Here We Go Again

I cannot believe it's time to go back to school.  Again!  I always look forward to school starting each year, but this time it's particularly exciting as I have a new job.  I'm thrilled to be going to the high school, but I will definitely leave a piece of my heart at my old school as it was my first real job and I was blessed with some of the sweetest friendships there.  So yes, Monday is a really exciting day, but parts of it will be bittersweet too.

Meg and Jack's wedding...hottest night of my life, but so fun!

My last post was all about Honduras, and quite honestly, since I've been home, I haven't done a whole lot.  Meg and Jack got married, Claire and Vaughn got married, we had our annual Alpha Gam lake weekend (of which there are no pictures because we didn't stop talking long enough to take one), and I spent some time with the fam. 

Claire and V's Rehearsal Dinner...Love this picture of me and my first friend.  Photo courtesy of Rob Ingram Photography

 

Not sure what's happening here... Photo courtesy of Rob Ingram Photography

 Otherwise, I've perfected my skills in sleeping late, watching tv, eating out, babysitting, and generally avoiding anything that looks like work.  It has been the.best.summer, albeit totally uneventful. 

Fourth of July fun

Like I do every summer, I spend some time praying over the coming school year and really seeking out how the Lord wants me to invest in my kids.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that teaching is my calling, and as such, it is such a ministry opportunity.  Every year I have kind of "theme" or reminder to keep me focused on what's important.  I've posted about previous years' themes before and I was starting to get worried that I wasn't going to have one for this year, but as usual, the Lord put one on my heart right on time.  About two weeks ago, I had the privilege to have lunch with my friend Sophie (aka BooMama) and we spent a lot of time talking about teaching school.  One of the things she said really struck me, and I knew immediately that was this year's theme..."Keep the Main Thing the main thing".  If I can spend my time each day keeping Jesus as the most important thing, then all the rest will fall into place.  It's my job to make Jesus the main thing because I might be the only Jesus some of these kids ever see.  What a humbling task....I'm thankful for grace that allows me to start each new day fresh, because Heaven knows I need it.

I say this every year, but fall is for sure my favorite season.  And while the weather may be hot for three more months, in my mind, fall officially starts on Monday.  Bring on the books, football, and pumpkins!