quick update.

I just remembered another story from preschool last week.  One little boy was walking across the room after having just gone to the bathroom.  Apparently he hadn't pulled his pants all the way back up, because they started sliding down.  Instead of pulling them up right away, he broke into song, "Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, lookin like a fool with your pants on the ground."  Then he pulled them up.

Also, tomorrow's the big midterm.  Bleh!  I've been studying most of today and much of yesterday.  I would just love to fast forward through tomorrow.  Praying it's not as bad as I've made it in my mind...

let me take you on a journey.

journey [jur-nee] noun. 1. a traveling from one place to another usually taking a rather long time. 2. a period of travel. 3. passage or progress from one stage to another.

Here's the story of how I came to be in the place that I am now:

It all goes back to more than a few years ago, to my years in high school.  I felt like I could change the world.  I felt like no matter what I did, my life would make a difference to others.  What I never did admit to myself, though, was that one of my greatest fears is that my life would be a waste and that nothing I did ever really mattered.

So, I poured myself into school, because I've always been of the mind that education is truly important.  (That might just be one of the reasons I pursued teaching...)  My load of AP and Honors classes, along with the hours that piano lessons required, was just about all I could handle.  Somewhere along the way, I realized that, while what I was doing was important for my future, I wasn't really spending any time caring about others.  So, by the time my senior year of high school rolled around, I had quit piano lessons and gotten much more involved with my youth group at church.  It was also my third year of going to Mexico on a missions trip to build houses for families in need.  If you rewind back to my freshman year, I was fearful of going, of being uncomfortable, and of putting myself into a situation I just wasn't sure about.  God changed my heart and my attitude by my sophomore year and, while I was nervous about going, I was no longer paralyzed by my fears.

My senior year ended and I was headed off to Biola.  I have no doubt that that was the right move for me and the exact direction that God was leading me.  You may not know that that was the only college I applied to.  I wasn't just confident that I would be accepted, but I felt like that was exactly where I was supposed to go.  My college experience was great, filled with it's own set of ups and downs.  Again I poured myself into my studies, with social times taking second priority in my life.  I thought about going on missions trips, but never actually went.  Looking back, I'm not sure if I just was not listening, or if God really did never call me to go on a trip.  Honestly, I think it's the latter of the two, but I can't be so sure. 

I distinctly remember sitting in chapel one day, when it was, I don't know.  Who the speaker was, I'm not really sure.  But I remember what he said.  He said that Christians make all kinds of excuses to not act.  Usually the excuse is that I need to get right with God and be sinless in order for me to do His work.  How could someone as unrighteous as I am do the work that needs to be done?  So, we make excuses for our inaction.  And, at some point, we allow our fears to take over and never actually live.

So, how did it happen that I'm going to Eastern Europe this January?  Well, simply put, God changed my heart.  I knew a number of people that had gone on missions trips this past summer and I remember saying to God, "Have you really not called me? Do you really not want me to go?"  But, as I came to find out, that wasn't really the problem.  I don't think I was ever really open to going before.  My excuse for inaction, as legitimate as it was, was that I had to work. 

Well, God really does break down barriers, because as it turns out, my schedule is pretty darn flexible with the work I have substitute teaching.  And, I distinctly remember praying one night that I would be willing to go if that's what He wanted.  It wouldn't necessarily be easy for me, but I would go.  And, as it turns out, the very next day in church was the day I found out about Slovenia.  It couldn't just be a coincidence, could it?  I sure didn't think so!

But, even still, I had school to think about.  I was planning to take a course during January for three weeks.  The trip and the course were going to overlap by a couple of days, so I emailed the professor that I knew was teaching it and asked if it would be possible for him to work with me to finish up early.  His reply was that the course was no longer going to be offered during the January interterm session.  Well, I took that as a pretty clear answer that no excuses were going to get in my way this time.

So, I stepped out in faith, knowing that the God who has called me to go on this trip has great plans for me.  My dream to make a difference (or, if I'm being realistic, my fear of not making a difference) is being complete.  I see this trip as a significant shift in my openness to going where God has called me to go. 

I know that God has me where I am for a purpose.  It's always nice to see the confirmation, though, of knowing that I am right where I am for a reason.  If something had been different, like the class was being offered, or I had a full time teaching job, or any other number of factors, I probably would not have taken the step to go on this trip.

All I have left to say (at least this time) is that I pray you are open to see what God has in store for your own life.  It might be something small, but His purposes are far greater than we ever know.

how to be happy.

Read that title again.  It should say: a lesson in being content.  What a fine line exists between being happy and being content.  Being happy is momentary and fleeting, while being content is something that lasts much longer.  What I want is to be content. 

