being a teacher | macarons & paperbacks

I was a little busy yesterday and I got home too late last night to post, but that is ok since the things I am thankful for yesterday and today, joy and hope, go hand in hand ;)

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” [Romans 15:13]

There are literally hundreds of examples I could write about to describe my joy, peace, and hope…but I’ll just go with my work experience yesterday. Thursday afternoons are usually one of my hardest times of the week, mainly because I have two classes that overlap for half an hour and that typically includes some crying and not-listening on the kids’ behalf. Yesterday, however, even though there was some intense crying at one point, I left work feeling so joyful and encouraged that I now have so much hope for that class and for myself as a teacher. I know I’ve said this before, but I never imagined I would be a teacher, and now I can tell that the joy I get from teaching children probably means that this is something I should be doing. And I not only love my job, but I have an amazing boss and coworkers who encourage and give me hope me all the time.

What are you feeling joyful and hopeful about today?

I saw this post from one of the bloggers I follow and was instantly inspired to write my own “30 Days of Thankfulness” posts :)

Thanksgiving is my favorite time of year, and one of the reasons why is because we’re encouraged to celebrate all of the things we are thankful for (and I love being thankful for things). In fact, this is something we should do daily:

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” [1 Thessalonians 5:16-18]

Therefore, during the month of November I will take each day to thank God for a specific thing that I am thankful for, and I encourage you to do the same!

heart flourish

Today I am thankful for my job. These past couple of months have not been easy as I have been adjusting to my new job (one I never thought I’d ever have), but God has been really helping me become a better teacher. He’s giving me confidence in myself, patience with my students, and an earnest desire to see them learn. I have been asking Him to help me with that last one especially, because I don’t want to see this as “just a job.”

These last two weeks France has been on vacation, and I have had two different week-long vacation classes. This week I had a class of 4 very bright, very joyful little girls (THAT was a blessing in itself. Girls are so much easier and calmer than boys). I enjoyed teaching them so much that at the end of the week it made me sad to think I wouldn’t have them in my class anymore :( but I am thankful for my job and for moments like this, when my students bring me “presents”:

Artwork