Preacher’s Wife Teaching Life

Have the last 2 months been crazy hectic, or is that just me?? My goodness, with the post holiday wind-down, the dawn of a new semester, taking on more classes, and being sick with allergies, I have been RUN DOWN. My laundry piled up, the dishes sat dirty and dinner was served late more than I'd like to admit. It was easy to see that crumbling of my physical life was a reflection of distraction in my spiritual life. I had shifted my focus away from spending intentional time with Jesus to juggling the chaos of everyday life in my own strength. As I looked around, I could easily see the effects of not being renewed each day by his light and love. I needed a reboot. Desperately. My new schedule doesn't allow much morning time to soak in his presence, but I do get two 30 minute breaks throughout my work day. In those 30 minute breaks, I've sought God as my refuge amidst the stress and chaos associated with a new semester. He gives me energy and strength to finish the day and ...

I hear from different denominations in Christianity about what being saved means, whether it expires, and how to maintain it. Salvation to me is an initial acceptance and faith in Jesus Christ, verbal confirmation in your choice, and an ongoing relationship to keep the wheels spinning smoothly. For example, a couple weekends ago, I got some bad news in the mail and immediately went into panic mode. I started crying, freaking out and going into these impossible scenarios in my head about how our world was going to end (drama queen, I know). Deep in my heart I knew that God is bigger than any of my problems and that everything would work out fine because it ALWAYS DOES. (What's that saying? 90% of the things we worry about end up never happening.) Despite my devout belief that God is bigger than my problems, I had this sudden attack of voices in my head about how stupid I was, how this was my fault, how we were never going to get it fixed, that we would go into debt and lose everyt...

Most of my friends are teachers and with the start of the school year closing in, I can see people getting overwhelmed, stressed, and feeling a little dread about leaving their babies at home and leaving the free lifestyles of vacations, sleeping in, and DIY projects. (Trust me, I know all teachers work a little over the summer!). It's back to learning names, redecorating your classroom, lesson plans, paperwork, making thousands of copies, setting up your grade book, meeting parents, and countless hours with kids that will impact your day and your life more than you ever expect. I chose to write this because I'm stepping back into the world of teaching this semester at the junior college. I spent the summer in the computer lab helping students with their homework - being the hero they needed to finish a task. :) It was fun, easy, and required little to no prep. In a little over a week, I'll be teaching my first college class (developmental college class) and I have to admi...