Continuing Ed 101.2 - Reflections on Teaching

How can I best serve, edify, and love others? How can I have a positive, lingering impact on the life of a family? How can I use my God-given gifts and talents to build up current and future generations?

I can do all these through the life of a child.

Through the demonstration of unconditional love to a child, you love a family. By edifying and building up the littlest individuals, you can change the dynamics in a family home. By instilling a love of learning, a sense of capability, a belief in oneself, and a determination that anything is possible, you can touch a future generation and impart hope to a current one. Furthermore, to do these to the glory of God - this is why I choose to teach.

I cannot say I remember my earliest teachers. Yet I know I grew up loving school, learning, and the educational process. I cannot pinpoint one particular educator in my elementary, middle or high school years that excelled at edification. Yet I left understanding that I was capable and I was confident that through self application I could do anything I could dream for my future.

Through the combined efforts of many good teachers, I got to college and experienced a few great teachers. Teachers who challenged me to stretch and become more, to have enough faith in myself to dream and believe, and to have the self-determination to work hard for what I want.

These three basic values of: challenging others to become more, instilling a creative vision that believes they can do anything, and encouraging the application of self to realize individual potential, is summed up for me in this - love. It is by loving a child that you give them room to become, vision to create, and encouragement to persevere. Only through an outpouring of imperfect love can I demonstrate the unconditional, perfect love of God who created each individual child with a great plan and purpose.

It is my hope that through love I can serve and edify, have a positive, lasting impact on a family, and glorify God to current and future generations - one individual child at a time.

Totally Truthful Tuesdays - Tomato Tragedy

I'm sorry juicy, fresh tomatoes but I hate you.  I have tried really, really hard to make friends with you, but I can't.  

You make me gag.  Literally.  Remember when my parents decided they had enough of my tomato drama and forced me to eat a slice at the dinner table?  It wasn't pretty.

The worst part is, I don't like picky eaters.  I pretty much have zero tolerance.  So our relationship really galls and shames me.  Why must you treat me this way?  You are on EVERYTHING.  I am constantly chagrined by having to say, "No tomatoes please" every time I place an order.  Can't we just get along?

I can eat salsa, tomato sauce, tomato soup, stewed tomatoes, and even tomato juice.  But a slice of tomato on my sandwich?  It will be removed.  Diced tomatoes on my beloved Mexican food?  It is akin to a crime.  And do not even think of showing up in my salad unless you are the easily-picked-out cherry or grape tomato variety.

Really, Tomato, we need to work this out.  The feud has gone on long enough.  Maybe it's time to try this again...

Totally Truthful Tuesdays

Drumroll please...

Introducing Totally Truthful Tuesdays where I bare it all for you! 

I would love for fellow bloggers to join me in laying it all out there - the good, the bad and ugly.  Grab my button, link it, and blog about your passions, pet peeves, and everything that makes you, you on your own Totally Truthful Tuesdays.

Bare it all, Baby!

PS: I Love Me

Okay, I know this is a little corny but Julie at Big Girl Bombshell challenged us to write a love letter to ourselves for Valentine's Day.  Honestly, for most of us it's hard to publicly admit things we value about ourselves.  There is always the fear that it won't be received in the manner it was intended; that people will perceive us as prideful or boastful when really, you've had to dig deep, really stretch to find what it is we like about ourselves.  And yet it's so easy to utter the negative dialogue we have playing in an endless loop in our heads. 

Well, since I am still striving for New Beginnings I thought I would give it a try.  So here I go.

Bean,

You are a whirlwind blowing through life scattering love and joy like fresh green leaves swirling in an azure summer sky.

You are a mother's comforting embrace when life serves up a scraped knee and punctured pride.

You are the helium in a heart-shaped balloon that lifts arms, eyes and spirits that were once earth-bound.

You are brightly colored lips that are wide open in boisterous song.

You are Fourth of July fireworks: sometimes beautiful, sometimes scary - always loud and colorful.

You are a rainbow-hued quilt fashioned from disparate scraps of fabric that combine to make something lovely and completely unique.

You are a compelling novel that I want to read all the way to the end.

You are a tube of bright fushia lipstick that can bring out the beauty or the clown in anyone you meet.

You are a jigsaw puzzle and though I don't know exactly what your life will make in the end, I know the pieces are wonderful.

In short, you are love, joy, comfort, a lift, wide open, beautiful, scary, loud, colorful, disparate, lovely, unique, compelling, bright, and wonderful.

And I love you.

BTW - Happy Valentine's Day everyone!