If Chairs Could Talk...

Anybody sitting there...?

Have you ever thought how many people sit in any given seat on any given day or week or (even) year? on the bus? on a plane? in the doctor's office? in the classroom?

I have found myself thinking about this more often than I probably should - but it's just so fascinating. Life passes by so fast, and many people walk in and out of our lives...

Today, while at Eucharistic Minister training at school, our pastor mentioned a story that made me think on these things yet again. He explained how he was asked to bless an Italian restaurant and its workers before it opened for business. During the blessing, he reflected on how many things and life events would happen at the tables under that roof - someone would get engaged, someone would say "I'm sorry," someone would be celebrating a birthday...Wow. What wonderful thoughts!

Each seat holds so many stories. 

What stories are the seats we occupy telling? What about the chairs of our students?

Are we listening? 

Are we remembering?

Moments of "Friendship"

Saturday was a day spent completely school work-free! I had the opportunity to head to the MSU/ND game in South Bend - what a gorgeous day and cheers for an ND victory (even though it wasn't pretty)!

Marisa and I made it to 3 tailgates and saw quite a few friends. The weather was mostly cloudy with only hints of sunlight during the day, but the temperature was perfect. Hello Fall!

While at the ACE tailgate, we got to talking with Doc Doyle (one of our favorite ACE professors/directors), and he really helped me find a renewed sense of purpose at the school where I am currently teaching: I was explaining how I teach a very privileged population and that sometimes I feel that I should be working for children and families who have more of a monetary need. However, Doc pointed out that the students whom I am teaching are very much in need of that spiritual direction away from the stuff & things they usually find happiness in. In other words, my calling right now is to help move these kids away from stuff of this world to faith in the next. It's not an easy task, but when put in this light, Doc really helped me find peace with where I am. (I really needed that!)

After the ACE tailgate, Marisa and I took a quick stop for prayer at the Grotto, and we then took a walk around one of the lakes. Just lovely...

A view of the dome across the lake - check out those clouds!

Our seats were amazing - great for seeing the game at both ends of the field and great for the band's halftime show too!

Our seats were right about on the 40 yard line in the bottom section - sweet!

The ND Band

Yes, all of these elements added up to make the day just "perfect." However, my favorite part of the day actually occurred in the bathroom...

A small girl (probably about 7 years old) was having a very hard time washing her hands at the sink. So, I leaned over and pushed down on the faucet so she could clean her hands, saying, "Let me help you." Afterwards, she thanked me, got some paper towels, and went back outside. Upon leaving the bathroom, she smiled and waved at me, so, of course, I smiled and waved back. I turned to Marisa and said, "I think I made a new friend."

In reflecting on that moment, I realized what a small action and what little effort it took to make a "friend" yesterday. And it got me to thinking, how many times during each day do we have opportunities to do such simple actions for others? How many "friends" are we taking the small moments to make? How many "friends" are we passing by?

What will you do today to make a "friend?"

My Wednesday (in words and pictures)

The days get all jumbled together, but here are some things that happened today at each grade level:

8th Grade
We started class with an interesting twist on the Our Father. And then we broke it down (in small groups).

Here is what they came up with... (Please ignore the stabbing...)

Put them together, and there you have the Our Father. Hmm..."I never really thought about it before," they said. Well...now they have.

7th Grade
After spending last night reading the students' exit slips on how to be saints, I decided that the slips were much too great to pass on an opportunity to hang them up. So, for bellwork, I had the students decorate, cut, & color their individual pieces. They ranged from simple paragraphs to recipes to even a poem!

Check them out here - hooray for a decorated door!:

6th Grade

While I don't have pictures to show you from this group, we had a pretty neat class today. The students played a variation on the Fruit of the Spirit game - we upped the difficulty, though, by having the students read off definitions or scenarios for the Fruit and students moving if they had the Fruit that was described.

Best quote in the middle of the game - after standing up, the student realized "I don't have faith!!"(and sat back down), but, quite frankly, that just sounded funny, so we all had a good laugh about it.

