Heart Choices: 2011-02-27 -->

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The Blessing of Children



What a blessing it has been as I continue to slowly read Ann Voskamp's book One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.  I find myself on the outlook for those simple blessings each day.  Thank you for that new awareness Ann.

Last week our school had a pep rally.  It's a fun time as the Pre-K and elementary school cheerleaders and dancers got to entertain us.  There was even a contest for the teachers; a limbo contest!  Can you believe it?
Miss Debbie in the limbo contest (No, I didn't win; lol)
#9 The sounds of laughter and cheering

What an exciting time as fourth grader students were assigned to work with a three year old for a time of planting.  They taught the little ones how to plant seeds.  Now when we pass by the planters, the children will be looking to see what happens to their seeds over time.


#10 Little hands planting seeds for fresh vegetables


#11 Working together on a shared project

There's something so wonderful about teaching a child to read and write.  Each week in our class, a new letter is introduced.  Last week was the letter "S".  Of course, they learn both upper case and lower case letters.

#12  The sight of a child writing their letters

What a blessing it is to see the excitement and responsiveness as new stories are introduced to the three year olds. 
#13 Children attentive and listening to a new story

During this challenging season of my life, how thankful I am to be working in a wonderful school with little children.  It is a gift from the Lord!

Heidi
#14 Working with a special teacher and friend named Heidi 

I'm so glad we get to work together each day.  At the end of the pep rally as the classes were dispersed, our class was the last to leave.  And guess what Heidi and I were doing with the children?

DANCING and LAUGHING

At the end of our day, Heidi and I felt the same as Christopher; so tired!

Blessings and love,

QuickEdit

New Directions


It's In Other Words Tuesday.  Nina of Mama's Little Treasures is our host.  The following is the quote Nina chose for us to write about:

"If you don't change the direction you are going,
then you are likely to end up where you are headed."
                   ~ John Maxwell~
I used to be a goal setter. 

I would listen to motivational tapes by Zig Ziglar almost every day.  He taught me to write down my goals, including  the steps I would need to take to achieve each one.  Each day I wrote in my performance planner so I would be accountable.  I developed the habit of always working towards my goals.

But lately I've become a wandering generality.

Zig Ziglar used to describe this kind of person as one who skates through life, not being attentive to where they're going.  I got out of the habit of setting my goals and working towards them.

One area that has been impacted is my weight.  For most of my adult life, I've maintained the same weight.  However, in the last two years of many challenges and uncertainty, I've added extra pounds and gotten out of my exercise routine.  Nothing like indulging in sweets and ...forget about portion control!

If I continue in this direction, I will end up continuing to gain weight.  In another two years, I will become what I never wanted to become ...a couch potato!


So, I made the decision to go back to my goal setting.  I read about a website called Lose It.  I checked it out, signed up and best of all ...it's free.

I listed my current weight and then the weight I want to be.  If I lost only one pound per week, I could reach my goal by the first week of July!  That sounds good to me.  So, I write down everything I eat.  If I exercise, I add that on my private profile.  I've found that this simple tool helps to keep me accountable.

I like the new direction I'm now heading.

I've already lost three pounds.  I'm certainly not perfect and there are times when it's hard to resist when we have potluck lunches at work.  But I know I will be writing it all down so I tend to eat less.

So are you heading in the right direction?  If you keep doing what you're doing, you just might end up there. 

Blessings and love,
QuickEdit
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