advent mentality

"It's like heartache and disappointment frame our story of faith from Genesis all the way up to today... In the story of God and His relationship with mankind, it is often the infertile soil that God plants his seed into in order to bring life... so that the soil can't take the credit." -Pastor Steve Madden

In which Christmas break started early...

Friday was the last day of school. FORTUNATELY FOR THIS TEACHER, a colossal cold front froze the roads and "FRIday" turned into "SNOWday." I leapt down the stairs shouting, said goodbye to Kayla, then leapt back up the stairs to sleep in.

Did I spend a lot of time doing report cards? Yes. But it didn't matter. I slept in. I got Starbucks. I wore sweats. Work was blissful.

Today I spent 4 or 5 hours helping students complete their work. I watched a large amount of 30 Rock episodes. I rented Pitch Perfect. I memorized the "cups" song from Pitch Perfect. I will admit, it took an hour or so. I read. I cooked. Relaxation was blissful.

That awkward moment when you pour out your heart to a guy and you think he can't hear you because he's a squirrel. It happens to the best of us.

#stardust #lowbudget #greatstorytelling

Emily gave me fudge. Kayla's licking a paper ice cream cone. Kyla and Rachel are making up movie dialogue. Anne's drinking her weight in coffee. I love my friends.

Harmon Verse: "But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." 1 Corinthians 12: 24-26

Harmon had Christmas morning today. Bacon, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, cinnamon rolls, and coffee. The girls reacted surprisingly well to their wake-up call. They were such good sports. I gave each of them a Christmas cookie cutter that exemplified her in some way. The festivities concluded with a Christmas dance party.

I've finished the Hogwarts house stockings. Could you guess who the Hufflepuffs would be? The Gryffindor? The Slytherin?

SOLID* conversation buddies

Just this week:

• Amy
• Chelsea
• Anne
• Kyla
• Kayla
• Rachel
• My mom
• My dad

*entertaining, delightful, encouraging, inspiring, intimate

Thankfuls for Today

• Small group
• Amy Petricek (and Kyle Petricek)
• God and His friendship and His fatherhood and His sovereignty and His holiness and His constancy
• Little James Hancock sitting on my lap telling me about his day in his quite three-year-old voice
• The book of Nehemiah
• The first bite of food when I'm actually hungry
• Kyla's "let's keeping hugging" hugs
• Rachel's dry-humored jokes
• Anne's "hugs" :)
• Kayla's morning handshake and genuineness

Advent is here

I love this.

Odd Project

Mia walked into my office a few weeks ago with a sheepish smile on her face. "I have a proposal," she murmured.

I thought she was going to make a prankish proposal: skip a quiz, pass a class, take a nap. An academic joke between student and teacher.

"I wanna write a book."

I was a little surprised. She doesn't like English. She doesn't like writing.

"I don't like writing," she explained. 

I nodded, gaging her level of seriousness.

"I want you to help me because I'm not a very good writer. I wanna write my life story, sorta."

Something inside me ticked, like a cog that was trying to turn for the first time in a while. It made my heart beat. I wasn't jumping up and down with excitement, so she kept going. 

"I wanna have a book based on my life. I want you to help me write it. I want you to to write your story in it too. Kinda combined, you know? I think people could learn from my life. My mom dying and all."

I thought about the way Mia talks. I thought about her ambition and honesty. 

I thought about the way I write. I thought about my ambition and creativity. 

I thought about our parallel experiences and our perpendicular lifestyles. 

I thought and I consented to the project. 

I told her it would be really good catharsis. She smiled blankly.

She told me it might be really good money. I smiled blankly.

We will be an odd pair. An odd, perfect pair.