Isn't it understood that sacrifice requires a bit of discomfort, even work? Why do we sacrifice then? What's in it for us?
Sometimes I make sacrifices because I believe it's the right thing to do. Other times, I sacrifice because I expect that I will receive blessings in return. Whatever the reason though, I know that it's not necessarily going to be convenient, fun, short-lived, or painless.
Teaching seminary is a sacrifice, but I do it because I know it's the right thing for me to do. My calling came from the Lord, not a church leader or parent. (This helps me keep perspective when I spend 5 hours planning a lesson, and only half of the students show up for class).
Yes, teaching seminary is a sacrifice, but I receive blessings in return. In fact, those blessings outweigh my offering. My testimony is stronger and my knowledge of the gospel is deeper.Hey - My capacity to function on very little sleep is greater too!
So, the next time so-and-so says that so-and-so isn't a "morning person" I will know not to come back with, "Well, who is?!" Instead, I will understand that so-and-so doesn't quite get the principle of sacrifice yet.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Temple Trip
It's official. I love working with the youth! When I heard our ward's mutual kids were going to the Columbus Temple to perform baptisms for the dead, I volunteered to go along too. My husband and son were already going, and it was neat for us to all be there together. Here's most of our group as we left that evening:
My husband and I decided to stay behind in Columbus so we could eat out at Pei Wei (a restaurant they don't have in Toledo). Before we left though, I got most of the seminary kids to take this cute picture:
I love these guys!
My husband and I decided to stay behind in Columbus so we could eat out at Pei Wei (a restaurant they don't have in Toledo). Before we left though, I got most of the seminary kids to take this cute picture:
I love these guys!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Birthday!
I received a very sweet and unexpected birthday surprise Tuesday morning. When I arrived early to set up, I found the seminary room decorated with tons of balloons and streamers. The chalkboards were also covered with love notes and drawings from the students. I was completely taken aback by the students' thoughtfulness. It made me feel so good!!!
When the students arrived, they brought cake and cards. They sang to me too! My favorite part of the morning though, was that some of the students hugged me and told me they loved me - even the boys! I still can't get over it. What a memorable birthday!
When the students arrived, they brought cake and cards. They sang to me too! My favorite part of the morning though, was that some of the students hugged me and told me they loved me - even the boys! I still can't get over it. What a memorable birthday!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Doughnuts and The Word of Wisdom
Our little seminary class has been abundantly blessed of late, and I just have to report out successes. For the month of November, we've had devotional every day by the students. Also, we've all memorized the last 2 mastery scriptures. Our attendance is improving by degrees and we've not had a napper yet. I know some prayers are being answered here!
An additional blessing arrived this week on my route to the church. You've guessed it - a doughnut shop! It opens at 5:00 AND it has a drive-thru window. Isn't that perfect? I treated my class to 2 dozen just this morning.
Now for a related story...
In the middle of my lesson this morning, one of the students raised his hand to ask a question. He said he had a concern about his doughnut. I thought he was just being funny but I let him continue. He went on to ask if the doughnuts I bought were in line with the Word of Wisdom. Suddenly, I realized where he was going with all this. His doughnut was coffee flavored with a mocha creme center! Ewwww! Of course I had him toss the thing and we all had a good laugh. Lesson learned - no more variety packs!
An additional blessing arrived this week on my route to the church. You've guessed it - a doughnut shop! It opens at 5:00 AND it has a drive-thru window. Isn't that perfect? I treated my class to 2 dozen just this morning.
Now for a related story...
In the middle of my lesson this morning, one of the students raised his hand to ask a question. He said he had a concern about his doughnut. I thought he was just being funny but I let him continue. He went on to ask if the doughnuts I bought were in line with the Word of Wisdom. Suddenly, I realized where he was going with all this. His doughnut was coffee flavored with a mocha creme center! Ewwww! Of course I had him toss the thing and we all had a good laugh. Lesson learned - no more variety packs!
Friday, November 13, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Leaps and Bounds!
The past few weeks I’ve not written much as I’ve gone through a period of humbling and testing. I find it’s best for me not to vent in public while my emotions are so close to the surface. Now that a little time has passed, I’m ready to record some of my challenging moments so I won’t forget what I’ve learned. Boy! I’m sure growing leaps and bounds lately!
