think about these things.

There was a song that we used to sing in Junior High Youth Group called "Think about these things." It was based on the Bible verse Philippians 4:8~

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.

That verse has been swirling in my head recently.

And then there was church. Oh church... I just love it. Yesterday was the conclusion of our "Kings and Queens" sermon series, and even though it was all about marriage and kids, it spoke Right. To. Me.

Kari, our pastor's wife, was talking about her life and relationships. And she said that after her engagement ended, and all her friends left, she had to be all alone. And it was when she was all alone, she realized she wasn't. She focused on Psalm 37:4~ Delight in the Lord and he will bring you the desires of your heart.

Delight in the Lord and he will bring you the desires of your heart.

Delight in the Lord and he will bring you the desires of your heart.

So my new goal, or focus, is to delight myself in the Lord. How do I even do that??? So I did some searching...and I found these two verses

Psalm 40:8~I delight to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart.

Romans 7:22~ From in my inner being I delight in God's law.

He knows the desires of my heart. He knows.

Right now, its just me and him. Him and me. And I will delight in him wholeheartedly. With my Whole. Heart.

Delight in the Lord and he will bring you the desires of your heart.

Delight in the Lord and he will bring you the desires of your heart.

bad blogger.

My life has been so crazy...blogging has been shoved to the bottom of my HUGE to do list!

So lets see....what has been new in my life:

School: I love being a teacher. It is the most rewarding, crazy, exhausting, wonderful, tiring, challenging, exciting job I think I could ever have. I have had some crazy experiences so far, some very hard situations, stress beyond belief, and some very rewarding breakthroughs with my students. I love every minute of it.

The Boy: I broke up with him. Very painful, and not entirely sure it was the best decision. But I think it was. Maybe.

Friends: Seen E quite a bit recently...which is so good. She seems to be the glue that helps to hold me together. Just talked with S on the phone...gosh I miss her! She is such a good moral compass in my life.

Family: Being in good contact with Kyle recently...and got to hang out with Kevin last night. The rest of the fam is good.

Sorry this is so brief, but I have so much to do today! I promise I will try and be better! :)

yes, i am still alive

I promise.

But these last few weeks have Rocked My World.

Let me make a list:

School: Wow. Wow. Wow. I work in a Title I school...which means that over 50 percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch. Thing is, a lot of the student's parents get paid under the table so they can't qualify. 2/3 of my class live in the low-income apartments next door. I had open house...and 4 parents came. Out of my 24 students. Sad.

I have a student who has been in the psych unit. One who's dad is on death row. One who's mom is blind in one eye because his Dad kicked her in the face. One who lives in her car. One who's Mom was busted in a Craigslist prostitution ring. One with 15 siblings. One who gets her 5 brothers and sisters ready every morning. The list just goes on.

So I am definitely feeling the challenge and the need to just love these children. Love them and care about them and embrace their dreams and goals for life.

More to come.

Family: Kyle got his tonsils taken out...and is living on his own doing that. We'll see how he survives. Kris got his braces taken off and is growing about a mile a minute. Kevin is looking so OLD. I got to hang out with him and Matt (his best friend) and they are such little men! Parents are good and have been supportive.

The Boy: Kinda crazy. We're 'dating' but not. Confusing enough. Good. He's pretty great, has been an anchor for me during these crazy weeks. He is a support system, a friend, a confident, someone who knows how to make me laugh and relax, and also someone to just feel safe with. It's good. And things are good. And I want it to stay just like it is right now.

So, life has been kinda crazy and my blog has taken a bit of a back seat. Now that things are going to hopefully settle down a bit... I will update more. But until then...

Lord, please be with me during these challenging days of school. Be with my students and let me show them your love. Work in my heart...and in the boy's. Be with me. You provide and I trust in you. I called..you answered...and you came to my rescue...and I want to be where you are. Amen.

1 day down...179 to go.

I have officially completed my first day as a teacher. And I am exhausted. Good thing I am back up at 5:00 ready to go to day 2.

This weekend I will update on my adventures in the 5th grade which include a student bringing drugs to school, hearing how 1 students dad is on death row, finding out that my students families could all be on Jerry Springer with their 15 brothers and sisters all with different moms, and me feeling like I have really found my calling and am living on the mission. The fact that I get to be a part of these students lives and hopefully have a positive influence on them just blows me away.

