Let it begin...

Catholic Schools' Week kicked off tonight at school with a great turnout for pizza and intramural basketball. We all remarked how overwhelmed we were by all of the families who came - what great spirit!

Next week we have all sorts of fun activities lined up, including Mass, Open House, book fair, a multicultural musical performance, and more.

At school, we pray in a special way for all Catholic schools at this time, and we are thankful for our Catholic education.

Read, Read, Read

Signs that reading has truly taken over your life:

1- When a Scholastic book order arrives, you cannot help but thank the person who told you the box was in the office, and you find yourself so excited about all of the new books for the classroom library...and this is in light of the fact that you just spent most of your bimonthly salary on those very books...

2- Anticipation is inevitable for new updates on blogs like The Nonfiction Detectives, Book Peep Wonders, Teach With Picture Books, A Year of Reading, etc. (And sometimes you proceed directly to the public library website or BarnesandNoble.com to attain a copy of whatever book(s) is(are) suggested.)

3- You are registered - and your calendar is already marked (and a sub secured) - for a multi-day reading conference in May. You might even be just a tad excited for the additional institute held pre-conference on a Sunday.

4- Free time is spent leisure reading children's and adolescent novels, using the excuse that you need to keep up with your students. (Admittedly, those books are very entertaining.)


Oh, well, let's face it. When I say "you," I really mean me. And, yes, all of the above are true - and they have happened recently.

This makes me wonder...Are there support groups for this kind of addiction?

Out of Time

No time to write tonight - I have a book to finish. The 39 Clues has me hooked, and it is taking our class by storm during read aloud.

Don't you love it when that happens?

The collection of student copies (for reading along during read aloud) keeps growing!

Part of the Plan?

Is it in God's plan for people to die at certain times or in certain ways?

You know, it's kind of funny - I spent most of my Saturday at a training where this kind of question was addressed due to the situation we might find ourselves in as ministers of care (see previous posts for more details about this ministry).

However, this question came from students today as we discussed our latest chapter in Family Life. And, I'll admit, I didn't have the words to give a definitive answer. Some people say that God brings struggles into our lives to teach us something. Some people say that God doesn't make evil things happen to people - that such things are a result of the absence of God.

What do I say? My jury's still out on that one. I can't pretend I know how God works or why certain things happen to certain people.

As a priest on Saturday pointed out, we seem the most concerned with justice or fairness with death (or tough life issues) when it comes down to us and the loved ones in our lives. But the reality is that people suffer around the world in so many different ways every single day. Suffering and death seem to be a natural part of life. Yet, no matter how we slice it, this isn't an easy idea to swallow.

Maybe we'll never understand it - at least, maybe not in this life. But what we can do is to hope in God's redeeming grace and to realize that His plan for each of us (in the meantime) is to draw others and ourselves closer to Him.

The Essential Importance of Self-Control

Apparently, every year our school's faculty has a different book about educational policies, teaching practices, latest research in certain areas, etc. to read and discuss.

Well, our faculty book for the year is Nurture Shock by Po Bronson & Ashley Merryman, and this week's chapter proved an intriguing topic: "Can Self-Control Be Taught?"

Before I give my two cents, what do you think? (Seriously, take a moment and just think about it.)

As a teacher, one can certainly hope that self-control can, indeed, be taught. And recent studies suggest that maybe it can. But what I found even more interesting out of this chapter and an article from ND magazine was that the two top predictors for success in life are intelligence and...

wait for it...

wait for it...

are you ready?...

self-control.

How did we not realize this sooner?

And, what I would really like to know (but the chapter did not address it) is whether or not there is an age when it's too late to effectively teach self-control? (Honestly - when the students get to fourth grade without self-control, is it too late? Gosh, I sure hope not. And, I mean, while we're being honest, there are some adults who I would like to teach this to - Am I a horrible person for thinking this?)

In an age where technology and culture presses on us all to move more quickly and tap into technology at all times of the day and night (via wireless internet, Smart phones, and more!), self-control and patience seem to be life skills and qualities that are fading fast.

The next time you have to wait for something, I encourage and challenge you to think about the situation in a different light - Don't think about how you're disappointed not to get what you want instantly; instead, think about how you are lucky (in this day and age) to be in the position to get what you need or want so relatively easily.

What's a few extra minutes anyway? Again we find that patience is a virtue.

As you go through your day, remember to let self-control be your guide.

Letting Go of What Could Have Been

On the news this morning came a story about a dad and his son - his son with autism.

It was a short piece, but it was very powerful. One thing the father said really stuck with me: "What I learned was that I had to let go of the son that I wanted so that I could love the son I had."

And that's a message we could all do well to remember - sometimes things don't happen the way we want or even expect them to. But we can't just stand there, holding on to what could or should have been. We need to focus on what we have and learn how to embrace it. These things, events, and people are gifts to us - maybe they're just packaged differently. And they can teach us some incredible lessons.

So tonight I find myself reflecting on some questions:


Am I holding on to any "could have beens" that are keeping me from the things or people I do have currently in my life?
If so, am I ready to let go so that I might love greater those people and things I have in my life now?


How about you? Are you ready to let go to prepare more room to love?


(By the way, you can see/read the ABC news story here.)

Empty...in the best sense

In emptying ourselves, we make room to be filled again.

This mindset kept manifesting itself through the speakers and table conversations I had the opportunity to be a part of today during a training for the Ministry of Care program I recently joined.

We delved so quickly into very personal and deep topics, but it did not feel strange or uncomfortable - I felt like I could share straight from my heart with these complete strangers. (And, obviously, we weren't complete strangers at the end of the day.)

It was a grace-filled day - and one that will be repeated (but with different topics) next weekend. I felt so blessed to be surrounded by so many others who are simply looking for a way to serve and/or give back because of what has been given to them. What a beautiful ministry!

Empty me, O Lord. And fill me with your grace. Amen.