Perspective

I did it again. My tone of voice was not sweet nor encouraging toward my husband. However, it is not the inflections of my voice that grieves me. You see, whether I pout or whine, all of my actions are merely manifestations of what lies deeper - my heart.

But praise the Lord for His grace and mercy. His grace so lavish in giving us what we do not deserve; His mercy so gentle in withholding what we deserve. I was reminded of His sovereignty when I stopped by a blog that has been so intense in the past week or so. You can read it here. Warning: It gets intense starting from Dec '08. (I had to stop at Feb '09 or else I would have bawled like a baby in front of my kids who were taking a Math test.)

I read about their lives and am put to shame for all that I take for granted. Yes, I'm trying to make each moment count in being sure to give him a hug and a kiss before he goes to play basketball. I also try to feed him delicious and nutritious meals while I have able hands. The one thing that I have the most trouble with is one of the smallest muscles we have on our body - the tongue. I (quite often) tell my students that God gave us two ears and only one mouth so that we would listen twice as much as we talk, but it's just as hard for me to remember. Lord, help me.

On a broader level, isn't it wonderful that we can jump, skip, run, and frolic on the grass? Without having to gasp for air, nor be in pain? I can walk up and down the halls as I run my teacher errands, sometimes with complaints, but I don't see it as a blessing. If only I had set my mind on the things above... (Col. 3:2)

And that's exactly it. I haven't read much this past week. As a born-again believer, I do not have check-lists of things to do. However, if I truly loved our heavenly Father as I ought and claim, why do I not yearn for the pure milk of the Word, especially since I indeed have tasted the kindness of the Lord? (1 Pet. 2:2-3)

Had I been feasting in Bible, I would have been thinking biblically. This is not to say that I am so great and can do things due to this power I possess, but rather a testament to what God can do in us for His glory. I think of Eph 4 and am rebuked because my words to my husband were not gentle; the words themselves might have been fine, but the way I said them changed their meanings. With each situation we have a choice, and the choice that I made came at the cost of disunity between husband and wife and the church body.

As I continue on in the chapter, however, my spirits are lifted because though my sins weigh me down, Christ has conquered them all and gives me new life! And there it is: "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted..." God gives us a free gift, but it was at the expense of our Savior's blood. Regardless of acceptance or rejections, we are all held accountable for actions. I made a mistake, but I have an opportunity to restore the unity that Christ humbled Himself for. If I don't do this now, I'm going to regret it. Thanks for listening to my ranting. Excuse me, while I go ask for forgiveness from my husband...

A Bug's Life leads to cows' stomachs

The Afterschool Program uses my classroom, and I come across many days that are loud. But some days, I find their conversations and comments to be quite entertaining. Here's a snippet...

Mr. H picks up Lucky, our class beetle's container and keeps turning it on its side.


Student #1: Heeey, don't do thaaaat. How would you like it if God's shook the earth?

Mr. H: He does; it's called earthquakes.

Student #1: But stiiiiill.

Mr. H: It's okay. 'Good thing it's an animal.

Student #2: Don't we eat animals?

Mr. H: Yes, they're called cows.

Student #3: What?

Mr. H: Did you know cows have 5 stomachs? That's how God made them.

Student #3: Yeah.

Picture this

Our photographer from Yong Studio has been so wonderful to work with!

First of all, he's very down to earth while being kind and professional (triple-threat, huh?)

Secondly, he and his wife put together a slideshow for us as a gift. (It was beautiful.)

Also, whenever we have any questions or concerns, they respond quickly with answers and/or resolutions. (Hard to find that from many professions.)

And most importantly, we like his work. :)


Mr. Yong, as I like to call him without him knowing, also blogged about his impression of EBCB. Check it out here.



My tips for choosing a photographer:

Choose a photographer...

+ who is professional (note that this is an adjective and not a noun).

+ whose contract is clearly written and can answer all your questions.

+ whom you get along with.

+ whose work that YOU like - not others!

While on the topic of vendors, compare apples to apples.

If you're comparing a package that includes 6 hours coverage / all the pictures on a DVD / and no assistant, verses another package that gives you 8 hours of coverage / 100 prints / and a second photographer, you've got an apple and an orange.

Some photogs use better flush mount albums. Others throw in an assistant at no charge. The best things you can do for yourself is to do your research and ask questions (remind you of school?). Check out Yelp, Project Wedding, other sites that share reviews, and any personal references you might have. They have one shot to catch the Kodak moment, and you have one shot to choose the one to do it. Go get 'em!


***Edit: The grammatical error has been corrected. I was in a rush to get home and feed my hubby and then make it to WEW. :P

Kitchen-where in your wedding?

While at work, my hubby sent me a link asking me if I wanted any of these table runners from Chefs that were on sale. I'd never heard of Chefs before, so I decided to see what else their Sale section had to offer.

That's when I saw it - the first item on the page...


