried for him at first.  He would be the only "new kid" in our class, and all the other kids knew each other.  I was worried that he would be a little afraid and apprehensive to come into a classroom where he really did not know the kids.  I was also worried because he has a bit of a speech problem...he substitutes the letters d and t for other letters.  My worries were gone almost as soon as school started.  As soon as he walked into the classroom, he seemed to get along perfectly with all the kids and he was not at all shy about talking to them.  As a bit of and "ice-breaker", before going into all of the school rules, I had each child tell me what his/her favorite thing was about the summer.  I was not sure what he would do when I got to him, but when his turn came he loudly said, "Twimmin'!"  He explained to me in his own way that him and his brother had a great time swimming during the summer.  The next day, we were all down in the lunch room for snack time when I heard him say, "Hey guys! Do you got a poon?  My momma 'got to gimme a poon!"  His mom had forgotten to pack him a spoon for his pudding!  There are many times now, that if I need a little cheering up, I just walk over to his desk and talk to him for a couple of minutes.  He is always working his hardest, whether he understands or not, and is really trying his best to work on his speech.  I was trying to teach him to say six, so I said, "Ok, Zach, say ssssssssssix". Wanting to do his best for "teacher" (that is what he calls me) he said, "Sssssssssssdix".  Still not quite there, but working on it.  He excitedly called out one day, "Teacher, I can say ffffour and ffffive, not dour and dive!!!!"  I have so many more stories to tell about him, but I will stop there for now. 
      This school year has definitely had its challenges, but I am thankful that this is the work that the Lord has put me in for now.  I know that there is still so much more that I need to learn, and I pray that my eyes, ears, and heart will be open so that I will learn it.

God is Love

      Recently I heard a young man say that because of the school that he had attended when he was younger, he did not know what love was, since they had shown no love to him.  As I heard that, I sat and puzzled, because I went to the same school that young man went to, and I sat in classes with him.  It was at that school that I myself learned what true love really is.  How could two people in the same school come away with two completely opposite views? 
      In the Bible, in I John 4:8 it says, "...God is love."  My conclusion from that verse is that if you do not know love, it is because you do not know God.  I attended Fairhaven Baptist Academy from 5th through 12th grades, and during my time there I learned what love was, because I learned about God and how His love can shine through those who know Him and allow Him to work through them.  At our recent Family Camp, I heard our guest speaker, Pastor Don Strange say that there were two kinds of love: Reel love, and Real love.  "Reel" love is the Hollywood kind of love that only loves to get something in return and stops loving if nothing is giving in return.  Real love is the kind of love that loves unconditionally, no matter what is received in return.  During my time in school, I saw and learned about real love.  The first real love I learned about was that of the Savior who died for me, expecting nothing in return and knowing that through my life I would many times hurt and disappoint Him.  I am so thankful that I know God and that because of that I have experienced His love.  Another place where I saw this love was in my teachers and in the staff at my school.  You see, they also knew God and showed His love to me.  They gave of their time and attention to me when I needed it, not expecting me to give them anything in return.  They prayed for me when I struggled, and rejoiced with me when God blessed me.  They never gave up on me, even when I did foolish things, and they were always willing to help me stand up when I fell and encourage me to move forward.  Today I myself am a teacher at a Baptist school, and many days I pray and hope that I can show the love to my students that my teachers showed to me every day.
       I feel sorry for those who cannot see the love of God around them because they choose not to see it.  I wish that they could know God as I have learned to know Him so that they could also know real love.