Week #1

I have successfully completed my first week of student teaching.  It was wonderful to meet the students that I have been praying for.  I have nine precious little first graders in my class.  My host teacher is a friend from college.  She has been a great help in offering experiential advice, information on the students, and what she expects from me.

Unfortunately, by Monday evening, I had picked up some kind of illness.  It is slowly but surely getting better, I think.  It has been in my head, so my ears ache, my nose throbs, my eyes hurt, my teeth hurt, and I am very dizzy a lot of the time.  The Lord has given me the strength to keep going though, and I am so thankful.  I cannot afford to miss any.  Several of the students have been in and out with sickness as well.  Please pray for health, not only for me, but for my class too!

To be honest, life has me rather overwhelmed and stressed right now, but when I take a step back and look, I am thankful for the causes of stress.  I am thankful that the Lord has carried me through four years of college, and gotten me to this point.  He has increased my work load, enabling me to accomplish each step of the way.  The requirements of student teaching will be no exception.  I am thankful for a Godly man that I love and get to marry!  The wedding plans are very stressful right now as (Praise the Lord) our wedding day is quickly approaching.  I am getting a lot of help though from several dear people, helping relieve a bit of the stresses.  I am thankful for a solid Bible church where I am able to attend, worship, and teach publicly.  Why it is so easy to lose sight of the blessing that is, I will never know.  I am thankful that I am about to graduate and will be qualified to teach.  I am thankful for the open doors that the Lord is providing.  Yes, filling out employment applications is not something I have loads of time to do, but I am thankful for how He is opening doors.  So...all in all, I am working hard to focus on the blessings behind the stresses.

The topic of future job is in the making!  I have sent a letter of interest to schools around the area that Daniel and I plan to live.  All glory to God, I have heard back from two!  Neither one was a definite, but the door was not closed for which I am thankful.  This has added more to my work load, but again, Daniel and I are thankful for the open doors and possible opportunities.

as mentioned above, Daniel and my wedding day is quickly approaching...in fact, we are down to double digits!  He is such a huge support and help as I finish up my schooling.

I hope you all have a wonderful week.  Check back next week to read how Week #2 went.  I will be teaching an art lesson, an indoor PE lesson, and creating a learning center!