This is a hard time of life, in more than one way.  It's a hard time for everyone, what with the economy the way it is and the state of our nation/world.  But it's hard for me personally, as I wade through and try to figure out what comes next.  I'm happy to have an answer to the inevitable questions of what I'm doing these days.  But I'd be lying if I said I was perfectly content with where I'm at.  I'm happy a lot of the time, but not always content.  There's a fine line between being content and looking forward to the future, as well. 

Maybe I just look forward to the future, to what comes next.  I'm thankful for the job I have, but I'm tired.  I'm thankful for the chance to go back to school, but I'd rather not be putting in the hours.  I see many exciting things happening in the lives of people around me: new jobs, houses, getting engaged, getting married, having babies, settling down into a new rhythm of life.  I'm so happy for them.  Really, I am.  But a small part of me wonders when it's my turn.  When do I get that something exciting?

So, herein lies the lesson: How to be content when life doesn't seem fair.  I don't really have many answers, save one.

"...I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.  I can do everything through him who gives me strength..."  (Philippians 4:11-13)

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."  So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?"  (Hebrews 13:5-6)

And finally, this:
"...But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

My conclusion is nothing more than this:  Being content is a choice we make.  We will never be satisfied with the lives we live.  There will always be something new, something better, something greater, something more.  But when we choose to be content, to live the life we are meant to live, we can experience a far greater joy in being content. 

My prayer is that this will be true in my life and in yours.

preschool tales.

Here's a a few more stories from Pre-K...

After a number of attempts at completing a puzzle, "Man, I'm just not good at these puzzles.  I guess I'm just a quitter."

Sebastien to another boy that won't wake up from nap, "Hey there, handsome boy."

Friday afternoon I am, once again, monitoring the bathroom before nap time.  There's two stalls and any other kids waiting have to stand outside the door in line.  The last few kids were using the bathroom when Alexander showed up in line again.  I said to him: "Alexander, didn't you already go potty?"  He says to me: "I have to go poop.  I ate the meatballs." 
Probably ten minutes later, he's still in the bathroom.  By now, lights are out, all the kids are on their mats trying to fall asleep.  Then we hear Alexander start talking to himself in the bathroom.  The other teacher tells him to quiet down.  Brief pause.  Then Alexander says loudly, "Oh man, not again!"  "What's wrong?"  "I got poop on my hand again!" 

As the teacher working with me put it, kids just say the things adults are thinking.

a few things.

In regards to my last post: I realized that my day off is coming a week from tomorrow.  That is the day my family and I are going to see The Phantom of the Opera!  I'm so excited!

In regards to the last couple of days: I've spent them subbing in Pre-K, and I'm going back tomorrow afternoon, too.  It's amazing how tiring it can be!  Here's just a few gems from my days there.  If anything good happens tomorrow, I'll let you know...

There is one particular boy in the class that has been diagnosed with autism.  Sweet kid, but definitely difficult at times.  He hates to go to the bathroom so he won't ever tell anyone when he needs to go.  We were outside playing and I see the universal sign for needing to go to the bathroom. You know, the slight hunch, legs together tightly.  The other teacher saw him first (thank goodness) and took him back to the class to use the restroom.  She was gone for longer than expected, but I didn't really think much of it.  She comes back and tells me that I was lucky because the boy had pooped his pants sometime earlier and it was smeared all over to the point where he needed her help to get cleaned up.  If you know me at all, you know I don't like those things.  I probably would have puked on the poor kid. 

There's another little boy in the class named Sebastien.  He is hilarious.  He has a dry sense of humor, enunciates his words almost to a fault, knows just the right buttons to push on his classmates, and acts older than his 4 years sometimes.  Anyway, yesterday we were out playing and he looked up and saw a few clouds.  Not rain clouds, just clouds.  He pulls his hood up, looks over at me, and says with a shrug "Just in case it rains."  He has had some great one-liners...I'll try to remember some more tomorrow.

lazy no more.

"If I'm being honest, I think it's because 1) I've become a bit lazy in the lifestyle I've grown accustomed to in the past few months and 2) I look ahead into the future and see very few "lazy" days left. I'm going to be working a full-time, 9-5 job this summer, and then I intend to go back to school in the fall, as well as continue to substitute teach. So, when I think of all that, I guess I'm just basking in my last few lazy days until around the house doing "not a whole lot" (my standard answer when asked "What did you do today?")."

