Obligatory Christmas Message 2009

The title of this post might indicate that I’m less than excited about Christmas, when that’s really not the case. It’s actually more of an indicator of my lack of ability to come up with a creative title for this post.

This year’s Christmas has been spent in Camden, North Carolina; enjoying wonderful time with Q and his family. Lots of food has been eaten, gifts have been exchanged, and wonderful time has been spent with wonderful people.

I have much to be grateful for this Christmas season- the birth of Jesus, family and friends to share time with, a job and students that I enjoy, having my needs met and even satisfaction of some of my wants. I think about these things often, but particularly around this time of year, and even moreso as I shared time with Q’s family. The Sawyer family has been incredibly blessed by God and it is so awesome to spend time with a family and individuals who each desire and pursue God with their whole heart.

As I listened to my mom squeal in delight over the gift that I sent her, and I watched Q’s face light up at the gift that I gave him, I was again reminded of the joy in giving, much more over the joy in receiving.

With any holiday, there are challenges, especially when you deal with family.  Families aren’t perfect, as they’re made up of a network of imperfect people.  Nevertheless, I think the joy in families is two-fold; in providing the sense of togetherness and community that we all crave, but simultaneously forcing us to go back to God for the things that only He can provide.

But as I transition from this Christmas season and into the new year, I pray that I can receive things with a heart of Mary, trusting God in spite of, by saying, “May it be to me as you have said.”

Peace and Blessings to you this season, and always.

lessons from basketball

I’m coaching basketball again this year, but I’m at a new school where basketball is much more serious and held in a higher regard. That said, I’ve spent a lot of time observing other coaches, watching games, studying plays, and soliciting feedback. It helps that basketball is a sport that I love and one that I played, or else all that time invested could very much seem like a chore and not very enjoyable. That said, as I’ve devoted this time to basketball recently, I’ve realized there are also some pretty good lessons for life within the sport. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1. Its important to understand the rules and then master the fundamentals.

2. The bigger team isn’t always the better team.

3. Its important to hustle in every play.

4. Sometimes the referees aren’t fair. The game still goes on, and they still have their say. They’re doing their job; we have to do ours.

5. A strong defense can be the best offense.

6. Perfect practice makes perfect.

So, I’m sure there are more life lessons that one could derive from basketball, but that’s what I’ve come up with.

Until next time…

truly thankful

Every time I post, my intention is to always make my next post happen fairly soon after. You know, get into the habit of writing regularly. But then, life happens. I get into my more common habits of grading, lesson planning, and coaching…and blogging becomes somewhat of an after thought- if ever a thought at all.

As Thanksgiving approaches, and I have time off to gather my thoughts and get ahead on grading and lesson plans, I also am reminded of how blessed I am. There have been many challenges this year from moving to a new place, starting a new job, and getting acquainted to my environment. However, I’ve been abundantly blessed in spite of my challenges and despite my own ability to get in my own way. That said, here’s a short list of what I’m thankful for:

1. I’m thankful for God: His grace, mercy, salvation, promises, peace, and unfailing love.

2. I’m thankful for family: their love, support, emails, calls, and cards of encouragement and for always believing in my dream despite my unbelief.

3. I’m thankful for friends: their laughter and encouragement, prayers, texts, Twitter and BBM updates keep me sustained as I go through the day to day grind.

4. I’m thankful for my students: who ALWAYS keep it real, make me laugh, push me to be a better person and teacher, and who understand that sometimes a hug is the best medicine.

5. I’m thankful for provision: in a recession, my needs are met and a lot of my wants are satisfied. Truly a testament to God’s faithfulness.

6. I’m thankful for the journey: the lessons learned and the growth that has taken place has helped to make me stronger. I’m also grateful for dreams that have come true, those in the process of coming true, and those that have yet to be dreamt. Again, a testament to God’s ability to do just what He is.

So, I’m truly thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I can honestly say I’m blessed.

Until next time…

detached

They say that October is one of the hardest months when you’re a teacher. The excitement of the new year has worn off, and you find yourself in a rut- going through the motions of getting up early, staying at work late, calling parents, disciplining students, planning lessons, grading papers, and praying for a break. I’ve been in the midst of that, and its been rough.

What’s been more challenging for me is wrestling with the ideas I keep in my mind, the hopes and dreams I have for my future, and the despair I feel as I realize that I’m so far from where I want to be.

I’ve been on a quest, mostly in my mind, to figure out what makes me happy and to be purposeful about achieving it. But now its time to take action.

I’ve felt detached from my purpose and I hate that feeling. So, I suppose that begins a new journey for me. Let’s see where it takes me.

Until next time…

Trying to Maintain

I’ve found that while I often have several thoughts swirling in my head that would be blog-worthy, I don’t have nearly as much time as I’d like to have in order to blog them. Such is the nature of the beast that I call life.

Work is challenging and rewarding. Challenging in the sense that I’m always aware of the fact that I miss the mark every day, but rewarding because students and coworkers are encouraging and forgiving. I also still endure some of the challenges I faced last year as a new teacher- struggling to find my place and my voice in the school environment and just trying to stay ahead of the curve in terms of teaching a subject I’ve never taught before. Add coaching to that, along with being in school myself…and it ends up being quite a full plate.

