2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, fully equipped for every good work. (ESV)

Our church is currently going through a book on discipleship. The pastors teach every Sunday on the same topic as each week's lesson and then we discuss both the sermon and the work we've done in the book at K-group (our version of church small groups). The verse above was this week's Bible verse and also the text for this morning's sermon.

I learned that I've been missing out on a huge lesson from this verse! You see, I've always thought about this verse in the context of "me to others." We're taught that Scripture is a tool and so I read this verse to mean something like, "Scripture is a tool for Rebecca to teach, rebuke, correct, and train OTHERS in righteousness, that OTHERS may be competent, fully equipped for every good work" While I still believe that view is true, I was excited to learn the other (and arguably, the more important) half... Reading this verse in the context of "scripture to ME." Now scripture is the subject and I am the direct object, "Scripture is profitable for teaching ME, for rebuking ME, for correcting ME, and for training ME in righteousness, that I, REBECCA, may be competent, fully equipped for every good work." WOW!!! This makes a huge difference!

Our pastor shared that he uses this verse as an outline for how he studies scripture. He firsts reads the Scripture and asks God what God is trying to teach him through that particular passage. Then he asks God how God is rebuking him through the passage, etc, etc. Scripture is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12)! God wants to interact with us through His word... I can't wait to explore the Bible with this refreshed knowledge!

Thanksgivings: The Equinox Edition

I was driving my Equinox home today and began to reminisce about all the reasons I like it. I was once again overwhelmed by thankfulness for this sweet gift (Yes, GIFT. No strings attached!) from my Grandparents. So here we go...

• NOT a tank, but still big enough that I don't feel intimidated by 18-wheelers on the highway!
• Roomy backseat and lots of trunk space.
• Wonderful turn radius. I love (safely) zipping around corners and parking is a breeze!
• Little nitch on the dash for my cell phone :)
• Headphone jack for playing music off my iPhone.

And there you have it :) Just a few reasons that I am thankful for my Equinox!

Blueberries, Coffee Mugs, and Breakfasts

1/4 cup oats, 1 egg, 1 tsp brown sugar, handful of blueberries, splash of milk, and dash of cinnamon. Mix in a coffee mug and microwave for 2 minutes. So easy and so delicious!

I found this on Pinterest. You can follow the link here, but it's a little hard to follow. Adam and I love this little Breakfast Mug! I like to include a few extra blueberries after I've microwaved it. The combination of cold blueberries and warm oatmeal is wonderful, I think!

It needs a name though; "Berrylicious Microwave Minute Muffin" isn't exactly striking my fancy. Any ideas? I'm thinking "Blueberry Breakfast Mug" or something along those lines. I like that you make it in a coffee mug because I don't drink coffee, but I love coffee mugs! So this gives me an excuse to use one :)

Warning: This is extremely hot coming out of the microwave. If I make it for breakfast during the week, I mix it up and start the microwave before drying my hair, finishing make-up, etc. When I return, it's cool enough to enjoy :)

Friday Favs

**Link up with Rachel**

• NO school tomorrow!!! Which means sleeping in, catching up (on sleep, housework, lesson planning, etc), and lots of time with my sweet husband!
• Enrichment Reading ... I teach a remediation class for kids who scored less than "Proficient" on our state tests. We focus mostly on math and some on reading. This is by far my hardest class to plan for because I have no curriculum and no pacing guide. But Fridays are reading days :) The students read a book of their choice and write a short summary for me at the end of the period. It's glorious! No planning for me and I'm able to sit at my desk to get caught up on everything else.
• Class Activities/Games ... I try to make Friday more relaxed for my students (AND me!) by setting it aside for games or hands-on activities. It's difficult to come up with things sometimes, but it's great for the kids to have a change in routine and it usually means no HW for their weekend.
• Leaving work early!!! And by early, I mean "on time"... Teachers are required to stay until the buses leave campus (usually around 3:30), but as a new teacher, I'm usually there until closer to 5 p.m. On Fridays, knowing I have the weekend to plan lessons, I can leave as soon as I pack my bags!
• Texting Lauren, my best friend from home. We're both pretty busy during the week (she's a brand new nurse), but we try to touch base almost every weekend!

He Gets It!

I experienced one of my first "success stories" in the world of teaching. I have a particular student; we'll call this student W. W wasn't sure if he/she liked me in the beginning and, to be honest, I wasn't sure if I liked him/her. We just didn't exactly hit it off. And I have this student during two periods of the day. :)

One day this week I was helping W study for a quiz that I would be giving the next day. W was struggling to understand the "power of a power" rule with exponents. We did several examples together and eventually I wrote out a more detailed explanation for W. Something clicked and W finally said "Oh! I get it!" Music to a teacher's ears for sure! In addition to that, it was a positive moment for me and W. A moment I was concerned we might not experience, but it happened!

I could hardly wait to grade W's quiz the next day. The very first question on the test required using the "power of a power" rule. And W remembered!!! W wrote out my explanation just the way I showed him/her and he/she got the answer correct. Their quiz score was also very good. I haven't passed back the quizzes yet, but I showed W his/her quiz during the next period and emphasized how proud I was of him/her.

Will this moment of small victory influence W's behavior next week? Maybe not. Will W ever remember the "power of a power" rule again? Maybe not. But it was a small victory for me and W. I'm going to enjoy it while I can :)

On My Mind...

1. List of "Top Ten Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Teaching"... I found this on the NCTM website here. Most applicable to my life right now are #10 (Not every student will be interested every minute.) and #8 (Teaching will get easier.). And #5 and #3... Okay, the whole list was encouraging for me!

2. Confession time. I'm struggling with bitterness in my life... It's affecting my time with the Lord and the relationships involved. :( Past time to hand that over to Jesus. Working on it!

3. 10 p.m. is looming and this is probably the most dreaded time of my day... I'm thinking about getting ready for bed, preparing my lunch for tomorrow, etc. And I have to tell my husband goodnight. I wish I could just stay up and hang out with him!

4. Tiger Tunes is 1 month from Thursday!!!! Both sets of parental units will be coming in along with my favorite little sister (her "child" in tow!) AND my roommate, Angelina!!!!!! Doesn't get any better than that folks. (Kayla's "child" is one of the kids she nannies. And yes, I realize that Adam is now techincally my roommate, but I'll always think of my roommate as Angela :))

5. Ready for the weekend already... Today was a tough day. Pretty sure some of my students are bored to tears with me (see #10 from the NCTM list). Tried to move on with my Algebra kids and clearly they weren't ready. Still not sure how I'm going to reteach. Still struggling to keep up with my Enrichment class - no curriculum, all up to me. I'm tired just thinking about it...

6. Thankful for a Savior who loves me in spite of myself.