Fall Retreat - Get Restored!

I will try not to let my current mood affect the way I write this blog. Why do you ask? Well let me put it this way. Today I feel like Alexander. He is the star of the book, "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day." It's raining, I am still tired, I didn't feel confident about my test I just took...so yeah.

Now that I've vented a little bit, let me talk to you about Fall Retreat! We went to Jonathan Creek in Kentucky from Friday-Sunday. Our theme of the week was being restored. The first night we did an overview of what we have called the "Connecting Moments" at church. Basically it is four circles talking about us being originally designed for good, then damaged by evil, then restored for better, then sent to heal. If you want a demonstration, come find me. I am pretty good at it by now :-) We basically focused on the fact that no matter how bad you messed up, God still forgives you and he loves you. Because God loves us so much, we should try to live a life that is pleasing to him. That right there, pretty much sums up the four sessions we had.

It was different this year because we had a Master Teacher for each grade and then broke up into small groups...which were coed. I was a Master Teacher for seventh grade. Looking back, I would have to say it was a good experience. I learned a lot myself, and I hope they did too. I brought in some visuals and referred back to stories in scripture as well as the verses we were focusing on. I don't know whether my teaching did a whole lot, but just being a small part of something big is good enough for me. We had over 30 decisions made this weekend and a little over 20 were first time decisions to accept Christ.

It's great looking back but during that time I was thinking to myself, "Did we even make a dent? Are they even listening to anything we're saying?" After I taught my last session, I was very discouraged. But like all retreats I'm part of, God tends to kick my butt and let me know what is really important. It's not about me. Even though as I write this I am smiling to myself thinking, "It's a little about me, isn't it?!?" And I guess it is. It's just not ALL about me.

"Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement" - Brian Tracy

I was trying to think of a good tag-line for this blog. I basically am going to talk about school and the upcoming fall retreat (leave today return on Sunday), but my tag-line for my next blog will be about fall retreat, so what's the point? Not to mention I have about 50 blogs that have the word school or update in the title, so I should just be original. I like this quote anyway.

I told one of my friends recently, "Just remember how you eat an elephant...one bite at a time!" That has been my mantra for this past semester. This has definitely been one of the busiest semesters so far. I know that next semester will be icky too since I have Practicum (somewhat like a mini version of student teaching) and Math Methods - which will encompass a lot of tutoring. I have learned a lot this semester from my classes, but I have had to eat that elephant bite by bite. You know the funny part? I am about to the shoulders. I have a ways to go with the really big projects that are coming up.

I am excited about Fall Retreat. We're going to be talking about being restored, and I am teaching 7th grade. It will be different, but I think it will be good as well. I will also be able to spend some time with my current life-group in a non-formal setting. That will be good. I'm also looking forward to hanging out with the leaders as well as some 7th graders I may meet for the first time in that session.

Thanksgiving is coming! I have to say, that I really enjoy Thanksgiving. I am somewhat impartial when it comes to turkey, but I absolutely love Pumpkin Pie and Cranberry Sauce. Not mixed together, but just in general. It is also fun to see the family and talk about life. I am almost 5"6 with my hair now, so it gives the allusion that I've grown a little bit. That's the thing about my hair. It grows out and up...not down. I get like a little 'fro going, so I look like well...have you seen those Chia Pets? It's something like that.

I guess I should be going. I hope that you all have a great rest of the day and I will update soon on the Fall Retreat!