And yes, they have pretty much memorized the Fruit of the Spirit song - see yesterday's post. They were singing it up and down the hallway - it kind of made the 8th graders agitated. (It was kind of awesome.)

4th Grade Volleyball

And we can't forget the volleyball game! After practicing with only 4 students (and after getting lost and calling my mom because I got turned around on the way to the game), we played with a total of 5 girls (against their 6 + subs)...and we won! I would have been proud of them if they hadn't because, honestly, they played their little hearts out, made their serves, and had a few decent volleys. And, above all, they were pretty much smiling the whole time. Go forth (4th), dolphins! I'm loving it. 

It's hard to believe today was a Wednesday...I usually don't have quite so much fun on this day of the week...

Get Your Fruit Here!

Sixth grade spent time learning about the Fruit of the Spirit today. Their ticket out of class was to write a prayer to the Holy Spirit (or God) to ask for help with the Fruit which they most need to work on in their lives.

Here are some of the prayers the students posted as they left:

"Dear God, Please help me with peace and not to fight with my brother. Amen."

"Dear God, Please help me be more meek when I get complimented. Amen."

And then some got a little more sincere and thoughtful:

"Oh Lord, thank you for all you do. During these times, please help me stay patient. I love playing and hanging out with my friends, but sometimes I get ahead of myself. Thank you. Amen."

"Dear Holy Spirit, Please help me to work on being meek. I am shy and gentle, but I need to work on directing attention toward you. You have given me so much; you need recognition. Amen."

Most days, I love my job for simple reasons like getting to spend time reading responses like these. (I should also include the 7th graders responses about how to be a Saint, but that would take too long because almost all 20 of those are worth posting, so I will spare you.)

Have a great night!

*BONUS - WARNING --> Only watch the video below if you are prepared to have it stuck in your head for the rest of the day.

Don't say I didn't warn you...

An Honest Response

I have the best (the BEST) family and friends ever.

I sent an email asking one main question - "Why do you go to Mass?" - in the hopes that these honest, real responses will provide a ground for discussion with my students tomorrow. (Heck, it may even make some consider weekend Mass more than they do now.)

And check out the responses I got! (Don't worry, they are anonymous.) I am overwhelmed!

(The right column is suggestions for how to make it real & meaningful to the students. If you have any comments or suggestions, please leave them below.)

Honestly, I am blessed beyond words. I love being around people of such strong faith and conviction.

Experiencing God by Simply Being...

Contemplation - prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself (from http://www.centeringprayer.com/)

Whether it's been on purpose or not, I have found myself in this type of prayer quite often lately. (I do think the cooler "fall" weather has something to do with it because I've been able to spend more time outside without dripping with sweat.) I don't actively think of anything (which is actually harder done than said), but, instead, I simply experience the moment - the sunshine, the breeze, the smiles on people's faces...

It's so peaceful.

And I know God is there.

Some of my students have said that contemplation is their favorite type of prayer that they've learned in class because they get to just rest and sit in silence/peace.

In the midst of their busy days, who can blame them?

In the midst of our busy days, maybe we could give it a try...

"Be still and know that I am God." (Ps. 46:10)

Reaching

I spent today in a conference on executive functioning...but I'm not going to blog about that 7 hour experience tonight.

Instead, I want to focus on a less than one minute interaction that made all the difference in my day. It went something like this...

Me (seeing an ACE grad/prior faculty member after school who was subbing - she's in the process of kicking cancer's butt, by the way): "I just wanted to come over and say hi. (Hug) I'm supposed to tell you that Sarah (ACE supervisor) wants you to know you're in her prayers."

Christine: "Thank you. That's so sweet. And I need to tell you something. Today, in religion class, the students were naming people who have inspired them in the faith. One student (whom she named) said that you were that inspiration for her and that she's so excited she will get to have you for religion for 3 more years now that you're in middle school."

And yes, that brief interaction, really got me thinking - there are days when I feel less than 100% and that I can't possibly be reaching every student. (And I know many others feel that way too.) But, as evidenced here, we are reaching these kids, one day, one moment (or series of moments) at a time.