Lesson #873 – Teenagers will hold you to your word, so be careful what policies you make
In attempt to appear flexible at the beginning of the year, I made my tardiness policy rather lenient. We are supposed to start every day at 6:00 am. To be “fair” to extenuating circumstances though, I decided to make the cut off time for tardiness at 6:10. This has really come back to bite me with some kids, because they consistently arrive at 6:10 (or later) every day. They miss out on devotionals, announcements, and scripture mastery practice. It’s hard on the rest of the students who are timely, and it often slows the pace of our mornings so I’m scrambling at the end of class. If I had this one to do over, I would not implement that policy because teenagers will hold you to your word. Who doesn’t want 10 more minutes of sleep? Duh!
Lesson #874 – Incentives for students = expensive for teachers
Students arriving before we start the opening hymn are considered “early birds” and can pick a treat from the “Treats for the Timely” jar. This wasn’t an original idea of course. One of the ward’s previous teachers had used this incentive to motivate kids to be on time. I thought it was brilliant. It’s always better to motivate and encourage, rather than punish, right?
Another incentive I use is Mormon Money. I give my students a little $ when they present devotionals, give a great answer, win a scripture mastery challenge, etc. The fun part is the auction we have in conjunction with this program. At the end of each quarter, the kids will get to spend their Mormon Money to buy fun things like movie passes, baked goods, CDs, gift cards, etc. The kids are excited about this, and I am too.
Here’s the problem though…That stuff costs money. That’s why I’m so grateful for the one parent who has made contributions (plural) to my candy stash and the auction. Every bit helps! I just wish more parents would respond to my plea for help. It just might save my marriage…HA!
Lesson #875 – Competition does not belong in a seminary lesson
This lesson has been the most painful to learn so far. Before I launch into this story though, I want to give some background info on myself.
I am not a game person. I don’t like competition or conflict of any kind. I’ve never been good at debate. Confrontation makes me break out in a sweat. I will ever be a people-pleaser, a lover not a fighter.
Also, I used to be an early childhood educator. Working with youngsters, I avoided having kids compete with each other because that kind of situation almost always ends in tears. It’s just not an effective teaching tool for that age group.
Now back to my story…For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to bribe my seminary students with Mormon Money so that they would be more eager to give comments in class, read passages, memorize scripture mastery, etc. Unfortunately, this quickly escalated to the point where students have been falling all over each other just to earn Mormon Money. The gap is widening between kids who are already assertive and comfortable in class, and those who are not. It’s created bad feelings and chased the spirit away. It has not worked out the way I envisioned.
I am happy to say that some of the students felt comfortable enough to give me some of their feedback on this whole issue. Their words confirmed what I was already thinking, and also brought me to my knees. It is very painful to hear a teenager talk about how she can’t feel the spirit in your classroom. After much prayer and counsel with close friends, I’ve decided to revamp the whole Mormon Money thing. Money won’t typically be passed out in class. Instead, it will be given on the down-low for reasons that are tailored to each student. Money can still be earned for devotionals, memorization, etc. It just won’t have such a dominant place during the actual lesson.
Lesson #876 – Everyone deserves a second chance, or a third, or a fourth…
Because of the Mormon Money disaster, I have some students who are “rich” and some who are “poor”. A couple of kids were so motivated by the fact that they’d earn $5 for every memorized scripture that they’ve already memorized all 25! Isn’t that incredible? I can barely remember my own address.
On the flipside, I’ve got students who’ve only memorized 2 scriptures. Or, they aren’t comfortable speaking up in class, so they haven’t earned $ that way either. Won’t the auction be lame for them? That’s hardly motivational.
With these things in mind, I’m going to limit the number of auction wins to 2 per student. Everyone will have the opportunity to bid on something, not just the “rich”. For the second quarter, everyone’s balance will start again at zero to even out the playing field once more. My hope is that other kids will have a chance to shine next quarter.
Lesson #877 – Someone always has a more difficult challenge
In talking with other teachers at in-service meetings and such, I’m finding that there are many different kinds of classrooms out there. One teacher I know teaches to just one student, who only shows up half the time. Another delivers her lessons via Skype because the distance is too great. Other teachers, like me, struggle with tardiness and student apathy. It’s a hard job for everyone! I’m sure grateful for the challenges I have though, and I wouldn’t change these experiences for the world.
Wow! You’ve made it through this lengthy post. You get $5 in Mormon Money!
