In Jesus' Name, Amen

When I heard this song today I head some of the lyrics for what seemed like the first time. I got a sudden understanding of them.

'I want to sign your name to the end of this day'
as in, I want God to approve of my decisions and actions today.
Whoah.

Unexpected

That 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'  by Jules Verne has me laughing. (I'm at chapter 10)
That resumes have so many rules
How flavored ice-cream tastes wonderful when you've only been eating vanilla for months. (Especially chocolate and mint)
That third graders love indoor recess
(that the 'schedule' option on blogger wouldn't work, and this post wouldn't post on Thursday like it was supposed to  ;)  )
That as I take over control of the classroom in student teaching, I would request having math first.
Homemade, dairy-free pizza.
That the third-graders would look at me enthralled as I recited a poem, and that they would ask for more.
That you can still text fairly well when the phone's screen is shattered. And that packing tape holds shards of phone-screen in place.
That possessive pronouns are more difficult to explain than you'd think
Adding mint extract to the decorative frosting-flowers on a birthday cake
How much of a difference it makes to greet students by name in the morning
Not having time to read.
That the lessons I teach seem to take more than their fair share of time, even when we start off ahead of the game. Grr.
Being told I have a bubbly personality. Me, the introvert.
The impact colored pens make. (It's a big one.)
That I actually found so many unexpected things in the past week...

There is a line in the chorus that stopped me in my tracks this week.
"Whatever you're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos somehow there's peace"

I don't have that chaos feeling. I have had it several times, and however annoying it is at the time I miss it. I suppose I miss the implications of it more than the feeling itself, but all the same I miss it. I miss knowing that God is working on something in me, miss knowing I'm on the brink of something, because it was how I knew I was growing.

And I want it again.
Soon.

Third-Grade Smiles

What's making me smile this week?

A desk of my own in the classroom I am student teaching in
Getting into a new routine
Writing with ink and a dipping pen
A full night's sleep
Warm leftovers for lunch, instead of a cold sandwich
The third grade
Music
Wearing dress-clothes all day, and then changing into sweats when I get home
^don't miss-read that one. I like both parts equally.
My Kindle (although my reading time has been drastically cut)
That whole new perspective of school with a 'plan period', knowing the answers to the assigned questions, and lunch with other adults.
The reaction the third graders had when they found out I'd be with them for a couple months, instead of a couple days. (We'll see if their reaction changes once I start teaching ;) )

Thinking

I've been reading Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and I'm struck by how much time Jane spends thinking. She sits down and thinks things through so often, before acting. And she thinks about bigger-picture things a lot, too.

I've also been reading a bit- and thinking- about solitude  and taking that time out to pause. So, I suppose it's become a sort of new year's resolution to spend more time thinking. To stop being so busy. To think things through and not be so rash. And possibly to write or journal about my musings.