I will be with these students more than their parents. We will learn together, grow together, probably cry together, have laughter fill our classroom, and hopefully 5th grade at Woodlands in the year 2009-2010 will be a great year.

I think it is going to be wonderful. More to come on days 1 and 2 soon!

GOD IS GOOD.

This is my first post where anything in my title is capitalized. The reason?

God continues to provide for me, He continues to show me how amazing he is. He continues to challenge me to trust him fully. He continues to show me He is GOOD.

Let me back up.

Since I was 13, I have wanted to be a teacher. My passion for kids has not wavered since then. I started volunteering in the classroom in 7th grade, and did throughout high school. My 10th grade year I opted to do 'running start' which meant that I left high school and took all of my classes at the local community college. During those two years, I was able to work full time, and volunteer every day in elementary schools.

I graduated from college the week before I graduated from high school. That being said, it was hard. People told me I couldn't do it. I was too young, I was going to miss out on high school, it wasn't possible.

I went to college in Seattle where I thought I would be able to get the best education possible for a teacher. Worked my tail off to graduate in 2 years double majoring. Fought like crazy to do my student teaching back in my hometown with my former 3rd and 4th grade teacher. Fell in love with my first set of students and knew I was hooked for life.

My last day of student teacher, I was offered a 2 month long term subbing position in the classroom next door. The day I finished that position, I was offered a month long sub position next door. I then worked as a sub for the last few weeks of school.

The surrounding districts cut teachers, closed schools and started striking. In all this, I had a real peace about the coming fall. And I know that that peace could only come from Him cause God knows that I am not that patient. :)

I applied for all 6 jobs that opened up and then tried to wait patiently remembering that God had me under his wings and I was in his sights. He remembered me.

Got an interview right off the bat for a position that I was not qualified for. However, the interview was a great experience and I am so glad that I did it. When I got the call that I didn't get the position, I was disappointed but okay.

A month went by and August rolled around without anything happening.

Then, you may remember my crazy first week of August which I wrote about here. Interviewed on a crazy crazy day and felt okay about it.

The next week I got the call that I did not get the position. Another lady who had very close connections with the school was offered. It did make me feel a bit better that I had even had an interview because over 100 people applied and only 3 were interviewed.

I felt like I started to question God; why didn't I have a job yet? I wanted to teach so badly and I wanted to be in the classroom this year.

One week ago, I got a call from my principal who offered me a substitute position that could turn into a part time position teaching Kindergarten PE/Art/Music. I was excited because it meant I would have my foot in the door and could be doing something school related. Again, God was all over it. I was reminded of the verse "Be still and know that I am God." I tried to be patient.

Then through a crazy turn of events, the 5th grade spot that I had not gotten dissolved. So Michelle was moved and there was no longer that position available. Except. God is Good.

I had a little bit of a pity party when Michelle got the other position. I doubted. I tried to remember to be patient.

Last Friday at the rodeo, I got 3 phone calls. Because of all the noise, I didn't answer. So, Saturday morning I called Cindy back and she said that the parent gossip was that they let Michelle go too early and they were going to need a 5th grade teacher. That information came to Cindy by one of my former teachers who was looking out for me. God is good.

I woke up Monday to go and meet a teacher to talk about the sub job for Kindergarten. That was my plan, not Gods. He had bigger and better plans for me.

Low and behold, at 8:49, Jeff called me and offered me the 5th grade teaching position at Woodlands Elementary. God is good. He is constant, he does not forget, He is good.

So I am writing this post the night before my career officially starts. I started it last night, worked on it this morning, and am just now finishing it. Probably because I have been so dang busy!

That being said, I have the best and most supportive family and friends. My bestie drove 45 minutes without telling me, and showed up at my front door. She brought me balloons, a gift and the best talking card ever. She took me out to dinner and it was wonderful. She is so thoughtful.

Then, the boy came to my classroom on his day off and helped me do everything. Literally. When I walked into my classroom I had a pile of desks. And that was it. He helped me organized them, moved them, hang things up on the wall, clean, organize, and so much more. He is such a big support and encouragement for me right now and I couldn't live without it. Or him.