Lesson #873 – Teenagers will hold you to your word, so be careful what policies you make
In attempt to appear flexible at the beginning of the year, I made my tardiness policy rather lenient. We are supposed to start every day at 6:00 am. To be “fair” to extenuating circumstances though, I decided to make the cut off time for tardiness at 6:10. This has really come back to bite me with some kids, because they consistently arrive at 6:10 (or later) every day. They miss out on devotionals, announcements, and scripture mastery practice. It’s hard on the rest of the students who are timely, and it often slows the pace of our mornings so I’m scrambling at the end of class. If I had this one to do over, I would not implement that policy because teenagers will hold you to your word. Who doesn’t want 10 more minutes of sleep? Duh!
Lesson #874 – Incentives for students = expensive for teachers
Students arriving before we start the opening hymn are considered “early birds” and can pick a treat from the “Treats for the Timely” jar. This wasn’t an original idea of course. One of the ward’s previous teachers had used this incentive to motivate kids to be on time. I thought it was brilliant. It’s always better to motivate and encourage, rather than punish, right?
Another incentive I use is Mormon Money. I give my students a little $ when they present devotionals, give a great answer, win a scripture mastery challenge, etc. The fun part is the auction we have in conjunction with this program. At the end of each quarter, the kids will get to spend their Mormon Money to buy fun things like movie passes, baked goods, CDs, gift cards, etc. The kids are excited about this, and I am too.
Here’s the problem though…That stuff costs money. That’s why I’m so grateful for the one parent who has made contributions (plural) to my candy stash and the auction. Every bit helps! I just wish more parents would respond to my plea for help. It just might save my marriage…HA!
Lesson #875 – Competition does not belong in a seminary lesson
This lesson has been the most painful to learn so far. Before I launch into this story though, I want to give some background info on myself.
I am not a game person. I don’t like competition or conflict of any kind. I’ve never been good at debate. Confrontation makes me break out in a sweat. I will ever be a people-pleaser, a lover not a fighter.
Also, I used to be an early childhood educator. Working with youngsters, I avoided having kids compete with each other because that kind of situation almost always ends in tears. It’s just not an effective teaching tool for that age group.
Now back to my story…For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to bribe my seminary students with Mormon Money so that they would be more eager to give comments in class, read passages, memorize scripture mastery, etc. Unfortunately, this quickly escalated to the point where students have been falling all over each other just to earn Mormon Money. The gap is widening between kids who are already assertive and comfortable in class, and those who are not. It’s created bad feelings and chased the spirit away. It has not worked out the way I envisioned.
I am happy to say that some of the students felt comfortable enough to give me some of their feedback on this whole issue. Their words confirmed what I was already thinking, and also brought me to my knees. It is very painful to hear a teenager talk about how she can’t feel the spirit in your classroom. After much prayer and counsel with close friends, I’ve decided to revamp the whole Mormon Money thing. Money won’t typically be passed out in class. Instead, it will be given on the down-low for reasons that are tailored to each student. Money can still be earned for devotionals, memorization, etc. It just won’t have such a dominant place during the actual lesson.
Lesson #876 – Everyone deserves a second chance, or a third, or a fourth…
Because of the Mormon Money disaster, I have some students who are “rich” and some who are “poor”. A couple of kids were so motivated by the fact that they’d earn $5 for every memorized scripture that they’ve already memorized all 25! Isn’t that incredible? I can barely remember my own address.
On the flipside, I’ve got students who’ve only memorized 2 scriptures. Or, they aren’t comfortable speaking up in class, so they haven’t earned $ that way either. Won’t the auction be lame for them? That’s hardly motivational.
With these things in mind, I’m going to limit the number of auction wins to 2 per student. Everyone will have the opportunity to bid on something, not just the “rich”. For the second quarter, everyone’s balance will start again at zero to even out the playing field once more. My hope is that other kids will have a chance to shine next quarter.
Lesson #877 – Someone always has a more difficult challenge
In talking with other teachers at in-service meetings and such, I’m finding that there are many different kinds of classrooms out there. One teacher I know teaches to just one student, who only shows up half the time. Another delivers her lessons via Skype because the distance is too great. Other teachers, like me, struggle with tardiness and student apathy. It’s a hard job for everyone! I’m sure grateful for the challenges I have though, and I wouldn’t change these experiences for the world.
Wow! You’ve made it through this lengthy post. You get $5 in Mormon Money!
Friday, October 9, 2009
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