give and take

All I want is love
I confess to this
And I will take it, Lord
All you have to give

"Give"
Third Day

running in place

I lied to Layla today.  On my way out the door, I told her I wouldn't be long at the gym.  Well, guess what. I was long at the gym.  I was three times as long as I thought I would be.  Two miles turned into six.  It may have been the guy two treadmills down who was pounding out his own record.  Or the guy hovering behind the machines and standing close to mine thinking that because I was the only girl, surely I would be the first to hop off (wrong, dude!).  Or it may have been the thought of the two brownies I ate today.  Whatever it was, it worked.  Yea for surprise victories!

P.S. I kind of can't feel my left leg.  A small price to pay.

My Heart

Thank you, Katie for introducing me to my new favorite website and for always pointing me back to my old favorite love.  Here's to many more nights of good conversation with a pinwheeled princess and a not-so-ballady backup singer.  Love you, cuz!

Losing My Resolve

I haven't made New Year's resolutions since I was in high school because, let's face it, by March 1st I've already failed, and that's just no fun.  Today, my pastor repeated a phrase that he incorporates in A LOT of our sermons: God loves the you that you are now, not some future version of you.  And amen to that, because guess what...if I compare the me I am now to the me I was ten years ago, not a lot has changed, so I can't expect a lot to change in the next ten years.  I'm still going to fall short, lack faith, act unwisely, and choose lesser delights over the joy of pursuing the Lord.  So instead of pretending that I can solve this problem by writing down three personal goals each year until I have a halo floating over me, I think I'll start the new year with a prayer.

God,
You know my heart, and you know how difficult these last few months have been.  I thank you so much for not giving up on me...for not letting me be content with being far from you.  Thank you for redeeming these trials in my life and giving meaning and purpose to my pain.  I pray that you would continue to work in me and to increase my desire for you.  I pray that this year, you would move me to pursue you with everything I have...all of my energy, time, talents, thoughts, words, relationships...everything.  Lord, let me be disciplined and find delight in meeting with you.  Surround me with godly women who can encourage and challenge me to hold you higher than any other person or thing in my life.  Show me opportunities to minister to others, and then give me the boldness and humility to be obedient in those opportunities.  Lord, destroy my selfishness and reveal to me the areas of my life that I refuse to give to you.  Open my hand and remind me that all that I have is a blessing from you; it is not mine to hold.  God, I thank you for your sovereignty, and I pray that as I plead with you for the desires of my heart, you would help me to ask with expectation and with a humble understanding that your ways are not my ways and your thoughts are not my thoughts.  Lord, I pray that you would restore hope to me this year, even if my prayers aren't answered in the next 366 days.  God, I thank you for remaining faithful even when I am faithless.  I pray that this year, my eyes would be opened to your faithfulness, and my heart would be captivated by your very personal and deliberate love for me.  Thank you for listening to my prayers, and I pray all of these things in Jesus' name.
Amen.

Now That's the Thing To Which I'm Referring

Here are a few shout outs to my favorite members of the Kelley clan, with whom I celebrated a very merry Christmas!

To Todd, who personally requested a shout out: That accidental candy was the bomb dot com, so log on, and get it before it's gone!  Seriously, if you ever draw my name, box up some of that stuff and put a bow on it!  And if I ever draw your name, a lovely whisk-shaped head scratcher is headed your way...as long as you promise not to ever talk about it.

To Steve, who co-hosted the festivities with his lovely wife: Thank you for obliging us with several sentimental crying incidents.  I did know I was your favorite, but it's always good to hear it again.

To Vicki, the hostess with the mostest: Thank you, thank you for pointing me toward my future husband.  I'm sure Mr. Tebow will warm right up to our crazy family, so go ahead and set another place at the table for him next year!

To Zak, who learned after three grocery stops that Domaine Chandon is in fact, just Chandon: Here's to missing out on being an eyewitness to my "I dancing you?" adventures and to getting out of the car to stand in the rain and watch the live nativity scene as your older and wiser parents drove by and waved from the warmth and dryness of their vehicle.

To my cousin-ish Madison, who, on the anniversary of Jesus' birth, lied to a two-and-a-half-year-old girl about the status of her new iPhone: Way to contribute to the girls' victory over the guys in the "Guess what happened in 2001" version of Trivial Pursuit.  They couldn't have done it without us!

To Nathan, who I hardly talked to: I still think my FB post idea would have gotten more responses.  And hey, sorry I high-fived you when I thought you were leaving and you weren't.  Besties???

To Janet, who matched me bite for bite on the accidental candy: I'm super jealous that you live with the creator of this confection.  Do not take it for granted.  Also, don't take for granted a peaceful nap time!

To Brent, who called my dog Malorie: It's okay.  She doesn't answer to her real name either.  Especially when she may or may not have access to leftovers on the table.

Merry belated Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

clever critics

I was catching up on some grading tonight, and I came across a paper I couldn't resist sharing.  Let me preface this by saying that I teach Social Skills, so the topics we cover are a bit different than your typical Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic.  Last week, we talked about giving and receiving constructive criticism.  After practicing a bit as a group, I gave the following assignment:

On a sheet of paper, write three scenarios in which you would give someone constructive criticism.  Then, write what you would say.  Remember to include

·      something positive

·      what you would like the person to correct

·      a suggestion for improvement

And Riley* responded with...

1.    My history class is kinda slow on somedays.
"Mr. Griggs*, I really like this class over having powerpoint notes.  I would really like it if we could catch up with the other History classes by going through the notes fast so we can get to the test over the subjects."

2.    I can't think of any more scenarios.
“Ms. Howell, I really like this class over it's easy work.  Sometimes certain worksheets like this one can be really hard to think of more examples to constructive criticism.  I would really like if we didn't had to give 3 examples because I can't think of anymore to write."

…to which I responded…

“Riley, you are very creative, but you need to complete your assignment.  I suggest you use your creativity to think of one more example.”

*Names changed to protect…well, to protect me from getting fired. J

Fast Forward

Can it please be December 17th already?  Between work, grad school, and the real reason I'm less than jolly, I could really use a break.  I would make a paper chain to count down the days, but even just 12 links looks intimidating.  I guess I'll settle for a few hours of sleep and a do-over tomorrow.