Today, I met so many teachers; the only word to describe it is whirlwind. Went out to breakfast with the fam (another tradition), and then spent the day getting things ready, meeting MY STUDENTS at the BBQ, and figuring what the heck I am going to teach!

And now, in the quiet and still of my apartment, before I start my career I am praising my savior for being ever present, ever constant, all knowing, and the one true God.

Tomorrow is a big day for me and I am slightly, no...really nervous. However, I am also so excited that I can hardly stand it.

I am a teacher. God is good all the time. All the time, God is good. God is GREAT.

baseball.

Oh how my heart likes baseball.

I was thinking the other day about how I came to love baseball, and its actually kind of a funny story. See, I grew up with a house full of guys. With 3 brothers and my Dad, you would think someone would be into sports. Apparently not.

So, I was in 8th grade and I was really sick. Like for...a long time. Every day, I would come home and get into bed. I was going to bed at 9, getting up at 6, and I could sleep all afternoon. My body hated me.

So everyday, I would come home, get into bed, and turn on KOMO 1000 to listen to some good talk radio before I passed out. I would turn it up ridiculously loud and somehow it worked as white noise and I would sleep so well. My stomach would feel better, and I would be able to eat dinner, do homework, and then go right back to sleep.

Well, shortly after I started this tradition, KOMO stopped broadcasting and became the home of the Seattle Mariners. I was upset. How was I going to sleep now?

I started turning off the radio as soon as it would switch to the Mariners and just sleeping without it. But after a while I just left it on. And that's when it started. I started not sleeping so that I could listen.

I was intrigued. It was so exciting! I researched the players, the teams, starting reading about the M's in the newspaper, and went to my first game.

Instant chemistry between me and the Seattle Mariners. I was hooked. Obsessed. I got stat books, read every article in the paper, listened to all of the games, and got my first Mariners shirt.

Fast forward to the year 2009. I have 9 Mariners shirts...one for every day of the week, one to sleep in, and one to work out in. Spent my last spring break in Peoria, Arizona at Spring Training. Been to upwards of 40 games. This year, 18 so far. I've seen players come and go. Trades made that I don't like. Trades made that I think are fantastic. Saw King Felix make his opening M's debut. Cried when Bloomquist was traded. Cried when Boone retired. Made good friends with the Wilson family. Yes, Dan Wilson and family. Cheered the day Griffey returned. Been through many a manager. And I love it. All of it.

My name is Katie and I am a Seattle Mariners Fan.

traditions.

Today was a great care free kind of day.

Woke up...and then went back to sleep. Greatest feeling.

Had a lazy morning, checking Facebook, texting, talking to the bestie, drinking tea, and just relaxing. Went over to my parents house and grabbed a few things before I went and had coffee with and friend from High School. We haven't actually talked in YEARS. As in like... 6. And now she is married, and its kinda crazy. But it was great to catch up and I think we will probably be doing that on a pretty frequent basis now.

Then it was off to the grand of Fair and Stampede with the family. It's tradition. It's tradition that we walk through the Pavilion and look at all the gadgets. It's tradition that we eat Papa Murphey's pizza on the benches in front of the dog show area. It's tradition that one of us buys cotton candy and the rest of us eat it all. It's tradition that we sing loudly before the rodeo starts. That we cringe during the bull riding. That we laugh hysterically at the clowns.

Family traditions. My mom made a comment while we were walking around that kinda freaked me out. She asked if she could bring my kids to the fair and have a Nana day with them so my husband and I could go out. I just LOVE when she says things like that. That was dripping with sarcasm by the way. Although, I am so glad that my parents are excited about grand kids in the future. The far far future. :)

I really hope that when I do have kids I can establish some of the same and some new family traditions.

And now I am home... showered to try and stop the allergic reaction from the rodeo. Sucks to be allergic to animals...and dust...and hay.... cause I took four benadryl and my normal medications and I still feel like someone filled my sinuses up with glue. I also have a nice collection of hives right now. So fun. :)

Off to bed...looking forward to tomorrow. Work, then BASEBALL. Get to see the bestie too which is great. Oh yea, and the boy. :)