Do What You LOVE

Today marks the anniversary of the death of a Jesuit leader, Pedro Arrupe. He was a man of great faith, and his prayers and sayings have been quoted and recorded. Here is one of my favorite Pedro Arrupe quotes:

"Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination,will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you will do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love; stay in love,and it will decide everything."

How true these words are!

Try it - think about how you spend your time. Are you doing what you love?

Here's my weekend breakdown...

I love to run...so the first thing I did when I woke up on Saturday and Sunday was to go for a jog.
I love to read...so I caught up on some of the latest young adult fiction on Saturday afternoon.
I love to laugh and celebrate...so when the opportunity for a friend's birthday outing came along, I joined in a for a little bit on Saturday night.
I love to attend Mass...so I went on Saturday night with my sister to my new favorite Church.
I love to watch sports...so I made sure to see Michigan State beat Michigan in basketball this afternoon, and tonight I am heading to some friends' apartment to watch the Superbowl.

...You get the idea...

So, again, I invite you to reflect - What are the things you love? Are you spending your time doing those very things?

Teacher Appreciation Day

Many days I feel like teaching isn't really a job - it's too much fun when the students get excited and the lessons are interactive and creative! On the flip side, it's a lot of hard work, preparation, patience, and persistence too. That's why it's extra nice to get that little pat on the back of encouragement and thanks from students and parents alike.

Best "gift" from today's Teacher Appreciation Day was a student-made bookmark with a poem that went like this:

"Ms. Foyle, You are fun
then you make us do work till we are done.
Still you are great
and for a rate
I'll give you 10 or more
for field trips we can explore.
I think you are funny and fun too
And when we read good books you give us a clue.
You are the greatest teacher ever,
And I would never not miss you ever!
You are an awesome teacher."

Glad to see techniques taught in our first writing unit on poetry are still being applied.

What a fun day!

STOP and think...

On the way home from a favorite Thursday night tradition (a.k.a. Wing Night), I happened to notice a STOP sign that had the small lettering of "judging" at the bottom. It looked kind of like this:

It took me a second for the "message" to register, but then I realized that someone was trying to say something important: Stop Judging.

And yet, I wondered also how many people had driven by that same stop sign without seeing the small word below. This got me to thinking that in order to see and hear the messages around us, we need to first be aware and notice our surroundings - people, signs, events, etc. Only then will our ears and eyes be opened to receive the message that is waiting for us.

It's time to STOP and take a look around. A message may be staring us in the face, but that won't matter if we are looking in the other direction...

Good for the Soul

“Music is more logical than the human mind can comprehend: yet we can recognize it and surrender to it. We cannot comprehend music but music can comprehend us.”

- Peter Hiett

As the celebration of Catholic Schools' Week continued today, we had the opportunity to attend a performance held at school by three incredibly talented musicians skilled in the art of drumming. They played drum sets, but they also played drums from around the world, including Brazil, Western Africa, Northern Europe, New Orleans, and the Caribbean. (Some of the students even played some additional percussion instruments in a conga line!)

The greatest thing about it - for me, at least - was that the music and rhythms spoke right to my heart. I honestly can't even express how I felt. It was so uplifting - such a great middle of the day (on a Wednesday!) activity. I could have listened all day without becoming bored. Seriously.

As we conga-lined back to class, it hit me how hard it was going to be for the students to refocus after such an activity - especially for math. But, they managed to pull it together, and we learned all about graphs (and counted a bunch of change they brought in for the Pennies for Patients project - that's another story) before lunch.

So wonderful. So beautiful. I am still in awe. Music is amazing - it is beyond words yet it touches into the depths of our souls.

Wow.

Going to the dictionary

According to dictionary.com...

Discipline (n) - Behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control

Disciple (n) - A follower of Christ

Coincidence that these 2 words vary in spelling only slightly from each other? Think again. As we discussed today in fourth grade, it takes a lot of discipline to be a disciple of Jesus. 

Yes, it's tough work, and it's not for the slight of heart. But Jesus calls us to be his disciples. The question becomes, are we disciplined to take on such a role?

Peace of my mind

Gym or trail?

Really, is there even a contest?

Seriously, take a look:

This is why I ran outside today - we hit 50 degrees, and it was so beautiful!

Now, doesn't that beat the TVs at the gym?

And, quite honestly, after such a hectic afternoon, a peaceful jog was just what the doctor ordered. (And you really can't get that at the gym either.)

How do you spell home?

'Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone 

where you go when you’re alone 
Is where you go to rest your bones 
It’s not just where you lay your head 
It's not just where you make your bed
As long as we’re together, does it matter where we go? 
Home

I've thought a lot about home recently, actually. 

In fact, there have been a number of places I have called home so far in my lifetime -->

Florida, where I spent my childhood, adolescence, and college years (and where I now return to on vacations)...

Michigan, where I enjoyed many carefree summers at my grandparents' house...

Arizona, where I began my teaching career...

Notre Dame, where I spent three incredible, faith-filled summers (and now football games)...

And, now, I find myself in my latest home. It's one home that I feel I kind of eased into slowly - testing the waters, not sure if I was ready to embody my neighborhood and school right away. Looking back at this summer, it all felt so new and so surreal. I think I must have spent at least the first couple of weeks (if not the first couple of months) trying to figure out if I made the right choice for my new home and trying to figure out why I had moved away.

Even today, in the midst of Catholic Schools' Week Mass, I had my doubts of calling this place home. But then, I saw the students and their families (and even received a few hugs from the students and from fellow faculty), and I had that feeling of realizing that I am home.

With God beside me, I see myself in the context of the above song: "As long as we're together, does it matter where we go? Home."