A note from the Substitute

Over the past two weeks I have been able to get a few days of subbing at local high schools and middle schools.  In those days of subbing I have had two drastically different experiences.  And through those experiences I have come up with few suggestions.

To the staff
1.  If you see me or another substitute - please say hello!  I am a guest at your school, I am there to serve and help out and fulfill a need, it would be great to feel welcomed!
2.  Stop by my room....and if you do - please introduce yourself.  It is nice to know the other teachers you are working with even if it is just temporarily.  It is also nice to know the names of the aids that will be working with you that day.
3.  Smile - if you are having a bad day - try not to take it out on me or the kids.
4.  Lesson plans - thank you for them!  They are helpful to not look like a moron in front of the kids.  I am happy to teach and not just babysit if you leave me a plan.

To the students
1.  Just because I am not your regular teacher, do not mean I don't know how to teach or discipline for that matter.
2.  Smile and say hello!  It's that easy.
3.  Just an FYI - I am not moron - I know that you shouldn't be using pictures of beer as clip art!

Oh the joys of teaching.  I do love it and I will go back, but hopefully when I do I will find my way around a little bit better, I will know a few more people and I will feel less like a stranger.

It also seems like this has some great parallels for the church..... when we see a new face in church - we should be applying all of the above..... I hope no one ever walks out of our church feeling like I felt the day I walked out of school.

My 12 For 2012

So as one of my dear friends pointed out the other day I haven't been blogging much lately.... true story!  I truly believe that in life we go through different seasons just as the earth does.  For me I am in my crazy season - the season where I feel like I am doing a lot of things but none of them am I doing well!  Then on top of that learning how to manage my time and my responsibilities while also keeping my priorities.  So as I think about what I want this year to look like for me - I have come up with 12 Goal for 2012.  I am trying my best to achieve these goals but if I do not I will try again the next day.  I hope to spend more time talking about these goals in the next couple weeks but for now here they are.... (in no particular order)

1.  Priorities - God, Family, Ministry, and then everything else....  I need to focus on "keeping the main thing, the main thing"  too often I get overwhelmed and I think that is often because I don't keep my priorities straight.  My relationship with God MUST come first, then my relationship with my husband, then my daughter..... and then ministry and all the other things that come into my life.

2.  De-cluttering - it is my goal in the next month to have gone through all our things - get rid of what we aren't using, organize and find a home from what we are using.  My mom uses the rule of ten - she gets rid of ten things from each place she is organizing.

3.  Read - I have so many books on my shelf that I have wanted to read, so often I find myself laying in bed at night not being able to fall asleep and instead of picking up a book - I pick up my phone and play solitaire or words with friends - I want to read instead.    I would like to read one book a month - some of you readers may be laughing but for me - 12 books is better than the zero that I finished last year!  Also I want to read more to Ella - I am really good at singing and playing with her and reading my bible outloud to her but I haven't done a good job reading books to her.... let's start with a realistic goal - 3-5 books a week.

4.  Save - I want to do a better job saving!  I find that so hard to do when we seem to be just making our payments.  I want to be sure that each time I get paid for my tastefully simple parties - I put 10% of that in our savings account - it's a start!

5.  A Budget - a loose one!  I know for us - a strict detailed budget will probably just frustrate us and cause us to give up all together - but I would like to take a day - sit down together and come up with a general budget.   Then maybe next year at this time we can be a little more specific.

6.  Blogging - I have to thank my friend Christianna for her encouragment in this department.  She recently launched a blog which you can check out here.  She had a calendar set up so she can blog ahead of time and schedule those.  She blogs for one hour a day on the days she is home.  I would like to blog regularly..... so stay tuned - I am going to come up with a format and hopefully it will be an encouragement and a blessing to you.

7.  Exercising - I have been in remission since getting pregnant with our little one and will "Lord willing" stay in remission while I continue to nurse her.  I want to try to regain a level of fitness while I can - so my goal is to workout at least once a week - and walk 2-3 other times during the week.

8.  Tastefully Simple - This fall I began to sell Tastefully Simple.... my husband and I love the products.  They are simple, affordable and so versatile.  It is my goal for my business that I would host 3-4 parties a month and have a $100 in online sales each month.  If you would like to check out my site go to www.tastefullysimple.com/web/jsnyder6 

9.  Ministry - After taking some time off of focusing on Taraja Minisries so I could put my total focus on being a mom, I am making my return to speaking and counseling.  I do feel as thought this is what God wants from me, so I need to be obedient.  I struggle with how to promote myself, while not coming across as it being about me - because it is not - it is about finding joy and hope in the journey of life through Jesus Christ.  I want to be sure I am taking time weekly to update my website and to make connections with Churches, camps, and organizations.

10.  Offer Grace to myself - that may sound like a weird goal - but it is something that I struggle with on a daily basis - I look around and see things that need done that I didn't get too because something else came up, my baby was crying, or life just happened.  Though I want a clean and organized house - I know that is not always possible with my schedule and I need to give myself some grace in that department.

11. - Finish reading through the Bible - I will get this done this year - it has taken me several years to read through the Bible - I am now in the Gospels and I will finish it this year!  I can do this!  Let's just say I am not a fast reader!

12.  Note writing - I want to write at least one note a week to someone that needs encouragment, a thankyou to someone who has cared for us, or just a note to say that I miss seeing you.  My mother in law is so good at this - I want to again start with a small goal of one a week and then we will see how we do.

I am going to review these goals monthly to see how I am doing.  What are you goals for 2012?