When I wrote those words back in May, I had no idea how true they would really be.  It's not that I was ever really lazy, it's just that I was unmotivated.  Ok, call it what you will, but it no longer exists anywhere near me.  I have not had a real day off since school started in August, minus the one weekend where I was gone and got nothing accomplished, but ended up paying for it the next week.  The last couple of days I've had an exremely difficult time focusing on the work I was supposed to be doing.  Monday's work was homework, and completely pointless at that.  Can someone please explain why I had to resummarize all of the information of the semester so far, in just enough of a different format that it forced me to practically reread all seven chapters of the book to complete the assignment?  Doesn't make sense to you either?  Oh, good, then it's not just me.  And I really was wasting my time.  All of that to say, though, the assignment took me hours longer than I thought it would, which messed up my whole schedule.  Tuesday's work was the kinds I actually get paid for, but it hard to focus on nonetheless.  I don't really know why, other than there where 9,283 things I could think of that I would rather be doing.  I think the real reason I'm having a hard time focusing is because I just need a break.  Perhaps after next week, but we'll see.  What I really need to do is get caught up on my work and to study for my midterm next week (the first I've taken since I graduated two years ago...yikes!).  Ok, off to bed for me, but not before I read a couple of chapters of my book.  Don't worry, the one I'm reading tonight is actually for "fun," although I should be reading something for school...


P.S> If that post sounded to you like a complaint, it's really not.  I'm thankful for the chance to go to school and for  my job(s).  I really just need a day off...

it must be fall.

Fall has arrived, finally...and I've got socks on my toes to prove it!  I'm just hoping that this change to cooler weather is going to stick this time...

curious.

I'm just curious if anyone is actually still reading this blog.  It probably won't change whether I write or not, but if you are reading: I don't hate comments.  :)

my request.

Micah 6:8 – “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”



Dear Friends,

I’d like to invite you to be with something really special with me. About two years ago, I started sponsoring two children through Compassion International. If you aren’t familiar with the organization, I’d encourage you to check out their website (http://www.compassion.com). Over time, my sponsorship has grown from two, to four, and now, five children. I’d love to sponsor more! And, that’s where you come in.

The normal cost to sponsor a child is $38 per month. For a lot of people, that’s more than they would like to commit to on long-term basis. What I’m asking for you, however, is to join with me as a group and sponsor children together. Your provision of just $9.50 a month would be one-fourth, or $19 would pay for half. Your commitment could be as much or as little as you desire, from $5 to $38 (or even more!) each month. How many children are sponsored is up to you!

My plan is to create a private blog to provide updates, pictures, and letters that arrive from the children. Also, giving the money will be as easy as paying with PayPal. I’ll set up a special account specifically earmarked for this group and donations will only be used for the purpose of sponsorship.

Please pray about the opportunity and consider giving and sharing in the lives of some special children. I’d ask that you commit to give for a minimum of six months. Please consider being involved in something that God has laid on my heart. If you are interested in joining with me, please email me in response and we’ll talk about the details. And if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.


With love,
Whitney Friesen
Wfriesen001@gmail.com

sick days.

So last weekend I had huge plans to get a lot of things done.  I had a ton of work to do, as well as a bunch of homework.  Call me a procrastinator, but I had to read a whole book (ok, it was only 125 pages) and write a book review on it (got to love that busy work), as well as all the regular weekly assignments.  Like I said, big, exciting plans. 

I woke up on Saturday morning, though, and I was wasn't feeling well.  I thought it might be allergies, because it was mostly a sore throat and runny/stuffy nose.  By Sunday morning, I knew I was sick, though.  I woke up mid-morning, had breakfast, then decided a nap was in order.  After sleeping a couple of hours, I thought maybe a shower would help me wake up.  By the time I finished my shower, I was so exhausted I wasn't sure I was going to make it back to my bed.  Slept another couple of hours.  By the time I woke up, it was 4:15. I was feeling a little better, but I knew I had to get something done.  By the end of the day, I did get the book read and my book review written.  That's all I really cared about at that point.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty good now.  My biggest problem is this dang cough that I have.  It won't bother me for hours and then it comes out of nowhere.  Also, it usually appears when I want to fall asleep.  This is definitely one of those weeks that I am thankful I can work from home and don't have to be miserable at work all day.  Although, I do miss those good old sick days where I got to stay home, lay in bed, and do nothing except read books and watch movies.

I'm hoping that this weekend will be much more productive than the last.

a little dream.

I just really like this picture I took way back in April so I thought I'd share.

Do you ever look at something and think "That would be a great picture."?  Not, "How beautiful," but "That would be a great picture."  Oh, you don't?  Me neither.

I love photography and would very much love taking it up as more of a hobby.  When I'll do that, I don't actually know.  But, I do know that I would love a new camera that is for "serious photographers."  I may not be ready for manual focus yet, but I think it would be fun to play around with!  It's as though I have nothing else to do with my life, right?  Although, I think when I am most busy I long for the simpler things, like enjoying a great picture or reading a good book.