Would this not be very functional for the popular-right-now dessert bar at your wedding? I like that the various heights allow for better creativity, rather than displaying something that you would see at your local Sweet Factory. The clear jars let you choose any color in the rainbow to fill it with, as well as allowing for ribbons, monograms, and the whole shebang.

So I continued my browse through the pages, and found many other items that I would like to see used for wedding-related purposes. Case in point:When I saw this, I saw it as a set of unique flower vases for centerpieces. Then I clicked on the image and found out that it's supposed to be used for butter. o_O I'll stick to putting a cute-sized flower arrangement in it, thank you very much.

Now before you start thinking that I use twigs for chopsticks, a fork for my brush, and a mixing bowl as a rice bowl, I should tell you that I did find other kitchenware for a new (or familiar) kitchen. I particularly like the vintage ice cream bowl set and handblown insulated latte cups.

But back to the inspiration I've found... If I were planning the 397,203,028,947,128,099,738,284,295,443,280,195th wedding in this country, I wouldn't want mine to be the same as anyone else's. I'd look for ways to keep lines clean, colors coordinated, and a less-is-more punch with the details. That's just me. :)

My Life as A Teacher

I'm a very indecisive person. This is not because I don't like my options, but because there are so many things that I would like to experience. I owe this to my dad who has always insisted, "Just try it!"

When meeting up with my dearest friends, it's a game of Twister when it comes to decided where to go eat. We would end up playing our favorite game of "Process of Elimination."

This was the same game I played at CAL for my undergrad studies: sociology, psychology, social welfare, biology, industrial engineering of operations research? Then, I found "the one" - American Studies! It was perfect in allowing me to fuse the areas of interest into my very own, personal major. (If we can custom make a wedding dress to wear for a few hours, why not make up our own major? Go bears!)

Then the economy decided to take a dive to see what was at the bottom (or is that what's going on now?). As graduation approached and left, the job search was more than an Easter egg hunt. Thankfully, I was able to start teaching at a Christian school not too far from home. Though my ideal job would have been to rotate daily with a long list of other careers, I tested Teacher out with Summer School to see if I would do well here. I ended up staying mainly because I couldn't find another job.

The school year was different from the summer, just as tutoring and being a teacher at Kumon was different from managing a full classroom size. The parents were much more aggressive, the students would not turn in homework, and I now had an empty classroom to make homey. Of course, it was not all the parents who hated me, nor each and every student not completing their assignments, but I started dreading the Monday thru Friday routine. Just as I would tell Mother, I would tell my fiance, "I don't want to go to school!"

This friend, who also happens to work at the same school, and I got married in the middle of the school year. Coming back from the honeymoon had to have been the toughest week. They say you don't know what you have until it's lost, but I'd add that you also don't know what you have until you lose what has kept you from seeing it. Many of our conversations consisted of me whining and complaining about various school responsibilities. (I even had the thought of being a substitute teacher instead - if I must stay in this field - cross my mind.) It wasn't until this week that I began to see that my dreaded and underpaid job actually gave me the best of many worlds.

I see that I am their homeroom teacher first, a crew leader when walking them down the hall, a zookeeper when they find another insect, a nanny when I remind them to wash their hands after playing with animals/insects and before eating, a nurse when they come in with a scrape from recess, a referee when monitoring during recess, a cheerleader when they're competing against the other class in P.E., an actress when reading from their Language Arts book, a singer when recruited to sing at Chapel, a DJ when I play them music during silent reading time, an artist during crafts, an interior designer when showcasing their work on the walls, a mime when trying to describe intricate concepts, a coordinator when planning parties, an editor for the weekly newsletters sent home, a critic when grading their writing assignments, an author when making up my own stories, a psychologist when deciding who I should sit them next to, a counselor when they need someone to talk to, a secretary for keeping lesson plans and logistics in order, a librarian when recommendations are asked, a disciplinarian when rules are broken, a diplomat when "He/She said [insert name-calling]!" arises, a politician when casting votes on the new class pet name, a lawyer when parents attack me (a prisoner when they tape-record me), and whether I am switching roles or taking on 4 at a time, I'm still the same role model that they are watching and look up to.

They come up to me to show me the extra drawings they made, the latest spelling word they've found in the book that they're reading, tell me the stories of how their dog pooped for being jealous of their new hamster, that their mom didn't read the directions on the homework but they did carefully, and the update that their dad might finally come and visit them after many years of being gone.

My pupils are not merely rascals (or "peanut gallery" as I call them during Around the World) but they are souls needing much love and care. Looking back, I've given more of these affections to my tomato plant than to my students. If I want these students in my care to be fruitful, I must give them lessons of substance. Yes, 7 times 8 equals 56, but soul, do you know that there are trials in life that will come your way? Which arithmetic problem will save you then?

We teachers have an immense task at hand. Those of us who have been graced with the saving work of God have numerous opportunities to share the Gospel with our students, their parents, and co-workers. Let us be found faithful. Reader, please pray for the teachers of our country.