Despite this, I find joy in students and their questions, I love being swarmed by the too cool 8th grade girls for hugs before the weekend, and from my mother who provides great wisdom not only as my parent, but as the parent of a teenager.

When I say that I’m trying to maintain, what I really mean is that I’m trying to balance being “Erin” and also being “Ms. Davis”. Last year I learned that I didn’t have to choose- I could indeed be myself and do all of the things that I love and enjoy without giving up my role as a teacher. This year, I’m trying to balance it all out.

I am excited because I see growth in myself, and I honestly feel like I’m moving in the right direction. While there are many, many trying days; there’s much joy and happiness in each of them as well. Overall, I’m grateful to be in a profession that provides me with the opportunity to do what I love and live my dreams. God is good.

“When my faith is challenged and my vision is obscure; when I’m hanging on by a thread and my footing’s unsure; I hear in the spirit one word to help me endure- ORDERED.” ~Fred Hammond

Thursday Thoughts

“There are two things over which you have complete dominion, authority, and control: your mind and your mouth.” ~African Proverb

Book Review: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years

I love Donald Miller. It started when I took my friend’s advice to read “Blue Like Jazz” and it’s continued ever since. After reading “Blue Like Jazz”, I read “Searching for God Knows What” and “Through Painted Deserts”. Over time, I must say that I have a certain expectation for Miller’s work, and this book did not disappoint.

I will admit that I was hesitant about the topic of the book. Reading about Donald Miller’s journey after becoming very successful didn’t REALLY appeal to me that much. However, once I started the book, I found myself reading as intently as I had read with his other books. Reading “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years” was refreshing to me. It took me back to a place of curiosity within my faith that I’m sad to say has been missing recently. What I appreciate most about Miller is his ability to not only see God in the most ordinary, every day things; but to subsequently express that in a way that his readers can easily understand. That skill, as a writer, is truly a gift.

As with previous books that I’ve read by Donald Miller, I was pushed to think about myself, and how I view my faith and my relationship with God. Miller also seems to have mastered the ability of writing about ones self without seeming too self-absorbed or overly arrogant, which is another skill that as a writer, is a gift.

I would (and already have) recommend this book to anyone who is seeking to explore their faith in a new way, or just want to go a deeper level in their faith. Those not familiar with Miller and his style of writing may have to adjust, but it’s an easy adjustment to make and definitely one that is worth it. Miller doesn’t disappoint.

Teaching = Humility Builder

I think that for several years I have misinterpreted the look that I’ve received when I told people that I wanted to be a teacher. I always thought that the look was condescending and that the giver of the look was implying that I must lack the intellectual capacity to do anything else with my life. Now that I’m in my second year of teaching, I understand the look to be more along the lines of, “You must have an infinite amount of patience and energy, because I know that I don’t have what it takes to do what you do.”

That may sound conceited or arrogant, but I don’t mean for it to. What I’ve discovered is that teaching is an incredible humility builder, and if you can’t take being knocked down several times a day (at least 3 times, and I don’t literally mean being knocked down), it’s a hard career.

It could be that I’m too hard on myself. It may very well be that my lessons are better than I think they are, or that my students could be retaining more information than they express to me. At any rate, I spend a great amount of my day in reflection as to how to make things better- and when I say make things better, I mean make me better.

It’s humbling because there are always areas that can be improved. Even on days where the lessons go well, the students are even more well-behaved than they would be normally, I’m finding areas where I can be more dynamic and more effective to create a better learning environment.

I guess the best way to sum it up is like this: “There’s always room for improvement. It’s the biggest room in the house.”

Book Review: Max Lucado’s Fearless

Before reading this book, I’d never picked up a single Max Lucado book. While I’d seen them in various bookstores, the titles never seemed to jump out at me.

I’m glad to say that my foray into the world of Max Lucado was a delightfully enjoyable and inspiring adventure! In Lucado’s latest book, Fearless, he encourages the reader in how to live free from fear and confident in the faith that we profess.

There are many things that I like about this book, but perhaps what immediately grabbed me was the realistic nature by which Lucado communicates with the reader. In my experience, I’ve found that many faith-based writers tend to talk AT the readers and not TO them, often in such a way that they seem preachy or either exempt from the circumstances that they write about. Lucado’s realism is refreshing and I felt as if I were having an engaging conversation with someone who had faced the same challenges that I had.

I also enjoyed the way that scripture was used in this book to affirm the reader as well as to emphasize the point that the author was trying to make. At no point could it be said that the book was based off of Lucado’s own spiritual assumptions—the use of scripture is too compelling. As I read through the chapters, I was encouraged by his use of scriptures; many of which I had read before, but I hadn’t thought to put in my scripture lineup in regards to fear. Thanks to this book, I have many more to choose from besides relying on 2 Timothy 1:7.

I would definitely recommend this book to others- new Christians, old Christians, or just those who need a refreshing take on how to handle fear as they go through life as a Christian. Additionally, the discussion guide that accompanies the book makes it pretty awesome for those who want to read it in a group. But whether you read it in a group or alone, it’s a wonderful choice!

Thursday Thoughts

“The thousands of little compromises we make every day eventually add up to the loss of ourselves.” ~Anonymous