I'll be accepting donations for this new camera.  And, after I get the camera, I'm going to need to take a trip to somewhere photo-worthy to test it out, as well.  (Sounds like a good plan to me!)

new design.

I thought the blog needed a fall facelift.  Check.  Back to work I go...

choo-choo trains and knock-knock jokes.

Today was my first day back subbing since last spring.  I've gotten some phone calls, especially in the last week or so, but had so many other things to do with working another 2 or 3 jobs and taking 2 classes, I really didn't have the energy to even think about substitute teaching.  This morning I got the call to sub in preschool in my preferred district (where I would love to get hired) so, having nothing else that absolutely had to be done today, I went.  I knew I would be tired tonight, and I was right.  Here a just a few highlights from my day.

I was watching the kids play outside and I was standing near the playground equipment.  Two boys were playing "train" and I watched as the train went off the tracks, was stopped by a wood chip, out of control again, stopped by the train whistle, stopped right before it went into the water, lost it's sail in the water, the train became a ship, and the ship drove across land.  Let me tell you, that was one amazing steering wheel.  I think the only thing this train didn't do is fly.  As I'm standing there I had this conversation with the boys:
Boy 1: "Look we are both train drivers!"
Boy 2: "Yeah, look! Train drivers!"
Me: "Do you know what another name for a train driver is?"
Boys: "No, what?"
Me: "An engineer."
Boy 2: "Oh cool, we're engineers!"
Boy 1: "They are also called choo-choo train men."

Oh, of course, silly me.

Right before we went outside to play, one of my worst nightmares came true.  Ok, so that might be a little dramatic, but it was definitely something I had hoped to avoid in all my teaching days.  It took me back to a couple of years ago when I was taking a class on Elementary PE in college and one day we were talking about rainy day activities.  So, our professor gave us all a squirt of shaving cream and told us to smear it all over our desks.  After we had covered our hands in it, she told us to make sure not to get any on our clothes as it might stain/bleach them. Awesome. This is exactly what I signed up for.  And, if you know me at all, I don't like having my hands covered in something gooey/dirty/whatever.  This is always the time that something itches really bad or your hair is in your face, by the way.  Anyhow, my friends in class were making fun of my reaction to this seemingly harmless activity.  Fast forward to today.  The teacher (I was subbing as the aide) tells me she was going to get the shaving cream out for them to play with.  I'm thinking: "Really, is that necessary?" But I bite my tongue and go along with things.  Next thing I know, 14 pre-K students have a huge gob of shaving cream in their hands.  I stood back while they smeared this stuff everywhere.  I still don't really know the purpose, as they played with it for about 5 minutes.  I was then charged with the task of helping them clean their hands, clothes, hair, wherever else they could have possibly gotten this stuff in 5 minutes off.  Then they all went outside and I got to wipe off all the desks.  Oh, what a dream. 

The best part about subbing in the afternoon preschool is that there is a huge break for naptime.  By the time we got all 18 kids settled down, it was quite peaceful.  Just prior to nap time was the time when everyone had to go potty before they got into bed.  I never remembered seeing this open bathroom, boys and girls using the same door-less stalls.  But apparently it happens.  Anyway, it was like directing traffic in there.  It's a good thing there's only 2 stalls, because between that and the kid lingering at the sink washing his hands, and the kid getting a paper towel longer than they are tall, not to mention the line of kids outside the door making noise, it's enough to keep you busy.  I'm just assuming that nobody likes this job and that's why I was doing it.

Overall, it was a good day subbing.  It always amazes me what kids say.  Or what they do when they think nobody can see and/or hear them.  Like sing in the bathroom.  One favorite thing of two particular boys was telling me knock-knock jokes.

Bryan: "Knock knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
Bryan "Bryan...that's me!"

Alexander: "Knock knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
Alexander: "Alexander...that's me!"
(I'm thinking to myself, "You do know that's not funny, right?")

Hallie: "Knock knock"
Me: "Who's there?"
Hallie: "Banana"
Me: "Banana who?"
Hallie: "Banana Peach!"
(At least she's got the whole concept of the knock-knock joke down)

These kids are a bit of a handful, but at least their pretty cute too.  And, apparently my new name is Wicki, because Whitney is so hard to pronounce.

just a quote.

"God who is everywhere, never leaves us. Yet He seems sometimes to be present, sometimes absent. If we do not know Him well, we do not realize that He may be more present to us when He is absent than when He is present."
-Thomas Merton